The character of an executive report must be determined from the characteristics called for by the persons concerned; Although the brevity and ease of reading are main considerations but the statements made should be complete, explicit, and supported with data and/or reasoning.
A generally useful outline of the report for executives runs as follows:
Letter of transmittal accompanying the report
- Title Page
- Table of contents
- Executive synopsis
- Introduction
- Methodology
- Findings
- Limitations
- Conclusions and recommendations
- Appendix
- Bibliography
Following information should be incorporated in these sections:
Letter of transmittal: The letter of transmittal indicated to whom the report is directed, the reasons for doing the work, and the official authorization for the research.
Title page: The title page should be simple. It should show the subject of the report, for whom it was prepared, and the dates of completion and submittal. Ordinarily, the title page appears first, but some report writers prefer to put the letter of transmittal first to show that they are submitting the report to the person named in the letter.
Table of Contents: If the report is lengthy, inclusion of a guide to its contents would be desirable. The table of contents is an outline of the order of appearance of the numerous divisions of the report, with page numbers. Also, if the report includes a number of tables, charts, figures etc., a separate table for each category would immediately follow the table of contents.
Executive Synopsis: To many executives, the synopsis is the heart of the report and cannot be underestimated. It enables an executive to grasp quickly the import of the research. The synopsis precedes detailed reasoning or evidence. It summarizes concisely all the essential parts of the report, which include all the major facts as well as major findings and conclusions.
Introduction: The introduction serves to orient the reader to the detailed discussion of the problem at hand. Usually included in this section are the reasons for doing the work, the scope of the work, the formulation of the problem(s) to be studied, the objectives to be achieved, and the hypothesis upon which the research is based. Historical background may be included in this section if it is relevant to an understanding of the problem. In most instances material from the research proposal may be utilized in the introductory section.
Methodology: A description of the procedures employed to achieve the objectives follows the introductory section. Here writer needs to convey to the executives are not deeply interested in research methodology, thus enabling the reader to understand “why “ a particular method was employed rather than another. The description should include a discussion of whether the design was exploratory, descriptive, conclusive, or experimental; the various sources of data canvassed and utilized; the sampling setup; the type of questionnaire used and the reason for its form; and the number and types of research workers used, such as interviewers, supervisors, and staff.
Findings: If the problem is to be solved, the data gathered must be examined as they relate to the objective of the study. Usually, such data are voluminous in their raw form. If they are to be interpreted, they must first be organized such that their meaning can be conveyed to the reader. This task is achieved through the use of the various analytical and statistical techniques. The presentation of the findings is accompanied by a number of devices. Tables, charts, and graphs are frequently used to explain with sufficient clarity to aid the reader to understand their meaning.
Limitations: Problems may arise during the research that are of sufficient importance to warrant discussion in a separate section of the report. The researcher should state such limitations to provide the reader with insight into special condition pertaining to the work. An illustrative list of limitations might include a time constraint for completing the work, the degree the results can be generalized to a larger population, the potential effects of non-response error, or the potential effect of substituting a sampling unit in the field because of not-at-home elements.
Conclusions and Recommendations: The conclusions are drawn by inference, either inductive or deductive, from the findings. The conclusions verify or deny the premises or hypotheses upon which the investigation has been conducted. Conclusions should follow logically from the findings.
The recommendations concerning the action to be taken follow the conclusions. Where recommendations involve policy decisions; some researchers leave recommendations to those at the policymaking level of management. Making recommendations depends not only on the nature of the decision to be made, but also on the researcher’s knowledge of the total situation of the problem.
Appendix: The appendix provides materials supplementary to those given in the body of the report. Generally, the appendix material contains detailed and/or expanded information, such as detailed computations from which the tables in the reports are generated, a copy of the questionnaire used in gathering the data, interviewer instructions, detailed tables etc.
Bibliography If pertinent, the bibliography is usually the final section of the report presentation. It contains detailed information on references or sources materials found in various forms of communications, such as proceedings of conferences, books, pamphlets, and periodicals.
