Writing In Report Format

writing in report format"writing in report format"

End of a Report!

It is not just the writers alone who have a monopoly over creative writing. All Professional managers have to write all the time, though skeptics may argue that these cannot be termed as creative writing. Fact of the matter is that the professional managers do not have the luxury of penning down fictional pieces or imaginary tales. Professional managers, while writing their numerous reports, must necessarily depend on facts rather than fiction. Though occasionally some reports do feature some perceived notions that may be derived from experience and this is where the creativity of the individual manager seeps in.

Managers regularly write reports that are only professional in content. These reports can be clearly termed as management briefs written with the sole purpose of highlighting issues in the company and for the information of the top management. Though lot of thinking goes behind writing these notes and properly formatting them for good reading, they are hardly touted as writing much less creative writing by the prudes.

These Board Notes, as we may call them, are most often in telegraphic language and most times are in the format of bullet points. Now, creative writing cannot be in bullet points. They can at best serve the purpose for which it was drafted. These board notes of course serve one very distinct purpose. If drafted well, they can bring about the flow of events and also the line of thought of the writer. It almost invariably concludes with an opinion or asking for a review or decision from the very people to which it is sent.

The manager must, however, try to be very diligent in drafting of the reports with logical thinking as far as possible. Many a time it may come as a surprise that the writer may hardly get any response or feedback from the people to whom it was sent. Having had limited or lukewarm response, one is inclined to debate whether these reports were actually necessary at all. This is when the writer is sure to get skeptical and turn into a cynic.

It is quite possible that people on the receiving end thought that these reports were frivolous or unnecessary and did not warrant any response in the first place. Or they may be simply ignoring the reports thereby signaling their indifference and lack of concern. Or simply they do not know how to react.

In any case, instead of making the writer feel good about writing these reports, they actually leave the manager musing about their worth. That brings us to the argument about why management reports are necessary or asked for when they are hardly read or acted upon.

It may be interesting to know, albeit out of curiosity, where these reports eventually end up. Possibly in the dust bin or the "active file" as many managers love to call it! Or may be in this digital age they lie in some insignificant archive folder in the Inbox of someone's email. May it rest in Peace!!

About the Author

Shyamal Ganguly is a management professoinal with 28 years of management experience in various countries. He has wide experience in managing overseas start-ups, international joint ventures and alliances.

writing in report format
writing in report format
writing in report format