Federated Mutual InsuranceCompany121 East Park Square, O.docx

Federated Mutual Insurance
Company
121 East Park Square, Owatonna, Minnesota, United States
55060
AMB #: 000384 NAIC #: 13935 FEIN#: 41-0417460
Phone: 507-455-5200 Fax: 507-446-4664 Website:
www.federatedinsurance.com
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Credit Analysis
000384 - Federated Mutual Insurance Company
Federated Mutual Insurance Company
Credit Report
Report Release Date: Rating Effective Date:
March 6, 2018 February 15, 2018

Disclosure Information: View A.M. Best’s N/A
Analytical Contacts
A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc.
Samiksha Gupta Robert Raber
Financial Analyst Associate Director
[email protected][email protected]
+1(908) 439-2200 Ext. 5658 +1(908) 439-2200 Ext. 5696
Ultimate Parent: N/A
A.M. Best Rating Unit: N/A
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Best's Credit Ratings:

Rating Effective Date: February 15, 2018
Best's Financial Strength Rating: A+ Outlook: Stable Action:
Affirmed
Best's Issuer Credit Rating: aa- Outlook: Stable Action:
Affirmed
Five Year Credit Rating History:
Best's Financial Strength Ratings Best's Issuer Credit Ratings
Date Rating Outlook Action Rating Outlook Action
02/15/2018 A+ Stable Affirmed aa- Stable Affirmed
Corporate Overview:
Federated Mutual Group includes three property/casualty
insurers, Federated Mutual Insurance Company and its wholly
owned subsidiaries, Federated Service Insurance Company and
Federated Reserve Insurance Company. Also under the direct
control of the parent are Federated Life Insurance Company,
Granite Re, Inc. and an internal agency, Primary Source
Insurance Agency, Inc. In addition, the company maintains its
investment real estate properties in Federated Development
Corporation, also a 100% wholly owned subsidiary.
Corporate Structure

AMB# Company Name
Domicile
Percentage Own
(%)
000384 Federated Mutual Ins Co MN
006381 Federated Life Ins Co MN 100
020557 Federated Reserve Insurance Co MN 100
004273 Federated Service Ins Co MN 100
011379 Granite Re, Inc OK 100
Rating Rationale:
The company's rating reflects its pooling arrangement with
other pool members of the Federated Mutual Group (AMB#
004284).
For more detail regarding the Rating Rationale and Best's Credit
Report for the Rating Unit, view Federated Mutual Group
(AMB# 004284).
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Financial Data Notes:

Time Period: Annual - 2016 Status: A.M. Best Quality Cross
Checked Data as of: 12/14/2017
Key Financial Indicators:
Key Financial Indicators (000)
Year End - December 31
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Premiums Written
Direct 1,453,849 1,296,647 1,147,522 1,042,477 926,460
Net 1,460,582 1,301,021 1,183,916 1,083,515 942,273
Pre-tax Operating Income ($000) 258,933 250,395 263,086
143,010 97,977
Net Income 185,374 189,075 187,552 127,901 106,109
Total Admitted Assets 5,456,754 5,076,210 4,783,738 4,523,517
4,233,760
Policyholders' Surplus 3,091,101 2,862,425 2,657,097
2,518,256 2,365,441
Source: Bestlink - Best's Statement File - P/C, US
Key Financial Indicators - A.M. Best Ratios (%)
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Profitability

Combined Ratio 93.1 92.6 90.1 98.9 104.5
Investment Yield 3.7 3.7 3.9 3.8 4.0
Pre-Tax Return on Revenue 18.3 19.7 23.0 14.0 10.8
Leverage
Non-Affiliated Investment Leverage 19.6 13.8 13.3 11.2 10.1
Net Premiums Written to Policyholders' Surplus 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4
0.4
Net Leverage 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
Liquidity
Overall Liquidity 230.7 229.4 225.0 225.6 226.7
Operating Cash-Flow 118.8 119.1 113.8 117.4 103.8
(*) Within several financial tables of this report, this company
is compared against the Commercial Casualty Composite.
(*) Data reflected within all tables of this report has been
compiled from the company-filed statutory statement.
Credit Analysis:
Balance Sheet Strength
Capitalization:
Capital Generation Analysis

2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Pre-tax Operating Income ($000) 258,933 250,395 263,086
143,010 97,977
Realized Capital Gains ($000) 5,111 944 2,469 21,702 12,260
Income Taxes ($000) 78,670 62,263 78,004 36,811 4,128
Unrealized Capital Gains ($000) 50,517 33,062 30,133 33,874
24,447
Other Changes ($000) -7,216 -16,810 -78,844 -8,959 -2,329
Change in Policyholders' Surplus
($000)
228,676 205,328 138,841 152,815 128,226
Change in Policyholders' Surplus (%) 8.0 7.7 5.5 6.5 5.7
Liquidity Analysis (%)
Company Industry Composite
Year End - December 31 Year End - December 31
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Quick Liquidity 34.8 25.4 25.1 28.5 22.8 21.0 21.6 24.0 24.0
22.6
Current Liquidity 165.8 170.3 168.9 170.7 171.6 103.7 104.4
108.2 109.0 106.1

Overall Liquidity 230.7 229.4 225.0 225.6 226.7 145.5 146.2
148.1 148.2 147.0
Industry Composite: Commercial Casualty Composite - Bestlink
- Best's Statement File - P/C, US
Asset Liability Management – Investments:
Bond Portfolio - 2016 Bonds Distribution by Maturity (%)
Years Years Average
0-1 1-5 5-10 10-20 20+ Maturity
Government 7.1 1.2 1.5 0.8 ... 2.8
Government Agencies and Municipal Bonds 3.4 16.7 26.4 4.7
0.1 6.3
Industrial and Misc. 2.9 11.3 11.3 11.6 1.0 8.4
Total 13.4 29.2 39.2 17.1 1.1 6.7
Asset Liability Management – Investments:
Bond Distribution by Issuer Type
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Bonds ($000) 3,250,253 3,317,760 3,161,212 2,989,937
2,851,798
US Government (%) 3.6 3.7 4.0 4.7 4.6

Foreign Government (%) 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.4
Foreign-All Other (%) 6.2 2.7 2.8 2.0 2.0
State/Special Revenue-US (%) 55.1 59.6 62.3 63.3 65.1
Industrial and Misc-US (%) 34.6 33.6 30.5 29.8 27.9
Credit Tenant Lns-US (%) ... ... ... ... ...
2016 Bond Distribution By Issuer Type
3.6%
0.4%
6.2%
55.1%
34.6%
US Government (%)
Foreign Government (%)
Foreign-All Other (%)
State/Special Revenue-US (%)
Industrial and Misc-US (%)
Reserve Adequacy:

Loss and Allocated Loss Adjustment Expense Reserve
Development
Calendar Year: 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Original Loss Reserves ($000) 1,389,525 1,316,401 1,276,340
1,291,005 1,236,233
Developed Reserves Thru Latest Year End ($000) 1,389,525
1,204,474 1,073,021 1,000,549 926,253
Development to Original (%) ... -8.5 -15.9 -22.5 -25.1
Development to Policyholder Surplus (%) ... -3.9 -7.7 -11.5 -
13.1
Developed Reserves to Net Premiums Earned (%) 98.5 94.6 93.8
98.3 102.4
Unpaid Reserves @ Latest Year End ($000) 1,389,525 884,915
624,056 482,833 398,541
Unpaid Reserves to Developed Reserves (%) 100.0 73.5 58.2
48.3 43.0
Accident Year: 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Original Loss Reserves ($000) 504,610 457,287 429,097
419,741 364,356
Developed Reserves Thru Latest Year End ($000) 504,610
418,291 353,246 317,514 252,987
Development to Original (%) ... -8.5 -17.7 -24.4 -30.6

Unpaid Reserves @ Latest Year End ($000) 504,610 260,859
141,223 84,292 44,513
Accident Year Loss Ratio (%) 76.7 74.2 70.9 71.2 72.8
Accident Year Combined Ratio (%) 101.0 100.0 97.8 100.5
102.7
Source: Bestlink - Schedule P (Loss Reserves) - P/C, US
Operating Performance
Financial Performance Summary (000)
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Pre-tax Operating Income 258,933 250,395 263,086 143,010
97,977
Net Income 185,374 189,075 187,552 127,901 106,109
A.M. Best Ratios (%)
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Operating Ratio 81.0 79.9 76.2 84.3 88.0 88.1 85.2 84.4 81.6

90.2
Realized Return on Invested Assets 3.8 3.8 3.9 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.2
4.3 6.5 4.7
Pre-Tax Return on Revenue 18.3 19.7 23.0 14.0 10.8 12.1 14.6
15.2 18.5 9.2
Return on Surplus 7.9 8.0 8.4 6.6 5.7 8.1 6.6 11.9 13.3 8.1
Loss & LAE Ratio 68.8 66.8 63.2 69.6 74.6 71.2 68.1 68.2 66.9
75.1
Expense Ratio 23.9 25.4 26.6 29.0 29.7 30.3 30.8 29.7 30.6 30.0
Combined Ratio 93.1 92.6 90.1 98.9 104.5 101.8 99.2 98.2 97.7
105.4
Net Investment Yield 3.7 3.7 3.9 3.8 4.0 3.8 3.8 3.8 4.4 4.1
Combined Ratio (%)
0
20
40
60
80
100

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
74.6
69.6
63.2
66.8 68.8
29.7 29.0 26.6 25.4 23.9
104.5
98.9
90.1 92.6 93.1
- Combined Ratio - Loss & LAE Ratio - Expense Ratio
2016 Pure Loss Ratio by Product Line (%)
-25
0
25
50
75
100
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Business Profile
The following text is derived from Best's Credit Report on
Federated Mutual Group (AMB# 004284):
The group provides a range of commercial and personal
property/casualty coverages as well as life insurance (written
through
a wholly owned subsidiary, Federated Life Insurance Company)
and disability lines throughout most of the continental United
States. Federated exited the Group Health line on December 31,
2017. While a large portion of business is generated in the
Midwest, the group has increased its expansion efforts in the
New England states while increasing market share in the
southeastern and western states. The mix of business is
approximately 64% general commercial lines, with the

remainder
comprised almost exclusively of group accident and health and
a small amount of personal lines business. Personal lines
production is currently focused exclusively in the state of
Minnesota.
Federated Mutual benefits from a comprehensive marketing and
operational structure developed for both the property/casualty
and life/health operations. Components of its business plan
include the following: specialized multi-line products, niche
marketing achieved through increased penetration of affinity
groups, disciplined underwriting and claims, and a direct
distribution system focused on integrated implementation plans.
The group continues its commitment to assisting clients in
controlling workers' compensation and automotive losses by
providing employer-directed risk management plans. In
addition,
loss control services specifically tailored to help address the
insured's other inherent property and casualty exposures are
also
offered. Business is retained through a considerable emphasis
on disciplined client service standards, inclusive of multiple
client interactions throughout the year.
The group's business plan, which combines a specifically
trained and directed marketing force with extensive affinity
group
recommendations, gives it an advantageous market position.
The number of associations giving exclusive recommendations
to
the Federated Mutual Group has grown considerably in recent
years, expanding the group's potential market base. The
business diversity within the associations provides a natural
hedge. Management believes that the addition of a self-insured

retention (aggregate deductible) product is unique to the group's
niche market segments and, along with new loss-sensitive
plans, is designed to attract larger premium clients.
Management also believes that, combined with the group's loss
control
service, the SIR program may be of great interest to business
owners who are focused on controlling insurance costs. The
group offers a workers' compensation (SIR) product and
monoline worker's compensation coverage for selected risks. In
2014,
the company sponsored the formation of a member-owned
captive that is managed by Federated and used to provide
expanded alternative risk transfer services to qualifying
customers.
Underwriters support a distribution network consisting of a
direct sales force of roughly 550 highly trained employees and
over
35 selected independent agents. In most geographic areas,
Federated Mutual continues to focus on eight major markets:
petroleum marketers (e.g., convenience stores), equipment
dealers, automobile dealers, trade contractors, selected retailers
and wholesalers, other automobile-related businesses (e.g., tire
and parts dealers and repair garages), machine and print
shops and a variety of miscellaneous operations. The group also
writes funeral directors, retail jewelers, cabinet makers and
petroleum truckers.
Working with a select network of attorneys, the group's
distribution system facilitates business succession and estate
planning
programs for business owners. This strategic initiative enhances
the group's risk management offerings and more deeply
interconnects the customer with the company.

In 2016, Federated Reserve Insurance Company was formed. It
is a wholly owned subsidiary of Federated Mutual. The new
company is meant to complement the two existing PC
companies and will provide Federated with pricing flexibility. It
began
producing direct business as of January 1, 2017 in selected
states.
In 2017, Federated acquired Granite Re, an Oklahoma domiciled
contract surety company. This will help Federated
complement its contractor offerings with a surety product.
Federated Mutual Insurance Company and Federated Service
Insurance Company have historically operated through an
intercompany pooling arrangement. In 2017, Federated Reserve
was added to the arrangement.
The group also operates through an assumed reinsurance
agreement with Sompo (formerly Edurance Re), currently
assuming
8.5% of Endurance Re's property only business. On January 1,
2013, the group entered into an assumed reinsurance
transaction with Hiscox Re at a participation of 5%, which
increased to 9.25% in 2017. In 2015, Federated entered into an
assumed reinsurance agreement with Chubb Re (formerly ACE)
at a participation of 1.5%. In 2016, Federated entered into an
assumed reinsurance agreement with Endurance Global
Specialties at a participation of 5% which increased to 10% in
2017.
Leverage Analysis
A.M. Best Ratios (%) 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2016 2015

2014 2013 2012
Business Retention 95.3 95.2 96.0 95.9 95.9 76.2 77.8 80.2 78.8
80.4
Net Premiums Written to Policyholders'
Surplus
0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7
2016 Top Product Lines of Business (Net Premiums Written)
30.0%
16.7%
13.0%
12.5%
5.4%
4.7%
4.0%
3.5% 3.2%
2.1%

2.1%
2.8%
Group A & H
Workers' Comp
Comm'l Auto Liab
Oth Liab Occur
Auto Physical
Com'l MultiPeril
Allied Lines
Fire
Reins-Property
Oth Liab CM
Prod Liab Occur
All Other
2016 By-Line Business
Product Line
Direct
Premiums
Written
Reinsurance
Premiums
Assumed
Reinsurance
Premiums
Ceded
Net

Premiums
Written Business
Retention
(%)($000) (%) ($000) (%) ($000) (%) ($000) (%)
Group A & H 486,387 33.5 ... ... 48,639 21.5 437,749 30.0 90.0
Workers' Comp 250,110 17.2 26,306 11.3 32,382 14.3 244,035
16.7 97.6
Comm'l Auto Liab 171,934 11.8 41,814 17.9 24,239 10.7
189,509 13.0 98.3
Oth Liab Occur 175,180 12.0 30,256 13.0 22,612 10.0 182,824
12.5 98.8
Auto Physical 67,890 4.7 20,158 8.6 9,188 4.1 78,860 5.4 99.5
Com'l MultiPeril 76,757 5.3 ... ... 8,403 3.7 68,354 4.7 89.1
Allied Lines 55,934 3.8 10,482 4.5 7,418 3.3 58,998 4.0 98.6
Fire 49,574 3.4 8,250 3.5 6,018 2.7 51,806 3.5 99.5
Reins-Property ... ... 66,871 28.7 20,819 9.2 46,052 3.2 68.9
Oth Liab CM 27,946 1.9 6,000 2.6 3,395 1.5 30,551 2.1 100.0
Prod Liab Occur 30,170 2.1 3,573 1.5 3,374 1.5 30,368 2.1
100.0
All Other 61,968 4.3 19,444 8.3 39,935 17.6 41,476 2.8 54.0
Total 1,453,849 100.0 233,154 100.0 226,421 100.0 1,460,582
100.0 95.3

Geographical Breakdown By Direct Premium Writings
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Minnesota 116,527 106,802 113,424 105,469 100,698
Texas 110,223 101,256 91,007 81,042 67,505
Michigan 91,337 82,241 64,205 55,127 46,988
California 85,978 74,137 66,002 62,521 54,815
Indiana 85,727 79,069 66,505 62,897 59,994
Missouri 85,428 76,860 63,103 53,988 45,099
Illinois 69,794 64,427 60,386 57,195 53,057
North Carolina 60,082 49,105 40,999 35,579 28,592
Pennsylvania 55,142 46,991 33,737 29,966 26,295
Georgia 50,579 42,304 33,664 28,975 24,878
All Other 643,033 573,455 514,490 469,717 418,539
Total 1,453,849 1,296,647 1,147,522 1,042,477 926,460

Financial Statements:
Balance Sheet:
Balance Sheet:
Admitted Assets Year End - December 31
2016 ($000) 2015 ($000) 2016 (%) 2015 (%)
Bonds 3,250,253 3,317,760 59.6 65.4
Preferred Stock ... ... ... ...
Common Stock 418,738 311,748 7.7 6.1
Cash and Short-term Invest 213,328 100,379 3.9 2.0
Real estate, investment ... ... ... ...
Derivatives ... ... ... ...
Other Non-Affil Inv Asset 149,731 69,861 2.7 1.4
Investments in Affiliates 739,792 647,078 13.6 12.7
Real Estate, Offices 56,012 56,086 1.0 1.1
Total Invested Assets 4,827,854 4,502,913 88.5 88.7
Premium Balances 441,230 404,059 8.1 8.0
Accrued Interest 40,025 39,385 0.7 0.8
All Other Assets 147,646 129,853 2.7 2.6

Total Assets 5,456,754 5,076,210 100.0 100.0
Liabilities & Surplus Year End - December 31
2016 ($000) 2015 ($000) 2016 (%) 2015 (%)
Loss and LAE Reserves 1,451,896 1,376,353 26.6 27.1
Unearned Premiums 494,528 445,998 9.1 8.8
Derivatives ... ... ... ...
Conditional Reserve Funds 791 1,142 ... ...
All Other Liabilities 418,439 390,292 7.7 7.7
Total Liabilities 2,365,654 2,213,785 43.4 43.6
Surplus notes ... ... ... ...
Capital and Assigned Surplus 1,500 8,160 ... 0.2
Unassigned Surplus 3,089,601 2,854,265 56.6 56.2
Total Policyholders' Surplus 3,091,101 2,862,425 56.6 56.4
Total Liabilities and Surplus 5,456,754 5,076,210 100.0 100.0
Summary of Operations and Operating Cash Flow:
Summary of Operations (000)

Statement of Income 2016 Net Operating Cash Flow 2016
Premiums earned 1,411,313 Premiums collected 1,417,830
Losses incurred 851,044 Benefit & loss-related pmts 782,587
LAE incurred 120,133
Undwr expenses incurred 351,487 LAE & undwr expenses paid
462,876
Other expenses incurred -1,800 Other income / expense ...
Dividends to policyholders 4,511 Dividends to policyholders
4,331
Net underwriting income 85,938 Underwriting cash flow
168,036
Net transfer ...
Net investment income 170,330 Investment income 179,613
Other income/expense 2,665 Other income/expense 2,665
Pre-tax operating income 258,933 Pre-tax cash operations
350,314
Realized capital gains 5,111
Income taxes incurred 78,670 Income taxes pd (recov) 96,684
Net income 185,374 Net oper cash flow 253,629

Company Information
Federated Mutual Insurance Company
Report Revision Date:
September 12, 2018
Company Attributes:
Industry: Insurance
Business Type: Property/Casualty
Entity Type: Operating Company
Organization Type: Mutual
Business Status: In Business - Actively Underwriting
Marketing Type: Exclusive/Captive Agent
Financial Size: XV ($2 Billion or greater)
Company History:
Date Incorporated: 08/01/1904 Date Commenced: 08/01/1904
Domicile: United States: Minnesota
This company, incorporated under the laws of Minnesota, began
business in August 1904 under the title Retail Implement
Dealers Mutual Fire Insurance Company. The name was
changed in 1913 to the Minnesota Implement Mutual Fire
Insurance
Company; in 1942 to Mutual Implement and Hardware
Insurance Company; in 1950 to Federated Mutual Implement
and
Hardware Insurance Company; and on April 21, 1970, to its
present form.

Company Operations:
Licensed Territory: (Current since 12/20/2011).The company is
licensed in the District of Columbia, AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA,
CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD,
MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC,
ND, OH, OK,
OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI and
WY.
2017
Rank Top 5 Lines of Business by NPW
1 Group A & H 26.5%
2 Workers' Comp 16.8%
3 Comm'l Auto Liab 14.1%
4 Oth Liab Occur 13.1%
5 Auto Physical 6.2%
2017
Rank Top 5 Geographic Distribution by DPW
1 United States: TX 8.2%
2 United States: MN 7.9%
3 United States: CA 6.1%
4 United States: MI 6.0%
5 United States: MO 5.3%
Company Management:
Last significant update on 02/21/2018
Company Information

of 16 Print Date: September 12, 2018
Company Management:
Operations are directed by prominent insurance underwriters.
Under the same general management are three wholly owned
domestic subsidiaries: Federated Service Insurance Company
(licensed in 1972), Federated Life Insurance Company (formed
in late 1958) and Federated Reserve Insurance Company
(formed in 2016). In addition, the company completed a stock
purchase acquisition of Granite Re Insurance Company (closed
1/3/2017).The carriers maintain joint administrative offices.
Jeffrey E. Fetters serves as chairman of the board of all carriers.
Jeffrey Fetters has served as chief executive officer since
January 2009 and Chairman of the Board since November 2012.
He has been with the company since 1980. Michael G. Kerr
was named President of all companies in December 2017. He
has been COO since September 2016. He has been with the
company since 1981.
Officers
Chairman of the Board and CEO: Jeffrey E. Fetters
President and COO: Michael G. Kerr
EVP, Secretary, Treasurer and CFO: Paul F. Dröher
EVP: Patric K. Cooper
EVP: Mark D. Heyne
EVP: Michael N. Keller
EVP: Sean G. Pick
EVP: Mark D. Scharmer
EVP: James A. Thon
SVP: Rebecca J. Dawley
SVP: Jonathan R. Hanson
SVP: Elizabeth A. Hyland

