Confirming Pages C H A P T E R 19 Analyzing Information and Writing Reports Chapter Outline Using Your Time Efficiently Analyzing Data and Information for Reports Identifying the Source of the Data Analyzing Numbers Analyzing Words Analyzing Patterns Checking Your Logic Choosing Information for Reports Organizing Information in Reports Basic Patterns for Organizing Information Specific Varieties of Reports 3. Introduce Sources and Visuals. 4. Use Forecasting, Transitions, Topic Sentences, and Headings. Writing Formal Reports Title Page Letter or Memo of Transmittal Table of Contents List of Illustrations Executive Summary Introduction Background or History Body Conclusions and Recommendations Summary of Key Points Presenting Information Effectively in Reports 1. Use Clear, Engaging Writing. 2. Keep Repetition to a Minimum. loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 582 8/21/09 2:08:11 PM Rev.Confirming Pages IN THE NEWS Inadequate or Misleading Financial Reporting I n September 2008, Lehman Brothers, a global information in their financial reports, creating financial services company, declared bankruptcy avoidable risks for investors. after the US Federal Reserve Bank refused to As examples of areas that are subject to inadbail it out. The event became a symbol of the global equate or misleading financial reporting, Professor economic crisis that saw banks and financial institu- Miller points out the treatment of \"off-the-balance tions fail across the globe. The financial crisis once sheet financing\" and \"pension fund accounting.\" again raised questions about how companies disExperts like Kenneth Scott, Stanford University close and report financial information. law professor and senior research fellow at the Paul Miller, professor of Hoover Institution, are calling accounting at the University for electronic financial report\"The financial crisis once again of Colorado, believes that ing into a central database. raised questions about how companies must respect the Numbers reveal important companies disclose and report concerns and needs of their information vital to business investors the same way they financial information.\" decision making. However, have learned to respect the numbers can also be used to hide concerns and needs of their customers, employees, crucial information. Should companies provide detailed and suppliers. He points out that companies often narratives (not just footnotes) explaining items on their deliberately provide inadequate or misleading financial statements? What do you think? Source: David Bogoslaw, \"How to Fix Financial Reporting,\" in BusinessWeek: Investing, http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/nov2008/ pi2008119_257282.htm (accessed April 12, 2009). loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 583 8/26/09 8:24:10 AM Confirming Pages 584 Part 5 Proposals and Reports Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you will know: 1 Ways to analyze data, information, and logic. 2 How to choose information for reports. 3 Different ways to organize reports. 4 How to present information effectively in reports. 5 How to prepare the different components of formal reports. Careful analysis, smooth writing, and effective document design work together to make effective reports, whether you're writing a 2-page memo report or a 250-page formal report complete with all the report components. Chapter 17 covered the first two steps in writing a report: 1. Define the problem. 2. Gather the necessary data and information. This chapter covers the last three steps: 1. Analyze the data and information. 2. Organize the information. 3. Write the report. Using Your Time Efficiently To use your time efficiently, think about the parts of the report before you begin writing. Much of the introduction can come from your proposal, with only minor revisions. You can write six sections even before you've finished your research: Purpose, Scope, Assumptions, Methods, Criteria, and Definitions. Mock up tables and figures early. Since they provide information on which you will base your arguments or explanations, it is important to arrange data logically and plan how you will use them in the report. As you tally and analyze the data, prepare your figures and tables, and a complete list of references. The background reading for your proposal can form the first draft of your list of references. Save a copy of your questionnaire or interview questions to use as an appendix. You can print appendixes before the final report is ready if you number their pages separately. Appendix A pages would be A-1, A-2, and so forth; Appendix B pages would be B-1, B-2, and so forth. You can write the title page and the transmittal as soon as you know what your recommendation will be. After you've analyzed your data, write the body, the conclusions and recommendations, and the executive summary. Prepare a draft of the table of contents and the list of illustrations. When you write a long report, list all the sections (headings) that your report will have. Mark those that are most important to your reader and your logic, and spend most of your time on them. Write the important sections early. That way, you won't spend all your time on Background or History of the Problem. Instead, you'll get to the meat of your report. loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 584 8/21/09 2:08:19 PM Confirming Pages Chapter 19 Analyzing Information and Writing Reports Analyzing Data and Information for Reports Good reports begin with good data. Analyzing the data you have gathered is essential to produce the tight logic needed for a good report. Analyze your data with healthy skepticism. Check to see that they correspond with expectations or other existing data. If they don't, check for well-supported explanations of the difference. Spreadsheets can be particularly troublesome. Cell results derived by formulas can be subtly, or grossly, wrong by incorrectly defining ranges, for example. It is easy to generate results that are impossible, such as sums that exceed known totals. Always have an estimate of the result of a calculation. Using spreadsheets, you can easily be wrong by a factor of 10, 100, or 1,000. Results produced by this kind of error are wrong at best, and can be ludicrous and embarrassing. One study found that 30% of spreadsheets had errors, such as misplaced decimal points, transposed digits, and wrong signs, built into their rules.1 Some of these errors are enormous. Former accounting giant Arthur Andersen made a $644 million one on a NASA audit.2 Try to keep ball-park figures, estimates of what the numbers should be, in mind as you look at numerical data. Question surprises before accepting them. Analyzing data can be hard even for experts. New techniques continually appear, allowing experts to challenge earlier conclusions. One example is the Number Needed to Treat (NNT), a new measure of drug effectiveness developed within the past 20 years. Most clinical trials answer the question, \"Will patients on this drug do better than those taking a placebo?\" For statins, drugs to reduce high cholesterol, the answer is yes: you may see 30% fewer heart attacks, depending on the particular trial. Sounds great, yes? But how many of those people would have had heart attacks in the first place? If the number is very small, 30% fewer isn't much of a decrease, particularly considering the cost of statins and possible side effects including liver damage. The NNT asks, \"How many people have to take this drug to avoid one heart attack?\" For statins, the answer is about 50, much different odds and more food for thought for America's aging population as it decides whether or not to take more prescriptions.3 Numerous studies exist in scholarly journals challenging the data-based conclusions of earlier articles. One example is the fate of unmarried, collegeeducated women over 30. A famous Newsweek cover story, \"Too Late for Prince Charming?