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Business
Communication, 1st
Canadian Edition By
Marty Brounstein ,
Arthur H. Bell , Dayle M.
Smith , Connie Isbell ,
Alan T. Orr
(Solutions Manual, All
Chapters
100% Original Verified, A
+ Grade)
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Instructors Resource Manual to accompany Business Communication, Cdn Ed by Brounstein et al
1
UNDERSTANDING BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
Building a Foundation for Communication at Work
Learning Objectives
After Studying This Chapter, Students Should Be Able To
•
•
•
•
Appreciate the importance of becoming an effective and professional communicator in
today’s changing workplace.
Have a basic understanding of the process of communication.
Know how to be an effective listener.
Be able to analyze nonverbal communication and explain techniques for improving nonverbal
communication skills.
Learning Goals and Outcomes
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Master the terminology, understand the process, and recognize the tools for effective business
communication
Understand the implications of assumptions in business communications
Identify the barriers to successful communication
Use tools and techniques to analyze the steps of the communication process
Evaluate communication patterns in varied business situations
Collaborate with others in applying guidelines for team communication
Apply effective communication techniques to real-life situations
Chapter Summary
The process of communication is successful only when the receiver understands an idea as the sender
intended it. In business communication one must overcome barriers to create and exchange
successfully the knowledge that is critical to fostering innovation—the key challenge in today’s
economy. Today’s business communicator must develop communication skills that improve both
interpersonal and organizational communication. This chapter addresses the following key points:
•
•
Communication is central to organizational success. Communication is a non-linear
process that occurs when people intentionally or unintentionally send and receive messages.
Communication “noise” refers to impediments to the communication process.
Communication is a pervasive activity in organizations. It is not something that only some
people in organizations must do or something that occurs infrequently. The responsibilities
of managers and employees require regular effective communication.
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•
Organizational communication is multifaceted and complex. It may seem as if becoming
an effective communicator in organizations is a relatively simple matter. It is not. The
range of communication issues affecting organizations is vast and, often, the cause of any
one communication problem is more complicated than it appears to be.
Lecture Notes
Topic Importance
Since this chapter is a building block for the rest of the course, stress students’ comprehension of the
learning objectives listed. Students should be able to (1) discuss the communication process, the
barriers to interpersonal communication, and the means for overcoming them; (2) compare and
contrast such concepts as internal and external functions of organizations, formal and informal
communication channels, and oral and written communication; and (3) discuss the goals of ethical
business communication and the tools for doing the right thing. Whenever possible, have students use
examples from their personal experiences.
Chapter Presentation Suggestions
At times very simple exercises and discussion topics can drive home significant points. The following
activities can be completed quickly:
1. Significance of Communication Skills. Bring to class a stack of classified ads from your
local newspaper and/or printouts of job listings from employment Web sites such as
www.monster.ca. Divide the class into small teams, and give each team several pages of ads.
Have each team find as many references to communication-related skills as possible in the
ads. When they are finished searching, have each team share its findings with the rest of the
class. This is an excellent way for students to learn firsthand the importance of having good
communication skills in the workplace.
2. Understanding Barriers to Communication. Allow students some time to reflect and then
have them do the following:
a. Describe an instance of a major miscommunication between you and another person in a
workplace or in college that resulted in anger, embarrassment, frustration, or pain for one
or both of you.
b. After the student describes what happened, have the class analyze the event in terms of
obstacles that create misunderstanding—bypassing, frame of reference, lack of language
skills, and distractions. What could the student have done to overcome the obstacles to
clear communication in this instance? Help the class to see the event as an example of
what happens to communication when one or more obstacles prevent mutual understanding
and to see the relevance of these obstacles to their personal lives.
3. “Faked” Listening. Have students share examples of times when they “faked” listening and
how their lack of attention affected the situation. These instances may involve situations when
students did not give their parents, teachers, or employers their full attention. Remind students
that in their business lives, selective listening may result in serious consequences. When
receiving directions for work assignments, they should take great care to listen actively and
paraphrase the instructions given to them by their supervisor back to the supervisor. If the
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supervisor accepts the paraphrase as accurate, the students may assume that they completely
understand their work assignments.
4. Emotional Interference. Discuss with students how emotional interference can cloud their
judgment. What would be the consequences of sending a co-worker a negative
e-mail message in the heat of anger, but then after cooling down, wanting to stop the
individual from receiving the message? Or discuss the lasting consequences of an angry memo
or e-mail message sent to a co-worker or an angry voice-mail message left for a co-worker.
