Business reports: conclusion
time to complete: 20 minutes
This part of the report provides a summary of the report findings and sometimes an evaluation e.g. identifying the limitations of the report. This part also includes recommendations based on the reported findings i.e. are there any solutions/suggestions that follow logically from your findings?
In some cases, the conclusion and recommendations are presented as two separate sections, or in other forms e.g. bullet points. So, always be aware of your departmental requirements by consulting the assignment brief, module handbooks or models/samples you have been provided with.
In either case, it is very important that you use language that clearly signals your conclusion and recommendations. Below you will find some useful language for this section of the report:
Conclusions
- Certain verbs e.g. the findings suggest that…, this shows / indicates that…
- Impersonal passive structures e.g. it can be seen / argued / concluded / assumed that…,
- Hedging verbs e.g. it seems / appears that…
- Modal verbs to show the level of certainty e.g. X will / may / might / could lead to…
- Adverbials showing logical result/conclusion e.g. therefore, hence, thus, consequently, for these reasons, etc.
- The structure it + is + adjective + that e.g. it is clear / evident / obvious / apparent that…
Recommendations
- Modal verbs e.g. could, must, should, need to, etc.
- Impersonal passive structures e.g. it is recommended / suggested / proposed / advised that…
- Noun phrases e.g. The report offers suggestions for improvement…, Another recommendation is for…
- The structure it + is + adjective + that e.g. it is important / essential / crucial that…
In this section, we will look at the conclusion of the business report we examined earlier (Emap’s launch of Grazia Magazine) and pay close attention to the language used in conclusions and recommendations.
Task: Read the conclusion of the business report and note down your answers to the following questions:
- What are the main findings summarised in the conclusion?
- What are the writer’s recommendations based on these findings?
- What language does the writer use to signal the findings and recommendations?
Conclusion
When Emap carried out their research for Grazia, they would have used both quantitative and qualitative data in order to discover if the niche was strong enough to exploit, achievable through surveys and questionnaires giving the relevant answers and opinions, which could then have been analysed appropriately.
All companies need a variety of products, which are varying in their product life cycle. ‘This theory assumes that changes in the consumer preference go only one way- into decline’ (Naylor, 1999). Therefore, from the research undertaken, it seems that Grazia will create a successful list and portfolio for Emap. From the analysis of the current market, it seems that there is little competition in the niche Grazia has entered, especially so in the case for the weeklies. This provides evidence that Grazia will inevitably do well. However, although aimed at a younger market (around 18-25), the monthlies Glamour and Marie Claire, with their price tags of £1.95 and £2.50, may be viewed as much better value. Therefore, Grazia must ensure they establish its niche segment to justify its price.
However, it seems that the biggest competitor for Grazia is ‘Vogue’ magazine, with a content of high priced fashion such as Versace and Giorgio Armani, as well as a mixture of high Street labels including Monsoon and French Connection, thereby creating endless fashion variety. This mixture of designer and high street labels is also evident in the beauty sector, and ‘Vogue’ successfully achieves all this in an extensive magazine averaging 400 pages per edition. Nevertheless, ‘Vogue’, like with any other monthly, has the advantage of loyal subscribers on a yearly basis. With this, they know they will still sell successfully throughout the year. Grazia, like other magazines in the weekly sector, fails to attract this subscription, but there is the question of whether they would be able to attract subscribers at an expensive £6 a month. If not, then they would need to reconsider their pricing strategy or follow ‘Elle’s’ example of once being a weekly and now a successful monthly.
Text adapted from the British Academic Written English corpus via Flax
Now, compare your notes with the answer key below.
- Key findings
- Recommendations
- Signalling language
When Emap carried out their research for Grazia, they would have used both quantitative and qualitative data in order to discover if the niche was strong enough to exploit, achievable through surveys and questionnaires giving the relevant answers and opinions, which could then have been analysed appropriately.
All companies need a variety of products, which are varying in their product life cycle. ‘This theory assumes that changes in the consumer preference go only one way- into decline’ (Naylor, 1999). Therefore, from the research undertaken, it seems that Grazia will create a successful list and portfolio for Emap. From the analysis of the current market, it seems that there is little competition in the niche Grazia has entered, especially so in the case for the weeklies. This provides evidence that Grazia will inevitably do well. However, although aimed at a younger market (around 18-25), the monthlies Glamour and Marie Claire, with their price tags of £1.95 and £2.50, may be viewed as much better value. Therefore, Grazia must ensure they establish its niche segment to justify its price.
However, it seems that the biggest competitor for Grazia is ‘Vogue’ magazine, with a content of high priced fashion such as Versace and Giorgio Armani, as well as a mixture of high Street labels including Monsoon and French Connection, thereby creating endless fashion variety. This mixture of designer and high street labels is also evident in the beauty sector, and ‘Vogue’ successfully achieves all this in an extensive magazine averaging 400 pages per edition. Nevertheless, ‘Vogue’, like with any other monthly, has the advantage of loyal subscribers on a yearly basis. With this, they know they will still sell successfully throughout the year. Grazia, like other magazines in the weekly sector, fails to attract this subscription, but there is the question of whether they would be able to attract subscribers at an expensive £6 a month. If not, then they would need to reconsider their pricing strategy or follow ‘Elle’s’ example of once being a weekly and now a successful monthly.
Hopefully, this section has demonstrated the importance of using language that signals your conclusions and recommendations and ensures that your ideas are clearly communicated to the reader.