SVP: Nicholas R. Lower
Directors
David M. Adcox
Paul F. Dröher
Jeffrey E. Fetters (Chairman)
David P. Frame
James R. Giesler
Lester H. Killebrew
James H. Lipscomb III
John P. McEleney
Sarah B. Person
Regulatory:
Auditor: PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
An examination of the financial condition is being made as of
December 31, 2017, by the insurance department of Minnesota.
The 2017 annual independent audit of the company was
conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP. The annual
statement
of actuarial opinion is provided by William J. Fogarty, FCAS,
MAAA, Managing Actuary.
Additional Resources:
Related News
Company Information
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Additional Resources:
Rating Activity and Announcements
Company Overview
Archived Best's Credit Report
Corporate Changes & Retirements
Recent M&A transactions
Recent Best’s State Rate Filings (P/C Only)
BestAlert Service
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A Best's Financial Strength Rating opinion addresses the
relative ability of an insurer to meet its ongoing insurance
obligations. The ratings are not assigned to specific insurance
policies
or contracts and do not address any other risk, including, but
not limited to, an insurer's claims-payment policies or
procedures; the ability of the insurer to dispute or deny claims
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,part01,ch01,ch1lev1sec1,ch1lev1sec5,ch1lev1sec9,ch1lev1sec1
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BusinessCommunicationToday
THIRTEENTHEDITION
CourtlandL.Bovée
PROFESSOROFBUSINESSCOMMUNICATION
C.ALLENPAULDISTINGUISHEDCHAIR
GROSSMONTCOLLEGE
JohnV.Thill
CHAIRMANANDCHIEFEXECUTIVEOFFICER
GLOBALCOMMUNICATIONSTRATEGIES
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PART1UnderstandingtheFoundationsofBusiness
Communication
CHAPTER1ProfessionalCommunicationinaDigital,Social,Mobil
eWorld

(http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sectio
ns/ch01#ch01)
CHAPTER2Collaboration,InterpersonalCommunication,andBusi
nessEtiquette
ns/ch02#ch02)
CHAPTER3CommunicationChallengesinaDiverse,GlobalMarket
place
ns/ch03#ch03)
Nootherskillcanhelpyourcareerinasmanywaysascommunication.
Discoverwhatbusinesscommunicationisallabout,whycommunicat
ionskillsare
essentialtoyourcareer,howsocialandmobiletechnologiesarerevolu
tionizingbusinesscommunication,andhowtoadaptyourcommunica
tionexperiencesin
lifeandcollegetothebusinessworld.Improveyourskillsinsuchvitala
reasasteaminteraction,etiquette,listening,andnonverbalcommuni
cation.Explorethe
advantagesandthechallengesofadiverseworkforce,anddevelopthes
killsthateverycommunicatorneedstosucceedintoday’sglobal,mult
iculturalbusiness
environment.
AnatolyTiplyashin/Shutterstock
https://content.ashford.edu/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch0
1#ch01
2#ch02
3#ch03

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1ProfessionalCommunicationinaDigital,Social,MobileWorld
LEARNINGOBJECTIVES
Afterstudyingthischapter,youwillbeableto
1Explaintheimportanceofeffectivecommunicationtoyourcareeran
dtothecompanieswhereyouwillwork
2Explainwhatitmeanstocommunicateasaprofessionalinabusinessc
ontext
3Describethecommunicationprocessmodelandthewayssocialmedi
aarechangingthenatureofbusinesscommunication
4Outlinethechallengesandopportunitiesofmobilecommunicationi
nbusiness
5Listfourgeneralguidelinesforusingcommunicationtechnologyeff
ectively
6De�ineethics,explainthedifferencebetweenanethicaldilemmaan
danethicallapse,andlistsixguidelinesformakingethicalcommunica
tionchoices
MyBCommLab®
ImproveYourGrade!Over10millionstudentsimprovedtheirresults
usingPearsonMyLabs.Visitmybcommlab.com(http://mybcommla
b.com)for
simulations,tutorials,andend-of-chapterproblems.
COMMUNICATIONCLOSE-UPAT
JetBlue
Ifyouhaveeverworkedinretail,customerservice,orasimilarjob,you

knowwhatachallengeitcanbetomakesureeachcustomerhasagreatex
perience
withyourcompany.Imaginethechallengeofkeeping25millioncusto
mershappy.That’showmanypassengersJetBluecarrieseveryyear—
anaverageof
roughly70,000customersperday.
Asarelativelynewairline,takingits�irst�lightin2000,JetBluehasa
lwaystriedtodifferentiateitselffromtheoldercarriersinthebusiness.
Agreatexampleis
itspioneeringuseofTwitterasacustomerserviceplatform.JetBluejoi
nedTwitterin2007,onlyayearafterthemicrobloggingservicelaunch
edandwell
beforemostcompanieswereawareofitspotentialforbusinesscommu
nication.Thecompanyviewsitswebsiteasthecentralhubofitsonline
presence,but
socialmedia(thecompanyisquiteactiveonFacebookaswell)provide
avitalconnectionbetweencustomersandthewebsite.Infact,digitalc
ommunicationof
allformsissoimportantthatthecompanyconsidersitselfadigitalbran
d.
http://mybcommlab.com/
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JetBlue’suseofsocialmediaforcustomersupportcoincidesperfectly
withairtravelers’useofmobiledevices.
Theairlinewasalsooneofthe�irstcompaniestotrulygetthesocialpar
tofsocialmedia—

thatTwitterandothersystemswereaboutmorethanjustpushing
informationoutward.MorganJohnstone,theJetBluecommunication
sstafferwhogotthecompanystartedonTwitter,recognizedearlyonth
epowerof
listeningviasocialmedia.Hewantedtohearwhatpeopleweresayinga
boutthecompany,whetheritwaspleaforhelpduringtravel,acomplim
entfora
companyemployee,orevenanunpleasantcriticism.Thisinteractionb
ecamesovaluabletothecompanythatitsTwitterteamnowhasmoretha
ntwodozen
agents,allreadytointeractinrealtimewiththenearly2milliontraveler
swhofollowthecompanyonTwitter.Theyanswerquestions,resolvep
roblemsand
complaints,andevenrebook�lightsonthespotifneeded.Travelersw
honeedassistancedon’thavetimetowait,andJetBlueboaststhefastes
tTwitter
responsetimeintheindustry.
ForacompanythatisallaboutmovingpeoplefrompointAtopointB,it’
snosurprisethatmobilecommunicationhasbecomeanessentialparto
fJetBlue’s
connectionwithitscustomers.Customerswhoaskforhelporwhopost
complaintsonTwitteroftendosoontheirmobiledevices,whetherthey
’reontheir
waytocatcha�light,stuckinanairporttryingtorebookonadifferent�
light,orevenonboardanaircraftwaitingtotakeoff.Mobileisnowacor
eelementin
thecompany’scommunicationstrategy,withamobile-
friendlywebsiteandJetBluesmartphoneapps.Thecompanyisconsid
eringaddingsuchniftyfeaturesas
augmentedreality,whichwouldlettravelersholduptheirsmartphone
sinairportsandseewhererestrooms,coffeeshops,gates,andothervita
lfacilitiesare
located.Howeverthecompanyinnovatesasitmovesforward,itsfocus
willbeonusingdigital,social,andmobilecommunicationtomakesur
ecustomershave

thebestpossibleexperience.1(http://content.thuzelearning.com/bo
oks/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note1)
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1LEARNINGOBJECTIVE
Explaintheimportanceofeffectivecommunicationtoyourcareerand
tothecompanieswhereyouwillwork.
1.1UnderstandingWhyCommunicationMatters
Whetherit’sassimpleasasmileorasambitiousasasocialmediacusto
mersupportprogram(seethechapteropeneronJetBlue),communicat
ion
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1term3)istheprocessoftransferringinformatio
nandmeaningbetweensenders
andreceivers,usingoneormorewritten,oral,visual,orelectronicmed
ia.Theessenceofcommunicationissharing—
providingdata,information,insights,and
inspirationinanexchangethatbene�itsbothyouandthepeoplewithw
homyouarecommunicating.2
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note2)AsFigure1.1
ns/ch1lev1sec1#ch1�ig1)indicates,thissharingcanhappeninavari
etyofways,includingsimpleand
successfultransfersofinformation,negotiationsinwhichthesendera
ndreceiverarriveatanagreed-

uponmeaning,andunsuccessfulattemptsinwhichthe
receivercreatesadifferentmessagethantheonethesenderintended.
Communicationistheprocessoftransferringinformationandmeanin
gbetweensendersandreceivers.
Youwillinvestalotoftimeandenergyinthiscoursedevelopingyourco
mmunicationskills,soit’sfairtoaskwhethertheeffortwillbeworthw
hile.Thissection
outlinesthemanywaysinwhichgoodcommunicationskillsarecritica
lforyourcareerandforanycompanyyoujoin.
COMMUNICATIONISIMPORTANTTOYOURCAREER
Youcanhavethegreatestideasintheworld,butthey’renogoodtoyour
companyoryourcareerifyoucan’texpressthemclearlyandpersuasiv
ely.Somejobs,
suchassalesandcustomersupport,areprimarilyaboutcommunicatin
g.In�ieldssuchasengineeringor�inance,youoftenneedtoshareco
mplexideaswith
executives,customers,andcolleagues,andyourabilitytoconnectwit
hpeopleoutsideyour�ieldcanbeasimportantasyourtechnicalexpert
ise.Ifyouhavethe
entrepreneurialurge,youwillneedtocommunicatewithawiderangeo
faudiences—
frominvestors,bankers,andgovernmentregulatorstoemployees,
customers,andbusinesspartners.
Ambitionandgreatideasaren’tenough;youneedtobeabletocommuni
catewithpeopleinordertosucceedinbusiness.
Thechangingnatureofemploymentisputtingnewpressureoncommu
nicationskills,too.Manycompaniesnowsupplementtheirpermanent
workforceswith
independentcontractorswhoarebroughtonforashortperiodorevenju
stasingleproject.Chancesareyouwillspendsomeofyourcareerasone
ofthese

independentfreelancers,workingwithoutthesupportnetworkthatan
establishedcompanyenvironmentprovides.Youwillhaveto“sellyou
rself”intoeach
newcontract,communicatesuccessfullyinawiderangeofworksituat
ions,andtakefullresponsibilityforyourcareergrowthandsuccess.
Ifyoulaunchacompanyormoveintoanexecutiveroleinanexistingorg
anization,youcanexpectcommunicationtoconsumethemajorityofy
ourtime.Top
executivesspendmostoftheirworkdayscommunicating,andbusines
speoplewhocan’tcommunicatewelldon’tstandmuchchanceofreach
ingthetop.
Infact,improvingyourcommunicationskillsmaybethesinglemosti
mportantstepyoucantakeinyourcareer.Theworldisfullofgoodmark
etingstrategists,
goodaccountants,goodengineers,andgoodattorneys—
butitisnotfullofgoodcommunicators.Viewthisasanopportunitytost
andoutfromyourcompetition
inthejobmarket.
Figure1.1SharingInformation
lev1sec28#ch1term3
lev1sec28#ch1note2
lev1sec1#ch1fig1
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Thesethreeexchangesbetweenasoftwareprojectmanager(left)andh
isboss(right)illustratethevarietyofwaysinwhichinformationisshar
edbetweensenders
andreceivers.Inthetopexchange,thesender’smeaningistransmitted
intacttothereceiver,whoacceptswhatthesendersaysatfacevalue.Int
hemiddle
exchange,thesenderandreceivernegotiatethemeaningbydiscussing
thesituation.Thenegotiatedmeaningisthateverythingis�inesofar,b
uttheriskofa
scheduleslipisnowhigherthanitwasbefore.Inthebottomexchange,t
hereceiverhasanegativeemotionalreactiontotheword“think”andas
aresultcreates
herownmeaning—
thateverythingprobablyisnot�ine,inspiteofwhatthesendersays.
Employerssometimesexpressfrustrationatthepoorcommunication
skillsofmanyemployees—
particularlyrecentcollegegraduateswhohaven’tyetlearned
howtoadapttheircommunicationstylestoaprofessionalbusinessenv
ironment.3(http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.
17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note3)If
youlearntowritewell,speakwell,listenwell,andrecognizetheappro
priatewaytocommunicateinanysituation,you’llgainamajoradvanta
gethatwillserve
youthroughoutyourcareer.4(http://content.thuzelearning.com/bo
oks/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note4)
Strongcommunicationskillsgiveyouanadvantageinthejobmarket.
COMMUNICATIONISIMPORTANTTOYOURCOMPANY
Asidefromthepersonalbene�its,communicationshouldbeimportan
ttoyoubecauseitisimportanttoyourcompany.Effectivecommunicat
ionhelpsbusinesses
innumerousways.Itprovides5(http://content.thuzelearning.com/b
ooks/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note5)

REAL-TIMEUPDATES
LEARNMOREBYVISITINGTHISWEBSITE
Checkoutthecuttingedgeofbusinesscommunication
ThisPinterestboardcreatedbytheauthorshighlightssomeofthemosti
mportantchangestakingplaceinthe�ieldofbusinesscommunicatio
n.Goto
http://real-timeupdates.com/bct13(http://real-
timeupdates.com/bct13).Under“Students,”clickon“LearnMore.”
Effectivecommunicationyieldsnumerousbusinessbene�its.
Closertieswithimportantcommunitiesinthemarketplace
Opportunitiestoin�luenceconversations,perceptions,andtrends
lev1sec28#ch1note3
lev1sec28#ch1note4
lev1sec28#ch1note5
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Increasedproductivityandfasterproblemsolving

Better�inancialresultsandhigherreturnforinvestors
Earlierwarningofpotentialproblems,fromrisingbusinesscoststocri
ticalsafetyissues
Strongerdecisionmakingbasedontimely,reliableinformation
Clearerandmorepersuasivemarketingmessages
Greateremployeeengagementwiththeirwork,leadingtohigherempl
oyeesatisfactionandloweremployeeturnover
WHATMAKESBUSINESSCOMMUNICATIONEFFECTIVE?
Effectivecommunicationstrengthenstheconnectionsbetweenacom
panyandallofitsstakeholders
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1term28)—
thosegroupsaffectedinsomewaybythecompany’sactions:
customers,employees,shareholders,suppliers,neighbors,thecomm
unity,thenation,andtheworldasawhole.6
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note6)Tomakeyourcommunicationeffortsas
effectiveaspossible,focusonmakingthem
practical,factual,concise,clear,andpersuasive:
Providepracticalinformation.Giverecipientsusefulinformation,w
hetherit’stohelpthemperformadesiredactionorunderstandanewco
mpany
policy.
Givefactsratherthanvagueimpressions.Useconcretelanguage,spec
i�icdetail,andinformationthatisclear,convincing,accurate,andeth
ical.Even
whenanopinioniscalledfor,presentcompellingevidencetosupporty
ourconclusion.

Presentinformationinaconcise,ef�icientmanner.Concisemessage
sshowrespectforpeople’stime,andtheyincreasethechancesofaposit
ive
response.
Clarifyexpectationsandresponsibilities.Craftmessagestogenerate
aspeci�icresponsefromaspeci�icaudience.Whenappropriate,clea
rlystate
whatyouexpectfromaudiencemembersorwhatyoucandoforthem.
Offercompelling,persuasiveargumentsandrecommendations.Sho
wyourreaderspreciselyhowtheywillbene�itbyrespondingthewayy
ouwant
themtorespondtoyourmessage.
Keepthese�iveimportantcharacteristicsinmindasyoucomparethei
neffectiveandeffectiveversionsofthemessageinFigure1.2
ns/ch1lev1sec5#ch1�ig2).
Effectivemessagesarepractical,factual,concise,clear,andpersuasi
ve.
lev1sec28#ch1term28
lev1sec28#ch1note6
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2LEARNINGOBJECTIVE
Explainwhatitmeanstocommunicateasaprofessionalinabusinessco
ntext.
1.2CommunicatingasaProfessional
You’vebeencommunicatingyourentirelife,ofcourse,butifyoudon’t
havealotofworkexperienceyet,meetingtheexpectationsofaprofessi
onalenvironment
mightrequiresomeadjustment.Agoodplacetostartistoconsiderwhat
itmeanstobeaprofessional.Professionalism
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1term25)isthequalityofperformingatahighlev
elandconductingoneselfwith
purposeandpride.Itmeansdoingmorethanputtinginthehoursandcol
lectingapaycheck:Trueprofessionalsgobeyondminimumexpectati
onsandcommitto
makingmeaningfulcontributions.Professionalismcanbebrokendo
wnintosixdistincttraits:strivingtoexcel,beingdependableandacco
untable,beingateam
player,demonstratingasenseofetiquette,makingethicaldecisions,a
ndmaintainingapositiveoutlook(seeTable1.1
ns/ch1lev1sec5#ch1tab1)).
TABLE1.1ElementsofProfessionalism
Trait WhatItMeans
Bethebest
Prosstrivetoexcel,tobethebesttheycanbeateverythingtheydo.
Excellingateverylevelishowprosbuildagreatcareer.
Bedependable
Proskeeptheirpromisesandmeettheircommitments.

Proslearnfromtheirmistakesandtakeresponsibilityfortheirerrors.
Beateamplayer
Prosknowhowtocontributetoalargercause.
Teamplayersmakeothersaroundthembetter.
Berespectful
Prosknowthatgoodbusinessetiquetteisasignofrespectforthosearou
ndthem.
Respectingothersisnotonlygoodetiquette,it’sgoodforone’scareer.
Beethical
Responsibleprofessionalsstrivetoavoidethicallapses.
Prosweightheiroptionscarefullywhenfacingethicaldilemmas.
Bepositive
Successfulpeoplebelieveinwhatthey’redoingandinthemselves.
Prosdon’tcomplainaboutproblems;they�indthemand�ixthem.
Figure1.2EffectiveProfessionalCommunication
lev1sec28#ch1term25
lev1sec5#ch1tab1
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At�irstglance,thisemailmessagelookslikeareasonableattemptatco
mmunicatingwiththemembersofaprojectteam.However,reviewthe
blueannotationsto
seejusthowmanyproblemsthemessagereallyhas.
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AkeymessagetogleanfromTable1.1(http://content.thuzelearning.c
om/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec5#ch1tab1)ishow
muchtheseelementsof
professionalismdependoneffectivecommunication.Forexample,to
beateamplayer,youhavetobeabletocollaborate,resolvecon�licts,a
ndinteractwitha
widevarietyofpersonalities.Withoutstrongcommunicationskills,y
ouwon’tbeabletoperformtoyourpotential—
andotherswon’trecognizeyouasthe
professionalyou’dliketobe.
Communicationisanessentialpartofbeingasuccessfulprofessional.
Thissectionoffersabrieflookattheskillsemployerswillexpectyouto
have,thenatureofcommunicationinanorganizationalenvironment,
andthe
importanceofadoptinganaudience-centeredapproach.
UNDERSTANDINGWHATEMPLOYERSEXPECTFROMYOU
Today’semployersexpectyoutobecompetentatawiderangeofcomm
unicationtasks.Fortunately,theskillsemployersexpectfromyouaret
hesameskillsthat

willhelpyouadvanceinyourcareer:7(http://content.thuzelearning.
com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note7)
Recognizinginformationneeds,usingef�icientsearchtechniquesto
locatereliablesourcesofinformation,particularlyfromonlinesource
s,andusing
gatheredinformationethically;thiscollectionofskillsisoftenreferre
dtoasdigitalinformation�luency8
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note8)
Organizingideasandinformationlogicallyandcompletely
Expressingideasandinformationcoherentlyandpersuasively
Activelylisteningtoothers
Communicatingeffectivelywithpeoplefromdiversebackgroundsan
dexperiences
Usingcommunicationtechnologieseffectivelyandef�iciently
Followingacceptedstandardsofgrammar,spelling,andotheraspects
ofhigh-qualitywritingandspeaking
Communicatinginacivilizedmannerthatre�lectscontemporaryexp
ectationsofbusinessetiquette,evenwhendealingwithindifferentorh
ostile
audiences
Communicatingethically,evenwhenchoicesaren’tcrystalclear
Managingyourtimewiselyandusingresourcesef�iciently
You’llhavetheopportunitytopracticetheseskillsthroughoutthiscou
rse—

butdon’tstopthere.Successfulprofessionalscontinuetohonecommu
nicationskills
throughouttheircareers.
Employersexpectyoutopossessawiderangeofcommunicationskills
.
COMMUNICATINGINANORGANIZATIONALCONTEXT
THEARTOFPROFESSIONALISM
MaintainingaCon�ident,PositiveOutlook
Spendafewminutesaroundsuccessfulpeopleinany�ield,andchance
sareyou’llnoticehowoptimistictheyare.Theybelieveinwhatthey’re
doing,and
theybelieveinthemselvesandtheirabilitytosolveproblemsandoverc
omeobstacles.
Beingpositivedoesn’tmeandisplayingmindlessoptimismorspewin
ghappytalkallthetime.Itmeansacknowledgingthatthingsmaybedif
�icultbutthen
bucklingdownandgettingthejobdoneanyway.Itmeansnowhiningan
dnoslackingoff,evenwhenthegoinggetstough.Weliveinanimperfec
tworld,no
question—
jobscanbeboringordif�icult,customerscanbeunpleasant,andbosse
scanbeunreasonable.Butwhenyou’reapro,you�indawaytopower
through.
Yourenergy,positiveornegative,iscontagious.Bothinpersonandon
line,you’llspendasmuchtimewithyourcolleaguesasyouspendwithf
amilyand
friends.Personaldemeanoris,therefore,avitalelementofworkplace
harmony.Nooneexpects(orwants)youtobearti�iciallyupbeatandb
ubblyevery

secondoftheday,butonenegativepersonalitycanmakeanentireof�i
cemiserableandunproductive.Everypersoninacompanyhasarespon
sibilityto
contributetoapositive,energeticworkenvironment.
CAREERAPPLICATIONS
1.Doyouhaveanethicalobligationtomaintainapositiveoutlookonth
ejob?Whyorwhynot?
2.Howcanyouliftyourspiritswhenworkisdraggingyoudown?
lev1sec5#ch1tab1
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Theformalcommunicationnetworkmirrorsthecompany’sorganizat
ionalstructure.
Inadditiontohavingtheproperskills,youneedtolearnhowtoapplytho
seskillsinthebusinessenvironment,whichcanbequitedifferentfrom
thesocialand
scholasticenvironmentsyouareaccustomedto.Everyorganizationh
asaformalcommunicationnetwork
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1term19),inwhichideasandinformation�lowa

