INTRODUCTION

Every organization, either profit-making or non-profit organization writes report at one time or another in order to communicate within or outside the organization. As the business environment grows in its complexity, the importance of skillful communication becomes essential in the pursuit of institutional goals. Report is a self-explanatory statement of facts relating to a specific subject and serves the purpose of providing information for decision making and follow up actions. It is a systematic presentation of ascertained facts about a specific event / subject. Report is a summary of findings and recommendations about a particular matter / problem. Report is for the guidance of higher authorities including company executives and directors; reports facilitate timely decisions and follow up measures. In the context of this assignment, report will be viewed as business report which is basically report written by business organizations and organizations at large to members of staff or to another company. Apart from the discussed importance of report, the characteristics and features of report also show clearly its importance to organizations.

WHAT A REPORT IS
According to Lannon (2007), a report is a textual work (usually of writing, speech, television, or film) made with the specific intention of relaying information or recounting certain events in a widely presentable form.

Written reports are documents which present focused, salient content to a specific audience (Blicq, 2003). Reports are often used to display the result of an experiment, investigation, or inquiry. The audience may be public or private, an individual or the public in general. Reports are used in government, business, education, science, and other fields. Reports such as graphics, images, voice, or specialized vocabulary in order to persuade that specific audience to undertake an action. One of the most common formats for presenting reports is IMRAD: Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion. This structure is standard for the genre because it mirrors the traditional publication of scientific research and summons the ethos and credibility of that discipline. Reports are not required to follow this pattern, and may use alternative patterns like the problemsolution format. Additional elements often used to persuade readers include: headings to indicate topics, to more complex formats including charts, tables, figures, pictures, tables of contents, abstracts, summaries, appendices, footnotes, hyperlinks, and references. Some examples of reports are: scientific reports, recommendation reports, white papers, annual reports, auditor's reports, workplace reports, census reports, trip reports, progress reports, investigative reports, budget reports, policy reports, demographic reports, credit reports, appraisal reports, inspection reports, military reports, bound reports, etc.

FEATURES OR CHARACTERISTICS OF REPORT

Complete and Compact Document: Report is a complete and compact written document giving updated information about a specific problem.
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 Systematic Presentation of Facts: Report is a systematic presentation of facts, figures, conclusions and recommendations. Report writers closely study the problem under investigation and prepare a report after analyzing all relevant information regarding the problem. Report is supported by facts and evidence. There is no scope for imagination in a report which is basically a factual document. Prepared in Writing: Reports are usually in writing. Writing reports are useful for reference purpose. It serves as complete, compact and self-explanatory document over a long period. Oral reporting is possible in the case of secret and confidential matters. Provides Information and Guidance: Report is a valuable document which gives information and guidance to the management while framing future policies. It facilitates planning and decision making. Reports are also useful for solving problems faced by a business enterprise. Self-explanatory Document: Report is a comprehensive document and covers all aspects of the subject matter of study. It is a self-explanatory and complete document by itself. Acts as a Tool of Internal Communication: Report is an effective tool of communication between top executives and subordinate staff working in an organization. It provides feedback to employees and to executives for decision making. Reports are generally submitted to higher authorities. It is an example of upward communication. Similarly, reports are also sent by company executives to
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the lower levels of management. This is treated as downward communication. In addition, reports are also sent to shareholders and others connected with the company. It may be pointed out that report writing / preparation acts as a backbone of any system of communication. Acts as Permanent Record: A report serves as a permanent record relating to certain business matter. It is useful for future reference and guidance. Time Consuming and Costly Activity: Report writing is a time consuming, lengthy and costly activity as it involves collection of facts, drawing conclusion and making recommendations.

IMPORTANCE OF REPORT IN ORGANIZATION

Before I explain the importance of reports to an organization, I want to conceive reasonably accurate concept of what a report really is. It is "a very useful tool, an instrument of managerial control". This is inaccurate description of a report though. To put it simply, a report may be explained as a social kind of information, on which a man in authority may take a decision. The management engages the services of well qualified and experienced persons to write reports on the problem. They write these reports by conducting surveys, investigating the matter thoroughly and submitting there findings along with their recommendations or suggestions. During a regular business day, bosses write emails to employees notifying them of meetings or providing instructions for specific projects. These written messages must be concise and self-explanatory, so workers can be productive and not waste time asking for
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further instructions. Business people are busy and well-written communications help save time. Additionally, good writing adds to the credibility of the writer and reflects positively on a company's image. The management always likes to rely on them and accept their recommendations and suggestions if they are found workable as well as profitable. Thus the report plays the great role in the planning and organization of the business house. But it is not the planning and organization of the business alone which come under the review of a report; it is the whole of business which benefits by it. When the industry is to be expanded, scores of reports have to be prepared and gone through before the board of directors can arrive at a safe decision. Often, even the routine direction of administrative and manufacturing units; require the assistance of reports whenever serious problems crop up. A well written report can help avoid semantic and perception barriers. A well written report eliminates the possibility of misunderstanding and misinterpretation. In writing messages, it is necessary to be precise, making the meaning as clear as possible so that it accomplishes the desired purpose. The language used should be simple, as it will be lost if the words used are complex and do not lend to clear single meaning. Vagueness destroys accuracy which leads to misunderstanding of the meaning or intent of the message. Accordingly be specific and to the point. Report facilitates future decision making process and help top management to make decisions and also the impact of those decisions in future. Report bears information about the concluding stuff regarding business. It is important in many regards because it is an epilogue which can be explored at ease. It is of importance according to people. It
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may be more important for financier and other people while it would be unimportant for employees. It may have detailed information regarding ups and downs of business. It may help to produce a record of the previous years. It may be helpful in finding out the high and low grades in a business in previous many years. They usually are concerned with major lines of business. They may have detailed information regarding financial record of business. This would be required by a businessman all the time. It is good to make copies of this report to send it to investors. It would be an easy and quick help for him. He may know the previous picture of the business. He may know that how much he is putting and how much he needs to put in. report communicates values; report writing importance can be expressed through communication of the report writer to the readers through business concepts and companys strategies. As recommendations; reports can be dedicated to the description of companys perspectives and recommendations. The success of future business planning can be reached through centralization of report writing importance. The importance of report writing can be understood only by evaluation the usefulness of paper writing in business organizations. In most firms the employees are to report the managers about the amount of work they made in relation to provided plan. This gives an opportunity to analyze staff work and time spent for its fulfillment.

CONCLUSION
Report writing importance is stressed not only in business, but in economics and politics. Remember, that to perform an effective report writing is a complicated and hard working process requiring the development of simple writing skills and their application to the sphere of specialization.

REFERENCES
Blicq, Ronald (2003): "Technically-Write!". Prentice Hall.

Gerson, Sharon and Gerson, Steven (2005). Technical Writing: Process and Product. Prentice Hall.

Lannon, John (2007): Technical Communication. Longman.