Business Case Study Report Instructions
The Format
o This report must be presented in full business case study report format.
o All solutions must be provided in full text.
o Do not list your points.
o Reference all material and/or information that is not your own (please review the Plagiarism
Policy tab on the course site)
o The final report should be double spaced, in 12 point Times New Roman font.
o Provide a blank page at the beginning of the report that contains your name, the report title and
the date. Please do not include pictures on this page.
o As a guideline, your report should be approximately 2500 words (roughly 8-10 pages long
excluding appendices and Executive Summary). The Executive Summary portion should be 1 or
2 pages long.
o Your report must be saved in MS Word. If using spreadsheets these should be in MS
Excel
Immediately after the Title Page there should be:
o Executive Summary,
o Table of Contents,
o Introduction to the Report,
o Report Body/Text; and
o Summary and Conclusions.
The report should be developed with the following format in mind:
o Executive Summary – The Executive Summary must be to the point; convincing; clearly identify
what action or policies are to be established; and most of all must give the reader everything they
need to know to understand your recommendation(s) without feeling the need to necessarily read
the body of the report. Any figures cited must be stated in the summary (as a chart or table), or
must be referenced to a chart or table that may lie in the appendix portion of your
submission. Remember, this part of the study is written for an executive who does not have much
time and wants only to know that you have done your homework. They do not need to understand
what homework, or how you conducted your research from reading this part of the
report. Remember to write this as if the marker was your senior executive. (See How to Prepare
an Executive Summary section below).
o Table of Contents – This should clearly identify the key portions of the report and their page
numbers. Give some detail and select appropriate sections of your report that will assist the
reader in finding information. Avoid “Report Body” as one complete section. Detail your
Appendices should you include them.
o Introduction – In the introduction the author brings all the readers to the same point of departure
before beginning the main body or text of the report. It is appropriate to redefine the criteria in
your own words. For example, you may wish to review the reasons for the report, the scope and
limitations, and your methods for collecting the data that you will present in the report.
o Report Body or Text – This is the portion of the report, in which the information is presented, the
problems identified, the solutions suggested, and the battles won and lost. If, at the outset of the
investigation or analysis, you determined the scope and limitations, and had a good idea of how
the report should be organized – then worked your plan, chances are good that your report will be
informative, persuasive, and effective. Give some thought as to how you will present/reference
data/findings. Ensure that any data presented is clearly mentioned or referenced in the report
body if you choose to put in an appendix. Diagrams/charts/tables not properly referenced in the
report body will not be considered part of the report and style marks will be lost should this take
place.
o Summary and Conclusions – Here you should briefly summarize the important data developed in
the body or text and advance the conclusions reached (i.e. advance whatever
recommendations/actions you propose, based on your study).
Report Writing Style
Good report writing is one of the most useful skills you can acquire. If your report is well written, clear and
concise, it will create a good impression on the reader; if it is inaccurate, confused, or does not follow the
required format, it will reveal symptoms of muddled thinking.
You will achieve high marks for effective presentation, organization and originality of thought, however,
you must support your recommendations with sound business decisions. When reading your report, the
marker will be determining whether your theories are communicated effectively.
What is also important is how you present them. You will lose marks for not following the instructions on
format, untidy presentation, misspelled words, poor word choices, poor grammar, or an executive
summary that leaves the marker no alternative but to have to read the whole report to understand the
recommendations you have made and why.
The marker will be looking for how your originality of thought has been applied to the questions at hand in
the Business Case Study Question. Most marks are lost (in the report body) because candidates fail to
answer the questions at hand.
Assumptions
In all likelihood, your Business Case Study Report submission will contain some assumptions. Some of
these assumptions (good ones) are developed from basic facts found in the Business Case Study
Question. Other assumptions are developed from generalized, vague points of note that cannot be
substantiated, and can place the Business Case Study Report’s validity at peril. Clearly state your
assumptions, with reasons.
It is critical that candidates not make assumptions on information that is not in the Business Case Study
Question. All information needed to complete the Business Case Study Report is provided.
Avoid the terms “further research and analysis is required”; and never state that there is not enough
information to complete the case. Ask yourself, “If this report were real, with a real deadline, would you
tell your president that it could not be completed without further research?”
General assumptions are not a good way to reduce the workload in a Business Case Study Report. Citing
general assumptions, which cannot be substantiated, are a good way to lose marks.
