neprisstore.blob.core.windows.net€¦ · Web viewCoca-Cola recently compiled a set of social media guidelines (see Figure 8.13). Notice the principles of appropriate social media

Instructor’s Manual to Accompany

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Developing Leaders for a Networked World (2e)

By Peter W. Cardon

Chapter 8:Social Media for Business Communication

IM 8-1© 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

Teaching Note

Hello Fellow Instructor,

We certainly have a tough task to prepare our students well to communicate effectively with the many available communication tools.

This is the second of two chapters about technology. Our students live a world of technology-mediated communication, and the workplace they will enter requires them to communicate professionally with many emerging forms of communication tools. This chapter focuses primarily on social and collaborative tools that are increasingly used for workplace communication.

I often hear business communication instructors talk about the struggles of teaching a “tech-savvy” generation. I think we are the perfect people to teach about using technology. Using the tools requires professional judgment about building workplace relationships effectively and getting work tasks done. We can help this “tech-savvy” generation to use various communication tools wisely.

Please contact me anytime – to share your experiences, your ideas, and your reactions.

Best of wishes,

Peter W. Cardon, MBA, Ph.D.Associate ProfessorCenter for Management CommunicationUniversity of Southern California

Email: [email protected]: @petercardonFacebook: facebook.com/cardonbcommWeb: cardonbcom.com


Chapter 8 Summary and PowerPoint Notes

SLIDE 8-1

SLIDE 8-2

This chapter covers the following topics: characteristics of the Social Age; effective communication with blogs, wikis, and forums; blogs for external communication; online reputation; and ethical use of social media.

SLIDE 8-3

LO8.1 Explain characteristics of the emerging Social Age.LO8.2 Use blogs, wikis, forums, and other social tools for effective communication within organizations.LO8.3 Create blogs for effective external communications.LO8.4 Build a credible online reputation.LO8.5 Describe the ethical use of social media for work.


SLIDE 8-4

Many relatively inexpensive, Internet-based communication tools used in business—social networking, blogs, wikis, discussion forums—are driving profound changes in how people connect and collaborate in the workplace. These changes are so profound that workplace culture is moving into a new era: from the Information Age to the Social Age (see Figure 8.1).

SLIDE 8-5

The Social Age is an era in which people engage in networked communication, collaborate across boundaries, and solve problems communally. However, even though the communication technologies that have paved the way for the Social Age are changing rapidly (in months and years), workplace culture is relatively slow to change (in years and decades). So keep in mind that cultural norms and values more significantly influence the impact of social media in the workplace than do its technical capabilities.

SLIDE 8-6

The evolution of the Internet during the past 15 years from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 platforms is the primary driver of the Social Age. In the original Internet, referred to as Web 1.0, most Web pages were read-only and static. As the Internet evolved, referred to as Web 2.0, what emerged was the read-write Web, where users interact extensively with Web pages—authoring content, expressing opinions, and customizing and editing Web content among other things. Web 2.0 communication tools, often referred to as social media, include social networks, blogs, wikis, gaming, podcasts, and information tagging.


SLIDE 8-7

Web 1.0 communication tools are primarily passive and static. By contrast, Web 2.0 communication tools are interactive, customizable, and social. User 1.0 refers to an individual who primarily uses and prefers Web 1.0 tools, whereas User 2.0 refers to an individual who primarily uses and prefers Web 2.0 tools (see Table 8.1). The emerging Social Age is adopting many workplace norms and values from users of Web 2.0 tools.

SLIDE 8-8

Increasingly, companies are adopting social networking platforms that contain Web 2.0 communication tools (also called enterprise social software and Enterprise 2.0) in the workplace. These platforms contain many of the features available on social networking websites: user profiles, microblogs, blogs, wikis, and file uploading. They often include a variety of other communication and collaboration tools as well, including online audio and video calls, shared work spaces, calendars, and private messaging (or email) systems.

SLIDE 8-9

The emerging work culture associated with the Social Age presents many benefits to companies and business professionals in the context of team and networked communication. Social media also present many challenges and risks (see Table 8.2).


SLIDE 8-10

In this section we briefly touch on several of the social software tools you can expect to use in the workplace: user profiles, blogs, wikis, and discussion forums (usually simply called forums). We focus on these tools for a few reasons. They are among the most widely used and most effective social tools, and they involve significant written communication. Tips for using social media tools include: Organize your dashboard to control your

communication and information flow. Create a complete and professional profile. Use blogs for team communication. Use wikis for team communication. Use forums to discuss ideas. Use other social media tools.

SLIDE 8-11

In Table 8.3 you can see results of a study by IBM about returns on investment from social media. You will notice that social networking (with user profiles as the foundation for establishing connections), blogs, and wikis are among the most valuable social tools in terms of productivity gains, reduction in IT costs, and increase in revenues.


SLIDE 8-12

Nearly all social software systems contain a dashboard, your front page when you log in to the system, which operates as your communication hub. In most cases, you can customize the dashboard to display the features that most interest you. Think about setting up your dashboard to access messages and information that will help you work efficiently and avoid distractions.

SLIDE 8-13

Notice Figure 8.2, which shows Andrea Garcia’s dashboard. She displays status updates of other team members so she can see what they are working on. She also wants to know how often other team members are using the social software (upper-right panel), and she subscribes to a business news service (lower-right panel).

SLIDE 8-14

Blogs are posts that are arranged chronologically, similar to a journal format. Traditionally, most blogs have included entries by just one or a few individuals, although many provide the option for reader comments. Microblogs, short blogs (such as Twitter) that contain just a few sentences, are part of most enterprise social networking platforms. Microblogs are tools for broadcasting announcements and urgent information. Members of a network can also use them to ask questions that need immediate responses.


SLIDE 8-15

Organizations are increasingly using team blogs and project blogs (many-to-many communication). Team blogs are typically organized around formal work teams, and project blogs are organized around particular projects that generally involve temporary teams. Team and project blogs are excellent ways to place all of the team’s communications in a single place, such as updates, progress reports, problem-solving discussions, project timelines and goals, announcements, and a variety of other coordination tasks.

SLIDE 8-16

A short example of a team blog is provided in Figure 8.3, where the Prestigio marketing team is describing and coordinating activities.

SLIDE 8-17

Wikis are collections of pages that anyone with approved access can edit, thus lending themselves to collaborative writing. Users can add, remove, and change content. Wikis allow employees to collaborate and participate in decision making more easily, creatively, and effectively. They create a culture of transparency, simplicity, and openness. The collaborative potential of wikis is stronger than that of any of the other social media tools.


SLIDE 8-18

Many organizations allow employees to constantly update wikis devoted to projects, reports, policies, and reference materials. An example of a wiki in editing mode is provided in Figure 8.4, where Kip Yamada is directly editing a survey report that Jeff Anderton originally set up and posted.

SLIDE 8-19

Generally, when using forums to discuss ideas, you should help your teams avoid the following actions that hinder productive team communication: Avoid leading posts. Avoid ignoring competing points of views. Avoid strong, rigid language. Avoid complaining. Avoid blaming. Avoid off-topic points. Avoid excessively short or lengthy posts. Avoid sarcasm.

SLIDE 8-20

You can use a variety of strategies to make forums effective ways for your teams to produce better work. Consider the following strategies: Read your peers’ comments completely and

carefully. State the purpose of the forum clearly. Use flexible, open, and inviting language. Build on the ideas of others and pose

questions. Show appreciation for your teammates and

their ideas.


SLIDE 8-21

Also consider the following strategies to make forums effective ways for your teams to produce better work: Participate often. Meet in real time for sensitive issues. Summarize and, as appropriate, identify next

steps. Talk with your team about ways to make

forums help your decision making and coordination.

SLIDE 8-22

Figure 8.5 displays an abbreviated discussion forum that is not effective. In the effective forum in Figure 8.6, you can see that the forum subject is posed as a clear, specific question.

SLIDE 8-23

The primary goal of blogs for organizations is effective public relations (PR). Traditionally, PR was viewed as media relations, and the primary vehicles for PR messages were press releases. Over the past several decades, the scope of PR broadened and it became a key component of the marketing mix. In other words, PR is fundamentally about building relationships with employees, customers, communities, the media, and other stakeholders. A primary goal of building these relationships is to improve corporate reputation or credibility.


SLIDE 8-24

Elliot Schreiber, one of the foremost authorities on public relations, recently defined corporate reputation on the Institute for Public Relations website:

From the perspective of the organization, reputation is an intangible asset that allows the company to better manage the expectations and needs of its various stakeholders, creating differentiation and barriers vis-à-vis its competitors. From the perspective of stakeholders, reputation is the intellectual, emotional, and behavioral response to whether or not the communications and actions of an organization resonate with its needs and interests.

SLIDE 8-25

In the press-release style, which still accounts for most written PR messages, the main components include a headline, dateline, the story, a boilerplate, and contact information. Typically, minor PR announcements are just 100 to 300 words, and major announcements are generally 500 to 800 words. You can see an example of this type of blog post in Figure 8.7.


SLIDE 8-26

Another common approach to PR messages is the op-ed style. Traditionally, a corporate leader would write an opinion piece in first person about a challenge or issue shared by the company and the public. As with press releases, the scope of the op-ed approach for PR has grown. Just a decade ago, op-eds were written for periodicals on an irregular basis. Now, however, the op-ed style is common on corporate blogs, where business leaders can regularly share their opinions and experiences. You can see an example of this type of op-ed in Figure 8.8.

SLIDE 8-27

Many communication tools fall under the social media platform. Generally, you can apply the following advice to any of them: Be an active contributor and participate often. Listen and learn. Focus on content. Make your content accessible. Make your messages authentic and friendly. Be responsive and help others. Respect boundaries.

SLIDE 8-28

Although nearly all business professionals are aware of social networking and the importance of strong online reputations, most are still learning to manage their online presence strategically. Think about the opportunities and risks for you as you develop your online reputation. Think carefully about developing a personal brand in a professional sense—a unique set of professional skills and attributes that others associate with you. In the final chapter of this book, when we turn to job applications, we discuss the notion of promoting your personal brand in more detail.


SLIDE 8-29

Whether or not you have intentionally created an online presence, potential and current employers, colleagues, and clients will judge your credibility based on online information about you. Thus, you need to take as much control as you can of your online reputation. Take a few minutes to think about Table 8.4. You will notice a variety of positive meta messages and related reputations. You can see that these meta messages and reputations are grouped into four areas: personal and private; professional and private; personal and public; and professional and public. In each domain of your online communications, you should think about the meta messages you would like to send so that you build a credible reputation.

SLIDE 8-30

Much more than your online reputation is at stake with social media use; the reputation and performance of your company is at stake as well. The line between what you believe is private use of social media and your role as an employee can be murky, since your private actions can damage your employer and hurt your career. In short, constantly try to understand evolving norms for social media use in a professional context. For your own protection and that of your company, become familiar with your company’s acceptable-use policies for social networking websites.


SLIDE 8-31

Coca-Cola recently compiled a set of social media guidelines (see Figure 8.13). Notice the principles of appropriate social media use.

SLIDE 8-32

After studying this chapter, you should understand the following topics: characteristics of the Social Age; effective communication with blogs, wikis, and forums; blogs for external communication; online reputation; and ethical use of social media.


Suggested Approaches and Solutions to Learning Exercises

In these suggested approaches and solutions, you’ll find key points to look for in students’ responses.

8.1 Chapter Review Questions (LO 8.1, LO 8.2, LO 8.3, LO 8.4, LO 8.5)

A. The Social Age is an era in which people engage in networked communication, collaborate across boundaries, and solve problems communally. Respect in a professional sense is achieved through expertise and contributions to professional networks. Transparency, honesty, and camaraderie are key workplace values.

B. Good responses should elaborate on the following strategies: customize the dashboard to display the features that most interest you, and set up your dashboard to access messages and information that will help you work efficiently and avoid distractions. Students should be rewarded for providing concrete examples and adding additional principles that are well thought out. Good responses should include categories of information, such as position, contact information, professional interests, current projects, and possibly personal interests outside of work. Students should elaborate on the importance of providing complete information and keeping in mind the goals of professional collaboration and networking. Students should be rewarded for providing concrete examples and adding additional categories that are well thought out and reflect their own career goals.

