I thought the highlighted terms were linked to a glossary, but that wasn't the case. This is an easy text to recommend for more experienced instructors, as they may have assignments, exercises, and example documents already at hand. Since slang and pop culture are moving targets, I would have eliminated that exercise completely and let the students self-direct this exercise by sharing slang words in their own language with the class. Overall examples are current and helpful. The structure of the book in its entirety is too grand. Effective business communication requires people skills, language skills, and the finesse to say things the things you need in a way that gets your goals met. It definitely seeks comprehensiveness, to introduce a complete spectrum of business communication methodology. Each chapter is well organized with distinct subsections which would give the instructor flexibility in how they wanted to assign the text. Students seem to read increasingly less, or if they do, don't comprehend well information presented only in lengthy textual form. It's arrangement and scope of coverage are comparable to the largest for profit books used in the field. There are no interface issues, except that there is not much to excite the reader into reading. It's no worse than the majority of books in the area, but I wish it were better. This text is an excellent resource for communications instructors. There are a lot of links to internet sites, I referenced quite a few and they seemed to load up quickly. Clear and to the point - as business writing should be. Free of major grammatical errors. If my students needed help with grammar, they would need to consult other resources for this. I was disappointed with the slang used in Chapter 2's introductory exercises. CC BY-NC-SA, Reviewed by Katherine Hatzis, Senior Lecturer II, University of Massachusetts Boston on 6/27/20, The book covers everything that one would want to teach in a business communication course. Since readers will most likely reference this book from a laptop/phone or tablet, the assumption is that they would be able to seamlessly go from reading the material to answering the discussions via BlackBoard or whatever learning software their school adopts. While I did not utilize the sections in this book the way the chapters are organized, they do seem organized overall in a logical fashion. As noted under consistency the text can easily be mixed together, which is very important given the differences in certain types of chapters (list/definition chapters vs. actual applied writing chapters). Overall, the book covers a wide range of topics. However, the author could easily update the examples with more recent events. However, the focus is on (presumably) North American business English demands. Global news and information. I did not follow the organization or structure of the text as it was in any way, that was the only challenge I found with using this text. However, I did wish there were sections on other types of business writing. Some of the exercises seem a bit “silly”; and the author seems to prefer “fives and sixes” for just about every exercise. Otherwise, I was not distracted by anything else. Students know exactly what to expect in each chapter. Chapters 16-19 are a little bit of a grab-bag with regard to their topics. Again, the content is accurate, but it is necessary to hop, skip and jump around to make use of this book. For example, it includes The book had multiple examples, although some of the references might feel a bit dated for our students (ie. This appeared to be the weakest part of the book...the chapter arrangements. I often find myself having to scroll back to Contents. A great free text, would have loved to have some supporting materials; test modules, ppt slides. 10), the text often focuses on academic writing demands. Due to nature of subject matter, some references will become outdated. Each chapter in this text has been organized the same way. All 10 examples of page 35, appeared to be derived from African American slang...certainly not inclusive. Reviewed by Margarette Connor, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Lehman College/CUNY on 6/19/18, This text covers all the areas I would want to cover in my 300-level business writing class, including non-verbal communications and international communications, two topics I find are often underrepresented in many texts. Solid overview of foundations of business communication. It lacks an index section, however, so unless your students know how to search a PDF for... I would have liked to see a workbook or case to be worked throughout the term. I did not find any grammatical errors. This book needs updating to more thoroughly address evolutions in technologies. From the basics of the communications model to group work effectiveness, this book has the components to teach students important skills they will need in the... The content of the text is still relevant today. read more. I wouldn't call it inaccurate, but I find it underdeveloped. read more. From the basics of the communications model to group work effectiveness, this book has the components to teach students important skills they will need in the business environment. The text is culturally relevant and would be very useful in business communication courses. This text was exceptionally well written and very comprehensive. Some charts and graphs are fuzzy, while others could be adjusted for better formatting. Many of the Learning Objectives and Key Takeaways suggest an introductory-level rather than upper-level course. The sections were easy