• New digital model documents throughout illustrate how social media networks are shaping today’s communication and will help you understand professional social media applications.
• New activities, identified with the Social Media and Communication Technology icon, reflect the preeminence of writing in the digital workplace and prompt you to develop your professional social networking skills.
SOCIAL NETWORKS VS. OTHER U.S. WORKERS: COMPARING ATTITUDES TOWARDS QUESTIONABLE BEHAVIOR
Do you feel it is acceptable to…?
“Friend” a client/customer on a social network
Blog or tweet negatively about your company or colleagues
Buy personal items with your company credit card as long as you pay it back
Do a little less work to compensate for cuts in benefits or pay
Keep a copy of confidential work documents in case you need them in your next job
Take a copy of work software home and use
Upload vacation pictures to the company network or server so you can share them with co-workers
Use social networking to find out what my company’s competitors are doing
Source: National Business Ethics Survey, Social Media Week.105
1.11 Ethical Dilemmas: Applying Tools for Doing the Right Thing (L.O. 5)
Ethics Team
As a business communicator, you may face various ethical dilemmas in your career. Many factors can determine your choice of an action to take.
Test Your Etiquette IQ
YOUR TASK Study the seven dilemmas appearing on page 28. Select four of them and apply the tools for doing the right thing in Figure 1.15 on page 31 choosing an appropriate action. In a memo to your instructor or in a team discussion, explain the action you would take for each dilemma. Analyze your response to each question (Is the action you are considering legal? How would you see the problem if you were on the opposite side? and so forth).
New communication platforms and casual workplace environments have blurred the lines of appropriateness, leaving workers wondering how to navigate uncharted waters. Indicate whether the following statements are true or false. Then see if you agree with the responses on p. R-1.
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION: PROCESS & PRODUCT, 9E
Opening scenarios in each chapter illustrate social media and technology use, teamwork, meetings, persuasion, and more by companies that you know and interact with, such as Starbucks, Lyft, Walmart, Taco Bell, Sony, Royal Caribbean, olloclip, Pew Research, and JetBlue.
Nordstrom: A Fabulous Shopping Experience Goes Social
Zooming In
Nordstrom’s customer service is legendary. Like no other, the upscale fashion retailer empowers its employees to make their own decisions to best serve customers. Consider the Anchorage location once accepting returned tires that the retailer doesn’t even sell. Another true story relates that an employee raced to deliver a scatterbrained customer’s forgotten baggage to the airport prior to her departure. Both anecdotes exemplify the century-old company’s motto: to provide a fabulous customer experience by empowering customers and the employees who serve them
But Nordstrom’s fabled devotion to customer service extends strategically into the virtual world to meet customers where they are. The retailer has invested heavily in technology; for example, to integrate its inventory management system with its website and the Nordstrom app—always with the clear purpose to enhance the customer experience. As a result, the company’s online and offline worlds are seamlessly linked, and customers can find what they want in one place. Salespeople can track customer requests and needs online. This persistent effort to integrate digital capabilities has paid off. Nordstrom’s revenue has grown by more than 50 percent in the last five years.1 Its shares have jumped 120 percent.2
A strong social media engagement is key to Nordstrom’s strategy to provide superb service and to drive traffic to its e-commerce site. As one of America’s most connected companies,3 it relies on crowdsourcing to learn which items to stock, and it responds rapidly to queries, in Spanish when needed. At currently 3.2 million likes, Nordstrom is a strong presence on Facebook. Pinterest, the popular online bulletin board, is a particular success story for early-adopter Nordstrom, which currently has some 4.4 million followers.4
With such public engagement, it’s not surprising that Nordstrom has clearly defined social media use guidelines. Approved employees may connect with customers during working hours and even after hours, if allowed. They are admonished to use good judgment and abide by all corporate policies. They are told to be respectful, responsible, and ethical. Furthermore, Nordstrom’s social media policy forbids the sharing of confidential corporate information as well as employees’ and customers’ private and personal information. Conflicts of interest are to be avoided, and compensated endorsements must be disclosed. The policy ends with this cheerful invitation: “Above all, remember to have fun and be yourself!”5 Nordstrom’s digital strategy is making the company highly competitive. You will learn more about Nordstrom and be asked to complete a relevant task at the end of this chapter.
Communicating in the Digital World
What kind of workplace will you enter when you graduate, and which skills will you need to be successful in it? Expect a fast-paced, competitive, and highly connected digital environment. Communication technology provides unmatched mobility and connects individuals anytime and anywhere in the world. Today’s communicators interact using multiple electronic devices and access information stored in remote locations, in the cloud.
