Workshop on Management Reporting and Decision Making

Program overview:

Management reporting and decision making are core skills for all managers and professionals.  Effective decision making depends upon having both well-presented information (be that in the form of a written report or an oral presentation) and the ability to analyze and assess that information and test the quality of the conclusions drawn.  By the same token, effective management reporting requires an understanding of the decision-making process so that decision makers’ needs can be properly met with all relevant information provided in a clear, concise and objective way.

 For whom:

This program is designed for all Managers who write reports for management decisions

 Learning objectives:

At the end of this program, participants will be able to: ·

• develop management reporting writing skills so as to enhance the quality of decision making in their organizations;
• develop their decision-making skills and take both a structured and creative approach to decision making; and
• identify information needed, assess and interrogate the validity of the information and proposals presented to them.

 Course outline:

 Day One: The Decision-Making Process and Skills

• The management decision process,
• Creative thinking and problem solving
• Forms and forums for decision making,
• Synergy and group think in decision making
• Edward de Bono ‘Thinking Hats’ and the decision-making process

 Day Two: Managing Information/ Writing Reports and Proposals

• Information management – what decision makers need
• Principles of information management
  • – filtering, scheduling and condensing
• Sources and types of information – quantitative and qualitative
• Features of effective reports and proposals
• The writing process,
• Clarifying objectives and decision makers needs
• Determining relevance – what to put in and what to leave out
• Structuring a report,
• Developing logical sequencing
• Use of appendices, tables, diagrams and figures

 Day Three: Writing Reports and Proposals for Decision Making

• Improving readability and fog factor analysis
• Sentence and paragraph structure
• Grammar and punctuation,
• Getting the best from spell and grammar checks
• Proofreading, §Principles of effective presentations
• Handling nerves and using notes,
• Content and structure

Day Four: Making Presentation for Decision Making

• Body language and voice,
• Using visual aids and stage management
• Designing effective and impactful slides with PowerPoint

• Choosing words with impact – using rhetorical devices

• Making team presentations,
• Participants’ presentations and feedback session (1)

 Day Five: Committee Reporting and Decision Making

• Participants’ presentations and feedback session (2)
• Questioning and question handling skills,
• Building support for ideas
• Influencing skills and ‘political’ dimensions
• Implementing and monitoring decisions
• Program review

 Training Methodology

Methodology: Lectures, discussions, exercises, and case studies, will be used to reinforce these teachings/learning methods.