978-0073403267 Chapter 1 Lecture Points, Teaching Tips, and In-Class Exercises

Type

Quiz

Book Title

Business Communication: Building Critical Skills 6th Edition

ISBN 13

978-0073403267

April 6, 2019

Module 01 - Business Communication, Management, and Success

Module 1

Business Communication, Management, and Success

LO 1-1 Recognize myths about on-the-job writing.

LO 1-2 Distinguish business communication from other school writing.

LO 1-3 Explain accomplishments through communication.

LO 1-4 Understand costs for business communication.

LO 1-5 Define criteria for effective messages.

LO 1-6 Apply strategies for communication analysis.

LO 1-7 Apply strategies for creative thinking.

Module Overview

Module 1 introduces students to the importance of writing in the workplace, dispelling myths

about who writes and how. It also emphasizes that we live in a

period of great change, especially as globalization continues to

reshape the business world.

Students can easily overlook the importance of writing to their

careers—even people who are already in the workforce. In fact, a

major complaint of many employers is that their prospective and

current employees have poor or underdeveloped communication

skills. Therefore, Kitty and Steve believe it’s vital to share with

students early the realities of how important good communication

skills are to the workplace.

As shown on PP 1-6 through 1-8, employers clearly want

employees who communicate well, yet a staggering 40 million

people in the U.S. alone have limited literacy skills, including some

college graduates. According to a report by the College Board’s

National Commission on Writing, states spend more than $220

million annually on remedial writing training for their employees,

and corporations may spend $3.1 billion to fix problems from

writing deficiencies. Globalization is changing where they are

finding employees, millions of Americans are preparing to retire,

and millions more will replace them—some with very different

expectations for the workplace.

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Module 01 - Business Communication, Management, and Success

Teaching Tip: Many students are aware of a communication problem in the

workplace that may have cost an organization time or money or both. Ask them

to share stories about such problems, as well as how the organization

compensated for the problems. Use PP 1-6 through 1-8 to show the larger

picture.

Students may confuse the difference between verbal communication

(which uses words) and nonverbal communication (which doesn’t).

The fundamentals are on PP 1-4 and 1-5. The key point here is that

we use a combination of verbal and nonverbal communication every

day, on the job and otherwise. However, verbal and nonverbal

techniques may differ not only from each other, but also from culture

to culture, as expressed in Module 3.

As with all modules, Kitty and Steve recommend that you read

Module 1 thoroughly before reviewing the discussion that follows.

What’s in This Supplement

This supplement is organized around the major questions posed in Module 1. It covers

Part 1: Key Lecture Points, Teaching Tips, and In-Class Exercises Page 2

Part 2: Answers to Textbook Assignments Page 14

Part 3: Appendixes of Handouts/Transparency Masters Page 18

PowerPoint presentations can be found at our Web page at www.mhhe.com/bcs6e.

Questions (with answers) suitable for quizzes and examinations are in the Instructor’s Test

Bank. For student practice quizzes with answers, see our Web page.

Part 1: Key Lecture Points, Teaching Tips, and In-Class Exercises

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Module 01 - Business Communication, Management, and Success

Will I really have to write? LO 1-1

Yes. A lot.

Myths abound about writing on the job. Help students understand

why learning business communication is important by addressing

four common but generally flawed claims (outlined on PP 1-9 and

1-10):

Claim 1: Secretaries will do all my writing.

Reality: Because of automation and restructuring, secretaries and

administrative assistants are likely to handle complex tasks such as

training, research, and database management for several managers.

Managers are likely to take care of their own writing, data entry, and

phone calls.

Teaching Tip: Ask students who are secretaries or

administrative assistants to share their experiences on this matter—how many of

them do all of the writing for their bosses? Do any write for others in the

organization? How much? How does this compare to the amount of writing others

appear to do?

Claim 2: I’ll use form letters or templates when I need to write.

Reality: Using a form letter is OK if it’s a good letter. But form letters cover only routine

situations. The higher you rise, the more frequently you’ll face situations that aren’t routine, that

demand creative solutions.

In-Class Exercise: Have students bring to class form letters—a credit card pitch, a

letter from a property owner, college correspondence, etc. —and critique them.

Spend 10-15 minutes discussing the strengths and weaknesses of select letters. Do

they “work”? Why or why not? How personal do they feel? Are the students

emotionally attached to the service or product after reading the letters? How would

this affect their decision to purchase?

Claim 3: I’m being hired as an accountant, not a writer.

Reality: Almost every entry-level professional or managerial job requires you to write e-mail

messages, speak to small groups, and write e-mail and paper documents. People who do these

things well are more likely to be promoted beyond the entry-level.

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Module 01 - Business Communication, Management, and Success

Teaching Tip: Have your students interview a friend or relative in the business

world about how much writing he or she does on the job. In particular, the student

should ask if the amount and type of writing is what that person expected to do. Tell

the student to make a list of documents and, if possible, writing examples. Have

students spend 10-15 minutes sharing their findings with the class.

Claim 4: I’ll just pick up the phone.

