Step 5. Preparing your first draft of the report

🎯 Objective

You are a consulting team hired to assess the current management practices of your client — the company you have selected — and to provide recommendations for improving its management.
Your role is to produce a structured and well-argued management diagnostic report.

💡 Tips for Success

Tip 1 – Assessing Current Practices
When you describe the company’s current management practices, always indicate your source (e.g., company website, annual report, press article).
If the information you found turns out to be inaccurate, referencing your source ensures that the issue is not attributed to you.

If no information is available on a given practice, you may:

• Explicitly state that no data was found.

• Ask ChatGPT for insights (clearly indicate that the information comes from ChatGPT).

• Then base your assessment on this answer — but only if no other source is available.

Tip 2 – Use Theories from the Course
Your assessment must mobilize management theories and concepts studied in class. Avoid generic or superficial evaluations — support your analysis with relevant frameworks.

Tip 3 – Make Your Recommendations Valuable
Your recommendations must be:

• Specific to the organization (not generic or reusable for any company).

• Non-obvious — your client is paying for strategic insight, not for simple or self-evident advice.

🧾 Report Guidelines and Expected Content

Document Name

Be precise in naming your file. Avoid generic titles like “Management Report.”
Use the following format:
[CompanyName]2025_ManagementCourse[Student1][Student2][Student3]
Example:
Netflix_2025_ManagementCourse_Georgescu_Perrin_Fernandez

Front Page

Include the following information:

• Report title: Management Diagnostic Report

• Course name and year

• Student names

• Professor’s name

Introduction

• Clearly state the objective of the report: to conduct a management diagnosis and propose recommendations to improve the company’s management practices.

• Explain why this company (your client) is an interesting or relevant case for conducting a management diagnostic — for example, due to its strategy, structure, growth stage, innovation profile, or managerial challenges.

• Provide a brief overview of the company (industry, size, main activities, and context).

🔍 Part 1: Assess the Planning

Task 1: Present the official purpose (mission, vision, or raison d’être) of the company as stated on its website or official communication channels.
Task 2: Write a note to the CEO analyzing the current purpose. Provide recommendations on how to refine or improve it, and propose a revised purpose statement at the end.

🧭 Part 2: Assess the Leading

Task 1: Describe how the company manages and leads its employees. Assess how these practices leverage employee empowerment — or not.
Task 2: Write a note to the CEO analyzing whether the current leadership approach effectively fosters empowerment. Provide clear, theory-based recommendations for improvement.

🏗️ Part 3: Assess the Structure

Task 1: Characterize the company’s organizational structure using the five building blocks of organizational design (as studied in class).
Task 2: Write a note to the CEO highlighting the strengths and potential weaknesses in the current structure, and propose recommendations to improve organizational design.

📊 Part 4: Assess the Control Process (Controlling)

Task 1: Analyze the controlling functions within the company (performance management, financial control, quality control, etc.).
Task 2: Write a note to the CEO identifying the strengths and potential weaknesses in the company’s controlling processes, and propose recommendations for enhancement.

🧠 Conclusion: Position Paper

Present a clear and arguable opinion on the company’s overall management and how it could be improved.
Your goal is to convince the reader (the CEO) that your perspective is valid, actionable, and worth considering.

📚 Use of Sources

You must provide appropriate references and sources for:

• Any practices or examples found online or in company reports used to describe the organization’s management or structure.

• Any theoretical frameworks or academic concepts applied in your analysis or recommendations.

All sources should be properly cited following an academic referencing style (e.g., APA or Harvard).

🌐 Webography

Each fact presented in the report should be supported by a source, cited in-text.
At the end of the report, include a webography listing all online resources used.
Follow academic referencing standards to ensure all citations are complete and consistent

Examples of report (careful : the instruction might have changes between what they had to do and your instruction) :