Reader–FriendlyReportsAManualPreparedforStudentsattheRutgersFacultyofManagementbyCarterA.Daniel9thedition20002IFWEHAVETOCHOOSEBETWEENCANDIDATESWHOCANWRITEWELLANDCANDIDATESWHOKNOWACCOUNTING,WECHOOSETHEONESWHOCANWRITE.WECANTEACHACCOUNTINGINAFEWWEEKS,BUTBADWRITINGCREATESSUCHADRAGONPERFORMANCEWEPREFERNOTTOGETINVOLVED.--theSeniorVice-PresidentofamajorbankinNewYorkNEVER,FOREVENAMOMENT,LETOUTOFYOURSIGHTTHESINGLEPURPOSEOFBUSINESSWRITING:TOPERSUADEYOURREADER,ASEFFICIENTLYASPOSSIBLE,OFTHEVALIDITYOFYOURTHESIS.ONLYTWOTHINGSINTHISBOOKAREIMPORTANT:(1)ORGANIZEAROUNDCONCLUSIONSAND(2)TELLPEOPLEWHATYOU'REGOINGTOSAYBEFOREYOUSAYIT.Earliereditionscopyright1980,1981,1982,1985,1987,1992,1994,1996.Copyright2000byCarterA.Daniel.ProducedatRutgers,theStateUniversityofNewJersey.3CHAPTERONE:PLANNINGAREADER-FRIENDLYREPORT1.RightandWrong,BossandBook42.WhatBusinessWritingIsn'tandIs53.UnderstandingtheAssignment74.AssessingtheAudience95.DeterminingtheControllingPurpose116.OrganizingaReport13--topicandthesis14--thesisparagraph17--subheadedsegments227.Afterword2441.RIGHTANDWRONG,BOSSANDBOOKForsomereason,questionsofwritingstyleandcorrectnessbringoutpeople'smostmule-headedprivateopinions.Abosswhodoesn'tknowanythingaboutcalculusorlinearprogrammingwouldneverthinkofoverrulingasubordinateononeofthosesubjects.Butjustletthatsamesubordinatedosomethingcontrarytowhattheboss'signorantsixth-gradeteachersaid--someasinineruleaboutendingasentencewithaprepositionorstartingonewithbecause--andthebosswillpouncewithfangsbared.Themoralisthatifsomebodyispayingyoursalary,youshouldwritethewaythatpersonwants.Writingisfarlessoftenrightorwrongthanitisappropriateorinappropriate.Obviously,ifyouwriteinawaythatirritatesyourboss,youarewritinginappropriately.Thismanualsetsforthsomereasonablesuggestionsaboutdecentbusinesswriting--suggestionsyoumightwanttofollowifyouhaven'tbeengivenanyspecificrulestogoverntheparticulartaskyou'redoing.Everythingthatissaidhere,however,shouldbeconsideredsubjecttobeingoverruledbyanyspecialrequirementsyouhavebeengivenforaparticularassignment.Justtomakesureit'sclear,let'ssayitonemoretime,adifferentway:Fortheloveofmud,whateveryoudo,don'tgowavethisbookinyourboss'sfaceandshout,See?You'rewrong!Whenyourbosstellsyouonethingandthebooktellsyousomethingdifferent,dowhatyourbosssays.562.WHATBUSINESSWRITINGISN'TANDISBusinesswritingisn'tadifferentlanguagewithaseparatesetofwordsandphrases.Inreceiptof,asperyourrequest,begtoacknowledge,andpleasebeadvisedarerelicsofthepast.Theyaren'tusedanymore,orshouldn'tbeanyway.Businesswritingalsoisn'tdullandstereotyped.Badwritingisdull;goodwritingisinteresting.Thesestatementsaretrueforallwriting,businessoranyotherkind.Ifyouareinterestedinasubjectbutfindthereportdull,something'swrongwiththewaythereportiswritten.Businesswritingisjustlikeanyotherwritingexceptmoreefficient.Whereassomekindsofwritingaimatbeingdreamy,witty,entertaining,spooky,outrageous,shocking,orsexy,whenyou'redoingthekindofwritingbeingdescribedhereyouhaveonlyoneaim:topersuadeyourreader,asefficientlyaspossible,ofthevalidityofyourthesis.Thinkforaminuteaboutwhoyouraudienceis,andyou'llunderstandthereasonforinsistingonefficiency.Businesspeopleareintelligent,suspicious,andbusy.Sowhenyouwriteforthemyouhavetobefactual,persuasive,andefficient:factualbecausetheyaretoointelligenttobefooledbyvaguenessandbluffing;persuasivebecauseyouhavetoovercomethesuspicionthatalwaysaccompaniesmoneymatters;andefficientbecauseyou'llloseyourreaderifyouwastetime.7Afewpagesfromnow(page12,tobeexact)youwillencounteradescriptionofthesis-and-subheaded-structured-segmentsorganization,thestandardpatternfororganizingbusinessreports.Evenbeforeyougetthere,however,youmightdowelltothinkforamomentaboutthewholereasonfororganizingabusinessreportdifferentlyfromthewayyouorganizeamagazinearticleoranoveloranadvertisement.Trythisexplanation:Thepeoplewhoassignedyouthereportdidsobecausetheydidn'thavetimetodotheworkthemselves.Theyaskedyouthequestions,andnowtheywanttheanswers.Theanswersare,therefore,themostimportantthingsinyourreport,andyoumustorganizeyourwholereportaroundthemandwavetheminyourreader'sface.Statethematthebeginning;elaborateonthemonebyoneintherestofthereport;includeonlythingsthatpertaintotheseanswers;andbesurethatthepertinenceisalwaysclear.Re-readthisparagraph.Or,tobestillmorespecific,don'tsayanythingthatisn'tpartoftheanswertothequestionyouwereasked.Don'tre-statetheproblem,orannouncethatyouhavefinishedresearchingit,orsummarizethebackground,orspendtimedefiningterms,ortellabouthowyoumadeyourcalculationsorclassifiedyourevidence.Justanswerthebleedingquestion,startingattheveryverybeginning.Youmayre-readthisparagraphtoo.8Toputitstillanotherway,don'tsaysomethingunlessyou'remakingsomepointbysayingit.If,forinstance,there'snothinginthecompany'shistorythathasanyrelevancetotheproblem,theninthenameofgoodsensedon'tgointothecompany'shistory.Ontheotherhand,ifthecompany'sproblemsarepartlytraceabletothefactthatithasalwaysbeenfamily-owned,thenbyallmeansdotellthehistory--makingsure,everymoment,thatthepointofyourtellingitisclea
本文标题:MBA商业写作指南
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