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Business Communication: In Person, In Print, Online

INSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE

Chapter 1

Understanding Business Communication

Overview

The communication process begins with a need, and the sender

interprets the context, identifies and analyzes the audience,

determines objectives, chooses the medium, and creates the message.

The audience interprets the message and provides feedback, creating a

new message.

The communication process travels within formal and informal

networks. Communication is challenging when interrupted by verbal or

nonverbal barriers.

Audience and communication objectives play an important role in

selecting communication media for a message. Both oral and written

channels include traditional and technology–based media, such as

social media, corporate blogs, and others.

Teaching Suggestions

Resources

LO1: Identify the components of communication.

INTRODUCE the concept of business communication. Highlight the

importance of communication for any job—the substantial rewards of

effective communication and the risks of communication failures.

DISCUSS the major components of communication. Clarify that the process

is not linear and could involve divergent steps—it’s not a perfect model.

14–week business: Ask students for examples of communication they

received at a recent job, and then walk through the components of

communication with these examples.

14–week non–business: Ask students for examples of communication they

encountered in various business–related situations (e.g., as customers) and

then walk through the components of communication with these examples.

• Which of these verbal barriers do you find most damaging to

communication?

• From your experience, have you seen examples of barriers interfering

with communication?

• What is the best way to overcome these barriers?

FACILITATE a discussion about non–verbal barriers to communication.

INSTRUCT students to work in teams. Invite them to do the following tasks:

• Discuss distractions. In what ways do you multitask? What is helpful and

potentially harmful about the way you multitask?

Resources

LO2: Identify the major verbal and nonverbal barriers to

communication.

• Brainstorm a list of solutions (e.g., turning off Facebook alerts). Which

can you apply to the way you work?

DISTRIBUTE the handout “Do You Know These Terms?” and ask students to

define each term:

Term

Definition

Operating system

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

JPEG

Joint Photographic Experts Group

(compression technique for color images)

retweet

Sending tweets others wrote on Twitter

POS

Point–of–sale

hacker

Person who breaks into computers and

computer networks

followers

Twitter users subscribing to receive others’

updates

spam

Use of electronic messaging systems to send

unsolicited bulk messages

thumbnail

Reduced–size versions of pictures, used to

help in recognizing and organizing them

computer system

Internet phone calls)

Artificial intelligence

SEO

Search Engine Optimization

Resources

LO2: Identify the major verbal and nonverbal barriers to

communication.

HTML

HyperText Markup Language

patch

A quick fix for a programming defect

CAD

Computer–aided Design

INSTRUCT students to work in teams, and show the Aggresshop Retail Store

video. Invite students to discuss the questions from the PPT slide in their

teams first; then have them share their team’s opinion with the rest of the

class.

14–week business: INTRODUCE the story, “Study Shows Value of Internal

Social Networks,” on www.bizcominthenews.com.

Discuss the study and ask students to share their experiences working for

organizations. Have they had access to internal social networks, such as

Yammer? What has been their experience? In what ways did the network

help and hinder their work?

Resources

LO3: Describe criteria for choosing communication media.

14–week non–business: INTRODUCE the story, “More Teens and Young

Adults Use Tumblr than Facebook,” on www.bizcominthenews.com.

Facilitate a discussion comparing social media sites, such as Facebook,

Tumblr, and Twitter. How are students using each? Which are most

valuable for which business purposes?

Resources

14–week non–business: SHOW Up in the Air video clip (send email to

amynewman@cornell.edu for the clip). Discuss with students the

possibility of using videoconferencing to announce layoffs.

• In the recipient’s inbox

• In the recipient’s deleted folder or trash

• On the recipient’s computer server

• In forwarded recipients’ inboxes, deleted folders, or servers

• In print

• On many websites, including social networking sites

Resources

LO4: Avoid potential legal consequences of communication.

14–week business: REFER TO the story, “Emails Reveal Legal Bill Padding,” on

www.bizcominthenews.com. Invite students to complete the following:

Imagine that you are the chief legal officer of a major company. Write an

email to all employees to reinforce your communication policy. How can

you remind people to protect their email and other communications?

INTRODUCE the story, “Ethical Social Media Marketing Aer the Boston

Bombing,” on www.bizcominthenews.com.

