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Business and Professional Communication: KEYS for Workplace Excellence
Recipient of the 2020 Textbook Excellence Award from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA) Business and Professional Communication provides students with the knowledge and skills they need to move from interview candidate, to team member, to leader. Accessible coverage of new communication technology and social media prepares students to communicate effectively in real world settings. With an emphasis on building skills for business writing and professional presentations, this text empowers students to successfully handle important work-related activities, including job interviewing, working in team, strategically utilizing visual aids, and providing feedback to supervisors.
464 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 2, 2010
7 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 27, 2021
This is the worst, most misogynistic textbook that I have ever read. One of the chapters made me so angry that I couldn't even focus enough to finish my homework that day. I'm lucky that my professor also realized the many issues with the book and he would often start each weekly class by allowing students to call out the problems in the text, or he would go on an epic rant about racism and sexism in the workplace. It's unfortunate that he hasn't found a book to replace it yet.
These authors should be ashamed of themselves. I'm going to provide a few quotes from this book that I can quickly find to show you what to expect.
On interview appearance: "For women, it includes a jacket and skirt. Many female students question the necessity of wearing a skirt. For better or worse, even in the 21st century, the standard interviewing uniform for women is the suit with a skirt" (p. 86). There are also tips of bringing extra panty hose and wearing a pump with no more than 2 inch heals. Don't forget to practice walking in heels first...
On leadership traits: Used studies from 1948 and 1959, so you won't be surprised to note that physical traits of leaders include handsome and educated at the right school (p. 238).
On romance in the workplace: Quoting a study from 1987 which "found that of women who had been involved romantically with someone at work, 86% reported motives that were not job related, while 14% did report job-related motives." (p.133). And then goes on to warn about the 14%. What disgusts me most about this section is that the authors are old enough to know what employment was like for women in the 80s and how women were often not taken seriously. AND how men in supervisor positions used their power to coerce women into sexual relationships as the only way to be given a shot at promotion. So maybe what this should have said was to be aware of men that use their power to sexual harass in the workplace. Personally, I am so sick of a society that constantly questions how women make it to the top while never questioning that for a white male.
On work-life balance: After discussing women and the typically stereotypes that are quickly becoming outdated, "If you're a man reading this book, you may be feeling pretty lucky right about now, but don't begin celebrating quite yet. Household and family demands affect you as well." (366)
Please, if you are an instructor that is searching for a textbook on professional communication, do not use this one. It's damaging to the younger generations that might not understand the context behind some of these very old studies being used.
These authors should be ashamed of themselves. I'm going to provide a few quotes from this book that I can quickly find to show you what to expect.
On interview appearance: "For women, it includes a jacket and skirt. Many female students question the necessity of wearing a skirt. For better or worse, even in the 21st century, the standard interviewing uniform for women is the suit with a skirt" (p. 86). There are also tips of bringing extra panty hose and wearing a pump with no more than 2 inch heals. Don't forget to practice walking in heels first...
On leadership traits: Used studies from 1948 and 1959, so you won't be surprised to note that physical traits of leaders include handsome and educated at the right school (p. 238).
On romance in the workplace: Quoting a study from 1987 which "found that of women who had been involved romantically with someone at work, 86% reported motives that were not job related, while 14% did report job-related motives." (p.133). And then goes on to warn about the 14%. What disgusts me most about this section is that the authors are old enough to know what employment was like for women in the 80s and how women were often not taken seriously. AND how men in supervisor positions used their power to coerce women into sexual relationships as the only way to be given a shot at promotion. So maybe what this should have said was to be aware of men that use their power to sexual harass in the workplace. Personally, I am so sick of a society that constantly questions how women make it to the top while never questioning that for a white male.
On work-life balance: After discussing women and the typically stereotypes that are quickly becoming outdated, "If you're a man reading this book, you may be feeling pretty lucky right about now, but don't begin celebrating quite yet. Household and family demands affect you as well." (366)
Please, if you are an instructor that is searching for a textbook on professional communication, do not use this one. It's damaging to the younger generations that might not understand the context behind some of these very old studies being used.
August 10, 2018
summer class textbook
August 5, 2020
I’m finally done with this class.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews