1111 2 Business Communication 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 411 This is a comprehensive introduction to modern business communication which integrates commu- 5 nication theory and practice and challenges many orthodox views of the communication process. 6 Business Communication analyses how effective communication can be achieved in 7 organizations that are changing to meet new social, economic and technological demands. 8 The subjects covered include: 9 20111 I Interpersonal communication, including the use and analysis of non-verbal communication 1 I Group communication, including practical techniques to support discussion and meetings 2 I Written presentation, including both paper and electronic documents 3 I Oral presentation 4 I The use of electronic media 5 As well as developing their own practical skills, readers will be able to: 6 7 I Understand important principles underlying modern business communication 8 I Apply these principles in varied business and corporate contexts 9 I Critically analyse these principles, and their applications 30 I Evaluate the role of communication in the changing business context 1 2 While many other texts simply suggest that there is only one best way of approaching a specific 3 communication task, this book points out alternatives and highlights controversies. 4 This is an ideal text for undergraduates and postgraduates who are studying business commu- 5 nication at degree level, or as an advanced professional qualification. Through its direct style and 6 practical relevance, it will also satisfy professional readers at work who want to develop their 7 understanding and skills. 8 9 Peter Hartley is Professor of Communication at Sheffield Hallam University. He has published 40 widely and was a part of the team that developed the first British degree in communication studies. 1 Clive G. Bruckmann has held positions in industry and research, and until his retirement was 2 Head of the Communication Studies Division at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is 3 currently an examiner in business communication. 4111 Business Communication Peter Hartley and Clive G. Bruckmann TL E D U G O E R • • T a p y u lo ro r G & Francis LondonandNew York First published 2002 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York NY 10001 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group © 2002 Peter Hartley and Clive G. Bruckmann All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Hartley, Peter. Business communication / Peter Hartley and Clive G. Bruckmann. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Business communication. I. Bruckmann, Clive G., 1946– II. Title HF5718 .H2915 2002 658.4′5–dc21 2001048113 ISBN 0-203-93004-5 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0–415–19549–7 (hbk) ISBN 0–415–19550–0 (pbk) 1111 2 3 4 Contents 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 411 List of figures vii 5 List of tables viii 6 List of boxes ix 7 Preface xi 8 Acknowledgements xv 9 Introduction 1 20111 1 Part one COMMUNICATION FUNDAMENTALS 9 2 3 1 Analysing communication 11 4 2 Communication codes and meaning 29 5 3 Intercultural communication 47 6 Part two COMMUNICATION AND ORGANIZATIONS IN CONTEXT 67 7 8 4 Organizational culture and communication 69 9 5 Information and communications technology (ICT) in organizations 90 30 6 Organizational structure and communication 112 1 Part three WRITTEN COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATIONS 137 2 3 7 Business writing: planning and organizing 139 4 8 Effective writing style 163 5 9 Effective design and visual aids 185 6 10 Effective business documents 209 7 Part four INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATIONS 239 8 9 11 Effective interpersonal communication: defining interpersonal skills 241 40 12 Interpersonal skills in action: communicating face to face 264 1 13 Meetings and presentations 286 2 14 Building effective teams 311 3 4111 v CONTENTS Part five COMMUNICATION AND CHANGE 333 15 Understanding organizational change 335 16 Making communication work: summary principles 349 Bibliography 354 Index 371 vi 1111 2 3 4 Figures 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 411 1.1 Action plan 16 5 1.2 Model of a communication process 18 6 1.3 Systems model of communication 20 7 4.1 Determinants of organizational culture 87 8 5.1 Winston’s model showing restraints on the acceptance of new technology 93 6.1 Simple organization chart of a manufacturing company 113 9 6.2 Basic matrix structure of