Business writing

Here is an example of a short report and executive summary I created during my time at the University of Calgary. The excerpt includes a brief description of the intended audience and purpose. Part of the assignment was to create an imaginary audience and purpose that would necessitate writing a ten page report. For my focus, I decided to use an environmental narrative, with emphasis on research, and a sales tone.

Taking a course focused on writing in the workplace helped to reinforce the importance of writing with concrete and direct language. Learning to effectively and efficiently communicate—whether for a sales letter, a proposal, a memo, or even an intercompany email—while understanding the needs of the audience, were skills I was furtunate to develop.

Below are excerpts from the short report and executive summary I drafted during this course.

Short report

Hertzog, Peterson & Associates is an American firm that owns and oversees several offices in metropolitan cities. They are a multisector organization, with a portfolio that includes some production contracts and some service contracts.

The executive board has decided to implement company-wide environmental changes, in the form of an environmental management system (EMS). The reasoning behind this change is primarily business-oriented, though an altruistic and environmental responsibility is present in the core values of the company.

The company has organized a subcommittee to perform research into EMS options, and then to draft a proposal with conclusions and recommendations. The executive board is expecting to receive this short report

The purpose of this short report is threefold:

  1. To provide research into the importance of an EMS, specifically paying attention to business outcomes.
  2. To provide background and history of the proposed option, ISO 14000.
  3. To provide conclusions and recommendations for the adoption (or not) of ISO 14000 for the firm Hertzog, Peterson & Associates.

shortreport1 shortreport2

Executive summary

execsummary