\" reported the Yale and Harvard study that suggested such women had only a 20% chance of finding husbands, and only a 2.6% chance by the time they reached 40. Twenty years later an economist at the University of Washington examined 30 years of census data. Her figures for the decade of the original study showed that women aged 40-44 with advanced degrees were only 25% less likely to be married than comparably aged women with just high school diplomas. By 2000, those women with postcollege education were slightly more likely to be married than those who had finished only high school.4 Identifying the Source of the Data 585 Measuring Innovation It is commonly accepted wisdom that one measure of a company's innovation is the number of patents it commands. In recent years, however, research has shown that companies increasingly use patents as a defensive strategy rather than a strategy for innovation. A Boston University study found that software companies with more patents actually reduced their research and development expenditure vis--vis sales. Additionally, with companies vying for patents for the smallest addition to product features, patents may be a dubious measure of innovation. Compared to patents themselves, patent citations, or the references to a company's patent by patents of other companies, may be a better metric of innovation. A high number of patent citations may show that the company's patent truly represents innovation and may be licensed for a fee or royalties. Companies such as Procter & Gamble have adopted this strategy. Recent studies on patents also show a growing trend of acquiring patents on design or form of products rather than their technical aspects. Companies such as Samsung Electronics and Nike have earned a name for themselves for innovation by acquiring patents based on product design. Adapted from Jena McGregor, \"Are Patents the Measure of Innovation?\" in BusinessWeek: Innovation: May 4, 2007, http://www.businessweek .com/innovate/content/may2007/ id20070504_323562.htm (accessed April 12, 2009). Check to be sure that your data come from a reliable source. Use the strategies outlined in Chapter 17 to evaluate Web sources (p. 534). When the source has a vested interest (p. 474) in the results, scrutinize the data with special care. To analyze a company's financial prospects, use independent information as well as the company's annual report and press releases. Drug and medical device companies, and the researchers funded by them, keep appearing in the news with reports of undue influence. Duke University loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 585 8/21/09 2:08:19 PM Confirming Pages 586 Part 5 Getting the Right Data Surveys are often used to measure consumer satisfaction, asking people to rate products and services. However, does high customer satisfaction also mean that the quality of the product or service is also high? In a recent study, medical researchers found no correlation between patient satisfaction and the quality of the care received. Those patients that rated the quality of their care as 10 (on a scale of 1 to 10) were no more likely to have received better care than those who gave it a 5. This example shows some of the thorny issues associated with surveys. First, because surveys are easy to get and report, they are popular. But people who respond to surveys tend to be those who are satisfied with the product or service. In addition, relying on survey data can exclude other important findings. As in the case in medical research, customer satisfaction can mean something very different than the quality of medical care received. Given these complexities, how can surveys be used effectively? Adapted from David Wessel, \"In Health Care, Consumer Theory Falls Flat,\" Wall Street Journal, September 7, 2006, A2. loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 586 Proposals and Reports researchers checked 746 studies of heart stents published in one year in medical journals. They found that 83% of the papers did not disclose whether authors were paid consultants for companies, even though many journals require that information. Even worse, 72% of the papers did not say who funded the research.5 A study in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine noted that positive studies of antidepressant trials got published and negative ones did not: \"According to the published literature, it appeared that 94% of the trials conducted were positive. By contrast, the FDA analysis showed that 51% were positive.\"6 If your report is based upon secondary data from library and online research, look at the sample, the sample size, and the exact wording of questions to see what the data actually measure. (See Chapter 17 for more information on sampling and surveying.) Does the sample have a built-in bias? A survey of city library users may uncover information about users, but it may not find what keeps other people away from the library. For many kinds of research, a large sample is important for giving significant results. Nielsen Media Research collects about 2 million television viewing diaries annually to gather viewing data. The large numbers also allow it to provide viewing information for local stations and their advertisers.7 A survey that has been the target of much questioning in the press is the one behind the annual college rankings of US News & World Report. Critics charge that the rankings are based far too heavily on opinion (peer evaluations from other schools), uncorroborated data supplied by the schools themselves, and irrelevant data (such as rates of alumni giving). Critics also charge schools with gaming the system through practices such as heavy solicitation of students who have almost no chance of being accepted (low acceptance rates help schools' rankings).8 Identify exactly what the data measure. When advertisers began to place messages on the Internet, they soon realized that they had a measurement problem. The tools they used to measure viewer response counted the number of people who clicked on an ad that delivered them to the advertiser's Web site. In most cases, of course, advertisers want more than Web site visitors; they want people to buy from the company. Now more sophisticated tools can keep track of the percentage of people who click on the ad and then make a purchase at the company's Web site. Advertisers can use this information to test different versions of their advertising, so they use only the most profitable versions. At the same time, the companies that sell online advertising complain that these measures are unfair because they hold Internet advertising to a higher standard. Other media, such as magazines and television, merely estimate the number of people who see an ad, not the percentage who make a purchase.9 Identify the assumptions used in analyzing the data. When Nielsen Media Research estimates the number of people who view television stations, it must make a number of assumptions. The company has to determine how well its People Meter actually tracks whether people are watching, and it has to make decisions about how to count groups that are hard to measure. Nielsen has reported that 18- to 34-year-old males are watching less television, in part because they spend more time with videogames and DVDs. However, television networks complained that the company was underreporting this group's hours for a variety of reasons. For example, Nielsen was not counting young people who leave for college, and its sample did not include homes with TiVo or other personal video recorders (devices that make measurement more difficult). Because of such differences, the networks, Nielsen, and advertisers disagree about whether young men are losing interest in television programming.10 Nielsen continually refines the ways it collects data. Since its original 8/21/09 2:08:19 PM Confirming Pages Chapter 19 Analyzing Information and Writing Reports 587 Sun and Statistics Sharp uses what it calls \"academic marketing\" to sell air purifiers in Japan. Ads in Japanese newspapers and magazines provide data, diagrams, and charts in support of Sharp's plasmacluster technology. Source: Daisuke Wakabayashi, \"Using 'Academic Marketing' to Sell Air Purifiers,\" Wall Street Journal, December 26, 2008, B4. report on young men, for instance, it has started measures to track college students' viewing. Those efforts have increased ratings for some shows by more then 35%.11 Analyzing Numbers