A study on difficulties in writing reports in sales department of tien vinh trading investment limited liability company

This thesis presents and assesses the difficulties in writing reports in SalesDepartment of Tien Vinh Trading Investment Limited Liability Company to helpthem have a general understandin

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY

In this paper, I describe my interaction as an English practitioner with my

supervisor Vu Thi Thanh Hoa M.A who had many valuable experiences in English

Faculty This thesis presents and assesses the difficulties in writing reports in SalesDepartment of Tien Vinh Trading Investment Limited Liability Company to helpthem have a general understanding of business reports and identify the commonproblems while writing a business report

Experimental and quantitative approaches are employed in this study withmultivariate statistical analysis steps and my valuable experiences within internship.From the results of the analysis, it can be included that business reports play a vitalpart in international business and the difficulties as well as errors of writing abusiness report are completely easily resolved

In addition, the research results also show some suggestions for improvingEnglish business reports writing skills as well as indicate the limitations of theresearch

Key words: Report, Business Reports, Writing a Business Report, Structure

of a business report

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY

-GRADUATION PAPER

A STUDY ON DIFFICULTIES IN WRITING REPORTS IN SALES

DEPARTMENT OF TIEN VINH TRADING INVESTMENT LIMITED

A completed study would not be done without any assistance Therefore, Igratefully give acknowledgement to their support and motivation during the time ofdoing this research as a requirement of completing my Degree of English Business

First of all, I am very grateful to Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen M.A, the Dean of

English Faculty and all of my beloved teachers whose helpful lectures on the field

of valuable knowledge have enlightened the arguments in this study

In particular, I would like to express my endless thanks and gratefulness to my

supervisor Vu Thi Thanh Hoa, M.A Her kindly support and continuous advices

went through the process of completion of my thesis Her encouragement andcomments had significantly enriched and improved my work Without hermotivation and instructions, the thesis would have been impossible to be doneeffectively

My thesis has been done by contribution of all relevant staff So far, I would like tothanks to groups who took charge in the process of data collection and data entry fordoing this research as a part of the project I also acknowledge my thankfulness toall respondents at Sales Department of Tien Vinh Trading Investment LimitedLiability Company where data would be collected for their valuable time, kindassistances and support in participating in the surveys

Besides, I take this opportunity to express my indebtedness to my parents for theirendless love, care and have most assistances and motivation me for the whole of mylife

Finally, I wish to thank my readers for their interest and comments on this study

Ha Noi, April 22nd 2018

Student Tran Thi Kieu

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES v

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Overview of previous studies 2

1.3 Aims of the study 3

2 Research Subject 3

3 Scope of the study 3

4 Research methodology 4

5 Organization of the thesis 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Definition of a business report 6

2.1 Classification of a business report 7

2.3 Role of a business report 10

2.4 Features of a business report 12

2.5 Structure of a business report 13

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH FINDINGS 19

3.1 Linguistic challenges 19

3.2 Writing Style 26

CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 28

4.1 Suggestion on improving vocabulary 28

4.2 Suggestion on improving grammar structures 29

4.3 Suggestion on improving writing skills 30

CONCLUSION 32

REFERENCES 33

iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1 CO.,LTD Limited Liability Company

iv

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1 Parts of speech errors

Figure 3.3.1 Grammar errors in writing business reports

v

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale

Language is our primary source of communication It's the method throughwhich people share our ideas and thoughts with others Some people even say thatlanguage is what separates us from animals and makes us human There arethousands of languages in whole world Each country has its own nationallanguages in addition to a variety of local languages spoken and understood by allpeople in different regions Some languages are spoken by billions of people,including English

Nowadays, with the development of the international relationship amongcountries, English is the most widely used language in the world of trade andcommerce, becomes one tool that opens windows to the world, unlocks doors toopportunities, and expands our minds to new ideas As a result, having an excellentknowledge of English for business is getting necessary for success in anyemployee’s career

As a senior of Thuongmai University, under the recommendation of theEnglish Faculty, I had a great opportunity to experience as a trainee position at theoffice of the Tien Vinh Company After nearly two months working here (fromJanuary 6th to March 5th 2018), with the help and guidance of dedicated teamleaders and staff, I have opportunities to apply the knowledge that I learned inpractice, and learn the basic information to complete my internship report

As far as I am concerned, writing business report is a very essential task in

Sales Department Writing an effective business report is a necessary skill forcommunicating ideas in the business environment A report that details the last typecould highlight a problem and suggest a solution which might involve analysing abusiness’s history, operations, problems, competition and goals, followed by anumber of possible solutions (including their advantages and disadvantages).However, this skill of staff at Sales Departments is not really good enough which

makes the work time-wasting, decreases their work productivity and other badresults Therefore, the topic “A study on difficulties in writing reports in SalesDepartment of Tien Vinh Trading Investment Limited Liability Company” isfeasible and useful for staff at this department Furthermore, it is a strong hope thatthe study will be a useful reference helping improve writing skill for not only allstaff at the company but also all students who feel interested in the job related tocommercial documents

1.2 Overview of previous studies

As my research, in the world generally and in Vietnam particularly, there are afew the studies of how to write a good business report and reviewing some itscommon errors However, the studies mention to difficulties often dealt with whilewriting reports are limited While making this thesis, I have consulted it, selectedsome good ideas from the following studies:

The handbook “How to write a business report” (by Orauariki, April 2017,

Victoria Business School, p.4-p.9) brings all readers great knowledge about a goodreport and its characteristics In this book, the author deeply mentions purpose,structure of a report, emphasize the way to make a report clear, coherent and easy tounderstand for the readers

The study: “Business writing skill” (By students of Charle Sturt University,

2008) reviews particular style and standard of some common correspondence typesuch as email, report, memos; mentions requirements and skills necessary forformal business writing Besides, the authors also instruct the readers how to makeeach of this type and give them quick writing tips in order to create a professionaldocument

These two studies are much valuable reference for me to do this study

1.3 Aims of the study

The minor purpose of study focuses on helping Sales Department’s staff ofTien Vinh Trading Investment CO.,LTD to have a general understanding ofbusiness reports The major aim is identifying the common problems while writingreports, their possible causes of making these errors and suggested solutions.Therefore, in this thesis, I would like to focus on:

Finding out the outstanding problems dealt by all staff of Sales Department atTien Vinh company

Interpreting possible causes as well as effective solutions for these frequently made errors

-2 Research Subject

The subject of this thesis is main difficulties in writing business report of SaleDepartment’s staff at Tien Vinh Trading Investment CO.,LTD which has mainlyimported a various series of industrial and pure chemicals from America, Singapore,Philippin, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan

3 Scope of the study

Making reports is an indispensable part of doing business as well as businesscorrespondence Moreover, because of limited time and knowledge, the study onlyconcentrates on finding out the most common problems made by all staff of SalesDepartment at Tien Vinh company when they write daily, monthly or annualbusiness report This study is carried out within my internship (lasting from January

6th to March 5th this year) Then, I hope to be able to identify biggest problems of

writing reports and help these employees draw effective solutions to increase their

work productivity

4 Research methodology

Doing this study, I use experimental and quantitative research methodology Inorder to attain the primary aims, I have consulted several ideas from my supervisor,manager and some colleagues All the theories have been carefully selected andgathered through reference books and documents in the Internet as well

In addition, the survey was conducted for all staff of Sales Department abouttheir assignments, evaluations about their matters and the difficulties that they have

to cope with when writing business reports

Direct interview: Three employees who achieve the best results at thisdepartment are directly interviewed to explore their recognition, attitudes,evaluations of the matter and the difficulties

5 Organization of the thesis

Besides introduction, table of contents, list of abbreviations, list of tables andcharts, the main content of the study is divided into three chapters below:

Chapter 1 : “Overview of the study” shows the reasons to choose the study, the

aims, scope, methods and design of the study

Chapter 2 : “Literature reviews” aims to answer all general questions related to

business report writing as well as theoretical background of difficulties in writingbusiness report

Chapter 3 : “Findings” This chapter refers to the analysis and the findings

obtained from survey questionnaire and direct interviews made to staff of SalesDepartment at Tien Vinh Trading Investment CO.,LTD This results examine thereal situation of writing reports at the company

Chapter 4 : “Recommendations and suggestions” The research proposed

solutions to enhance reports writing skills of Sales Department’s staff at Tien Vinh

Trading Investment CO.,LTD” deals with techniques and lesions that can beapplicable to improve business writing report skills of all staff at the company.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter only contains explanation about the concept of related theoriesused in this research which include: report, business reports, grammar, grammaticalerror, report text, characteristics of English business report, etc

2.1 Definition of a business report

A report is an impersonal presentation of facts A report is a document that

presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose.Report is very much important in the field of business, trade and commerce

