【正文】 ill use an informational report.Whatever the form we choose for our particular purpose, we can reinforce our report through the skillful handling of a wide range of special devices or techniques. For example, we might devise an orderly system of headings and subheadings to help our reader turn promptly to those parts of greatest importance. We might decide to use visuals — such as diagrams — to simplify statistical data and plicated concepts. We might highlight discrete pieces of information by setting them down in numbered lists. And we can demonstrate our ingenuity — thereby adding readability, strength and credibility to our report — by devising techniques that are uniquely appropriate to our munication.Business munication, in short, is the process of transmitting technical information from someone who has it to someone who needs it through the use of special forms and techniques designed to enhance the reader39。s prehension and response to that information[4] Carol M. Lehman and Debbie D. Dufrene, Business Communication (Twelfth Edition), SouthWestern College Publishing, 1989, p35[4]. Importance of effective business municationSo important is munication that without it an organization cannot function because any organization is a group of people associated for particular purposes, such as business, professional, political, religious, or other purposes and whose activities require human beings to municate — to exchange information and ideas, to order needed supplies, to make decisions, proposals, contracts, and agreements. Both within and outside the organization, effective business munication is its lifeblood.Internal municationCommunication within an organization falls under three directional categories — “downward,” “upward,” and “horizontal.” Internal munication helps increase job productivity, profits, satisfaction, safety, as well as decrease absenteeism, turnover, and plaint. Downward munication includes instructions, policy statements, and employee information from any level of management to any level or levels below. Means used by management to municate downward include letters, handbooks, memos, instructions (both written and oral), announcements, and staff meetings. When employees receive appropriate downward munication from management, they can be more motivated and more efficient. To be effective, these munications must be clear and accurate. With some organizations — aviation, medical, and construction — inadequate and unclear instructions can result in loss of life and of millions of dollars. For a report to be effective, creating a willingness to want to understand and cooperate is also important. In all, many pressures from employees force management to be accountable for their decisions through effective downward munication. Upward internal munication has bee increasingly significant because people at higher levels cannot be in all places at any given time, so they must depend on others to be their eyes and ears. Upward munication is transmission of messages from any level in the organization to one or more higher levels. A mon device for upward munication is the employee suggestion system. Another less publicized but more vital channel of upward munication is the report. It may be formal or informal, oral or written, requested by management (typically) or sometimes initiated by the employee. Management benefits from it. Through recognition of employee needs and attitudes, a good pany munication program can better help satisfy the basic wants of its employees and achieve good results.Horizontal munication consists of munication among persons on the same level in the organization for the purpose of better coordinating their work and broadening their perspective. With the increasing degree of specialization, problems exposed in horizontal munication are greater than might be supposed. For example, in one organization puter technologists talk one language (jargon), salespeople another, and accountants still another. What is more, each assumes that everyone else understands fully the language he or she uses. They suffer from the illusion that they have municated successfully when actually they have not. So effective horizontal munication is essential. External municationDownward, upward, and horizontal munications all occur within the organization. But as a business, it must purchase new materials or finished products from suppliers, sell its own products to distributors or to the buying public in general, and also frequently answer to customer plaints。 it must ply with a variety of government regulations, national and local。 and it must be affiliated with other businesses in coping with mon problems through trade associations, Chambers of Commerce, or professional societies. All of these activities require still more munication through letters, proposals, reports, telephone calls, or attendance at conventions. Effective external munication, closely related to the enhancement of the organization’s public image, can win back a disgruntled customer, help to negotiate a profitable sale, motivate performance, and in general create goodwill. In summary, a considerable amount of time of any business is spent municating either within the organization or outside it. Successful business munication helps promote sales and enhance goodwill.Chapter Two An Introduction of Business Reports“A clear, accurate, objective business report is part of the lifeblood of a healthy organization.”[5] Herta A. Murphy, and Herbert W. Hildebrandt, Effective Business Communications, fourth edition, McGrawHill Book Company, 1972, p6[5] Because of its importance, the focus of this thesis is on business report writing. Definition of a business reportSeveral definitions are available: 1. A business report is a written or oral message which (a) conveys information about research or status from one area of business to anothe