Chapter 5 Communicating Electronically
Chapter 5 Communicating Electronically
Learning Objectives
- Discuss the effective use of email and instant messages in business communication.
- Explain principles for writing effectively for the Web.
- Discuss the effective use of voice and wireless technologies in business communication.
- Identify ethical and legal implications associated with the use of communication technology.
Chapter Overview
A full chapter is devoted to the preparation of electronic communications—not only because of popular use in organizations but also because of their particular characteristics as informal, yet powerful forms of communication. Emphasis is given to email, instant and text messaging, and web communications (web pages, wikis, and weblogs) and voice and wireless communication. Legal and ethical issues related to the use of technology are also discussed.
Chapter Outline
ELECTRONIC MAIL COMMUNICATION 70
Advantages of Email 70
Guidelines for Preparing Email Messages 71
Effective Use of Email 72
Instant Messaging 74
Text Messaging 75
Electronic Messages and the Law 77
WEB PAGE COMMUNICATION 78
Writing for a Website 78
Writing Wikis 79
Writing for Weblogs 79
VOICE AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATION 80
Voice Mail Communication 80
Cell Phone Communication 81
Wireless Communication and the Future 82
APPROPRIATE USE OF TECHNOLOGY 82
Determine the Purpose of the Message 83
Determine Whether the Information Is Personal or Confidential 83
Decide Whether Positive Human Relations Are Sacrificed 83
Key Terms
Extranet 78
Instant messaging 74
Intranet 78
Netiquette 72
Social networking sites 74
Text messaging 75
Weblog (or blog) 79
PowerPoint Slides
· Lecture Slides — Students can review key chapter concepts on the Lecture Slides (found on the companion website (Student’s Resources)). Slides can be downloaded for convenient printing of handouts for taking class notes.
Slide Number and Title
1. Chapter 5 Communicating Electronically
2. Learning Objectives
3. Guidelines for Preparing Email Messages
4. Netiquette Fundamentals
5. Instant Messaging
6. Text Messaging
7. Electronic Messages and the Law
8. Types of Web Presence
9. Writing for the Web
10. Wikis for Business
11. Blogs for Business
12. Making a Professional Impression with Voice Mail
13. Cell Phone Communication
· E-lectures — Slides with engaging narration of key concepts—useful as reinforcement of lectures and exam reviews—are available through the CourseMate site for BCOM3.
· Resource Slides — A larger deck of slides for instructors for displaying in the classroom; these slides for class enrichment and solutions to activities and applications are also available at the companion website (Instructor’s Resources) and on the Instructor’s CD.
Slide Number and Title
1. Chapter 5 Communicating Electronically
2. Learning Objectives
3. Learning Objective 1 Discuss the effective use of email and instant messages in business communication.
4. Benefits of Email
5. Guidelines for Preparing Email Messages
6. Elements of an Effective Subject Line
7. Netiquette Fundamentals
8. Email Abbreviations
9. Email Formatting Guidelines
10. Email Message: Why It Works
11. Instant Messaging
12. Instant Message: Why It Works
13. Text Messaging
14. Electronic Messages and the Law
15. Evidence Mail: Avoid the Legal Dangers
16. Learning Objective 2 Explain principles for writing effectively for the Web.
17. Types of Web Presence
18. Web Users . . .
19. Writing for the Web
20. Designing and Launching a Website
21. Wikis for Business
22. Blogs for Business
23. Learning Objective 3 Discuss effective use of voice and wireless technologies in business communication.
24. Wireless Communication: The Future is NOW!
25. Making a Professional Impression with Voice Mail
26. Preparing Voice Mail Greetings
27. Leaving Voice Mail Messages
28. Cell Phone Communication
29. Learning Objective 4 Identify ethical and legal implications associated with technology.
30. Appropriate Use of Technology
Teaching Suggestions
Learning Objective 1
Discuss the effective use of email and instant messaging in business communication.
ELECTRONIC MAIL COMMUNICATION
· Discuss how email is the communication tool used most often in business to communicate with colleagues, supervisors, customers/clients, vendors, and potential customers. Ask students to read the article below that outlines these points: writing creates an image, good writing attracts customers, and business writing must be checked and proofread.
Watson, J. (n.d.). Writing: An important tool in business. Presentation-Pointers.com. Retrieved from www.presentation-pointers.com/showarticle/articleid/167.
· Ask them to give examples of companies communicating electronically with them, either as consumers or possibly as potential employees. Remind students that email messages should follow the same grammar, spelling, punctuation and usage rules as other forms of written communication.
─ Stress that studies show that well-informed employees perform better, suffer less stress, and have lower absenteeism than their less-informed counterparts. Share examples supporting the point:
─ Ask students to read the article below that describes the cancellation of a town-hall-style meeting for employees of the merged Merrill Lynch and Bank of America. Ask students to contemplate what they would want to know from the “higher ups” after a major merger.
Hood, J. (2009, January 9). Employee comms is not a luxury during down times. PR Week (U.S.).
─ Disney uses employee information booths containing video and telephone hotlines, and LCD displays that highlight company information and events in each employee’s work area. This service helps Disney employees feel more connected in this large company.
· Ask students to locate articles that relate other examples of how organizations are using traditional and electronic communication to share information.
Advantages of Email
· Show the visual as you discuss the benefits of communicating electronically.
Resource slide 4: Benefits of Email
· Ask students to imagine working with colleagues around the world without electronic communication. Discuss the difficulties they might encounter with global communication and no available email. Examples might include higher phone bills for long distance conversations, higher shipping costs for overseas overnight shipping, playing “message tag” when employees are on different time schedules for office time, etc.
Guidelines for Preparing Email Messages
· Show the visual as you discuss guidelines for preparing email messages. Use the “Check Your Communication” checklist as a basis for discussion.
· Discuss the good example of an email message in Figure 5-1 on page 73 in the textbook. What makes this an effective email message? Ask your students if they have additional suggestions for improving the message.
Resource slide 5: Guidelines for Preparing Email Messages
Resource slide 10: Email Message: Why It Works
Useful Subject Line
· Discuss the suggestions for subject lines on p. 71 as you shown the visual.
Resource slide 6: Elements of an Effective Subject Line
· Assign Activity 1 that requires students to write useful subject lines for various situations.
Single Topic Directed Toward the Receiver’s Needs
· Remind students to include only one subject per message to aid the receiver in answering or accomplishing needed tasks and in filing messages by topic. Including only one topic also aids in writing a specific, descriptive subject line.
Sequence of Ideas Based on Anticipated Reader Reaction
· Emphasize the principles of organizing that apply to electronic communication.
· Empathy is the key to proper organization.
Careful Use of Jargon
· Jargon is acceptable when communicating within the organization, as long as everyone understands the terminology. Present analogies that emphasize the value and cautions of using jargon:
─ People who sail for recreation have a language of their own. They communicate using terms such as starboard, port, and jib. People who are unfamiliar with these terms cannot communicate without first learning the jargon.
─ Internet users also have a distinctive language. They communicate using terms such as blog, flame, spam, cookie, etc. Instant messaging has its own style of shorthand jargon—BTW, TTFN, ROTFL, IMHO, etc.
· Remind students that knowing their audience will aid them in knowing whether jargon is acceptable.
· Ask students to work in groups of three or four to think of other activities, organizations, professional fields, or situations where jargon is used. Ask them to generate a list of jargon typical to each example.
Graphic Highlighting
· Discuss using graphic highlighting to strengthen email messages.
· Discuss types of email software available, i.e., HTML-based software vs. text-based software, and point out the kinds of graphic highlighting each will recognize. HTML-based software, such as Microsoft Outlook, will recognize bold, bullets, and graphic images. Text-based software will not recognize these graphic highlights.
· Students should be aware of these differences and write their messages accordingly. If they are uncertain about the receiver’s software, students should not use bold, bullets, images. Instead, they should use all caps, double hyphens or numbers, and attachments (for images).
Careful proofreading
· Discuss the need for proofreading in email messages. Remind students that the correctness of the content of email message can be even more important than in a letter. Because email can be forwarded easily, message with incorrect information can be distributed more quickly.
· Ask students to read the articles that discuss the need for thinking about email before using it and for proofreading an email message the way one would a printed document.
