Ethics are the accepted principles of conduct that govern behaviour within a society they define the boundary between right and wrong. Ethical communication includes all relevant information, is true in every sense, and is not deceptive in any way.
Cultural context affects communication in profound and fundamental ways. In high-context cultures, communication relies less on the explicit content of the message and more on the context. In low-context cultures, communication relies more on message content than on message context. Visiting with others in person allows you to pick up on nonverbal cues and engage in a more meaningful conversation. Communicating in person also allows you to become more than a voice on the phone or a name on a screen.
This exercise should help students organize their thoughts about how communication keeps organizations running, what business tasks require communication, and how communication benefits business organizations. Students should also realize that effective communication helps employees feel as if they are a part of the business process because they feel supported in their efforts and rewarded for their accomplishments; they also believe that their comments, suggestions, and problems will receive fair consideration, so any problems among co-workers are quickly and easily resolved.
This question can help students better understand the difference between a traditional communication model with a publishing mindset and a social communication model, focused on initiating interaction among a variety of participants.
This situation puts you in an ethical dilemma. Your boss, however, has committed an ethical lapse by taking credit for your work. You must weigh the potential ramifications for bringing the situation to light, particularly on your personal career with the company.
Students will. It is also important for students to distinguish between the ethical dilemma presented in the question and possible ethical lapses that could follow. This question will help students consider the growing problems faced by employees from foreign cultures. The discussion should be lively with regard to just how much the company is responsible for learning about and adapting to the cultural backgrounds of its employees.
You might suggest that the company offer some basic guidance to its Canadian employees about Vietnamese culture, explaining the differences between low- and high-context cultures as well as offer specific guidance on differences in nonverbal messages and social customs between the cultures to avoid possible misunderstandings.
Students will offer a variety of situations deriving from the challenges of intergenerational communication. The goal of the discussion should be to ascertain their grasp of intergenerational sensitivity and to help them perceive the value and advantages, rather than only the challenges, of a multigenerational workforce. In these memos or speeches of introduction, students should include information about their majors, hobbies, likes, dislikes, and future career plans.
This question provides a good opportunity to discuss the advantages and limitations of utilizing social media for business communication.
Students should be encouraged to explain how the content of their messages reflects the demands of a social communication model and medium. In completing this exercise, students should recognize the often significant differences between how they prioritize their own personal and professional qualities and how a prospective employer might prioritize them. Answers might also focus on the changing workplace with more emphasis placed on teams and flattened management hierarchies; with these changes, more and more employees might be coming into contact with highprofile clients.
This exercise challenges students to apply their understanding of the communication process. Ask them to be specific about how they encoded and transmitted the idea they. Students should avoid the tendency to simply explain how widespread the use of social media has become, and how easy it is to utilize the technology.
The ethics of each situation may be decided as follows: a. De-emphasizing negative test results is an ethical lapse that could affect lives in some situations; for example, when women suffered from defective breast implants. Using equipment at home would be ethical, especially if permission was obtained. Using allocated funding for unnecessary purchases is unethical.
Additionally, they might note that a blog containing valid criticism of the company may appear as more authentic and credible than blogs that just praise a company. Others supporting the ban may argue that any external communication about a company must be examined by that company since an employee could post something untrue; moreover, if employees are being paid to blog, then the company has a right to edit content.
Students might mention that if employees are violating company policy, then they should be reported; however, others might mention that the boss is unfairly taking advantage of the fact that this person has numerous friends within the company. The questions that need to be asked before the employee makes a decision include: has the situation been defined fairly and accurately, what is the intention of communicating this information, what impact will this information have on the people who are affected by it, will this information achieve the greatest possible good while doing the least possible harm, will this decision seem unethical in the future, and are we comfortable.
Students might also wish to discuss whether or not the company has a code of ethics, whether or not employees are aware of company policies and the consequences for violating them, and whether or not the boss has asked others to report this type of information to her as well.
Students should focus their evaluation of the situation on the differences in communication style between high-context and low-context cultures. Coming from a high-context culture, he is interested in building relationships. Students will come up with a variety of examples. Remind them of the importance of an audience-centred approach that respects the appropriate level of formality and avoids cultural-based expressions and idioms.
Students should find this assignment interesting. A number of books are available on international business communication, and many of them provide country-by-country information. As an option, you may suggest that some students pick two countries and compare their customs, describing the similarities and differences in nonverbal communication, meeting protocol, decision-making processes, and so on.
To make this activity more focused, assign each student or team one type of business practice, such as gift giving, and ask them to describe how that practice varies in a dozen or so countries. The role-playing should reveal how easily we slip into ethnocentric and stereotypical viewpoints—which interfere with business communication even when the difference is one of age, gender, or physical ability.
