Writing a Strategic Management Report

This document summarises what I have learnt about report writing in my

own career in industry, consultancy and academia. I believe that it
constitutes a reasonable guide to good practice. But this is an area in
which opinions and practices differ - for example, some people DO like to
see the different theoretical models laid out in detail, something that I
regard as unnecessary. You are advised to check with your tutor to make
sure that what is written here accords with their own requirements and
preferences.
©Adrian Haberberg 2001

Please remember that you are writing a business report and not an
academic essay, and that you are writing it for a busy and intelligent
manager. More specifically:

• Do not waste time and paper reproducing information from the case
study. In particular, do not bore your "client" with a long history of the
organisation you are studying. You should assume that they have
read and understood everything in the case study. Your job is to add
value to that information.

• Remember that a report, like any other good piece of writing, tells a
story in an interesting and coherent way. There should be a clear flow
from one section of your writing to another, and each part of the
report should draw upon what has gone before, and feed analysis
forward to what follows.

• Do not assume that, if you write down all the theoretical

models one after the other, you have done your job. If all you write is
a PEST, followed by a Five Forces Analysis, followed by a SWOT
analysis, followed by a……., then you will end up with a tedious and
repetitive list of unrelated points that will probably not answer the
question very well. You need to acquire the ability to select the
relevant parts of each analysis (and only the relevant parts) and put
them together so as to answer the question you have been set.

• Avoid jargon. Write simply and concisely, avoiding

unnecessary use of theoretical terms (more on this below).

• Avoid adjectives like "huge", "massive" or "disastrous".

Use a number instead – "50% growth per year" – which makes your
analysis seem more considered and credible.
Format
There is no set format for a report, but typically it should contain the
following:

1. An Executive Summary. This is, as the name suggests, a summary

containing all the main findings and conclusions, so that a busy
executive can get a flavour of what the report says and decide
whether or not s/he needs to read it all. It is not to be confused with
the Introduction (see below)

2. An Introduction. This sets the scene for what is to follow. It should

contain:

a brief (1-2 paragraphs) summary of the events which have led to the
report being written the terms of reference or objective of the report
a description of the method the report follows to achieve this
objective. This can be thought of as a kind of annotated table of
contents, e.g. "In Section 1, we analyse the firms’ changing
environment. In Section 2, we assess your capacity to respond to
those changes. In Section 3, we assess the options at your disposal.
In Section 4, we present our detailed recommendations and
implementation proposals." This signposting is very important in
preparing the reader for the delights to come.

3. An analysis of the data in the case, a description of the findings and

conclusions from the analysis and your recommendations (if you are
asked for them). This does not mean that you need sections or
chapters called Data Analysis, Findings and Recommendations. You
may want to use jazzier terms than this, and if you are dealing with
two or three issues in one report, it may make sense to group the
analysis, findings and recommendations on one issue together before
tackling the next.

Please make sure that the pages are numbered; you are also advised to
number the sections in the report. This helps you make cross-references
from one part of the report to another, which can help save you words by
avoiding repeating in one place what you say again in the next.
Appendices
Appendices are there to supplement the points you make in the main body
of your report. They contain data that is useful, but not essential, or they
may discuss subsidiary points that are relevant and demonstrate the depth
and breadth of your thinking.

The reader should not have to look at appendices in order to understand

your conclusions and the reasons that you have reached them – the main
body of the report should contain all the key points and essential supporting
evidence. If you need to support your argument with quantitative analysis,
the results should be summarised in tables included with the main part of
the text.

If you do put something into an appendix, it is vital to include, at an

appropriate point, a reference to it (e.g. " see Appendix 1" or "Appendix 2
contains a detailed breakeven analysis of our proposals"). If you don’t ask
people to look at something, don’t be surprised if they don't bother!

Graphics
It is good practice to use appropriate charts and figures to summarise data
and findings, and you may get extra credit for doing so. However:

• Make sure that your report makes sense as a stand-alone

document. If you use a figure or a chart, make sure that its message
is clear - or add some narrative to bring out the point

• Don't use graphics for their own sake - a pretty chart that says
nothing of importance will lose you time and probably marks as well.
Simply plotting the firm’s sales or profit figures on an Excel graph
rarely adds anything – why not pick out an interesting ratio, like profit
margins or sales per employee, and use a graph to show how it has
been behaving over time

• Make sure you use the right kind of graphic for the job.
Don’t use a pie chart for a time series – use a line graph or a bar
chart.
 • Flashy presentation is not a substitute for clear thinking. A nice cover
and coloured charts may put a few marks on to the grade of a good
piece of work, but will not rescue a poor one.
Tables
A well-designed table or matrix is an excellent way of summarising data
succinctly, particularly when you are trying to compare things, for example:
• competition in an industry at different stages in its
evolution
• the features of different products
• the performance of different firms
• the resources possessed by a firm with the survival/success factors in
an industry
• the features of different businesses within a diversified
corporation.
Sometimes, the very process of putting facts side by side in a table will
expose important similarities or differences that you had previously
overlooked. It may also alert you to gaps in your data or analysis.
Language - keep it simple!
A senior manager is quite likely to be an engineer or accountant with little
or no theoretical background in strategy, economics or organisation
studies. You should not assume that your reader understands the secret
language in which management theory is often encoded. Some concepts,
like economies of scale, barriers to entry and core competences, have
become part of everyday management vocabulary, but if you start talking
about "time compression diseconomies" or "agency costs" then you are
unlikely to be understood.
You should, of course, use all these concepts when developing your
analysis. When you write up your report, however, you have to find simpler
ways of expressing your findings. For example, you may have identified a
source of cost advantage, a lack of vertical integration in manufacturing, as
a distinctive element in a company's value chain. What you say in the
report is that the firm "keeps costs low by outsourcing manufacturing to
carefully selected partners" - you don't need to mention vertical integration,
or even the value chain!
If you must use jargon, make sure you use it correctly! Sloppy use of
concepts like economies of scale, vertical integration and substitutes is
quite common, and will cost you valuable marks.
Make sure it is clear what you are recommending...
If you are asked for a particular decision or recommendation, make sure
that it is clearly stated (i.e. not just implied) in the report. You may have
come up with fifteen good reasons why the company should enter the
market in Utopia, but unless you clearly state that that is what you
recommend, you have not fulfilled your brief - and will probably lose marks
...and why
Make sure that, in developing recommendations:
• You have considered the alternatives. There is hardly ever just one,
single "obvious" response to a strategic problem. And bear in mind
that, if there is, all the company’s competitors will have thought of it,
too!
• You have made it clear why the recommendation you have chosen is
the best of the available alternatives. That means showing what is
wrong with the others!
• You have looked at the downside of your proposals. Try to avoid
proposals that would bankrupt the company if they failed, or which
can be easily copied by the competition.
And finally…
Make sure that, above all, you submit work that:
• is intellectually thorough
• is well structured
• is coherently and logically argued
• answers the question.