Business Communication – Company Performance Report
This assignment asks you to work in a small team to prepare a report that analyzes the performance of a company and identifies a strategic issue that needs to be addressed. The report itself matters, but the process of working effectively in a team is nearly as important as the product of the final report. You should proceed in the following steps:
First, work with your classmates to form a group of 2-3 people and set group expectations. These expectations should be written down and shared with all group members.
As part of this step, you should form a work plan in which you assign outcomes, tasks, and/or roles.
Develop your research objectives and research plan—what company will you research? What are your overarching questions? What resources will you use to conduct this research? If you have taken or are taking BUS 2000, you may choose the same company that you are shadowing. However, be careful to make sure you are not submitting any of the same work or writing for this assignment. You can use the same research and knowledge, but be careful not to self-plagiarize.
Choose a platform for writing/co-writing (google docs, one drive, Dropbox, etc) and a platform for communication (Slack, Discord, Google Chat, or another proposed communication channel—text and email are highly discouraged)
Second, carry out the research and report back on what you have found. This process may (and ideally should) take several steps/iterations. Make sure all relevant group members are involved in conducting the research, sharing the results, and brainstorming the report.
As you are researching and developing the report, you will complete the Project Update Assignment. Please read all of those details on the project update assignment overview.
Third, draft the report. It might take several different forms, but there should be common elements across all reports. DO NOT copy the formatting and sections from BUS 2000, as this is a different kind of report.
A brief introduction that clearly states the central issue and provides a sense of the organization pattern.
One clear definition and discussion of a strategic issue for the company that is supported with adequate evidence.
A brief conclusion that reiterates the central issue and concisely summarizes the report.
Two graphics, out of the 4-6 created by the work group (not pre-existing) using either Excel or Tableau, properly integrated into the report. Each member will create two separate graphics, and the group will choose 2 from among them. You will also submit your individual graphics for a different assignment.
A works cited page for all sources cited in the report.
Finally, ensure that everyone has access to the final draft, conduct final editing, and submit to Blackboard.
Purpose:
The assignment is designed to help you practice three important skills at once. First, it requires you to work in a small team of 2-3 people. As we have learned from our reading, working in teams is an inevitable part of professional life, and we want to be careful about how to manage conflict, set norms, and provide accountability. As part of that team, you will practice collaborative authorship of a single document, which is a very common outcome of professional teams. Second, it hones our skills of evidence-based argumentation, concision, and summary by asking you to identify an issue, prove that the issue needs to be addressed, and keep that argument within a set space. Third, you’ll learn how to navigate interpersonal tension and manage work on a timeline. Finally, it asks you to create visual representations of data in support of your report. All of these skills are important in the workplace and are the main reason for this assignment.
The task links to the following course-level learning objectives:
Produce clear, concise, and persuasive professional communication of various types.
Produce evidence-based and argumentatively sound professional communication of various types.
Use various forms of technology to enhance the effectiveness of the communication they produce
Evaluation:
The report will be evaluated using the attached rubric. Evidence-driven communication is the key focus this week, so while the formatting and mechanics of the report obviously still matter, evaluation will be most focused on how well the report substantiates its central argument. Successful reports will tend to clearly identify the issue and provide substantial evidence to prove that this issue needs to be addressed with some urgency. That evidence will be integrated effectively and cited properly. Reports that are particularly short, lack high-quality evidence, or fail to connect the evidence to the claim (remember that evidence never “speaks for itself”) will tend to struggle.