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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
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.
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.
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
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11.5 Testing Your Voice Quality
Encourage your students to complete this activity in which they record their own voices. Consider having
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.
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.
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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.
e. E-mail is generally not the proper channel for constructive criticism. Mark should deliver his message
in person. Personal feedback gives the listener an opportunity to ask questions and provide
explanations. In a complex situation, Mark might want to prepare notes to deliver by telephone or in
writing.
11.8 Practicing Professional Telephone Skills
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.
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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
11.12 Resolving Workplace Conflict: Apply a Plan
Students should apply the following six-step procedure: (1) Listen to each person’s position. (2)
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.
Kimberly is quiet, although she is taking notes and seems to be following the discussion attentively.
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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
Jonathan to take the meeting minutes to keep him occupied. If someone else is the recorder, tactfully
ask Jonathan’s opinion on the agenda item being discussed.
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.
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
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11.17 Visiting Virtual Office Hours
Virtual office hours can be a time-saver. Comments you make and questions you answer are visible even