30 = PART 1 Understanding the Foundations of Business Communication | RECONNECTING WITH PEOPLE c Even the best technologies can hinder communication if they are overused. For a stance, a common complaint among employees is that managers rely too heavily qe¢h email and don’t communicate face-to-face often enough. Speaking with peopkth over the phone or in person can take more time and effort and can sometimes forthe you to confront unpleasant situations directly, but itis often essential for solve tough problems and maintaining productive relationships.” hize Moreover, even the best communication technologies can’t show people whiuc you really are. Remember to step out from behind the technology frequently {n ¢ learn more about the people you work with—and to let them learn more abo} ya No matter how much technol- ‘ogy is involved, communication is still about people connecting with people. you. The fact that millions of people spend billions of hours play- ing games on their mobile devices is not lost on companies looking for ways to enhance communication with employ- ees and customers. Whether they feature skill, chance, or compelling storylines, successful games try to engage users intellectually and emotionally—just as successful business communicators try to do. Gamification is the addition of game-playing aspects to an activity or a process with the goal of increasing user engagement, and it's a natural for social media and mobile devices. Foursquare’s check-in competitions, in which the person who “checks in” using Foursquare the most times during a 60-day window is crowned the “mayor” of that location, are one of the best-known uses of gamification. Foursquare wasn't invented as a way for people to become imaginary mayors of places they shop or eat, of course. It is an advertising platform that relies on user activity and user-generated content, and the game element encourages people to use the app more frequently. Foursquare is a simple example of gamification, but other companies are pushing the concept in new ways to engage and motivate employees and other stakchold- ers. For example, Bunchball’s Nitro software applies gamification concepts to a number of business com- munication platforms. On a customer-service system, the software rewards employees for increasing their productivity, meeting their service commitments to cus tomers, and sharing knowledge with their colleagues. On several collaboration and brainstorming systems, gamification encourages people to make more connec- tions, share ideas, and boost their influence within a ‘community. DIGITAL+SOCIAL+MOBILE: TODAY’S COMMUNICATION ENVIRONMENT It’s All Fun and Games—and Effective Business Communication Gamification is also a key strategy for many compa! nies trying to improve customer loyalty. Badgeville's Repu} tation Mechanics system, for example, boosts the profile of knowledgeable customers who share expertise on social g media sites and other online forums. By rewarding thei product champions (see page 398) this way, companies en: courage them to keep contributing their expertise, thereby , helping other customers be successful and satisfied. r . Incidentally, if you are in the Millennial generation) those born between 1981 and 1995, you're a special tar} get of gamification in the workplace and the marketplace, given your generation's enthusiasm for video games. Don’ gue be surprised to find more gamified apps and systems on] p the job and everywhere you turn as a consumer. hire di CAREER APPLICATIONS fe 1. Gamification is about influencing employee and cusjegy, tomer behaviors in ways that benefit a company. lr 64 this ethical? Explain your answer. 2. Assume a company provides a job-search game apy, that helps you navigate your way through applying for a job, explore various job openings, and under! stand what it would be like to work there. Would oh ‘i app make you feel more positively about the com)’ pany, or would you find that using a game for thi purpose would irivialize something as important at your job search? Explain you answer. dts Sources: Bunchball website, accessed 23 February 2014, wow bunchbsl ‘com; Badgeville website, accessed 23 February 2014, hitp//badgevillegnn ‘com; Foursquare for Business website, accessed 23 February 2014, htt: ‘business foursquare.com; Christopher Swan, “Gamification: A New ay 4 Shape Behavior,” Communication World, May-Tune 2012, 13-14 Si imaCHAPTER 1 Professional Communication in a Digital, Social, Mobile World 31 8 are the accepted principles of conduct that govern behavior within a society, al behavior is a companywide concern, but because communication efforts are Hie public face of a company, they are subjected to particularly rigorous scrutiny from Fogulators, legislators, investors, consumer groups, environmental groups, labor orga- ions, and anyone else affected by business activities. Ethical communication in- all relevant information, is true in every sense, and is not deceptive in any way. fhontrast, unethical communication can distort the truth or manipulate audiences in ety of ways: ) Plagiarizing. Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s words or other creative tas your own. Note that plagiarism can be illegal ifit violates a copyright, Which is a form of legal protection for the expression of creative ideas.