Reality: Important phone calls require follow-up letters, memos, or e-mail messages. People in

organizations put things in writing to make themselves visible, to create a record, to convey

complex data, to make things convenient for the reader, and so forth.

Teaching Tip: Have your students discuss what form of communication seems more

“lasting” to them—phone or written correspondence. Which would they prefer for

messages they consider important? Why?

Don’t I know enough about communication? LO 1-2

Business communication differs from other school writing.

Some students struggle to transition from what they’ve learned in previous writing courses,

usually composition courses, to business communication. And because it’s likely they’ve taken

several composition courses prior to business communication, they naturally want to apply

composition strategies to your course.

Concepts may seem at odds with one another, even contradictory. For instance, while they were

rewarded for broad, expressive writing in composition, business communication privileges

brevity and less formal language. Argumentation may be less important than objectivity,

precision, and completeness.

Students who apply other disciplines’ strategies indiscriminately often produce business

documents that are wordy, confrontational, inappropriate in tone, or incorrect in format. Help

them understand that all good writing shares some features—organization, detail, reason, and so

forth—but business communication has expectations that are unique.

Teaching Tip: Novice writers often ignore distinctions between different disciplines

of writing, such as journalism, composition, fiction, business communication, etc.

Draw an analogy between these and disparate disciplines of mathematics—algebra,

geometry, and calculus—or science—biology, physics, and chemistry. Explain that

just as arithmetic forms the foundation of mathematical disciplines, so does the

English language form the foundation of writing disciplines in the U.S. Differences

make each discipline distinct, however, as distinct as in mathematics and science.

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Module 01 - Business Communication, Management, and Success

Use PP 1-11 to illustrate the differences between school writing and business writing:

Purpose

Audience

Information

Organization

Style

Document Design

Visuals

In-Class Exercise: Tell students to bring copies of compositions they’ve written to

class. Have them spend 10-15 minutes analyzing them for purpose, audience,

information, and so forth. Could the composition be adapted to a business message?

What kind? How? What changes would have to be made? What qualities or

features of the composition would not work?

What does communication accomplish? LO 1-3

Management happens through communication.

Managers aren’t the only ones who manage communication. Every day, workers must find ways

to stay productive while juggling multiple tasks. Learning to manage communication is one way

to keep things running smoothly. Learning the basics of business communication is a start.

As shown on PP 1-12 through PP 1-15, there are two broad

categories of audience: internal and external. Internal audiences

are other people in the same organization: subordinates, superiors,

and peers. Figure 1.1 (p. 7) shows the internal audiences for a sales

company.

External audiences are people outside the organization: customers,

suppliers, unions, stockholders, potential employees, government

agencies, the press, and even the general public. Figure 1.2 (p. 7)

shows a corporation’s external audiences. (Module 2 provides a

more detailed breakdown of audience.)

Approaches to reaching these two audiences can be quite different—

e.g., because internal audiences usually are more familiar, written

correspondence may be more casual and in memo form.

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Module 01 - Business Communication, Management, and Success

In-Class Exercise: What do students perceive as the differences between internal

and external audiences? Have them brainstorm for 10-15 minutes as a group on how

these audiences are similar and how they are different. If students are writing to an

internal audience, what document qualities would they be concerned about? For an

external audience? In particular, ask students what would be similar or different

about the following qualities: formality of language; use of humor; format of

document (memo vs. letter); length; quality of paper, envelope (if any), and printing.

While memos, letters, and newsletters are more formalized ways of communicating in the

workplace, the grapevine is the informal channel many employees rely on for information.

Sometimes, employees will see the grapevine as more credible than “official” company organs,

especially during periods of poor labor relations.

Teaching Tip: Ask the students to share their experiences with a company or

organization grapevine. Did they believe it more than information on company

letterhead? Why or why not? How accurate was the grapevine? What effects did it

have on organization morale and behavior? If the effect was poor, why did people

privilege it?

As illustrated on PP 1-16, three basic purposes exist for writing in

the workplace: to inform, to request or persuade, and to build

goodwill.

How much does correspondence cost? LO 1-4

$21.15 a page—even more if it doesn’t work.

Unlike the “bottom line” for manufacturing and sales, the cost of writing in the workplace often

seems incalculable or inconsequential to students. However, a consultant who surveyed

employees in seven industries found that to prepare a one-page letter, most of them spent 54

minutes planning, composing, and revising the letter. According to the most recent figures from

the U.S. Department of Labor, employers paid an average of $23.50 per hours per employee for

wages and benefits. At that rate, an employer would pay $21.15 for an employee’s time spent

writing a typical letter.

Help students understand that the true cost of poor communication generally isn’t measured in

dollars and cents, but in the failure of the message to achieve its goals. Loss of credibility,

failure to secure a job interview or get a promotion, a poor image of the organization,

miscommunicated messages, and unresolved problems can result. Of course, ineffective

communication can also translate into lost revenue.