C. Good responses should demonstrate an understanding of the following principles: Team and project blogs are excellent ways to place all of the team’s communications—such as updates, progress reports, problem-solving discussions, project timelines and goals, and announcements—in a single place. Generally, a limited number of people post to blogs. Wikis are collections of pages that anyone with approved access can edit, and they are therefore more appropriate for collaborate writing. Students should be rewarded for providing concrete examples and adding additional principles that are well reasoned.

D. Responses will vary widely. Students should be rewarded for providing concrete examples and identifying challenges that are well reasoned.

E. Good responses should elaborate on the following strategies: Avoid leading posts; avoid ignoring competing points of views; read your peers’ comments completely and carefully; state the purpose of the forum clearly; use flexible, open, and inviting language; build on the ideas of others and pose questions; show appreciation for your teammates and their ideas; participate often; meet in real time for touchy points; summarize and, as appropriate, identify next steps; and talk with your team about ways to use forums to help your decision making and coordination. Student responses about which strategies are most important will vary. Students should be rewarded for provided well-justified reasons for their choices.

F. Most social media messages should be relatively authentic, friendly, and transparent. Students should be rewarded for mentioning that this tone must stay professional.


G. Students should be rewarded first and foremost for the importance of planning an intended professional persona. They should also be rewarded for explaining strategies to achieve this online persona, including being an active social media contributor, focusing on content, listening and learning from others via social media, making content accessible, being responsive to others, respecting boundaries, and making friendly and authentic messages. Students should be rewarded for creative and well-justified response.

H. Good responses may include referring to the FAIR evaluation process and following corporate social media guidelines.

8.2 Communication Q&A Questions (LO 8.1, LO 8.2)A. Vaughn says that it is important for professionals to learn to derive benefit from social

media and to work in a social way. He would likely define the Social Age as people working “out loud” and in an open manner. He points out that this type of work is becoming common without people realizing that they are in fact working in an “open” or “social” way.

B. He means that people have been drawn to using social tools because they see the benefit of them. One implication of this is that managers who want to implement new methods and technologies might have more success by demonstrating their benefits rather than by decreeing change.

C. Responses will vary. Students should be rewarded for their careful, self-reflective, and justified responses.

D. Good responses may include references to the improvement in creativity, collaboration, and trust that social media can bring about, all of which are difficult to measure in dollars and cents. Responses about how to measure the benefits of using social media will vary but may include such things as measures of employee morale or turnover. Students should be rewarded for providing concrete examples and identifying methods of demonstrating benefits that are well reasoned and justified.

E. Responses will vary. Students should be rewarded for their careful, self-reflective, and justified responses.

8.3 Social Media, Online Expression, and Collaboration (LO 8.1, LO 8.2, LO 8.4)

A. Responses will vary but should include elaboration about collaboration and transparency.B. Responses will vary. Nayar focuses the most attention on attitudes about issues such as

security, privacy, and sharing. Students should be rewarded for well-justified and nuanced thoughts about these topics.

C. Nayar explains that job performance and presentations can be reviewed by hundreds or thousands of employees or other partners. This amount of review causes people to put in their best efforts. It also means that people cannot lie or they will be caught.

D. Responses will vary. Students should be rewarded for well-justified and nuanced thoughts.


8.4 Challenges to Adopting Social Media for Professional Use (LO 8.1, LO 8.2, LO 8.5)

A. McAfee directly or indirectly states several issues: managers who view their roles as

gatekeepers of information, lack of critical mass within organizations, and perceptions that these technologies threaten face time.

B. Responses will vary. Students should be rewarded for elaborating on the distinction with personal and hypothetical examples.

C. McAfee refers to the effectiveness of Web 2.0 tools for managers who view their jobs as managing people and making sure they always have access to the information they need.

