Communication at Work –
Following Directions
Business Information Management II
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Goals for this Lesson
• Students will understand the meaning of “hard”
and “soft” skills in the workplace
• Students will identify different “hard” and “soft”
skills
• Students will understand the rewards and
consequences of effective business
communications
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Hard Skills – Easily Measurable
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Procedural Steps
Administrative Tasks
Machine Operation
Financial Skills
Typing Skills
Language Skills
Computer Skills
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Soft Skills – “People Skills”
• Communication
– Oral
– Written
• Teamwork
– Diversity
– Goals
• Leadership
• Customer Service
• Decision-Making
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Following Directions – a “Soft” Skill
• Types of Directions
▫ Employment Policies
▫ Training Manuals (How-to)
▫ Product User Guides
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Rewards (of following directions)
•
•
•
•
Increased employee morale
Increased productivity
Increased customer base
Increased revenue
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Consequences (of not following
directions)
•
•
•
•
Loss of business
Employee termination
Defective products
Possible injury
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Assignments
Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2011. All rights reserved.
• “Hard” and “Soft” Skills Business Leader Report Assignment #1
Have students conduct Internet research of business leaders who possess
“hard” skills versus “soft skills”. Type a report which states the leader’s
particular career and summarizes which skills that career requires as well as
which skills that leader is best known to possess. Use appropriate report
formatting. This report will be evaluated according to the related rubric.
• “Instructional Manual” Assignment #2
Create a detailed instructional manual (a “how-to” manual) for either
assembling a product of your choice or performing a task (such as how to
play a certain game). Get approval from your teacher first. Include proper
report formatting, including double-spacing, 1” margins, and heading and
paragraph styles. Sections should include, but are not limited to, an outline
of your guide, parts description and appropriate labeling (use clipart and
drawing shapes if necessary), supplies needed, and assembly steps or
directional steps. Remember that grammar is very important for
understanding the entire manual. This project will be evaluated using the
related rubric.
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Assignments (continued)
• “Following Directions Scenario” Assignment #3
Use the “Explain the consequences of not following directions promptly”
handout for the general directions for this assignment. In pairs students
will complete the tasks stated in the directions. Then have them display
their results on two different documents. Any application can be used but
one document should contain the list of tasks, three per group as stated in
the directions, using possibly a table, SmartArt Graphic, bulleted list or
whatever the pair decides. The other document should be the timeline as
described in the directions, as well as the possible consequences if any of
the groups does not follow the directions for each task that the pairs have
produced.