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Module 01 - Business Communication, Management, and Success

Document cycling adds to the cost, as the same message might circulate back and forth among

many people until the final version is produced. Researcher Geoffrey Cross found, for instance,

that a one-page letter of transmittal for an insurance company annual report took 77 days to write

because of document cycling. In the meantime, the dollar clock is ticking.

Teaching Tip: College course paper revisions are forms of document cycling

between teacher and student that most students appreciate. Here students can learn

while improving grades. Yet, there is also a cost: time. Ask students to analyze how

much time they have spent re-writing a typical graded paper (not revising a paper

before submission, a different task). Would they like to spend less? If so, what steps

could they take to reduce the amount of time spent re-writing while improving the

quality of their papers? How might they apply these steps to business documents?

(You can tie this into PAIBOC, described below—how could students better analyze

the writing problem before they start composing?)

Bad writing wastes time by

Taking more time to read.

Requiring more time to revise and causing more rounds of revision.

Confusing ideas so that discussions and decisions are needlessly drawn out.

Delaying action while the reader asks for more information or tries to figure out the

meaning.

What makes a message effective? LO 1-5

Good messages meet five criteria.

Good business and administrative writing (illustrated on PP 1-19)

Is clear.

Is complete.

Is correct.

Saves the reader’s time.

Builds goodwill.

Students should understand that while these are not the only qualities of good business writing,

these five criteria form the foundation of all business messages.

For more information on building goodwill, see Unit Two.

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Module 01 - Business Communication, Management, and Success

In-Class Exercise: Tell students to bring copies of correspondence they’ve received

that do not meet any or all of these five criteria. Have the students break into groups

and spend 10-15 minutes identifying the problems with one of their group’s

messages. What’s wrong with the message’s clarity or completeness? If the

message did not save time, what went wrong? How did they feel about errors?

What was the overall impression of the individual or organization that sent the

message? Have the students spend another 10-15 minutes rewriting the portions

they feel are problematic.

How should I analyze business communication situations? LO 1-6

Try PAIBOC.

PAIBOC, as illustrated on PP 1-21 and PP 1-22, helps students to

analyze business communication situations:

P Purpose

A Audience

Teaching Tip: Audience is covered in more detail in

Module 2. Students should understand that the

audience-centered approach to communication will help

them create better documents.

I Information

B Benefits

Teaching Tip: Reader benefits is a concept covered in more detail in Module 8. For

now, help students to understand that in any business transaction, the parties

involved look for benefits. Mutual benefits are points of agreement or compromise.

To help students understand the concept, brainstorm with them the benefits of taking

a business communication course. Encourage them to look beyond simple tangible

results—e.g., learning to write specific documents—and also consider less tangible

ones—e.g., confidence in business communication situations.

O Objections

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Module 01 - Business Communication, Management, and Success

Teaching Tip: Many objections can be overcome—offering an attractive interest

rate or a product in a popular color—but others may be impossible—stocking

unusual sizes or approving a credit line far beyond what an applicant is qualified for.

Remind students to stay within reason when considering both objections and how to

overcome them.

C Context

For messages throughout this text and throughout their careers, students should use PAIBOC

before composing messages. The solutions they create for business communication problems

must solve both the organizational problem and meet the needs of the writer or speaker, the

organization, and the audience.

Thinking Creatively LO 1-7

The key to thinking creatively is to think “out of the box,” that is, to shed common paradigms

and instead look for innovative ways to approach problem solving. Creativity is essential in

business and business communication.

A good example of being creative is the producers of Adult Swim, the television program block

on the Cartoon Network. Instead of using standard marketing practice that likely would have

resulted in yet another tired version of the same kind of programming available elsewhere, the

producers instead asked themselves what they wanted to watch—and why wasn’t it on TV

already? The result was a ratings success for a network with comparatively smaller resources.

Some companies have procedures for employees to be more

creative, some of which are described on PP 1-24. For instance,

IBM suggests:

Have a constructive argument.

Brainstorm with someone 10 years older and someone

10 years younger.

Clean your desk.

Come in early—enjoy the quiet.

Leave the office. Sit with just a pencil and a pad of paper. See what happens.

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Module 01 - Business Communication, Management, and Success

Teaching Tip: Many students don’t think about themselves as being creative

because they compare themselves to well-known figures, such as artists, musicians,

inventors, and entrepreneurs. But signs of students’ creativity can be found

immediately, in everything from hobbies to choice of dress to doodling on their

notebooks. Help students to see their own creativity by examining their choices and

how the choices define them as individuals.

In-Class Exercise: Teaching someone to be creative is a difficult, if not impossible,

task. It’s better to give students the opportunity to apply creative skills and learn

through the experience. One exercise that works especially well for kinesthetic

learners is to give groups of 3-5 students each a variety of common objects found

around the office: a paper towel tube, sheets of copy bond, markers, pushpins, and

the like. Then give them 10 minutes to come up with something that represents how

the group, the college, or a popular celebrity or product.

Last Word: By the end of this module, students should understand the importance

of communication in the workplace. Help them to see that good communication

skills are needed beyond the classroom and can help them get the jobs, promotions,

and careers they want. But first they must see good communication as an integral

part of everything they do in business.

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