D. Responses will vary. Students should be rewarded for their well-justified thoughts and examples.

E. Responses will vary. Students should be rewarded for their well-justified thoughts and examples.

8.5 Social Media Use and Interpersonal Skills (LO 8.1, LO 8.2, LO 8.4)

Responses will vary. Reward students for carefully constructed and nuanced responses. In particular, students should be rewarded for finding virtue in approaches and preferences of various generations.

8.6 Blogs on Communication Technology (LO 8.1, LO 8.2, LO 8.3, LO 8.4, LO 8.5)

Responses will vary. Reward students for carefully constructed and nuanced responses.

You might consider directing students to particular websites. Some students are resourceful enough to find relevant blogs but others are not.

Consider making this an in-class group activity. It creates a lot of discussion.

8.7 Internet Communication Taking Over (LO 8.1, LO 8.2, LO 8.4)

Responses will vary. Reward students for carefully constructed and nuanced responses. Also, reward students for self-reflective and goal-directed comments.

8.8 Setting Boundaries (LO 8.4, LO 8.5)


8.9 Ethical Use of Social Media (LO 8.5)


Responses will vary. Reward students for carefully constructed and nuanced responses. Also, reward students for providing practical and realistic guidelines.

8.10 Corporate Social Media Guidelines (LO 8.5)

Responses will vary. Reward students for carefully constructed and nuanced responses. Also, reward students for providing specific and valuable recommendations.

8.11 Choosing the Right Type of Digital Message (LO 8.1, LO 8.2)


This assignment is particularly well suited to an in-class group activity with a follow-up debrief.

8.12 Evaluation of a Professional Blog (LO 8.3, LO 8.4)Responses will vary. Reward students for carefully constructed and nuanced responses.

You might consider giving students direction to find blogs. You might even display five or six different blogs in class and tell students how to find similar blogs.

Consider making this an in-class group activity, especially if students have access to computers in class.

8.13 Evaluation of the Tweets of Business Leaders (LO 8.4)Responses will vary. Reward students for carefully constructed and nuanced responses.

You might consider giving students direction to find Twitter accounts. You might even distribute a list of business leaders’ Twitter handles in class.

Consider making this an in-class group activity, especially if students have access to computers in class.

8.14 Evaluating Meta Messages (LO 8.4)


8.15 Evaluating Your Online Reputation (LO 8.4)




8.16 Sending the Right Meta-Messages with Your Online Communications (LO 8.4)


8.17 Digital Sabbatical (LO 8.1, LO 8.5)Responses will vary. Reward students for carefully constructed and nuanced responses. Also, reward students for self-reflective and goal-directed comments.

8.18 LinkedIn Profile (LO 8.4)Responses will vary. Reward students for carefully constructed and nuanced responses. Also, reward students for self-reflective and goal-directed comments.

8.19 Professional Blog (LO 8.3, LO 8.4)Responses will vary. Reward students for carefully constructed and nuanced blog entries. Each entry should meet the criteria outlined in the assignment by having a length of 700 to 1,000 words; one or two takeaway messages; a catchy title and opening; a winning tone; hyperlinks to interesting content; concise writing; and images (if the author desires). Also, reward students for writing that reflects and supports their career goals.

8.20 Review the numbers, dates, and currency rules in Appendix A. Then, rewrite each sentence to correct the numbers, dates, and currency where needed.

A. We should focus on these two markets for now. (N1)B. We should focus on 7 of the 15 geographic regions. (N1)C. Fifteen regions will have new supervisors as of June 20, 2016. (N3, N5)D. Each purchase above $500 must be approved by June 31, 2015, to get reimbursed. (N5, C8)E. Employees can contribute up to 7.5 percent of their salaries to the retirement plan. (N7)F. Nearly one-third of our employees contribute the maximum amount to retirement plans.

(N9)G. Employees may have up to four 2MB websites. (N10)H. Employees make an average of $23 per hour. (N6)I. Our revenue for the year topped $2.5 billion. (N4)J. We gave employee recognition awards to nearly two-thirds (65.3 percent) of our employees

last quarter. (N8, N9)


Documents

neprisstore.blob.core.windows.net€¦ · Web viewCoca-Cola recently compiled a set of social media guidelines (see Figure 8.13). Notice the principles of appropriate social media