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We'll have our test on the Business Communication unit as soon as we get back. Please study your Quizlet terms so you'll be ready. Please make good use of your time. See you soon!

Communication Networks

Businesses generally have two types of communication networks, formal and informal. Formal networks are official sources of information that carry messages approved by the company. Companies typically release information in the form of press releases. In some cases, such as major product announcements or expansions, companies may have press conferences in order to answer direct questions from the news media. Informal networks are what you would expect, networks of informal communication about a company. While not official, companies may leak information to the press or certain individuals for various reasons. Companies may want to shape the discussion of new products, influence their stock price or interfere with a competitor's message.

Formal Networks

Take a look at the following section of Apple Computer's Web site. This is an official communication channel that apple uses to release product announcements or other official information about the company.

https://www.apple.com/pr/

Here is the official press release section of Nike's Web site.

http://news.nike.com/press-release

Look over both of these sites and make a note of the types of messages being sent out. Who are these companies targeting with their messages? What messages do you find interesting?


Informal Networks

Now take a look at a couple of informal network Web sites that carry information about Apple computer and Nike. Are there stories that are reported on the informal networks that are not reported on the formal ones?

http://www.macrumors.com/

http://www.macnn.com/

Here is a site with information on Nike:

http://sneakernews.com/category/nike-sb/

http://www.nikeblog.com/


Assignment:

1. Select a company, Apple or Nike.

2. Choose a story from their official site. Analyze the story answering the following questions:

• What type of information is being presented? Financial? Promotional? Public interest?
• Who would be interested in reading this story? A consumer, investor, employee, government regulator? 
• Why is the company releasing this information? Is their goal to generate interest, increase sales, increase stock price, thwart government regulation or some other reason?

3. Choose a story from an informal network Web site. Analyze the story answering the following questions:

• What is the story about?
• Who would be interested in reading this story and why?
• How do you think the writer got essential information for this story? 
• How could the company use this story to their advantage?

4. Use your notes to write your answers down in the form of an essay. Create a Google Document titled Communication Networks. Format your paper in Times New Roman 12 point, double-spaced text. Copy and paste the URLs for your stories at the top of the page. Create two paragraphs to analyze the stories, one paragraph for the formal network story and one for the informal network story. 

5. Share your paper using the blue share button in the upper right hand corner of the Google Document page. You should be able to complete this paper within the hour.

Rubric: This project is worth 15 points, so do your best work. I'll be grading this paper on the following scale. 

Formatting: 0-5 This should be simple. Just set your paper up using the instructions above.

Grammar Usage and Punctuation: 0-5 Please proof read your paper carefully. 

Completeness: 0-5 Please read the questions carefully and make sure you answer all of them.

Total points available: 15

Emotional Interference

Sometimes our emotions can get in the way of effective communication. This is called emotional interference. Certain words or situations can trigger emotional and physical responses that responses that can't be entirely controlled. The emotions can come from the sender, receiver or even the medium itself. Consider the following forms of speech:

1. Burning an American flag.
2. Wearing a Nazi swastika armband.
3. Burning a cross in a public space.
4. Publishing a cartoon of Mohammed.
5. A weather siren going off in the middle of a storm.

Think: Which of these forms of speech would evoke an emotional reaction in you? Are there certain words or names that you find offensive or evoke an emotional response in you?

Emotional interference can result for some of the following reasons:

• Frame of Reference - preconceived notions or prejudice, inability to see from another's point of view.
• Intercultural Differences - Misinterpretation of meaning due to lack of shared values or experiences.
• Attitudinal Barriers - One party has had a bad experience with the sender/receiver/medium

Read: Read the following story of how David Howard lost his job as an assistant to the mayor of Washington DC.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/williams/williams020499.htm


Assignment:  On a sheet of notebook paper, answer the following questions concerning the article:

Why did David Howard lose his job?
What role did emotional interference play in his firing?
Why was he re-hired by the mayor?
What lessons do you believe each party learned from this incident?

Turn in your paper at the end of class. This paper is worth 5 points.

Say again?

Read these sign out loud.

Now read it again. carefully this time. Miss anything?

How about this...

Try this one....

  Now see if you can count the number of "F"s in this sign.

Sometimes, what we think we're reading can be the greatest barrier to actually getting the message. The reason for this is that we actually do not read each letter of each word. Try this...

Activity:

The class will be divided into teams.

This activity involves you in transposing a piece of information. A supplier has sent you a document and you want to communicate its main points to a section of your staff. The staff concerned are those working directly with the new machinery that is being discussed in the document. This new equipment is an integral part of a drive to improve efficiency so its successful implementation is seen as being important.


Your task is to summarize the main points in the following document in as few a words as possible. It is a document sent by Supplier X to Company B regarding the delivery of the new equipment ordered by Company B.

This machine is a highly specialized precision built piece and as such needs to be handled with care. The Company (hereafter referred to as the 'Supplier') will not be liable for any damage caused by incorrect usage or failure to follow the guidelines contained in the manual and online help facility provided by the purchaser (hereafter referred to as the 'Buyer').
The machine must be installed by fully qualified IS0 9000 accredited engineers according to the specifications laid down in the contract of purchase. Notwithstanding the liability of the Supplier for any defects in the manufacture of the equipment prior to delivery, the Buyer must ensure familiarity with the conditions of installation and operation at all times.
Installation should be carried out under ambient temperatures - extremes of temperature should be avoided. The equipment must be stored in the eventual location for a period not less than 36 hours prior to unpacking to allow for the dispersal of any condensation that could affect internal components. Once this has been completed the packaging must be removed in strict order as detailed in the aforementioned manual. The power supply is designed for use in UK and European countries utilizing 240v AC supplies. Any variations to such power supplies must be corrected by the use of suitable transformers at the expense of the Buyer. No warranty can be offered for incorrect power supplies and the subsequent damage this could cause.
The unit must be fully earthed and wired in acordance with the regulations laid down by the regulatory bodies dealing with health and safety in the workplace in the relevant country of use as well as any regulations apertaining to member states of the European Union.
The unit needs to be powered up on completing the installation and run for a period no less than 48 hours but no more than 72 hours, before loading appropriate raw materials onto the machine. Introduction of the raw materials must only be carried out following certification of the working order of the machine by the appropriate supervisor who should register the successful trial run with the Supplier.
Periodically, the machine must be shut down and fully cleaned. The period of continued use must not exceed 27 days in any one calendar month but can be less as dictated by the usage of the machine. Maintenance must not be carried out by any site employee from the Buyer; such maintenance will invalidate any warranty on the machine.
Changes to the operational features can be made through amending the software settings. Any person so doing must be fully conversant with M (Mumps) language and the characteristics of distributed cache protocol and the relational capabilities of the language with SQL.
We hope that you enjoy using this machine and that it adds to the efficiency and productivity of the business.

Write down your simplified instructions and send them to your staff to see if they can understand the main points. Create a document in Google docs, name your file Simplified Instructions and format your instructions in a clear and readable manner. Make good choices to make your document as readable as possible. Each teams work will be shown to the class for evaluation.

Who? What? A model for communication.

Have you ever felt like you were talking but you weren't being heard? We know what we are trying to communicate but how do we know that we are being heard?

Think of the Profit video we watched earlier this week. What did Marcus spend most of his time doing? It turns out that most managers spend the majority of their time communicating. But how do we know we are communicating effectively? Take a look at the following communication model.

How does the Source (sender) know they are being heard? What could interfere with the message? How would you define "noise"?

Think about the following channels (mediums):

phone
e-mail
letter
text
fax
face-to-face meeting
tweet
blog post
news article
advertising

Discuss: What are the advantages and disadvantages of each medium?

Look at the following list. Which medium would you choose for each situation and why?

1. You buy a new pair of basketball shoes and they fall apart. The store refuses to take them back saying you were too hard on them. How would you complain to the company to get the issue resolved?

2. You have an employee who is chronically late to work. You need to correct this situation or have this person fired.

3. While you were out of the office, a loyal customer came in to your business to pick up some merchandise that was not ready. Now they're are upset. How do you reach out to them?

4. You have a customer that has not paid the outstanding balance on a bill. They will not answer a phone call. How else could you reach out to them?

5. A customer needs to receive a quick response to a request for a quote. How do you let them know a price?

6. You need an out of state customer to sign a contract for an order you're about to produce. How do you need to get the contract signed?

7. You have a new product you need to release to the public for the first time. How will you get the message out?

8. You need to thank a friend for a business gift.

9. You have a disagreement with a customer over the terms of a contract. You need to have some points of the agreement clarified.

Assignment: Answer these questions on a sheet of paper and turn it in for your daily grade.  5 points

Miscommunication

Take a look at these English translations of foreign signs. What do you think the source was trying to communicate? How would you re-word these signs?

Take a look at these modified signs. How did the source of these messages attempt to communicate in a more effective manner? Do you think they were successful?