Many reports analyze numberseither numbers from databases and sources or numbers from a survey you have conducted. The numerical information, properly analyzed, can make a clear case in support of a recommendation. Suppose, for example, you are trying to make your company's Web site easier to use. In your report, you might want to include numbers from Jakob Nielsen that using Web sites is 206% harder for people with disabilities and 122% harder for elderly people.12 These numbers are striking because they are large and because they are quite different. They make the case that some groups are having great difficulty with Web sites; if your company cares about serving these groups, it would be worthwhile to find out how to make your company's Web site easier for them to use. Also, depending on your team's objectives, you might decide to focus more on people with disabilities (because they have much more difficulty) or to focus more on elderly computer users (because they are a larger part of the population). The next steps would include finding out why these groups have trouble and how to make your company's Web site more user friendly. (The Web Accessibility Initiative provides excellent material on how to make Web sites accessible to the disabled: http://www.w3.org/ WAI/intro/accessibility.php) Recognize that even authorities can differ on the numbers they offer, or on the interpretations of the same data sets. Researchers from the United Nations and Johns Hopkins University differed on their estimates of Iraqi deaths in loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 587 Recent research suggests that patients with low levels of vitamin D, which can be gained from moderate exposure to the sun, have higher risks of cancer, heart disease, and autoimmune disorders. The Indoor Tanning Association quickly jumped at this new finding. They used their interpretation of the statistics about low vitamin D levels as a way to promote indoor tanning, suggesting that UV rays can prevent cancer. The medical community was outraged at the ITA's twisted approach to the statistics. Doctor Lichtenfeld of the American Cancer Society suggested that UV ray promotion was \"like recommending smoking to reduce stress.\" The ITA advertisements failed to suggest there were any downsides to tanning, such as the link between prolonged exposure to UV rays and melanoma. They also omitted that the tanner the skin, the longer it takes to absorb vitamin D. How ethical is the ITA's use of research statistics? Would you be more likely to tan indoors if you saw one of their advertisements? Adapted from Pat Wingert, \"Teens, Tans, and Truth,\" Newsweek, May 19, 2008, 42-43. 8/21/09 2:08:19 PM Confirming Pages 588 Part 5 Getting the Data Right A 2006 report by Johns Hopkins University claimed that 655,000 Iraqis had died in the war in Iraq, a figure that diverged wildly from other estimatessometimes more than 1,000%. The Hopkins figure is 500% more than that of the United Nations. Such a difference from other reports calls into question the accuracy of the Hopkins report. To understand why the figure is so much higher than other research reports, it is important to consider how the data were gathered. The Hopkins researchers used cluster sampling for interviews, a methodology that makes sense given the country's warzone status. Researchers randomly selected neighborhoods and then conducted door-todoor interviews with \"clusters\" of individuals from within those neighborhoods. Such a technique saves time and money and is common in research within developing countries. But the key to this kind of technique is to use enough cluster points. A lack of cluster points can mean that the population sampled isn't representative of the population in Iraq. The Hopkins researchers did not use enough cluster points. In addition, the Hopkins researchers didn't gather demographic data from their participants for comparison to census data. Doing so would have added to the believability of their results. Getting the data right is important because numbers can have a significant impact on decisions and policies. In terms of casualties, the decisions made based on the numbers reported have an impact on millions of Iraqis and Americans. Adapted from Stephen E. Moore, \"655,000 War Dead?\" Wall Street Journal, October 18, 2006, A20. loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 588 Proposals and Reports the war by 500% (see sidebar on this page).13 The cover story of the January 4, 2008, National Journal was an explanation of how the two estimates could vary so wildly (research design and execution flaws; sampling error; lack of transparency with the data).14 You will be best able to judge the quality of data if you know how it was collected. In their books, The Tipping Point and Freakonomics, Malcolm Gladwell and Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner reach different conclusions about the data on dropping crime rates for New York City. Gladwell attributes the drop to the crackdown by the new police chief on even minor crimes such as graffiti and public drunkenness. Levitt and Dubner first explain why the cause was not a crackdown on crime (the years don't match well; other cities also experienced the drop) and attribute it to the legalization of abortion (at the time of the crime drop the first wave of children born after Roe v. Wade was hitting late teen years and thus prime crime time; that group was short on the category most likely to become criminal: unwanted children). They also provide corroborating evidence from other countries.15 If you've conducted a survey, your first step in analyzing your numbers is to transfer the responses on the survey form into numbers. For some categories, you'll assign numbers arbitrarily. For example, you might record men as 1 and women as 2or vice versa. Such assignments don't matter, as long as you're consistent throughout your project. In these cases, you can report the number and percentage of men and women who responded to your survey, but you can't do anything else with the numbers. When you have numbers for salaries or other figures, start by figuring the average (or mean), the median, and the range. The average or mean is calculated by adding up all the figures and dividing by the number of samples. The mode is the number that occurs most often. The median is the number that is exactly in the middle. When you have an odd number of observations, the median will be the middle number. When you have an even number, the median will be the average of the two numbers in the center. The range is the difference between the high and low figures for that variable. Averages are particularly susceptible to a single extreme figure. In 2007, three different surveys reported the average cost of a wedding at nearly $30,000. Many articles picked up that figure because weddings are big business. However, the median cost in those three surveys was only about $15,000. And even that is probably on the high side, since the samples were convenience samples for a big wedding Web site, a bride magazine, and a maker of wedding invitations. 16 Figure 19.1 shows the raw data that a student recorded in a report evaluating a hospital's emergency room procedures. To analyze the data, we could rearrange them, listing them from low to high (see Figure 19.2). The average waiting time is 26.6 minutes, but the median (the middle number) is only 22. Finding the average takes a few more steps when you have different kinds of data. For example, it's common to ask respondents whether they find a feature \"very important,\" \"somewhat important,\" or \"not important.\" You might code \"very important\" as \"3,\" \"somewhat important\" as \"2,\" and \"not important\" as \"1.\" To find the average in this kind of data, 1. For each response, multiply the code (\"1,\" \"2,\" or \"3\") by the number of people who gave that response. 2. Add up the figures. 3. Divide by the total number of people responding to the question. 