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Solutions – Chapter 11 ⚫ 1
CHAPTER 11 SOLUTIONS AND DISCUSSION MATERIAL
Activities and Cases
11.1 Researching Professional Workplace Skills and Presenting
Annotated Sources
Answers will vary. The assignment offers various benefits: Students practice research skills and summary
and annotation skills as well as learn about the many definitions of desirable workplace behavior. The
ability to scan articles quickly, summarize them efficiently, and list sources in the correct MLA or APA
11.2 Investigating Soft Skills: Employer Wish List
Students should find a range of soft skills mentioned, including oral and written communication skills and
team skills. However, they will also find a combination of soft skills and character traits mentioned such
as the following:
Must be able to coordinate communications and work with staff, customers, vendors, independent
contractors, writers, and designers.
Must provide daily project management coordination across multiple project-related activities.
11.3 Soft Skills: Personal Strengths Inventory
Encourage students to frame statements that will be useful when they prepare a résumé later in the course.
For example, under Thinking and problem solving, a student might write, Learned new spreadsheet
program and prepared cost projection for remodeling office or Learn new software applications quickly
and with little training.
11.4 Making Concessions on the Job
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. However, most would probably want to
draw the line between harmless “white lies” on the one hand and committing fraud on the other. This is an
opportunity to point out that this thin line is hard to draw and never acceptable if one subscribes to ethical
Solutions – Chapter 11 ⚫ 2
11.5 Testing Your Voice Quality
Encourage your students to complete this activity in which they record their own voices. Consider having
students record their voices in the classroom. Then pair students to provide feedback to one another on
their voice quality.
11.6 Choosing Communication Channels: How Rich Must the Media Be?
a. 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 want to call to provide
immediate feedback, adjust to the audience, and deliver your message quickly. A telephone call is
useful for urgent matters. It may not be as rich a medium as a face-to-face encounter, but it is better
than a text message or e-mail for conveying positive emotion and a personal approach.
c. Policies flowing downward from management to subordinates should be written. They produce a
permanent record, are economical, promote comprehension and recall, allow precise and uniform
expression, and give the audience flexibility in when and how to receive the content. Although John
has two employees in mind, the policy should be directed to all employees, most likely in an e-mail or
intranet post.
d. 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 urgent, a face-to-face
visit may be necessary as long as it is feasible and the person’s proximity warrants it (say, in-house).
Oral communication provides immediate feedback, can be adjusted to the audience, can be delivered
quickly, supplies nonverbal cues, may create a warm, personal feeling, and can make a big impact.
Solutions – Chapter 11 ⚫ 3
g. 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 uniform
expression. However, such a report lacks the richness and immediacy of oral communication and
cannot be adjusted to respond to the receiver’s comments or questions. Depending on the context, a
face-to-face briefing to management with visuals (slideshows) may be called for. Slide decks also
provide a record, albeit a less formal one than traditional reports.
11.7 Dishing Out and Taking it on the Chin: Constructive Criticism on the
Job
a. Although tardiness can be frustrating, Pete should have focused on improvement by suggesting what
Jordan could do in the future. Pete could also appeal to Jordan’s sense of fairness and team spirit to
motivate a behavioral change (tardiness can negatively affect team members who must pick up the
slack). Pete should avoid sweeping generalizations such as always, never, all the time, and so forth. He
should control his anger and adopt a calm, sincere tone.
b. Public criticism is a poor management policy. Pete should offer praise in public and dispense criticism
in private. An accusatory tone and raised voice are unhelpful.
11.8 Practicing Professional Telephone Skills
Students will enjoy this interactive activity, which allows them to make and receive business telephone
calls. If time permits, have students play the role of both partners.
11.9 Recording a Professional Voice Mail Greeting
Assign this task individually or as teamwork. Depending on the size of the class, it may not be feasible to
listen to all recordings. In that case, either select a limited sample of greetings or provide general
feedback to your students. To motivate the class, offer a few points for the completion of the assignment.
You may choose to play back the best examples to the class if your classroom is equipped with a
computer that has a sound card. Alternatively, to save time and effort, create a simple checklist from the
Solutions – Chapter 11 ⚫ 4
choosing, for example, using Google Voice, so you don’t need to give out your home or cell phone
number.
11.10 Leaving a Professional Voice Mail Message
You may recommend that students call your office number after hours and leave a professional voice mail
message that reflects the guidelines offered in the chapter. Alternatively, Google Voice offers a free
11.11 Workplace Conflict: The Perils of Groupthink
Answers will vary.
11.12 Resolving Workplace Conflict: Apply a Plan
Students should apply the following six-step procedure: (1) Listen to each person's position. (2)
Understand the other's point of view. Ask questions and paraphrase what you hear. (3) Show a concern
11.13 Dealing With Dysfunction in Business Meetings
Ken likes to make long-winded statements and often digresses to unrelated subjects.
At the beginning of the meeting, lay down the rules and warn that speakers who digress will be
interrupted. Create a list of important but divergent issues that you propose to tackle later. If the
behavior persists, address the entire group and state that the team is veering off track and bring the
group back to the original topic.
Esther keeps interrupting other speakers and dominates the discussion.
Wait for a pause and then break in. Thank Esther for her thoughts, and summarize briefly the
previous comments or ask someone else for an opinion. Direct your eye contact to the person whom
you wish to answer.
Sheri, Nora, and Jonathan are reading e-mails and texting under the table.
If possible, set the rules before or at the beginning of the meeting asking team members to turn off
or silence their mobile devices. Don’t embarrass offending individuals, but try to involve them in the
discussion. For example, calmly ask them a direct question within their specific expertise if the
opportunity presents itself.
Kimberly is quiet, although she is taking notes and seems to be following the discussion attentively.
Solutions – Chapter 11 ⚫ 5
Jonathan, a well-known office clown, is telling off-color jokes while others are discussing the business at
hand.
As the meeting leader, plan to seat Jonathan strategically, next to you. Avoid seating him at the head
of the table or at the far end of the room. In addition, you may want to talk to Jonathan before the
meeting or during a break about the dangers of telling inappropriate jokes in the workplace. Ask
11.14 Meeting Malaise: Beyond Contempt
Answers will vary, but most will support the advice provided in this book. John Hollon, author of
“Meeting Malaise” [2007, November 5. Workforce Management, p. 58], admits that “structured, tightly
focused meetings with a clear purpose and goal can serve a business purpose.” He acknowledges that
11.15 Virtual Meetings: Improving Distance Meeting Buy-In
a. Setting a more reasonable start time for the Seattle office would have shown courtesy to the West
Coast participants.
b. Asking participants to log on early helps to avoid delays in starting a virtual meeting.
c. Reminding participants of ground rules such as turning off or muting cell phones and not checking e-
mail during a virtual meeting encourages people to focus and be more involved.
11. 16 Discussing a Group Project or Class Issue in a Virtual Meeting
Students could produce one, two, or all three documents: an agenda, meeting minutes, and a discussion of
the virtual meeting experience. Students could be asked to comment on potential technology glitches,
team dynamic, turn-taking during the meeting, and more. Depending on course level, students could work
on their own or with detailed directions and a specific research task or discussion topic. A note on
Solutions – Chapter 11 ⚫ 6
11.17 Visiting Virtual Office Hours
Virtual office hours can be a time-saver. Comments you make and questions you answer are visible even
to those who do not participate. Thus, you don’t have to answer the same questions repeatedly. You can
