Monthly Archives: September 2019

Fostering Ethical Development in the BusCom Classroom

By Janet Mizrahi, BizComBuzz Staff Writer Lecturer, UCSB Writing Program

If your bus com students are anything like mine, there are days when you’re happy to read an assignment that at least doesn’t contain basic grammar errors. Those are the days when I despair that my course objectives also include fostering critical thinking and ethical behavior.

So I was thrilled when I came upon the non-profit higher education organization IDEA and a post about how to include teaching ethics development in any discipline. Using its overall design, I’ll share the Guffey Team’s take on this important learning outcome.

First, some background. We know that most industries and fields have codes of conduct. However, if we want students to genuinely understand why it’s important to be ethical, simply introducing codes of conduct is not enough. To learn how to make ethical choices, students must learn how to think critically so they can apply ethical reasoning to make ethical decisions.

Arriving at an ethical choice requires going through a series of critical analysis steps (visit ideaedu.org for an excellent model of these steps in a real-world situation.)

Recognize an event that requires a reaction.
Define that event as having an ethical component.
Consider the ethical aspect to be one of significance.
Take personal responsibility to solve the problem.
Research the abstract ethical rules that may pertain to the situation.
Determine how those rules apply to the specific situation.
Be ready to respond to forces that would negatively impact acting in an ethical way.
Act.

Studies have shown that the best way to integrate teaching ethics is through case studies done individually or as group work. In the business communication classroom, many opportunities for both exist. Here are a few you might consider:

Assign a case (or several from which students can choose) to be completed as an individual assignment resulting in a memo or report that not only requires ethical thinking but that emphasizes basic business writing strategies.
Create a unit dedicated to ethics using a case on which students work in groups to write a report or a presentation. This can be a major assignment that comes at the end of a semester, after which students have learned and practiced business communication skills.

To find a business-related case that might work for your class, check out the following links.

Arthur Andersen Case Studies in Business Ethics

International Relations Ethics Case Studies

Let us know if you have chosen to work this important learning outcome into your classes!

Ghosting a Hirer Will Haunt You… The Art of Self Promotion… Writing Lessons from Jeff Bezos

Ghosting a Hirer Will Haunt You

In an era where breaking up via text message is common, many find having to deliver bad news in a professional context terrifying. But while avoiding the unpleasant task of telling an employer you are not accepting a job offer may sound like a good idea, it isn’t.

The situation is so rampant that Lindsey Pollak, a consultant who addresses multigenerational issues in the workplace, was asked to teach college students attending recruiting events how to politely turn down an offer.

Pollak warns that “ghosting” an employer can have lasting repercussions despite the reason. Whether job seekers are waiting to hear about another offer, considering a counter offer at a current job, or just plain avoiding the potential future employer out of embarrassment, ghosting in a professional context will very likely come back to haunt them.

The rejected recruiter can harbor negative feelings about candidates or become aware of lies they told to wriggle out of the offer. The job seekers’ unwillingness to be honest with the employer can tarnish their reputation, especially in industries where professional communities share information.

The best advice for job candidates is to be up front during negotiations. They should show enthusiasm for the position but tell the interviewer about any factors that may affect their decision to accept a job.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Art of Self Promotion

Many individuals find discussing themselves distressing, but being able to talk about professional accomplishments is key to a successful career. Experts offer advice that will help even the most modest workers make sure their good work is noticed.

Track accomplishments. A written record of daily or weekly activities can be a helpful reminder of specific accomplishments that can be brought up at a later time.

Compile data.Employers respond to numbers. Quantifying accomplishments can help an employer evaluate an employee’s worth.

Pick the right time to promote yourself. The time and place to discuss accomplishments is not during a company meeting. However, one-on-ones with a supervisor and yearly reviews are times to demonstrate one’s value.

Be honest about expertise. While no one likes a braggart, modesty is not much better. An honest appraisal of one’s worth is integral to self-promotion.

Discuss team dynamics. Detailing an individual contribution to a team project is a good way to demonstrate value to an employer.

Experts warn that self-promotion, though warranted, should be modulated. Downplaying other team members’ contributions and taking credit unfairly is always a poor strategy.

From payscale.com

Writing Lessons from Jeff Bezos

The richest man in the world doesn’t rely on public relations staff or attorneys when communicating to his shareholders. Instead, Jeff Bezos uses his own highly developed writing skills, unlike many CEOs who rely on others to convey both good and bad news to stakeholders.

Bezos has been writing Amazon’s annual letters that address shareholders’ concerns and company news since 1997. Jean-Louis Gassée, a blogger for the tech industry blogging platform Monday Morning, says Bezos’s communication gifts are apparent in these letters as the Amazon chief is “writing well, affirmatively, with grace, and not infrequent humor.”

In fact, Bezos takes writing—the painstaking process of writing—to heart. He has come to believe that a written document is superior to a PowerPoint presentation when he addresses his shareholders.

“We write narratively structured six-page memos […] the great memos are written and re-written, shared with colleagues who are asked to improve the work, set aside for a couple of days, and then edited again with a fresh mind. They simply can’t be done in a day or two,” Bezos writes.

Bezos’ letters to shareholders show his profound understanding of his business. One year, he wrote about Amazon’s engineering feats, unafraid to use technical terms to explain a process in detail. Still, as a savvy writer, Bezos also appealed to his readers’ needs before their eyes were “glazing over” by reminding them that those very engineering accomplishments were responsible for increasing Amazon’s bottom line.

Drafting, rewriting, editing, and audience awareness are Bezos’ secret to good writing—a refrain that is likely familiar to business communication students.

From mondaynote.com

Keeping It Simple

[Instructors: PDFs of the exercise and a key with suggested solutions are provided at the end of the post.]

Some people use inflated language because they think it makes them sound impressive, but using words readers don’t immediately recognize only slows them down and leads to confusion.

Use common language to rewrite these sentences. You may need to look up some of the words so you can choose simpler ones.

The manager tendered his resignation after a catalogue of unfortunate decisions called into question his continuation as an effective leader.
After copious compulsory exercises requiring arduous mental calisthenics, the members of the team retired to savor libations.
It is a tricky problem to find the particular calibration in timing that would be appropriate to stem the acceleration in risk premiums.
Due to a negative patient outcome, the legal team at the hospital adopted remediation strategies designed to avert the possibility of litigious activities.
Once we prognosticate how upturns and downturns impact short and long-term income earning data, we’ll generate a position paper.
We facilitated the production of hard deliverables and hit all required real-time benchmarks.
Only a disrupter of the most comprehensive scope will enable efficacious results.
The meeting will convey knowledge about the recent egregious affair to participants, after which salubrious comestibles will be offered.
The disproportionate amount of grandiloquent terminology was detrimental to the ultimate goal of communicating the new regulations to the members of the audience.
Irrespective of the necessity to terminate the contract, the quintessential goal of the assembly is to arrest all further dialogue on the issue.

Keeping It Simple-Exercise

KeepingItSimple-Solutions