business report examples
Business Communication Quarterly
A listing of works published by Business Communication Quarterly in the field of technical communication.
- The Effect of Rater Training On Reducing Social Style Bias in Peer Evaluation
This study employed a quasiexperimental control group design in a university setting to test the effect of a rater-training program on reducing social style bias in intragroup peer evaluations after controlling for ability based on GPA. Comparison of rating scores of the test group to the control group indicated minimal social style rating bias in the test group, whereas significant bias was exhibited in the control group. Implications for college instructors who use peer evaluations for gradingin team projects are discussed. - The Emotionally Challenging, Open-Ended Interview
For most job candidates, the interview experience is "an emotionally challengingendeavor". To succeed in interviews, candidates must understand the emotional labor needed to "manage their feelings" as they "create a publicly observable facial and bodily display". This is particularly true when recruiters use open-ended interviews that are not constrained to a narrow set of questions. My work in conducting research interviews illustrates several aspects of emotional labor in the interview context. Although I will talk from the perspective of the interviewer, my discussion of my own emotional labor is instructive for people entering an open-ended interview as either interviewer or interviewee because the challenges of emotional labor within the open-ended interview context apply to either interview role. Additionally, although I will draw on examples of datagathering interviews within a research context, this discussion of emotional labor applies to any interview setting--research, job interview, and so on--because the difficulties one encounters are similar across various open-ended interview situations. - Expressive Practices: the Local Enactment of Culture in the Communication Classroom
As students participatein corporate communication classes, they may, on occasion, use the term cultureto make sense of their experiences. The authors use Mino's idea of a learningparadigm to shift the emphasis away from teaching traditional theories ofculture and use student-centered experiences to teach culture as an expressivepractice. Using instances drawn from their own classrooms, the authors showhow students can recognize the value of understanding their role in creatingculture each time they choose how to act, how to evaluate others' behavior,and whether to label what is going on as cultural. - Integrating Writing Skills and Ethics Training in Business Communication Pedagogy: a Résumé Case Study Exemplar
An integrated approach toteaching résumé construction in the business communication classroom focuseson simultaneously (a) emphasizing writing-related proficiencies and (b) encouragingethical and moral orientations to this task. This article provides a résuméconstruction exemplar that operationalizes these two pedagogical goals. Thetechniques and exercises used in the exemplar are presented as a way to makeethics education accessible for both business communication instructors andstudents. - Job Interviewing
One of the most challenging modules in my business communication course is thejob search. Why? Because it seems that everyone has a strong opinion anda list of "do's and dont's" or "best and worst" forjob seekers. In my class, students who would normally be text-messaging, doinghomework for another class, or puzzled by the "you-perspective" become excited when we start discussing job search topics—the wrongand right style for the résumé and cover letter, appropriate interview attire,legal and illegal interview questions. By the end of the module, we havediscussed so many different views and exceptions to the rules that somestudents roll their eyes and ask, "So, what are we supposed to do, Dr.Muir?" And then we have another round at it! For those reasons, I refusedto teach any aspect of the job search for several semesters. Instead I wouldsend students to my university's Career Services office (because they actuallyhandle recruitment and placement and have their own set of guidelines),or I would invite guest speakers from industry to talk with students on avariety of topics relevant to the job search. (Note: It is particularly rewarding and empowering when the guest speaker agrees with you on just about everythingyou try to teach students.) - Messy Problems and Lay Audiences: Teaching Critical Thinking Within the Finance Curriculum
This article investigates the critical thinking difficulties of finance majors when asked to address ill-structured finance problems. The authors build on previous research in which they asked students to analyze an ill-structured investment problem and recommend a course of action. The results revealed numerous critical thinking weaknesses, including a failure to address the client's problem, use analytical tools systematically, construct rhetorically useful graphics,or translate finance concepts and methodologies into lay language. The presentresearch aims to understand more deeply why students struggle with ill-structuredproblems. Using think-aloud protocols, audiotaped interviews, and other strategies,the authors explore causes of finance students' difficulties and suggest strategiesfor addressing them. The results suggest that the homework tasks typicallygiven them, such as quantitative problem sets using algorithmic procedures,do not prepare them to confront ill-structured problems requiring disciplinaryarguments aimed at specified audiences. Research further suggests that teachingaudience adaptation--especially for nonexpert audiences--is helpfulin promoting critical thinking. - PowerPoint-Based Lectures in Business Education: an Empirical Investigation of Student-Perceived Novelty and Effectiveness
The use of PowerPoint (PPT)-basedlectures in business classes is prevalent, yet it remains empirically understudiedin business education research. The authors investigate whether studentsin the contemporary business classroom view PPT as a novel stimulus and whetherthese perceptions of novelty are related to students' self-assessment oflearning. Results indicate that the degree of novelty that undergraduate businessstudents associate with PPT-based teaching significantly relates to theirperceptions of PPT's impact on cognitive learning and classroom interaction.Students' views of PPT as a novel stimulus are also associated with theirperception of specific constructive and dysfunctional classroom behaviorsand attitudes. The authors discuss their findings and offer implicationsfor instructors and researchers in business education. - 404 File Not Found: Citing Unstable Web Sources
Researchers, including students, must accommodate to the mutating character of hyperlinks on the World Wide Web. A small study of citations in three volumes of BCQ demonstrates the phenomenon of 'URL rot,' the disappearance of sites cited in the sample articles. Digital technology itself is now being used to create pockets of permanence, but with the understanding that preservation of content is only one ingredient in the mix of media and format migration. Databases like JSTOR offer digitally preserved copies of many scholarly journals. Online journals and search engines may offer their own archives. In general, researchers should cite digital articles in databases where possible and consider avoiding references to online journals with print editions. - Actively Learning About Readers: Audience Modelling in Business Writing
The advantages of peer feedback in business writing classes are clear. Students receive more appraisals of their writing than any single lecturer can ever realistically deliver. Also, the feedback comes from different perspectives and sometimes carries extra credibility coming from fellow students. Students gain from giving one another feedback as well. It is certainly learning by doing. Critiquing the work of colleagues raises awareness of the many ways to approach a given task and demands skills of analysis and attention to detail. Delivering feedback also requires tact and the ability to look for positives to commend as well as areas to improve. Reviewing written documents is a skill that students will certainly use in their future work lives. However, many of us have experienced problems with peer reviewing. Students hesitate to criticise their friends and prefer praising in a general way rather than suggesting improvements, which requires confidence. - Activists' Influence Tactics and Corporate Policies
Corporations increasingly pay attention to issues of social responsibility, but their policies and procedures to articulate such responsibilities are not just a result of the good will of top management. Often, such policies and procedures are devised because some stakeholders raised their voice on issues relating to the interests of employe