SOLUTION MANUAL FOR Business Communication Developing Leaders For A Networked World 2ce Peter Cardon, Julie Stevens Chapter 1-16 and Appendix(A B C)
Chapter 1: Establishing Credibility
Chapter Summary In this chapter, we discuss the ways that business executives and the business community establish trust. Then, we focus on three components of credibility: competence, caring, and character. First, however, you will read a short scenario about choosing a mentor. Each potential mentor has credibility but for different reasons.
Learning Objectives LO1.1 Explain the importance of establishing credibility for business communication. LO1.2 Describe how competence, caring, and character affect your credibility as a communicator. LO1.3 Define and explain business ethics, corporate values, and personal values. LO1.4 Explain the FAIR approach to ethical business communications.
PowerPoint Notes and Outline Slide 1-3 In most business situations, others make judgments about what you say, write, and do based on your credibility. Business communications occur in the context of working relationships, all of which depend on trust. Credibility has always been important to business relationships, yet its importance has grown in recent years with an increasingly interdependent, knowledge-based workplace.
Slide 1-4 Given the high-profile business misdeeds in recent years (i.e., SNC-Lavalin, Bombardier, Volkswagen, and Boeing), trust in businesses and business executives has dropped to all-time lows. As depicted in Figure 1.1, the trust extended by Canadians to business leaders is far lower than the trust extended to members of other selected professions.
Slide 1-5 The public also increasingly views companies and other institutions with less trust. One of the most wellknown and publicized trust indexes is developed by Edelman, a prominent communications firm.
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Edelman experts measure trust in institutions, including business, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), government, and media in 28 countries. In 2022, Canada remained a “neutral” country in terms of its trust index (countries are labelled “trusters,” “distrusters,” and “neutral”), although it had dropped three index points from the previous year. Canada had been a “distruster” in 2018 but moved to “neutral” in 2019.
Slide 1-6 Figure 1.1. How will you overcome public perceptions to build credibility? A Look at Trust in Various Professions.
Slide 1-7 Perhaps most concerning is that business students are among the worst offenders. When asked in anonymous surveys if they had cheated to get into graduate school, many students admitted to having done so: 43 percent of liberal arts students, 52 percent of education students, 63 percent of medical students, 63 percent of law students, and 75 percent of business students. Think about that! Three-quarters of graduate-level business students admitted to some form of cheating to get into their programs. In another study involving hypothetical ethical dilemmas, convicts in minimum-security prisons scored as high on unethical behaviour as MBA students.
Slide 1-8 You will often find yourself needing to establish credibility in this post-trust era. As a future manager and executive, you can control your reputation as a credible communicator by focusing on three wellestablished factors: competence, caring, and character. Research has shown that these three factors almost entirely account for whether a person is considered credible in professional situations. As depicted in Figure 1.2, credibility is like a three-legged stool. Without any one element, it is compromised.
Slide 1-9 Your entire business program is likely centered on developing competence in a certain business discipline and/or industry. You may already have significant business experience. If you’re a novice, seeking internships and jobs related to your discipline will help you develop competence. IM 1-3 Cardon & Stevens, Business Communication, 2nd Canadian Edition © McGraw Hill Ltd., 2024
Slide 1-10 How you communicate directly affects the perceptions others have of your competence Meg Whitman emphasized this action-oriented approach to work: “The way I usually put it is, the price of inaction is far greater than the cost of making a mistake. You do not have to be perfect to be an effective leader, but you cannot be timid.” She also described an emphasis on results: I don’t believe that all a company needs to do is declare that it has values and then say, “Trust us, we know what’s best.” To be a success, you must identify a goal with a measurable outcome, and you must hit that goal—every day, every month, every year. Trying is important. But trying is not the same as achieving success. … *Some+ people expect to advance in their careers regardless of results and are surprised when it doesn’t happen. They feel entitled. Their attitude is: “Because I’m here, because I’m me, you owe me.
