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Chapter 1: Communicating in the Workplace
Part II: Chapter-by-Chapter Lecture Notes & Exercises
Chapter 1: Communicating in the Workplace
Teaching Suggestions
Much of the information you will cover in the first meeting is routine—introduction of yourself, office
hours, course requirements, operating policies, and other business. In addition, you will probably want to
introduce the subject matter of the course. Chapter 1 contains such an introduction, so you may want to
start by summarizing its contents and adding illustrations from your knowledge and experience. Your
overall goals should be to convince the students that business communication is important in business and
Another idea is to present a sample message (perhaps one from a real business) and, going over each part
in detail, discuss the many decisions that went into the writing of the message. For example, the writer
had to decide first even whether or not to write; then he/she needed to decide what genre (or form) of
message this would be, how formal to make it, how to address the reader, what to say, how to organize
the contents, where to put the paragraph breaks, which wording would be best in each place . . . and so on.
these. Then present a well-written revision, explaining that this is the kind of writing they’ll learn how to
do in this course. This exercise helps students become aware of how much they already know about
identifying good versus bad writing, and also how much they stand to learn from the course.
Connect provides instructors with a variety of ways to customize courses, create assignments, determine
grading policies, and receive student work. One of the tools Connect offers is the ability to select and add
interactive assignments to your course. Explanations of these assignments and how they support the
learning objectives are integrated into the instructor’s manual with the relevant subject areas.
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Chapter 1: Communicating in the Workplace
Instructors can use the software’s fully customizable rubric to measure students’ uploaded presentations
against course outcomes and give students specific feedback. Peer-review functions are also available.
Learning Objectives
LO 1-1 Explain the importance of communication to you and to business.
LO 1-2 Explain the ways in which business communication is a form of problem solving.
LO 1-3 Describe the skills that are needed by today’s business communicators.
LO 1-4 Define professionalism and its importance to business communicators.
Key Terms
problem solving
heuristics
verbal literacy
visual literacy
computational thinking
interpretive skills
new media
social intelligence
personal communication
formal network
genres
informal network
grapevine
organizational culture
organizational contexts
professional contexts
personal contexts
recursive process
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Chapter 1: Communicating in the Workplace
filters
bypassing
Text Summary, Lecture Outline
Communicating in the Workplace
Slides 1-1, 1-2, 1-3
This chapter puts business communication in context. It explains the importance of business
communication skills, describes large and small factors that affect business communication, identifies the
main types of communication, and describes the problem-solving approach that is essential to effective
business communication.
Problem-Solving Challenge
Students should consider the problem presented—being asked as a new hire to join a task force to find the
best internal communication solution for a software development company. Let students brainstorm a list
Slides 1-4, 1-5
Importance of Communication
Communication is important to you and to the business you will work for. For you, good communication
skills can lead to advancement.
Unfortunately, many businesspeople do not communicate well. You might share highly publicized
communication blunders that companies have made, or ask students to share stories they may have about
how good or poor communication in a company had a significant result, either for a particular
communicator or for a company in general.
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Chapter 1: Communicating in the Workplace
Ask students: Can you think of a time when you were part of an unsuccessful project at school or work
because of ineffective communication?
Slides 1-6, 1-7
Communication as Problem Solving
Almost no business problem can be solved without communication. But communication itself—figuring
out what to say or write, and how—is a form of problem solving. This means that, for most situations, the
business communicator will need to take a unique set of circumstances into account and generate a unique
solution that will achieve the desired business goals.
Most significant business communication problems are ill-defined—because they involve dealing with
You might ask your class how it’s possible that, when there’s no single “correct” answer to any business
communication problem, it’s still possible to say that some solutions are better than others. If you’re not
lucky enough to have a savvy student who “gets” this, you can make the point by showing them different
vacation day via email, and you know that he or she is already afraid a project isn’t going to be completed
on time, at some point in the email you need to mention this, reassuring your boss that you’ll still meet
the project deadline. Many factors go into analysis.
