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7: Digital Media 7-1
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
7.1. Printed messages are usually preferable over electronic alternatives when you: (1) want to make a formal
[LO-1] AACSB: Information technology
7.2. Orientations don’t give away the key points in a collection of information but rather tell readers where to
)nd those points. Summaries, in contrast, can serve as miniature versions of a document or appear
[LO-1] AACSB: Information technology
7.3. Subject lines in email messages are important because they help the reader decide whether or not to
open the message. Use the subject line in email (and in memos) to capture your audience’s
revised message content. [LO-2] AACSB: Information technology
7.4. The benefit of messaging in business communication include mimicking voice conversation when
7.5. Yes, even for a simple messaging exchange it helps to think ahead about what you would like to
accomplish, whether it’s seeking help as a product user or querying a colleague about the status of a
project. Even a few seconds of planning to identify your purpose, including the information you’d like
for additional insights)
7.7. Having a long-term, sustainable purpose in mind before launching a podcast channel is important
7.8. Speaking without notes or an outline when recording a podcast can work if the message is already clear
in your mind. Otherwise, you run the risk of wandering in search of a message, telling points out of
additional insights)
APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE
7.9. Possibilities include GPS-enabling the current course catalog so that students can easily )nd the location
[LO-1] AACSB: Information technology (See MyBCommLab for additional insights)
7.10. No, this subject line would )re up the rumor mill by mentioning the possibility of job losses. If
Copyright © 2018 Bovée and Thill LLC
7: Digital Media 7-2
7.11. The best answer to the emoticon question is “It depends; use your judgment.” In some companies
and in some situations, emoticons can be an acceptable and even helpful way to add nuance to
technology (See MyBCommLab for additional insights)
7.12. This situation oEers a good opportunity to discuss the purpose of communication and to remind
[LO-3] AACSB: written and oral communication (See MyBCommLab for additional insights)
7.13. Even as powerful as tagging and searching can be, they don’t help users who want to browse to see
what is available or don’t know exactly what they’re looking for and therefore don’t know which tags
7.14. To encourage employees to listen to this podcast regularly, the podcast needs to be relevant to
employees and their needs and aspirations. You must fight the natural temptation to make it all
about you and your experiences. Instead, you should translate those experiences into advice
[LO-5] AACSB: written and oral communication
PRACTICE YOUR SKILLS
7.15. Message 7.A
The customer service agent’s tone is informal and unprofessional:
Here is one possible revision:
Agent: Thanks for contacting Home Exercise Equipment.
How may I help you?
Customer: I’m having trouble assembling my home gym.
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7: Digital Media 7-3
Agent: Okay, let me get some information about your gym so I can help you with that.
Do you still have the box?
Customer: Yes.
Agent: Great—the model number is located on the front near the UPC code. Please read
that number to me.
Customer: It’s model number HG-8975.
Agent: Thank you. What problem have you encountered?
Customer: The cross bar that connects the pillars isn’t long enough to reach across the
pillars.
Agent: I understand. There’s a spacer in the box that can help with that. It’s a cylinder
about 6 inches long with internal threads on one end and a connector on the other.
Do you see that part?
Customer: Yes. What should I do with it?
Agent: Just insert one end of the cross bars into the threaded end of the spacer and
tighten it, and that will make the cross bar long enough to reach both pillars.
[LO-3] AACSB: Written and oral communication
7.16. Message 7.B
Four fairly obvious weaknesses in this podcast are as follows:
[LO-5] AACSB: Written and oral communication
7.17. More than one medium would work for these examples, but students should be able to support
their choices. Here are some possible solutions: [LO-1] AACSB: written and oral communication
7.18. Responses will vary. Here are some examples: [LO-2] AACSB: Information technology
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7: Digital Media 7-4
7.19. The message is dictatorial and implies that employees are not pulling their weight. The memo will
oEend conscientious employees, and even those guilty of taking a li.le extra time now and then will
AACSB: written and oral communication
Subject: Changes in Break Procedures
Starting Monday, January 1, scheduled break times will be used for morning breaks, lunch breaks,
The use of scheduled break times will allow us to achieve our productivity goals and ensure that a