Slide 1-11 In the business world, caring implies understanding the interests of others, cultivating a sense of community, and giving to others and showing generosity. In the past, caring was seldom discussed as integral to business. Now, it is among the most important abilities for business leaders and managers. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, a study of business managers found that caring is considered among the top three skills or abilities (from a list of 18 skills or abilities) for managers of nearly any business discipline. The pandemic drew even more attention to the importance of caring leaders.
Slide 1-12 The most effective business leaders in today’s corporate environment have generally risen to their positions because of their sense of community and teamwork. Meredith Ashby and Stephen Miles recently interviewed hundreds of prominent and accomplished business leaders to answer questions such as “What are the burning issues for corporate leaders today? and How do companies identify, attract, develop, and retain the best and brightest people in the workplace?
Slide 1-13 Your ability to show you care puts you in a rare position as a business leader. After all, just 40 percent of employees believe that their managers care about them. Even worse, just 30 percent of employees believe that their managers care about whether they develop skills.
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Virtually every aspect of communication you will focus on in this text relies on this other-orientation.
Slide 1-14 Recent research has shown that most professionals can broadly be characterized as givers and takers. Dozens of studies in recent years show that organizations with more generous and giving employees perform better. Companies with higher percentages of givers achieve higher profitability, higher productivity, and higher customer satisfaction. In addition, these companies experience lower employee turnover rates. These studies also show that givers are more likely than takers to be rated as top performers. (In Chapter 2, you’ll learn more about strategies to be a giver and maintain top performance.) Particularly early in your career, you’ll find that gaining a reputation for helping your colleagues will open up many professional opportunities and enhance your professional credibility.
Slide 1-15 Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, was recently asked about how he hires people. He responded, “You look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy.” Like Buffett, most people look first and foremost at traits such as integrity and honesty when evaluating the character of others. Character refers to a reputation for staying true to commitments made to stakeholders and adhering to high moral and ethical values.
Slide 1-16 Character is central in creating trust. Consider the research, depicted in Figure 1.3. Business executives were asked what the most important determinants of trust in workplace projects were. Overwhelmingly, character-based traits—that is, honesty, ethical behaviour, and willingness to exchange information—ranked at the top.
Slide 1-17 Business ethics are the commonly accepted beliefs and principles in the business community for acceptable behaviour.
Slide 1-18
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In corporate communications, the dominant business ethic in recent years is transparency. Transparency involves sharing all relevant information and decision rationale with stakeholders. You will soon be in leadership positions within your organization. You can create a transparent workplace by being accessible, acknowledging the concerns of others, and following through when you don’t have immediate answers.
Slide 1-19 You likely will need to analyze ethical dilemmas in your business program, while training for your job, and once you are on the job. You probably recognize that “making the right choice” is not always obvious. In such situations, where the law and ethical principles do not provide a clear answer, transparency is key: Decision making needs to be open, documented, and based on the collective conscience of your work team and affected stakeholders.
Slide 1-20 Often, employees fail to speak up when they observe potentially unethical behaviour. Business professionals remain silent for four basic reasons: (1) They assume it’s standard practice, (2) they rationalize that it’s not a big deal, (3) they tell themselves it’s not their responsibility, or (4) they want to be loyal. Prepare to speak up constructively when you observe unethical behaviour. It’s part of your job. You can challenge rationalizations with questions such as these: If this is standard, why is there a policy against it? If it is expected, are we comfortable being public about it? I may be new here, so I might not understand our policy clearly. But, shouldn’t we . . . ? When you frame your concerns in terms of benefits to your team or organization, your colleagues and other contacts will often respond appropriately. Over the long run, you will be rewarded for having a reputation of speaking up when ethical dilemmas arise.
Slide 1-21 For example, Google’s code of conduct espouses values such as “respect for our users,” “integrity,” “deliver great products and services,” and a “supportive work environment.” It addresses issues related to harassment, discrimination, bullying, drugs and alcohol, a safe workplace, and even a dog policy. It
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describes what constitutes conflicts of interest and confidentiality. (See Google’s code of conduct that is posted online (shown below as what was stated at the time this text was published). It concludes: Google aspires to be a different kind of company. It’s impossible to spell out every possible ethical scenario we might face. Instead, we rely on one another’s good judgment to uphold a high standard of integrity for ourselves and our company. We expect all Googlers to be guided by both the letter and the spirit of this Code. Sometimes, identifying the right thing to do isn’t an easy call. If you aren’t sure, don’t be afraid to ask questions of your manager, Legal or Ethics & Compliance. Aligning personal values—those values that individuals prioritize and adhere to—with corporate values is an important element of character. After all, if one is living corporate values that do not match one’s personal values, then there is a lack of integrity. Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, was interviewed about the importance of corporate values: One thing I’ve learned over the course of my career is that if your values—your personal values—are aligned with the company’s values, you’re probably going to be more successful in the long term than if they are not. Because if they aren’t, it requires you to be an actor when you go to work or to have a split personality.
Slide 1-22 In Tamar Frankel’s excellent book on the role of honesty in American business culture, she chronicles the increasing abuses of honesty, including health care fraud, insurance fraud, cheque fraud, consumer fraud, identity theft, and student cheating, to name a few. She concludes her work with an appeal for more honesty: The goal of honesty is not to reduce competitive ardor but to channel it in less destructive ways. Honesty encourages competition on the merits and prohibits competition by cheating. Honesty brings better quality of products and services and less shoddy products and fake services. If businesses do not compete on fraud, they can be more successful in gaining and retaining customers.
Slide 1-23 It takes a stakeholder view that includes all groups in society affected by your business. In a commencement speech to business students at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Ned Goodman, president and founder of wealth management company Dundee Corporation, spoke about values and, in particular, the sense of accountability needed among business executives and managers to do what is right for others. He commented:
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An ethical mind helps individuals aspire to do good work—good work that matters to their colleagues, their organizations, their company, their family, and the global society in general. In our very busy society, it is often easy to lose our way on that subject.
Slide 1-24 In all your communications, you should consider whether you are being fair to others. For routine communications, you make this calculation quickly. For important, less straightforward, and perhaps even controversial communications, you should spend a significant amount of time evaluating the best way to be fair. You might consider talking to your supervisor, peers, and other trusted individuals to appraise the situation. Meg Whitman explained this principle based on her experience at eBay: Ultimately the character of a company, like the character of a person, is an accumulation of many, many moments when the choices are not necessarily clear, and we make the best decisions we can. But over time the logic and reasoning that we use to make those decisions, the moral compass to follow in making those decisions, is the essence of our authentic self, our character.
Slide 1-25 Applying the FAIR test is especially important for high-stakes communications. Consider one Amazon response early in the COVID-19 pandemic. The early months of the pandemic were particularly chaotic due to uncertainty about the transmissibility and severity of the virus. Amazon warehouse workers were considered essential workers. Many were fearful about safety conditions yet continued to work out of fear of missing paycheques or even losing their jobs. Some Amazon employees organized protests against Amazon over working conditions. Amnesty International sided with the Amazon protestors and insisted that Jeff Bezos (former president and CEO) make a statement about employees’ concerns, stating, “It is repugnant that the company’s workforce feel their safety is not being taken seriously. Jeff Bezos needs to step up and address the legitimate and vital concerns raised by Amazon staff—profits should never be put above people.” Amazon issued the following statement: The fact is that today all but a handful of our 800,000+ employees around the world came to work as usual to continue delivering on behalf of customers. Our employees are heroes fighting for their communities and helping people get the critical items they need in this crisis. Health and safety is our top priority and our focus remains on protecting associates in our operations network with extensive measures including distributing face masks, disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, implementing temperature checks, operating with strict social distancing protocols, and recognizing their contributions with additional pay and leading benefits.
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Slide 1-26 One way to evaluate your communications is to use the FAIR test (see Figure 1.4). The FAIR test helps you examine how well you have provided the facts; how well you have granted access to your motives, reasoning, and information; how well you have examined impacts on stakeholders; and how well you have shown respect. As you respond to questions such as those posed in Figure 1.4, you ensure that your communications are fair to yourself and others.