Maddox, M. (2007). Sending an email without proofreading is like shooting a gun without aiming. Fayetteville, AR: Daily Writing Tips.com. Retrieved from www.dailywritingtips.com/sending-an-email-without-proofreading-is-like-shooting-a-gun-without-aiming
Dumaine, D. (2004). Edit your email. Personal Excellence, 9(10), 12.
Formatting Email Messages
· Point students to the email formatting guidelines in Appendix A on pp. A–12 to A–14 and the visual.
Resource slide 9: Email Formatting Guidelines
· Discuss the use of email shorthand, such as BCNU, FYI, and TTFN, and emoticons. Ask students whether they are appropriate for business use.
· Emphasize the need for a signature file at the end of the message by asking about their experiences with email contacts from retail companies. Have they ever tried to contact someone at the company regarding an email about their orders and not been able to find a person’s name or phone number?
· Assign Activity 2. Project the poor example from the book and point out problems to students. Ask students to share examples of how they revised the message. Then project the good example and point out the improvements.
· Assign Application 3 that requires students to find examples of well-written and poorly written company email messages and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each. Discuss student examples in class.
Effective Use of Email
· Use the following visual to support a discussion of effective procedures for communicating electronically. Lead students in a discussion of what may result in organizations that ignore netiquette issues.
Resource slide 7: Netiquette Fundamentals
· Assign Activity 9 that expands students’ thinking about appropriate and inappropriate uses of email.
· Ask students whether they have ever broken a personal relationship via text message or email? Or has someone broken a relationship with them that way? How did they feel or how do they image that someone would feel in that situation?
· Ask students to read the article below about text message break-ups and why they are bad. Have them apply the reasons and tips given to a business situation, e.g. firing an employee via email or text message. Ask them to relate their experiences with bad news being delivered electronically.
Faulks, R. & Vasen, D. (2007, July 16). Text message break up. San Francisco, CA: LoveToKnow Corp. Retrieved from www.lovetoknow.com/Text_Message_Break_Up.
· Show students http://snopes.com, a site that provides information about email hoaxes and computer viruses. Discuss the appropriate response after the receipt of such a message. Use the Resource slide below to assess student opinions.
· What legal responsibilities does an organization have for abusive or harassing messages generated on the company system?
· What computer hoaxes have you received over email? Point out the websites on page 74 that will aid students in determining whether a suspect message is true. Be certain to caution students that social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, are also common sources of viruses and spyware.
Instant Messaging
· Discuss instant messaging as a business communication tool. How can instant messaging aid in communicating with colleagues, client, and vendors? For example, an employee on the phone with a client can instant message a vendor for a price and then relay the price to the client, all in a matter of seconds, or possibly minutes.
· Discuss the good example in Figure 5-2 on p. 75 in the textbook. How does this message follow good writing style but still conform to the instant message medium?
· Discuss the disadvantage of instant messaging, emphasizing potential non-work use and the dangers of false identity and eavesdropping.
Resource slide 11: Instant Messaging
Resource slide 12: Instant Message—Why It Works
Text Messaging
· Discuss the differences between email and text messaging. Show the visual as you talk about the uses of text messaging for business communication.
Resource slide 13: text messaging
· Discuss Figure 5-3 on page 76 in the textbook as you discuss the transition from one medium to another.
· Assign Activity 3 that requires students to develop a professional sounding email from a text message.
Electronic Messages and the Law
· Remind students they are responsible for the content of their email messages. Discuss the problems with writing email messages when angry.
· Ask “Has the speed of email and other electronic communication ever lulled you into a false sense that your messages don’t have legal and ethical ramifications?”
· Remind students that email messages are printable and that copies serve as verification.
· Ask students if they think using information from the Internet is above copyright laws and does not constitute plagiarism if used with permission and attribution. Lead into a discussion of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), which allows companies to monitor email usage for legitimate business purposes after notifying employees.
· Ask students to read the following article:
Dell, K. & Cullen, L.T. (2006, September 11). Snooping bosses. Time, 168(11), 62.
Discuss the ramifications of snooping, when employees have been informed of the electronic communication usage policy that they reserve the right to look wherever, whenever.