WRITE A BUSINESS REPORT

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WRITE A BUSINESS REPORT

Write a Business Report

Task

Journal Entry. The Journal function in Interact2 must be used. External journal sites are not permitted. If your country geo-blocks Interact2 website or your circumstance prevents you from accessing the Internet (eg. due to a disability or if you are in a correctional centre), please contact your lecturer immediately. If it is an office/organisation firewall preventing access, you must find an alternative Internet access point to complete this task.

Warning: Entering or editing data in this journal entry after 2359 hours on 10 May will result in deduction of marks.

Write a business report based on the following:

A group of ten hotel chains have decided to merge their business to combat market pressure for low priced hotel accommodation. The new chain called StayTogether has over a thousand hotels from all categories (backpacker, bed & breakfast homes to luxurious suites) around the world. It combats the sale of hotel rooms via popular web sites such as booking.com, hotels.com and so on which reduces their profits and waters down their corporate image. Bookings will be from a single web site only (with a complementary mobile app) and prices are fixed through the year with peak pricing during popular periods.

Senior management has finalised on the following decisions:

1. A customer loyalty scheme called StayTogether Loyalty will reward customers with airport transfers, car parking on site and free nights.
2. If a kitchen and standard restaurant is on site, buffet breakfast and dinner is included in the hotel room price. This is to add to the dollar value earned per guest. Exclusive restaurants on site will charge extra.
3. (intentionally left blank)
4. (intentionally left blank)

[Points 3 and 4 will be given to you by your lecturer 7 days before date due. This is to allow everyone to work in this timeframe and to prevent unauthorised assistance with your work.]

Write a business report outlining the above case, stating assumptions you make at the beginning of your report. Provide critique into the management decisions substantiating with reference to literature. In your report, make the difference between Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) issues and how it will affect customer choice, continued patronage, brand loyalty, etc. Suggest how to attract new customers (from competitors) and any other new business opportunities that may arise with such a set up (eg. technological services on site, personalised automated tour guide, etc.). All these should be substantiated with references.

Rationale

This task meets Learning Outcomes 5 & 6:
Students will :

be able to critique management processes and involvement in planning for Information Systems and Information Technology in an organisation;

be able to identify and co-relate emerging technology issues in management and provide a short balanced analysis report.

Marking criteria

Other Presentation Requirements:

1. Avoid using dot points, bulleted points, numbered points in your work. Lists do not display your
   understanding of the subject matter and may even appear disjointed to the reader/marker.
   2. Meet word limits in each question (allowance of +/- 5%). Table of contents are not required and
   the Reference list are not included in the word count.
   (Failure to follow all the above rules, eg. if you do not meet word limit for Q3 but meet for the others,
   this is considered as not meeting word limit for all: no partial mark allocated.)
   3. Use either UK spelling or USA spelling but do not mix both.
   4. All work presented should be carefully proofed, so that spelling and typographical errors are
   corrected.
   5. All language used should not be sexist.
   6. If acronyms and jargon are used, please explain them in the first instance, then use the
   abbreviated form in the rest of the report.
   7. Appendices are not to be used.
   8. Use of headings and sub-headings can be used for clarity.
   9. It is important to get the balance right between the citing of referenced material and your
   own interpretation and ideas. When using your own thoughts and ideas, you can signal the
   reader by using words and phrases such as `it can be argued that...", "it is evident that..." and
   "it seems as though..."
   10. Writing in the third person is expected in all pieces of work.
   11. Do not submit multiple copies (or versions) of your work. If you do, the marker will only
   pick the one with the lowest mark awarded. You have full editing rights, kindly remove all
   unnecessary material before date due.
   12. All date/time mentioned and used is in Australian Eastern Standard Time (or Australian
   Eastern Daylight Savings Time) or Sydney time.

 Business report format

 
Readers of business reports expect certain information to be in certain places. They do not expect to search for what they want and the harder you make it for them the more likely they are to toss your report to one side and ignore it. So what should you do?

1. Follow the generally accepted format for a business report: Title, Executive Summary, Introduction, Main Body, Conclusion and Reference List.

2. Organise your information within each section in a logical fashion with the reader in mind, usually putting things in order of priority - most important first.
   Report Title. This is simply up at the beginning of your report.
   Executive Summary. Give a clear and very concise account of the main points, main conclusion (and recommendation). Keep it very short (see word limit). Some people, especially senior managers, may not read anything else so write as if it were a stand-alone document. It isn`t but for some people it might as well be. Keep it brief and free from jargon so that anyone can understand it and get the main points. Write it last, but do not copy and paste from the report itself; that rarely works well.
   Introduction. This is the first part of the report proper. Use it to paint the background to `the problem` and to show the reader why the report is important to them. Then explain how the details that follow are arranged. Write it in plain English.
   Main Body. This is the heart of your report, the facts. It will probably have several sections or sub-sections each with its own subtitle. It is unique to your report and will describe what you discovered about `the problem`. These sections are most likely to be read by experts so you can use some appropriate jargon but explain it as you introduce it. Arrange the information logically, normally putting things in order of priority -- most important first. In fact, follow that advice in every section of your report. Do not write in dot points or numbered points as this will appear disjointed and look like notes taken in a meeting.
   Conclusion. Present the logical conclusions of your investigation of `the problem`. Bring it all together and maybe offer options for the way forward. Many people will read this section.
   Recommendations. What do you suggest should be done? Don`t be shy; you did the work so state your recommendations in order of priority.
   References. As your business report must be academically sound as well as making good business sense, it is essential that your report is supported by accurate in-text referencing and the inclusion of a reference list. Although some business reports in the workplace do not require full referencing (and some students may be used to this), it is a requirement in the academic environment. This is equitable for all students.