5. Noise as a Barrier to Communication. Physical distractions (for example, oral
communication noise—speaker’s mannerisms, poor lighting, uncomfortable chairs,
uncomfortable room temperature, or construction noise; written communication noise—poor
letter format, inappropriate stationery, punctuation errors, misspelled words, and grammar
errors) can take place during both written and oral communication. Have students discuss
examples of these types of noise from their experiences or bring to class and discuss samples
of written correspondence containing “noise.”
Suggestions for Learning Activities
1. Develop a guest speaker series with managers from local businesses for questions and answers
on professional communication.
2. Require that students conduct a 10-minute presentation on a chapter topic and afterwards lead
the group in a discussion of it.
3. Have students write a one- to two-page essay on the importance of developing good
communication skills and/or how you can project professionalism when you communicate.
Some brainstorming should be done first to help focus the students. Some examples are:
• Job placement
• Job performance
• Career advancement
• Speech habits — avoid uptalk, “like,” “ya know,” mindless chatter
• E-mail — avoid incomplete sentences, misspelled words, sloppiness
• Internet — use professional e-mail address
• Answering machine/voice mail — avoid loud music, weird sounds
• Telephone — avoid loud background noise
• Cell phone —avoid cell yell, don’t use during meetings or when others must overhear
Suggestions for Additional Resources
1. Video. Career Success Starts With Communication Foundations and Erasing Stereotypes.
Zubi Advertising.
2. Class Discussion Board. Set up an online discussion board for the class to use throughout the
semester. Set up topic areas on the board for students to ask questions, share Web resources,
discuss relevant topics, and so on. You can also access free discussion board services online.
A good place to start is http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic101discuss.html . Here you will find a
wealth of information about how to use technological communication tools in your class. If
available at your institution, consider using a course management program such as WebCT or
Blackboard.
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3. Importance of Communication Skills. Divide the class into small teams of three or four
students. Each team will search the job ads at employment Web sites for any references to
communication-related skills. You can provide the students with the URLs or have each team
use a search tool such as Google to find relevant sites. Suggestions for possible sites to use are
listed below. When they are finished searching, have each team share its findings with the rest
of the class. This is an excellent way for students to learn firsthand the importance of having
good communication skills in the workplace.
Possible Employment Sites:
• http://www.monster.ca
• http://www.workopolis.com
• http://www.jobbank.gc.ca
4. Class Mailing List. Set up a mailing list for the class to use throughout the semester. This
mailing list can be used by students to ask questions, share resources, clarify assignments, set
up study groups, or engage in any other communication outside of the classroom. To get
students to use the mailing list right away, have them send an introduction of themselves via
e-mail to the class mailing list. A good free tool to use to set up mailing lists is Yahoo! Groups
(http://groups.yahoo.com/). (Note: You should set up the mailing list yourself before the
semester begins. You can then collect student e-mail addresses and add students to the list
yourself, or you can have students add themselves. Just follow all instructions on the Yahoo!
Groups site.)
Quick Questions
1. External customers are customers who need the products and services that your business
provides. True or false? True.
2. An assumption is having proof that a person is going to behave in a certain way before they’ve
had a chance to act. True or false? False.
3. Ways to prevent yourself from making negative assumptions include
a) treat each person as an individual
b) avoid making generalizations
c) use active listening to check someone’s meaning
d) all of the above
4. Communication is a one-way activity in which ideas or feelings are delivered, spoken, or
written. True or false? False.
5. Which of the following could serve as a form of feedback for a presentation?
a) applause
b) question and answer session
c) opinion form
d) all of the above
6. Which of the following is NOT a form of structured communication?
a) company newsletter
b) conversation over coffee
c) weekly staff meeting
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d) office-wide e-mail
7. The office grapevine is a useful, though sometimes destructive, part of an organization’s
communication system. Which of the following can help you make the most of it?
a) ignore it
b) take part in it only when you have something to contribute
c) participate in it on different levels
d) report its misuse to others
8. Which communication pattern avoids the problems associated with the series pattern?
a) hub and spokes
b) circle
c) legs
d) pyramid
9. In thinking about the flow of information as a loop, opening the loop means cutting off
individuals from the information. True or false? False.
10. Feedback is critical to successful team communication. Feedback should NOT
a) recognize good performances
b) provide subjective comments
c) describe observations based on actions
d) be sincere
Give It Some Thought
1. The communication process is like a game of tug of war. What happens in the game when two
participants can’t communicate with each other (when both speak at the same time, for
example, or one tunes out the other)? The tug-of-war rope stretches taut and creates
tension without mutual understanding.
2. What kind of assumptions would you be safe in making if you were the store manager of a
small hardware store in an area where weather forecasters are forecasting a major snow storm?
