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Chapter 5 Lecture Notes ● 1
CHAPTER 5 LECTURE NOTES
Short Workplace Messages and Digital Media
CHAPTER SYNOPSIS
Today’s workplace is changing as new technologies transform the way we exchange
information and conduct business. Although your students may already be connected digitally
with friends and family, they will need to understand how to use communication technologies
professionally in the workplace.
This chapter explores short forms of workplace communication, beginning with e-mail. E-mail
continues to be the lifeblood of businesses today, and this chapter teaches students how to use
e-mail efficiently and expertly. Because instant messaging and texting are gaining popularity,
this chapter also explores their best practices and liabilities.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Understand the professional standards for the usage, structure, and format of e-mails and
interoffice memos in the digital-era workplace.
2. Explain workplace instant messaging and texting as well as their liabilities and best
practices.
3. Identify professional applications of podcasts and wikis.
4. Describe how businesses use blogs to connect with internal and external audiences, and list
best practices for professional blogging.
Chapter 5 Lecture Notes ● 2
WHAT'S NEW IN THIS CHAPTER
The authors made the following changes and improvements:
• Reorganized discussion of e-mail to streamline coverage but also to reflect current
workplace use with updated techniques and guidelines.
• Encouraged students to recognize the difference between e-mails to friends and the
professional standards and procedures required in the workplace.
• Strengthened e-mail coverage by organizing best practices into chunks with topic headings
to improve readability, comprehension, and retention.
• Provided appropriate coverage of memos to remind students that memos are still important
for internal messages that are longer, more complex, or more formal than e-mail.
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. Preparing Digital-Age E-Mail Messages and Memos (p. 120 )
• The storing and accessing of data along with software applications in remote
network clusters, or “clouds,” is called cloud computing.
• The two prevailing technological trends today are mobile communication and
cloud computing.
A. E-Mail: Love It or Hate It – But It's Not Going Away
• Most business messages are sent by e-mail.
• Increasing number of businesspeople check their e-mail on mobile devices.
B. Why People Complain About E-Mail
• E-mail messages are frequently poorly written.
• E-mail users are overwhelmed with too many messages.
C. Knowing When E-Mail Is Appropriate
Chapter 5 Lecture Notes ● 3
• Short, informal messages
• Multiple receivers
D. Drafting Professional E-Mails
• Subject line – summarizes the main idea in the subject line
• Opening – reveals the main idea in an expanded form
Figure 5.1 Formatting an E-Mail Message That Makes a Request
E. Controlling Your Inbox
• Check your e-mail at set times.
• Avoid being distracted by e-mail messages.
• Follow the two-minute rule and respond immediately to messages that require
less than two minutes of your time.
F. Replying Efficiently With Down-Editing
• An efficient trick to managing e-mail is down-editing, which involves inserting
your responses to parts of the incoming message in a different color or
preceded by your initials.
G. Writing Interoffice Memos
Figure 5.2 Best Practices for Better E-Mail
Figure 5.3 Formatting a Memo That Responds to a Request
II. Workplace Messaging and Texting (p. 127)
• IM enables two or more individuals to use the Internet or an intranet (an internal
corporate communication platform) to “chat” in real time by exchanging brief text-
based messages.
Figure 5.4 Instant Messaging for Brief, Fast Communication
Chapter 5 Lecture Notes ● 4
A. Impact of Instant Messaging and Texting
Benefits of IM and Texting:
• Offers a low-cost substitute for voice calls
• Enables real-time communication with colleagues anywhere in the world
Risks of IM and Texting:
• Reduces worker productivity
• Creates risk that private company records will be accessed by hackers
• May be the source of evidence in lawsuits
• Risks of phishing (fraudulent schemes), viruses, malware (malicious software
programs) and spim (IM spam).
Figure 5.5 Centers for Disease Control Text Alerts
B. How to Use Instant Messaging and Texting on the Job
• Follow company policies at all times.
• Don't use IM or text messages to disclose sensitive information.
C. Text Messaging and Business Etiquette
• Texting is quick and unobtrusive. Figure 5.6 offers tips on the professional use
of texting.
Figure 5.6 Texting Etiquette
III. Making Podcasts and Wikis Work for Business (p. 130)
A. Business Podcasts or Webcasts
• The words broadcasting and iPod combined to create the word podcast.