14–week non–business: Invite students to discuss the ethical implications of

the situation. Use the following discussion starters:

14–week business: Using the same story, have students complete the

Resources

LO5: Communicate ethically.

Resources

LO5: Communicate ethically.

following:

Write an email to the CEO of NBC explaining your position on the

topic. Have students choose: either urge the company to change the

campaign or show support for their efforts.

REFER TO the story, “George Takei’s Ghost Writer Fesses Up,” on

www.bizcominthenews.com. Have students debate whether this situation

is unethical. Encourage them to consider when paying for tweets or

Facebook posts may cross an ethical line.

14–week business: INVITE students to work in groups to talk about their

experiences at work. Pose the following questions:

• If you uncovered wrongdoing at work, what avenues would you take to

report the issue?

• What resources may be available within your company?

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of using these internal

channels first?

Solutions to Exercises

3Ps in Practice: Media Choice to Communicate a Decision

Process

1. What do you want to achieve with your message? Consider both short– and long-term

objectives.

I want to come to a compromise with my boss. In the short-term, I would like to convince

her to abandon the campaign. In the long–term, I want her to see that our company

shouldn’t encourage negative body images. In an ideal situation, we will have a more

positive series of slogans on T-shirts and other apparel, whether it concerns body image

or not.

permit open communication, show body language, and allow for immediate responses.

Having a difficult discussion in a one–way form of communication, such as an email or a

letter, leaves a lot up to interpretation.

I am having a difficult discussion with my boss to tell her that I won’t do a job that she

asked me to do. The sensitivity of the situation drives my decision as well as the logistics

of whether we can meet in person.

medium would be the best way to deliver this message. One thing we must consider is

that she sent the request to me via email. The best option may be to schedule a time to

meet with her via email; then, we can talk in person.

better reach the target market. I will make it clear to her that her idea is not one that I am

ethically comfortable with, and I’ll think about questions that my boss may ask to prepare

answers for them. She could respond negatively, but by allowing open dialogue (asking

questions, receiving answers), I will try to convince her to steer away from this idea.

1. Identify communication components in a current news story.

Students are encouraged to select a news story of interest and identify the communication need,

sender, message, audience, and response. Students may reference www.bizcominthenews.com

to find a recent story.

Following are examples of the communication components involved in the news story “Try

Protein Instead of Meat at Taco Bell” (June 26, 2013).

Communication Need: The idea of “meat” has gotten a bad reputation.

Sender: Taco Bell’s marketing department

Message: Taco Bell offers “protein,” not “meat.” Protein is associated with healthy and delicious

food; on the other hand, meat is associated with unhealthy eating. One medium to communicate

this message may be the menu (i.e., offering options on the “Power Protein Menu”).

Audience: Customers of Taco Bell

Response: Customers may be more excited to try the “protein–related” items on the Taco Bell

menu. Concerns about mystery meat and pink slime may decrease as the company uses the

word protein in lieu of the word meat.

critically about how their experiences, culture, emotions, personality, knowledge, socioeconomic

status, and demographic variables affect their interpretation of messages.

• Downward communication: information ows from a manager to his or her employees.

• Cascading communication: information ows from one level down to another.

• Upward communication: information ows from lower–level employees to upper–level

employees or managers.

• Lateral (horizontal) communication: communication ows among peers.

4. Describe a company’s grapevine.

Encourage students to analyze the informal communication network of the company they

discussed in Exercise 3. Ensure that students discuss both possible positive and negative aspects

of the grapevine. Management should have an understanding of the company grapevine and be

Communication barriers between the sales associate and the shopper made for an unpleasant

shopping experience. The most obvious barrier is nonverbal: the customer does not make eye

contact and turns her body away from the sales associate. Instead, she could be clear: “Thank

you for your help, but I would rather just browse on my own for a while.” At the end of the

interaction, the customer asks for an item to distract the associate so that she can run out of the

store. She could have handled this differently (although, of course, the associate should have

paid attention to nonverbal cues).

Much of their communication failures stem from the different goals of the two individuals in this

interaction. The sales associate has been trained to sell items to each individual in the store. She

wants to be helpful and available to assist the shopper in any way possible (to get a high

commission!). Although the shopper seems disinterested in the associate’s suggestions, the

associate continues to recommend new items and provide commentary on what the shopper is

doing. The sales associate may perceive the shopper’s disinterest as dissatisfaction with the

merchandise, so she hopes that additional suggestions and commentary may lead the shopper

to an item she wants to purchase.