®! Omitting essential information. Information is essential if your audience words is unethical ‘Misrepresentingnumbers. Statisticsandotherdatacanbeunethically manipulated increasing or decreasing numbers, exaggerating, altering statistics, or omitting ‘widespread adoption of social media has increased the attention given to the Bel iranparency, Which inthis context refers toa sense of openness, of giving 8 deserve to know when they are being marketed to and who is behind the es they read or hear. For example, with stealth marketing, companies recruit Ipt0 ee producto friends and other contacts in exchange for free samples clive defenses against the persuasive powers of marketing messages.” Aside from ethical concerns, trying to fool the public is simply bad for business. jalle University communication professor Michael Smith puts it, “The public itklash can be long, deep, and damaging to a company’s reputation.” INGUISHING ETHICAL DILEMMAS FROM ETHICAL ES mg ethical questions are easy to recognize and resolve, but others are not. Decid- itis ethical can be a considerable challenge in complex business situations. involves choosing among alternatives that aren’t clear-cut. ‘two conflicting alternatives are both ethical and valid, or perhaps the al- fernatives lie somewhere in the gray area between clearly right and clearly wrong LEARNING OBJECTIVE Define ethics, explain the difference between an ethical lemma and an ethical lapse, ‘and list six guidelines for making ethical communication choices. Any time you try to mislead your audience, the result is un- ethical communication, ‘Transparency gives audience members access to all the in- formation they need in order to process messages accurately. An ethical dilemma is a choice between alternatives that may all be ethical and valid.36 PART 1 Understanding the Foundations of Business Communication An ethical lapse is mak- ing a choice you know to be ‘unethical. In addtion to being misleading, Using “confirmation” in the subject line slants readers’ — __| ceptions belore they have '8 chance to read the research results and decide for themeaies, ‘hve paragraph mixes he otside researcher's opinions land conclusions with O'Leary and Canuthers's ov opinions. —} The analysis pulls selectively from McMahan summa leaving out information th ‘doesnt support the writers ‘nn conclusion (compare to Figure 1.11) ‘The writers bias the con: versation again by implying that the executive committee would be making @ mistako it dieagreed with hem. Every company has responsibilities to multiple groups of people inside and out- side the firm, and those groups often have competing interests. For instance, em- ployees naturally want higher wages and more benefits, but investors who have risked their money in the company want management to keep costs low so that profits are strong enough to drive up the stock price. Both sides have a valid ethical position. In contrast, an ethical lapse is a clearly unethical choice. With both internal and external communication efforts, the pressure to produce results or justify decisions can make unethical communication a tempting choice. Telling a potential customer you can complete a project by a certain date when you know you can’t is simply| dishonest, even if you need the contract to save your career or your company. There| is no ethical dilemma here. Compare the messages in Figures 1.13 and 1.14 for examples of how business| messages can be unethically manipulated. < ar SunStar Sports ‘confidential Memorancum 7 To: Executive Committee FROM: Darcy O'Leary & Bob Caruthers, Product Management DATE: October 24, 2015 > SUBJECT: Pegasus market confirmation The phrase “awe | Predicted” suggests that | We're pleased to announce thatthe numbers ar in, and as we predicted «| OLeary ana Caruners | before the research began, consumers show strong support for the Pegasus ir minds made UP product concept. The results validate the several months we've invested In before the research even Product design and should give a green light to fund the completion of the pee a eerie es their analysis may be biased intovr ofthat | Were particulary pleased wth the rests this cae, since the research premalie conuion, was drecte by Sade McMahon at Bowermen Research, She has conducted hundreds of esearch projects and ls known for Her Keen insight int the Consumer market Ony third of the consumers surveyed expressed ite or no intrest in Pogen, end a. Hcahon sald thet oes wary er et ‘The elatomant that Bt since ew roduc ever appeal tothe ere markt wth a twos =} — "atmo iar | jy nc eta bea ne Dtew eren bn no mown nena (eee rgure tt) Given the momentum we've slresdy bul up, coupled wth th powerful tnaorsement othe concep, we've Condet the exectvecomratee will Teach the same srategeconcuson tat wehave and contnue nnanathe | The cosig ne assume projec. | — owas tune ne ‘commitie’s support ‘Thank you for your support. ich may not be tue, BA) | tion may not bet oy oe se ous Figure 1.48. Unethical Communication The writers of this memo clearly want the company to continue funding their pet project, even though the marketing research