Question:

> What can you do to improve your listening?

> What might these nonverbal communication behaviors communicate? Think of at least two possibilities for each.

> The people attending a meeting—not the leader—should determine the agenda. Discuss.

> Identify which conflict resolution strategy would work best in the following situations. a. Your team members disagree about whether to conduct a survey or hold focus groups. It’s one of your first big group decisions, so it is important that everyone fe

> What strategies should you use to deliver feedback? Receive feedback? (LO6) When giving feedback, follow these practices: When receiving feedback, follow these practices:

> Explain the principal differences between oral and written reports. What do these differences mean in terms of how you’d need to adapt a written report for presentation to an audience?

> Describe a situation in which you would use short-report format rather than email format for an internal report. Why would you choose the short-report format?

> Explain why some routine report problems require little or no introduction.

> Why does the executive summary include key facts and figures in addition to the analyses and conclusions drawn from them?

> How might people’s definition of “professional behavior” depend on which industry or type of company they’re in?

> Explain how to write the executive summary of a report.

> Describe the role and content of a transmittal message.

> Which of the prefatory pages of reports appear to be related primarily to the length of the report? Which to the need for formality?

> Give examples of report problems that would require, respectively, (a) an ending summary, (b) a conclusion or conclusions section, and (c) a recommendation or recommendations section

> Give examples of long-report problems whose introduction could require historical background or a discussion of the report’s limitations.

> Discuss the pros and cons of including a list of absentees in meeting minutes.

> How might an internal problem-solving report that has been assigned differ from one on the same subject that an employee generated on his or her own?

> Given what you’ve learned about progress reports, suggest a general structure for these reports. What might go into the beginning? What might the middle parts be? What would the conclusion do?

> Describe a situation in which you would prepare a memo report rather than an email report for an internal report. Why would you choose the memo format?

> Discuss the effects of formality and likely length on report makeup as described in the chapter.

> “People need to leave their cultures and values at the door when they come to work and just do business.” Discuss the possible merits and flaws of this attitude.

> Explain the difference between random sampling and convenience sampling. Give an example of when each type of sampling would be feasible and appropriate.

> Explain the difference between quantitative and qualitative research, and describe a sample situation in which each would be appropriate.

> Which databases or other resources would be good sources of information for each of the following subjects? a. A certain company’s market share b. Whether or not a company is being sued c. Trends in a certain industry d. Strategies for a successful job i

> Which of the following are secondary research sources and which are primary? Why? a. Information from The Wall Street Journal about the unemployment rate b. Information from a focus group of potential customers about a new online ordering system c. Infor

> “Disagreements in groups are counterproductive and should be avoided.” Discuss.

> Evaluate this statement: “Collaborative reports are always better than reports written by an individual because they use many minds rather than one.”

> Evaluate this statement: “Reports are written for people who want them, so you don’t have to be concerned about holding their interest.”

> Explain the difference between personal and impersonal writing. Which is “better”?

> When would you use a focus group or personal interview to gather information? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

> Why does the controlled before-after design give more helpful information than the before-after design?

> Brainstorm some practices or policies that businesses might develop for using the information rights management (IRM) tool effectively.

> Define experiment as a research technique and give an example of an experiment a company might conduct.

> Define observation as a research technique and give an example of a business problem that might warrant observational research.

> Point out the problems in the following sample survey questions. a. How often do you shower? b. (First question in a phone survey) Which Democratic candidate do you favor, Jean Adams or Seth Rubins? c. Do you consider the ideal pay plan to be one based o

> Assume that you’re preparing a sales mailing that won’t use the reader’s name. Would you still use a salutation (e.g., “Dear Neighbor”)? If so, what would you use? If not how would the message begin?

> What appeals would be appropriate for the following products when they are being sold to consumers? How might the appeals differ depending on the age and/or gender of the target audience?

> Consider ads that you have seen on television, in magazines, or on the Internet. Which ones rely heavily on emotional appeals? Which on logical appeals? Which on character-based appeals? Do the chosen appeals seem appropriate given the product, service,

> Compare persuasive requests and sales messages. What traits do they share? Can you point to some general differences?

> “I don’t need to discuss my readers’ needs in my proposal. They know what their needs are and don’t want to waste time reading about them.” Discuss.

> For what kinds of situations might you select email format for your proposal? Letter format? A longer, report like format?

> Discuss the differences between solicited and unsolicited proposals.

> Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of spelling checkers and grammar and style checkers.

> For what kinds of situations would you prepare email sales messages that have a fair amount of text versus messages that are almost all graphics? Why?

> Many fundraising messages show pictures of children in poverty or with obvious health problems. In what way can the use of such emotional visuals be justified? In what way might they be ethically questionable?

> Examine the call for action in a persuasive request or sales message you’ve received. Do you think it would get results? Why or why not?

> Discuss the relationship between the main sales message and its accompanying support information in an example you’ve seen. What was the purpose of each piece?

> Explain why a persuasive request is usually written in the indirect order. In what kinds of situations might the direct order be appropriate?

> Some business writers explain an adjustment refusal simply by saying that company policy did not permit granting claims in such cases. Is citing company policy adequate? Discuss.

> Writing in the indirect order usually requires a buffer, making indirect messages longer than direct messages. Since conciseness is a virtue in business writing, how can the indirect order be justified?

> Discuss the use of directness in internal-operational communications. Why is it desirable? Can it be overdone? When might indirectness be appropriate?

> When would you use the direct approach to write a claim? When would you use the indirect approach to write a claim?

> Word processing programs are the writer’s primary tool. Identify five basic features and two advanced features useful to business writers.

> Discuss how problems (vague orders, back orders) should be handled in messages acknowledging orders.

> What can acknowledgment messages do to build goodwill?

