Business

Communication,
Management,
and Success

Module One

©2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2014 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Learning Objectives

LO 1-1 Recognize myths about on-the-job

writing.
LO 1-2 Distinguish business communication
from other school writing.
LO 1-3 Explain accomplishments through
communication.

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 Learning Objectives

LO 1-4 Understand costs for business

communication.
LO 1-5 Define criteria for effective messages.
LO 1-6 Apply strategies for communication
analysis.
LO 1-7 Apply strategies for creative thinking.

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Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

 Verbal Communication
 Face-to-Face/Phone Conversations/Meetings
 E-mail/Voice-Mail Messages
 Letters, Memos, and Reports

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Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

 Nonverbal Communication
 Pictures/Company Logos
 Gestures/Body Language
 Who Sits Whereat a Meeting
 How Long a Visitor is Kept Waiting

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Workplace Communication Challenges

 40 million people in the U.S. alone have

limited literacy skills, including some college
graduates.
 States spend more than $220 million
annually on remedial writing programs for
employees.

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Workplace Communication Challenges

 Corporations may spend $3.1 billion

annually to fix problems from writing
deficiencies.
 Two-thirds of private-sector employers
surveyed said writing was an important
responsibility for employees

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Workplace Communication Challenges

 Good communication skills are vital in

today’s workplace.
 Technology is making the globe a smaller
and busier place, one where messages must
be understood immediately.
 The better an employee’s communication
skills are, the better his chance for success.

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 Myths About Workplace Writing

 “Secretaries will do all my writing.”

 “I’ll use form letters or templates when I

need to write.”

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 Myths About Workplace Writing

 “I’m being hired as an accountant, not a

writer.”

 “I’ll just pick up the phone.”

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 Business and School Writing

Business and School Writing differ based on:

 Purpose.  Style.
 Audience.  Document design.
 Information.  Visuals.
 Organization.

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 What does communication
accomplish?
 Internal
 Subordinates
 Supervisors
 Peers

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 The Internal Audiences of the
Sales Manager—West
Figure 1.1

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 What does communication
accomplish?

 External
 Customers/Stockholders
 Unions/Government Agencies
 Press/General Public

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 The Corporation’s
External Audiences
Figure 1.2

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 Basic Purposes

 Workplace writing can have one or more of

these basic purposes:
 To inform.
 To request or to persuade.
 To build goodwill.

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How much does correspondence cost?

 Employers paid an average of $23.50 per

hour per employee for wages and benefits.

 At that rate, an employer would pay $21.15

for an employee’s time spent writing a
typical letter

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How much does correspondence cost?

Bad writing wastes time by:

 Taking more time to read
 Requiring more time to revise
 Confusing ideas
 Delaying action

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 What makes a message effective?

 Is clear.
 Is complete.
 Is correct.
 Saves the reader’s time.
 Builds goodwill.

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 How should I analyze business
communication situations?

 What’s at stake— to whom?

 Should you send a message?
 What channel should you use?
 What should you say?
 How should you say it?

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 PAIBOC

P What are your purposes in writing?

A Who is (are) your audiences?
I What information must your message
include?

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 PAIBOC

B What reasons or reader benefits can you

use to support your position?
O What objections can you expect your
reader(s) to have?
C How will the context affect reader
response?

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 Thinking Creatively

 Creativity is essential to success in business

and business communication.

 Thinking creatively often means shedding

common paradigms.

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 Thinking Creatively

 Ways to become more creative include

 brainstorming,
 working within limits,
 consciously seeking problems or dissonances that
need work.

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