Chapter 1 Solutions to Activities
1.1 Social Media Inventory (Objs. 1–4)
The generalization that young people today are “digital natives” and as such must all be
extremely tech savvy may not necessarily apply equally to all students, not even the millennials
among them. Taking stock of students’ social media and technology use can be important for
1.2 Writing Inventory (Objs. 1–3)
Answers will vary. Some students may express the wish to write blogs instead of term papers,
but according to a Pew Internet survey, young people understand the importance of excellent
1.3 Assessing Communication Skills Online: Evaluate Your Skills (Objs. 1–3)
Encourage students to go to http://www.cengagebrain.com (click on Quizzes) and evaluate their
communication skills using the interactive quiz. Reassure students that no matter what their
1.4 Collaborating on the Opening Case Study (Objs. 1–5)
This activity takes place over the entire semester. Student teams have a choice of one of the 16
three-part case studies in the textbook. Each team would fully research the company in the case
1.5 Introducing Yourself (Objs. 1, 2)
This e-mail or memo is an excellent way to assess students’ skills and, at the same time, get to
know them. Don’t grade this assignment, but be sure to write a friendly comment on all papers or
in all e-mail replies to demonstrate that you have an interest in them as students and as
1.6 Small-Group Presentation: Introducing Team Members (Objs. 1, 2)
Decide whether you wish your class to (a) interview a group member and introduce that person
to the group or (b) have each class member introduce himself or herself to the entire class. Class
1.7 Communication Skills: Employer Wish List (Obj. 1)
Students may work in groups or individually on this project. Consider grouping them by their
1.8 Writing Skills: But My Job Won’t Require Writing! (Objs. 1-3)
a. No one really writes anymore. They just text and send e-mails.
Everyone writes in today’s workplace—and probably more than ever in the past. In professional
workplaces, e-mail has become the most important communication channel. Texting is less
b. Because I’m in a technical field, I will work with numbers, not words.
Estimates suggest that nearly 90 percent of all business messages involve written
communication. Conducting business in any field—even in technical and specialized areas such
as information technology, accounting, engineering, marketing, hotel management, and so forth
c. Secretaries will clean up my writing problems.
In the current work world of tightened budgets and economic downturn, only a few upper-level
d. Technical writers do most of the real writing on the job.
Some companies employ technical writers to prepare manuals, documentation, and public
e. Today’s sophisticated software programs can fix any of my writing mistakes.
Today’s style, grammar, and spell checkers are wonderful aids to business writers. They can
f. I can use forms and templates for most messages.
Books and computer programs can provide dozens of ready-made letters or pattern paragraphs
1.9 Wanted: A Jack- or Jill-of-All-Trades
Answers will vary and may shed light on the aspirations and anxieties of the current generation
1.10 Taking the Pulse of Today’s Workforce
The answers will vary. As in Activity 1.9, it may be instructive to learn about the hopes and
attitudes of contemporary students. A big part of preparing young people for the workforce is to
1.11 Customer Service: Tech Skills Not Enough (Objs. 1–3)
Service reps at any company must be totally familiar with its products and typical problems. On
the telephone, service reps must exhibit good listening and speaking skills. In writing responses
1.12 Oral or Written Communication: How Rich Must the Media Be? (Obj.4)
a. You are returning with the senior auditor from a client visit to company headquarters, where
Text or e-mail, possibly call, if it’s not going to disrupt the meeting, depending on the
importance of the meeting and your role in it. As a junior member of the team, you would
b. Working at 8 a.m. in your Boston office, you need to get in touch with your counterpart at
Phoning is out of the question because it’s only 5 a.m. Pacific time (PST) and your questions
—while time sensitive—are not urgent. If the queries are not too involved and lengthy, you
could send an e-mail detailing the questions; otherwise, a brief e-mail simply requesting that
your colleague call you back seems sufficient. You could phone a little later, at 8:30 or 9 a.m.
c. John, the information technology vice president, must tell employees about a new company
social media policy. He has two employees in mind who particularly need this information.
Policies flowing downward from management to subordinates should be written. They
produce a permanent record, are economical, promote comprehension and recall, allow
d. As soon as possible, you need to learn from Daryle in Document Imaging whether she can
make copies of a set of engineering blueprints. If she cannot, you need her advice on where
you can get it done.
When you require an immediate answer, deliver the message orally, by telephone. In this
instance, you may need to follow up with additional questions. If the matter is particularly
e. As a manager in your Human Resources department, you must terminate three employees in a
company-wide initiative to reduce costs.
Messages as traumatic as termination should always be delivered in person—one-on-one or
f. It wasn’t your fault, but an order for printed checks for a longtime customer was mishandled.
The checks are not ready, and the customer is angry.
Responding to an upset customer should always be done orally, if possible. The best
procedure is to first call the customer and explain what happened. Oral communication allows
g. As chairman of the Employee Benefits Committee, you have worked with your committee for
two months evaluating several health plan options. You are now ready to convey the
recommendations of the committee to management.
Explaining a committee’s findings should be done in a written report traveling upward. Such a
report provides a permanent record and is convenient to distribute. It provides precise and
1.13 Information Flow: What’s Good and Bad About Gossip at Work? (Obj. 5)
Mr. Bender responded in an appropriate manner by going to the source and talking about the reason
behind the gossip. Experts suggest seeking the source of malicious gossip and documenting what
was learned or discussed.
Benefits of workplace gossip might include the following:
Negative consequences of gossip might include the following:
1.14 Attitudes Toward Ethics: Making Concessions on the Job (Obj. 5)
This view is, of course, not limited to the Millennial Generation. Many workers in other age groups
believe that to keep a job, they must compromise their personal ethics. But most would probably want
Curtin, Gallicano, and Matthew, the authors of the study surveying Gen Y perspectives on ethics, cite
research that seems to show that millennials are better than their reputation when it comes to attitudes
toward ethics. In one study of 37,000 undergraduates, 39 percent said that high ethical standards were
1.15 Ethical Dilemma: Applying Tools for Doing the Right Thing (Obj. 5)
1.16 Ethical Dilemma: Rival Chicken Chains Tempt Ethics in Taste Test (Obj. 5)
Students face an ethical dilemma. Should they do what they think is right for the company and
bolster its position by calling the El Pollo hot line with their praise of KFC chicken? Although
it’s not illegal, is it ethical, when they know that the hot line is intended for people who are not