> Defend a policy of doing more than asked in answering routine inquiries. Can the policy be carried too far?

> Discuss why just reporting truthfully may not be a sufficient strategy for handling negative information in messages answering inquiries.

> Compare the two email messages below. Both were written to inform the reader that the writer’s company had been charged too much for an ad published in the reader’s magazine. The first (with both Japanese and English versions displayed) was written by a

> On a recent trip to India, Mr. Yang, a prominent Chinese executive, dined with his client, Himanshu Jain. Mr. Yang commented that the food was spicy, which Mr. Jain interpreted as an opportunity to discuss Indian cuisine. After lengthy explanations, Mr.

> Assume that you’ve just been made manager of a team of young employees that includes a recent hire from Asia. Many people from Asian countries feel that it is inappropriate to bother their boss or express dissatisfaction. How might you encourage your Asi

> What are the prevailing attitudes in our culture toward the following, and how can those attitudes affect our communication with nonnatives?

> What are the prevailing attitudes in our culture toward the following, and how can those attitudes affect our communication with nonnatives?

> “I’m nervous about deliberately employing positive wording. I think people like writers who shoot straight, and I worry that they’d think I was being deceptive.” Discuss.

> Identify specific software tools that assist with constructing written messages. Explain what each does.

> What would be a way of doing more than would be necessary in the following situations? 1. You work at the paint desk of a home-improvements store. A customer asks you what kind of paint she should use to paint her bathroom. 2. You have invited someone

> “Please submit your payment at your earliest convenience.” Is this a courteous sentence? Why or why not?

> “A message can’t sound official unless it has an impersonal style and uses business jargon.” Discuss.

> Discuss ways to give ideas more or less emphasis in your sentences. Illustrate with examples.

> Discuss this comment: “Long sentences tend to be difficult to understand. Therefore, the shorter the sentence, the better.”

> Take a look at this thank-you message to a new customer. Using the advice in this chapter, how would you revise it to make it more effective? Dear [new customer], You are welcomed as a new customer and thanked for your business. It will be seen that w

> Define and give examples of active and passive voice. Explain when each should be used.

> Explain what’s wrong with this sentence: “This procedure is different than the one we use.” What kind of error is this? Can you come up with other examples besides those provided in the chapter?

> List synonyms (words with similar meanings) for each of the following terms. Then explain the differences in their shades of meaning.

> “Because technical language typically consists of acronyms and long, hard words, it contributes to miscommunication. The best policy is to avoid such terms in business communication.” Discuss.

> Explain how technology can help the writer with both creative and tedious writing tasks.

> “It is important to use business clichés like best practices and leveraging our strengths to sound professional.” Discuss.

> 1. We are currently recruiting young people for internships. 2. She has a strong employment record as an accountant. 3. I spent a lot of time each week volunteering for nonprofit organizations. 4. If we don’t receive the goods soon, we will cancel our o

> Although we have not definitely determined the causes for the decline in sales volume for the month, we know that during this period construction on the street adjacent to the store severely limited traffic flow and that because of resignations in the ad

> As you will not get this part of Medicare automatically, even if you are covered by Social Security, you must sign up for it and pay $88.50 per month, which the government will match, if you want your physician’s bills to be covered.

> Reserving this property requires a $500 security deposit, which will be refunded unless there is damage to the property or evidence that there has been smoking in the cottage or a pet on the premises or if the reservation is canceled within 30 days prior

> Improve the parallelism of these headings in a report evaluating a piece of production equipment: a. High Cost of Operation b. Good Production Efficiency c. Maintenance Cost Is Low

> Improve the parallelism of these headings: a. Lagging Sales in Region I b. Moderate Increase Seen for Region II c. Sales in Region III

> We will be pleased to deliver your order by the 12th.

> We cannot permit you to attend classes on company time unless the course is related to your work assignment.

> I am pleased to inform you that I can grant your request for payment of travel expenses.

> We give a 2 percent discount when payment is made within 10 days.

> “Topic sentences are useful for reports and letters, but email messages don’t need them.” Discuss.

> Since we no longer stock this item, we must give you store credit instead of a refund.

> We do our best to provide the best customer service possible.

> We are happy to report approval of your application for membership in our club.

> (From an email to employees) We take pleasure in announcing that, effective today, the Company will give a 20 percent discount on all purchases made by employees.

> Instead of stopping us in the hallway to ask for IT support, send us an email, or else we will have trouble keeping track of your service request.

> Today we are shipping the goods you ordered February 3.

> We have worked for 37 years to build the best lawn mowers on the market.

> The chart prepared in Exercise 1 requires an explanation for the academic years 2015 and 2016. In each of those years, data were collected in January (mid-academic year) rather than June (end of the academic year). Provide the necessary explanation.

> Construct a complete, concise title for a line chart representing employment placement rates for graduates in your major at your school from 2014 to the present.

> 1. We need a marketing strategy that will move us beyond the low-hanging fruit. 2. He doesn’t have the bandwidth right now to take on another project. 3. This design is so not what I had in mind. 4. We are reaching out to you today to tell you about our

> Analyze the use of paragraph breaks in several different types of business writing (e.g., a sales letter, blog post, business article, report). In what ways do these examples use paragraph breaks differently? Can you think of reasons the paragraphs would

> 1. The purchasing officer has gone in search for a substitute product. 2. Based off of the auditor’s report, I recommend that we invest more of our cash. 3. This strike was different than the one in 2000. 4. This letter is equally as bad. 5. She is an au

> 1. We must terminate all deficit financing. 2. We must endeavor to correct this problem by expediting delivery. 3. A proportionate tax consumes a determinate apportionment of one’s monetary assets. 4. Many people believe that business has an inordinate i