INTRODUCTION TO

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

INSTRUCTOR: THIEN KY TRAN

Master of International Business, Macquarie University, Australia
Ph.D Candidate, University of Bolton, UK
 Course structure

Lecture 1: Overview of Business Administration

Lecture 2: Business environment and strategy
Lecture 3: Business activities
Lecture 4: Accounting and financial management
Textbook: PGS. TS. Nguyễn Ngọc Huyền, Giáo trình quản trị doanh nghiêp, NXB Đại
học Kinh tế Quốc dân, 2013,
Additional reference: Gitman, L. J. (2018). Introduction to business. Open Textbook Library.
 Lecture 3

Writing business report

 Business environments and
strategies

Lecture agenda:
1. What is a business report?
2. Business report structure
3. Additional report guidelines
4. Topics of final business report
OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION
 OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION

1. What is a business report?

Organisations need accurate, timely, objective and concise information to make effective decisions. One way they can
obtain such information is from a business report. This document can be defined as “an organised presentation of
information to a specific audience for the purpose of helping an organisation achieve an objective” (Bowman & Branchaw,
1988, p. 12).

A good business report should be structured in such a way that its clear, concise and easy to understand for the target
audience. As the name suggests, business reports are required to provide data followed by required analysis to assist Senior
management or Investors or Business teams make informed decisions.
 OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION
1. What is a business report?
Essays
Purpose Articulate a point of view in relation to
a particular proposition
Format & Structure Have introduction, body and conclusion
sections that normally do not use
headings
Use cohesive paragraphs to link ideas
rather than list dot-points
Abstract Typically don’t normally need an
abstract as readers read the text
carefully from start to finish
Graphics Rarely use graphics as written evidence
Reader Are written for the lecturer/tutor or
other academic audiences
Business Reports
Often recommend action to solve a
specific problem
Always have sections clearly divided by
numbered headings (and often sub-
headings)
Use shorter, more concise paragraphs
and dot-points where applicable
Always have an abstract (or executive
summary) as readers are typically ‘time
poor’ and skim and scan through the
text quickly
Feature graphics (such as tables and
graphs) for supporting main points
Are addressed to a specific audience
(i.e. client or manager) established by
the topic
 OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION

1. What is a business report?

1) Front Matter
• Cover
• Title Page
• Executive Summary
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
2) Body of the Report
• Introduction
• Findings and Discussion
• Conclusions
• Recommendations
3) Back Matter
• Appendices
• References
 OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION

1. What is a business report?

1) Front Matter
• Cover
• Title Page
• Executive Summary
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
2) Body of the Report
• Introduction
• Findings and Discussion
• Conclusions
• Recommendations
3) Back Matter
• Appendices
• References
 OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION

2. Business Report Structure:

• Different organizations may have different requirements but a report can generally be structured as follows. Given the
nature of report or business, you can choose to skip one or more sections.
• Title: Should state the Aim of report. It can also include your name and date of presenting the report.
• Contents: If the report is lengthy, you should include a table of contents. In this section, list the chapter and
corresponding section headings. You should also include a page number with for every row in table of contents.
• Executive Summary: It's always a good practise to include an executive summary stating the aim and purpose of report.
A good summary can briefly talk about historical developments/background of the report that led to the report, state
problems under investigation and explain recommended solutions. It should also disclose limitations and assumptions
taken while preparing the report. Generally this is prepared at the end of report writing but placed first for senior
management who might not have the time to read the entire report.
 OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION

2. Business Report Structure:

• Introduction :Here you should provide the background information and describe historical developements in detail that
led to this report. This section sets the stage for what can a reader expect in upcoming chapters.
Procedure or method of gathering information: Describe the method of gathering information and its limitations in detail.
You can also talk about steps taken to overcome the limitations of method of gathering information.
• Findings: You should corroborate your findings with enough data to show that you have carried out the research
thoroughly.
To justify your recommendations, you may also include opinions of experts of the industry, consumer reports, statistical
data and your own observations. Do remember that while the objective of your business report is to provide the best
solution to a business problem, you may include analysis of other options available and prove them otherwise. You can also
help the reader to point to further readings if its not possible to include them in your report.
 OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION

2. Business Report Structure:

• Conclusions: This section lists the major inferences that can be drawn from the findings and propose recommendations.
It sums up the assessment of current situation based on your observations, findings and proposes future plan of action.
• Reference list: The reference list, in alphabetical order, mentions all resources used in creation of your report.
Whenever you use information from other sources such as books, online periodicals, articles that helped you write the
report, you should include it in your report.
• Appendices: At the end, you can use an appendix to group similar items together. Any important
material/supplementary information for your discussion can be included in appendix and referred to from within the
report. A single appendix can be titled as APPENDIX. If you have multiple items appended, they can be titles as
APPENDIX A, APPENDIX B, etc. Also appendices should appear in the order they are mentioned in the report.
 OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION

3. Additional report guidelines:

MAJOR FORMATTING ELEMENTS
Font
Most Common font used is Times New Roman 12-point font

Line Spacing
Most common line spacing used is Double-space text. An alternative is Single-space text.

Margins
Most common is one-inch margins all around. Use your word-processing software to add a header that will appear at the top of every page
that includes the running head and the page number. The header appears within the top margin, not below it.
An alternative (if the report is to be enclosed in a binder) is to increase the left side margin to 1½ or 2 inches so that the tight binding will not
make it difficult to read.

Paragraph Format
Common Use: Arabic numerals, starting with the first page, centering the number in the page footer, about one- half inch from the bottom of
the page
Alternative: Number the prefatory pages (Table of contents, Preface, etc.) with lower case Roman numerals centered in the page footer about
one-half inch from the bottom of the page.
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ADMINISTRATION

4. Topics of final business report

Address an issue/problem related to the lectures of an organization.
For example:
Micro And Macro Environment Factors Analysis
An internal Environment Analysis
Competitive advantages
Building the strategies process
Human resource management
Leading process
Building cooporation culture
Production process
Market analysis
Supply chain management
Financing and accounting process
 Lecture 2

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION!