The Real Value in Sarbanes-Oxley

Companies are finding unexpected business and IT benefits in compliance.

Melymuka, Kathleen. ComputerWorld (2006). Articles>Documentation>Legislation>Workplace

Requirements Engineering: Closing the Gap Between Academic Supply and Industry Demand

In this economic situation, it is imperative that computer science students are well prepared before entering the work force; new graduates must understand what skills the IT industry is seeking.

Winbladh, Kristina. ACM Crossroads (2004). Careers>Workplace>Engineering>Professionalism

Resistance: Would Struggle by Any Other Name Be as Sweet?    

Management in professionalized workplaces is often characterized as Mtrying to herd cats. Having grown up on a dairy farm, the characterization never made much sense to me. Cows and sheep earn our disparaging remarks because they are easy to push around. Their occasional resistance seems counter to their character. But cats are also easy to herd; just have milk. Cats may walk by themselves, but they quickly all choose to walk in the same direction following the pail. Cats may quickly resist getting pushed in common directions, but they are easily pulled there. Got milk, got cats. Are cats more autonomous than the herds? Has resisting cats led us to overlook how easy they are to herd? Resistance comes to us as a term growing out of workplaces that tried to push and direct. Resistance was at least a pushing back; sometimes it was an organized pushing for another direction.

Deetz, Stanley. Management Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Management>Workplace>Cultural Theory

Resources on E-Learning for Training and Performance Support

A comprehensive collection of links to e-learning resources online for workplace training.

Carliner, Saul. Saul Carliner Studio (2003). Articles>Workplace>Education>Online

Responses to 'Following the Doctor's Orders'  

This article presents reader responses to a hypothetical dilemma published in the February 2000 issue of Intercom.

Intercom (2000). Articles>Workplace>Ethics

Responses to 'In the Company of Lawyers'  

This article presents reader responses to an ethics case published in the March 2002 issue of Intercom.

Bryan, John G. Intercom (2002). Articles>Workplace>Ethics

Responses to 'In the Gyres'  

In the September/October 2000 issue, Intercom printed a hypothetical dilemma entitled 'In the Gyres.' A summary of this story is reproduced, followed by reader responses.

Bryan, John G. Intercom (2000). Articles>Workplace>Ethics

Responses to 'Who's Policing the Policy Makers?'  

This article features reader responses to a hypothetical dilemma printed in the April 2001 issue of Intercom.

Wiles, Debbie. Intercom (2001). Articles>Workplace>Ethics

Responses to "Alienation"  

In the April 2003 issue, Intercom printed a hypothetical dilemma by John G. Bryan entitled 'Alienation.' A summary of this story appears in the box on this page; reader responses appear below. The responses do not reflect the views of STC's ethics committee and may have been edited for length.

Bryan, John G. Intercom (2003). Articles>Workplace>Ethics>Security

Revive Employee Publications with New Technologies

You would think that if the humble print employee newsletter hasn't been killed off in the Internet explosion of the past decade, then it must have more than just its reputation going for it. It must actually meet a fundamental business need to inform and engage a workforce.

Schmidt, Belinda. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Workplace>Newsletters

The ROI of Usability and Making Usability Routine

Makes the business case for usability, and examines the impact of making usability routine throughout an organization.

Weinschenk, Susan and Jay More. Human Factors International (2006). Presentations>Usability>Collaboration>Workplace

Roles for Communication in Academia and Workplace: Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring  

The education of technical writers follows a vertical path, as discussed by panelists who represent three stops along that path. A new teacher of technical writing discusses moving from teaching basic writing to teaching more experienced and critical students. A professor who is in charge of new teachers discusses how he helps them meet the needs of students who demand more from their teachers. A mentor from industry discusses how she guides college graduates through the transition to professional writer and helps experienced writers continue their education on the job.

Tatge, Pamela K., Jack W. Jobst and John H. Carpenter. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>Education>Mentoring>Workplace

Rolling the Start-Up Dice

So you want to work for an Internet start-up company. Bruce and Moyer show you the ropes.

Bruce, Marlene and Lee Moyer. List Apart, A (2000). Careers>Advice>Workplace

The Rules of Digital Engagement

For contract web workers, consultants, and freelancers who work with far-flung collaborators, multiple clients, and constantly shifting teams, the rules of digital engagement--the way we interact with each other and resolve conflict in virtual space--are constantly changing. As we adapt to new ways of collaborating, we must also learn how to communicate effectively, set expectations, and build team confidence in an evolving work environment.

Follett, Jonathan. List Apart, A (2008). Articles>Web Design>Collaboration>Workplace

Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance: Five Lessons to Reduce Cost and Effort

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires every publicly traded company, large or small, to establish internal controls and procedures for reliable financial reporting. Although the Securities and Exchange Commission has extended the deadline for small businesses and foreign entities, these organizations need to begin planning. But as they do so, they can apply valuable lessons learned by large businesses that paved the way to Sarbanes-Oxley compliance (and spent on average of $10 million to do so). Here are the top five lessons learned that will help you reduce the cost and level of effort for achieving compliance.