"Reports can fulfill four differences, and sometimes related functions They can beused as controls to ensure that all departments are functioning properly, to giveinformation, to provide an analysis, and to persuade others to act." (H Dan O'Hair,James S O'Rourke, and Mary John O'Hair, Business Communication: AFramework for Success South-Western College Publishing, 2001)

A business report may be defined as an organized statement of facts or events

or any situation relating to business or commercial interests prepared after aninvestigation and presented to the interested persons with or withoutrecommendations It facilitates the evaluation of progress and decision makingprocess for business purpose A business report is usually a type of upwardcommunication in which communication process starts from lower level to upperlevel i.e An employee makes a report and submits to related upper person to makeusage of it

Different famous authors have defined business report in the following way:

Lesikar and Petit defined as "A business report is an orderly, objective

communication of factual information that serves some business purposes."

Bettly and Kay stated as "A business report is a written message presenting

information that will help a decision maker to solve a business problem."

Louise E Boone quoted as "A business report is a document organizes

information on a specific topic for a specific business purpose."

Kuiper and Clippinger defined business reports as "organized, objective

presentations of observations, experiences, or facts used in the decision-makingprocess"

(Contemporary Business Reports, 2013).

From the above opinion, it can be said that a business report is the systematic

presentation of output arising from investigation related to business or commercialaffairs with a clear intention to make decisions to solve various business problems

2.1 Classification of a business report

As mentioned, report is a one kind of tool for communication It is consideredreport as upward communication tool Reports come in all sizes and the type ofreport depends on its function The function of the report is its essential purpose,often indicated in the thesis or purpose statement The function will also influencethe types of visual content or visual aids, representing words, numbers, and theirrelationships to the central purpose in graphic, representational ways that are easyfor the reader to understand The function may also contribute to parameters likereport length (page or word count) or word choice and readability “Focusing on thecontent of your longer business documents is not only natural but necessary becausedoing so helps ensure complete, correct information” (Bovee, C., and Thill, J.,2010)

Reports vary by function, and they also vary by style and tradition Withinyour organization, there may be employer-specific expectations that need to beaddressed to meet audience expectations A good report writer keeps deepknowledge on the part of his arena A business or commercial person should alsokeep the knowledge on various types of reports

As a whole, all types of reports have been discussed on the following way:

On the basis of mode of presentation:

Oral report

When report on a matter presented verbally or through oral media then it isknown as oral report In this case, after investigating the matter the investigatorexpress his/her findings verbally to the top management It is simple and easy topresent, because there is no problem of writing Such report can be designed at anytime and can easily raise confusion because there is no written evidence at all Suchreport is not used so commonly because of its less benefit

On the basis of degree of formality:

Business reports can be prepared either by following specific formats andformalities or it can be drafted informally without maintaining much formalities.Thus, on the basis of degree of formality business reports can be of two types:Formal and informal:

Formal

Formal reports are usually detailed It examines a complex problem in depthand provides recommendations Formal reports are prepared accounting to specificformats This type of report again can be divided in two categories:

Informational: This type of report presents information on particular topic butdoes not provide any explanation and recommendations

Analytical: Analytical reports not only present and analyze data but alsointerpret the data and make recommendation Usually critical problems are analyzedthrough analytical repots

Informal

These types of reports are prepared to assists routine managerial functions.These reports are usually written by subordinates Informal reports are short inlength and written in letter or memo, format These reports are less planned

On the basis of length:

In the professional world, decision makers rely on two broad types of report:Some reports focus primarily on information ('what we're doing now,' 'what we didlast month,' 'what our customer survey found,' 'what went on at the departmentmeeting') But beyond merely providing information, many reports also includeanalysis ('what this information means for us,' 'what courses of action should beconsidered,' 'what we recommend, and why')

For every long (formal) report, countless short (informal) reports lead toinformed decisions on matters as diverse as the most comfortable office chairs tobuy or the best recruit to hire for management training Unlike long reports, mostshort reports require no extended planning, are quickly prepared, contain little or nobackground information, and have no front or end matter (title page, table ofcontents, glossary, etc.) But despite their conciseness, short reports do provide theinformation and analysis that readers need

(John M Lannon, Technical Communication Pearson, 2006)

Based on length of report, there are two types: Short report and long report

Short report

Interim progress reports, personal activity repot, etc are examples of shortreport Length of these reports can be on page or several pages Routine reports areshot in length Less time is allotted for the preparation of this type of report

Long report

Length of long report may be more than hundred pages depending on thenature and importance of the matter In depth analysis is made to prepare a longreport It is time consuming and formal in nature