While it is important to consider the various points within “report writing style”, the major concerns we
want you to address can best be considered based on the following points:
o if you were the recipient of the report, what would be your first impression?
o after you have read the executive summary do you have a grasp of the content and the action
being recommended?
o if there is a single point on which you require a little more information, could you find it easily
using the table of contents and if so was the point clear within the body of the report
o is the executive summary different from the conclusion, summary portion of the report?
If you are pleased with the responses you give yourself to these four points, then you should receive a
good grade for the executive summary and content. If you must refer to the body of the report more than
once after reading the executive summary, then your mark will likely reflect this. One of the outcomes of
this exercise is to help you develop good writing/communication skills when making presentations to your
organization’s executives.
How to Prepare an Executive Summary
An Executive Summary is a one or two-page version of your Business Case Study Report. It is structured
the same way, containing an introduction, body and a conclusion. It is not an introduction of the Formal
Report.
The Introduction of the Executive Summary should precisely identify the challenges, issues or problems
you are examining. There should be no doubt in the reader’s mind as to what these are, after reading the
introduction.
The Body of the Executive Summary is meant to illustrate the scope of your analysis. It should contain
alternative solutions to the challenges, issues or problems you introduced in the first paragraph. Data can
be used in summary form to indicate the strengths and weaknesses of the various alternatives you are
presenting. If you are using a table then tell us about the data don’t say “see above” “see below”, “see
attached”. Discuss the importance/significance of the data you are presenting, particularly if it is in
support of your findings/recommendations.
The Conclusion should explicitly state your recommendations based on the alternatives discussed in the
Introduction and Body. It should be supported with data that is brief and to the point and represents the
end result of your analysis (i.e.: the bottom line).
The Executive Summary is meant to accompany the fuller presentation. It is written in clear and direct
language, giving an overview of the report/proposal without having to read through the entire report from
cover to cover.
The audience for an executive summary includes senior-level executives, directors, board members, and
others who need to know something about your report/proposal but who do not have the time or interest
in the level of detail included in the full version.
The executive summary should not include a discussion of the difficulties you encountered, nor your
reasons for selecting a particular topic or approach, nor other peripheral information. It must show that
you have a complete understanding of your business ideas/recommendations/actions.
Remember, an Executive Summary is written after the business plan is completed, but is read at the
beginning of the process as a synopsized road map of what the reader will find detailed in the business
plan.
The Executive Summary must contain direct answers to all of the questions at hand. These answers shall
act as your recommendation to the situation/proposed business plan posed by the senior executives.
Your final plan can agree or disagree with the executives’ proposal(s); however, all reasoning must be
fully supported by documented/tabulated evidence, gleaned from your research. As in any business
report, the executives will be looking for quantified evidence (cost/savings) in support of your decision.
Note: As much as we are looking for both qualified and quantified evidence that supports your discussion,
we are looking for the best price. That does not always mean the cheapest price.
To summarize; a good Executive Summary provides the reader with clear and concise answers to all of
the questions at hand. It tells them how much your plan will cost; will save, and will leave no questions
unclear or qualified (never say “more information is required”).
Marking the Reports
We will be using the following an Assessment Criteria for evaluating your Business Case Study Report
submission.
| Component | Component Weight |
| Executive Summary The Executive Summary must be to the point, concise and convincing – clearly identify what action or policies are to be established and most of all must give the reader everything they need to know to understand your recommendation(s) without feeling the need to necessarily read the body of the report. Any figures cited must be stated in the summary as a chart or table, or must be referenced to a chart or table that may lie in the appendix portion of your submission. | 40% |
| Body of the Report The problems need to be identified, information needs to be presented, the solutions suggested, and the recommendations stated clearly. Recommendations and detailed analysis should be informative, persuasive, and effective. | 40% |
| Report Quality Grammar, spelling, sentence structure, organization, writing, presentation, appropriateness of data, etc. | 20% |
| Total Score | 100% |
This Business Case Study is subjective in its nature, so it is up to you to present your case and then
support it.
In addition to verifying how well you incorporated the instructions on how to write your report, the marker
will be looking to see if your report answers the question(s) asked, and if clear and detailed
recommendations for specific actions have been communicated. For example, if your report is vague in its
recommendations, the marker’s comment may just say that the report content is “vague”. There will not
be overly detailed comments on how you should have presented your case, or where you could have
further expanded your strategy.
Your report will be returned to you within 3 weeks of submission.