This mobility and instant access explain why increasing numbers of workers must be available practically around the clock and respond quickly. Nordstrom and other technology-savvy businesses have recognized the power of social media networks and seek to engage their customers and other stakeholders where they meet online. Communication no longer flows one way; rather, electronic media have empowered the public to participate and be heard.
In this increasingly complex, networked, and mobile environment, communication skills matter more than ever.6 Such skills are particularly significant when competition is keen. Job candidates with exceptional communication skills immediately stand out. In this chapter you will learn about communication skills in the digital era and about the contemporary world of work. Later you will study tools to help you negotiate ethical minefields and do the right thing. Each section covers the latest information about communicating in business while also providing tips to help you function effectively and ethically in today’s fast-paced, information-driven workplace.
Critical Thinking
• After reading this case study, can you put into perspective the suggestion “have fun and be yourself”? What exactly does this invitation mean?
• Why does Nordstrom allow only certain employees to connect online with customers and other members of the public?
• Why do social media guidelines emphasize ethical behavior and ethical communication?
LEARNING OUTCOME 1
Explain how communication skills fuel career success, and understand why writing skills are vital in a digital, mobile, and social-mediadriven workplace.
A Document Format Guide A-1
B Documentation Formats B-1
C Correction Symbols and Proofreading Marks C-1 D Grammar and Mechanics Guide D-1
Key to Grammar and Mechanics Key-1 Etiquette IQ Responses R-1
Glossary (Available online only at www.cengagebrain.com) Index I-1
1 Communication Foundations
Chapter 1
Business Communication in the Digital Age 2
Chapter 2
Professionalism: Team, Meeting, Listening, Nonverbal, and Etiquette Skills 42
Zooming In: Nordstrom: A Fabulous Shopping Experience Goes Social 3
Communicating in the Digital World 3
The Digital Revolution and You: Tools for Success in the 21st-Century Workplace 6
How Your Education Drives Your Income 10
Trends and Challenges in the Information Age Workplace 10
Information Flow and Media Choices in Today’s Workplace 19
Ethics in the Workplace Needed More Than Ever 26
Zooming In: Your Turn: Applying Your Skills at Nordstrom 31
Summary of Learning Outcomes 32
Thinking 33
33 Test Your Etiquette IQ 37 Chat About It 38 Grammar and Mechanics 38 References 39
Zooming In: Lyft Epitomizes the Sharing Economy and Teamwork 43
Adding Value to Professional Teams 43
Checklist: Developing Team Effectiveness 50
Planning and Participating in Face-to-Face and Virtual Meetings 51
Checklist: Planning and Participating in Productive Meetings 58
Listening in the Workplace 59
Checklist: Improving Listening 64
Communicating Nonverbally 64
Checklist: Building Strong Nonverbal Communication Skills in the Workplace 68
Developing Professionalism and Business Etiquette Skills at the Office and Online 69
Zooming In: Your Turn: Applying Your Skills at Lyft 72
Summary of Learning Outcomes 72 Critical Thinking 74 Activities 74 Test Your Etiquette IQ 79
Chapter 3
Intercultural Communication 84
The Writing Process in the Digital Era
Chapter 4
Planning Business Messages 126
Chat About It 79
Grammar and Mechanics 79
References 80
Zooming In: Intercultural and Ethics Challenges for the World’s Largest Retailer 85
The Growing Importance of Intercultural Communication 85
Interviewing Effectively in Today’s Competitive Job Market 613
Before the Interview 617
During the Interview 622
After the Interview 633
Preparing Additional Employment Documents 636
Zooming In: Your Turn: Applying Your Skills 639
Summary of Learning Outcomes 639
Critical Thinking 641
Activities 641
Test Your Etiquette IQ 647
Chat About It 647
Grammar and Mechanics 647
References 648
A Document Format Guide A-1
B Documentation Formats B-1
C Correction Symbols and Proofreading Marks C-1
D Grammar and Mechanics Guide D-1
End Matter
Key to Grammar and Mechanics Key-1
Etiquette IQ Responses R-1
Glossary (Available online only at www.cengagebrain.com)
Index I-1
Appreciation for Support
No successful textbook reaches a No. 1 position without a great deal of help. We are exceedingly grateful to the reviewers and other experts who contributed their pedagogic and academic expertise in shaping Business Communication: Process & Product
We extend sincere thanks to many professionals at Cengage Learning; Erin Joyner, Vice President, General Manager for Social Sciences, Humanities & Business; Michael Schenk, Executive Product Director for Business & Economics; John Rich, Content Development Manager; Megan Guiliani, Content Project Manager; Bethany Casey, Senior Art Director, and Diane Garrity, Intellectual Property Analyst.
