Managerial Communication Strategies : An Applied Casebook

by Veech, Annette

• ISBN13: 9780130608215
• ISBN10: 0130608211
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Pearson College Div
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

This casebook views writing and presentation skills as necessary prerequisites in managerial communications, and provides a forum to discuss realistic situations and explore creative solutions in effective business presentations.Organized around functional areas that mirror the critical managerial functions of real-life, this handbook helps professionals think effectively and quickly. It enables them to capitalize on what they already know, creatively apply accepted business tools to what they perceive as communications issues, and consequently accomplish better resultswith tasksandpeople.For business school professors, communication vice presidents and staff, public relations personnel, corporate vice presidents, directors and managers, small business owners, training and development professionals, and nonprofit directors.

Table of Contents

How to Use This Book.
How to Work Through the Cases.
1. Manager as Communication Coach.
2. Manager as Cross-Functional Leader of Diverse Teams.
3. Manager as Idea-Generator.
4. Manager as Meeting Facilitator.
5. Manager as Concept Illustrator.
6. Manager as Crisis Team Leader and Liaison to the Media.
7. Manager as Conflict Mediator.
Index.

Excerpts

First, let me explain how to differentiate this casebook from others in the arena of business and managerial communications. Many fine textbooks focus on specific business writing and presentation skills; those textbooks delve into areas of expertise such as rules of grammar and the tactical techniques necessary to build effective presentations. Writing and presentation skills are overviewed in this casebook because I believe that those skills are necessary prerequisites in managerial communications. This casebook, however, clearly does not compete with textbooks specifically designed to help professors teach business communication skills, but does serve as a complement to those textbooks.Next, I must share my personal bias regarding effective managerial communication. I believe that a successful communicator/manager possesses two dimensions of skills: What I label thescienceand theartof communicating.The first dimension, thescienceof effective communication, comprises such foundation skills as writing and speaking effectively, adhering to organizational style guidelines, staying on point (i.e., maintaining the central idea of a message), and succinctly delivering consistent messages. These foundation skills, the science, help formulate our perceptions of a manager's personal integrity and credibility.The second dimension, the art of effective communication, incorporates such advanced and sometimes intuitive skills as reading the audience, separating facts from emotions, varying persuasive strategies to match others' personal styles, and applying group facilitation methods to solve team problems and identify the root causes of business issues. These skills, the art, lead to our perceptions regarding the extent to which we trust a manager.I believe that competent managers excel in the science of effective communication. Through empirical evidence, I have come to believe that stellar managers excel in the science and the art of effective communication. Stellar managers consistently communicate effectively as well as mentally strategize in terms of their audience. These managers consider other points of view and seem to intuitively do the right things at the right times for the right people (and people perceive for the right reasons). Stellar managers go beyond doing the right things; stellar managers do things right.These points lead me to explain why I organized this casebook around functional areas. Managers may have originally trained in a specific field (e.g., finance or marketing), but managers eventually must demonstrate some level of expertise across many fields (e.g., finance, marketing, human resources, and operations). The functional tasks, however, recur on a daily basis. Therefore, I organized the casebook around critical functions to mirror the daily life of any manager.Finally, some readers of more traditional business and managerial communications textbooks may feel that the clustering of cases is rather disparate. I defend this by saying that no manager has the luxury of responding to neat and tidy situations. The reality of a manager's life is that anything can happen, and unfortunately, often does. Therefore, my intent in gathering a range of cases is to present people with a continuum of realistic situations, based on composite facts--and my intent is to help managers think creatively and quickly.I hope that this casebook helps managers and students of management capitalize on what they may already know (e.g., running brainstorms), creatively apply accept4d business tools (e.g., SWOT Analysis) to what they perceive as communications issues, and consequently accomplish better results--with tasksandpeople. A manager perceived by colleagues as effective is probably viewed as a person with personal integrity and credibility, and, therefore, a manager whom people trust.