to read and were divided adequately. The text covers a lot of information however it is easily divided into subsections and does a nice job highlighting the important pieces in each area. The coverage given to the writing process and its practices is also particularly good -- something not often included in business communication-related texts. Some sections are really focused on overall rhetorical styles and classical rhetoric, with a bit of business window dressing. Many of my students like pared down yet comprehensive texts, and I think they'd like this. Communication is such an essential leadership skill and myself and a fellow Associate Professor teaching this course found that student's skills in that area were... At nearly 800 pages, the text is immensely comprehensive. Paragraphs are well-structured and easy to read, and sentence flow is easy for readers. It reduced both friction with our course materials and my need to be technical support, while increasing engagement through allowing students choices and the ability to pursue additional knowledge on their own. Excellent choice for an upper level business writing course. The book is organized in a clear fashion. The book covers everything that one would want to teach in a business communication course. The book is consistent in its style, framework, and the rhythms of its language. Business norms may change, but the main focus is on underlying writing and rhetorical competency, and any updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement. I think some might find the use of an egalitarian approach to be biased, but not me. The orderliness of the book conforms to an academic curriculum. These would make word or phrase searches less time-consuming. Great text! University of Minnesota-Twin Cities offers 2 Mass Communication Degree programs. The text is clearly written throughout, relying on a few pages of prose per section, which are well-segmented, and followed by "key takeaway" boxes and exercises. Learn more about the communication studies major and minor programs. The book would be suitable for business communication courses or business and professional speaking. A more thorough exploration per section (instead of, for example, Section 6.3 Making an Argument then much later Section 17.2 Delivering a Negative News Message) would have been welcome. Chapter 18 is pretty in-depth about the intercultural/international aspect. Still, because many options are offered, the instructor or learner would be free to find something appropropriate. Some of the included discussion questions are a little outdated. The credibility of the content is strengthened by the consistency. The book would be suitable for business communication courses or business and professional speaking. Otherwise clear and accurate. Students may choose to use a 3XXX level business second language course taken at the University of Minnesota or abroad as one of their depth classes. I downloaded the entire book as a PDF. This appeared to be fine too. Similarly, “Context” would be the high-level category with “Intercultural and International” under it.). Only complaint is the redundancy of information across multiple chapters. Consistent in its terminology and organization. The writing is clear and it does not use difficult language so this text would be appropriate for ESL or International business students as well. More pragmatically oriented classes, however, will benefit from this instructional approach. However, I would like to see more videos and visuals. Again, I believe the book requires an index or glossary. Comparable to most business communication texts available commercially. A student can expect not only a clear, steady framework of Objectives, Takeaways and Exercises, but, most valuably, thorough chapter Reference sections. In addition, recent case studies of specific firms and incidents are one aspect that would be found in publisher based texts that open texts, by their nature, must sacrifice. Because of this attention to detail, I can envision this book being an excellent resource for an entry level junior manager or a refresher for a seasoned professional as their communications needs evolve throughout their career. For example, I did not spend as much time on International Business Communications. The only thing that I didn't like was navigating through the textbook. I would have like more information regarding how to facilitate a meeting, ethical communication, and organizational culture. Consistent topics covered in Business Communication in Success text compared to other Business Communication texts. The examples are relevant and illustrative--compelling. All 10 examples of page 35, appeared to be derived from African American slang...certainly not inclusive. This text is already divided into small reading sections and each is numbered in a clear way, manageable online. While some may need to make formal presentations, the majority of workers do not. Business Communication for Success Business Communication for Success [AUTHOR REMOVED AT REQUEST OF ORIGINAL PUBLISHER] UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA LIBRARIES PUBLISHING EDITION, 2015. Very clear and comprehensive table of contents facilitates use. Here are some of those stories. This text was exceptionally well written and very comprehensive. Business Communication for Success provides an overview of the main areas of communication and highlights additional resources at the end of each chapter. Could add the importance of how to successfully develop a communication plan using CRM. I integrated this book as a supplement in a