What are the purposes of communication?
Surveys of employers consistently show that communication skills are critical to effective job placement, performance, career advancement, and organizational success. In making hiring decisions, employers often rank communication skills among the most req
Why do you need good communication skills?
Surveys of employers consistently show that communication skills are critical to effective job placement, performance, career advancement, and organizational success. In making hiring decisions, employers often rank communication skills among the most req
What are factors affecting today's workplace?
heightened global competition, flattened management hierarchies, expanded team-based management, innovative communication technologies, "anytime, anywhere" and nonterritorial offices, increasingly diverse workforce, and renewed emphasis on ethics.
How do these factors affect communication?
All of these changes require that businesspeople have strong communication skills to be able to make decisions, exchange information, stay connected with remote colleagues, and meet ethics and accountability requirements.
What takes place in each step of the communication process?
The sender encodes (selects) words or symbols to express an idea. The message is sent verbally over a channel (such as an e-mail, letter, or telephone call) or is expressed nonverbally, perhaps with gestures or body language. "Noise" such as loud sounds,
What are some internal and external disruptions in communication?
Internal functions of communication include issuing and clarifying procedures and policies, informing management of progress, persuading others to make changes or improvements, and interacting with employees. External functions of communication include an
Downward flow of information, upward flow of information, and horizontal flow of information within an organization.
Information flows downward from management to workers. Long lines of communication tend to distort information. Many organizations are improving the downward flow of communication through newsletters, announcements, meetings, videos, and company intranets
Ethical issues concerning communication
The goals of ethical business communicators include abiding by the law, telling the truth, labeling opinions, being objective, communicating clearly, using inclusive language, and giving credit. Obstacles to ethical decision making include the false neces
What are soft skills?
These include both oral and written communication skills. Also include other competencies such as listening proficiency, nonverbal behavior, and proper business etiquette.
What are three levels of listening?
Listening to superiors, listening to colleagues and teammates, and listening to customers.
How do you become a better listener?
1. Control external and internal distractions 2. Become actively involved 3. separate facts from opinion 4. Identify important facts 5. Avoid interrupting 6. Ask clarifying questions 7. paraphrase to increase understanding 8. Capitalize on lag time 9. Tak
What type of body language demonstrates active listening?
eye contact, facial expression, body movements, space, time, distance, appearance
How do you use forms of nonverbal communication( eyes,facial expressions, posture, time, space, and territory) to convey meaning?
nonverbal messages can amplify, modify, or provide details for a verbal message. skilled speakers raise their voices to convey important ideas, but they whisper to suggest secrecy. A grimace forecasts painful news, whereas a big smile intensifies good new
How can appropriate dress, good manners, and business etiquette be utilized to show professionalism?
you are more likely to be hired and promoted if you project professionalism in the workplace. This includes avoiding speech habits that make you sound uneducated, crude, or adolescent. Professionalism also is reflected in writing carefully worded e-mails
There are a few basic business etiquette questions on the exam that we discussed in class
1. you have a job interview with a company that you think has a casual dress policy. For the interview you should dress conservatively just to be safe. TRUE 2.When a businessman is being introduced to a businesswoman, it is polite for the man to wait for
How should conflict be dealt with in a team?
Listen, understand the other's point of view, show a concern for the relationship, look for common ground, invent new problem-solving options, and reach an agreement that is fair.
How do you run an effective meeting?
Workplace meetings are called only when urgent two-way communication is necessary. Leaders should limit participation to those directly involved. Leaders should start the meeting on time and keep the discussion on track. Conflict should be confronted open
What is proper behavior during a business meeting?
To participate actively, attendees should arrive early, come prepared, have a positive attitude, and contribute respectfully. They should wait for others to finish, use calm and pleasant voices, give credit to others, avoid using cell phones and laptops,
What is one of the first things a group establishes so that it can function efficiently?
Determine the purpose, procedures, and roles. Members must understand the task at hand and what is expected of them. Teams function best when operating procedures are ironed out early and each member has a specific role.
How do you avoid groupthink?
striving for team diversity-- in age, gender, background, experience, and training. They encourage open discussion, search for relevant information, evaluate many alternatives, consider how a decision will be implemented, and plan for contingencies in cas
Characteristics of culture?
Characteristics of Culture
� Culture is learned (passed down from generation to generation)
� Cultures are inherently logical (their rules reinforce their beliefs)
� Culture is the basis of self-identity and community (getting married, going to college, e
Characteristics of high-context cultures and low-context cultures
� High-context:
o Tend to prefer indirect verbal interaction
o Tend to understand meanings embedded at many sociocultural levels
o Are generally more proficient in reading nonverbal cues
o Value group membership
o Rely more on context and feeling
o Employ
What should you be concerned about when writing letters to businesspeople in other cultures?
� Consider local styles (formatting, addresses)
� Observe titles and rank (use last names, titles, other signals of rank)
� Use short sentences and paragraphs
� Avoid ambiguous expressions
� Strive for clarity
� Use correct grammar
� Cite numbers carefull
Bribery is illegal. What should you do when doing business with cultures where bribery is a normal part of doing business?
� Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977
� Prohibits payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business
� American law does permit payments that may ease the way for routine government actions, such as expediting a visa reques
What are the steps in the employment process?
� Identify your interests and goals
� Evaluate your qualifications
� Choose a career path and job objective
� Search the open job market
� Search the hidden job market
� Design a customized resume and cover letter
� Interview companies
� Accept the best o
How do you search for job openings?-- electronic and non-electronic searches
� <not sure how to address this one...>
Chronological and functional resumes- what are the purposes and formats?
Chronological resumes list your skills by job, in reverse order of date of hire (newest first)
o The purpose is to illustrate your work experience and show your ability to grow
� Functional resumes lump all your skills into one list, independent of job ti
What is the goal of a resume?
� To get you an interview
How should a good career objective be written?
� Customized for the job opening
� Focus on employer needs (written from employers perspective)
� Don't downplay your talents (don't say entry level)
� No more than three lines, avoid complete sentences, avoid using "I
What information should and shouldn't be included in a resume?
� Should
o Name, address, email, phone
o Career objective
o Summary of qualifications
o Education - name of degree, institution, graduation date, gpa
o Work experience - include employer name and city, date of employment, most significant title.
o Highlig
Print-based resume, scannable resume, and plain-text resume
scannable resume, and plain-text resume
� Print-based resume is formatted to be printed off and handed to someone. These are usually nicer.
� Scannable resumes are printed on plain white paper, and scanned by a computer. The scanners are picky so you have
How do you maximize "hits" on a scannable resume?
� Maximize Scannability
o 10 to 14 font
o Don't use borders, shading, underlining,
o Place name on first line, by itself
o List each phone number on its own line
o Avoid double columns
o Take care when printing and mailing
� Maximize Hits
o Focus on speci
The purpose of a cover letter
The purpose of a cover letter
� Introduces the resume
� Highlights your strengths in terms of benefits to the reader
� Gaining an interview
What should be considered when writing the opening, body, and closing of a cover letter?
� Opening:
o refer to the name of an employee in the company
o refer to the sources of your information precisely
o refer to the job title, and how your qualifications meet the requirements
o demonstrate an interest in and knowledge of the reader's busine