The Link Between Leadership Style, Communicator Competence, and Employee Satisfaction    

The current study examined the influence of supervisor communicator competence and leadership style on employee job and communication satisfaction. Participants were 220 individuals (116 men and 104 women) working full-time for a variety of companies in the Midwest. The findings indicated a strong relationship between supervisors' communicator competence and their task and relational leadership styles, with supervisor communicator competence being a stronger predictor of employee job and communication satisfaction. More specifically, the findings indicated that supervisor communicator competence accounted for 68% of the variance in subordinate communication satisfaction and nearly 18% of the variance in subordinate job satisfaction. More important, these findings provide an association between communication, leadership, and employee job and communication satisfaction.

Madlock, Paul E. JBC (2008). Articles>Management>Business Communication>Workplace

Long or Short Copy? Part 2

Why doesn't everyone determine copy length based on the needs and expectations of his site visitors?

Usborne, Nick. ClickZ (2001). Articles>Writing>Business Communication

Lying Is Good For You

If I told you lying was good for you, you probably wouldn’t believe me. But trust me--I’m not lying.

Rose, Lacey. Forbes (2005). Articles>Communication>Business Communication

Maintaining Staff Writing Skills

Use these five tips to reinforce the use of good writing strategies at work.

ULiveandLearn.com (2005). Articles>Writing>Business Communication

Make Your Internal Communications Memorable with Strategic Storytelling

Jean-Paul Sartre said, “We understand everything in human life through stories.” I believe that is true. We comprehend better when a message is related in story form, and we also feel a stronger rapport with the person telling the story. Why not use these memorable stories in your internal communications? When you cram too much information into a communication, training session or presentation, you’re doing a data dump on your listener. Nothing sticks. Yet, if you’ve ever had a supervisor tell a story to illustrate a point, you learned the lesson and probably enjoyed the learning process, too.

Stevenson, Doug. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Workplace>Rhetoric

The Making of a Successful Entrepreneur: Tapping into Drive, Direction, and Common Sense

When Christopher Gergen talks about what it takes to be an entrepreneur, he speaks as someone who's been there, done that, and is still doing it today. In 1994, he left the security of a burgeoning career as a writer for CNN Headline News to move to Santiago, Chile, where he opened a restaurant and bar. That proved to be the first of many business ventures.

Steigman, Daria. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Management

Making Research Actionable: An Introduction to Design Criteria

What happens when people want a company’s product, but are frustrated by the process of trying to get it? Obviously it should be reworked — but doing so can be easier said than done. When we’re asked to redesign a process, we often start by exploring the problem space with in-context research, which generates a large amount of data. That data tends to point teams in the direction of a number of possible solutions. But how should the team decide which direction is the right one? In such cases, I’ve found that Design Criteria — a set of rules a design team can follow — can be a key tool so when a design team creates or reworks a service or product, everything it does supports the user.

Nelson, Sarah B. Adaptive Path (2008). Articles>Research>Design>Business Communication

Making Social Responsibility a Strategy for Business Perpetuation

With intense competition and demands from shareholders, customers and employees, companies need to find ways to stand out from the crowd. Many companies are looking to corporate social responsibility, as a way to do this—by both protecting and enhancing their reputations. Some CSR practitioners are driven by a belief in the company mission and vision, others by top executives, and others see it as public relations and marketing opportunity.

Vale Marques, Juliana. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Case Studies

Making the Business Case for Single Sourcing  

Discusses ways to communicate the financial benefits, customer value, learning and growth opportunities, and internal process improvements made possible by single sourcing.

Hackos, JoAnn T. and Tina Hedlund. ComTech Services (2004). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Business Communication

Management Communication Quarterly    

Management Communication Quarterly is a resource for researchers and scholars, as well as managers, professionals, consultants, and trainers.

Management Communication Quarterly. Journals>Business Communication>Management

Managing PR to Save Time and Money—While Increasing Results

Public relations tactics are supposed to be cost-effective, but all too often, programs seem to come at a high price tag with questionable returns. This is often due to the fact that too many public relations functions are inefficient and too many programs are not targeted.

Cohen, Ephraim. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations

Managing Your Customers' Expectations  

How many customers do you know who deliberately set out to make your life difficult? Not many, I’m sure. They probably don’t anticipate that adding three new chapters to a manual means that the project deadline needs to change or another writer needs to be hired. They may not realize that another round of reviews requires more (billable) hours of work. In most cases, good two-way communication prevents problems in the first place and provides solutions for the unforeseen issues that arise.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. Intercom (2003). Careers>Business Communication>Project Management

Marketing Experiences: The New Event Frontier

Today's audiences are jaded about marketing and savvy about messaging, making it harder than ever for marketers to earn an audience's undivided attention and create a meaningful bond between brand and individual. Whether you're talking about a 10,000-person corporate sales meeting or a multi-city mobile marketing program for consumers, you are more likely to hear words like integration, engagement and participation as criteria for marketing success than terms like impressions and eyeballs.