Slide 1-27 You likely have a LinkedIn profile, but have you thought carefully about how well you project professional credibility in your profile and posts? Consider some strategies to show competence, caring, and character in your LinkedIn profile will enhance your professional credibility. Your competence is displayed through clear descriptions of your professional and school achievements and skills. Your caring is demonstrated with qualities such as customer orientation, teamwork, and passion for your organizations. You can demonstrate your character with traits such as reliability, honesty, and commitment to values. Often, you can demonstrate these traits by getting the recommendations and endorsements of others.
Slide 1-28 As Dr. Stephen R. Covey, one of the most respected management writers of the past three decades, stated regarding trust: It simply makes no difference how good the rhetoric is or even how good the intentions are; if there is little or no trust, there is no foundation for permanent success. … What we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do. We all know it. There are people we trust absolutely because we know their character. Whether they’re eloquent or not, whether they have the human relations techniques or not, we trust them, and we work successfully with them.
Slide 1-29 Figure 1.5 provides an overview of the topics we will cover in this text. This chapter focused on the credibility of the communicator, since at the core of all communication is the issue of trust (explored
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further in the Ideas in Action feature with Mary Barra of GM). The techniques and skills covered in the rest of this textbook are of little use if you are not considered credible.
Solutions to Discussion Exercises In these suggested approaches and solutions, you’ll find key points to look for in students’ responses.
1.1
Chapter Review Questions (LO 1.1, LO 1.2, LO 1.3, LO 1.4)
Answer each of the following questions with one to three paragraphs: A. Explain the importance of establishing credibility in business communications. Important parts of this answer could include the following: (a) Other people judge your comments, presentations, emails, and other communications based on your personal credibility. When you are viewed as credible, your messages are viewed as more plausible. When you are not viewed as credible, others will doubt your messages. (b) As a business professional, you often operate from a position of distrust. By establishing personal credibility, you are more likely to gain trust in your messages and other communications. B. Explain the three components of credibility: competence, caring, and character. How do they interrelate? This answer should include short explanations about each aspect of credibility. Competence involves skills and knowledge to accomplish work tasks. Caring involves understanding and acting in the interests of others, both in the professional and personal needs of others. Character involves adhering to high ethics and values. The second part of this discussion item involves explaining how these aspects of credibility are interrelated. Students should be rewarded for mentioning how these aspects overlap in some situations, especially when they provide specific instances. For example, asking others to participate in a meeting may be viewed as competence and caring. It shows skill at running an effective meeting. It shows caring because of a sincere interest in the views of others. C. Define and explain business ethics corporate values, and the relationship between them. Business ethics are the commonly accepted beliefs and principles in the business community for acceptable behavior. Corporate values are the stated and lived values of a company. The text explains that the Society for Human Resource Management has IM 1-10 Cardon & Stevens, Business Communication, 2nd Canadian Edition © McGraw Hill Ltd., 2024
defined corporate values as the essence of business ethics. Students should be rewarded for providing nuanced answers about cases where corporate values may not align with commonly accepted beliefs and principles in the business community within an industry or even more broadly. D. Explain the FAIR approach to evaluating ethical business communications. The FAIR approach helps professionals ask key questions to evaluate whether their communications are ethical. By asking questions related to facts, access, impacts, and respect, professionals can get a good sense of whether they are truly being fair to others. Students should be rewarded for providing examples from their school and work experiences. E. Describe how credibility impacts communication efficiency and effectiveness. Credibility makes communication more effective and efficient because each person in a high-trust relationship tends to put up less resistance to the ideas of others in the relationship. The persons in a high-trust relationship also tend to give each other the benefit of the doubt when misunderstandings arise.
1.2
Ideas in Action (LO 1.1, LO 1.2, LO 1.3, LO 1.4)
Read the “Ideas in Action” with Mary Barra of GM, and write a one- or two-paragraph response to each of the following questions:
A. What points does Mary Barra make about the impact of competence in establishing credibility? Bara has a proven track record of results, so she urges GM employees to develop their skills and be forward-looking with their solutions.
B. What points does she make about the impact of caring in establishing credibility? Barra encourages professionals to focus on the needs of others and build long-term, meaningful relationships. She stresses the role relationships play in business.