Psychology of Leadership course. Since the bulk of business communication is online now, I would like to see at least full chapter dedicated to texting, email and internet communication. I was unable to get the search option to work on my Kindle. None of these passages seemed debilitating, and could likely be avoided by assigning chapters or sections selectively across the text. Within the chapters, the information is laid out in a clear manner. Very small issue, but the references at the end of the chapters need to be reformatted with a hanging indent and consistent margins. read more. Modularity is another great strength of this text. We are dedicated to teaching students both the communication skills required for success in business, family, and civic life and the cutting edge research in communication. The book's interface was fine. I added a few modules to address today's social mediums in more detail. The text is organized well and can be navigated seamlessly with how each section is labeled. Furthermore, though this textbook does explain how to write a resume, memo, letter, business proposal, and report, it does not include any information on how to improve writing style or mechanics. Business communication for success.. -- Business Communication for Success (BCS) provides a comprehensive, integrated approach to the study and application of written and oral business communication to serve both student and professor. The book would be suitable for business communication courses or business and professional speaking. Publisher: The relatively short modules also suggested several possible ways in which I could smoothly reorganize them and use them in a class without making the sequence seem disjointed. One of the challenges of working in Communication as a field is that much of our content is taken for granted or treated as common sense. Yet, with the goal being teaching toward the learning needs of the students in our classrooms, we Because paragraphs are not indented, it makes it extremely hard to see where paragraphs begin and end. Nothing is distracting or confusing, but I also wouldn't rate it high on engagement (visuals are different in different formats and sometimes have issues with clarity). While not every platform is mainstream, the ones that are increasingly used in professional settings certainly need to be taught at the collegiate level in a comprehensive manner. This text was consistent in terminology and framework. The sections on business communication and approaches are clearest and most consistent. I found the text to be very readable, engaging and interesting and one that I am considering adopting. Find Communication Skills for University Success at Minneapolis, Minnesota, along with other Health in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For example, adjectives and adverbs are tackled after sentence fragments and other sentence-level errors (which are unanalyzable if readers do not understand basic word-level grammar). Very consistent tone and voice throughout. For the presentation of grammar and mechanics, I would supplement with more genre-specific projects, but the succinct and broad overview of grammar makes a good basic resource. This is contrast to many available texts which have long chapters which are dense with content, much of which is too much detail for an undergraduate course. In 2015, 16 students graduated in the study area of Mass Communication with students earning 10 Doctoral degrees, and 6 Master's degrees. Most of the book is strictly text with limited images. I would prefer a more advanced textbook but this text works well for a lower level or introductory course. As a reader, I do not have a clear sense as to why chapters appear in a particular order. Students commented on the accessibility of the tone, and I have found no errors. However, it is difficult to find a textbook that provides both sufficient breadth and depth of coverage whether open-source or not. However, it offers breadth over depth, which is fine for an introductory business communication course. The charts and pictures that are included are without distortions. At some points in the section it seems like they are discussing formal written communication and speeches, while at other times any general kind of message. read more. This book is very comprehensive. It’s not taxing and presents information in a way that will engage the reader. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike The topics of social media and managing interactive stakeholder communication could perhaps be added in Chapter 3 or Chapter 16. The content, in terms of the concepts and theories of communication, and the explanations and examples presented, is accurate and supported by citation of relevant and relatively recent sources. I am a stickler for grammar, and I found no errors in my reading. I find it too expansive, its attempt to be all-encompassing creating qualitative and theoretical deficiencies, and its lack of actual workplace examples a serious deficit, but it does make easy access to core principles in accessible language. The headings are descriptive and each section has numerous graphics, video links, and "key takeaways" that provide an ongoing summary of the material covered. or Trip Advisor requires thoughtful handling; organizational communications strategies for dealing with such scenarios should be presented, along with relevant theory or/or research from the professional literature on online business communication. Perhaps consider a collection of handouts/electronic worksheets? 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