Using a Client Memo to Assess Critical Thinking of Finance Majors    

This article describes a holistic, discourse-based method for assessing the critical thinking skills of undergraduate senior-level finance majors. Rejecting a psychometric assessment approach in which component features of critical thinking are disaggregated, this study is based on a holistic scoring of student memos. Students were asked to recommend and justify a course of action to a lay client facing an ill-structured finance problem. Analysis of student memos reveals critical thinking weaknesses that may be ameliorated by changes in assignments or instructional methods. The memos reveal four kinds of critical thinking problems: (a) failure to address the client's problem, (b) random rather than purposeful application of finance tools and methodologies, (c) inability to translate finance concepts or methods into lay language, and (d) inability to construct rhetorically useful graphics. The curricular implications of this study are discussed.

Carrithers, David and John C. Bean. Business Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Education>Business Communication>Assessment

Using a Plain Language Assessment Tool to Improve Business Communication  

Our company has been involved in a joint public/private sector initiative to bring the benefits of plain language campaigns to business communication. For the project we developed a plain language assessment tool that identifies problem documents, estimates costs associated with poor documents, analyzes their usability, profiles their authors and readers, and helps create action plans for improvement. Two organizations have run pilot projects with the assessment tool, and we did follow up research on them and on some organizations that were exposed to the tool in a workshop setting. The tool is an effective vehicle for improving business documents and performance.

Mierau, Maurice. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Business Communication>Assessment>Minimalism

Using E-mail To Make Your Pitch

Gone are the days when you called a reporter, mailed a letter or sent a fax and expected to get a callback. These days, more reporters than ever are relying on e-mail to review news pitches or story ideas. Pitching by e-mail is sometimes more difficult than sending a pitch letter by standard mail or calling a reporter on the telephone, because with more and more e-mail being sent these days, yours needs to stand out from the rest. Here are tips on how to make your pitch stand out in the maze of e-mail communications that reporters, and other media contacts, receive each day.

Lee, Terry and Rich Brant. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Correspondence>Email

Using Internet-Based Assignments to Model Workplace Communication  

Many students enter the workplace technologically under-prepared. Too many technical communication classrooms still do not strike a balance between the pen and paper environment and the use of technology. Educators must recognize computer literacy as a legitimate form of literacy that must be taught to our students. To bridge the gap between indusby and the classroom, educators must create assignments that mimic electronic communication used in corporate settings.

Burris, Susan. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Education>Business Communication

Using Measurement to Enhance Employee Communication

The role of an employee communication professional is, at its core, fundamentally simple: We're in the business of designing and executing messaging to achieve a desired effect with a specific audience. How successful we are is driven by a number of factors, including appropriate use of media, timing and messages. By understanding these factors, we can target communication much more effectively. The key to understanding these factors effectively is simple: Ask.

Cooper, Marc. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Workplace

Using New Media to Tame a Crisis

New media have drastically altered the way we communicate, particularly during a crisis. With the blogosphere, Web 2.0, Second Life and social media sites like Flickr, Twitter, Blogger, Facebook and MySpace, it seems that a new way to spread information crops up on a daily basis. Since crises can originate or be perpetuated online, communicators must incorporate social media into their existing media monitoring efforts.

Griffin, Chip. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Multimedia>Crisis Communication

Using Social Media and Blogs to Your Advantage

Consumers no longer have to rely only on mass media for information. More often than not, they are turning to colleagues, friends and other people they trust for advice on what products and services to buy, generally trying to avoid sales people altogether. Understandably, this is what makes social media so effective, and one of the reasons why it can have such a positive impact on your bottom line.