longthelinesofcommand(the
hierarchicallevels)inthecompany’sorganizationstructure(seeFigu
re1.3(http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/s
ections/ch1lev1sec5#ch1�ig3)
).Throughouttheformalnetwork,information�lowsinthreedirectio
ns.Downwardcommunication�lowsfromexecutivestoemployees,
conveyingexecutive
decisionsandprovidinginformationthathelpsemployeesdotheirjob
s.Upwardcommunication�lowsfromemployeestoexecutives,prov
idinginsightinto
problems,trends,opportunities,grievances,andperformance,thusal
lowingexecutivestosolveproblemsandmakeintelligentdecisions.H
orizontal
communication�lowsbetweendepartmentstohelpemployeessharei
nformation,coordinatetasks,andsolvecomplexproblems.9
Figure1.3FormalCommunicationNetwork
Theformalcommunicationnetworkisde�inedbytherelationshipsbe
tweenthevariousjobpositionsintheorganization.Messagescan�lo
wupward(froma
lower-levelemployeetoahigher-
levelemployee),downward(fromahigher-levelemployeetoalower-
levelemployee),andhorizontally(acrosstheorganization,
betweenemployeesatthesameorsimilarlevels).
Everyorganizationalsohasaninformalcommunicationnetwork(http
://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch
1lev1sec28#ch1term20),
oftenreferredtoasthegrapevineortherumormill,whichencompasses
allcommunicationthatoccursoutsidetheformalnetwork.Someofthi
sinformal
communicationtakesplacenaturallyasaresultofemployeeinteractio
nonthejobandinsocialsettings,andsomeofittakesplacewhenthefor

malnetwork
doesn’tprovideinformationthatemployeeswant.Infact,theinherent
limitationsofformalcommunicationnetworkshelpedspurthegrowth
ofsocialmediain
thebusinessenvironment.
ADOPTINGANAUDIENCE-CENTEREDAPPROACH
Anaudience-
centeredapproach(http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee
.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1term1)involvesunderstand
ingand
respectingthemembersofyouraudienceandmakingeveryefforttoget
yourmessageacrossinawaythatismeaningfultothem.Thisapproachi
salsoknown
asadoptingthe“you”attitude(http://content.thuzelearning.com/bo
oks/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1term30),incontr
asttomessagesthatareabout
“me.”Learnasmuchaspossibleaboutthebiases,education,age,statu
s,style,andpersonalandprofessionalconcernsofyourreceivers.Ifyo
u’readdressing
peopleyoudon’tknowandyou’reunableto�indoutmoreaboutthem,t
rytoprojectyourselfintotheirpositionbyusingcommonsenseandima
gination.This
abilitytorelatetotheneedsofothersisakeypartofemotionalintellige
nce,whichiswidelyconsideredtobeavitalcharacteristicofsuccessfu
lmanagersand
leaders.10(http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.1
7.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note10)Themoreyouknowaboutth
epeopleyou’recommunicatingwith,the
easieritwillbetoconcentrateontheirneeds—
which,inturn,willmakeiteasierforthemtohearyourmessage,underst
andit,andrespondpositively.
Anaudience-
centeredapproachinvolvesunderstanding,respecting,andmeetingt
heneedsofyouraudiencemembers.

Etiquette,theexpectednormsofbehaviorinanyparticularsituation,c
anhaveaprofoundin�luenceonyourcompany’ssuccessandyourcare
er.
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Avitalelementofaudience-
centeredcommunicationisetiquette(http://content.thuzelearning.c
om/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1term17),t
he
expectednormsofbehaviorinanyparticularsituation.Intoday’shecti
c,competitiveworld,etiquettemightseemaquaintandoutdatednotio
n.However,the
wayyouconductyourselfandinteractwithotherscanhaveaprofoundi
n�luenceonyourcompany’ssuccessandyourcareer.Whenexecutiv

eshireandpromote
you,theyexpectyourbehaviortoprotectthecompany’sreputation.Th
emoreyouunderstandsuchexpectations,thebetterchanceyouhaveof
avoidingcareer-
damagingmistakes.TheprinciplesofetiquettediscussedinChapter2
ns/ch02#ch02)willhelpyou
communicatewithanaudience-
centeredapproachinavarietyofbusinesssettings.
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3LEARNINGOBJECTIVE
Describethecommunicationprocessmodelandthewayssocialmedia
arechangingthenatureofbusinesscommunication.
1.3ExploringtheCommunicationProcess
Evenwiththebestintentions,communicationeffortscanfail.Messag
escangetlostorsimplyignored.Thereceiverofamessagecaninterpret
itinwaysthe
senderneverimagined.Infact,twopeoplereceivingthesameinformat
ioncanreachdifferentconclusionsaboutwhatitmeans.
Fortunately,byunderstandingcommunicationasaprocesswithdistin
ctsteps,youcanimprovetheoddsthatyourmessageswillreachtheirin
tendedaudiences

andproducetheirintendedeffects.Thissectionexploresthecommuni
cationprocessintwostages:�irstbyfollowingamessagefromonesen
dertoonereceiver
inthebasiccommunicationmodelandthenbyexpandingonthatappro
achwithmultiplemessagesandparticipantsinthesocialcommunicati
onmodel.
Viewingcommunicationasaprocesshelpsyouidentifystepsyoucant
aketoimproveyoursuccessasacommunicator.
THEBASICCOMMUNICATIONMODEL
Byviewingcommunicationasaprocess(Figure1.4(http://content.th
uzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec9#c
h1�ig4)),youcanidentifyand
improvetheskillsyouneedtobemoresuccessful.Manyvariationsont
hisprocessmodelexist,buttheseeightstepsprovideapracticalovervi
ew:
1.Thesenderhasanidea.Whetheracommunicationeffortwillultimat
elybeeffectivestartsrighthereanddependsonthenatureoftheideaan
dthe
motivationforsendingit.Forexample,ifyourmotivationistoofferaso
lutiontoaproblem,youhaveabetterchanceofcraftingameaningfulm
essage
thanifyourmotivationismerelytocomplainaboutaproblem.
2.Thesenderencodestheideaasamessage.Whensomeoneputsanidea
intoamessage
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1term23)—
whichyoucanthinkofasthe“container”foranidea—heor
sheisencoding(http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.76
26.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1term11)it,orexpressingitinwo
rdsorimages.Muchof
thefocusofthiscourseisondevelopingtheskillsneededtosuccessfull
yencodeyourideasintoeffectivemessages.

3.Thesenderproducesthemessageinatransmittablemedium.Withth
eappropriatemessagetoexpressanidea,thesendernowneedsa
communicationmedium(http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/
Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1term6)topresentthat
messagetothe
intendedaudience.Toupdateyourbossonthestatusofaproject,forins
tance,youmighthaveadozenormoremediachoices,fromaphonecallt
oan
instantmessagetoaslideshowpresentation.
Themediumistheformamessagetakesandthechannelisthesystemus
edtodeliverthemessage.
Figure1.4TheBasicCommunicationProcess
Thiseight-
stepmodelisasimpli�iedviewofhowcommunicationworksinreallif
e;understandingthisbasicmodelisvitaltoimprovingyour
communicationskills.
4.Thesendertransmitsthemessagethroughachannel.Justastechnolo
gycontinuestoincreasethenumberofmediaoptionsatyourdisposal,i
t
continuestoprovidenewcommunicationchannels(http://content.th
uzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28
#ch1term5)youcan
usetotransmityourmessages.Thedistinctionbetweenmediumandch
annelcangetabitmurky,butthinkofthemediumastheformamessaget
akes
(suchasaTwitterupdate)andthechannelasthesystemusedtodelivert
hemessage(suchasamobilephone).
5.Theaudiencereceivesthemessage.Ifthechannelfunctionsproperl
y,themessagereachesitsintendedaudience.However,merearrivalat
the