Our heartfelt appreciation also goes to the following for their expertise in creating exceptional instructor and student support materials: Janet Mizrahi, University of California, Santa Barbara;
Carolyn M. Seefer, Diablo Valley College; Thanakorn Kooptaporn, California State University, Fullerton; Michele Granger, Missouri State University; and Nicole Adams, University of Dayton.
Mary
Ellen Guffey
Dana Loewy
Grateful Thanks to Reviewers
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xx Appreciation for Support
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About the Authors
Dr. Mary Ellen Guffey
A dedicated professional, Mary Ellen Guffey has taught business communication and business English topics for over thirty-five years. She received a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from Bowling Green State University; a master’s degree from the University of Illinois, and a doctorate in business and economic education from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She has taught at the University of Illinois, Santa Monica College, and Los Angeles Pierce College.
Now recognized as the world’s leading business communication author, Dr. Guffey corresponds with instructors around the globe who are using her books. She is the founding author of the award-winning Business Communication: Process & Product, the leading business communication textbook in this country. She also wrote Business English, which serves more students than any other book in its field; Essentials of College English; and Essentials of Business Communication, the leading text/workbook in its market. Dr. Guffey is active professionally, serving on the review boards of the Business and Professional Communication Quarterly and the Journal of Business Communication, publications of the Association for Business Communication. She participates in national meetings, sponsors business communication awards, and is committed to promoting excellence in business communication pedagogy and the development of student writing skills.
Dr. Dana Loewy
Dana Loewy has been teaching business communication at California State University, Fullerton since 1996. She enjoys introducing undergraduates to business writing and honing the skills of graduate students in managerial communication. Most recently, she has also taught various German courses and is a regular guest lecturer at Fach-hochschule Nürtingen, Germany. In addition to completing numerous brand-name consulting assignments, she is a certified business etiquette consultant. Dr. Loewy has collaborated with Dr. Guffey on recent editions of Business Communication: Process & Product as well as on Essentials of Business Communication.
Dr. Loewy holds a master’s degree from Bonn University, Germany, and earned a PhD in English from the University of Southern California. Fluent in several languages, among them German and Czech, her two native languages, Dr. Loewy has authored critical articles in many areas of interest—literary criticism, translation, business communication, and business ethics. Before teaming up with Dr. Guffey, Dr. Loewy published various poetry and prose translations, most notably The Early Poetry of Jaroslav Seifert and On the Waves of TSF. Active in the Association for Business Communication, Dr. Loewy focuses on creating effective teaching/ learning materials for undergraduate and graduate business communication students.
UNIT 1
Chapter 1
Business Communication in the Digital Age
Chapter 2
Professionalism: Team, Meeting, Listening, Nonverbal, and Etiquette Skills
Chapter 3
Intercultural Communication Communication Foundations
Chapter 1 Business Communication in the Digital Age
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to
1 Explain how communication skills fuel career success, and understand why writing skills are vital in a digital, mobile, and social-media-driven workplace.
2 Identify the tools for success in the hyperconnected 21stcentury workplace; appreciate the importance of criticalthinking skills and personal credibility in the competitive job market of the digital age; and discuss how your education may determine your income.
3 Describe significant trends in today’s dynamic, networked work environment, and recognize that social media and other communication technologies require excellent communication skills, in any economic climate.
4 Examine critically the internal and external flow of communication in organizations through formal and informal channels, explain the importance of effective media choices, and understand how to overcome typical barriers to organizational communication.
5 Analyze ethics in the workplace, understand the goals of ethical business communicators, and choose the tools for doing the right thing.