The shopper, however, finds the sales associate overbearing and just wants to browse. She

avoids the associate, does not make eye contact, and continues to be dismissive. Although the

sales associate intends to be helpful and friendly, the shopper finds her annoying and leaves the

store as a result.

Hey Christina,

Did you happen to see the game last night? It was incredibly action–packed. When the

Yankees had bases loaded and the next player was at bat, I was hoping for a home run, a

grand slam, but then they grounded into a double play! How disappointing.

I hope tomorrow’s game is better.

Jon

hoping that he would hit the ball far enough so that he could run around all four bases

because then the Yankees would score four runs with one hit—one for each player on base

plus the batter. But we hit a ground ball, yielding outs at both second and first base. How

disappointing.

I hope tomorrow’s game is better.

Jon

• Jargon is more effective only when the reader fully understands; otherwise jargon will have a

negative effect (misunderstandings and possibly bad feelings).

10. Analyze print communication.

Students should use print media from around the campus to analyze. Posters or “quarter card”

advertisements are some examples. Print media can make a different impact on individuals than

technology–based media. Students should evaluate the effectiveness of the print media and

whether a digital form should be used as a supplement or a replacement. With their experience

online, students should have no trouble identifying alternatives for print: websites, Facebook,

allow sales associates to ask

questions and get an immediate

response. Sales associates are all

located at the store, so an in-person

meeting is easy, but the sales

managers may need to hold more

than one to accommodate different

shifts.

Meeting

Additionally, I would invite all

corporate employees to an optional

meeting to review more details and

answer questions. This will allow me

to answer particular questions and

address concerns.

personalized letter so they feel

appreciated and that the company

cares about their VIP status.

Sign on stores

customers’ email addresses, then an

email should be sent; otherwise, a

letter may be sent to a home

address.

In addition to the direct

communication, managers should

post signs on all store windows for

customers who drop by. This should

be a standardized poster that the

corporate office creates and sends to

all stores.

Suppliers

Letter or email

All suppliers should receive a letter

or email from the company

explaining which stores will be closed

and when so they can adjust their

deliveries accordingly.

Thanks again for letting me know,

Kendra

15. Research a lawsuit about communication.

Students can search online to find a possible lawsuit example. Students’ analysis of the

questionable communication should be directed towards the correct audience—a competitor to

the company in question. As students identify aws in the company’s behavior, they should

We did not know that you had resources from another company, and we would like to look at

the other orientation program. Using the program from Levine and Wollinger, we can better

understand what an effective program looks like. We will then be able to use the information

from our research and the other law firm to create an excellent and new program.

Although it would be simpler to just use the other program, we would like to create our own

because we have been working on it all summer and that is our understanding of our role on the

project. Additionally, we wouldn’t feel comfortable turning in another law firm’s orientation

project as our own. Within a week, we will have finished creating a program that you will want to

use.

Please send us the program you have, and let us know if you have any other feedback.

Intern Team

19. Discuss ethical dilemmas.

You may facilitate a discussion that includes the following:

1. Confidentiality: What you know about your employee’s pending plans is not a

consideration here. Despite any personal feelings, it is not your place to violate the

expectation of confidentiality your boss has placed upon you. Even though you would

not want to be in this situation yourself, breaking confidentiality for only one

employee’s benefit would create an unwanted image of favoritism. One alternative is

to tell your boss about the situation and leave the final decision there. (Students may

discuss the situation in Exercise 13 here. Larson did violate company confidentiality.

Perhaps he had alternatives, for example, moving up the date to communicate the

4. Hiring: The ability to communicate effectively on any job is an integral part of a

candidate’s job qualifications. You’ll need to decide whether the lack of that ability is

critical and, if so, whether it can be remedied. Consider your own feelings if you were

about the assistance you were giving your friend. Perhaps compromise with your

friend, to give advice that pushes him or her in the right direction for finding the

for lowering productivity and morale—and possibly losing a good worker. You might

consider changing the policy, raising the salary cap, or employing other options to