Drawing a genogram on microsoft word

1. Think of a brand that you use regularly. Why do you continue to choose it over other brands? Is it style, prestige, price, value, habit, loyalty, convenience, or something else? How much of your choice is rational (that is, based on the actual qualities of the product)?

2. What recommendations do you have for the brand? Think about ways the manufacturer could sell more of the product, add features that consumers like you would pay more for, reduce its environmental impact, and so on.

Printed with permission of Anne Nickel

Warm Up

Look at the sample recommendation report that introduces this chapter. Where is the actual recommendation made? Is this a logical place for the recommendation? Why or why not?

WHAT IS A RECOMMENDATION REPORT?

The recommendation report is a problem-and-solution report, a written answer to a need that arises in the workplace. Most problems, however, have more than one solution. The recommendation report suggests the best solution to a problem or need. It helps readers make a choice. Employees write recommendation reports to help decision makers choose the best solution. Recommendation reports help people solve large and small problems, from constructing a building to selecting a new computer.

Sometimes the recommendation is the purchase of equipment. In the sample at the beginning of the chapter, Lorraine Nevelle and Rodrigo Reyes examine two vehicles and recommend the 2011 Dynasty Freedom Hybrid for Interstate Development’s courier service. Throughout this chapter, you will look more closely at some of the decisions Lorraine and Rodrigo made while writing their report.

Sometimes a recommendation report proposes a course of action. For example, Hennepin Logging has decided to expand and has narrowed the location of its new plant to three towns in Virginia. The report compares and contrasts the three sites against the criteria —factors on which a decision is based—the company thinks are important and recommends a location. You will see how the writer gathers data and plans the report.

TYPICAL READER

Someone who must make a choice between several options; a decision maker who is seeking accurate, specific information focused on prioritized factors for each option.

WRITER’S FOCUS

Meeting the reader’s needs by addressing the reader’s prioritized factors for each option in a clear, detailed, accurate manner and by organizing the information logically and presenting it in the standard organizational plan for recommendation reports.

The last time you bought school supplies, you chose from among several alternatives. Knowing that you needed a three-ring binder, you probably examined several different three-ring notebooks. The choice you made depended on factors you considered important and may have included cost, special features such as clipboards or zippered pencil pouches, durability, and color. Companies go through the same thinking process when they make choices.

Decision makers who have the power to implement your recommendations read recommendation reports. Sometimes one person reads the report, and a committee or board often votes on recommendations. The report is usually written to a supervisor, but sometimes recommendations are made to coworkers.

The report can be solicited (asked for) or unsolicited (not asked for). In solicited reports, your reader asks you to analyze several alternatives. This reader understands the need and will be more receptive to your suggestions.

In an unsolicited report, your audience is not expecting your recommendations. You may have difficulty gauging this reader’s reaction. Your reader may be receptive and appreciate your initiative in helping to make decisions. On the other hand, your audience may be unwilling to accept your recommendations for a variety of reasons. For example, Kamelia, a production supervisor at a large wholesale nursery, was asked by her manager to help select the walkie-talkies to be issued to all employees. Because Kamelia’s supervisor was already committed to purchasing the walkie-talkies, he was receptive to her recommendation.

Communication Dilemma

Blaine Schroeder is an accountant for Gildstein’s Business Managers. He has the difficult job of recommending to his supervisor which construction company should construct a small office building: Wilmore Construction Company Inc. or Galloway Builders. Wilmore is a larger company and has a better reputation for finishing tasks on schedule.

Bids from both companies fall within Gildstein’s budget, but the office building must be completed in time for holiday sales. Galloway Builders is owned by Schroeder’s brother-in-law, Ethan Galloway. The Galloways have a child with a serious medical condition and really need the money they would earn from this contract. Schroeder’s wife wants him to recommend her brother’s company for the job. She claims that families should look out for one another.