Creativity often means looking at a communications issue from multiple angles. At its most basic level,
the following questions need to be asked: What is the correct medium for this communication? What is
the correct venue? For instance, if you’re in internal communications for a major company and rolling out
Judgment is making sure you always pick the solution that will fit the situation and the long-term goals
and values of the culture. It also means always sending a message at the right time, in the right tone. You
may let students know that, believe it or not, this can be tricky in a business environment. It’s common to
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Chapter 1: Communicating in the Workplace
Slide 1-8
Test Your Judgment
Let the students consider the scenario presented on the slide: two employees have reported sexual
Slide 1-9
Communication Skills
The scenario presented on this slide will help students consider how to use communication skills to work
successfully together with partners of very different backgrounds.
Communication has always been central to business, but in the 21st century, people in business are
encountering new challenges. Living in the Information Age means that information is now the hottest
Verbal literacy: The greater your vocabulary and familiarity with language, and the stronger your
Visual literacy: Thanks to the Internet, readers are now used to graphics-rich content that is inviting and
Interpersonal skills: Of particular interest to employers these days is employees’ ability to work on a
Analytical ability: Ask students what kind of thinking is especially valued by employers for processing
Media literacy: All the forms of communication that comprise what is known as new media require
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Chapter 1: Communicating in the Workplace
Cultural awareness: Different kinds of diversity impact the workplace and business communication in
Ethics and social responsibility: Ethical scandals have hurt many businesses, and social responsibility
has become a buzzword and marketing strategy for many companies. Let students discuss the reasons
You can have good conversations with your class about technological innovations that your students have
seen in their own lifetimes, about the international nature of business these days, about diversity in places
More questions for discussion:
Expanded media literacy—How are apps, Skype, tweets, social networking, and virtual meetings
changing business? How are telecommuting situations, where your first meeting takes place over email,
and you never meet in person, changing business interaction? How does this change “the stakes” of your
Increased globalism and diversity—Diversity can happen on many levels. Consider the differences
between a Baby Boomer who has been in a business for decades and a Millennial who was recently hired
Increased need for strong analytical skills—Your book mentions that many work tasks now require
“the ability to determine the deeper meaning or significance of what is being expressed” and that “high–
Increased focus on ethics and social responsibility—Do you agree, as your book states, that “The more
an organization builds trust among its employees, its shareholders, its business partners, and its
Slides 1-10, 1-11
Workplace Diversity
Diversity programs are becoming more and more widespread. A web article by American Express
outlined these diversity benefits: It builds your employer brand, it increases creativity, it encourages
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Chapter 1: Communicating in the Workplace
personal growth, and it makes employees think more independently. (See the Communication Matters
box, “Why Companies Promote Workplace Diversity”).
Possible questions for discussion:
1. Do you agree that diversity increases creativity in the workplace? If so, how?
2. Does diversity make an organization stronger or weaker as a whole? Explain your answer.
3. Diversity isn’t just cross–cultural. It’s also cross-generational. Have you noticed any differences
Workplace Diversity Analysis
Encourage students to share examples from their own work experience or from those of companies they
know well.
Connect Assignment 1-1: Preparing for Success in the Workplace
Summary: Today’s workplace requires employees to have many different skills. In this activity, students
Learning Objectives: 1-01, 1-02, 1-03, 1-04
Slide 1-12
A Recipe for Better Companies?
Students can take one of these quotes from the text and discuss its merits and ramifications. How true is
the statement? What’s the evidence? What’s your experience tell you? If the statement is true, what does
Slides 1-13, 1-14, 1-15
Professionalism
Professionalism comes into play in every business interaction. It’s the set of behaviors that’s expected of
you as an employee when you’re in social situations, whether with your colleagues, your superiors, or
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Chapter 1: Communicating in the Workplace
Let the students discuss the three scenarios presented in the “You Make the Call” slide. Which scenario is
the easiest for them to make a judgment about? Why? What are the complexities involved in these
workplace-related conversations?