Buchanan, Ryan. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Online

Using the Enthymeme as a Heuristic in Professional Writing Courses  

In the following pages, I will offer a methodology for letter and memoranda writing which exchanges an emphasis on forms for one on rhetorical analysis. Ultimately, training in rhetorical analysis helps students exercise and refine the analytical and analogical thinking needed for any discipline; that is, a professional writing course can serve, as Carolyn Miller says, to 'present mechanical rules and skills against a broad understanding of why and how to adjust or violate the rules, of the social implications of the roles a writer casts for himself or herself, and for the reader, and of the ethical repercussions of one’s words—effects which emphasize the fundamental nature of the humanities' (617). But before addressing how a professional writing course advances a liberal education, or even why to adopt a new methodology, it would be instructive to look at the causes for a letter such as the one which opens this article. Certainly, cost is a consideration, it being cheaper to mail form letters than have secretaries research and write personalized letters; for a mail order business, though, especially one whose clientele pay substantial prices, this strategy may be penny-wise and pound-foolish. However, the two causes I want to discuss pertain more to the concerns of a writing class: the writer’s reliance on forms, and the lack of analysis of context and audience.

Jacobi, Martin. JAC (1987). Articles>Rhetoric>Writing>Business Communication

Waiver Culture: The Unintended Consequence of Ethics Compliance    

The passage of the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) spawned a series of compliance and ethics programs--the revised Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations known as the Thompson Memo (Thompson, 2003), the revised Federal Sentencing Guidelines that included the Effective Compliance and Ethics Program and the corporate 'culpability score' (U.S. Sentencing Commission, 2004), and another revision of the Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations now known as the McNulty Memo (McNulty, 2006). These programs were meant to shift business toward an 'organizational culture that encourages ethical conduct and a commitment to compliance with the law' (U.S. Sentencing Commission, 2007). These developments spurred human resource departments and legal counsel to draft new workplace policies to embrace, implement, and monitor compliance programs. Consequently, there was a dramatic increase in the number of businesses with some kind of ethics training: from 44% in pre-guideline 1987 up to 92% in post-guideline 2005 (Berenbeim, 2006). Because compliance with the McNulty Memo and Federal Sentencing Guidelines can substantially reduce an organization's sentence of improper conduct or cause the government not to prosecute (Berenbeim, 2006), an organization under investigation could turn to its newly minted compliance programs and its cooperation as a shield. But these federal guidelines lacked a clear definition of an organization's 'cooperation' and whether a lack of cooperation could be viewed as obstruction of justice and thereby increase punishment of that organization.

Genova, Gina L. Business Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Legal>Ethics

Walking a Fine Line: Writing Negative Letters in an Insurance Company    

This limited case study examines the situated-language practices associated with the production of negative letters in an insurance company. Using genre and sociocultural theories, the study combines textual analyses of a set of negative letters together with writers' accounts of producing these letters to identify effective (as defined by the company) strategies for composing this correspondence. These letters are examples of generic action, and they demonstrate that genres function as constellations of regulated, improvisational strategies triggered by the interaction between individual socialization and an organization. Moreover, these constellations of resources express a particular chronotopic relation to space and time, and this relation is always axiological or value oriented. In other words, genres express space/time relations that reflect current social beliefs regarding the placement and actions of human individuals in space and time. The article identifies some of the strategies that characterize effective negative messages in this organization. It also critiques this text type for enacting a set of practices and related chronotopic orientation that is against the interests of its readers and writers.

Schryer, Catherine F. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2000). Articles>Business Communication>Correspondence

Web Development: A Missing Link in Business Communication Textbooks?  

This paper compares the treatment of Website development in business communication textbooks to that in technical communication textbooks. Compared to technical communication textbooks, those in business communication give relatively little attention to Website development. We suggest that graduates of business communication courses may require some background in Website development in order to perform or oversee Website development activities effectively once they enter professional positions. Given these situations, we outline core concepts and competencies related to Website development for students in business communication.

Riley, Kathryn L. and John Spartz. Association for Business Communication (2004). Articles>Education>Web Design>Business Communication

What 25,000 Employees Globally Say about Communication Effectiveness

Towers Perrin has brought together a group of leading companies to establish The Communications Effectiveness Consortium and annual benchmarking study. This study assesses factors that drive employees’ perceptions of communication effectiveness. The resulting tool provides guidance on the best return on investments for an organization’s communication resources.

Woodall, Katherine and Charlie Watts. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Business Communication>International

What Are the Bloggers Saying About You? Practical Tips for Communicators

The influence of bloggers and their readers has erupted into campaigns that have affected large, well-known companies and brands—Wal-Mart, Kryptonite Locks, Land Rover, Sony. Smaller firms could suffer even more, like the New York camera retailer that went out of business. Don't let this happen to your organization.

