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Business Communication: Polishing Your Professional Presence, 4th edition

Published by Pearson (January 12, 2018) © 2019

  • Barbara Shwom Northwestern University
  • Lisa Gueldenzoph Snyder North Carolina A&T State University

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For business communication courses.

Effective communication in business practices

Business Communication: Polishing Your Professional Presence helps students achieve the highest level of professionalism when conducting business. With a clear communication model that assists learners in professionally analyzing and reacting to any sort of business situation, the text stresses the importance of etiquette in successful entrepreneurial practices.

The 4th Edition relates business communication to modern technologies and social media outlets, bringing the text into the context of our digital world.

Hallmark features of this title

An organized structure keeps students focused

  • 12 brief, easy-to-read chapters effectively present core communication concepts.
  • An ACE (Analyzing, Composing, and Evaluating) communication model lets students apply major concepts to a variety of business situations.
  • End-of-chapter Summaries are structured as study questions with answers below, helping students focus on key chapter points.

A text that teaches through real-world examples

  • Instances involving technology, ethics, and culture are woven throughout the text to show students how to react appropriately in sensitive situations.
  • A laminated pullout reference card on how to write business emails is included for use in class or students' future careers.

New and updated features of this title

A student-centric focus

  • NEW: Collaboration features help students apply chapter concepts when working in teams, both locally and virtually.
  • NEW: Figures and models include formal reports that illustrate concepts and address authentic business challenges, such as developing an organic restaurant.

A text that teaches through real-world examples

  • 9 NEW: End-of-chapter company profiles showcase how real businesses address communication challenges.
  • UPDATED: 7 new hires share stories about how they’ve put their communication skills to work.
  • UPDATED: In-chapter examples interactively place students in decision-making roles by having them assume various employee positions and try to solve various issues.
  • UPDATED: Ineffective vs. Effective examples help students determine which modes of communication do and don’t work in a business environment.

Highlights of the DIGITAL UPDATE for MyLab Business Communication (available for Fall 2022 classes)

Instructors, contact your sales rep to ensure you have the most recent version of the course.

  • NEW: Communication Improvement Mini Sims get students to think critically and get hands on with realistic business correspondence. Using an interactive mini simulation, students walk through various types of written communications, identify problem areas, and correct them based on the appropriate business purpose.
  • NEW: Writing Prompts have you grade 20 submissions to tailor the rubric to your grading style. Artificial intelligence then takes over to offer automatic, personalized grading, just like you would.

Features of MyLab Business Communication for the 4th Edition; published 2018

  • Videos Exercises are available for select chapter topics to help engage students and hold them accountable for their learning.
  • Mini Sims put students in professional roles and give them the opportunity to apply course concepts and develop decision-making skills through real-world business challenges.
  • Dynamic Study Modules help students study chapter topics on their own by continuously assessing their knowledge application and performance in real time.
  • The Gradebook offers an easy way for you and your students to see their performance in your course.

Visual Walk-Through

PART 1: UNDERSTANDING THE FOUNDATIONS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

  1. Developing Your Professional Presence
  2. Working with Others: Interpersonal, Intercultural, and Team Communication
  3. Managing the Communication Process: Analyzing, Composing, Evaluating

PART 2: DELIVERING EFFECTIVE MESSAGES

  1. Communicating Routine Messages and Building Goodwill
  2. Communicating Persuasive Messages
  3. Communicating Bad News
  4. Using Social Media in Business

PART 3: RESEARCHING, PROPOSING, REPORTING, AND PRESENTING

  1. Finding and Evaluating Business Information
  2. Preparing Persuasive Business Proposals
  3. Preparing Business Reports
  4. Preparing and Delivering Business Presentations

PART 4: PERSUADING AN EMPLOYER TO HIRE YOU

  1. Communicating Your Professional Brand: Social Media, Résumés, Cover Letters, and Interviews

APPENDICES

  1. Formats for Business Documents
  2. Documentation and Reference Styles
  3. Grammar, Punctuation, Mechanics, and Conventions
  4. Answer Key to Grammar Exercises
  5. Proofreader’s Marks

About our authors

Barbara Shwom, PhD, is Professor of Instruction in Writing at Northwestern University, where she teaches in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Kellogg School of Management, and McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. For more than 30 years, she has designed and taught communication courses that have influenced this textbook, including Writing in Organizations, Communicating Complex Data, Engineering Design and Communication, and How to Become an Expert in Roughly 10 Weeks.

Professor Shwom’s teaching at Northwestern has been recognized by both an outstanding teacher award and an appointment as a fellow of Northwestern’s Searle Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning. Professor Shwom has gained industry experience as the managing principal of Communication Partners, a consulting practice that works with clients from a range of industries, including biotechnology, high tech research and development, pharmaceuticals, management consulting, market research, financial services, engineering and consumer products.

Professor Shwom’s research interests include evolving genres of business communication, visual communication of data, and methods of persuasion. In addition to many articles, she is also the coauthor of a textbook on graphics and visual communication for managers. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Association for Business Communication and the editorial review board of Business and Professional Communication Quarterly and has served as president for both the Association for Business Communication and the Association of Professional Communication Consultants.

Lisa Gueldenzoph Snyder, PhD, is a Professor and the Chairperson of the Department of Business Education in the College of Business and Economics at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. She earned a doctorate in Higher Education Administration from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, where she also received a master’s degree in Business Education. Her Bachelor’s in Business Education is from Northern Michigan University.

Dr. Snyder is widely published in journals such as, The Business Communication Quarterly, Journal of Business Communication, Business Education Digest, The Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, and NABTE Review. She regularly presents sessions on business communication and instructional practices at local, regional, and national professional development events, workshops, and conferences. Dr. Snyder received the Meada Gibbs Outstanding Teacher Award from the Association for Business Communication, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Business Education program at Bowling Green State University. She also has received the Innovative Instructional Practices Award from Delta Pi Epsilon, the Distinguished Service Award from the Ohio Business Teachers Association, and the Collegiate Teacher of the Year Award from both the North Carolina Business Education Association and the Southern Business Education Association.

Dr. Snyder is the 2018 President of the Association for Business Communication and has served as the National President of the Association for Research in Business Education, the Research Coordinator for the National Association for Business Teacher Education, and the Past-Chair of the Policies Commission for Business and Economic Education. She is also actively involved with the National Business Education Association.

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