Instructions for Business Improvement Proposal
Description: For this assignment you will write a 3-5 page single-spaced professionally-written
proposal to a former boss with a plan to address a business-related problem. Proposals take many
forms, but generally they describe a problem/identify a need/opportunity; recommend a
solution/response; and provide a plan for implementation.
While many proposals are formal documents authored by consulting companies and used to
persuade other organizations to retain their services, less formal proposals, particularly those made by
one employee to another inside an organization, abound daily. There are many activities that we may
propose others in our organization do in response to a perceived need or problem. For example:
? You could propose your company adopt new technology or conduct research on the customer
base.
? Perhaps you believe they should explore the capacity for growth in a certain market sector.
? Perhaps you would like to propose they develop a new product.
? You could propose an employee policy regarding absences/leave or suggest alternatives to
scheduling, hiring or training.
? You might have suggestions to curb theft.
? You may have ideas on how to make a process more effective or efficient.
There are limitless problems you may encounter. But there are some very specific and important
approaches to formulating your proposal so that it is persuasive and taken seriously by decision makers.
Toward the end, include the following in your proposal.
Make Sure Your Proposal Contains the following:
A. Current Situation. Introduce the problem to your boss(es). Explain/describe what motivated
you to consider the phenomena to be problematic. Provide enough background information to enable a
reader who is unfamiliar with the situation to understand the issue, including the negative
consequences that this problem incurs. Consider who, what, where, and when to determine if you have
provided adequate description of the problem.
B. Goals. Clearly explain the goals of your proposal. This will entail describing the positive
consequences from addressing the situation. Frame them in terms of your audience’s goals, not your
own. (E.g. If your boss doesn’t care about making computer repair service calls shorter but wants to
reduce call-backs from 15% to 3%, then frame the recommendations mainly in these terms, even if your
recommendations will improve both time-to-repair and reduce call-backs.)
C. Proposed Methodology (“Implementation Plan”; “Schedule of Events”). Describe how you
would improve the problem through a set of recommended steps to lead the organization to meeting
their goals. (Remember to frame the recommendations in terms of your audience’s (i.e. bosses’) goals,
not yours. See above.) Consider who, what, when, and where for these recommended steps and
describe why these changes should be made. Account for Equipment, Facilities, Financial and Other
Costs (e.g. disruptions in service during renovation), and Personnel.
? Note: Avoid telling your boss what to do. Use words like could or might, not would or will. E.g.
“You will offer 3 training sessions to help employees learn to use the new software” versus “you could
offer 3 training sessions to help employees learn to use the new software.” Use “modal verbs” such as
can, could, may, might, shall, should, will and would.
(See more at: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/englishgrammar/verbs/modal-verbs/certainprobable-or-possible#sthash.QncqYqzE.dpuf)

D. Time and cost. Thoroughly explain the time and cost requirements for each step in the
methodology, based on your calculations. (In consultants’ business proposals, this section would also
specify how you would be billing the client, and when payment would be expected.)
E. Your Background/Qualifications. You are an internal IT (Information Technology) employee
and you will want to remind your boss about your length of employment and your accomplishments
while you have been there. Just like cover letters and resumes, you can describe your aptitudes and
experiences (e.g. formal coursework in business or customer service experience) then provide
supporting evidence for how this makes you qualified to evaluate the situation and recommend
solutions. As with cover letters, qualifications might include factors such as passion for improving the
situation, willingness to commit extra effort to solving the problem, or ability to motivate others to
assist with making changes to address the problem.
F. Benefits. Discuss the benefits the organization will receive by implementing your
recommendations. Be sure to TRANSLATE “consequences” into “benefits.” In other words, “connect the
dots” here; don’t presume these links are obvious in a reader’s mind! Be sure you also connect the dots
between the goal your proposed improvement will fulfill and the overall goals of the company (e.g. if
you propose to reduce meal prep time in the restaurant’s kitchen, describe how this would enable wait
staff to give customers hotter, fresher meals and quicker service, AND that this in turn would increase
customer satisfaction).
E. Brief Conclusion. Recap the problem and your recommendations. As with a cover letter, end
with a “call to action”: tell your boss you would like to set up a meeting and discuss your ideas. You can
organization these elements the way that best serves the problem and your audience. For example, you
might choose to add subheadings as you see fit. However, make sure the organization functions to
impart information and persuade your unique audience.
Checklist
Introduction:
? ___Include formal memo components. Single spaced.
? ___Establish/maintain rapport with recipient through a “buffer.” (Buffer Types: agreement;
appreciation; compliment; facts; general principle; good news; understanding).
