COM 295 Competitive Success--tutorialrank.com

1. COM 295 Apply Week 3 Selecting Source of Research (June, 2020 Syllabus) For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com Refer to the “Evaluating Data Quality” practice activity. Imagine that you are a marketing specialist at a media company. Over the past few years, you have been researching how TV viewers use mobile phones and other devices while watching TV. You want to find out as much as you can about what other researchers, experts, and commentators say about trends in this area as you prepare a strategy brief for your executive team. Specifically, you want to know how TV viewers use mobile phones, tablets, and other mobile devices while watching sports events. True/False: The first step you should take in developing your research- based report is identifying what decision makers want to accomplish. True Correct

2. True/False: The information you can access through business databases and other sources at your library is generally most reliable. True Correct True/False: As you collect, analyze, and present data to others, you should provide all the relevant facts, even if they do not fit into convenient conclusions. True Correct Who will your primary audience be for this business report? low-level workers within the company suppliers of the company customers of the company decision makers within the company When you're evaluating secondary research and how well it can be revised to address your specific business problem, you are considering its biases reliability

3. adaptability relevance If you were to use a report or guide that generally describes research about solving a particular issue, particularly one similar to the one you are encountering, you would be using ____________. scholarly journals industry publications business books white papers If you were looking for a research source that provides concise, easy to understand research, which of the following research sources would you be LEAST likely to use? business periodicals white papers external blogs scholarly journals If, during your research, you were only interested in expert opinions on the topic, which of the following types of secondary sources would be LEAST helpful for you? a white paper

4. a wiki an industry report a scholarly journal article You can usually better assess the usefulness of ____________ than other secondary sources because of the many online reviews available. scholarly journals external blogs business books industry publications A drawback of using online databases is that they provide outdated information take time to navigate are more expensive than primary research are not found in university libraries To ensure the completeness of a business message once you've compiled your research and are preparing to deliver your message, you should be sure to avoid empty phrases control paragraph length

5. be specific use action verbs Which of the following is most likely to negatively influence readers' perceptions of your credibility? generous white space inaccurate statements long paragraphs passive voice ============================================== COM 295 Apply Week 5 Communication Tools Comparison (June 2020, Syllabus) For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com Your coworker’s office is situated next to yours. One day she comes into your office and informs you of a huge project that is in the process of

6. being assigned from upper management to your department’s manager. Within forty eight hours, your department manager contacts you through a text message informing you of your inclusion in this project. Unfortunately, your manager included very minimal information about project specifics, so you do not know enough to get a solid start. Your manager is highly political and does not pay much attention to detail. Also, he does not like his personnel reaching out to individuals outside of the department, especially his counterparts. On the other hand, you do have good relationships with other departmental managers. You will need to gather information so you can start your project and determine whether to use traditional or social media communication tools when you deliver your message. Your manager dislikes email and texting because he cannot hear the other person's tone of voice or see facial expressions. His frustration is related to a lack of • cues • resources • constraints • control

7. If, in your quest to gather information, you need to meet with team members that are in different time zones around the world, which communication channel is most likely to meet your needs? • an electronic discussion thread • a videoconference • a series of one-to-one phone calls • a conference call If you would like to communicate with everyone in your department, but it is not necessary for everyone to receive the message at the same time, which of the following tools would you use? • a phone conversation • a conference call • a videoconference

8. • an email When you are ready to schedule a meeting with your department, or if you have a short, one-to-one or one-to-many message to deliver, which of the following would be the most appropriate to use? • a webinar • texting • a conference call • a blog You have finished your first draft of the project, complete with several large files for your team members to review. Several team members are remote and located in different cities. What is the most efficient way for you to distribute the files for review? • through a site such as Dropbox •

9. in the body of an email • as an email attachment • on a social media site One possible negative effect of the text you received from your department manager is that • instant messages do not work for group conversations • instant messages cannot convey meta messages • the brevity of messages can make them sound bossy • instant messaging is an inherently serious channel If you wanted to develop a personal brand, which social media tool would be most effective? • a blog

10. • a social bookmarking page • a wiki • a discussion forum One advantage of using social media in the workplace is that social media • discourage self-promotion and opportunism. • create a clear demarcation between professional and private lives. • improve productivity when used constantly. • ensure quicker access to business expertise and knowledge. While working with your team on the project, you decide to utilize a shared file platform. When doing so, it is important to •

11. discuss protocols for co-editing files • keep comments general • create a single, shared login • grant each user access to all documents Once you finish your project, you want to present it in a forum where your audience is able to hear your tone of voice and see your nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions, gestures, and posture. The method of communication that would best accomplish this is: • email • text message • videoconference • face-to-face conversation ==============================================

12. COM 295 Practice Week 5 Identifying Constraints of Communication Channels(June 2020, Syllabus) For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com Identifying Constraints of Communication Channels Strategically selecting a communication channel means that you choose the communication channel that is best able to meet your work objectives. This process involves evaluating three qualities of communication channels: richness, control, and constraints. Richness involves two considerations: the level of immediacy and number of cues available. Control refers to the degree to which communications can be planned and recorded, thus allowing strategic message development. Constraints refer to the practical limitations of coordination and resources. You will evaluate communication channels in terms of richness, control, and constraints.

13. ============================================== COM 295 Practice Week 5 Moving toward the Social Age(June 2020, Syllabus) For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com Moving toward the Social Age In the past several decades, major shifts in workplace culture have occurred. These shifts have been identified with labels such as the Industrial Age, the Information Age, and the Social Age. You will notice overlapping dates for these eras since the dividing lines between these areas are blurry. Currently, most companies operate in a culture associated with the Information Age. However, some companies still operate with values more aligned with the Industrial Age, and many companies are more aligned with the values of the emerging Social Age. So, you should be familiar with these various value sets and know how to adapt to each one.

14. In this exercise, you will identify characteristics associated with the Industrial Age (mid-1700s to 1985), the Information Age (1970 to 2025), and the Social Age (beginning around 2005 in some companies). ============================================== COM 295 Week 3 Practice Evaluating a Routine Email (June 2020 Syllabus) For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com EVALUATING A ROUTINE EMAIL Email continues to be the most common type of written communication is most businesses. You can follow a variety of Principles to use it effectively: (1) use it for the right purposes, (2) ensure ease of reading, (3) show respect for others’ time,(4) protect the privacy and confidentiality of others, (5) respond promptly, (6) maintain professionalism and appropriate formality, (7) manage emotion effectively, and (8) avoid distractions.

15. Typically, as you write an email message, you should do the following: (1) provide a short, descriptive subject line, (2) use greetings and closings effectively, (3) keep your message brief yet complete, (4) clearly identify expected actions, (5) provide a descriptive and professional signature block, and (6) use attachments wisely. Routine messages should be direct and front-loaded. The primary message should have ten words or fewer, and you should typically place it in subject line of your email to immediately capture attention, Furthermore, the primary message should appear in the first sentence or two of the message and again in the closing if your message is several paragraphs long. In the body of the routine message, you should provide short paragraphs with related details. To make sure your message receiver will comply, include all needed information. As you draft the message, aim for a helpful, professional, and readercentered tone. Focus on making the message easy to read . Readers expect to understand your primary message in less than 10 to 15 seconds, so use short sentences and paragraphs. Paragraphs should generally be between 20 and 80 words. Design your message so that readers can find information in just moments. Use bullets, numbering, special formatting, and external links to relevant information to highlight key ideas. Read the case below and answer the question that follow.

16. SUBJECT: Proper Submissions Hey, [Sentence 1]Thank you for travelling to our recent event “Marketing to Senior Citizens,” [Sentence 2] All of the following expenses will be reimbursed: air travel (up to $500 for coach-class airfare), meals (for up to $25 per meal), travel to and from the airport (for up to $75 per taxi ride), and some incidentals (up to $20 per day). [Sentence 3] Reimbursement will be sent to you after the following steps are completed. [Sentence 4] An itemized spreadsheet of expenses must be received by October 15. [Sentence 5] A date, an explanation, and an expense amount should be included on the spreadsheet of expenses. [Sentence 6] Additionally,a single file with copies of all receipts(in .pdf form is best) muct be attached in order for your reimbursement to be processes. [Sentence 7] The spreadsheet and copy of expenses should be sent to the following email address: teri@slpconsulting.com. [Sentence 8] The phrase “reimbursement for Sept 15 Marketing Event” should be written in the subject line. Best,

17. Jack Manning SLP Consulting, Principal Email: jack.manning@slpconsulting.com Skype: slp.manning Which of the following subject lines would be best for this email? • Please Submit Your Expenses before October 15 • In Order to be Reimbursed promptly, Please Remember to Submit Your Expenses within Four Weeks •Thank You for Attending the “ Marketing to Senior Citizens” Event This email lacks a focus on the future. Which of the following calls to action ouldbe the best focus on the future?

18. • Feel free to contact me any time about developing campaigns to attract senior citizens. • Hurry and get your receipts in so you can get you reimbursement right away! • Good luck reaching your marketing goals! Overall, Which statement about the address block is most accurate? • It is professional and complete. • It is unprofessional and complete. • It is professional and incomplete. Before I write routine messages, Imake sure I’ve gathered all of the relevant information. • Rarely/Never • Sometimes • Usually • Always

19. Before I write routine messages, I spend a significant amount of time analyzing and piecing together the information • Rarely/Never • Sometimes • Usually • Always Before I write routine messages, I learn as much as Ireasonably can about the needs of the message receiver(s) • Rarely/Never • Sometimes • Usually • Always As I write routine messages, I think about how the message receiver(s) will feel while reading the message. • Rarely/Never

20. • Sometimes • Usually • Always As I write routine messages, I think about how the message receiver(s) will respond. • Rarely/Never • Sometimes • Usually • Always As I write routine messages, I think about how quickly the message receiver(s) will be able to read the message. • Rarely/Never • Sometimes

21. • Usually • Always Before sending a routine message, I place myself in the position of the message receiver(s) and reread the message imagining how the message will be interpreted. • Rarely/Never • Sometimes • Usually • Always Before sending a routine message, I carefully double-check the entire message to make sure it is appropriate and accurate. • Rarely/Never • Sometimes • Usually • Always

22. Before sending a routine message, I frequently ask people I trust to read the message or ask them how they would handle the communication. • Rarely/Never • Sometimes • Usually • Always Before sending a routine message, I use a spell-checker. • Rarely/Never • Sometimes

23. • Usually • Always ============================================== COM 295 Week 4 Evaluating the Needs of an Audience (June 2020, Syllabus) For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com Evaluating the Needs of an Audience Understanding the needs of your audience is one of your first tasks as you develop your presentations. As you do your homework about the audience, answer the following questions to the degree possible: How will audience members benefit from the product, service, or ideas I am proposing? This is the single most important question you can use to guide you as you design your presentation. In particular, focus on benefits that fulfill an unmet need.

24. What communication styles will your audience respond to based on their motivational values? Identify the motivational value systems (MVSs) of your audience and how you might appeal to the following MVSs: blue MVS, red MVS, green MVS, and hubs. What is the learning style of your audience? Most people fall into one of three major learning styles: visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. Read the case below and answer the questions that follow. Assume that you work in a human resources department. Recently, a small earthquake struck near the headquarters of your company. Although there were no injuries and little damage, your company president thinks that all employees should be more prepared for a major earthquake. In her words, “You never know when we’ll get the big one.” She has asked you to promote some earthquake preparedness workshops. The company president is holding an employee town hall meeting for approximately 100 employees this week. She has given you ten minutes to describe and promote the upcoming earthquake preparedness workshops. The workshops will run for two hours and involve expert training. Attending the workshops is entirely voluntary. You have scheduled five workshops to allow as many employees as possible to fit a workshop into their schedules.

25. Now, you need to think about how best to use your ten minutes to promote the workshops. Which of the following is most likely an obstacle to employees attending a two-hour workshop on emergency preparedness? Multiple Choice • fitting a workshop into their busy schedules Correct • skepticism that an earthquake will occur during their lifetimes • security in the fact that their home insurance plans will cover any earthquake damage • distrust in company leadership Explanation Two hours is a big commitment for most employees, especially when it’s voluntary. This would likely be the primary obstacle for nearly all employees. They would not be skeptical that an earthquake might occur in their lifetimes; after all, they just felt an earthquake recently. There’s no reason to believe they feel secure in their insurance plans and distrust company leadership. If anything, these workshops show that the company’s leaders are interested in the well-being of their employees.

26. You plan to explain to the employees that the workshop will be engaging. It will include a variety of activities, including short videos, simulations, and hands-on activities. You will emphasize that the workshop will move quickly from activity to activity. This will most appeal to what type of learner? Multiple Choice • kinesthetic learners Correct • visual learners • auditory learners Explanation This format of training appeals most to kinesthetic learners, those who like to be actively involved and need a change in activities fairly frequently.

27. As part of your ten-minute pitch about the workshops, you plan to show several diagrams and charts. One diagram depicts the procedures in place at your workplace. One chart shows the dramatic reduction in risks to homes that can be achieved with simple preventative measures. This approach most appeals to what type of learner? Multiple Choice • visual learners Correct • kinesthetic learners • auditory learners Explanation Charts and diagrams clearly appeal most to visual learners. With the company president’s permission, you’ve thought of a variety of incentives to get employees to attend the workshops. Which of the following would not be an effective incentive? Multiple Choice • a food storage starter kit for only $99 Correct

28. • a free meal • a $100 company donation to the Red Cross in the name of each employee who attends the workshops • a free emergency preparedness guidebook Explanation Any time you’re asking employees to attend voluntary events, you will need to think of some good incentives to attend. Most employees would never pay for anything related to a workshop, especially a workshop that most employees would consider non-urgent. On the other hand, most employees are attracted to free items and services. ============================================== COM 295 Week 4 Practice Case Analysis Establishing Credibility as a Presenter (June 2020, Syllabus) For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com