To improve the discussion that this exercise can generate, consider assigning different services to different students. The wide variety of services students will access can provide powerful evidence of how widespread the social communication model has become. This four-part exercise will teach students about the specific generation they research as well as the generations researched by classmates.
They will learn which qualities the generations share as well as the differences, especially in communication styles, and consider the advantages of a multigenerational workforce, as each one possesses specific strengths that the others lack. Every culture has its own style of humour, making it difficult for humour to cross cultural boundaries. Humour also often requires exceptional knowledge of a language and easily can be misinterpreted by someone from a different culture.
It is best to play it safe and avoid humour. Before doing business with a different culture, you should know its protocol concerning a variety of customs, including forms of address, hierarchy, names, and titles; forms of greeting and introduction; business card exchange; gift-giving; gestures and body language; time, space, and punctuality; meeting and seating; hosting and being hosted; scheduling appointments; business entertaining; dining and drinking etiquette, including giving toasts; and proper cyber-communication etiquette.
In China, one should never give a gift wrapped in white or black. One also should note give a gift to the opposite gender within a business context, because it implies a more personal meaning. Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages. True 2. In the first step of the communication process, the sender transmits the message.
False 3. The primary characteristic of the social communication model is that it reflects a broadcast or publishing mindset. False 4. Selective misquoting may involve omitting damaging comments to paint a better picture of you or your company. True 5. An ethical dilemma is making a clearly unethical or illegal choice.
False 6. False 7. In a low-context culture, people rely more on the context of nonverbal actions and environmental setting to convey meaning. False 8. False 9. Simple hand gestures convey the same meaning in every culture. False Ethnocentrism allows communicators to correctly interpret the customs of another culture. Multiple Choice Which of the following is a tangible benefit of effective communication in an organization?
Faster problem solving b. Increased productivity c. Enhanced professional images and stronger brands d. All of the above The U.
This will require the effective communicator to: a. Communicate in team-based organizations b. Communicate in an age of information c. Communicate within a culturally diverse workforce d. None of the above. Which of the following most correctly describes the order of the communication process? The sender has an idea, the sender encodes a message, the sender transmits the message, the receiver gets the message.
The sender transmits the message, the sender receives feedback, the receiver decodes the message. The sender has an idea, the receiver decodes the message, the receiver gets the message. The sender transmits the message, the sender encodes the message, the receiver sends feedback. Which of the following questions is NOT a question that can help you make an ethical communication decision? Is this message legal? Is this message feasible?
Is this a message you can live with? All are questions that can help you make an ethical decision. Which of the following is an incorrect example of how cultural context affects business communication?
Executive offices are shared and open to all in high-context companies. Objective data are valued over subjective relationships in a high-context company. Meetings have fixed agendas and plenty of advanced notice in low-context companies. Workers rely on detailed background information in low-context companies. Informal social rules are: a. Usually learned by watching how people behave and then imitating that behaviour.
Another way to describe dining manners. Avoided by cultures that condemn materialism. When communicators assume that their own cultural background is superior to all others, they are using which of the following concepts? Stereotyping b. Ethnocentrism c. Accurate assumptions d. Social status When speaking to someone whose first language is different from yours, you should: a. Use objective, accurate language. Speak rapidly since the listener is accustomed to rapid speech in his or her first language.
When writing to someone whose first language is different from yours, you should: a. Include lengthy sentences, using many compound and complex sentences. Use figures instead of writing numbers out in words. Include slang, idioms, and jargon. Do none of the above, since these are things to avoid in intercultural written communication. Cultural diversity includes all of the following except: a.
Age differences b. Nonverbal communication c. Ability differences d. It has been brought to your notice that the company competing with you for a major. The last inspection at your plant revealed structural problems with some of the buildings that, if not fixed immediately, could compromise worker safety.
However, your company is low on funds and taking on repair work will push the company into the red. Which of the following is a high-context culture? American B. English C. German D. Which of the following is a low-context culture? Chinese B. Indian C. Which of the following is true about how the cultural context can present communication challenges? A person from a high-context culture is more likely to consider personal pledges more important than contracts.
In a low-context culture, people are more likely to consider gestures and tone of voice when receiving a message. In a high-context culture, the rules of everyday life are stated explicitly. Answer: B Page Ref: Difficulty: 2 Obj: Ethnic gloss B. Stereotyping C. Ethnocentrism D. Which of the following is a guideline for improving intercultural communication? Consider aspects like personal appearance when trying to judge a person.
Avoid using sources like travel guidebooks to learn about a culture. Recognize your own cultural biases. Always assume that others will think, believe, and behave as you do.
Be flexible and be prepared to change your habits and attitudes. Which of the following is a tip for speaking with multilingual audiences? Make multiple points at a time. Communication becomes less important as you take on leadership and management roles.
