Questions and Answers of Business Communication Process

Howard Schultz, Starbucks president and CEO, has been described as a “classic entrepreneur: optimistic, relentless, mercurial, and eager to prove people wrong.” Before Starbucks’ latest
Can any single search engine index all Web pages? How can you optimize your search of Web sources?
How can you ensure that your survey will be effective and appeal to as many respondents as possible?
What is a statement of purpose, and what function does it serve?
Describe the writing style of typical business reports.
What are the main purposes of business reports?
Direct marketers sometimes resort to scare tactics, for example, to make us purchase alarm systems and subscribe to monitoring services. They may also appeal to our compassion and guilt before the
Tweeting, texting, and quickie e-mailing all may foster sloppy messages. Author Mark Garvey argued, “In business, in education, in the arts, in any writing that takes place outside the linguistic
Queen Elizabeth of England once said, “Stereotypes wither when human contacts flourish.” What does this statement mean? Have you found this to be accurate in your own experience?
For routine writing tasks, what are some techniques for collecting information data and generating ideas?
1. Based on what you learned in this chapter, what specific advice can you give about keeping a message clear? Should a business message be conversational?2. Why is conciseness important, and what
1. When new ideas must be generated and sold to management, what role does communication skill play in the process?2. Do you think the Taco Bell culinary product manager will be making an oral or a
Conciseness is valued in business. However, can messages be too short?
Is the revision and proofreading process different for short and long documents? Can you skip revising if your message is brief?
What is the difference between serif and sans serif typefaces? What is the preferred use for each?
How can writers increase white space to improve readability?
What are five document design techniques that business writers can use to enhance readability?
Why would a good writer avoid this sentence? When it arrived, I read your message and am now replying.
How is proofreading different from revising?
One single mother earned nearly $500 a month by putting her writing skills to use on “opps” (opportunities) at PayPerPost.com. This site pays consumers to write favorable comments in blogs about
The makers of artificial sweetener Equal sued competitor Splenda because the latter claimed that Splenda was “made from sugar.” In reality, Splenda’s core ingredient is made from sucralose, a
1. When a business communicator responds to an inquiry, such as a letter about human rights violations among contractors, is “research” necessary?2. What are the differences between formal and
1. In what ways would research (gathering information) be important to Gap and Old Navy in getting their customers back?2. Why is it important for Gap managers, as well as other business
Why is audience analysis so important in the selection of the direct or indirect pattern of organization for a business message?
What is a topic sentence, and where is it usually found?
What’s wrong with this sentence? After reading it carefully, the proposal doesn’t interest us.
List four techniques for emphasizing important ideas in sentences.
What is the primary difference between the direct and indirect patterns of organization?
When is the indirect pattern appropriate, and what are the benefits of using it?
Why do many readers prefer the direct method for organizing messages?
What are the major components in an analytical report?
What are the major components in a letter or memo?
What is the difference between a list and an outline?
Compare the first phase of the writing process with the second phase.
Poster artist Shepard Fairey created a popular “Hope” poster of Barack Obama from a striking photo he saw on the Internet. Freelance photographer Mannie Garcia cried foul and demanded licensing
Bad writing can be expensive: A Philadelphia lawyer was charged with malpractice to the tune of $6.6 million for drafting a poor commercial lease. The judge in Los Angeles said the draft was
Students may visit writing centers where they receive useful advice and help. However, some well-meaning tutors take over, revising documents until they don’t resemble the original student work.
What is Web 2.0, and how has it changed the way users engage with information?
Name and describe the two prevailing technological trends today.
List and concisely describe at least six electronic communication channels used most commonly by business people today.
Name at least five reasons some organizations forbid employees to use instant and text messaging.
How can you show professionalism and respect for your receivers in writing business IM messages and texts?
Explain why companies use blogs.
What is a wiki, and what are its advantages to businesses?
Name a few of the potential risks that social networking sites may pose to business.
What do employment and hiring experts recommend to young job seekers who wish to connect with companies on LinkedIn and other professional networking sites?
What is really simple syndication (RSS), and why is it helpful?
Explain the role of social bookmarking sites such as Digg, Del.icio.us, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Squidoo.
What is the imperative mood, and why is it important to use it in writing instructions?
1. In what ways have social media and “real-time Web” changed how Internet users communicate? Have services like Twitter improved the way we exchange information?2. What trends have facilitated
How should instructions be written? Give a brief original example
What should you include in the closing of a request message?
Some workers use Bcc (blind carbon copy) to copy their friends and colleagues on e-mail when they do not want the recipient to know that a third party will also read the message. Based on the
What are the most emphatic positions in a message, and what goes there?
1. How do you explain the amazing lapses of judgment apparent in the tweets included in Zooming In, Part 2, on p. 200?2. How widespread is the use of Twitter among your friends, and how do they
What kinds of messages are sent as are interoffice memos?