29. Establishing Credibility as a Presenter One of your first presentation strategies should be to establish credibility. Without appearing self-serving, find ways to increase your perceived credibility. Use the presentation to show your thorough understanding of a business issue. Frame your ideas in ways that show clear benefits to your company, its employees, and its stakeholders. In every way, display honesty and openness. During the presentation, you establish your competence by showing that you know the content well. You show your caring by connecting emotionally with audience members and adapting to their needs. You show your character by being open and honest. After your presentation, following up as appropriate with audience members shows your caring and character as well. Some audience members may raise issues for you to look into or ask for additional information. Comply with these requests promptly and you will establish a reputation for responsiveness. In this exercise, you will evaluate how your actions and statements build your credibility in terms of competence, caring, and character. Read the case below and answer the questions that follow.

30. You are a marketing specialist at a media company. Over the past few years, you have been researching how TV viewers use mobile phones and other devices while watching TV. You have found that viewers increasingly expect to engage via mobile devices with TV shows and their audiences while watching TV. About one month ago, you and your colleagues gave a presentation to executives at your company regarding some of your survey results. The executive team members were generally impressed with the information, but they also seemed skeptical that your company needed to make any major changes. These executives made various statements referring to using mobile devices while watching TV as "largely a fad" or simply "nonmonetizing." They also expressed concern about making major changes to cater to the youngest viewers (under 25 years old), who they feel are not their most important demographic. However, they were impressed with your presentation enough that they wanted you to dig deeper into the data and come up with some recommendations. After a month of deeper analysis of your data, you have found even stronger evidence that viewers under 40 use their mobile devices frequently while watching TV. You thought these data helped bolster your argument that younger TV viewers expect an interactive experience while watching TV programs—using mobile devices to interact with TV hosts, actors, and other viewers; to participate in contests and games; and to interact in other creative ways with the programming.

31. With more and more TV viewers recording shows and watching commercial-free later, you thought that adopting an interactive approach to many programs could counteract this trend and get viewers excited about watching programs live. In fact, you think there is currently a great opportunity to develop a new business model that embraces interactive programming. Now, you've returned to make a presentation to this same group of senior vice presidents (SVPs): Katie O'Harrah, SVP of marketing; Jake Ecksberg, SVP of programming; Sam Clawson, SVP of interactive; Marco Feinstein, SVP of communications; and Peter Orwell, SVP of business development. You know most of these executives are skeptical of major changes to the current business model, but you also expect them to listen objectively to your views. You will recommend that the company aggressively pursues programming with an interactive component. In particular, you will suggest pilot-testing interactive features for three shows that are most popular with your 31- to 40-year- old demographic. Which of the following statements is most likely to raise your credibility through competence? Multiple Choice • "We've provided the original data from the survey on the corporate intranet so you can access it yourselves." •

32. "I do think we should let our creative teams worry about that." • "In addition to these survey results, we've found from many sources—in our viewer labs, with focus group research, and with interviews of dozens of industry experts—that viewers expect more interactive TV." Correct • "We've done all of this research to help us gain a competitive advantage—to gain insights about where the market is going so that we can focus our efforts in the right direction." Explanation The correct statement most emphasizes the reliability of you and the data. It emphasizes your ability to gather research well and form thoroughly analyzed conclusions. It also emphasizes reliability through many sources of information. In short, this statement emphasizes your ability to approach your business problem well and get the job done. By showing a thorough understanding of your survey results, organizing your content in a clear manner, and generally showing you are prepared for this presentation, you are most demonstrating what aspect of credibility? Multiple Choice •

33. caring • character • competence Correct Explanation By coming prepared with well-analyzed and well-organized content, you are primarily demonstrating competence. You inspire confidence that you know what you're talking about. Before introducing the results of your survey, you explain in detail how you collected the data and the possible limitations of this survey. You also tell the SVPs where they can access all of the raw data on the corporate intranet. What aspect of credibility are you most demonstrating? Multiple Choice • character Correct •

34. competence • caring Explanation You are primarily demonstrating character. You are focusing on transparency by opening up the survey process and data to the SVPs. It's unlikely they will have time to go through your data, but they are likely to now place more trust in your character and assume that you will not manipulate the data for your own personal agenda. After the presentation, you discover that you provided some inaccurate figures. In a few cases, you inadvertently overstated by more than 50 percent the use of mobile devices while watching TV. You immediately email the SVPs with the correct figures and explain what you think this implies about your recommendations. What aspect of credibility are you most demonstrating? Multiple Choice • character Correct • competence • caring Explanation

35. In this case, the best choice is character. You've made a mistake and you do not want to hide it. You are living up to high moral and ethical values by fixing the mistake and ensuring transparency. ==============================================