Companies that communicate well significantly outperform those that communicate poorly. The ability to follow accepted standards of grammar, spelling, and other aspects of highquality writing and speaking is a skill employers expect of you today. According to the basic eight-step model of communication, the communication process starts with a sender having an idea and then encoding the idea into a message that can be transferred to a receiver.
The medium of a message refers to the form a message takes and the channel is the system used to deliver the message. Decoding a message is a simple process if the message is well intentioned and well crafted. The social communication model is primarily defined by a broadcasting or publishing mindset.
Given its several advantages, most companies today have shifted to the social communications model for all their communication needs.
It is unethical to omit essential information from a communication. An ethical dilemma can involve choosing between two conflicting alternatives that are both ethical and valid.
Difficulty: 1 Obj: When making decisions, you must consider whether a decision that seems ethical now will seem unethical in the future. In high-context cultures, the rules of everyday life are stated explicitly. Low-context cultures put less emphasis on the written word and consider personal pledges more important than contracts. In order to use communication technology effectively, routinely activate visual alerts for incoming messages so you can keep track of all the information that is coming in.
In order to use communication technology effectively, avoid subscribing to too many blog feeds, Twitter follows, and other sources of recurring messages. The availability of cutting-edge videoconferencing technology and IM has rendered face-toface interaction obsolete and unnecessary.
Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question. Answer: outperform Page Ref: 2 Difficulty: 1 Obj: Answer: medium Page Ref: 6 Difficulty: 1 Obj: Answer: social communication Page Ref: 7 Difficulty: 1 Obj: Answer: frequency Page Ref: 8 Difficulty: 1 Obj: Answer: social communications Page Ref: 8 Difficulty: 1 Obj: Page Ref: 9 Difficulty: 1 Obj: Answer: dilemma Page Ref: 9 Difficulty: 1 Obj: Answer: unethical Page Ref: 10 Difficulty: 1 Obj: Answer: low Page Ref: 10 Difficulty: 1 Obj: Answer: videoconferencing Page Ref: 15 Difficulty: 1 Obj: Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.
List at least five benefits that effective communication delivers to businesses. What makes business communication effective? Answer: Effective messages are practical, factual, concise, clear, and persuasive: - Provide practical information. Use concrete language, specific detail, and information that is clear, convincing, accurate, and ethical. Page Ref: Difficulty: 1 Obj: How can businesses adopt an audience-centric approach to their communications?
Answer: When business professionals take an audience-centred approach to their communication, they focus on understanding and meeting the needs of their audiences. Providing the information your audiences need is obviously an important part of this approach, but it also involves such elements as your ability to listen, your style of writing and speaking, and your ability to maintain positive working relationships. Another important element of audiencecentred communication is etiquette, the expected norms of behaviour in a particular situation.
Respect, courtesy, and common sense will help you avoid etiquette mistakes. Why is decoding a message such a complex process? Answer: Extracting meaning is influenced by culture, experience, learning and thinking styles, hopes, fears, and even temporary moods. Page Ref: 7 Difficulty: 1 Obj: Is the social communication model a more audience-centric approach to business communication than the basic communication model? Answer: Yes. The ability to listen and the ability to maintain positive relationships are important elements of the audience-centric approach.
In the social communication model, the audience members are no longer passive recipients of messages but active participants in a conversation. Social media have given customers and other stakeholders a voice they did not have in the past. People can add to a conversation or take pieces from it, depending on their needs and interests,. Page Ref: 7 Difficulty: 3 Obj: What are the disadvantages of the social communication model? Answer: Potential problems of the social media model include information overload, fragmented attention, information security risks, distractions that hurt productivity, and the blurring of the line between personal and professional lives, which can make it difficult for people to disconnect from work.
Explain the concepts of transparency in business communications, giving an example. Answer: In the context of business communication, transparency refers to a sense of openness, of giving all participants in a conversation access to the information they need to process the messages they are receiving. Page Ref: 9 Difficulty: 2 Obj: Distinguish between ethical dilemmas and ethical lapses, giving appropriate examples for both.
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. Unlike a dilemma, an ethical lapse is a clearly unethical and frequently illegal.
What are the advantages and challenges of a diverse workforce? Answer: A diverse workforce offers a broader spectrum of viewpoints and ideas, helps companies understand and identify with diverse markets, and enables companies to benefit from a wider range of employee talents.
More diverse teams can tend to be more innovative over the long term than teams composed of people from the same culture. For all their benefits, diverse workforces and markets do present some communication challenges, and understanding the effect of culture on communication is essential. The subconscious effect of culture can create friction because it leads people to assume that everybody thinks and feels the way they do. Page Ref: 10 Difficulty: 2. Answer: Cultural diversity includes all the elements that make people different from one another.
This may include things like race, class, gender, ethnicity, language, family structure, religion, educational background, and others. Diff: 2 Page Ref: 10 Obj:
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