It Still Delivers The Message
Written: Nov 14 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Relevant messages presented in an easy reading style.
Cons: It is pricey.
The Bottom Line: Strategic Communication in Business and the Professions may be a 1998 publication – but it still delivers the message.
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| gungian's Full Review: Strategic Communication in Business & the Prof... |
I spent a lifetime in the submarine force – the “Silent Service”. Now some may think that we earned that sobriquet because we “did not communicate”. They would be mistaken.
We did communicate, often extensively, but those communiqués were conducted to deliver a specific message to – and only to – the desired recipient. That was the art of submerged communication in the cold war Navy. While business and professional communications present a much different environment, the art of delivering the message is still paramount.
THE VEHICLE
In our dynamic information age, we rely increasingly on electronic media. Some claim that the printed word is fading into obscurity much like the clay tablets of old. While some written texts are OBE [overtaken by events] before their printed pages are bound, others stay relevant. This is the case with Strategic Communication in Business and the Professions.
Fifteen information-rich chapters are dispersed among five broad headings. This 523-page book may be going on five years old but it remains a viable weapon in the arsenal of those waging the war for effective communication.
AN INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATIONS
Many hold that – regardless of price, product, or promotion – the success of any organization rests on the ability to communicate effectively. This initial section includes three chapters that provide a broad introduction to the foundation of organizational communications. Communications in Organizations takes us through the interactive communication process and details some of the more common reasons that organizational communication fails. It then provides a variety of theoretical underpinnings to the processes. The Model of Strategic Communication creates communication models that leverage the organizational framework and the application of unique situational knowledge. Throughout the authors make the case for ethical guidelines in meeting organizational goals. Diversity in Business and the Professions hones in on the particular challenges of communicating effectively in our diverse business environments. The segment on analyzing your own perspective and the section on legal guidelines are particularly instructive.
BASIC COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Three chapters nicely parse communication skills into relevant areas. The chapter entitled Listening Skills makes a strong distinction between “hearing” and “listening”. It also pierces the veil of perception and gives some hints on progressing to “interactive listening”. Verbal and Nonverbal Skills shows how personal and environmental factors can impact communication. There is a short – but meaty – segment on anxiety management and an illustrative case study with critical thinking questions. The third chapter, Leadership and Management Skills discusses roles and briefly introduces some of the foundations of management theory. The segment that compares/contrasts “leadership” and “management” is particularly worthwhile. This also includes ethical considerations that are, perhaps, more timely today than when they were first written.
INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
The first chapter, Work Relationships, looks across the usual continuum of relationships including manager-employee, coworker, and employee-customer. It then goes on to discuss mentoring and the delicate issue of romantic relationships in the workplace. Principles of Interviewing is, perhaps, the least original chapter. While there is good information here, much has been extensively explored before. Interviews in Business Settings covers the more typical employment, appraisal, and discipline interviews. Then it includes an interesting segment on media interviews – a feature seldom found in similar texts.
GROUP COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
Fundamentals of Group Communication discusses group formation, dynamics, and leadership issues that impact communications. This is followed by Meetings: Forums for Problem Solving which contains an extensive treatment of situational knowledge and some interesting perspectives on evaluating group effectiveness. Negotiation and Conflict Management concludes this section by detailing how argumentativeness and aggressiveness can derail communications and provides some sample strategies for dealing with conflict.
PUBLIC PRESENTATION STRATEGIES
Developing and Delivering Effective Presentations sets the stage by reinforcing the goals and purposes of public presentations. The most innovative aspect of this chapter is the section on fielding audience questions. Most public presentations are designed to be either informative or persuasive. The chapter entitled Informative Presentations details the former while Persuasive and Special Presentations covers the latter. The segment on comparing one-sided to two-sided presentations is particularly useful.
THE MESSAGE
I initially chose Strategic Communication in Business and the Professions as the text for an undergraduate business course I was teaching in 1998. It served me very well in that capacity.
Since then Strategic Communication has resided on the middle shelf of the bookcase adjacent to my desk at work. It is within arms reach and I consult it routinely. Two thousand two is drawing to a close and two thousand three is less than seven weeks distant. Yet these messages for planning, implementing, and executing effective communication are as relevant today as they were nearly five years ago.
Kenneth Andrews penned a superb piece for a 1989 Harvard Business Review article entitled “Ethics in Practice”. The authors of Strategic Communication use an excerpt from Andrews’ article to make a critical point.
“The personal values and ethical aspirations of the company’s leaders, though probably not specifically stated, are implicit in all strategic decisions. They show through the choices management makes and reveal themselves as the company goes about its business. That is why this communication should be deliberate and purposeful rather than random.” [p.188].
In our business and professional communication, that is a lesson that we neglect at our peril. Strategic Communication in Business and the Professions may be a 1998 publication – but it still delivers the message.
Strategic Communication in Business and the Professions
Dan O’Hair, Gustav W. Friedrich, Lynda Dixon Shaver
Houghton Mifflin
New York
Paperback, 1998, 3rd edition
ISBN: 0 395 85869 0
© 2002 Gungian
Recommended:
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