C. What points does she make about the impact of character in establishing credibility? She promotes honesty, transparency, and high values ("your North Star"). Leaders develop real integrity during rough times. Values must mean more than words on a page, you have to do what you say you are going to do.
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D. Which of her comments or experiences do you view as particularly insightful or helpful? Why that one? Answers will vary.
1.3
Transparency (LO 1.3)
As Drs. Dennis S. Reina and Michelle L. Reina explained in their book Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace, “Some leaders assume that … they are obligated to tell employees only what they specifically need to do their job. This couldn’t be further from the truth.” In three to five paragraphs, explain the meaning of this statement. Why might leaders provide information about their activities and decision making even when employees may not be directly affected? Responses will vary. Key points/angles may include: (a) employees will follow leaders who they believe share information and decision-making openly with them; (b) an open and honest work environment leads to higher morale and productivity; or (c) employees who know more about their organizations and its leaders will be more engaged.
1.4
Gather Information from Websites about Ethics in Business (LO 1.3)
Read at least three blogs or articles about trust and/or ethics from a reputable organization or other source. Choose an issue that interests you, and in four to five paragraphs, summarize key findings related to that issue. Consider the following options for gathering information:
Ethics and Compliance Initiative Institute of Business Ethics Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics Business Ethics magazine International Business Ethics Institute Edelman Trust Barometer
Responses will vary widely. Students should be rewarded for choosing specific and challenging topics.
1.5 Watch Interviews with Business Executives about Credibility and Corporate Values (LO 1.2, LO 1.3) Watch at least three videos of interviews with executives talking about corporate values. In four to five paragraphs, summarize what you learned. Consider the following options for gathering information:
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Go to the BNN website and search with terms such as ethics, integrity, character, credibility, values, and/or corporate values. View news videos related to these topics.
Go to YouTube and search with terms such as business ethics, corporate values, core values, and corporate culture. Select videos of business executives and managers speaking about corporate values. Choose videos that are five minutes or longer.
Responses will vary widely. You may need to help students find useful and current interviews with executives. See the textbook website (connect.mheducation.com) and Facebook page (facebook.com/cardonbcomm) for options.
1.6
Learn about Corporate Citizenship (LO 1.3)
In recent years, companies have increasingly focused on their social responsibility. Many companies refer to the actions they take to help or give back to society as corporate citizenship. Learn about corporate citizenship from at least three reliable organizations or sources. In four to five paragraphs, summarize what you’ve learned. Consider the following options for gathering information:
Volunteer Canada, Corporate Citizenship
World Economic Forum, "Moving from corporate responsibility to impact"
Responses will vary widely. Students should be rewarded for choosing specific and challenging topics.
1.7 Identify Specific Approaches to Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Responsibility (LO 1.3) Choose a company and analyze its corporate citizenship measures. In four to five paragraphs, explain the company’s major corporate citizenship initiatives and how they reflect its core values. Generally, you can find a corporate citizenship page at a company’s website by navigating within sections with titles such as “About Us,” “Company Overview,” “Public Relations,” “Media,” and so on. If you are unsure which company you would like to learn about, consider the following:
Boeing, Community Microsoft, Corporate Responsibility Accenture, Corporate Citizenship IBM
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Responses will vary widely. You might direct students to particular companies. Most public companies create annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports, which are nearly always housed on their websites. You might also direct students to corporate Facebook pages, YouTube channels, or other outlets where CSR initiatives are often publicized.
1.8
Watch Ted Talks about Credibility and Trust (LO 1.3)
Watch a TED Talk about credibility and trust. You might consider one of the following:
“How to Build and Rebuild Trust” by Frances Frei “We’ve Stopped Trusting Institutions and Started Trusting Strangers” by Rachel Botsman “What We Don’t Understand about Trust” by Onora O’Neill “What Really Motivates People to Be Honest in Business” by Alexander Wagner “How to Spot a Liar” by Pamela Meyer
Write three to five paragraphs about the following: 1. A brief summary (four to five sentences) of the talk. 2. Two or three insights about credibility. 3. Two or three related recommendations for how professionals can act with higher credibility. Answers will vary.