Nordstrom: A Fabulous Shopping Experience Goes Social
Nordstrom’s customer service is legendary. Like no other, the upscale fashion retailer empowers its employees to make their own decisions to best serve customers. Consider the Anchorage location once accepting returned tires that the retailer doesn’t even sell. Another true story relates that an employee raced to deliver a scatterbrained customer’s forgotten baggage to the airport prior to her departure. Both anecdotes exemplify the century-old company’s motto: to provide a fabulous customer experience by empowering customers and the employees who serve them
Zooming In
Critical Thinking
But Nordstrom’s fabled devotion to customer service extends strategically into the virtual world to meet customers where they are. The retailer has invested heavily in technology; for example, to integrate its inventory management system with its website and the Nordstrom app—always with the clear purpose to enhance the customer experience. As a result, the company’s online and offline worlds are seamlessly linked, and customers can find what they want in one place. Salespeople can track customer requests and needs online. This persistent effort to integrate digital capabilities has paid off. Nordstrom’s revenue has grown by more than 50 percent in the last five years.1 Its shares have jumped 120 percent.2
A strong social media engagement is key to Nordstrom’s strategy to provide superb service and to drive traffic to its e-commerce site. As one of America’s most connected companies,3 it relies on crowdsourcing to learn which items to stock, and it responds rapidly to queries, in Spanish when needed. At currently 3.2 million likes, Nordstrom is a strong presence on Facebook. Pinterest, the popular online bulletin board, is a particular success story for early-adopter Nordstrom, which currently has some 4.4 million followers.4
With such public engagement, it’s not surprising that Nordstrom has clearly defined social media use guidelines. Approved employees may connect with customers during working hours and even after hours, if allowed. They are admonished to use good judgment and abide by all corporate policies. They are told to be respectful, responsible, and ethical. Furthermore, Nordstrom’s social media policy forbids the sharing of confidential corporate information as well as employees’ and customers’ private and personal information. Conflicts of interest are to be avoided, and compensated endorsements must be disclosed. The policy ends with this cheerful invitation: “Above all, remember to have fun and be yourself!”5 Nordstrom’s digital strategy is making the company highly competitive. You will learn more about Nordstrom and be asked to complete a relevant task at the end of this chapter.
Communicating in the Digital World
What kind of workplace will you enter when you graduate, and which skills will you need to be successful in it? Expect a fast-paced, competitive, and highly connected digital environment. Communication technology provides unmatched mobility and connects individuals anytime and anywhere in the world. Today’s communicators interact using multiple electronic devices and access information stored in remote locations, in the cloud.
This mobility and instant access explain why increasing numbers of workers must be available practically around the clock and respond quickly. Nordstrom and other technology-savvy businesses have recognized the power of social media networks and seek to engage their customers and other stakeholders where they meet online. Communication no longer flows one way; rather, electronic media have empowered the public to participate and be heard.
In this increasingly complex, networked, and mobile environment, communication skills matter more than ever.6 Such skills are particularly significant when competition is keen. Job candidates with exceptional communication skills immediately stand out. In this chapter you will learn about communication skills in the digital era and about the contemporary world of work. Later you will study tools to help you negotiate ethical minefields and do the right thing. Each section covers the latest information about communicating in business while also providing tips to help you function effectively and ethically in today’s fast-paced, information-driven workplace.
• After reading this case study, can you put into perspective the suggestion “have fun and be yourself”? What exactly does this invitation mean?
• Why does Nordstrom allow only certain employees to connect online with customers and other members of the public?
• Why do social media guidelines emphasize ethical behavior and ethical communication?
LEARNING OUTCOME 1
Explain how communication skills fuel career success, and understand why writing skills are vital in a digital, mobile, and social-mediadriven workplace.
Note: Because this is a well-researched textbook, you will find small superscript numbers in the text. These announce information sources. Full citations are located in the Notes section beginning on page 40 near the end of the book. This edition uses a modified American Psychological Association (APA) reference citation format.
Communication Skills: Your Pass to Success
Over the last decade, employer surveys have consistently shown that strong communication skills are critical to effective job placement, work performance, career advancement, and organizational success.7 In making hiring decisions, employers often rank communication skills among the most desirable competencies.8
Interviewers for defense contractor BAE Systems may request a writing sample to “literally see if the candidate can write,” but also to find out whether the applicant can organize and share ideas, explains Curt Gray, senior vice president of human resources and administration. UPS requires its workers to write clear and concise messages and “to investigate, analyze and report their findings in a professional manner,” says Matt Lavery, managing director of corporate talent acquisition.9 In a poll, Fortune 1000 executives cited writing, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills along with self-motivation and team skills as their top choices in new-hires.10
Writing skills can be your ticket to work—or your ticket out the door, according to a business executive responding to a significant survey. This much-quoted study of 120 American corporations by the National Commission on Writing found that two thirds of salaried employees have some writing responsibility. However, about one third of them do not meet the writing requirements for their positions.11 “Businesses are crying out—they need to have people who write better,” said Gaston Caperton, executive and College Board president.
