12.7 End of Chapter Activities
12a. Thinking About the Content
What are your key takeaways from this chapter? What is something you have learned or something you would like to add from your experience?
12b. Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions
- Do you have experience writing any of the reports mentioned in this chapter?
- Which report would you find most difficult to write?
- Discuss a report on a trend in business that you’ve observed, and highlight at least the main finding. For example, from the rising cost of textbooks to the online approach to course content, textbooks are a significant issue for students. Draw from your experience as you bring together sources of information to illustrate a trend. Share and compare with classmates.
12c. Applying chapter concepts to a situation
Recommending A New Office Printer
Atwood Financial Services is a locally owned company that offers short-term loans and foreign exchange services to Canadians. They have new requests daily, and the staff are required to print contracts and receipts for each transaction. They are unable to offer services without a functional printer.
Recently, the printer has stopped working due to the high volume of printing that occurs in the office. Lisa Atwood, the owner at AFS, decides it’s time to upgrade to a new device instead of repairing the one they currently have. She asks Tito, the purchasing manager, to write a report recommending a new printer that has the following features:
- Makes black and white and colour copies
- Scans and sends documents to email
- Requires a keycard for login purposes in addition to user ID and password.
- Is competitively priced
From Tito’s experience with writing previous reports for Lisa, he knows that she prefers when tables are included.
Create a table comparing three brands of printers based on Lisa’s suggested features.
12d. Writing Activity
Watch this video from TED.com on The Hidden Opportunities of the Informal Market. Summarize the video. What do you think about this report on the informal market?