M: Business Communication 3rd Edition

Critical Thinking Questions 1. If theres no definitive solution, then all ways of handling a business communication problem are equally good. Using the discussion of business communication problem solving in this chapter, explain why this statement is false. (LO6) True, there are no guarantees that even the best-planned, most carefully designed message

Chapter 01 - Communicating in the Workplace Skills Building Exercises 1. Using the Internet, find a company that has a corporate social responsibility program and study what the companys website says about that program. What kind of image as a corporate citizen is the company trying to project, and how? How convincing

Part II: Chapter-by-Chapter Lecture Notes & Exercises Chapter 1: Communicating in the Workplace Teaching Suggestions Much of the informaon you will cover in the rst meeng is rouneintroducon of yourself, oce hours, course requirements, operang policies, and other business. In addion, you will probably want to introduce the subject ma!er of the course.

Text Summary, Lecture Outline The Role of Communication in Business Slides 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 This chapter puts business communicaon in context. It explains the importance of business communicaon skills, describes large and small factors that aect business communicaon, idenes the main types of communicaon, and describes the problem-solving approach that is essenal to eecve

Critical Thinking Questions 1. Talking is something we do every day, so we can be confident that these everyday skills are ready for use in the workplace. Discuss. (LO1) Though most people do some form of talking every day, the kind of communication we use varies broadly depending on our audience, setting, and

Chapter 10 - Communicating Orally Skills Building Exercises Talking (LO1) 1. Record yourself in conversation with three different audiences (e.g., a friend, your parents, a customer or client at work, an instructor). Conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of your talking using the four elements of good talking discussed in this

Teaching Suggestions Teaching oral communication is best done through application exercises and problems. Even so, probably you will want to review the techniques for each type presented in the text first. As you will note, many kinds of oral communication exist. We believe our coverage of them follows a natural evolutionfrom informal-talking and various

Making Formal Speeches Slide 10-17 Most business people can overcome their discomforts with formal speeches if they desire to improve and master speaking techniques. This overview slide introduces the basics of public speaking. Slide 10-18 The formal speech begins with a topic. In some cases, you will be assigned a topic: because of your expertise by the nature

Critical Thinking Questions 1. Building a network of contacts to find jobs seems selfish. It involves acquiring friendships just to use them for ones personal benefit. Discuss this view. (LO1) This argument can be supported, for one can use people in building a network of contacts. A counter argument is that one

Chapter 11- Communicating in the Job Search Sample Solutions to Problem-Solving Cases Case #3 This case is an excellent opportunity for students to define their long-term career goals and become more strategic in their job searches. It also generates material that can be transferred to Webpage profiles, useful in students initial searches

Skills Building Exercises 1. Criticize the following excerpts from rsums. (They are not from the same rsum.) (LO4) a. Work Experience 20112014 Employed as sales rep for Lloyd-Shanks Tool Company 20122013 Office manager, Drago Plumbing Supply, Toronto 20132014 Matsons Super Stores. I worked part time as sales clerk while attending college. 1) The words dont tell what

Teaching Suggestions The teaching techniques for this chapter are the same as the preceding chapters. Some instructors will tackle this chapter early in the semester as a way to get to know their students. Others may want to wait unl students have had more pracce wring business documents and teach the

Critical Thinking Questions 1. Identify and explain the steps in the writing process. (LO1) See pages 22 28 in the text. 2. Think about a writing project that you recently completed. Using the terminology in this chapter, describe the process that you used. How might using different strategies have made the project

Critical Thinking Questions 1. Interview a working professional about his or her writing process. In addition to asking about general strategies for different kinds of writing, ask how he or she tackled a particularly difficult writing situation. Write the results of your findings in a brief memo report to your instructor.

Part II: Chapter-by-Chapter Lecture Notes & Exercises Chapter 2: Understanding the Writing Process and the Main Forms of Business Messages Teaching Suggestions Probably this material is covered best by lecture and discussion. But some wring could be assignedespecially of short, informal email messages. The longer messages are more appropriately handled in the following

Text Summary, Lecture Outline Slides 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 You can point out that this chapter will cover advice that applies to wring all kinds of documents, as well as specic advice on the shorter forms of business communicaon, or messages: le#ers, memos, email, text messages, and instant messaging. The Process of Writing Slide 2-4 You

Critical Thinking Questions 1. For the past 20 years, Professor Clark Kupenheimer has required that his students include five visuals in the long, formal report he assigns. Evaluate this requirement. (LO1) The requirement is an arbitrary one. Need should determine the number of visuals required for a given problem. The requirement is an

Skills Building Exercises 1. Construct a complete, concise title for a line chart representing employment placement rates for graduates in your major at your school from 2010 to the present. (LO2) Although there is no one best wording, this one meets the requirements: Graduate Employment Placement Rates at X University, 2010-200X. Although there