Papacosta, Donna. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Blogging

What Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy Is Right for Your Company?

Clearly no company today can afford to be oblivious to the needs of the community and society of which it is part. And certainly, in this age of corporate accountability and transparency, no organization can be perceived as pursuing its own commercial goals at the expense of the greater good of society.

Hatcliffe, Mike. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations

What Is a White Paper and How Is It Used?

White papers have grown from just another piece of collateral to a super-powered marketing tool. Everywhere you look in marketing, you will see something labeled a "white paper."

Stelzner, Michael A. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Writing>White Papers

What Makes a Story a Story?

When I review internal publications, company or product endorsements, case studies demonstrating customer successes and other print and online communications that purport to convey stories, I find they're often missing crucial story characteristics. They tend to be descriptive of situations instead of relaying actual stories about what occurred. So, what is a story, what is its basic structure and what considerations go into crafting it?

Silverman, Lori L. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Writing

What the Public Sector Can Learn from the Private Sector

Not all corporate executives are willing to admit to a mistake or to own up to a weakness, of course. We’ve seen plenty of how-not-to examples in recent years. But experts in corporate crisis communication will invariably give the same advice: If the news is bad and it’s bound to get out anyway, put it out yourself and show that you care. So why is it so hard for politicians? Despite years of digging themselves deeper into a hole when faced with bad news, politicians have not learned their lesson. The best course is always to release bad news yourself and to take responsibility and apologize as appropriate.

Pine, Mel Harkrader. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Crisis Communication

What to Do When the Boss Says No

It's an undisputed fact. Some CEOs refuse to acknowledge that their communication skills could use a tune-up. Someone in your organization -- quite possibly you -- needs to assume responsibility for sharpening your CEO's communication skills. If your leader neglects this part of her leadership toolkit, it's time to offer some frank advice on how she can improve. You must also be prepared to deal with the sensitive matter of how to encourage the boss to accept the benefits of learning from a communication training workshop.

Barks, Edward J. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Management>Collaboration

What You Need to Know About TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)

Is someone not telling the truth? Or, has Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) simply become a meaningless concept? And what, if anything, do customers and vendors need to know about TCO?

Solution Matrix (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Business Case>ROI

Where is Email 2.0? And Why is Commercial Email So Boring?

I don't recall the last time I received a commercial email that made me take notice or smile.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Correspondence>Email

Where to Find Content for your E-Newsletters, and How to Use It

I am amazed by the number of places you can find content for your newsletter. Some of it takes the form of free articles. Some of it you pay for, and can request any kind of content you like. One way or another, whatever your industry and the focus of your e-newsletter, there are plenty of places to get good content for every issue you send.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Writing>Newsletters

WhitePaperSource

WhitePaperSource is a rich information source for white paper enthusiasts. It contains news about the industry and a forum for discussing everything and anything about writing and marketing white papers.

WhitePaperSource. Articles>Writing>Technical Illustration>Business Communication

Who and What are You, and Why Should Anyone Care? Shaping, Telling and Retelling Your Organizational Story

In the waning weeks of 2004, discussion of integrated communication is, to paraphrase my teenage daughter, “so yesterday.” Like cascading communication, any talk today about integrating organizational communication is on par with contemplating one’s navel. Integrated communication should be a given for any organization. What is integrated communication and why is it so passé? To have a chance at being heard in today’s cluttered environment, all facets of the organization’s story need to be coordinated and consistent. No matter where you touch that organization, the story must be the same.

Grates, Gary F. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Marketing

Why "Best Buddy" Emails Work So Well. Sometimes.

The best buddy approach works within specific product and service sectors, where readers can easily be tripped into a state of dissociation...because they have problems that the writer promises to solve.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Correspondence>Email

Why Craft Better News Releases? Because the Payoff Can Be Really Big

Written any good news releases lately? Though many of us in business communication churn them out regularly, we often don't take as much care crafting them as we do with other vehicles like articles or brochures.

Canavor, Natalie and Claire Meirowitz. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Press Releases