8/21/09 2:08:26 PM Confirming Pages Chapter 19 Analyzing Information and Writing Reports 589 Figure 19.1 Raw Data from Observations for a Report Charity Data Amount of time (rounded off to the nearest minute) that patients wait in the emergency room before being examined in triage. Patient Wait Patient Wait Patient Wait 1 2 3 4 5 12 17 15 22 35 6 7 8 9 10 17 35 12 54 50 11 12 13 14 15 19 31 41 23 17 Figure 19.2 Rearranging Data to Find the Average (Mean), Mode, and Median 12, 12 15 17, 17, 17 19 22 23 31 35, 35 41 50 54 Average: 26.6 minutes Median: 22 minutes Mode: 17 minutes Range: 12 54 minutes Myth: The wealthy look after those in need. Reality: Only about a quarter of their donations go to the poor, and only 4% to basic needs. Myth: Religious donations go to those in need. Reality: Less than one-fifth of money donated goes to the poor. For example, suppose you have the following data after selecting a random sample and surveying 50 people about the features they want in a proposed apartment complex: Party house Extra parking for guests Many people believe they \"know\" \"facts\" and figures that are not so. When you encounter these false beliefs, you need to be sure you provide reliable data to counteract them. One area subject to common misperceptions is charity donations. Below are some common myths paired with realities. Myth: Most charitable giving goes to help the needy. Reality: Less than one-third of individually donated money to nonprofits goes to the economically disadvantaged. And only 8% provides basic needs like food and shelter. Very important Somewhat important Not important (coded as \"3\") (coded as \"2\") (coded as \"1\") 26 26 12 23 13 1 Myth: Americans give generously to international causes. Reality: Only 8% of US individual donations support any international cause whatsoever. Adapted from Sheryl Sandberg [board member of Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm], \"The Charity Gap,\" Wall Street Journal, April 4, 2007, A15. Following step 1, to get the average for \"party house,\" multiply 3 26 = 78; 2 12 = 24; and 1 13 = 13. Then add 78 + 24 + 13 = 115. Divide by the number of people answering the question and you get the average for that factor: 115 divided by 50 = 2.3. Repeat the process for the next factor, \"extra parking\": 3 26 = 78; 2 23 = 46; 1 1 = 1. Adding 78 + 46 + 1 = 125; dividing by 50 = 2.5. The average then gives an easy way to compare various features. If the party house averages 2.3 while extra parking for guests is 2.5, you know that your respondents would find extra parking more important than a party house. (Whether the difference is significant or not is a statistics question.) You can now arrange the factors in order of importance: loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 589 8/21/09 2:08:26 PM Confirming Pages 590 Part 5 Measure What Matters It sounds obvious: Find out whether your customers are satisfied, because satisfied customers will buy from you again and again, helping your profits grow. It sounds so obvious that big companies pay generous fees to researchers who create sophisticated measures of customer satisfaction. It sounds obvious, but it's wrong. Frederick Reichheld compared consumers' answers to questions about customer satisfaction and loyalty with measures of their actual purchases and their memory of referring others to the company. He found little relationship between stated satisfaction and repeat purchases. Instead, the best predictor of repeat purchases was a favorable response to \"How likely is it that you would recommend [company X] to a friend or colleague?\" People who would recommend the company were also likely to buy from it again. Responses fell into three clusters: promoters, defined as the customers who were extremely likely to recommend (choosing 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale), those who were less likely (\"passively satisfied,\" at 7 or 8), and the remainder of the customers. The greater the share of customers who are promoters, the faster a company's revenues grow. Over the three years studied, companies with many promoters included Southwest Airlines, Earthlink, and Enterprise Rent-ACar, and all of them grew much faster than their competitors. Reichheld's advice to companies looking for growth: Skip the fancy questionnaires, and just ask customers if they will recommend your company. Adapted from Frederick F. Reichheld, \"The One Number You Need to Grow,\" Harvard Business Review 81, no. 12 (December 2003): 46-54. loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 590 Proposals and Reports Table 4. \"How Important Is Each Factor to You in Choosing an Apartment?\" n = 50; 3 = \"Very Important\" Extra parking for guests Party house Pool Convenient to bus line 2.5 2.3 2.2 2.0 Often it's useful to simplify numerical data: rounding it off, combining similar elements. Then you can see that one number is about 2 times another. Charting it can also help you see patterns in your data. (See Chapter 9 for a full discussion of charts as a way of analyzing and presenting numerical data.) Look at the raw data as well as at percentages. For example, a 50% increase in shoplifting incidents sounds alarming. An increase from two to three shoplifting incidents sounds less so but is the same data stated differently. Both numbers and words require interpretation and context to have meaning. Consider the data collected by the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). For each year, the NHTSA gathers and reports statistics on the number of motor vehicle accident fatalities, breaking down the data by type of accident, type of vehicle, and state. In 2003 the agency determined that 42,643 people died in traffic accidents in the United States. When the data were ready, the NHTSA news release proclaimed, \"DOT Announces Historic Low Highway Fatality Rate in 2003.\" The release quoted Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta as saying, \"America's roads are safer than ever.\" The \"historic low\" was a rate of 1.48 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, the first time that rate had been less than 1.5 since the NHTSA began gathering the data. A columnist for the Wall Street Journal acknowledged the good news but observed that the rate of decline was just 0.8%. The NHTSA news release emphasized reasons for the decline in fatalities (more seat belt use and stiffer drunk-driving laws), whereas the Wall Street Journal highlighted reasons for the small size of the decline (the popularity of SUVs and pickups, whose fatality rates are declining but are higher than those for passenger cars).17 The same numbers can be presented in different ways to create very different impressions. In the case of the NHTSA data, the Kansas City Star and Time magazine prepared articles emphasizing not the overall decline in fatalities, but the difference between the fatality rates observed for passenger cars and SUVs. Both articles mentioned that people are \"11% more likely to die\" in a crash if they are driving an SUV rather than an automobile. A story in Forbes magazine, however, called SUVs \"slightly more dangerous\" but focused on additional data comparing various types of crashes. The Forbes article emphasized that in crashes between a light truck and a passenger car, if someone died, that person usually was an occupant of the car. The article listed the number of deaths recorded in each type of crash but not the percentage of fatalities (13%) in crashes between cars and light trucks.18 In each of these examples, the publication used the same data to reach a conclusion that is more dramatic than a decline in fatalities of less than 1%. A common myth associated with numbers is that numbers are more objective than words: \"numbers don't lie.\" But as the above examples show, numbers can be subject to widely varying interpretation. 8/21/09 2:08:27 PM Confirming Pages Chapter 19 Analyzing Information and Writing Reports Analyzing Words If your data include words, try to find out what the words mean to the people who said them or responded to them. An effort to measure the effectiveness of four TV commercials in Australia asked whether each commercial \"encourages me to try/buy the brand product.