7.20. Students should revise each statement to make it more formal, but avoid substituting obsolete or
pompous language for the originals. [LO-3] AACSB: written and oral communication
7.21. Student answers will depend on the websites they choose. They might be surprised to learn how
Information technology
7.22. In addition to being excessively cha.y, this podcast exhibits two signiticant organizational problems.
written and oral communication
Hello everyone; we have lots of important news this week. I want to cover four topics. First,
Thomas will join us at the quarterly sales meeting next week and wants an update from all district
Starting with the quarterly sales meeting next week, Thomas wants an update on how petroleum
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7: Digital Media 7-5
CASE SOLUTIONS
7.23. Media Skills: Email; Message Strategies: Routine Messages
Note: Students can find a wide variety of products to compare with Slack by searching online for “Slack
alternatives.” For the purposes of this project, they don’t need to dive into the gory details of these
systems; a high-level look at major features and benefits will suffice. [LO-2] AACSB: Information
technology
Today’s team messaging apps and platform solve many of the shortcomings of using email and other tools
for workplace communication and collaboration. As one of the leaders in this market, Slack offers a
variety of features that help teams work together. Channels are a simple way to organize conversations by
topic; team members can subscribe to channels of interest, and use these channels to distribute
information on specific topics. Everyone subscribed to a channel can read messages on that channel, so
incorporates chat and other communication functions are part of that approach. In this sense, it goes
beyond the capabilities of Slack and in fact offers project-management tools that many Slack users have
been requesting. One of its major benefits is wide integration with third-party tools, from Evernote to
cloud storage systems such as Dropbox and Google Drive. Critically, it can even seamlessly connect users
on different cloud platforms, so, for example, a Dropbox user and Google Drive user can collaborate on
the same document without switching systems.
the future.
Given the rapidly changing nature of our work and our virtual organization model, flexibility and
expandability are essential considerations for our workgroup communication. In addition, we need better
resource management to keep documents and other files from falling through the cracks or getting
7.24. Media Skills: Email; Message Strategies: Negative Messages
Note: This type of message would come only as a last resort, and could easily become part of legal
proceedings. It would need to be factual, unemotional, and clear in saying that you wish to have no
further dealings with the customer. [LO-3] AACSB: Written and oral communication
To: samhardison@roadrunner.com
Cc: sheriff@nash.nc.gov; jthomas@thomaslaw.com
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7: Digital Media 7-6
Subject: Purvis Hardware, Inc.
Dear Mr. Hardison,
Last Wednesday, August 9, 2017, you visited our hardware store at 4:15 p.m. to return an Echo
When our sales staff declined to accept the return based on our return policy, you asked to see the
assistant manager, and then to speak with me—the owner of the store. I affirmed what my employees had
In over 25 years in the hardware business, I’ve never received the kind of verbal abuse you delivered that
Please consider this email a formal request that you not return to Purvis Hardware. We regret having to
Ben Purvis
Owner, Purvis Hardware
7.25. Media Skills: Email; Collaboration: Team Projects
Note: Students’ messages will vary depending on the issue they have chosen to address. Here is an
example message to a campus’s facilities director on the subject of parking violations. [LO-2] AACSB:
written and oral communication
Dear Ms. Manzano:
As commuter students, we struggle with the issue of parking every time we come to campus. We realize
the Facilities Department faces an enormous challenge in trying to accommodate the needs of an
However, we decided to take positive steps in our state of frustration, so we embarked on an informal
investigation of the parking situation over the past several weeks. We observed a remarkable
May we suggest a more rigorous program of parking enforcement, out of fairness to those of us who
We appreciate having the opportunity to voice our concerns and make this suggestion. Could you or one
7.26. Media Skills: Email
Note: Students will discover a variety of approaches and communication styles in these examples,
including some that don’t fully adhere to the guidelines they’re learning in class. When evaluating and
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7: Digital Media 7-7
comparing the messages, students should be sure to consider the situations involved and the intended
audiences. Note that the Good Email Copy site removes original formatting from the emails, so students
don’t need to worry about evaluating production quality. (In early printings of the 14th edition, this case
was incorrectly tagged as LO-4; it should be LO-2.) [LO-2] AACSB: Written and oral communication
We analyzed email messages that involved announcements to customers regarding updated privacy
policies from the following companies:
We compared these messages using the following criteria:
Based on these criteria, we ranked the messages in this order, from most-eEective to least-eEective:
Sender Summary of the message’s effectiveness
4. Headspace Didn’t provide any summary of the policy changes, but the message did
[Students may want to provide additional commentary on each of their ranking decisions and oEer their
overall impression of these “real-world” email messages.]
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7: Digital Media 7-8
7.27. Media Skills: Email
Note: Students should follow the guidelines in “Writing Messages for Mobile Devices” and “Designing
Messages for Mobile Devices” in the chapters on writing and completing messages, respectively. A
well-written press release will already adhere to some of the points for good mobile writing, including
using a linear organization and prioritizing information. However, students may need to shorten headings
The Weather Company
Relocates Headquarters, Adds
400 New Jobs
ATLANTA, Nov 16, 2016. Georgia
Governor Nathan Deal and The
The Weather Company, an IBM
Business (NYSE: IBM), delivers
“
The Weather Company has made
significant contributions in Georgia
7.28. Media Skills: IM; Compositional Modes: Tutorials
Note: The greatest challenge here will be conveying sufficient information without overwhelming
customers who may be unfamiliar with (and perhaps confused by) the details of high-definition television.
