Reports and Proposal

Report:

Report is an orderly, objective message used to share information from one area of an
organisation to another or from one organisation to another to assist in decision making or
problem solving.

Characteristics of a report:

 Reports always travel upwards within an organisation as they are usually demanded
by the higher authority.
 Reports are logically organised
 Reports are objective
 Reports are prepared for a limited audience

Types of reports:

The form of report, direction of its movement, functional use and content of the report
form the basis for classification of reports.

Reports are classified as

 Formal report
 Informal report
 Long report
 Short report
 Routine/periodic report
 Non routine report
 Functional report
 Internal report
 External report

Proposal:

A proposal is a written description of how one entity can fulfil/solve the need/problem of
another entity. Proposals are persuasive messages.

A proposal can be solicited or unsolicited.

Parts of a proposal:
A proposal may contain the following general parts or variations of them depending on the
need.

 Problem/Purpose
 Scope
 Methods/Procedures
 Materials and equipment
 Qualifications
 Follow-up/evaluation
 Budget/Cost
 Conclusion
 Reference