an organization 123 20111 7.1 Sharples’s model of writing as creative design 143 1 7.2 Structuring information: the planning triangle 145 2 7.3 Structuring information: pyramid structure 153 3 7.4 Spider diagram used to plan this chapter 153 4 9.1 Comparing sales and profits in Departments A and B 197 5 9.2 Example of line graph 202 6 9.3 Example of bar chart 203 7 9.4 Line graph with label to suggest the important conclusion 203 8 9.5 Line graph with suppressed zero 205 9 9.6 Line graph without suppressed zero 205 30 9.7 Sales data expressed as bar chart 206 9.8 Sales data in 3D cylinders 206 1 9.9 Fitting a line 207 2 10.1 The memo matrix 213 3 11.1 Hartley’s model of interpersonal communication 243 4 11.2 Hargie’s revised model of social skills 245 5 11.3 Styles of behaviour 252 6 11.4 Crossed transaction 256 7 13.1 Dimensions of meetings 289 8 9 40 1 2 3 4111 vii Tables 1.1 The ‘essential components’ of communication? 19 2.1 Differences between spoken and written language 37 4.1 Components of organizational culture 71 4.2 Harrison’s model of cultures and structures 77 5.1 Development of IT in business organizations 106 6.1 Organization subsystems and their communication 116 7.1 Suggested steps in business writing, as proposed by various authors 141 7.2 Main strategies used by writers 144 7.3 Paragraph structure 156 7.4 Elements of a persuasive letter 161 8.1 How a letter can be improved 169 8.2 Agreement on Plain English 174 8.3 Inappropriate corrections recommended by Word 97’s grammar checker 178 9.1 Levels of heading in this book 193 9.2 Sales data 197 9.3 Matching story to visuals 198 9.4 Forms of visual aid 198 10.1 Basic report structure 223 10.2 Different report structures 227 11.1 Interpersonal communication as a staged process 261 12.1 The ladder of inference 269 12.2 The interview as planned communication 277 12.3 Stages in the selection interview 278 12.4 Appraisal as planned communication 281 13.1 Tropman’s seven categories of agenda items 293 13.2 Group decision-making methods 297 13.3 Planning a presentation 303 13.4 Planning electronic presentations 308 14.1 Tuckman’s four-stage model of group development 315 14.2 Wheelan’s model of group development 317 14.3 Working through Wheelan’s stages of group development 317 14.4 Comparing leadership and management 320 14.5 Team roles, as identified by Belbin 322 viii 1111 2 3 4 Boxes 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 1.1 Simple messages can fail 13 411 1.2 What do we do with this? 15 5 2.1 Language and social identity 32 6 2.2 A compilation of registers 33 7 2.3 Marilyn Monroe – the voice of safety? 35 8 2.4 The business card as communicator 38 9 2.5 Corporate-speak: new words or new actions? 44 20111 3.1 The need for intercultural training 50 1 3.2 Different cultural approaches to rhetoric 54 2 3.3 Is the organization a system or a group? 57 3 3.4 The gender issue in English: an answer from another culture? 60 3.5 When talk is different 63 4 4.1 Organizational culture and creative design 72 5 4.2 A new company culture is announced 74 6 4.3 But how do the workers experience the culture? 75 7 4.4 The McDonaldization thesis 80 8 4.5 Expressions of the company culture 86 9 5.1 The technology has changed – what do we do now? And how do we 30 continue to make money? 94 1 5.2 Commingling bits 95 2 5.3 Software with ‘intelligence’? 97 3 5.4 IT can transform a business 98 4 5.5 Hypertext on the Web 103 5 5.6 Writing for the Web – the twenty-first-century version of desktop publishing? 104 5.7 The three waves of IT 105 6 5.8 The computer is in charge: nothing can go wrong, go wrong, go wrong . 109 7 6.1 Communicating with stakeholders 115 8 6.2 The re-engineering process 121 9 6.3 Does the representative system communicate effectively? 125 40 6.4 The changing face of the office 130 1 6.5 Using new technology to support structural change 132 2 7.1 How should we plan Web sites? 142 3 7.2 Are you a bricklayer or an oil painter? 143 4111 7.3 Who is your ‘model communicator’? 146 ix BOXES 7.4 Structuring documents 158 8.1 Contenders for the Golden Bull 165 8.2 The politics of language style 172 8.3 This organization has rules 173 8.4 Where Plain English disrupted the organizational structure 175 8.5 Simplified English 177 8.6 Microsoft may not know what you mean! 178 8.7 Why doesn’t my word processor know I’m British? 181 9.1 The PC is not a typewriter 187 9.2 Typefaces in action 191 9.3 Example of a design grid 195 9.4 Using Ehrenberg’s principles for presenting data in tables 201 9.5 Practical guidelines