2.3 Role of a business report

A business report is an important document which reveals specific informationabout a business It is written to attract investors to the organization Additionally,the purpose of a business report is to keep the employees abreast of the company’sgoals and achievements

Provide the overview about the enterprise

A corporation has to produce an annual report each year as part of its legalfiduciary obligations to its stockholders and the government agencies that overseecorporate businesses Through this process, large companies have come to learnabout the many benefits they can reap from producing an annual report You can tapinto those same resources if you create a summary and overview of your previousyear in business The annual report usually is a glossy report with pictures andcontact information that doubles nicely as a marketing package It is useful whenmaking introductions to new clients or trying to build name recognition in yourcommunity An annual report is an effective tool for providing employees, investorsand clients with a complete picture of you and your business

Report aligned with KPIs

The reporting objectives should align with the overall strategy of anorganization The key performance indicators or the KPI’s should be borne in mindduring the reporting activities Accurate reports can provide decision support andcan help in corporate strategies It has been seen in the past that reporting activitieswhich are in line with KPI’s play an integral role in helping an organization attainits objectives

Highlight the standing of a business

At times, business reports are written to highlight a specific problem whichhas been existing in the company The reports are presented with effective solutionswhich help solve the problem One good example is when a company wants todownsize and which in turn can affect the employees A business report in this casewill state the standing of the business and why it is aiming at down-sizing It willsuggest strategies which can be adopted so that the employees are not affected withthe down-sizing

Help use right marketing strategy

A business report plays a vital role when companies have to set up marketingstrategies When a company tries to target a specific section of consumers andwants to enter a new market, it can consider handing over the business report to anadvertising agency The business report will help the advertising agency to come upwith an effective and successful marketing strategy

Help making business decisions easily

Not only does an annual report help employees, investors and clients to get thecomplete picture of your business, but can help considerably in decision making Ahigh quality and accurate report can help a company to keep track of the revenuesand expenses which are crucial not only in improving the operations but for settingnew goals as well While reading the annual report you can easily find the bottle-necks and devise strategies to eliminate them

2.4 Features of a business report

In the book “Contemporary Business Reports”, to evaluate How is an effectivereport”, Shirley Kuiper and Dorinda Clippinger said that: "Effective reports areunderstood by the reader as the writer intended, and they influence the reader to act

as the writer desired The writer's objectives are most likely to be achieved if theycorrespond with the needs and objectives of the reader An effective report isempathetic, accurate, complete, concise, and clear Above all, an effective reportpresents information ethically."

Complete and Compact Document

Report is a complete and compact written document giving updatedinformation about a specific problem Reports need to be complete in what they aretrying to convey The best way to ensure complete report writing is to make sureyou cover all of your objectives

Systematic Presentation of Facts

Report is a systematic presentation of facts, figures, conclusions andrecommendations Report writers closely study the problem under investigation andprepare a report after analyzing all relevant information regarding the problem.Report is supported by facts and evidence There is no scope for imagination in areport which is basically a factual document

Prepared in Writing Reports are usually in writing

Writing reports are useful for reference purpose It serves as complete,compact and self-explanatory document over a long period Oral reporting ispossible in the case of secret and confidential matters

Provides Information and Guidance

Report is a valuable document which gives information and guidance to themanagement while framing future policies It facilitates planning and decisionmaking Reports are also useful for solving problems faced by a business enterprise.

Self-explanatory Document

Report is a comprehensive document and covers all aspects of the subjectmatter of study It is a self-explanatory and complete document by itself

As a Tool of Internal Communication

Report is an effective tool of communication between top executives andsubordinate staff working in an organization It provides feedback to employees and

to executives for decision making Reports are generally submitted to higherauthorities It is an example of upward communication Similarly, reports are alsosent by company executives to the lower levels of management This is treated asdownward communication In addition, reports are also sent to shareholders andothers connected with the company It may be pointed out that report writing /preparation acts as a backbone of any system of communication

Acts as Permanent Record

A report serves as a permanent record relating to certain business matter It isuseful for future reference and guidance

Time Consuming and Costly Activity

Report writing is a time consuming, lengthy and costly activity as it involvescollection of facts, drawing conclusion and making recommendations

2.5 Structure of a business report

A key feature of reports is that they are formally structured in sections Theuse of sections makes it easy for the reader to jump straight to the information theyneed Unlike an essay which is written in a single narrative style from start to finish,each section of a report has its own purpose and will need to be written in an