Part II: Chapter-by-Chapter Lecture Notes & Exercises Chapter 3: Communicating Eectively with Visuals Teaching Suggestions As we look at teaching visuals, the emphasis in a business communication class should be on their proper use and selectionnot on the mechanics of constructing them. This is not to say that mechanics are not important, but

Critical Thinking Questions 1. Evaluate this comment: Im not going to simplify my wring for my readers. That would be talking down to them. Plus, if they cant understand clear English, thats their problem. (LO1) There are ways to simplify ones content for readers without being insulng. Wring in a way that they

Chapter 04 - Using an Appropriate Style Skills Building Exercises Using Familiar, Short Words (LO1) Instructions, Sentences 1-20: Assume that your readers are at about the 10th-grade level in education. Revise these sentences for easy communication to this audience. 1. We must terminate all deficit financing. We must stop buying on credit. We must stop

Part II: Chapter-by-Chapter Lecture Notes & Exercises Chapter 4: Using an Appropriate Style Teaching Suggestions This chapter and the next contains a great deal of advice about wring. One foundaonal point deserves special emphasis: what counts as a good style or even clear wring depends on the situaon. Every word, sentence, and paragraph needs

Text Summary, Lecture Outline Slides 4-1, 4-2, 4-3 Use this overview slide to preview the chapter contents. You can point out that the main goals Use this overview slide to preview the chapter contents. You can point out that the main goals Use this overview slide to preview the chapter contents. You

Critical Thinking Questions 1. When is the direct order appropriate in inquiries? When would you use the indirect order? Give examples. (LO1) Directness is appropriate when the reader is likely to receive the message positively or neutrally. Indirectness is appropriate when the message is likely to be received negatively. As will be

Skills Building Exercises 1. Point out the shortcomings in this email response to an inquiry about a short course in business communication that Casey Websters company offered to its employees. The course was taught by a local college professor. Mr. Bradens initial inquiry included five questions: (1) How did the professor

Teaching Suggestions This chapter introduces students to one of the standard organizaonal approaches in business wring: the direct organizaonal paern. Because this paern is used most frequently in situaons in which the reader will react posively or neutrally, Chapter 5 discusses the direct paern in this rhetorical context. But many of

Critical Thinking Questions 1. Give examples of mes (or situaons) when directness is appropriate for responses giving negave informaon. (LO1) Directness can be appropriate when the message is likely to be considered roune or when the writer feels the reader prefers a direct response, regardless of the message. The students examples should

Chapter 06 - Writing Bad-News Messages Sample Solutions to Problem-Solving Cases Indirect Claims, Case #16 The main trap to avoid here is using language that is too dramatic and indignant. You need to express your displeasure, but in a way that focuses on the facts instead of your feelings. Also, you need

Skills Building Exercises 1. Point out the shortcomings in the following email message from a sports celebrity declining an invitation to speak at the kickoff meeting for workers in a fundraising campaign for a charity. (LO3) Subject: Your request for free lecture Ms. Chung:As much as I would like to, I must decline

Teaching Suggestions The teaching techniques for this chapter are the same as for the preceding chapter. Text Summary, Lecture Outline Slides 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 When introducing this chapter, you can ask your students to give examples of mes when a business writer might need to give unwelcome news. Help them see that this is

Critical Thinking Questions 1. Explain why a persuasive-request message is usually written in the indirect order. Could the direct order ever be used for such messages? Discuss. (LO2) Persuasive requests are written when we assume the reader is likely to oppose the request. If we were to assume otherwise, we would use the direct

Skills Building Exercises 1. Assume that, as a volunteer for a nonprofit organization in your town, you have been asked to write the next fundraising letter for the organization. In what ways might you gather enough information about the intended readers to write a successful message? (LO1) Students can offer a

Solutions to Sample Problem-Solving Cases Persuasive Requests, Case #1 Persuasion involves convincing getting someone else to see things the way you do or to take an action you want them to take. The key to success is to know and understand your readers well so that you can think about the subject

Teaching Suggestions The teaching techniques for this chapter are the same as for the preceding two chapters. Text Summary, Lecture Outline Slides 7-1, 7-2, 7-3 This chapter begins with some advice that pertains to all kinds of persuasive messages. Then it covers the three most common types in business: persuasive requests, sales messages, and proposals. You

Critical Thinking Questions 1. What kinds of reports do you expect to write in your chosen profession? Why? What will the likely purposes of these reports be? (LO1) The goal here is to get students to realize that the nature of the profession they have chosen will influence their report-writing responsibilities. If

Chapter 08 - Researching and Writing Reports Skills Building Exercises 1. For each of the following problem situations, write a clear statement of the problem and list the factors involved. When necessary, you may use your imagination logically to supply any additional information needed. (LO1, LO2) a. A manufacturer of breakfast

Teaching Suggestions In teaching this chapter we suggest that you use a combination of techniques. Lecture is good to review the text contents. You can supplement your lecture with the slides. After you have covered the subject matter, or perhaps as you cover it, you can use critical thinking exercises, such