doesn't support such a decision. By comparing this memo withthe version shown in Figure 1.114, you can see how the wrters twisted the truth and omitted evidence in order te puta positive “spin” onthe research | 1 whaCHAPTER 1 Professional Communication in a Digital, Social, Mobile Word 37 SunStar Sports ontdetia Hemorandum The neutral subject ine Seieclcup “an tere ese ae Tee ‘oes ty to sll he DATE: Octover24, 2015 ‘ancusion betore readers Ive tne opportunity to oven ine evidence for “Tee mart research othe Popa Project conced lat Weck wih hone teri of 26 sporting thamsehes nods buyers states Asin te past we used Goweran Reseach to conat the Hlrviens, une the gudonce of Bowerman’ survey superso, Suse Mean. Ms. Meso has ected surveys o0| more Wan 200 coreursr rogue and wee lee 6 cea great deal onsence her matt sighs Tne writes offer ul is rae ans Lapa report ching ar dts and eras ues, Be vets fr dwg one youn formation lated | Getacont gong ont mech we omer the cncaons Name sew wars You Fence {Pine researc project someon —}> Su0Xecr: Maa research suru fr Peau praect ‘Scte Mestahon's research summary By prowting the compete sate eee ne | zimmer cine marae ‘eaders 1o reach thet own a ye —_ toreusions about what, sponta ne crow ncaa Sowote owe orton ear xresig conto ate et sgn fe prc etna cate cnc moe rs tan oh cra sagt Seo [recast Ai contaon Rr pests at De pro egy des at may caine ‘omcatons adc mp be et 0 sot Setar os send han Tho wrers are carctto | urracommandations epuate to osaarcors huervaions and opinions —PAL2Simllon the development costs for Pegasus are toa igh to pace wah ths much uncer. The a hacen bausess case we prepared atthe begnang othe project indcated at at leas 50% consume” sceeptan mou be ren eo gree eng nas to ORK oh aceplaieF OU ‘raring ester We would ned crwnce neat a othe “enka” segment nore © reach tat @veshols We ecareerd ta ater developer pu ane et eg can Be ‘Sed and vabdted wath snoter und conser eng, ‘The close invites further" _1, ease contact Dre a et. 2354 or Bb tet. 2360 you have any questions or cones. decuszion ofthe situation —}> consine terest nthe re proaut cose named Pega @ Seedy mie, with 31% expressing Hie ‘rerest. The segent expressing He ora pees 5 nt 9 Cuse Ry CONCEM ASL CSE; Fon BOOLCS ‘The opening emphasizes the | _ skis ofthe rosoarcher without TT biasing tne readers regarcing her conclusions -<{_ The writers explain that more \e-dpth information wil be ‘valiable soon but emphasize the importance of reviewing this summary right now, | __Tnis quotation cleat inctcates that the market expert is ‘concamed about the project |__ The recommendation states clorty and objectwoty ina he ‘10}ect probably wil not Hive up 10 original hopes. Figure 1.14 Ethical Communication ‘Ths version of the memo from Figure 1.10 presents the evidence in a more honest and ethical manner, ENSURING ETHICAL COMMUNICATION Ensuring ethical business communication requires three elements: ethical individuals, ethical company leadership, and the appropriate policies and structures to support em- ployees'” efforts to make ethical choices.“ Moreover, these three elements need to work inharmony. If employees see company executives making unethical decisions and flout- ing company guidelines, they might conclude that the guidelines are meaningless and emulate their bosses” unethical behavior. Employers have a responsibility to establish clear guidelines for ethical behav- ior, including ethical business communication. Many companies establish an ¢x- plicit ethics policy by using a written code of ethics to help employees determine what is acceptable, A code is often part of a larger program of employee training and communication channels that allow employees to ask questions and report instances of questionable ethics. To ensure ongoing compliance with their codes of ethics, many companies also conduct ethics audits to monitor ethical progress and to point out any weaknesses that need to be addressed. Responsible employers establish clear ethical guidelines for their employees to follow, MOBILE APPS The PRSA Ethics app is a mobile version of the Publish Relations Society of America’s code of thes.38 PART 1 Understanding the Foundations of Business Communication However, whether or not formal guidelines are in place, every employee has a responsibility to communicate in an ethical manner. In the absence of clear guide- lines, ask yourself the following questions about your business communications: Ifyou can’t decide whether a © Have you defined the situation fairly and accurately? choice is ethical, picture your- ‘© What is your intention in communicating this message? self explaining your decision © What impact will this message have on the people who receive it or who might be to someone whose opinion you affected by it? value, ‘© Will the message achieve the greatest possible good while doing the least pos- sible harm? ‘© Will the assumptions you've made change over time? That is, will a decision that seems ethical now seem unethical in the future? Are you comfortable with your decision? Would you be embarrassed if it were printed in tomorrow's newspaper or spread across the Internet? Think about a person whom you admire and ask yourself what he or