Domine, Tom. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing

Marketing to Different Generations: Choose Your Message Wisely

There has been a lot of buzz lately about the dynamic created by having four generations in the workforce at once. Dozens of experts, myself included, have spent hours with businesses worldwide to help management better understand how to connect with employees by learning how a generational perspective can color the world and affect business relationships.

Marston, Cam. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing

Marketing Writer’s Survival Guide  

Marketing writers face project demands and challenges that are different from those in other forms of technical communication. This session will be a highly interactive discussion between the presenters and the participants, sharing tips and techniques for surviving as a marketing writer in all aspects of a marketing communication project.

King, Janice M. and Lawrence D. Kunz. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing

Marketing Writing for Technical Products  

This workshop will examine the types of marketing materials that can give you creative experience. You'll learn how to adapt your skills and subject matter knowledge to these projects, how to plan and develop different types of materials, and how to identify opportunities for new types of communication.

King, Janice M. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Technical Writing

Marketing Yourself as a Marketing Writer  

Technical communication consultants may find that marketing writing makes an excellent second line of business. Technology companies, marketing services firms, and advertising agencies often use freelancers to write marketing documents. They particularly need good writers who understand technology. This paper discusses the business of freelance marketing writing and how it differs from independent technical writing. Topics include the kinds of projects that marketing writers work on, how development cycles typically differ from those of technical documents, and how to effectively market yourself as a marketing writer.

Massa, Jack A. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>Collaboration>Marketing>Business Communication

Measure Your Reputation Effectively

A good reputation, particularly in an increasingly competitive world, is a must for all companies and organizations. Reputation is a company asset and should always be taken seriously—lose your reputation and you often lose a lot more besides. A good reputation is essential in crisis situations and can help to reduce the impact of negative events and press.

Grant, Nicholas. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing

Measuring Integrated Marketing Communication from Start to Finish

Many companies have taken a limited view of the impact that marketing communication can have on overall corporate objectives, reducing their understanding of the value of marketing communication. One reason for this resistance is that the value of IMC can be complex to measure in a world where marketing usually moves at a dynamic pace and is driven by a changing competitive landscape and seemingly unpredictable shifts in customer attitudes. The potential revenue and customer satisfaction benefits of implementing an IMC program can be so dramatic that companies shouldn't ignore the movement any longer.

Woods, Julie. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Assessment

Meeting Student Needs by Incorporating a Career Planning Lab into a Managerial Communication Course: A Case Study  

This case study documents how a small business school, as part of a strategic planning initiative to improve career services, added a career planning lab to an existing managerial communication course. The lab guides students through a series of self-directed activities such as reading assignments, worksheets, Internet site visits, and completion of instruments. The process results in a summary document and a targeted resume that are reviewed during a one-on-one meeting with the school’s academic advisor and graded for course credit. The study includes a summary of student evaluations along with reflections on lessons learned.

May, Gary L. Association for Business Communication (2005). Articles>Education>Business Communication

Members' Tips for Writing a Compelling White Paper  

It takes time and a strong focus to create a solid white paper, according to TechRepublic members who shared tips and insight about white paper creation. Find out what should be your first step and your last for a successful effort.

Mottl, Judith N. TechRepublic (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Writing>White Papers

Memos

A memo is a concise document that conveys essential information about your accomplishment(s). All memos at Ohio University should be written in third person.

Young, V.L. and K.J. Sampson. Ohio University (2004). Articles>Writing>Business Communication>Technical Writing

Mentally Correct Product Promo Priorities

Use reponsivity to command or coax customers into acting on your offer.

Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing

Messy Problems and Lay Audiences: Teaching Critical Thinking Within the Finance Curriculum    

This article investigates the critical thinking difficulties of finance majors when asked to address ill-structured finance problems. The authors build on previous research in which they asked students to analyze an ill-structured investment problem and recommend a course of action. The results revealed numerous critical thinking weaknesses, including a failure to address the client's problem, use analytical tools systematically, construct rhetorically useful graphics, or translate finance concepts and methodologies into lay language. The present research aims to understand more deeply why students struggle with ill-structured problems. Using think-aloud protocols, audiotaped interviews, and other strategies, the authors explore causes of finance students' difficulties and suggest strategies for addressing them. The results suggest that the homework tasks typically given them, such as quantitative problem sets using algorithmic procedures, do not prepare them to confront ill-structured problems requiring disciplinary arguments aimed at specified audiences. Research further suggests that teaching audience adaptation--especially for nonexpert audiences--is helpful in promoting critical thinking.

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

Mirror, Mirror

A few months ago, I read with interest an article that indicated that executives are influenced more by the court of public opinion as a catalyst for making positive behavior changes than they are by even a court of law. So what contribution do we make to this discussion, as public relations and media relations practitioners? Do we shove our heads in the sand and say, "It's not up to us to influence the ethical behavior of our internal and external clients"?

Bergman, Eric. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Ethics