\" The question is ambiguous. Some consumers might think the researcher wants to know whether the ad is obviously a sales pitch. (Is the ad \"encouraging me to buy\" or just trying to make me feel good?) Others might think the question is asking about how effective the ad is in persuading the consumer. (Did the ad succeed at encouraging me, or did it fail?) This question therefore might measure either the commercials' content or their ability to persuade, depending on how people interpret the words.19 Also try to measure words against numbers. A study of annual reports in the United Kingdom from 1965 to 2004 found a large increase (375%) in narrative information and noted that accounting narratives were being used to manage impressions of annual performance.20 Analyzing Patterns Patterns can help you draw meaning from your data. If you have library sources, on which points do experts agree? Which disagreements can be explained by early theories or numbers that have now changed? Which disagreements are the result of different interpretations of the same data? Which are the result of having different values and criteria? In your interviews and surveys, what patterns do you see? Have things changed over time? Does geography account for differences? Do demographics such as gender, age, or income account for differences? What similarities do you see? What differences do you see? What confirms your hunches? What surprises you? Many descriptions of sales trends are descriptions of patterns derived from data. Checking Your Logic State accurately what your data show. For example, suppose that you've asked people who use computers if they could be as productive without them and the overwhelming majority say no. This finding shows that people believe that computers make them more productive, but it does not prove that they in fact are more productive. Be sure you are clear about definitions on which data are based. For instance, China and the United States are jockeying for first place in number of Internet users. Different sources give different results, and one reason is that they are defining \"Internet user\" in different ways: Is a user anyone who has access to the Internet at home, school, or work? What about a four-year-old child who has access to the Internet through her family but does not use it? Is anyone who has used the Internet only once in the past six months a user?21 Don't confuse causation with correlation. Causation means that one thing causes or produces another. Correlation means that two things happening at the same time are positively or negatively related. One might cause the other, loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 591 591 Facts, Spin, and Annual Reports In 2005, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) started legal action against the former CEO and CFO of Kmart Corporation, because the Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) portion of Kmart's 2001 annual report was misleading to stockholders. The report explained an increase in inventory on \"seasonal fluctuations\" (a natural part of doing business that stockholders wouldn't question) when the increase was really caused by one executive's poor decisions (which would reflect badly on the company). Did Kmart's CEO and CFO actually write that report themselves? Probably not, but they signed off on the information and certified it as factual, so the SEC found them liable for the lies. Kmart wasn't the only corporation whose annual report has come under heavy scrutiny: in the post-Enron business world, the SEC now watches corporate annual reports more closely than ever. The result? Many US companies have replaced descriptive, easy-to-read MD&A sections with simple \"10-K\" statements: tables of financial data taken directly from the Form 10-K that all publicly held US companies must file with the SEC. These new MD&A's are factual and detailed, with no spin and no misleading information, but they don't provide much actual information about the companies' economic realities. A good annual report should do both: it should combine hard data with the explanations and details that are necessary for readers to understand the numbers. Adapted from Amy Borrus, \"The SEC: Cracking Down on Spin,\" BusinessWeek, September 26, 2005, 94-97. 8/21/09 2:08:27 PM Confirming Pages 592 Part 5 Tapping into the Research Experts Where else can you go besides Google to find the information you need for your next report? You might try your local library. While you can find a wealth of information on Google, libraries subscribe to commercial databases that can give you access to powerful tools for writing your company's business or marketing plan. An added plus is that librarians are experts at navigating those databases. Small business owners, in particular, can benefit. Many libraries even hold classes for entrepreneurs and provide networking opportunities with other local agencies and organizations geared to help the small business person. So the next time you are working out a business problem, visit your local library. Adapted from Tara Siegel Bernhard, \"Enterprise: Big Help for Small Businesses at the Library; Commercial Databases, Assistance on Research and Classes Are Offered,\" Wall Street Journal, August 29, 2006, B4. Proposals and Reports but both might be caused by a third. For instance, consider a study that shows pulling all-nighters hurts grades: students who pull all-nighters get lower grades than those who do not pull all-nighters. But maybe it is not the allnighter causing the poor grades; maybe students who need all-nighters are weaker students to begin with. Correlation and causation are easy to confuse, but the difference is important. The Census Bureau publishes figures showing that greater education levels are associated with greater incomes. A widely held assumption is that more education causes greater earnings. But might people from richer backgrounds seek more education? Or might some third factor, such as intelligence, lead to both greater education and higher income?22 Some spurious correlations are amusing. The Wall Street Journal reported with tongue in cheek the Tiger Woods phenomenon. During the 11 years of 1997-2008, the April bond market performed positively when Woods won the Masters golf tournament, and negatively when he did not.23 Consciously search for at least three possible causes for each phenomenon you've observed and at least three possible solutions for each problem. The more possibilities you brainstorm, the more likely you are to find good options. In your report, discuss in detail only the possibilities that will occur to readers and that you think are the real reasons and the best solutions. When you have identified causes of the problem or the best solutions, check these ideas against reality. Can you find support in references or in numbers? Can you answer claims of people who interpret the data in other ways? Make the nature of your evidence clear to your reader. Do you have observations that you yourself have made? Or do you have inferences based on observations or data collected by others? Old data may not be good guides to future action. If you can't prove the claim you originally hoped to make, modify your conclusions to fit your data. Even when your market test is a failure or your experiment disproves your hypothesis, you can still write a useful report. Identify changes that might yield a different result. For example, selling the product at a lower price might enable the company to sell enough units. Divide the discussion to show what part of the test succeeded. Discuss circumstances that may have affected the results. As employees become buried in paperwork, it becomes even more important to select carefully and interpret clearly the information to be included in reports. loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 592 8/21/09 2:08:28 PM Confirming Pages Chapter 19 Analyzing Information and Writing Reports 593 Summarize your negative findings in progress reports to let readers down gradually and to give them a chance to modify the research design. Remember that negative results aren't always disappointing to the audience. For example, the people who commissioned a feasibility report may be relieved to have an impartial outsider confirm their suspicions that a project isn't feasible. Choosing Information for Reports Don't put information in reports just because