A Feasibility Report

Write a report recommending a change in the operation or some organization you know well.

Your report must be at least three pages long, and it must be addressed to a real person who actually has the power to help make the change you recommend. Good audiences are present and past employers, managers of various services and offices on and off campus, and the officers of academic and social organizations to which you belong. Do not address a general audience like fellow taxpayers of Kentucky.

The purposes of this assignment are (1 ) to give you experience with persuasive writing (2) to familiarize you with the skills necessary when you are writing on your own initiative-a situation that occurs on the job almost as often as that of writing at someone else's request (3) to give you practice writing for a nontechnical managerial audience and (4) to increase your awareness of the importance of audience in any writing situation.

You will have to persuade your reader that a problem exists where the reader has not previously recognized one and may have a personal stake in the status quo. You must consider the reader's view of the present situation, the specific kinds of evidence likely to persuade the reader to change that view, and the kinds of objections the reader is likely to raise against your recommended action.

Your goals are ( 1) to prove that your suggested change is needed, (2) to prove that ifs feasible and (3 )_to explain how it would be put into effect. You need a clear explanation of what the change is, a convincing argument for the change and a specific description of the steps needed to put it into effect

The report must be accompanied by an informative abstract and must contain headings and, if appropriate, subheadings (I will explain how to do these parts).

You may need to do some investigating, such as talking with other people, examining records or other documents, or doing a personal observation related to the situation. Be sure to mention any sources of information in your report to give it credibility.

For example-

Tina Neville, our general manager, informed me that Our records of repairs made over the past year show After observing our current on-the-job training program for an entire workday, I concluded

Planning Activities for the Feasibility Report

I . If you have already chosen a situation to write about, go on to step 2.

Make two columns. In the left column, list several groups or organizations you belong to. In the right column, list two or three problems or situations that could be improved within each group. For example

job high employee turnover inefficient record keeping

Choose a situation on the list that seems especially important. It should seem like one that could be changed and you should know enough about it to explore it in detail.

2. Analyzing the situation. Write out the answers to the following questions--
Is the problem serious?
Do other members of the group think so?
Would the reader think so?
What caused the situation?
What bad effects does the problem cause? How is it hurting the organization?
Is it endangering any long-range goals?

3. In a sentence or two, state what you would consider the best possible way of changing the situation.

4. Determining the feasibility of making the change. Now write down each of the steps necessary to put your suggestion into action. BE VERY SPECIFIC-Don't for-get costs.

5. Testing your proposal. Ask yourself the following questions--
Will the change I'm suggesting really improve the situation?
Is the change really needed?
Is the change practical?
Can it be put into action?
will my reader care about it or can he/she be persuaded to care?
As you plan and draft your report, consider these questions again and again.

6. Profiling your reader. Take a few minutes to write about your reader. Use these questions to stimulate your thinking.
What does he/she already know about the situation?
Has s/he shown any awareness of it?
Why would the situation or problem be important to him/her? Why would
s/he care about changing it?
Has s/he offered any suggestions for changes in the situation? If so, what did they have in
common with mine?
How can I persuade my reader to consider my suggestion?
Do we share any attitudes or goals that I could use as a bridge to bring us together?
Can I infer anything from my reader's reactions in the past that suggest how s/he would respond to my proposal?

7. Anticipating objections to your recommendation. Imagine you reader opposes your opposes your suggestion and confronts you with the following arguments. Add any others you can think of. Write your reply to each one.

It won't really help.
We can't afford it.
It will take too long.
People won't do it.
I don't see how to get started on your proposal.
It's already been tried and it didn't work.

8. Listing and developing reasons for adopting your proposal. Write down every plausible reason you could give that would persuade your reader to accept your idea. USE SOLID EVIDENCE.

Keeping your reader in mind, look over your list and put a star beside the best reasons. Take a few minutes to write about each reason, developing your argument on its behalf. If you don't consider at least two of your reasons strong, you may have difficulty developing a strong proposal and you should reconsider your topic.

9. Comparing your suggestion to alternatives. List several alternative proposals that might be offered by your reader and consider the advantages and disadvantages of each one, compared to those of your proposal You might find it helpful to put together a chart like this.