(As in past years, it’s probably safe to stock up on snowblowers, salt, shovels)
3. In many cases, making an assumption about another person can often lead to communication
problems. To avoid problems, what should you assume about the people you are dealing with?
(To get started on the right foot, the safest assumption to make is that the other person
means well.)
4. Describe the five aspects of the communication process in the correct order. (Information
source, signal, transmittal, channel, receiver; see p. 4 in the textbook.)
5. What role does feedback play in the communication process? (Feedback—whether in the
form of a nod, memo, phone call, or questionnaire—serves as confirmation that the
information has been understood by the receiver.)
6. How does unstructured communication generate more emotional responses from receivers
than structured communication? (Unstructured communication gives people more of an
opportunity to express feelings.)
7. Which communication patterns could be described as both efficient and inefficient?
Crossfire
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8.
9.
10.
11.
Which physical and psychological barriers are involved in the following scenarios?
a) An audience loses focus when poor presentation materials are used. (Motivational)
b) An audience interprets poor eye contact as insecurity over the message. (Non-verbal)
c) An audience can be distracted by noise, drafts, and other discomforts. (Physical)
d) An audience can be put off by stereotypes or cultural differences. (Cultural)
What are different ways that business commitments are made in different cultures, and how
can these lead to misunderstandings? (For some cultures, a handshake is enough; others
require legal documents. One party may believe a deal is settled by a handshake while
the other party is waiting for documentation.)
Team communication is a critical part of an organization’s success. How does teaching play a
part in enhancing the effectiveness of a team? (See 1.7.2 on p. 18)
Even a team member who is not an assertive speaker can contribute to a team’s success. What
are two things such person can do to overcome insecurity or fear? (Make a point of speaking
up in every meeting, ask others for help when necessary)
Applying This Chapter
1. You direct credit card services for a large furniture company. You’ve argued for months that
the company’s collection letters are sadly out of step with what’s going on in the business
world: the “Pay up!” approach is simply not working during these difficult economic times.
Draft a new letter, avoiding the negative use of assumptions and at the same time addressing
the needs of your “audience.” Answers will vary.
2. Draw a graphic that represents the grapevine among a group of friends, colleagues or fellow
students. Describe the speed, accuracy and motives of the grapevine. (The graphic should
follow the patterns shown in 1.3.2 on p. 6; student’s details about her/his own grapevine
will vary)
3. You supervise ten other employees in an insurance company. On what occasion would you
use the crossfire pattern of communication with your workers? On what occasions would that
approach be inappropriate? Answer will vary.
4. Assume you’re a member of a hospital’s development team put together to come up with ideas
for recruiting new volunteers. A fellow teammate who is new to the hospital staff, is showing
a lot of enthusiasm during your brainstorming meeting, but nearly all of her ideas have been
way off-base. Others on the team are showing their frustration. Which of the team
communication guidelines could you use to help with the situation? Answers will vary.
5. Cecile, a friend from high school, has just landed a great new job in a firm that creates
websites for small businesses. She’s a bit nervous, though, because everyone in the new firm
seems to work closely in teams and she’s used to working solo. Cecile was relieved when you
told her you would write up some practical suggestions for her based on what you were
learning about teamwork in your new business communications course. Write up a friendly,
supportive email to Cecile; she’s especially interested in giving feedback during strategy
planning sessions. (Student responses should be based on 1.7 (p. 17) with a focus on 1.7.7
(giving supportive feedback))
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The Next Step
Wrong Assumptions Jot down three instances in which making an assumption about someone (or,
alternatively, when someone has made an assumption about you) has backfired. Think about
why it happened. Did you jump to a conclusion, resort to a stereotype? What were the
consequences? How could you have avoided the situation in the first place? Answers will
vary.
Communication Barriers Sometimes, the way an organization is arranged can itself become a
barrier to communication. Describe any organizational barriers to communication that you see
at your workplace, school, or organization. Go on to suggest ways in which you could reduce
or eliminate these barriers. Answers will vary.
Succeeding in a New Country Pick a country that you would like to visit on business some day. Do
some Internet and library research on issues like personal space, levels of formality, or the
relationship between men and women in that country. How might issues like these affect your
communication with your host? Additionally, identify any strict taboos that you’ll want to be
aware of. Which taboos might you have violated if you had not taken time to investigate the
cultural differences between your country and the foreign country? Answers will vary.
Choosing a Candidate Your company is opening an office in a foreign country. Consider what
you’ve learned from Question #3 and get together with two or three other classmates to devise an
insightful list of interview questions that will identify potential biases or other problems to let
you determine which candidates are most likely to succeed in a different culture. Answers will
vary.
Feedback List the various forms of feedback you receive during a typical day. Which influence
your actions the most? Why? Answers will vary.
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