Critical Thinking Questions 1. Discuss the effects of formality and likely length on report makeup as described in the chapter. (LO1) As a general rule, the more formal the report situation, the more the report writer should dress up the report. One does so by giving the report prefatory parts, as described in

Chapter 09 - Writing Short Reports Sample Solutions to Problem-Solving Cases Shorter Reports, Case #5 This report problem enables your students to pracce much of the advice in this chapter and the preceding one. For starters, they need to write a problem statement (a statement of report purpose in light of the problem

Suggested Solutions for the Skills Building Exercises 1. Review the following report situations and determine for each the makeup of the report you would recommend for it (LO1) a. A professional research organization has completed a survey of consumer attitudes toward BankOne. The survey results will be presented to the bank president

Teaching Suggestions Lecture, discussion, and illustraon are all good for teaching types of reports. You can use lecture to summarize text highlights. We give special emphasis to the overall makeup of reports (Exhibit 9-1 in the text, Slide 9-5). For the discussion you can use the quesons at the end of the

Briefly describe the three methods of presenting a speech. Answer: The three presentation methods are:a) Presenting Extemporaneously: Extemporaneous presentation is by far the most popular and effective method. With this method, you first thoroughly prepare your speech and thenprepare notes and present the speech from them. It involves rehearsing to ensure

Which of the following is true of adaptation, one of the basic elements of the techniques of good talking? A. It refers to the pitch and resonance of the sounds a speaker makes and the sounds an audience hears. B. It refers to a set of voice behaviors that gives each person

_____ refer to help-wanted notices in newspapers and professional journals, whether online or in print. A. Classified advertisements B. Display advertisements C. Personal advertisements D. Cover messages E. Public notices Answer: A.Classified advertisements refer to help-wanted advertisements in newspapers and professional journals, online or in print, providing good sources of employment opportunities for many

Answer: FALSEIn a bad-news message, a neutral buffer might simply acknowledge your receipt of the reader's earlier message and indicate your awareness of what it said. A positive buffer might thank the reader for bringing a situation to your attention or for being a valued customer or employee. FALSEIn a bad-news message,

Answer: Answer: FALSEIntrinsic benefits are tightly linked to what you're asking people to do, while extrinsic onesare added on and more short-lived. FALSEIntrinsic benefits are tightly linked to what you're asking people to do, while extrinsic onesare added on and more short-lived. FALSE Intrinsic benefits are tightly linked to what you're asking people to do,

Answer: Answer: FALSE FALSE FALSE Answer: FALSEExternal-operational communication consists of a business's communication with its suppliers, service companies, customers, government agencies, the general public, and others. Internal-operational communication is the communication among the business's employees that is done to perform the work of the business and track its success. FALSEExternal-operational communication consists of a business's communication with

Answer: TRUE TRUE TRUE Answer: Answer: FALSEEmotional appeals are those based on our senses and emotions. FALSEEmotional appeals are those based on our senses and emotions. FALSE Emotional appeals are those based on our senses and emotions. Answer: Answer: TRUE TRUE TRUE Answer: FALSEBy definition, persuasive messages are written to potentially uncooperative readers; that is why persuasion is necessary. For this reason, it is often best

Which of the following questions would be asked as part of a behavioral interview? A. Why do you think we should hire you for this job? B. Are you comfortable working night shifts? C. How will you tackle a project with a deadline that you're sure you can't meet on your

Answer: FALSEUser testing, also called usability testing, measures a person's experience when interacting with a product such as a document, a mobile device, a website, a piece of software, or any number of other consumer products. FALSEUser testing, also called usability testing, measures a person's experience when interacting with a product such

Cross-cultural competency is best defined as the ability to _____. A. understand and adapt to the preference for individualism or collectivism, religious beliefs, political environment, and ideas about social hierarchy of different countries B. interact with data, see patterns in data, make data-based decisions, and use data to design for

Answer: TRUE TRUE TRUE Answer: FALSEBy frequently asking questions, you display an open mind and show that you are listening. And you assist the talker in developing his or her message and in improving the correctness of meaning. FALSEBy frequently asking questions, you display an open mind and show that you are listening. And you assist

_____ refer to a number of pages that come before the actual report itself and are included when the situation is formal and the report is long. A. Appendices B. Prefatory pages C. Proposal notes D. First-pass pages E. Supplements Answer: B.The prefatory pages, a number of pages that come before the text material,

When giving a speech or a formal presentation, which of the following steps involves determining the contents of the introduction, body, and conclusion? A. Determining the topic and purpose of the report B. Preparing the presentation C. Choosing the presentation method D. Choosing the means of audience feedback E. Gathering information for the

Which of the following applies not only to proposals but also to all other types of messages? A. There is a set pattern that must be followed. B. The content must be adapted to the reader of the message. C. The you-viewpoint should be avoided. D. Initialisms, abbreviations, and contractions are forbidden. E.