Solutions to Evaluation Exercises In these suggested approaches and solutions, you’ll find key points to look for in students’ responses.
1.9
Compare Two Individuals’ Credibility (LO 1.1, LO 1.2)
Think about two people—one whom you trust implicitly and another whom you do not trust. Ideally, these should be two people you currently work with or have worked with in the past. Compare them in the following ways: (a) competence, (b) caring, (c) character, (d) openness of communication, and (e) ease of communication. Write four to five paragraphs. Conclude with several general statements about the impact of credibility on communication efficiency and effectiveness.
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Responses will vary widely. You might prompt students to do the following for this exercise: (a) make sure they are constructive with their comments; (b) choose individuals from the workplace or school if possible; and/or (c) use pseudonyms to protect the identity of others if they feel the information is sensitive.
1.10
Assess Credibility (LO 1.1, LO 1.2)
Think about four people: (a) a person who lacks complete credibility because they lack competence, (b) a person who lacks credibility because they lack caring, (c) a person who lacks credibility because they lack character, and (d) a person with complete credibility. Compare and contrast these four individuals in terms of communication effectiveness in the workplace. Responses will vary widely. You might prompt students to do the following for this exercise: (a) make sure they are constructive with their comments; (b) choose individuals from the workplace or school if possible; and/or (c) use pseudonyms to protect the identity of others if they feel the information is sensitive.
1.11
Evaluate a Communication Event (LO 1.1, LO 1.2)
Choose two communication events (conversations, email exchanges, and so on) that you were involved in—one in which you had credibility from the perspective of others and one in which you did not. If possible, choose communication events that occurred in the workplace or at your university. Respond to the following items about these two events: A. Provide an overview of each communication event. B. Explain the results of each event in terms of ease of communication and accomplishment of workplace objectives. C. Explain why in one situation others granted you credibility but not in the other. D. For the situation in which you had less perceived credibility, think about how you might have better established trust. Write down three ways you could have done so before the communication event occurred. Responses will vary widely. You might prompt students to do the following for this exercise: (a) make sure they are constructive with their comments; (b) choose individuals from the workplace or school if possible; and/or (c) use pseudonyms to protect the identity of others if they feel the information is sensitive. IM 3-15 Cardon & Stevens, Business Communication, 2nd Canadian Edition © McGraw Hill Ltd., 2024
1.12
Examine Personal Credibility (LO 1.2)
Think about a specific professional context and respond to each of the following questions. For the context, you can use a current or previous job. Or you could use a professional or student activity in which you participated. Ideally, you will select a context with challenging cooperation issues. 1. How much do/did others trust you in this situation? 2. How credible are/were you in terms of competency, caring, and character (from the perceptions of others)? 3. Do you think you are/were being perceived inaccurately in any ways? Why? 4. Have you done/did you do anything that may have broken trust in any way? 5. Have you kept/did you keep all your agreements? Explain. 6. List three things you need to do or should have done to better establish credibility. Responses will vary widely. I’ve found that some students are hesitant to share personal information if they think it might be shared with other classmates. You might consider telling the students that you will be the only person who sees this assignment and that you won’t share it with anyone. Alternatively, if you intend to have peers share the information with one another, you might consider telling them to write only about information they are comfortable sharing with classmates.
1.13
Apply the FAIR Test (LO 1.4)
Choose a recent communication event (conversation, email exchange, and so on) that you were involved in, observed, or heard about. If possible, choose a communication event that occurred in the workplace and that involved a challenging ethical problem. Analyze the communication event with the FAIR test of ethical business communication. Devote at least one paragraph to each aspect of the test: (a) facts (how factual was the communication?); (b) access (how accessible or transparent were the motives, reasoning, and information?); (c) impacts (how did the communication impact stakeholders?); (d) respect (how respectful was the communication?). See Figure 1.4 for more information about the FAIR test. Responses will vary widely. You might prompt students to do the following for this exercise: (a) make sure they are constructive with their comments; (b) choose individuals from the workplace or school if possible; and/or (c) use pseudonyms to protect the identity of others if they feel the information is sensitive.
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