o   The case method is heuristic-a term for self-guided learning that employs analysis to help draw conclusions about a situation.

o   to break something up into its constituent parts; and to study the relationships of the parts to the whole.

o   To analyze a case, you therefore need ways of identifying and understanding important aspects of a situation and what they mean in relation to the overall situation.

Problems

Decisions

Evaluations

Rules

o   There is no explicit explanation of the outcome or performance.

o   A problem is a situation in which something important has happened, but we don’t know why it did.

Analyzing a decision requires the following.

•    Decision options
•    Decision criteria
•    Relevant evidence

o   Express a judgment about the worth, value, or effectiveness of a performance, act, or outcome.

o   The unit of analysis of an evaluation can be an individual, a group, a department, an entire organization, a country, or a global region.

o   For rules analysis you need to know

•    The type of info needed in a situation
•    The appropriate rule to furnish that info
•    The correct way to apply the rule
•     The data necessary to execute the rule

o   Exists in every area of business.

Goal of Analysis

Point of View

Hypothesis

o   How do you know when to conclude the study of a case?

o   This substantive goal can be combined with a time limit.

o   Adopt the point of view of the protagonist-the main character.

o   A tentative explanation that accounts for a set of facts and can be tested by further investigation.

o   A hypothesis offers the advantage of a concrete statement you can test against case evidence.

• Situation (5 minutes)
• Questions (15 minutes)
• Hypothesis (45 minutes)
• Proof and Action (40 minutes)
• Alternatives (15 minutes)

1. Purpose, reader's needs, scope
2. Outline
3. Rough draft from outline
4. Cooling Period
5. Revise-logic, development, grammar,punc.
6. Formatting
7. Assume Final responsibility.

• E-mail
• Instant messages
• Memos
• Letters
• Faxes
• Telephone and Conference Calls
• Voice-Mail Messages
• Face-to-face Meetings
• Videoconferences
• Web Communication

the way you express yourself.

• Casual
• Restrained
• Affectation
• Be respectful, not demanding
• Be modest, not arrogant
• Be polite, not sarcastic
• Be positive and tactful, not negative and condescending

• Irritates readers
• Wastes time
• Can Produce Costly Errors

o   Direct Pattern- present main point early. For workplace correspondence.

1.       Main Point of message
2.       Explanation of details or facts
3.   Good Will Closing

Good for Presenting negative messages

1.    Context or (“buffer”)
2.    Explanation or details
3.    Bad news or negative message
4.    Goodwill closing

Openings

• Crucial because readers are busy.
• Identify Subject
• Relevance to readers
• Main point of message.

• Can build positive relationships with readers
• Encourage colleagues and employees.
• Lets recipient know what you will do and what you expect.
• Gives deadlines.

• Be specific.
• Emphasize main points.
• Adequate development is crucial to clarity.

• Review Policy
• Be Professional
• Don't attack anyone.
• Don't use comical email addresses.
• Provide Subject line.
• Delete irrelevant info when forwarding.
• Include Cover Messages
• Send Courtesy Responses
• No all Caps or All lowercase
• Avoid abbreviations
• No emoticons
• Use email signature.

•   If a letter requires a second page, always carry at least two lines of the body text over to that page.
•    Use plain paper of quality equivalent to that of the letterhead stationery for the second page. It should have a header with the recipient’s name, the page number, and the date.
•    Place the header in the upper left-hand corner or across the page, and resume the body of the letter two to three lines below the header.

• Communicates formality, respect, and authority.
• Inside address is recipient's full name, title, and address.

• Covers
• Acknowledgements
• Inquiries
• Response to Inquiries
• Sales and Promotions

o   short cover letter to identify what you are sending.

