Overview
In Module Six, you learned about best practices for business communications and how the communication process model is used to develop effective communications, as well as strategies for developing effective messaging. In this assignment, you will identify and recommend best practices in communication to develop effective messaging by applying what you have learned throughout this module to a real-world scenario.
Prompt
Select one business scenario from the options below. Each scenario includes both an internal and external communication-based problem or challenge that you will need to address.
Scenario One
Your team is beginning a new project for an advertising campaign to launch a client’s new wearable technology line that will track a person’s fitness level and also monitor, collect, and report daily health metrics. The new wearable technology line is expected to have broad demographic impact. The team includes internal employees in your company and also the clients who have hired your advertising firm. To begin, you and your team are charged with structuring an effective advertising plan that will include: 1) setting clear objectives for raising brand awareness of the new product line, 2) identifying the target audience(s) for the new product line and specific demographic profiles, 3) developing a clear unified message that will be the focus of the advertising campaign, and 4) identifying potential media channels to broadcast advertisements for the new product line targeted at specific demographics. What are the inherent communication challenges of this scenario? What tools might your team use to determine key target audiences and obtain demographic profiles? What media channels will you and your team consider to best reach and influence the target audience(s)?
Scenario Two
You are working on a project at a business communications company, which includes employees who work at the central office and at a satellite office in a different state. The team is working with clients from a health services company on a public relations (PR) campaign. Throughout the campaign, the team will produce text-based documents and visual media for the PR campaign, and then the clients will review, make suggestions for revisions, and add content as needed. Quick turnaround is needed for tasks to be completed by the entire team (employees and clients). For the past six weeks since the project started, the employees and clients have been communicating largely through email with attachments, sending documents and media back and forth for review. However, the clients have been giving mostly short replies to emails, in which requested details are missing from the replies, the communication has been misunderstood by the clients, and/or individual questions are not fully responded to by the clients. Subsequently, the project team is not working productively with the clients and milestone deadlines are being missed or not fully completed with the desired goal. How can the team (employees and clients) better communicate fully, share documents and media, and stay on task to meet project deadlines? What are the key messages to communicate to the entire team and what strategies should be used to do this?
Directions
Address the requirements below as they relate to the business communication scenario that you have chosen.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
- Summarize the business communication problem or challenge in your selected scenario (internal and external).
- Explain which part(s) of the communication process model may pose a particular communication challenge for the situation described in the scenario (internal and external).
- Identify and describe appropriate best practices in business communications for addressing the internal and external business problem or challenge.
- Identify internal and external strategies for developing effective messaging for the situation described in the scenario.
Be sure to reference and cite Module Six resources to support your ideas and perspectives.
Supporting Material
Shapiro Library Resource: Citing Your Sources
This Shapiro Library resource guide is intended to help you cite sources, avoid plagiarism, and learn about citation styles and available citation tools.
Guidelines for Submission
This assignment must be submitted as a 250- to 500-word (1- to 2-page) Word document. References should be cited in APA format.
Module Six Activity Rubric
CriteriaProficient (100%)Needs Improvement (85%)Not Evident (0%)ValueSummary of Problem or ChallengeSummarizes the internal and external business communication problem or challenge in the selected scenarioShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissionsDoes not attempt criterion 10 points
Communication Process Model ChallengesExplains which parts of the communication process model the identified problem or challenge is occurring in or impacting within the selected scenarioShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissionsDoes not attempt criterion 30 points
Best Practices in Business CommunicationsIdentifies and describes appropriate best practices in business communications to address both internal and external problems and challenges in the selected scenarioShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissionsDoes not attempt criterion 30 points
Strategies for Developing Effective MessagingIdentifies internal and external strategies for developing effective messaging for the business communication scenarioShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissionsDoes not attempt criterion 20points
Articulation of ResponseClearly conveys meaning with correct grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, demonstrating an understanding of audience and purposeShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors in grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, negatively impacting readabilitySubmission has critical errors in grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, preventing understanding of ideas 5 points
Citation/AttributionsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, but citations may contain consistent minor errorsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with major errorsDoes not use citations for ideas requiring attribution 5 points
Total:100%