Students should respond with simple definitions written in plain language. (In early printings of the 14th
edition, this case was incorrectly tagged as LO-1 and LO-5; it should be LO-1 and LO-3.) [LO-1] [LO-3]
AACSB: Written and oral communication
1080p: “1080 progressive,” a high-definition format with resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels. “Pixels” are
picture elements, the building blocks of the picture on your screen. The smaller the picture elements, the
3D TV: Three-dimensional (3D) TV programs are filmed using two cameras, one to simulate the position
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7: Digital Media 7-9
7.29. Message Strategies: Online Content; Collaboration: Team Projects
Note: Students should bear in mind that while their individual experiences may be unique, they are all
attending the same college so even their pooled wisdom is limited in that respect. Consequently, the
advice they offer future college students will need to be generalized so that it has value to anyone
attending any college. Here are some examples of points that students might wish to make: [LO-4]
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
Oh, I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now: Advice for Incoming Freshmen
You can’t coast through college. Some of us, we admit, didn’t apply ourselves to the utmost in high
You can’t party your way through college. Many of us experienced unbounded freedom for the first
time, and more than a few of us didn’t handle it very well. Have some fun, but stay focused on why you
You can—and should—ask for help. No matter how smart or prepared you are, you will stumble, make
mistakes, get confused, and get overwhelmed. However, you don’t have to struggle through on your own!
Be smart about managing your time. Time is your most valuable asset, and you need to use it wisely to
succeed in college and to keep from losing your mind. Lists are your friend! Keep a to-do list with due
Your college is full of amazing, interesting, wonderful people—get to know them! Don’t hang out
with the same crew every day, every night, and every weekend. Find people from different states,
different countries, and different backgrounds. Join a club you would never join in a million years.
7.30. Message Strategies: Online Content
Note: Students may be surprised at how much a conventional website needs to be rethought and
restructured to make it mobile friendly. For example, the common multicolumn web design, with one wide
column for content and one or two side columns for navigation and other feature, doesn’t work well on
Information technology
7.31. Message Strategies: Online Content
Note: Students will select varying topics to highlight based on their personal experience in selecting a
college. This exercise should provide interesting insight into what different students find of value to them
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7: Digital Media 7-10
As an example solution, you can show your own college or university’s Quick Facts sheet if it has one.
communication
7.32. Media Skills: Podcasting; Career Management: Personal Branding
Note: This assignment allows students to research a particular company in which they are interested. In
their podcasts, students should begin by introducing themselves and mentioning the position they are
applying for, describe their background, and explain why they are the ideal candidate for the job.
Students should take care to use concrete, colorful language. Here is a sample podcast: [LO-6] AACSB:
Written and oral communication
Hello, I am Chelsey Vandenberg. [pause] I am applying for the Public Relations Specialist position within
In addition to my extensive public relations coursework, I am currently serving as president of our
university’s Public Relations Student Society of America chapter. In this role, I am responsible for
My experience working with the Phoenix Bloodbank Project overlaps with your company’s focus on
health care. This project introduced me to the rigorous HIPAA standards and, having already worked
within this realm, I know that I will be able to apply my skills to your company. I would welcome the
7.33. Media Skills: Podcasting; Message Strategies: Marketing and Sales Messages
Note: A one- or two-minute podcast doesn’t allow any time to ramble, so students will need to have a
clear and focused message. They should also make it clear in their introductions whether they are
offering a general recommendation or a specific recommendation. Here is an example: [LO-6] AACSB:
Written and oral communication
Hi, my name is Yvonne Norris and I’m a junior accounting major at Moorefield University. I’d like to
[pause]
For me and many others, college is a stepping stone to a rewarding career. [pause] With that in mind, one
of the most important things to consider in choosing a college or university is reputation. Does the school
have a name that employers are likely to recognize and respect? [pause] For Moorefield, the answer is
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7: Digital Media 7-11
Of course, a school’s reputation doesn’t matter if it doesn’t offer the major you want. [pause] At
Moorefield, you can choose from over 200 majors in a variety of fields, and are sure to find the courses
ASSISTED GRADING QUESTIONS (accessed on MyBCommLab)
7.34. Email has become overused and inappropriately used in many situations for several reasons: it was
7.35. Using the inverted pyramid style of writing means to open with the most important part of the
message and then support that with progressively )ner levels of detail. It can be an eEective
Copyright © 2018 Bovée and Thill LLC
