Sections of a report Explanation Title Page Title of the report Student name and number Tutor’s name Submission date Name and number of course Table of Contents Provides the reader with an easy guide to where the information is located in the report. Lists: • Sections, sub-sections of the report and corresponding page number • Diagrams and appendices Format of headings and sub-headings: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY …………………………………….. i. 1.0 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………1 2.0 COMPOSITION OF E-WASTE…………………………1 3.0 THE GLOBAL STATE OF E-WASTE………………. 2 3.1 Australia ……………………………………………….2 3.2 Worldwide………………………………………………3 List of tables and figures: When there are six or more figures (a figure is any table, chart, photograph, drawing, diagram, illustration or other non-text depiction), these are often listed on a separate page with their corresponding page numbers in the text. If only a few exist, then they are included in the table of contents page. Executive Summary 350-400 words ( not counted as part of word length) Provides a short and comprehensive summary of the whole report including the findings and any recommendations.Must provide the reader with enough detail to have a clear understanding of the main facts. Although it appears at the beginning of the report, this section should be written after the report has been finalised. For the GVT report, in approximately 300-400 words, you will need to: • Provide a definition of a GVT and identify the three major characteristics of a GVT • Focus on cultural diversity. Explain what you mean by ‘ cultural diversity’ and the forms it can take • Discuss 3? 4? important issues / problems associated with cultural diversity in GVTs. Mention the negative effects these issues cause. Outline some useful strategies to deal with these problems 1. Introduction 100-150 words Provides a brief, accurate background for the main section of the report. Introductions typically include: • Background • Purpose of the report • Scope (issues covered/not covered). • This information can be presented under the subheadings (background, purpose, scope) or incorporated in one paragraph. In a longer report and summary, you might discuss the limitations of your report but limitations are not necessary for this report. For the GVT cultural diversity report: Background information may relate to why managing cultural diversityis important for the organization Purpose will outline why the report is being undertaken ie what does the researcher want to find out Scope is a reflection of the main headings in the report ie what the report will cover. Main Body Headings and subheadings must be numbered 2. Definition 30-40 words GVTs are defined as “…………………………………” (Smith, 2010, p.10). According to Smith (2010), a GVT is …………………………….. Every article you have looked at will have provided a definition. Make sure that you reference it accurately. Family name, year of publication and page number are required for a direct quote. You should provide at least ONE direct quote of a definition from a text. Characteristics 40-50 words This will be numbered 3 and so on through to Conclusion From the definition you will be able to select characteristics to discuss. There are usually THREE characteristics that distinguish a GVT from a F2F team For example, GVTS rely heavily on technology and are culturally diverse. Problems arising from cultural diversity 850-900 words Based on the literature, what are the problems caused for the team by cultural diversity? What are they caused by? Consider discussing 3 or 4 only so you can provide depth of analysis: Explain how cultural diversity causes problems and use examples of problems from readings i.e.evidence from different sources / readings to support your argument. Your approach is - what is the problem? - why is it a problem? - who says it is a problem? Management Strategies 850-900 words In this section you must provide strategies to reduce the specific cultural diversity problems you have highlighted. So, if you have discussed that cultural diversity generates communication problems because of differing communication styles , you will have to outline the strategies that can be put in place to overcome those communication problems communication problems. The solutions must ‘match’ the problems. - what is the solution to problem x? - why is it a solution to problem x? - who says it is a solution to problem x?- Conclusion 80-100 words Summarise the main points and comment on the significance of the findings. Outline what has been learned from the research and what the implications are. Do not introduce new ideas /theories/ issues in the conclusion. Reference List not included as part of word length THIS SECTION IS NOT NUMBERED. All the references used in your report must be documented fully in the reference list using the APA system. Refer to the UQ APA guide in the Citation Resource folder. A sample is shown below. References (not numbered) Daim, T. U., Ha, A., Reutiman, S., Hughes, B., Pathak, U., Bynum, W., & Bhatla, A. (2012). Exploring the communication breakdown in global virtual teams. International Journal of Project Management, 30, 199–212. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2011.06.004 Nunamaker, J., Reining, B., & Briggs, R. (2009). Principles for effective virtual teamwork. Communications of the ACM, 52(4), 113-117. doi: 10.1145/1498765.1498797 Pinjani, P., & Palvia, P. (2013). Trust and knowledge sharing in diverse global virtual teams. Information and Management, 50, 144-153. doi:10.1016/j.im2012.10.002 Please note: • The heading ‘References’ needs to be centred (but do not use ‘….’; do not underline.) • Each entry is listed alphabetically by author’s family name • Entries are double spaced but there is no EXTRAgap between the entries • Hanging indent for second and subsequent lines of each entry • For resources accessed electronically, a doi (digital object identifier) required or a url (uniform resource locator) to be provided as Retrieved from http:/……. Examples of the language used in the different sections of a report Reasons for the report Objectives Findings Conclusions Recommendations (You are not required to provide a recommendations section for this report) The report was commissioned as a result of ongoing concerns about… The report set out to examine the reasons for…. The report investigated…. This report aims to explore the options available… The main objectives of the report are to examine the reasons… This report examines the relationship between… The aim of this report is to analyse the importance of … The purpose of this report is to… The investigations clearly showed that… Initial findings suggest that… The results of this study show that… The results of this research indicate that … The purpose of the report was to… The following conclusion can be drawn from the investigation… It is recommended that… As a result of …, it is suggested that the following actions be considered. Firstly,………