INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TODAY
15TH EDITION
CHAPTER GUIDES
This section provides information about the chapters in the textbook and suggested solutions and answers
for the activities. Each Chapter Guide includes the following items:
• Chapter outline
• Lecture notes, with the Learning Objective included for each major section in the chapter
• Answers to highlight box questions
• Answers to Test Your Knowledge questions
• Answers to Apply Your Knowledge questions
• Answers to Practice Your Skills activities
• Example solutions to cases (complete example solutions for short-message cases; solution
guidelines for long-message cases)
PART 1: UNDERSTANDING THE FOUNDATIONS OF BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
The first three chapters give students a general understanding of why good communication skills are
important in business, how today’s communication is enhanced through technology, why effective
interpersonal communication can be difficult, how communication is used in teams, and how it can
overcome intercultural barriers. As you present this material, try to stimulate students to personalize basic
concepts. Encourage them to think about their own careers and the communication skills they’ll need to
be successful. Ask members of the class who have work experience to comment on the communication
requirements and challenges they have encountered.
,CHAPTER 1: PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION IN A DIGITAL, SOCIAL,
MOBILE WORLD
Chapter 1 emphasizes the importance of effective communication, explains what it means to
communicate in a professional context, describes the communication process model and the ways social
media are changing the nature of business communication, outlines the effects of the mobile revolution,
advises students on how to use communication technology effectively, and offers guidance for making
ethical choices as a business communicator.
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES AT AFFECTIVA
Individual Challenge
Here is an effective 188-character summary that provides a compelling reason to attend the seminar and
includes important details:
Go beyond surveys with the next wave of marketing insights: learn how emotion measurement
provides a level of insight that surveys can’t match. Free 1-hour webinar and live Q&A on Sept 24.
Team Challenge
Option 2 engages with the employee in a constructive way and presents the situation as a business
dilemma that can be solved with a logical, customer-focused response.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
1-1. The three essentials areas in which communication can benefit an organization are
• Operations. Every company needs fast, effective communication between managers and
staff, within departments, between departments, and between the company and its
external business partners.
• Intelligence. Companies need to keep a constant “ear to ground” to be alerted to new
opportunities, risks, and impending problems—both internally and externally.
• Relationships. Just as in personal and social relationships, business relationships depend
on communication.
, [LO-1] AACSB: Written and oral communication
1-2. The five attributes of effective business communication are:
• Providing practical information
• Giving facts rather than vague impressions
• Presenting information in a concise, efficient manner
• Clarifying expectations and responsibilities
• Offering compelling, persuasive arguments and recommendations
[LO-1] AACSB: Written and oral communication
1-3. Professionalism can be broken down into six distinct traits: striving to excel, being dependable
and accountable, being a team player, demonstrating a sense of etiquette, making ethical
decisions, and maintaining a positive outlook. [LO-2] AACSB: Reflective thinking
1-4. By taking an audience-centered approach to communication, a communicator can focus on the
audience and its needs. With this approach, the communicator works hard to overcome any
barriers and to get the message across in a way that is meaningful to the audience. [LO-2]
AACSB: Written and oral communication
1-5. Before they can perceive an incoming message as an actual message, audience members need to
sense the presence of the message and select it from all other messages and noises competing for
their attention. [LO-3] AACSB: Written and oral communication
1-6. The most common barriers in any communication environment are noise and distractions,
competing messages, filters, and channel breakdowns. [LO-3] AACSB: Written and oral
communication
1-7. The social communication model is interactive and conversational, with customers and other
groups empowered through social media. These media transform passive audiences into active
participants in the communication process by allowing them to share, revise, and respond to
content, as well as contribute new content. [LO-3] AACSB: Written and oral communication
1-8. The five key benefits of business communication technology are
• Making communication more effective by helping people craft messages that convey
their ideas more clearly and persuasively
, • Making communication more efficient by reducing the time and effort needed to create,
transmit, and consume messages
• Improving research tools to help communicators discover, process, and apply information
• Assisting communicators with decision-making by guiding them through complex data
• Removing communication barriers so more people can participate in the communication
process more easily
[LO-4] AACSB: Information technology
1-9. An ethical dilemma involves choosing among alternatives that aren’t clear-cut. Perhaps two
conflicting alternatives are both ethical and valid, or perhaps the alternatives lie somewhere in the
gray area between clearly right and clearly wrong. [LO-5] AACSB: Ethical understanding and
reasoning
1-10. An ethical lapse is a clearly unethical choice. [LO-5] AACSB: Ethical understanding and
reasoning
APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE
1-11. Communication is sometimes considered a negotiation of meaning rather than a transfer of
meaning because in some cases the receiver doesn’t understand (or perhaps believe) the message
on the first attempt. In these cases, the sender and receiver continue to exchange information until
mutual understanding is achieved. [LO-1] AACSB: Written and oral communication
1-12. No, managers should not try to shut down an informal communication network that is spreading
negative gossip or false rumors. Rather, they should understand why the network is spreading this
damaging information and respond with clear, accurate, and complete information. Trying to shut
down an informal network will probably not succeed, and it will only fuel suspicion that those in
power are hiding something. [LO-2] AACSB: Written and oral communication
1-13. The most important step to take to ensure that high schoolers and their parents respond positively
to messages promoting a new tutoring service is to make sure the messages are about them and
their needs. Why would students and parents consider paying for a tutor and what benefits do
they expect from the service? Your own qualifications should serve as support points, not as the
primary message. In addition, the messages should fulfill the five criteria of effective messages
listed in the chapter: practical, factual, concise, clear, and persuasive. [LO-3] AACSB: Written
and oral communication
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TODAY
15TH EDITION
CHAPTER GUIDES
This section provides information about the chapters in the textbook and suggested solutions and answers
for the activities. Each Chapter Guide includes the following items:
• Chapter outline
• Lecture notes, with the Learning Objective included for each major section in the chapter
• Answers to highlight box questions
• Answers to Test Your Knowledge questions
• Answers to Apply Your Knowledge questions
• Answers to Practice Your Skills activities
• Example solutions to cases (complete example solutions for short-message cases; solution
guidelines for long-message cases)
PART 1: UNDERSTANDING THE FOUNDATIONS OF BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
The first three chapters give students a general understanding of why good communication skills are
important in business, how today’s communication is enhanced through technology, why effective
interpersonal communication can be difficult, how communication is used in teams, and how it can
overcome intercultural barriers. As you present this material, try to stimulate students to personalize basic
concepts. Encourage them to think about their own careers and the communication skills they’ll need to
be successful. Ask members of the class who have work experience to comment on the communication
requirements and challenges they have encountered.
,CHAPTER 1: PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION IN A DIGITAL, SOCIAL,
MOBILE WORLD
Chapter 1 emphasizes the importance of effective communication, explains what it means to
communicate in a professional context, describes the communication process model and the ways social
media are changing the nature of business communication, outlines the effects of the mobile revolution,
advises students on how to use communication technology effectively, and offers guidance for making
ethical choices as a business communicator.
COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES AT AFFECTIVA
Individual Challenge
Here is an effective 188-character summary that provides a compelling reason to attend the seminar and
includes important details:
Go beyond surveys with the next wave of marketing insights: learn how emotion measurement
provides a level of insight that surveys can’t match. Free 1-hour webinar and live Q&A on Sept 24.
Team Challenge
Option 2 engages with the employee in a constructive way and presents the situation as a business
dilemma that can be solved with a logical, customer-focused response.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
1-1. The three essentials areas in which communication can benefit an organization are
• Operations. Every company needs fast, effective communication between managers and
staff, within departments, between departments, and between the company and its
external business partners.
• Intelligence. Companies need to keep a constant “ear to ground” to be alerted to new
opportunities, risks, and impending problems—both internally and externally.
• Relationships. Just as in personal and social relationships, business relationships depend
on communication.
, [LO-1] AACSB: Written and oral communication
1-2. The five attributes of effective business communication are:
• Providing practical information
• Giving facts rather than vague impressions
• Presenting information in a concise, efficient manner
• Clarifying expectations and responsibilities
• Offering compelling, persuasive arguments and recommendations
[LO-1] AACSB: Written and oral communication
1-3. Professionalism can be broken down into six distinct traits: striving to excel, being dependable
and accountable, being a team player, demonstrating a sense of etiquette, making ethical
decisions, and maintaining a positive outlook. [LO-2] AACSB: Reflective thinking
1-4. By taking an audience-centered approach to communication, a communicator can focus on the
audience and its needs. With this approach, the communicator works hard to overcome any
barriers and to get the message across in a way that is meaningful to the audience. [LO-2]
AACSB: Written and oral communication
1-5. Before they can perceive an incoming message as an actual message, audience members need to
sense the presence of the message and select it from all other messages and noises competing for
their attention. [LO-3] AACSB: Written and oral communication
1-6. The most common barriers in any communication environment are noise and distractions,
competing messages, filters, and channel breakdowns. [LO-3] AACSB: Written and oral
communication
1-7. The social communication model is interactive and conversational, with customers and other
groups empowered through social media. These media transform passive audiences into active
participants in the communication process by allowing them to share, revise, and respond to
content, as well as contribute new content. [LO-3] AACSB: Written and oral communication
1-8. The five key benefits of business communication technology are
• Making communication more effective by helping people craft messages that convey
their ideas more clearly and persuasively
, • Making communication more efficient by reducing the time and effort needed to create,
transmit, and consume messages
• Improving research tools to help communicators discover, process, and apply information
• Assisting communicators with decision-making by guiding them through complex data
• Removing communication barriers so more people can participate in the communication
process more easily
[LO-4] AACSB: Information technology
1-9. An ethical dilemma involves choosing among alternatives that aren’t clear-cut. Perhaps two
conflicting alternatives are both ethical and valid, or perhaps the alternatives lie somewhere in the
gray area between clearly right and clearly wrong. [LO-5] AACSB: Ethical understanding and
reasoning
1-10. An ethical lapse is a clearly unethical choice. [LO-5] AACSB: Ethical understanding and
reasoning
APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE
1-11. Communication is sometimes considered a negotiation of meaning rather than a transfer of
meaning because in some cases the receiver doesn’t understand (or perhaps believe) the message
on the first attempt. In these cases, the sender and receiver continue to exchange information until
mutual understanding is achieved. [LO-1] AACSB: Written and oral communication
1-12. No, managers should not try to shut down an informal communication network that is spreading
negative gossip or false rumors. Rather, they should understand why the network is spreading this
damaging information and respond with clear, accurate, and complete information. Trying to shut
down an informal network will probably not succeed, and it will only fuel suspicion that those in
power are hiding something. [LO-2] AACSB: Written and oral communication
1-13. The most important step to take to ensure that high schoolers and their parents respond positively
to messages promoting a new tutoring service is to make sure the messages are about them and
their needs. Why would students and parents consider paying for a tutor and what benefits do
they expect from the service? Your own qualifications should serve as support points, not as the
primary message. In addition, the messages should fulfill the five criteria of effective messages
listed in the chapter: practical, factual, concise, clear, and persuasive. [LO-3] AACSB: Written
and oral communication