Have students check out “How Professional Is This Email?” and share what they think about the level of
professionalism presented in that message. Remind them not to judge the actions of the person being
addressed, but to judge the text and tone of the email itself.
Slide 1-16
Categories of Communication
Internal-operational communication is all the communication that occurs in conducting work within
the business. It is the work done to carry out the operating plan (the business’s plan for doing whatever it
was formed to do).
External-operational communication is all the communicating businesses do with people and groups
outside the business. Because businesses are dependent on outside people and groups, external-
operational communication is necessary for success.
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Chapter 1: Communicating in the Workplace
Personal communication is the exchange of information and feelings among the workers.
Slides 1-17, 1-18
Networks
If we decide to analyze the information flow and human interactions of a business, an extremely complex
system is exposed. These exchanges and the relationships they represent form communication networks,
which can be either formal or informal.
The formal network consists of communication along established channels in the business.
Every business has a formal network. It may be completely hierarchical, meaning little information can be
communicated to the company unless it goes through the CEO and internal communications team first. Or
The informal network consists of all the personal communicating that goes on in the business.
The informal network includes those employees you have professional and personal relationships with
within your company.
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Chapter 1: Communicating in the Workplace
It cannot be outlawed or controlled—so wise executives work with it rather than against it.
The informal network also includes the social media networks you interact with outside of work, through
Facebook and other venues. Many companies, such as Procter & Gamble, have extremely detailed social
media policies and lengthy internal courses on how to use social media effectively. For instance, as of
Possible discussions: Here, you can invite students to share their experiences with formal and informal
networks in places where they or those they know have worked. Ask them who the “talk leaders” were in
their examples of grapevines, and point out that even those without a great deal of formal power can have
considerable informal power.
You can also invite students to share the difficulties they’ve encountered with Facebook and work
situations. Have they seen a coworker write something negative on a page or share proprietary
information? Did they feel the need to react? How did they deal with the situation ethically?
Or you can discuss a news article on a well-known social media case covering a workplace issue.
The network diagram on slide 1-18 shows the communication networks in a division of a small
manufacturing company. The black lines show the formal network. The red lines show the informal
network at a given moment in time. They change often, and may look completely different over time.
Slide 1-19
What’s the Culture?
Size and complexity: Relatively simple businesses, such as auto repair services, require far less
Company structure: Companies may range from the highly structured (executives at the top, entry-level
Geographic dispersion: Obviously, internal communication in a business with multiple locations differs
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Chapter 1: Communicating in the Workplace
Diversity: A business whose employees come from similar backgrounds will have different
Organizational culture: People coming together in an organization and spending many hours a day there
For discussion, you can draw on students’ own experiences as employees and consumers to help them
understand the significance of these factors. Compare students’ experiences working for large and small
Look at the list of traits or observations on slide 1-19. Have students discuss what some of these might
tell them about a company’s culture, structure, or other factors. What would they expect or what
conclusions might they make about communication within that company based on each of these factors?
If the CEO is wearing jeans when you meet him or her—now common in many industries, especially if
the company is a start-up—you’ll probably find an informal and conversational writing style, particularly
internally and possibly externally.
However, the “unofficial culture”—what the employees really believe and what they’re really
doing/saying behind closed doors—is often considered the true culture. When the company-sanctioned
You may also want to ask students what they feel are “tip–offs” to a company’s culture. You can also
share these signs of an organization’s culture recognized by researchers and ask them to contribute others:
• What kind of stories does the company tell about its past—the living history? What a culture
chooses to share says a lot about its values.
• Do they have certain “heroes” that they elevate (or even make fun of in a friendly way) because
they’ve had such an impact on the success of the company? This says a lot about the professional
contributions the company values.