• Podcasts can extend from short clips of a few minutes to 30-minutes or longer
digital files.
Chapter 5 Lecture Notes ● 5
• News organizations and media outlets podcast radio and TV shows.
Figure 5.7 TED Talks Media Podcasts
B. Collaborating With Wikis
• A wiki is a Web-based tool that employs easy-to-use collaborative software to
allow multiple users collectively to create, access, and modify documents.
Businesses use wikis for the following purposes:
• Share information between headquarters and satellite offices
• Collect and disseminate information to large audiences
Figure 5.8 Four Main Uses for Business Wikis
Figure 5.9 Creating a Wiki With Google Sites and Google Docs
IV. Blogging for Business (p. 132)
A. How and Why Companies Blog
• To provide up-to-date company information to the press and the public
• For crowdsourcing promotions to connect with customers and generate buzz
• To deliver late-breaking news, address rumors, and combat misinformation
Figure 5.10 Starbucks Blog Specializes in Crowdsourcing
B. Blog Best Practices: Seven Tips for Master Bloggers
• Craft a catchy but concise title.
• Ace the opening paragraph.
• Provide details in the body.
Chapter 5 Lecture Notes ● 6
• Consider visuals.
• Include calls to action.
V. Web 2.0: Social Networking Sites (p. 136)
• Social networking sites enable businesses to connect with customers and employees,
share company news, and exchange ideas.
• Social online communities for professional audiences (e.g., LinkedIn) help recruiters
find talent and encounter potential employees before hiring them.
A. How and Why Businesses Use Social Networks
• To improve internal communication (Facebook model)
• To invite customer input at the product-design stage (crowdsourcing)
Figure 5.11 Big Companies Rule on Facebook
B. Potential Risks of Social Networks for Businesses
• Productivity losses
• Loss of trade secrets
Figure 5.12 Using Media Professionally: Dos and Don’ts
C. Using Social Networking Sites and Keeping Your Job
• Use caution in sharing sensitive information, especially risqué photographs.
• Don’t share information online that you would not discuss openly in the office.
Critical Thinking Discussion Guide
11. Many people are concerned that privacy is increasingly rare in our hyperconnected
world as our online presence leaves a lasting footprint. Do you fear that disclosing
personal matters online will hamper your job search? (Objs. 1–5)
Many contemporaries seem ambivalent about social media and concerned about waning
Chapter 5 Lecture Notes ● 7
12. Experts have argued that social media fool us into thinking that we are connected
when in reality they do not help us develop true friendships. Do you agree that
technology diminishes personal relationships rather than bringing us closer together?
(Objs. 1–5)
Sherry Turkle, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [Turkle, S. 2011.
Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other. New
13. Are common abbreviations such as lol and imho and all-lowercase writing acceptable
in texting or instant messaging for business? (Obj. 2)
Like other electronic messages, IM and texts may be shared with others. Don't include
14. Traditional mainstream media act as so-called gatekeepers who decide what kind of
content gets published. However, social media networks have changed the game. Now
anyone with an Internet connection can potentially publish anything and reach vast
audiences. What are the benefits and dangers of this unprecedented access?
Among the benefits are the following: Social media have democratized access to media.
Artists can turn to their audiences directly and try to sell music to them on the Web, as
Chapter 5 Lecture Notes ● 8
.
15. Some marketers employ machines to inflate the number of likes and fans online. So-
called Facebook bot networks (botnets) operate large numbers of fake accounts
around the world. A rental agency based in Washington, D.C., went from two fans to
almost 15,000 within a few days. How do you feel about companies and their brands
pretending they have actual traffic on their sites and buying likes?
Answers from students indicating their attitudes toward such practices may vary.
However, social networking from a marketing standpoint is about establishing
relationships between brands and customers. Relationships are based on trust. Fans of a
Activities
Note: The solutions to the activities and cases for this chapter are located in the Solutions to
Activities section of the Instructor's Manual.
Communication Workshop: Technology (p. 153)
Should Employers Curb Social Media, E-Mail, and Other Internet Use?
• One fourth of employers have fired workers for misusing e-mail.
• Nearly one third have fired employees for misusing the Internet.
• Employers are concerned about lost productivity, litigation, and security breaches.