you have it or just because it took you a long time to find it. Instead, choose the information that your reader needs to make a decision. NASA received widespread criticism over the way it released results from an $11.3 million federal air safety study. NASA published 16,208 pages of findings with no guide to understanding them. Critics maintain the lapse was deliberate because the data contained hundreds of cases of pilot error.24 If you know your readers well, you may know what their priorities are. For example, the supervisor of a call center knows that management will be looking for certain kinds of performance data, including costs, workload handled and forecast, and customer satisfaction. To write regular reports, the supervisor would set up a format in which it is easy to see how well the center is doing in each of these areas. Using the same format month after month simplifies the reader's task. Presenting the actual performance alongside objectives helps managers focus on major successes and failures. The supervisor also would highlight and explain any unusual data, such as an unexpected surge in volume or a one-time expense.25 If you don't know your readers, you may be able to get a sense of what is important by showing them a tentative table of contents (a list of your headings) and asking, \"Have I included everything?\" When you cannot contact an external audience, show your draft to colleagues and superiors in your organization. How much information you need to include depends on whether your audience is likely to be supportive, neutral, or skeptical. If your audience is likely to be pleased with your research, you can present your findings directly. If your audience will not be pleased, you will need to explain your thinking in a persuasive way and provide substantial evidence. You must also decide whether to put information in the body of the report or in appendixes. Put material in the body of the report if it is crucial to your proof, if your most significant readers will want to see it there, or if it is short. (Something less than half a page won't interrupt the reader.) Frequently decision makers want your analysis of the data in the report body rather than the actual data itself. Supporting data that will be examined later by specialists such as accountants, lawyers, and engineers are generally put in an appendix. Anything that a careful reader will want but that is not crucial to your proof can go in an appendix. Appendixes can include A copy of a survey questionnaire or interview questions. A tally of responses to each question in a survey. A copy of responses to open-ended questions in a survey. A transcript of an interview. Computer printouts. Complex tables and visuals. Technical data. Previous reports on the same subject. loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 593 Tell Them a Story To persuade people, tell them a story or anecdote that proves your point. Experiments with both high school teachers and quantitatively trained MBA students show that people are more likely to believe a point and more likely to be committed to it when points were made by examples, stories, and case studies. Stories alone were more effective than a combination of stories and statistics; the combination was more effective than statistics alone. In another experiment, attitude changes lasted longer when the audience had read stories than when they had only read numbers. Research suggests that stories are more persuasive because people remember them. In many cases, you'll need to provide statistics or numbers to convince the careful reader that your anecdote is a representative example. But give the story first. It's more persuasive. Adapted from Dean C. Kazoleas, \"A Comparison of the Persuasive Effectiveness of Qualitative versus Quantitative Evidence,\" Communication Quarterly 41, no. 1 (Winter 1993): 40-50; and Joanne Martin and Melanie E. Powers, \"Truth of Corporate Propaganda,\" in Organizational Symbolism, ed. Louis R. Pondy, et al. (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1983), 97-107. 8/21/09 2:08:34 PM Confirming Pages 594 Part 5 Proposals and Reports Organizing Information in Reports Most sets of data can be organized in several logical ways. Choose the way that makes your information easiest for the reader to understand and use. If you were compiling a directory of all the employees at your plant, for example, alphabetizing by last name would be far more useful than listing people by height, social security number, or length of service with the company, although those organizing principles might make sense in other lists for other purposes. In one company, a young employee comparing the economics of two proposed manufacturing processes gave his logic and his calculations in full before getting to his conclusion. But his superiors didn't want to wade through eight single-spaced pages; they wanted his recommendation up front.26 The following three guidelines will help you choose the arrangement that will be the most useful for your audience: 1. Process your information before you present it to your audience. The order in which you became aware of information usually is not the best order to present it to your audience. 2. When you have lots of information, group it into three to seven categories. The average person's short-term memory can hold only seven chunks, though the chunks can be of any size.27 By grouping your information into seven categories (or fewer), you make your report easier to comprehend. 3. Work with the audience's expectations, not against them. Introduce ideas in the overview in the order in which you will discuss them. Basic Patterns for Organizing Information Eight basic patterns for organizing information are particularly useful in reports: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Comparison/contrast. Problem-solution. Elimination of alternatives. SWOT analysis. General to particular or particular to general. Geographic or spatial. Functional. Chronological. Any of these patterns can be used for a whole report or for only part of it. 1. Comparison/contrast Many reports use comparison/contrast sections within a larger report pattern. Comparison/contrast can also be the purpose of the whole report. Feasibility studies usually use this pattern. You can focus either on the alternatives you are evaluating or on the criteria you use. See Figure 19.3 for examples of these two patterns in a report. Focus on the alternatives when loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 594 One alternative is clearly superior. The criteria are hard to separate. The reader will intuitively grasp the alternative as a whole rather than as the sum of its parts. 8/21/09 2:08:34 PM Confirming Pages Chapter 19 Analyzing Information and Writing Reports 595 Figure 19.3 Two Ways to Organize a Comparison/Contrast Report Focus on alternatives Alternative A Opening a New Store on Campus Criterion 1 Cost of Renting Space Criterion 2 Proximity to Target Market Criterion 3 Competition from Similar Stores Alternative B Opening a New Store in the Suburban Mall Criterion 1 Cost of Renting Space Criterion 2 Proximity to Target Market Criterion 3 Competition from Similar Stores Focus on criteria Criterion 1 Cost of Renting Space for the New Store Alternative A Cost of Campus Locations Alternative B Cost of Locations in the Suburban Mall Criterion 2 Proximity to Target Market Alternative A Proximity on Campus Alternative B Proximity in the Suburban Mall Criterion 3 Competition from Similar Stores Alternative A Competing Stores on Campus Alternative B Competing Stores in the Suburban Mall Focus on the criteria when The superiority of one alternative to another depends on the relative weight assigned to various criteria. Perhaps Alternative A is best if we are most concerned about Criterion 1, cost, but worst if we are most concerned about Criterion 2, proximity to target market. The criteria are easy to separate. The reader wants to compare and contrast the options independently of your recommendation. A variation of the comparison/contrast pattern is the pro-and-con pattern. In this pattern, under each specific heading, give the arguments for and against that alternative. A report recommending new plantings for a university quadrangle uses the pro-and-con pattern: Advantages of Monocropping High Productivity Visual Symmetry Disadvantages of Monocropping Danger of Pest Exploitation Visual Monotony This pattern is least effective when you want to deemphasize the disadvantages of a proposed solution, for it does not permit you to bury the disadvantages between neutral or positive material. loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 595 8/21/09 2:08:34 PM Confirming Pages 596 Part 5 Proposals and Reports 2. Problem-solution Glass Ceilings? Researchers not only write reports about their data, they also use reports to gather data. In a recent study, researchers from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and Loyola University-Chicago investigated proxy statements and Securities and Exchange Commission reports to gather data about the status of female CEOs. Researchers categorized and ranked biographical data by gender, age, and tenure of executives from the largest 942 US companies to predict the rate at which female executives will advance to become CEOs. In 2000, 0.6 % of board chairs and CEOs were women. By 2016, the proportion of females in those top positions is projected to be 6.2 percent. They concluded that \"despite advances in the corporate sphere, it's still lonely at the top for female CEOsand will be for at least another decade.\" Adapted from Elizabeth Woyke, \"Glass Ceilings: Corner Office Crawl,\" BusinessWeek, December 4, 2006, 14. Identify the problem; explain its background or history; discuss its extent and seriousness; identify its causes. Discuss the factors (criteria) that affect the decision. Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of possible solutions. Conclusions and recommendation can go either first or last, depending on the preferences of your reader. This pattern works well when the reader is neutral. A report recommending ways to eliminate solidification of a granular bleach during production uses the problem-solution pattern: Recommended Reformulation for Vibe Bleach Problems in Maintaining Vibe's Granular Structure Solidification during Storage and Transportation Customer Complaints about \"Blocks\" of Vibe in Boxes Why Vibe Bleach \"Cakes\" Vibe's Formula The Manufacturing Process The Chemical Process of Solidification Modifications Needed to Keep Vibe Flowing Freely 3. Elimination of alternatives After discussing the problem and its causes, discuss the impractical solutions first, showing why they will not work. End with the most practical solution. This pattern works well when the solutions the reader is likely to favor will not work, while the solution you recommend is likely to be perceived as expensive, intrusive, or radical. A report on toy commercials, \"The Effect of TV Ads on Children,\" eliminates alternatives: Alternative Solutions to Problems in TV Toy Ads Leave Ads Unchanged Mandate School Units on Advertising Ask the Industry to Regulate Itself Give FCC Authority to Regulate TV Ads Directed at Children 4. SWOT Analysis A SWOT analysis is frequently used to evaluate a proposed project, expansion, or new venture. The analysis discusses Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of the proposed action. Strengths and weaknesses are usually factors within the organization; opportunities and threats are usually factors external to the organization. A report recommending an in-house training department uses a SWOT analysis to support its recommendation: Advantages of In-House Training Disadvantages of In-House Training Competitor Training Businesses Opportunities for Training Expansion loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 596 8/21/09 2:08:34 PM Confirming Pages Chapter 19 Analyzing Information and Writing Reports 597 This report switches the order of threats (Competitor Training Businesses) and opportunities in order to end with positive information. 5. General to particular or particular to general General to particular starts with the problem as it affects the organization or as it manifests itself in general and then moves to a discussion of the parts of the problem and solutions to each of these parts. Particular to general starts with the problem as the audience defines it and moves to larger issues of which the problem is a part. Both are good patterns when you need to redefine the reader's perception of the problem to solve it effectively. The directors of a student volunteer organization, VIP, have defined their problem as \"not enough volunteers.\" After studying the subject, the writer is convinced that problems in training, supervision, and campus awareness are responsible for both a high dropout rate and a low recruitment rate. The general-to-particular pattern helps the audience see the problem in a new way: Why VIP Needs More Volunteers Why Some VIP Volunteers Drop Out Inadequate Training Inadequate Supervision Feeling That VIP Requires Too Much Time Feeling That the Work Is Too Emotionally Demanding Why Some Students Do Not Volunteer Feeling That VIP Requires Too Much Time Feeling That the Work Is Too Emotionally Demanding Preference for Volunteering with Another Organization Lack of Knowledge about VIP Opportunities How VIP Volunteers Are Currently Trained and Supervised Time Demands on VIP Volunteers Emotional Demands on VIP Volunteers Ways to Increase Volunteer Commitment and Motivation Improving Training and Supervision Improving the Flexibility of Volunteers' Hours Providing Emotional Support to Volunteers Providing More Information about Community Needs and VIP Services Annual Reports Report Watch posts annual lists of the best annual reports. They also post tips for creating good annual reports: Start with an eye-catching, interest-grabbing cover. Live up to the cover's promise in the body of the report. Don't just give a 10-K or 20-F. Offer a longer-term, strategic view in addition to information about the past year. Use a clear, readable style. Adapted from Report Watch, \"Report Essentials,\" in Report Essentials, http://www.reportwatch.net/reportessentials/ (accessed April 11, 2009). 6. Geographic or spatial In a geographic or spatial pattern, you discuss problems and solutions by units according to their physical arrangement. Move from office to office, building to building, factory to factory, state to state, region to region, etc. A sales report uses a geographic pattern of organization: Sales Have Risen in the European Community Sales Are Flat in Eastern Europe Sales Have Fallen Sharply in the Middle East Sales Are Off to a Strong Start in Africa Sales Have Risen Slightly in Asia Sales Have Fallen Slightly in South America Sales Are Steady in North America loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 597 8/21/09 2:08:35 PM Confirming Pages 598 Part 5 Proposals and Reports 7. Functional Failure Isn't Final Researchers write closure reports when the company decides that the project they're working on isn't feasible. However, a few years later, new technologies, new conditions, or new ideas may make a \"failed\" idea feasible. Post-It notes use a \"failed\" adhesive because one 3M employee saw the weak adhesive as a solution to a problem: I was singing in the choir in my church. . . . I would mark the pages with little pieces of paper normally. And sometimes they would fall out. . . . I thought what I really need is . . . a bookmark that's going to stick to those pages . . . and still not damage the book when I pull them off. . . . I knew that Spence Silver back in our laboratory had just developed an adhesive that would do that. And I made . . . rough samples of the bookmarks. . . . I had also made up some larger sizes and found, hey, these are really handy for notes. An adhesive that failed in its original application was a spectacular success in a new and highly profitable product. Adapted from John Nathan, In Search of Excellence (Waltham, MA: Nathan/ Tyler Productions, 1985), 9. In functional patterns, discuss the problems and solutions of each functional unit. For example, a small business might organize a report to its venture capitalists by the categories of research, production, and marketing. A government report might divide data into