she would think of your decision. ENSURING LEGAL COMMUNICATION In addition to ethical guidelines, business communication is also bound by a wide variety of laws and regulations, including the following areas TBusinabs oonsmaraication i © Promotional communication. Marketing specialists need to be aware of the ‘governed by a wide variety of many laws that govern truth and accuracy in advertising. These laws address laws designed to ensure accu such issues as product reviews written by bloggers who receive compensation rate, complete messages. from the companies involved, false and deceptive advertising, misleading or inaccurate labels on product packages, and “bait and switch” tactics in which a store advertises a lower-priced product to lure consumers into a store but then tries to sell them a more expensive item.® Chapter 12 explores this area in more detail © Contracts. A contract is a legally binding promise between two parties in which one party makes a specified offer and the other party accepts. Contracts are fundamental to virtually evety aspect of business, from product sales to property rental to credit cards and loans to professional service agreements.” © Employmefit communication. A variety of local, state, and federal laws govern communication between employers and both potential and current employees For example, job descriptions must be written in a way. that doesn’t intention- ally or unintentionally discriminate against women, minorities, or people with] disabilities. © Intellectual property. In an age when instant global connectivity makes copy-| ing and retransmitting electronic files effortless, the protection of intellectual property (IP) has become a widespread concern. Intellectual property includes patents, copyrighted materials, trade secrets, and even Internet domain names.*) Bloggers in particular need to be careful about IP protection, given the carefree way that some post the work of others without offering proper credit. © Financial reporting. Finance and accounting professionals who work for publicly tradedcompanies (thosethatsell stockto the public) mustadhere to stringentreport| ing laws. For instance, a number of corporations have recently been targets of bot government investigations and shareholder lawsuits for offering misleading de scriptions of financial results and revenue forecasts. | © Defamation. Negative comments about another party raise the possibility o! defamation, the intentional communication of false statements that damage character or reputation.” (Written defamation is called libel; spoken defamation,is called slander.) Someone suing for defamation must prove (1) that the state- ‘ment is false, (2) that the language is injurious to the person’s reputation, and (3) _ that the statement has been published. ‘Transparency requirements. Governments around the world are taking steps fo help ensure that consumers and other parties know who is behind the informa- tion they receive, particularly when it appears online. The European Union, for instance, outlaws a number of online marketing tactics, including “flogs,” short | for “fake blogs,” in which an employee or a paid agent posing as an independent consumer posts positive stories about a company’s products.”' In the United States, the FTC requires product-review bloggers to disclose any relationship— such as receiving payments or free goods—they have with the companies whose "products they discuss in their blogs.”” Ifyou have any doubts about the legality of a message you intend to distribute, ask advice from your company’s legal department. A small dose of caution can prevent CHAPTER 1 Professional Communication in a Digital, Social, Mobile World 39 @ that you have been recruited by the social media at dishTV, and will be working with ten other wunication experts. Your task is to constantly monitor lous Facebook posts on the official page and other cus- roreated forums (on Facebook) that discuss customer issues of the company. You are supposed to keep an Tespond to complaints, queries, and, at times, initiate dividual challenge: Search for a recent Facebook conver- regarding a complaint by a cishTV customer and some Tegal headaches and protect your company’s reputation in the marketplace LS SR SEE RE 2 EE ESSE EP REDE ESE ESS COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES AT dishTV “Fall below,” “Meet,” or “Exceed” the expectations? Choose one. Was the response reflective of the excelent levels of cus tomer satisfaction that the company boasts of? If you were the customer, would you be happy with the resolution? Team challenge: Collect a team of individuals and critically analyse at least 15 different Facebook posts picked up from the official Facebook page of dishTV. Examine them on the basis of critical factors like grammar, language suitability, un- derstandabilty, and 'You' attitude, Then, pick up a dishTV competitor and pick up an equal number of posts from its of ficial Facebook page. Examine it exactly in the same manner and compare the results. How do they stand? Does dishTV fare better, or worse? Does dishTV engage with its custom- ers more, answer promptly, and resolve complaints quickly? ‘Summarize the findings with suitable examples.