Writing has been variously called a “career sifter,” a “threshold skill,” and “the price of admission,”12 indicating that effective writing skills can be a stepping-stone to great job opportunities. Poorly developed writing skills, however, may derail a career. Writing is a marker of high-skill, high-wage, professional work, according to Bob Kerrey, former university president and chair of the National Commission on Writing. If you can’t express yourself clearly, he says, you limit your opportunities for many positions.13
When we discuss communication skills, we generally mean reading, listening, nonverbal, speaking, and writing skills. In addition, workers today must be media savvy and exercise good judgment when posting messages on the Internet and writing e-mails. To be successful, they must guard their online image and protect the reputation of their employers. In this book we focus on the listening, nonverbal, speaking, and writing skills necessary in a digital workplace. Chapters are devoted to each of these skills. Special attention is given to writing skills because they are difficult to develop and increasingly significant in e-communication.
Writing in the Digital Age
If you are like many young adults, you may think that your daily texts, instant messages, Facebook posts, blog entries, and e-mails are not real writing. A Pew Internet & American Life study found that teens and young adults consider their frequent e-communication to be very different from the traditional writing they learn in school.14 Perhaps young people understand that their digital writing is largely casual, but that employers expect more formal, thoughtful, informative, and error-free messages. In any case, the respondents in the study rightly believe that solid writing skills are a necessity in today’s networked digital world.
Long gone are the days when business was mostly conducted face-to-face and when administrative assistants corrected spelling and grammar for their bosses. Although interpersonal skills still matter greatly, writing effectively is critical. Ever since the digital revolution swept the workplace, most workers write their own messages. New communication channels appeared, including the Web and e-mail, followed by instant messaging, blogs, and social media networks.
The mobile revolution is stimulating huge economic growth and has profoundly changed how we communicate; it has become the fastest-adopted technology of all time.15 Figure 1.1 displays the emergence of new communication technology and the rapid growth of Internet users over the last two decades. So far, the number of Internet users has roughly doubled every five years.
Figure 1.1 Time Line: Communication Technology and Social Media
Writing matters more than ever because the online media require more of it, not less.16 An important poll by Hart Research Associates supports this view. The participating employers admitted that their expectations of employees have increased because the challenges on the job are more complex than in the past. The executives also said that employees today need a broader range of skills as well as higher levels of knowledge in their field.17
“Communicating clearly and effectively has NEVER been more important than it is today. Whether it’s fair or not, life-changing critical judgments about you are being made based solely on your writing ability,” says management consultant Victor Urbach. “Having excellent command of your online digital persona will enable you to quickly surpass those who present themselves weakly in the new competitive arena. Since you probably won’t get a second chance, what kind of digital first impression will you choose to make?”18 Developing these skills in this course will build your credibility and help you stand out.
It’s Up to You: Communication Skills Can Be Learned
By enrolling in a business writing class, you have already taken the first step toward improving or polishing your communication skills. The goals of this course and this book include teaching you basic business communication skills, such as how to write an effective e-mail, a short message on a mobile device, or a clear business letter, and how to make a memorable presentation with various digital media.
Thriving in the challenging interconnected work world depends on many factors, some of which you cannot control. However, one factor that you do control is how well you communicate. You are not born with the abilities to read, listen, speak, and write effectively. These skills must be learned. This book and this course may well be the most important in your entire college curriculum because they will equip you with the skills most needed in today’s fast-paced information- and data-driven workplace.
Reality Check
Digital Workplace Survival Skills
“To succeed in today’s workplace, young people need more than basic reading and math skills. They need substantial content knowledge and information technology skills; advanced thinking skills, flexibility to adapt to change; and interpersonal skills to succeed in multi-cultural, cross-functional teams.”19
LEARNING
OUTCOME 2
Identify the tools for success in the hyperconnected 21stcentury workplace; appreciate the importance of critical-thinking skills and personal credibility in the competitive job market of the digital age; and discuss how your education may determine your income.
The Digital Revolution and You: Tools for Success in the 21st-Century Workplace
If you are a young adult, chances are that you check Facebook, smartphone texts, Instagram, Twitter, or Tumblr first thing in the morning and repeatedly throughout the day to stay connected with your friends and family. Most likely you write and create digital documents with a notebook, tablet, or smartphone without thinking much about the technology enabling you to do all this. Information technology has changed how we work, play, and communicate. It has never been easier to access and share information via various digital media from a vast network of sources and to distribute it nearly instantly and to widespread audiences.20 What hasn’t changed is that communication skills need time and effort to develop.
