Writing for Business and Industry
Spring 2018
The Formal Report: The SWOT Analysis
Instrutions: The final project in this course will be a formal report based on your fictional business. This report will take the form of a SWOT analysis—Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The subject of the report should deal with a standard business problem, decision, or situation. The report can be, for example:
- a proposal for some change (a new location, packing redesign, a new product version, etc.)
- a program for employees (ex. policies and procedures)
- a report on a grand opening or other large scale event
- a study for a customer satisfaction survey
- a long-range marketing & promotion plan
- a study on employee benefits (ex. health insurance, retirement, tuition remission, etc.)
Before starting, you will want to read the notes on Blackboard on reports. Our class discussions, models, and notes in the next few classes should also help bring the assignment into clear focus.
The final report should:
- have a cover with the report title, submission information, and your company logo;
- contain a memo of transmittal addressed to me briefly introducing the SWOT analysis’s purpose
and its intended audience;
- have a table of contents (TOC);
- be at least five (5) typed, double-spaced pages (minimum) of body text in length (It can be longer if you need more room.) This requirement EXCLUDES front and back matter (cover, table of contents, visual, glossary, appendices, notes, etc.) The organization should follow this guide:
- Introduction
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats
- Recommendations/Conclusion
- contain at least one professional-quality visual or graphic (not part the body text and not your logo);
- demonstrate a clear, consistent organizational pattern (see above and Report Types notes);
- use clear and professional formatting (see above and Report Design notes);
- employ a clear, concise, businesslike tone (politely conversational but informative);
- avoid the writing pitfalls we have discussed (overuse of the passive voice, being verbs, jargon, wordy phrases, that/which confusion, agreement problems, vague pronouns); and
- demonstrate accurate spelling, standard punctuation, and good grammar.
Assgnment: write about your company F.D.S extending their company outside the united states and how it would be advertise to the peole of other country.