the different functions an agency performed, taking each in turn: Major Accomplishments FY 10 Regulation Education Research International coordination 8. Chronological A chronological report records events in the order in which they happened or are planned to happen. Many progress reports are organized chronologically: Work Completed in October Work Planned for November If you choose this pattern, be sure you do not let the chronology obscure significant points or trends. Specific Varieties of Reports Informative, recommendation, and justification reports will be more successful when you work with the readers' expectations for that kind of report. Informative and closure reports Informative and closure reports summarize completed work or research that does not result in action or recommendation. Informative reports often include the following elements: Introductory paragraph summarizing the problems or successes of the project. Purpose and scope section(s) giving the purpose of the report and indicating what aspects of the topic it covers. Chronological account of how the problem was discovered, what was done, and what the results were. Concluding paragraph with suggestions for later action. In a recommendation report, the recommendations would be based on proof. In contrast, the suggestions in a closure or informative report are not proved in detail. Figure 19.4 presents this kind of informative closure report. Closure reports also allow a firm to document the alternatives it has considered before choosing a final design. Recommendation reports Recommendation reports evaluate two or more alternatives and recommend one of them. (Doing nothing or delaying action can be one of the alternatives.) loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 598 8/21/09 2:08:35 PM Confirming Pages Chapter 19 Analyzing Information and Writing Reports 599 Figure 19.4 An Informative Memo Report Describing How a Company Solved a Problem March 14, 2010 To: Kitty O. Locker From: Sara A. Ratterman ts use Informal short repor mat. for mo me or ter let First Subject: Recycling at Bike Nashbar paragraph summarizes main Two months ago, Bike Nashbar began recycling its corrugated cardboard boxes. The program points. was easy to implement and actually saves the company a little money compared to our previous garbage pickup. Purpose In this report, I will explain how and why Bike Nashbar's program was initiated, how the and scope program works and what it costs, and why other businesses should consider similar programs. . ort rep of ings. Bold or underline head The Problem of Too Many Boxes and Not Enough Space in Bike Nashbar Every week, Bike Nashbar receives about 40 large cardboard boxes containing bicycles and other merchandise. As many boxes as possible would be stuffed into the trash bin behind the building, which also had to accommodate all the other solid waste the shop produces. Boxes that didn't fit of e us Ca problem. in the trash bin ended up lying around the shop, blocking doorways, and taking up space needed for customers' bikes. The trash bin was emptied only once a week, and by that time, even more boxes would have arrived. Triple space before heading. The Importance of Recycling Cardboard Rather than Throwing It Away Double space after heading. Arranging for more trash bins or more frequent pickups would have solved the immediate problem at Bike Nashbar but would have done nothing to solve the problem created by throwing away so much trash in the first place. Double space between paragraphs within heading. According to David Crogen, sales representative for Waste Management, Inc., 75% of all solid waste in Columbus goes to landfills. The amount of trash the city collects has increased 150% in Further the last five years. Columbus's landfill is almost full. In an effort to encourage people and seriousness businesses to recycle, the cost of dumping trash in the landfill is doubling from $4.90 a cubic yard of problem. to $9.90 a cubic yard next week. Next January, the price will increase again, to $12.95 a cubic yard. Crogen believes that the amount of trash can be reduced by cooperation between the landfill and the power plant and by recycling. How Bike Nashbar Started Recycling Cardboard of Capitalize first letter . major words in heading Waste Management, Inc., is the country's largest waste processor. After reading an article about how committed Waste Management, Inc., is to waste reduction and recycling, I decided to see Solution. whether Waste Management could recycle our boxes. Corrugated cardboard (which is what Bike Nashbar's boxes are made of) is almost 100% recyclable, so we seemed to be a good candidate for recycling. (Continued) loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 599 8/21/09 2:08:36 PM Confirming Pages 600 Part 5 Proposals and Reports Figure 19.4 An Informative Memo Report Describing How a Company Solved a Problem (Continued) Kitty O. Locker March 14, 2010 Page 2 Reader's name, date, page number. To get the service started, I met with a friendly sales rep, David Crogen, that same afternoon to discuss the service. Waste Management, Inc., took care of all the details. Two days later, Bike Nashbar was recycling its cardboard. der what to Talking heads tell rea . expect in each section How the Service Works and What It Costs Waste Management took away our existing 8-cubic-yard garbage bin and replaced it with two Details of 4-yard bins. One of these bins is white and has \"cardboard only\" printed on the outside; the other solution. is brown and is for all other solid waste. The bins are emptied once a week, with the cardboard going to the recycling plant and the solid waste going to the landfill or power plant. Since Bike Nashbar was already paying more than $60 a week for garbage pickup, our basic cost stayed the same. (Waste Management can absorb the extra overhead only if the current charge is at least $60 a week.) The cost is divided 80/20 between the two bins: 80% of the cost pays for Double space the bin that goes to the landfill and power plant; 20% covers the cardboard pickup. Bike Nashbar between actually receives $5.00 for each ton of cardboard it recycles. paragraphs. Each employee at Bike Nashbar is responsible for putting all the boxes he or she opens in the recycling bin. Employees must follow these rules: The cardboard must have the word \"corrugated\" printed on it, along with the universal recycling symbol. Indented lists provide visual variety. The boxes must be broken down to their flattest form. If they aren't, they won't all fit in the bin and Waste Management would be picking up air when it could pick up solid cardboard. The more boxes that are picked up, the more money that will be made. No other waste except corrugated cardboard can be put in the recycling bin. Other materials could break the recycling machinery or contaminate the new cardboard. The recycling bin is to be kept locked with a padlock provided by Waste Management so that vagrants don't steal the cardboard and lose money for Waste Management and Bike Nashbar. loc77805_ch19_582-635.indd 600 8/21/09 2:08:36 PM Confirming Pages Chapter 19 Analyzing Information and Writing Reports 601 Figure 19.4 An Informative Memo Report Describing How a Company Solved a Problem (Concluded) Kitty O. Locker March 14, 2010 Page 3 Minor Problems with Running the Recycling Program Diss ge ta advan The only problems we've encountered have been minor ones of violating the rules. Sometimes of solution. employees at the shop forget to flatten boxes, and air instead of cardboard gets picked up. Sometimes people forget to lock the recycling bin. When the bin is left unlocked, people do steal the cardboard, and plastic cups and other solid waste get dumped in the cardboard bin. I've posted signs where the key to the bin hangs, reminding employees to empty and fold boxes and relock the bin after putting cardboard in it. I hope this will turn things around and these problems will be solved. Advantages of the Recycling Program Advantages of The program is a great success. Now when boxes arrive, they are unloaded, broken down, and solution. disposed of quickly. It is a great relief to get the boxes out of our way, and knowing that we are mak