Business Communications Outline for Business Report 15% of Final Grade Purpose: This assignment allows you to get a solid start on your Business Report. The outline allows the instructor to provide early feedback and helps the student ensure there is sufficient research to complete the Business Report. Outcomes: By completing this assignment you will be able to:  Get a solid start on the final Business Report  Identify, select and compile information using appropriate technology and information systems  Apply ethical standards of business communications to coursework Process: Review the Business Report assignment. Decide on a topic for your final Business Report. Start researching the topic and develop an outline for your final report. Make sure your outline includes the following components: Introduction  Background  Problem or purpose  Significance of the topic and scope (see page 408 of the text for details) Body  Use main ideas as headings – use three to five main ideas  For each heading include concepts you will discuss, research which supports your ideas Conclusion & Recommendations  Restate topic and main ideas Bibliography  Include a bibliography showing at least three sources you have found to date. Make no more than one of these an Internet article or news source. Consider scholarly research, professional/trade journals, industry associations, and government research. Formatting for the Bibliography should be either MLA or APA format. (See the the "Documentation Formats" section of the Style Guide that came with your text.) Include a cover page for your topic outline (follow the sample on page 412 of the course text). The outline should be no longer than two to three pages, excluding cover page. Submit your Business Report to the assignments folder in Avenue to Learn. Business Communications Business Report 30% of Final Grade Purpose: This assignment provides an opportunity to practice and improve writing major reports with instructor feedback. Outcomes: By completing this assignment you will be able to:  Compose effective business reports that are professionally written and scholarly researched  Identify, select and compile information using appropriate technology and information systems  Apply ethical standards of business communications Process: Your objective is to identify a workplace problem or issue, research the issue and make recommendations to address the issue. You are writing this report for a management team and your goal is to have this team say 'yes' to your recommendations. Consider the management team is a 'general business audience' who may not have detailed knowledge of the topic and issue. The workplace issue you choose may be from personal experience, trending workplace topics, or Canadian periodicals or websites. Follow the process outlined in the text (pages 405 - 410) on writing formal business reports.Your business report must be 6-8 pages long (single spaced, Times New Roman font, size 11). The report must include:  A title page (not included in the 6-8 page count)  A table of contents (1 page)  An executive summary (1 page)  Use of the "Introduction, Body and Conclusion" format (3-5 pages) (see pages 407 – 409 for elements included in each section)  Clear recommendations that address the issue  Bibliography (1 page)  Note: Your sources of information must be cited throughout the report. For information on how to cite sources, see the "Documentation Formats" section in the Style Guide that came with your text. Examples of a workplace issue from your personal experience include: - the impact of outsourcing a business function in your company - making your workplace more health and safety friendly - the benefits and costs of implementing a new program, system, process or service - improving environmental sustainability in the workplace - pros and cons of implementing a cost saving idea at your workplace - the impact of telecommuting in your workplace - the impact of diversity programs in your workplace Submit your Business Report to the assignments folder in Avenue to Learn. Good Acceptable Unacceptable Score Introduction The student covers all the required parts of the introduction as specified in the course text. The problem or purpose is succinct and clear The student covers many of the required parts of the introduction as specified in the course text. The problem or purpose is somewhat broad. The student covers many of the required parts of the introduction. The purpose or problem statement unclear or not specific The writer has not included a purpose or problem statement /2 Main Ideas The main ideas are arranged logically and are aligned with the problem or purpose. The main ideas flow smoothly from one to another and are clearly linked to each other. The reader can follow the line of reasoning. Reader gains important insights. The main ideas are arranged logically to support the problem or purpose. They are usually clearly linked to each other. For the most part, the reader can follow the line of reasoning. Reader gains some insights. In general, the main ideas are arranged logically, although occasionally ideas fail to make sense together. It is not clear to the reader that all main ideas presented will support the problem or purpose of the report. The reader is fairly clear about what writer intends. Reader gains a few insights Writing is not logically organized. Frequently, ideas do not to make sense. The reader cannot identify a line of reasoning and loses interest. The main ideas do not link to the problem or purpose. Reader is confused or may be misinformed. Gains no insights. /4 Interest The topic is original, significant, and contemporary; topic is captivating and engaging; It hooks the reader and sustains interest throughout. Topic is substantial enough to merit a report; topic is described clearly Topic is common and limits the scope of the document; it is focused and keeps the reader's attention. The topic is uninspired and dull. The reader believes the topic is insufficiently developed to maintain interest. /2 Format Student followed the requested format in every way as outlined in the assignment requirements: cover page, introduction, main ideas (3-5), and details and research you have which supports your thesis statement. Used the Not applicable Not applicable Student did not follow the requested format as outlined in the assignment requirements: cover page, introduction, main ideas (3-5), and details and research you have which supports your thesis statement. Did not use the Introduction/Body/Conclusion format. /2 Business Communications Business Report - Outline 15% of Final Grade Introduction/Body/Conclusi on format. Sentence structure, Grammar, Spelling, Writing Mechanics (punctuation, italics, capitalization, etc. The writing is free or almost free of errors. Sentences are well-phrased and varied in length and structure. They flow smoothly from one to another. There are occasional errors, but they don't represent a major distraction or obscure meaning. Sentences are well-phrased and there is some variety in length and structure. The flow from sentence to sentence is generally smooth The writing has many errors, and the reader is distracted by them. Some sentences are awkwardly constructed so that the reader is occasionally distracted. There are so many errors that meaning is obscured. The reader is confused and stops reading. Errors in sentence structure are frequent enough to be a major distraction to the reader. /2 Length Paper is the number of pages specified in the assignment. Not applicable Not applicable Paper has more or fewer pages than specified in the assignment. /1 Quality of References References are primarily peer-reviewed professional journals or other approved sources (e.g., government documents, agency manuals, ...). The reader is confident that the information and ideas can be trusted. References presented in either MLA or APA format Although most of the references are professionally legitimate, a few are questionable (e.g., trade books, internet sources, popular magazines, ...). The reader is uncertain of the reliability of some of the sources. References may be presented in either MLA or APA format Most of the references are from sources that are not peer- reviewed and have uncertain reliability. The reader doubts the accuracy of much of the material presented. References may be presented in either MLA or APA format There are virtually no sources that are professionally reliable. The reader seriously doubts the value of the material. References may be presented in either