Recommendation report definition

Chapter 13

Recommendation Reports

Goals

· Determine how a recommendation report is used and adjust the structure to accommodate the reader

· Devise criteria for evaluation after determining the problem and possible solutions

· Organize a recommendation report using the appropriate format

· Compose a recommendation report by evaluating criteria and drawing conclusions using a point-by-point analysis

Terms

· appendixes, p. 317

· criteria, p. 308

· persuasive writing, p. 309

· point-by-point organization, p. 316

· rank, p. 318

· receptive audience, p. 309

· recommendation report, p. 308

· solicited, p. 308

· standard, p. 318

· subcriteria, p. 312

· unreceptive audience, p. 309

· unsolicited, p. 308

WRITE TO LEARN

Think of the last time you had to choose between two things. Maybe you had to decide between two classes or two restaurants. In a one-page journal entry, describe the process you used to make your decision, including your comparisons and evaluations.

Focus on Recommendation Reports

Read the sample recommendation report on pages 303–306 and answer these questions:

· What two items are being compared?

· On what factors (also known as criteria) is the recommendation based?

· Why is this report presented in memo format?

What If?

· The writers were not concerned about the environment?

· The audience (decision maker) was opposed to the idea of purchasing a car for courier service?

Sample Recommendation Report

Writing@Work

Courtesy of Anne Nickel

Anne Nickel is a brand engagement consultant in London, England, for a global brand-building company called The Brand Union. Her job requires a combination of marketing and management skills. She advises clients about what they need to change inside their organization to fit and promote their brand.

In her role, Anne writes recommendation reports to help clients learn how to strategically adjust their marketing campaigns, business practices, communication methods, and reward policies. According to Anne, these reports combine information gathered through other kinds of writing. “In order to write a recommendation report, one also has to write interview questions, interview notes, an implementation plan, and briefs for the design team that tell them what to produce for the client. So it requires a diverse writing skill set.”

She believes that persuasive documents like these need to do many things at once in order to have the desired effect on their audience. “Recommendation reports require both rational and emotional persuasion. Case studies and statistics can be used as evidence for rational persuasion. Visuals, like graphics and video, help emotional persuasion by bringing life to ideas beyond the words used to enunciate them.”

Anne emphasizes that brilliant evidence and graphics will not do anything for your report if you fail to address the correct audience. “It is important to direct your recommendation to a person who will be open to your ideas and support them. Sometimes this person is the top decision maker and in control of the budget, but other times it is someone who has the connections or authority to be a cheerleader for your ideas and pitch them to the powers that be.”

Think Critically

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,