Relevant in today's dynamic business environment. Sometimes, though, this attempt at comprehensiveness results in the book being dilettantish. I did not notice any particularly offensive texts or ideas. Brown, Assistant Professor, University of Arizona on 6/10/15, I integrated this book as a supplement in a Psychology of Leadership course. Clear language, easy to read, relevant examples. I would prefer a more advanced textbook but this text works well for a lower level or introductory course. All 10 examples of page 35, appeared to be derived from African American slang...certainly not inclusive. More charts and diagrams would help with readability. So, good communication … 2016, McLean, Scott . No cultural insensitivities were perceived. This textbook was comprehensive in the sense that it covers broad concepts in communication and then narrows down specifically to business writing and oral communication. Very small issue, but the references at the end of the chapters need to be reformatted with a hanging indent and consistent margins. Business Communication for Success is adapted from a work produced by a publisher who has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution. I found no issues with this book. When reviewing other texts, this text is consistent with topic areas covered. Moreover, diversity is not just conceived of in racial or ethnic terms, but the authors make sure to incorporate identity topics related to gender, sexuality, age, and disability as well. The topics of social media and managing interactive stakeholder communication could perhaps be added in Chapter 3 or Chapter 16. It reduced both friction with our course materials and my need to be technical support, while increasing engagement through allowing students choices and the ability to pursue additional knowledge on their own. Chapter 9, which shows Business Writing in Action covers other parts of business writing, which I taught and assigned to my students, but I also told students that blogging and creating a website are also important parts of maintaining a business. I read through the book using both a PDF on a computer screen. I was surprised not to find hypertext links other than those in the citations - but I suppose that would make it difficult to publish in multiple formats, and managing broken links would be a nightmare. From the basics of the communications model to group work effectiveness, this book has the components to teach students important skills they will need in the... I did not follow the organization or structure of the text as it was in any way, that was the only challenge I found with using this text. The Chicago Manual of Style Endnote. As certain ideas are linked (to inform, to persuade), internal links would have been appreciated. An adopter of the book might do well to adopt the elements on communication or language, but probably not both to keep the content clear. It does not assume a student has taken a communication course before, so I think it would work for a general education course. I would have liked to have seen a little more on online writing--blogs, websites, digital white papers--because while we can always upload a PDF of a traditional report to a website, many Millenials read differently and have different expectations of what they will read on the internet. The book is comprehensive in regards to business communication, but it lacks a table of contents, index, or glossary for ease in finding the concepts presented in it. Since one individual authored the entire text, it has a consistent voice and tone. I always had to start at the top of the table for f contents and scroll all the way to the most recent chapter. Students registered no complaints, and overall I have no major issues with it. The clarity of this text is one of its strongest features. Another topic of importance that needed discussion is communication relating to applying for a job and preparing for interviews. The population that attends NOVACC are very diverse culturally and linguistically so this would not go over well. From A to Z, the main communication topics and concepts are covered in this text. While not every platform is mainstream, the ones that are increasingly used in professional settings certainly need to be taught at the collegiate level in a comprehensive manner. Content is accurate. Reviewed by Kathleen Berry, Adjunct Professor, Massasoit Community College on 6/23/20, The text covers all areas of the subject appropriately. Social Media is now an integral part of business communication internally and externally but it is STILL treated as an afterthought or footnote in academia. There weren't a lot of photos in the book. The text takes nearly a hundred pages to really get to writing and communication specifics, and it is not entirely clear why some (of the 19) chapters appear where they do. Each area of the field is covered substantively and with effective examples. Business Communication for Success. Overall, the text was well organized and flowed well. The grammar sections provide a backbone; generally good examples provided. Boston, MA: FlatWorld. The book has the strong ability to present multiple ideas relevant to business communication (and its underlying communication research) without getting lost in the theoretical differences that might go along with these different perspectives. I was able to assign these together (something I will address under modularity), but the book could have a better flow and be more narrow, given the focus of the title. social media) and their models, challenges and impacts might have been included. I didn't encounter anything in the text offensive, though I don't recall an emphasis on multiculturalism or a variety of races dipicted in the visuals. While at times the bland blocks of content may render the page a bore, the instructor can breathe life into what is considered by many to be a dull subject. Accurate and timely as of the date of publishing (2010). Other than expanding on email/text and internet communications and including social media, I did not see any gaps in knowledge. The author was very eloquent in the way that they explained the content. Yes, the chapters can be individual modules for study. Occasional glimpses of a multi-cultural reality via examples or use of names from different backgrounds. I've never used a text book as if it were a novel. Broad overview of both written and oral communication considerations and best... I will give this book a try for a Professional Writing class. The text is quite modular, and selections or chapters could easily be grouped for different teaching purposes/approaches. I think it would have been easier if it had a link at the end of the section that connected the next section. The book would be suitable for business communication courses or business and professional speaking. Each section can be understood independently, I didn't find myself having to reference previous chapters to make sense to the current one. Overall it is a good general Business Communication textbook and it has a lot to offer. However, it is duplicated in many chapters. It definitely seeks comprehensiveness, to introduce a complete spectrum of business communication methodology. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike For example, Chapter 3 has a welcome list of commonly confused words. Some of the exercises seem a bit “silly”; and the author seems to prefer “fives and sixes” for just about every exercise. It is particularly interesting that the cultural aspects are not confined to the standard understanding of the scope of such differences (such as races, ethnicities and nationalities) but also includes artifacts and examples which students can relate to and demonstrate that cultural differences can also be local, inter-generational, etc. Clear, easy to use. read more. Comparable to most business communication texts available commercially. At roughly 600 pages, coverage of the subject matter is extensive. None of these passages seemed debilitating, and could likely be avoided by assigning chapters or sections selectively across the text. This same issue was not apparent when I looked through the chapter on UMN’s website, so it may be an issue limited to the PDF version of the book. However, I am always looking for more examples to help them see the differences in cultures and how to handle communication in those instances. Those modules should be much stronger. I think some might find the use of an egalitarian approach to be biased, but not me. No grammatical errors were found. A bad review on Yelp! The scope of the book, however is too broad. The activities and assignments found in each chapter are great and easy for students to quickly find. The interface is basic but functional and meets the needs of the user. Fine job of clear writing. Although it is nice to be consistent, it almost makes it boring.