#19949
Technical communicators are accustomed to being thrown into the breech when their employers or clients confront severe business challenges. Rather than rush into the fray, we stand a better chance of tilting the business outcomes in our companies’ or clients’ favor if we remain disciplined under fire. A good way to achieve that discipline is to structure the communications team in a manner best suited to collaborative ventures and then implement those ventures in an orderly process called integrated strategic communication. This workshop begins with a brief explanation of how the Communications Department at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control - Orlando (LMMFC-O) uses integrated strategic communication to defend the company’s existing business base or seek new business in the fiercely competitive defense industry. Workshop participants will work in teams to complete practical hands-on exercises applying the process of integrated strategic communication to scenarios involving pressing business/technical communication challenges.
Voss, Daniel W. and William C. Wiese. STC Proceedings (2001). Careers>Management>Collaboration
#24210
This unique and lively workshop is based on an ingenious board game developed by the Office of Ethics and Business Conduct for the Lockheed Martin Corporation, under a special copyright agreement with Scott Adams. It uses the famous characters in the cartoon strip, including celebrated ethicist Dogbert™, to inject a spirit of fun into the heavy debate that often swirls around the thorny ethical dilemmas we confront in the workplace. Here, teams of technical communicators will compete to see who can best balance ethical values with business realities and come out with practical, honest solutions. While the vehicle is rather lighthearted, the content is anything but. The case histories are carefully designed to cut to the moral chase. There are no right or wrong answers—only good, better, best, not so good, and Dogbert™. Yes, there's an answer key, but that, too, is controversial. What? No clear answers? Of course not. That's the whole point.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (1999). Careers>Workplace>Ethics
#28555
In today's shrinking global marketplace, many technical communicators face challenges related to intercultural communication. This article examines ethical issues in intercultural communication, beginning with a brief survey of classical ethical models, then focusing on the guidelines for ethical communication developed by Allen and Voss to provide a framework for discussion. Of Allen and Voss's 10 values for ethical communication, we focus on privacy, legality, teamwork, social responsibility, and cultural sensitivity. We offer specific suggestions for avoiding stereotyping, tokenism, and ethnocentrism in technical documentation, including before-and-after examples. We examine the risks involved in using graphics and icons and in attempting to translate idiomatic usages. The article concludes with guidelines for technical communicators preparing documentation for international audiences and with suggestions for managers who wish to give their employees guidance regarding ethical and effective intercultural communication.
Voss, Daniel W. and Madelyn Flammia. Technical Communication Online (2007). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring
#28759
The Ethics of Special Needs: It's a Matter of Fairness 
The American Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 cites 43 million Americans as having disabilities. Despite the progress the ADA represents in improving equality of opportunity for those with disabilities, much remains to be done--as evidenced by the fact that only 27.8% of working-age people with work disabilities have jobs, compared to 76.8% of those without disabilities. The statistics are even bleaker for minorities.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2007). Articles>Accessibility>Ethics
#13285
The Ethics of Special Needs: It’s a Matter of Fairness 
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 cites 43 million Americans as having disabilities. Despite the progress the ADA represents in improving equality of opportunity for those with disabilities, much remains to be done—as evidenced by the fact that only 27.8% of working-age people with work disabilities have jobs, compared to 76.8% of those without disabilities. The statistics are even bleaker for minorities. The STC Special Needs Committee was formed in May 1999 to help members with special needs achieve their potential by making available to them information about products, services, and literature that can assist them in their career activities. Three of STC's six guiding ethical principles have high relevance to special needs: legality, professionalism, and—above all—fairness.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Usability
#29649
From Starfish to Butterfly ... the Amazing Story of the AccessAbility SIG
This paper describes the remarkable history of the Society's newest Special Interest Group--the AccessAbility SIG--tracing it back to its origins in 1997 as the Special Needs Committee (SNC). The SNC, founded by Judy Skinner, was originally chartered to assist technical communicators with disabilities in the practice of our profession by researching and publicizing assistive technologies and techniques to overcome those limitations. Over its 5-year lifespan, the committee expanded its mission to include a second overarching goal--assisting all technical communicators in developing information products that are fully accessible to end users with disabilities. Its accomplishments included a data-rich yet eye-pleasing online newsletter, an ever-growing comprehensive web site that is becoming a definitive resource on accessibility, and a robust and dynamic listserv.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Accessibility>Community Building>STC