How can you save the reader’s time and make your business message easy to comprehend at a glance?
Former flight attendant Ellen Simonetti was fired by Delta Air Lines for posting on her blog “Queen of Sky” photos showing her in uniform. Simonetti claims that her dismissal violated her
Electronics retailer Best Buy recently offered a 52-inch flat-screen TV worth $1,799.99 for $9.99 on its Web site. Within hours bloggers and Twitter users posted jokes about this “steal,” and
Into what three content categories can most business messages be organized? What group will make up the bulk of your messages?
Josh in the Accounting Department tells you that he heard from a reliable source that 15 percent of the staff will be released within 120 days. You would love to share this juicy news with other
What does the expression communication skills include?
Fewer layers of management mean greater communication challenges for front-line workers. Why?
What technologies enable workers to have “anytime, anywhere” offices?
What are the five steps in the communication process?
How can business communicators overcome some of the inevitable barriers in the communication process?
Why is oral communication considered more effective than written communication? Why doesn’t everyone use it exclusively?
Why is written communication important in business, and why doesn’t everyone use it exclusively?
Communication skills are frequently listed among the desired qualifications for job candidates. What do these skills consist of? How would you rate your skills?
How can you control or respond ethically to office gossip?
1. Indra Nooyi credited a college course in communication as an important step in her career. How do you think you could benefit from such a course?2. What skills do you think businesspeople need to
1. In communicating the changes in philosophy and practice within PepsiCo, should CEO Indra Nooyi and her management team use formal or informal channels of communication? Give examples of each.2. In
Office workers use smart phones, e-mail, voicemail, and text messaging. Many are literally always on call and feel overwhelmed. What are the limits of connectedness? Is it fair to dodge an unpleasant
Like a game of “telephone,” the grapevine can distort the original message because the news travels through many mouths and ears at the office. Knowing this, can you safely share with even a
While serving as an interviewer on behalf of your organization, you are expected to tell prospective employees that the firm is a great place to work. However, let’s say you know that the work
List seven reasons that explain why organizations are forming groups and teams.
What are virtual teams, and how can misunderstandings among participants be reduced?
What is groupthink, and how can it be avoided?
If you are considering organizing a meeting, what should you do before the meeting?
List five behaviors you consider most important in participating actively in workplace meetings.
Harvard professor and team expert J. Richard Hackman claims that research “consistently shows that teams underperform despite all their extra resources.” How would you, as a critical thinker,
What techniques can make virtual meetings as effective as face-to-face meetings?
Ethical Issue: Rochelle is a good member of your team. However, you are disturbed that she is constantly promoting her Arbonne beauty products to other members of the team. She shows catalogs and
1. In what ways do employee work teams benefit organizations? 2. Compare and contrast student and corporate work teams. In what ways are they similar and different?3. How could you make a
1. Why do you think workplace meetings are so disliked?2. Do you think 15-minute stand-up meetings could be effective? Why or why not?3. How can the attitude and behavior of attendees affect the
Teamwork is a staple in college classes today and usually works well for students and their instructors. However, occasionally a rogue member will take advantage of a group and barely collaborate.
Projecting a professional image begins in your business communication classroom and in other courses where your instructors evaluate your work and your participation. Imagine how a professor
Why is intercultural communication increasingly important, and what must business communicators do to succeed?
Name techniques for bridging the gap between cultures and achieving intercultural proficiency.
What should you assume about the level of proficiency in nonnative speakers of English?
What categories of ambiguous expressions should be avoided because they could confuse readers for whom English is not a first language?
Are there laws forbidding bribery in the United States, and are they effective in stopping corruption?
We are told to overcome our natural tendency to show ethnocentrism, judging other cultures by our own values. Does this mean we should accept actions we find abhorrent in other world regions as a
1. In its international expansion policy, Wal-Mart followed the advice of Harvard business professor Theodore Levitt, whose famous 1983 book The Globalization of Markets advocated standardization,
You know that it’s not acceptable to make ethnic jokes, least of all in the workplace, but a colleague of yours keeps invoking the worst ethnic and racial stereotypes. How do you respond? Do you
1. How do Chinese and Americans differ on key dimensions of culture as described in this chapter?2. In what ways does Wal-Mart’s strategy in China compare to its misadverntures in South Korea,
1. When writing, what are the advantages and disadvantages to multitasking?2. Suze Orman is known for using simple, familiar language to express complex ideas. Does a business writer lose credibility
1. Whether one is writing a book, making a speech, or composing a business letter, why is it important to anticipate the audience for the message?2. What does writing an effective financial help book
The advent of mass mobility by automobile in the 1950s and increasing numbers of women joining the workforce have led to the dramatic rise of the fast-food industry. Middle-class families no longer
Peter Whitney, an employee at Wells Fargo, launched an Internet blog to chat about his life, his friends, and his job. After criticizing some of his coworkers in his blog, he was fired from his job

Showing 800 - 900 of 911