• Refusals
• Complaints
• Adjustments
• Collections

1.     Context

2.     Explanation

3.     Bad News

4.     Goodwill

1.     Identify the problem or faulty items and include relevant info.

2.     Explain logically, clearly, and specifically what went wrong.

3.     State what you expect the reader to do to solve the problem to your satisfaction.

o   Grant the adjustment, if appropriate, for uncomplicated situations.

o   Reveal that you intent to grant the adjustment by admitting that the customer was right.

o   Apologize for the error.

o   Use a combination of these techniques. Often, situations that require an adjustment also require flexibility.

o   Work to preserve the customer relationship while collecting payment on an overdue account.

• Determine whether to use English only or include a translated version.
• Adjust for cultural preferences in pacing and organizing ideas.
• Consider the decision-making style of your recipient’s culture.
• Avoid using humor and slang.
• Read the letter aloud for ambiguity and confusing sentence structure.
• Check for appropriate forms of dates, times, and measurements.

When you submit a formal report, include with it a brief transmittal (or cover) letter or memo that identifies the report topic and explains why the report was prepared.

The front matter, which includes all the elements that precede the body of the report serves several purposes.

·      Explains the topic, organization, and purpose of report.

·      Indicates whether the report contains the kind of info that the audience is looking for.

·      Lists where in the report the audience can find specific chapters, headings, illustrations, and tables.

1. Full Title of report
2. Names of the writers, principal investigators, or compilers, as appropriate.
3. Date or dates of the report.
4. Name of the organization for which the writer works.
5. Name of the organization or individual to whom the report is being submitted.

Condensed version of a longer work that summarizes and highlights its major points.

Include following info.

• Subject
• Scope
• Purpose
• Methods used
• Results obtained (informative abstract only)
• Recommendations made, if any (informative only)

• Detailed discussion or explanation of the methods used
• Administrative details about how the research was undertaken, who funded it, who worked on it, and the like, unless such details have a bearing on the document’s purpose
• Illustrations, tables, charts, maps, and bibliographic references
• Any info that does not appear in the original document.

Executive summary SHOULD NOT contain a detailed description of the work on which the findings, conclusions, and recommendations were based. -----Abstract SHOULD

·      Headings are the titles or subtiles of sections within the body of the report

o   To signal new topic

o   Avoid too many or too few

o   Use varying type styles and formatting conventions

o   Ensure that headings at the same level are of relative importance

o   Subdivide sections only as needed

o   Don’t allow a heading to substitute for discussion

o   Do not leave a heading as the final line of a page

o   When subdividing a section always use two or more headings

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
2. APPENDIXES
3. GLOSSARY
4. INDEX

1.

Alphabetical listing of all the sources you consulted to prepare the report.

Clarifies or supplements the body with info that is too detailed or lengthy for the primary audience but relevant to secondary audiences.

Alphabetical list of definitions of terms used in a formal report.

An alphabetical list of all the major topics and subtopics found in the report.

Back matter of a formal paper contains supplementary material such as where to find additional information about the topic, and expands on certain subjects (appendixes).

•    Offer a simple, uncluttered presentation of the topic.
•    Highlight the content’s structure, hierarchy, and order.
•    Help readers find info easily.
•    Reinforce an organization’s image.

Boldface

Italics

All Caps

ü  to highlight a key term or phrase or to slow readers, as in cautions or warnings.

used for headings or to alert readers to crucial steps in a process, as in instructions, or to indicate danger, such as in a caution or warning message.

• Steps in sequence.
• Materials or parts needed
• Items to remember
• Criteria for evaluation
• Concluding points
• Recommendations

• Table Number
• Table title
• Boxhead
• Stub
• Body
• Rules
• Source Line
• Footnotes
• Continuing tables

• Use tables to present data that you want readers to quickly evaluate and compare, but that would be difficult tor tedious to present in your main text
• Identify each table with a concise, descriptive title and a unique table number
• Use horizontal lettering if possible
• Do not enclose the left and right sides with vertical rules
• Include a source line when necessary to identify where you obtained your data
• For tables continued on another page, repeat the table number followed by continued, title, and column headings.

• show trends, movements, distributions, and cycles more readily than the same data in text or tables do
• graphs are less precise than tables, so they are accompanied by tables that give exact numbers
• most commonly used graphs are line, bar, pie and picture graphs

• line graphs show the relationship between two or more sets of figures
• composed of vertical/horizontal axis that intersect at right angles
• vertical usually reps amounts, and horizontal usually reps increments of time
• line graphs with more than one plotted line allow for comparisons betweens 2 sets of data

•  bar graphs consist of horizontal or vertical bars of equal width but scaled in length and height to represent some quantity
• commonly used to show the following proportional relations:
  • different types of info during different periods of time
  • quantities of the same kind of info at different periods of time
  • quantities of diff info during a fixed period of time
  • quantities of the different parts that makeup a whole
• bar graphs are used to track project schedules, each bar represents the time allotted for each task of a project, also called a time-line graph

• a pie graph represents data as wedge-shaped sections of a circle
• the circle equals 100%, or the whole, of some quantity, with the wedges representing the various parts into which the whole is divided
• info in pie graph is general, so it is usually accompanied by a table that presents the actual figures on which the percentages in the graph are based
• strong visual impact, but do not clutter with too much info

• aka pictographs, are modified bar graphs that use picture symbols which reps a quantity
• work well for non-expert audience

• give data a solid, 3D, building block appearance
• does not show trends of expenditures accurately

• a drawing is useful when your reader needs to an impression of an objects general appearance or an overview of a series of steps or directions
• best choice when you need to focus on details or relationships that a photograph cannot capture

·      show the equipment from the point of view of the person who will use it

·      when illustrating part of a system, show its relationship to the larger system of which it is a part.

·      Draw the different parts of an object in proportion to one another, unless indicating that certain parts are enlarged

·      For drawings used to illustrate a process, arrange them from left to right and from top to bottom

·      Label important parts of each drawing so that text references to them

·      Depending on the complexity of what is shown, label the parts themselves

A flowchart is a diagram that shows the stages of a process from beginning to end, it presents an overview that allows readers to grasp essential steps quickly and easily

Types of flowcharts

• Labeled blocks
• Pictorial representations
• Standardized symbols

• With labeled blocks and standardized symbols use arrows to show the direction of flow, especially if the flow is opposite to the normal direction
• Label each step in the process or identify it with a conventional symbol
• Include a key if the flowchart contains symbols that your audience may not understand
• Leave adequate white space on the page do not crowd the steps and directional arrows too close together.

Shows how the various parts of an organization are related to one another.

            Titles are placed in separate boxes.

•  Maps can be used to show the specific geographic or human-made features of an area,(rivers, roads, damns)
• to show information according to geographic distribution (population, housing, manufacturing centers)

·      Clearly identify all boundaries within your map

·      Eliminate unnecessary information

·      Include a scale of miles or feet or kilometers or meters

·      Indicate which directon is north

·      Emphasize key features by using color, shading, dots, crosshatching, or appropriate symbols

Photographs are vital to show the surface appearance of an object or to record an event of the development of a phenomenon over a period of time.

Highlighting photographic objects: SELECT IMPORTANT DETAILS AND THE CAMERA ANGELS THAT WILL RECORD THESE DETAILS

USING COLOR:  color is the only way to communicate crucial information 

Distinct advantages for communicating in a global business climate

• Graphics can communicate a message more effectively than text, particularly in the context of safety warnings or cautions
• Graphics can sometimes replace technical terms that are difficult to translate

• Why include visual?
• Is the info in your visual accurate?
• Is your visual focused and free of clutter?
• Are terms and symbols in your visual defined and consistent?
• Does your visual specify measurements and distances?
• Is the lettering readable
• Is the caption clear?
• Is there a figure or table number?
• List of figures? Tables?
• Are figure or table numbers referred to in your text?
• Are visuals appropriately placed?
• Do visuals stand out from surrounding text?

Services include resume and cover letter assistance, interview preparation, etiquette, and interview attire. They do NOT offer tutoring in writing.

Slang

Idioms

Humor

How organizations adapt to changes in their environment.

It taps into a sustainable source of competitive advantage.

Starts with individuals. Once they learn they use it they use it within the organization. 

we tend to look for reasons to prove what we already believe and discredit info that opposes it.

We tend to remember when we are right and forget when we are wrong or fail.

When others behave badly we access it to character when we behave badly we access it to circumstances.

• Responsibility Bias
• Social desireability bias
• Hierarchical mum effect
• Groupthink
• Identification Ego defense

1. Organizations are constituted on communication
2. Every instance of Communication can conform or critique organizational structure.
3. If we attend to the process of communication then we get more effective solutions and create greater organizational learning.

• Preface
• Caption
• Anchor

• to send messages and electronic documents
• maintain professional relationships
• elicit discussions
• collect opinions from distant as well as wide audiences.

• on organizational stationary for outside business communications
• printed letterhead on quality paper communicates formality, respect, and authority.

• Use memos for in-house communication
• from policy announcements to short reports.

• Use telephone and conference calls when give-and-take or tone of voice is important;
• conference calls, when carefully planned, are a less expensive alternative to a face-to-face meeting for participants in distant locations.

• give your graph a title that describes data clearly
• indicate the zero point unless too large to begin at zero, then insert a break in the scale
• divide the vertical axis into equal portions from bottom to top, and horiz axis from equal units left to right, then label what each value represents
• include enough points to accurately plot the data
• keep grid lines to a minimum so that the curved lines stand out
• include a label or a key when necessary to define symbols or visuals cues to data
• include a source line under graph at the lower left, indication where you got data
• present all type horizontally if possible, but vertical axis caption is usually presented vertically

• a 360 circle is equivalent to to 100%
• when possible, begin at the 12oclock position and sequence the wedges clockwise
• apply a distinctive pattern, colors or shades for each wedge
• keep all labels horizontal, and provide the percentage value of each wedge
• check that all wedges and their respective percentages add up to 100%

• use symbols that are self-explanatory
• have each symbol represent a specific number of units and be sure to include accurate numerical quantities for each row of data
• show larger quantities by increasing the number of symbols rather than by creating a larger symbol

• 1. show the equipment from the point of view of the person who will use it
  2. when illustrating part of a system, show its relationship to the larger system of which it is a part
  3. draw the diff parts of an object in proportion to one another
  4. for drawings used to illustrate a process, arrange them from left to right and from top to bottom
  5. label important parts of each drawing so that text references to them are clear and consistent
  6.  try to label the parts themselves.

Faulty decision making produced by a lack of critical assessments of alternatives, especially when created by the social desirability bias.

◦      Why won’t this idea work?

◦What are we missing that could challenge this idea?

◦What could be wrong with this idea?

◦How might someone else perceive this idea to be unethical?

◦How do we know what we know?

◦How are we deciding?

◦What tests of quality can we apply to our decision making?

◦Where can we find disconfirming information?

◦How do we hold each member accountable for his or her inputs

How do we encourage active dissent and disagreement?

• Visual needs to be legible and understandable
• The function of the visual needs to be clear.
• Accurate info from reliable sources
• Focused and free of clutter; labels, arrows, boxes and lines are unnecessary
• Define all acronyms in the text, figure or table, use a key if needed

o   Intro statement that announces the purpose, background, or scope of the report/visual.

o   Follows the table of contents (& the list of figures & tables if present)

1. To recognize writing practices common to academic and professional writing in business, including formal and informal reporting, correspondence, collaborative writing, and case analysis.
2. To use purpose, audience, and form to create compositions that are accurate, appropriate, ethical, timely, and persuasive.
3. To integrate principles and practices of effective business communication with subject area knowledge in business disciplines.
4. To recognize the personal, professional, and ethical implications of effective business communication and the ethical significance of choices in style, language, and communication.
5. To understand how audiences and stakeholders shape writers’ decisions about message design and construction.
6. To build skills in information seeking, analysis, document design, and composition, and to produce effective writing with greater efficiency under tight deadlines.