#28757
From Starfish to Butterfly: the Amazing Story of the AccessAbility SIG
This paper describes the remarkable history of the Society's newest Special Interest Group--the AccessAbility SIG--tracing it back to its origins in 1997 as the Special Needs Committee (SNC). The SNC, founded by Judy Skinner, was originally chartered to assist technical communicators with disabilities in the practice of our profession by researching and publicizing assistive technologies and techniques to overcome those limitations. Over its 5-year lifespan, the committee expanded its mission to include a second overarching goal--assisting all technical communicators in developing information products that are fully accessible to end users with disabilities.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2007). Articles>Accessibility>Community Building
#22889
Golden Hits of STC Conferences... A Potpourri of Titillating Technical Communication Tidbits
STC's international conferences offer a golden opportunity for professional growth and development. Taking a leaf from the book of Gordon McKenzie, keynote speaker at the 41st STC Conference in Minneapolis in 1994, the presenter has compiled his material from 16 previous presentations and workshops at regional and international STC conferences, as well as notes from many other technical sessions at those conferences, into a simulated 'HyperCard' stack of 32 topics (i.e., signs on the wall) which session participants can 'browse' simply by 'clicking' (read: shouting out a number).
Voss, Daniel W. and Lori A. Allen. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>TC>History
#28758
IEEE and STC Ethical Guidelines Call for Fairness on Disabilities and Accessibility
This is a guest article the author was invited to write for the April 2006 online newsletter of the IEEE Professional Communication Society (PCS), in which the AccessAbility SIG encourages its IEEE professional counterparts with an interest in accessibility to form a similar special interest group, affiliate with us, and create a mutually beneficial synergy. With the permission of IEEE, the article is reprinted in these Proceedings in support of the AccessAbility SIG's informational session on Leadership Day and to encourage cooperation between the two professional organizations in the pursuit of accessibility both in communication products and in general.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2007). Articles>Accessibility>Policies and Procedures
#23712
Several stories of Lone Star and Rocky Mountain Chapter STC members who have achieved victories over disabilities.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>TC>Accessibility
#23714
Integrated Strategic Communication: More than the Sum of Its Parts
Adopting a hybrid organizational structure over 40 years ago has permitted the Communications Department of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control-Orlando to evolve new capabilities and undertake new missions. The result has been an independent organization that proactively responds to business opportunities, strategically applies numerous resources, and adds new skill sets that help Missiles and Fire Control capture and retain military contracts.
Voss, Daniel W. and William C. Wiese. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>TC>Workplace
#13270
Integrated Strategic Communication: More than the Sum of Its Parts
Adopting a hybrid organizational structure over 30 years ago has permitted the Communications Department of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control-Orlando to evolve new capabilities and undertake new missions. The result has been an independent organization that proactively responds to business opportunities, strategically applies numerous resources, and adds new skill sets that help Missiles and Fire Control capture and retain military contracts.
Voss, Daniel W. and William C. Wiese. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Business Communication
#18767
Meet the Special Needs Committee: Many Stories, One Mission
The STC Special Needs Committee was formed in 1998. Its charter is to research special needs in technical communication to find and publish ways in which we can leverage technology both to help technical communicators with disabilities practice our profession and also to help end users with disabilities access information in the products we prepare.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Accessibility>Community Building
#13235
A chapter-level education committee can provide a valuable resource both to STC chapter members and to local educational institutions. In this paper, which accompanies a progression on the same subject, the Orlando Chapter’s Education Committee describes six initiatives it has pursued to advance education and professional development within its sphere of influence: (1) developing procedures and avenues of communication to govern its own operations, (2) instituting and administering a scholarship program, (3) conducting a high school writing competition, (4) providing instructional support for secondary education in the community, (5) instituting mentoring programs, and (6) supporting and enhancing professional development.
Voss, Daniel W. and Gail Lippincott. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Collaboration>Mentoring
#29881
Secondary Disabilities: The Vicious Circle
This progression round-table discussion explores the role of secondary disabilities that can magnify the effects of primary disabilities, triggering a downward spiral that leads to greater impairment, depression, and even total surrender--a classic vicious circle. The objective is to share personal experiences and look for ways to break the vicious circle early-- before the secondary disability compounds the effects of the primary disability. The strategy to combat this insidious syndrome is three-fold: (1) optimal medical treatment of the primary disability to minimize its effects, (2) maximum technological accommodations to compensate for the remaining deficit after medical options have been exhausted, and (3) psychological intervention to interrupt and reverse the secondary disability pattern before it creates the downward spiral--in essence, 'blasting a hole' in the vicious circle.
Voss, Ria and Daniel W. Voss. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Accessibility
#19945
Serving Special Needs in Technical Communication
Some 43 million Americans have disabilities, under the definitions provided in the American Disabilities Act. Only one fourth of working-age Americans with disabilities who are capable of fully productive employment have jobs. Grim statistical realities like these prompted the Society for Technical Communication to form a Special Needs Committee (SNC) to address the needs of its members (as well as its end users) who have disabilities. This article provides a brief history of the SNC, outlines its goals and objectives, and introduces some of its members. The SNC welcomes the development of a “sister” group within the American Translators Association (ATA), and would like to pool resources to help fellow professionals whose careers—and lives—have been derailed by disabilities.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Accessibility>TC
#22883
Ethical conflicts often defy black-and-white solutions. But gray can be slippery. This workshop demonstrates how to use value analysis to clarify ethical conflicts in technical communication. The presenters identify 10 core values that underlie technical communication and show how these values can be used to support objective analysis and resolve ethical conflicts. Participants explore ethical dilemmas 'hands-on' through small-group discussions and role-playing vignettes on selected conflict scenarios. This session follows up the 'Grayscale' workshop conducted at the 43rd STC conference-with all new scenarios!
Voss, Daniel W. and Lori A. Allen. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>TC>Ethics
#19798
Sharpening the Focus: A Workshop on Ethics and Technical Communication
Increasingly, technical communicators are confronting ethical issues in the workplace. Conflicts arise that appear to defy black-and-white solutions. To render every verdict 1. Workshop Instructions. as 'gray'' however, begs the question. This workshop exposes participants to the use of value analysis to clarify ethical conflicts in technical communication. It also gives them the opportunity to explore ethical issues “hands-on” through small-group discussions and a series of roleplaying vignettes on selected conflict scenarios.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Workplace>Ethics
#30375
A Slippery Slope: Using Value Analysis to Resolve Ethical Conflicts in Technical Communication
Increasingly, technical communicators are confronting ethical issues in the workplace. Conflicts arise that appear to defy black-and-white solutions. To render every verdict as 'gray,' however, begs the question. Clear direction in the face of thorny ethical dilemmas requires objective value analysis, to logically reduce such dilemmas to clearly defined value conflicts. Once these conflicts are understood, the proper ethical path can more readily be discerned. This paper addresses the need for specific, real-world ethical guidelines for technical communicators. It also explores the possibility of developing a value analysis model to establish such guidelines. A typical model is applied to four representative ethical conflicts.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>TC>Ethics>Assessment
#29900
This workshop explores the creative use of humor as a de-stressor in the often deadline-driven, pressure-filled world of technical communication, while also addressing the inherent risks involved with this strategy. Three specific techniques involving metaphor, psychology, and incongruity are exemplified in the opening presentation. Participants then form teams to apply these techniques and other strategies to relieve stress in volatile business/technical scenarios.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace
#14543
Three Whiz-Bang Online Ways to Promote Professional Development in a Whiz-Bang Online World
If we're going to encourage our employees to ride the information Highway, we need to be training them wilh Lamborghinis, not horse-drawn carriages. Well, Toyotas, at least! An on-paper approach to professional development in an online world is self-defeating. Three online techniques that can act like fuel-injected superchargers to propel reluctant employees up the On ramp to the Information Highway are 1) HyperHighway: a HyperCard stack which leads users to inhouse resources and experties, 2) ExcelStaff: a Microsoft Excel skills matrix which helps managers develop and cross-train personnel through strategic staffing decisions, and 3) ElectroChat: an Electronic Bulletin Board approach which encourages professional growth through informal networking. Happy motoring!
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (1995). Presentations>Management>Online
