Routine Report Assignment

Scenario:
Your company is the largest private employer in your metropolitan area, and the 43,500
employees in your workforce have a tremendous impact on local traffic. A group of city and
county transportation officials recently approached your CEO with a request to explore ways
to reduce this impact. The CEO, Ms. Suarez, has assigned you the task of analyzing the
workforce's transportation habits and attitudes as a first step towards identifying potential
solutions. She is willing to consider anything from subsidized bus passes to company-owned
shuttle buses to telecommuting, but the decision requires a thorough understanding of
employee transportation needs. Tables 1 – 4 summarize data you have collected in an
employee survey.

Table 1: Employee Carpool Habits

 Frequency of Use: Carpooling Portion of Workforce

 Every day, every week 10,138 (23%)
 Certain days, every week 4,361 (10%)
 Randomly 983 (2%)
 Never 28,018 (64%)

Table 2: Use of Public Transportation

 Frequency of Use: Public Transportation Portion of Workforce

 Every day, every week 23,556 (54%)
 Certain days, every week 2,029 (5%)
 Randomly 5,862 (13%)
 Never 12,053 (28%)

Table 3: Effect of Potential Improvements to Public Transportation

Which of the following would you encourage you to use public transportation more
frequently? (Check all that apply) Portion of Respondents

 Increased perceptions of safety 4,932 (28%)

 Improved cleanliness 852 (5%)
 Reduced commute times 7,285 (41%)
 Greater convenience: fewer transfers 3,278 (18%)
 Greater convenience: more stops 1,155 (6%)
 Lower (or subsidized) fares 5,634 (31%)
 Nothing could encourage me to take public transportation 8,294 (46%)

Note: This question was asked to those respondents who use public transportation randomly
or never, a subgroup that represents 17,915 employees or 41% of the workforce.

Table 4: Is Telecommuting An Option?

 Does the nature of your work make telecommuting a realistic option? Portion of
Workforce
  Yes, every day 3,460 (8%)
 Yes, several days a week 8,521 (20%)
 Yes, random days 12,918 (30%)
 No 18,601 (43%)

Task:
Write a recommendation memo report to your supervisor illustrating the data you have
collected and recommending two ways to solve this problem.

This is a short report; therefore, your report will not include a title page, a table of contents,
or appendices. The visualized data must be within the text (body) of the report; do not
place the data at the end of the report.

Organizational Guidelines:
Month Day, Year

To: Insert Instructor’s Name

From: Insert Your Name

Subject: Workforce Transportation Habits

Begin your report memo with a brief introductory statement outlining the background,
problem/opportunity/purpose, scope, and organization of the report.

In the body of your report, you are required to graph (illustrate) each set of data. Keep in
mind this portion of the report requires an appropriate heading, and each of the four charts
requires a reference statement, a caption, and if applicable, a legend. Do not place the data
in a bulleted/numbered list or in a table.

For example:

APPROPRIATE SECTION HEADING

Precede the graph with a reference statement explaining what the graph illustrates. For
example, Figure 1 illustrates the employees' carpool habits.

Figure 1: Employees' Carpool Habits

Create the graph. Refer to page 439-442 to determine which form of graph best illustrates
the data. Should you use a pie graph, a bar graph or a line graph? Once you have decided
which graph to use, review your text for format requirements. How large should the graph
be? Should the data be an ascending or descending order? Where should you place the
labels? Does the graph require a legend? Is the visual clear, complete, concise, connected,
and compelling (page 439-442)?

Note: If you are not familiar with how to create graphs using MSWord or importing them
from Excel and embedding them into MSWord, you should consult the Help function in
MSWord or you may also find it useful to review the following webpages:

 MSWord 03: Audio tutorial along with practice exercises

 MSWord 07: Description of how to use MSWord 07 and Excel 07 to create
graphs.

Immediately following the graph, explain the significance of the data. This is referred to as
the illustration's caption.

For example, As you can see from Figure 1,....

Next, offer two possible solutions to the problem. Each solution should be logically derived
from the data and each must be adequately explained. This section of the report also
requires an appropriate heading.

For example:

APPROPRIATE SECTION HEADING

Introduce this section of the report with a paragraph previewing your recommendations.

Solution 1: XXX
Explain your solution and why it is a logical option.

Solution 2: XXX
Explain your solution and why it is a logical option.

Close your report with a summary of the key points as they appeared in the report body. Do
not introduce new facts into your closing paragraph. End by inviting Ms. Suarez to contact
you to discuss the report's recommendations.

Evaluation Criteria
Outstanding: 180-200 points (90-100%)
The report demonstrates superior application of business communication concepts and
principles outlined in the readings and exercises. The assignment does not contain errors in
content, grammar, spelling, punctuation, format, and/or the visualization of the data. All
four of the data sets are illustrated properly.
Above Average: 160-179 points (80-89%)
The report demonstrates above average application of business communication concepts
and principles outlined in the readings and exercises. The assignment has a few minor
errors in content, grammar, spelling, punctuation, format, and/or the visualization of the
data. All four of the data sets are illustrated properly.

Satisfactory: 140-159 points (70-79%)

The report demonstrates satisfactory application of business communication concepts and
principles outlined in the readings and exercises. The assignment has a moderate number of
errors in content, grammar, spelling, punctuation, format, and/or visualization of the data.
Three of the data sets are illustrated properly.

Poor: 1-139 points (1-69%)

The report has an inconsistent application of business communication concepts and
principles outlined in the readings and exercises and/or has frequent and serious errors in
content, grammar spelling, punctuation, format, and/or the visualization of the data that
distorts the meaning. At least two sets of data are not illustrated properly.

Incomplete: 0 points (0%)

The memo was not submitted before the due date and/or was not completed according to
the published instructions.

Conduct that violates the University's Academic Honor Code will result in a failing
grade for the entire course. Please review the University's Honor Code and your
syllabus for additional details. If you have questions regarding the policy, please
speak with your instructor and/or your academic advisor. This policy will be
strictly enforced.