To achieve literacy in the digital age means not only using multimedia applications and snazzy late-model gadgets but also thinking critically about new media. It means using technology thoughtfully and in a professional manner to achieve success in a hyperconnected world.
The 21st-century economy depends mainly on information and knowledge. Previously, in the Industrial Age, raw materials and physical labor were the key ingredients in the creation of wealth. Today, however, individuals in the workforce offer their knowledge, not their muscles. Knowledge workers (a term first coined by management guru Peter Drucker) get paid for their education and their ability to learn.21
More recently, we are hearing the term information worker to describe those who produce and consume information in the workplace.22 Regardless of the terminology, knowledge and information workers engage in mind work. They must make sense of words, figures, and data. At the same time, the knowledge available in the “digital universe” is more than doubling every year, according to computing pioneer George Dyson.23
In this light it may not surprise you that jobs in the information technology sector are likely to jump 24 percent by 2020.24 Mobile technology generated almost $3.3 trillion in revenue globally in one year alone and is responsible for 11 million jobs, according to Boston Consulting.25 However, in a recovering but demanding U.S. labor market, hundreds of thousands of jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math remain unfilled.26 Experts also worry about domestic talent shortages in skilled manufacturing.27 In such a challenging environment, continuous, lifelong learning will make you more competitive and valuable to future
—J. Willard Marriott, Jr., chairman and CEO, Marriott International, Inc.
employers. An adaptable, highly skilled workforce is well equipped to weather any economic climate as well as global competition.
Why Should You Care?
As a knowledge worker in the skills economy, you can expect to be generating, processing, and exchanging information. You will need to be able to transmit it effectively across various communication channels and multiple media. You might be called on to use e-mail, multimedia slide presentations, wikis, podcasts, or Facebook and other social media in a professional setting. With added job responsibilities, you will be expected to make sound decisions and solve complex problems. Interviewers at global giant Siemens probe job applicants for the ability “to quickly distill the key issues and relationships in complex situations,” says Mike Panigel, senior vice president of human resources.28
In a recent PayScale study, writing proficiency is considered a hard skill; 44 percent of managers stated that it’s the skill most lacking among recent college graduates. The respondents also criticized a lack of communication skills (46 percent) as well as critical thinking and problem solving skills (60 percent).29 You are learning to think, read, and ask questions in a networked world, accessed with computers, tablets, smartphones, e-readers, wearable devices, and more. The avalanche of information that engulfs you daily requires you to evaluate all sources critically because information flows at a great speed, across various media, and in many directions. With potentially a global audience watching, you can choose to project a positive, professional image, or you can publish misinformation and embarrassing falsehoods.30
Reality Check
Wanted! 21st-Century Skills
In the media-driven world of the 21st century, workers must process vast amounts of information fast and judge accurately whether the information is reliable. “It’s important that students know how to manage it, interpret it, validate it, and how to act on it.”31
—Karen Bruett, higher education expert, former Dell executive
Thinking Critically in the Digital Age
Jobs that require thinking, brainpower, and decision-making skills are likely to remain plentiful. Whether you work in m-commerce (mobile technology businesses), e-commerce (Internetbased businesses), or brick-and-mortar commerce, nearly three out of four jobs involve some form of mind work. To be successful in these jobs, you will need to be able to think critically, make decisions, and communicate those decisions.
Management and employees work together in such areas as product development, quality control, and customer satisfaction. All workers, from executives to subordinates, need to think creatively and critically. Even in factory production lines, workers are part of the knowledge culture. Toyota’s management philosophy of continuous improvement (kaizen) by engaged and empowered workers is much admired and emulated around the world.32 When your boss or team leader says, “What do you think we ought to do?” you want to be able to supply good ideas and demonstrate that you can think critically. This means having opinions that are backed by reasons and evidence.
Faced with a problem or an issue, most of us do a lot of worrying before separating the issues or making a decision. Figure 1.2 provides a three-point plan to help you think critically and solve problems competently. As you can see, understanding the problem is essential and must come first. Generating and selecting the most feasible ideas is the intermediate step. Finally, the problem-solving model prompts you to refine, justify, and implement the solution. At the end of each chapter in this text, you will find activities and problems that will help you develop and apply your critical-thinking skills.
