Chapter 9—Business Proposals

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Which of the following statements is accurate?

a. Proposals are persuasive documents used to solve problems, provide services, or sell
equipment.
b. Proposals are always solicited.
c. Proposals are informative documents used to share problems, identify emerging issues,
and categorize available resources for resolution.
d. Proposals are developed for external audiences only.
2. A company might prepare a proposal for which of the following reasons?
a. To show its compliance with Homeland Security rules and regulations
b. To solicit competitive bids for a new building
c. To inform company shareholders of an attempted hostile takeover
d. To bid for a contract to retrofit a local bridge
3. An RFP (request for proposal) can best be defined as
a. a document that solicits competitive bids on a project.
b. an offer to provide a service, sell equipment, or solve a problem.
c. an internal report justifying a request for additional staffing and equipment.
d. a persuasive sales presentation emphasizing benefits for the reader.
4. A business would be most likely to write a request for proposals
a. to advertise openings for two sales positions.
b. to attract new clients.
c. to renovate offices.
d. to begin expansion in global markets.
5. Which of the following statement is incorrect?

a. Executive summary is the most important section of the business plan and is written for manager
or executive.
b. To show you are knowledgeable in the field, you should prepare executive using as many jargons
or technical terms as possible so as to impress your boss.
c. Executive summary highlights the proposal or business plan and is written for manager r
executives, so it should be less technically oriented.
d. The length of executive summary is suggested to be no more than one-tenth of the business plans
or not more than a couple of pages for lengthy business plans.

6. 4P strategies are usually used when formulating a market plan. What are the 4P?

a. Executive summary is the most important section of the business plan and is written for manager
or executive.
b. To show you are knowledgeable in the field, you should prepare executive using as many jargons or
technical terms as possible so as to impress your boss.

Guffey, Du-Babcock, and Loewy | Essentials of Business Communication, 3rd Asia Edition
© 2016 Cengage Learning ● All Rights Reserved
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 c. Executive summary highlights the proposal or business plan and is written for manager r executives,
so it should be less technically oriented.
d. The length of executive summary is suggested to be no more than one-tenth of the business plans or
not more than a couple of pages for lengthy business plans.

TRUE/FALSE

1. Proposals are informative documents used to educate readers.

2. Proposals may be internal or external, but most proposals are external.
3. I

3. Internal submissions also need to be approved by external funding sources.

4. It is advisable to write the executive summary as the last step of the business proposal process.
5. The ideal length of the executive summary should be at least 5 pages.
6. External proposals may be solicited or unsolicited, but most proposals are unsolicited.
7. Unsolicited proposals tend to face more direct competition from other sellers.
8. RFP stands for "Required Formal Procedures."
9. The main differences between formal and informal proposals are tone and language use.
10. Like proposals and informal reports, formal reports begin with a definition of the project.

Guffey, Du-Babcock, and Loewy | Essentials of Business Communication, 3rd Asia Edition
© 2016 Cengage Learning ● All Rights Reserved
2