Imagine that you are a seasoned engineering manager for a manufacturing company that produces a product. You are very technically savvy and believe that to stay competitive, it is necessary for the company to innovate and automate.
Research ways your company can better automate a process in your manufacturing company and write a recommendation to your company CEO which will convince him or her to incorporate this automation technology into the company.
Use the information from Chapter 11 on Formal Reports.
A recommendation should follow the basic pattern described in the textbook but can be modified as needed.
Front Matter – Include a title page, table of contents, and an abstract.
Introduction – What is the subject of your report, the purpose for the report and your main point? Why is this subject important? Provide background on the subject and explain the organization of the report.
Methodology – Describe the steps you went through to collect information on the subject.
Results – State the results or findings of your study using two to five major points.
Discussion – Explain your results and provide the conclusions you may draw from those results.
Conclusion – In a brief paragraph, provide your recommendation.
Back Matter – Include your sources in a “Reference” list using APA documentation style.
Guidelines to follow:
The content of the report should be 10-12 pages long, excluding the front and back matter
Use 12 point font in Times New Roman typeface
Use 1” margins on the top, bottom, left and right of every page
Double-space between all text lines of the report
Use headings for each section and bullet points or numbering when relevant
Include tables, graphs, and other graphics throughout the text to support and illustrate your written discussion (and include captions for them)
Use at least ten in-text citations and provide the full citations in APA style in your references
Research at least 10 sources for background information and list in your References using APA documentation style. At least five sources should be scholarly or professional journals and the other sources may be popular magazines, on-line articles, and print sources. All the sources should have been published within the last five years.