Nelson, Adam. ComputerWorld (2006). Articles>Documentation>Legislation>Workplace

Self Evaluation Form  

On this form, record and evaluate your own involvement in a project. In the Log section, record the activities you performed as an individual and you performed as part of the group. For all activities, record the date and the number of hours you spent. In the Evaluation section, write two brief statements: one about aspects of your contribution you think were successful and one about the aspects you want to improve.

Markel, Mike. Bedford-St. Martin's (2001). Careers>Workplace>Workflow

Selling Usability to Your Supervisor  

What's the best way to convince your supervisor to consider usability testing? Think about where your boss falls among the personality types described by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

Travis, David. Intercom (2006). Articles>Usability>Workplace

Sensemaking and Identity: The Interconnection of Storytelling and Networking in a Women's Group of a Large Corporation    

Based on the action research model of inquiry, this article is an interpretive ethnographic case study, exploring the power of narratives as a sensemaking device for members of a women's resource network in a large corporation during a time of significant organizational change, and the influence of storytelling on the networking practices of its members. Data are based on participant observation, formal and informal interviews, focus groups, and document analysis, including presentations, meeting notes, and e-mail correspondence. Drawing on the concepts of sensemaking, identity construction, and habitus, analysis of the members' stories suggests three key conclusions: reliance on collectively constructing stories; use of stories to deal with ambiguity and anxiety; and use of stories to construct and regulate identity. When viewed through a narrative lens, these results illuminate the interconnection of storytelling and networking strategies in a women's resource network that provides a hybrid of both expressive and instrumental benefits.

Bird, Shelley. JBC (2007). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace>Gender

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

Situated Learning in Cross-Functional Virtual Teams    

This paper reports an interpretive study of three cross-functional teams in a single company. The teams were virtual because each was composed of workers located in a small southern U. S. town and a northern U. S. city. The conceptual framework of situated learning within communities of practice guided the interpretation of transcripts of interviews with 22 managers and team members. The results suggest that virtual teamwork creates special demands that require workers to devise local practices for coordinating their work with remote team members. Through different combinations of remote and face-to-face communication, using a variety of communication media, the learning of work practices became situated in the virtual community rather than imposed by managers or specially designed coordinating technologies.

Robey, Daniel, Huoy Min Khoo and Carolyn Powers. Technical Communication Online (2000). Articles>Collaboration>Workplace>Online

The Skills that Technical Communicators Need: An Investigation of Technical Communication Graduates, Managers, and Curricula    

This study examines the skills that recent technical communication graduates and managers believe technical communication students need before entering business and industry as new technical communicators. Through questionnaires and interviews with recent graduates and managers of technical communication departments as well as an analysis of the participating schools' curricula, this study suggests areas where technical communication may need more preparation, including business operations, project management, problem-solving skills, and scientific and technical knowledge. Further research is needed at local, state, and national levels to analyze technical communication undergraduate curricula along with responses from recent graduates of technical communication programs and managers of technical communication programs. Only through continued research can we ensure that future technical communicators receive an education that eases their transition into the world of business and industry.

Whiteside, Aimee L. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2004). Articles>Education>TC>Workplace

Spam on the 'Net: An Ethical Dilemma  

Archee examines the ethical and practical problems associated with receiving and sending unsolicited e-mail.

Archee, Raymond K. Intercom (2001). Articles>Workplace>Ethics>Email

Speaking Ebonics in a Professional Context: The Role of Ethos/Source Credibility and Perceived Sociability of the Speaker    

Within a theoretical context of speech accommodation theory, this study follows Lambert et al. (1960) matched-guise technique. Seventy-two African-American students at a mid-south university listened to and evaluated a tape-recorded excerpt of a speech given by Jesse Jackson at the 1996 Democratic National Convention. The first version of the speech was translated into Ebonics. After students listened to the first four-minute speech in Ebonics, students then proceeded to answer a questionnaire concerning the ethos/source credibility and perceived sociability of the speaker. Next, students listened to the same audiotaped speech (given by the same speaker), except the text of the speech was translated (and subsequently delivered) in Standard English. The students then rated this second speaker on those same ethos/source credibility and sociability scales. The speaker who used Standard English was viewed as more credible (i.e., more competent and having a strong character) and sociable than the Ebonics speaker. Both of these scores were significant at the p .05 level. Future research replicating these results is urged across other African-American samples.

Payne, Kay, Joe Downing and John Christopher Fleming. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2000). Articles>Language>Workplace>Ethnicity

Spectacles of Resistance and Resistance of Spectacles    

The author explores organizational controls in an era dominated by spectacles, images, and pictures and seeks to identify forms of resistance that subvert and undermine these controls. The author analyzes new forms of resistance, such as whistle-blowing, that are particularly aimed at besmirching an organization's image and reputation and argues that although many employees have lost their collective voice, they occasionally raise their individual voices in opposition, cynical rejection, or questioning of managerial practices and discourses or, more often, resort to exit. The author concludes that many current forms of workplace resistance mirror similar forms of resistance used by individuals as consumers in questioning, disrupting, and, at times, challenging the claims of consumerism.

Gabriel, Yiannis. Management Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Management>Workplace