? ___Segue to the problem (often with a rhetorical signal to switch the conversational direction, such as
“However, ….”.)
? ___Describe the problem with enough background, given your boss’ background knowledge. (Since I
don’t know what your boss knows, you will need to be able to explain to me your rational for this
choice).
? ___Describe the problem with clarity (complex problems are “unpacked” so that dynamics between
certain phenomena are easy to follow).
? ___Describe the problem without blaming anyone with a tone of hostility or finger pointing. In
contrast, use passive construction (“mistakes were made”) or frame problems in terms of the
limitations/constraints the actors faced (in other words, their responsibility is mitigated or lessened
because they lacked something, perhaps time, training, supervision, etc., so that it reads that there were
other factors to blame).
? ___End with a thesis (there is/are solution(s) to the problem) and forecast (preview of the
order/organization in which you will be discussing the solution(s) & steps for implementation).
? ___Be sure the forecast reflects the organization of your proposal (in other words, your preview of the
discussion matches your actual discussion):
o E.g. I suggest we address this problem by _____, and below I outline five steps for doing so.
o E.g. I believe there are 3 potential solutions to this problem. In the remainder of this memo, I
assess the costs and benefits of each, and recommend the most feasible one. I then provide a
brief overview of a plan for implementing the solution.
? ___Establish your credibility (early credibility may be established with a tone of expertise, confidence
and respect for some boss’; for others, it may be necessary to more formally present qualifications that
enable you to understand the problem and recommend solutions).
? ___Assert the significance of the problem to the organization/boss.
? ___Assert the benefits of addressing the problem for the organization/boss (this does NOT have to be
a bulleted list!).
Body:
? ___Where relevant, provide more depth to the problem, organizing information logically and
coherently. Ask yourself: who, what, when where, and why to evaluate whether you have described the
problem fully for your audience.
? ___Where appropriate, use research to back up your assertions by quoting or paraphrasing.
? ___Include others’ opinions and experiences (testimonials) to help support your assertions where
appropriate (e.g. the night crew has confirmed the reports that ….).
? ___Provide quantitative estimates of the benefits of addressing the problem where feasible (e.g. cost
savings, increased sales, etc.). Make reasonably informed estimates of these benefits. (For benefits that
do not lend themselves to quantitative measures, link the benefits to the overall well-being of the
company.)
? ___Provide quantitative estimates of costs of the problem or solution where feasible (make sure you
do your research! Important: look up costs of services and products you recommend on the internet! If
you don’t have information on hand that you need in order to calculate for resources, come up with
reasonable estimates e.g. 2 additional employees at $10.00/hour for 10 additional shifts means the
increased wages for these employees will amount to ___).
? ___Anticipate and calculate for hidden factors! (Who will hire these individuals, how much time will it
take, and how much does this person make per hour? Who will train these new hires? How much time
will it take and how much do they make per hour?)
? ___When necessary, present quantitative information in easy-to-read ways (tables, lists, graphs, etc.).
? ___Uses headings and bullets that add to the discussion and reflect the forecast (preview).
? ___Recognize the limitations of your solution (or constraints, characteristics of the situation that can’t
be changed).
? ___Anticipate resistance (objections) to your proposal and present counterarguments (argue that the
benefits of your solution outweigh costs).
? ___Account for resources, such as facilities, time, or expertise required.
? ___Argue that the benefits of your solution outweigh costs) Anticipate and calculate for hidden
resource requirements!
? ___Include realistic steps for implementation, answering who, what, when, and where for each task,
and also providing a time-table when possible.
Conclusion:
? ___Restate (but don’t repeat!) the thesis and the solution.
? ___Mention the most salient points again (the significance of the problem? Certain urgent details
related to the implementation plan? This will be context specific).
? ___Remind your boss that the benefits outweigh the costs.
? ___Remind your boss what the organization/boss stands to gain.
? ___End with a “call to action”— e.g. ask for a meeting to discuss the ideas.
? ___Include an appropriate closing salutation.
Make sure you have also included:
? ___The experiences and education that make you qualified to pass judgment on the problem and
recommend a solution. (This is NOT a separate section! Put it where it makes sense to you.)
? ___Evidence that you are committed to helping with the solution.
? ___A tone of objectivity and rationality, in contrast to hostility or blame.
? ___A formal tone in contrast to an informal conversational tone.
? ___Transitions between sections to signal a change in discussion, even when they are separated by
headings or subheadings.
? ___Topic sentences at the start of new sections to signal changes in discussion (to tell the reader what
you’re are going to discuss next).
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