destinationisnoguaranteethatthemessagewillbenoticedorundersto
odcorrectly.As“HowAudiencesReceiveMessages”(page12
ns/ch1lev1sec9#page_12))explains,manymessagesareeitherignor
edormisinterpretedas
noise.
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Figure1.5CompetingfortheAudience’sAttention
Mostbusinessmessageshavetocompeteforanaudience’s
attention,andthesituationisevenmorechallengingwithmobile
audiences.
Source:Maridav/Shutterstock
6.Theaudiencedecodesthemessage.Afteramessageisreceived,ther

eceiverneedstoextracttheideafromthemessage,astepknownasdeco
ding
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1term9).“HowAudiencesDecodeMessages”(p
age13
ns/ch1lev1sec9#page_13))takesacloserlookatthiscomplexandsubt
lestepintheprocess.
7.Theaudiencerespondstothemessage.Bycraftingmessagesinways
thatshowthebene�itsofresponding,senderscanincreasethechances
that
recipientswillrespondinpositiveways.However,as“HowAudience
sRespondtoMessages”(page14
ns/ch1lev1sec9#page_14))pointsout,whetherareceiverrespondsas
thesenderhopes
dependsonthereceiver(a)rememberingthemessagelongenoughtoac
tonit,(b)beingabletoactonit,and(c)beingmotivatedtorespond.
8.Theaudienceprovidesfeedbacktothesender.Inadditiontorespond
ing(ornotresponding)tothemessage,audiencemembersmaygivefee
dback
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1term18)thathelpsthesenderevaluatetheeffect
ivenessofthe
communicationeffort.Feedbackcanbeverbal(usingwrittenorspoke
nwords),nonverbal(usinggestures,facialexpressions,orothersigna
ls),orboth.
Justliketheoriginalmessage,however,thisfeedbackfromthereceive
ralsoneedstobedecodedcarefully.Asmile,forexample,canhaveman
y
meanings.
Consideringthecomplexityofthisprocess—
andthebarriersanddistractionsthatoftenstandbetweensenderandre

ceiver—itshouldcomeasnosurprisethat
communicationeffortsoftenfailtoachievethesender’sobjective.For
tunately,thebetteryouunderstandtheprocess,themoresuccessfulyo
u’llbe.
Thefollowingsectionstakeacloserlookattwoimportantaspectsofthe
process:environmentalbarriersthatcanblockordistortmessagesand
thesteps
audiencestaketoreceive,decode,andrespondtomessages.
BarriersintheCommunicationEnvironment
Withinanycommunicationenvironment,messagescanbedisruptedb
yavarietyofcommunicationbarriers
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1term4).Thesebarriersincludenoiseanddistra
ctions,competingmessages,
�ilters,andchannelbreakdowns:
Anumberofbarrierscanblockordistortmessagesbeforetheyreachth
eintendedaudience.
Noiseanddistractions.Externaldistractionsrangefromuncomfortab
lemeetingroomstocomputerscreensclutteredwithinstantmessages
and
reminderspoppingupallovertheplace.Internaldistractionsarethoug
htsandemotionsthatpreventaudiencesfromfocusingonincomingme
ssages.
Thecommonhabitofmultitasking—
attemptingmorethanonetaskatatime—
ispracticallyguaranteedtocreatecommunicationdistractions.
Moreover,researchsuggeststhat“chronicmultitasking”canreducep
roductivityandincreaseerrors.11
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note11)Asmorecommunicationtakesplaceon
mobiledevices,theneedtoinsulate

yourselffromnoiseanddistractionsisgoingtokeepgrowing.
Competingmessages.Havingyouraudience’sundividedattentionisa
rareluxury.In
mostcases,youmustcompetewithothermessagesthataretryingtorea
chyour
audienceatthesametime—
particularlyformobileaudiences(seeFigure1.5
ns/ch1lev1sec9#ch1�ig5)on
thenextpage).
Filters.Messagescanbeblockedordistortedby�ilters,anyhumanort
echnological
interventionsbetweenthesenderandthereceiver.Filteringcanbebot
hintentional
(suchasautomatically�ilingincomingmessagesbasedonsenderorc
ontent)or
unintentional(suchasanoverlyaggressivespam�ilterthatdeletesle
gitimateemails).As
mentionedearlier,thestructureandcultureofanorganizationcanalso
inhibitthe�low
ofvitalmessages.And,insomecases,thepeopleorcompaniesyourely
ontodeliver
yourmessagecandistortitor�ilterittomeettheirownneeds.
Channelbreakdowns.Sometimesthechannelsimplybreaksdownand
failstodeliver
yourmessageatall.Acolleagueyouwerecountingontodeliveramessa
getoyourboss
mighthaveforgottentodoso,oracomputerservermighthavecrasheda
ndprevented
yourblogfromupdating.
Everyoneinanorganizationcanhelpminimizebarriersanddistractio
ns.Asacommunicator,try

tobeawareofanybarriersthatcouldpreventyourmessagesfromreach
ingtheirintended
audiences.Asamanager,keepaneyeoutforanyorganizationalbarrier
sthatcouldbeinhibiting
the�lowofinformation.Inanysituation,asmalldoseofcommonsens
eandcourtesygoesalongway.Turnoffthatmobilephonebeforeyoust
epintoameeting.
Don’ttalkacrossthetopsofotherpeople’scubicles.Besensitivetoper
sonaldifferences,too;forinstance,somepeopleenjoyworkingwithm
usicon,butmusic
isahugedistractionforothers.12(http://content.thuzelearning.com/
books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note12)
Finally,takestepstoinsulateyourselffromdistractions.Don’tletmes
sagesinterruptyoueveryminuteoftheday.Instead,setasidetimetoatt
endtomessages
allatoncesothatyoucanfocustherestofthetime.
Minimizingbarriersanddistractionsinthecommunicationenvironm
entiseveryone’sresponsibility.
InsidetheMindofYourAudience
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Afteramessageworksitswaythroughthecommunicationchanneland
reachestheintendedaudience,itencountersawholenewsetofchallen
ges.
Understandinghowaudiencesreceive,decode,andrespondtomessag
eswillhelpyoucreatemoreeffectivemessages.
HowAudiencesReceiveMessages
Foranaudiencemembertoreceiveamessage,threeeventsneedtooccu
r:Thereceiverhastosensethepresenceofa
message,selectitfromalltheothermessagesclamoringforattention,a
ndperceiveitasanactualmessage(asopposedtorandom,pointlessnoi
se).13
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note13)Youcanappreciatethemagnitudeofth
ischallengebydrivingdownanybusystreetin
acommercialsectionoftown.You’llencounterhundredsofmessages
—
billboards,posters,storewindowdisplays,carstereos,pedestriansw
avingortalkingon
mobilephones,carhorns,streetsigns,traf�iclights,andsoon.Howev
er,you’llsense,select,andperceiveonlyasmallfractionofthesemess
ages.
Toactuallyreceiveamessage,audiencemembersneedtosenseit,sele
ctit,thenperceiveitasamessage.

Today’sbusinessaudiencesaremuchlikedriversonbusystreets.They
areinundatedwithsomanymessagesandsomuchnoisethattheycanmi
ssorignore
manyofthemessagesintendedforthem.Throughthiscourse,youwilll
earnavarietyoftechniquestocraftmessagesthatgetnoticed.Ingenera
l,followthese
�iveprinciplestoincreaseyourchancesofsuccess:
Toimprovetheoddsthatyourmessageswillbesuccessfullyperceived
byyouraudience,paycloseattentiontoexpectations,easeofuse,famil
iarity,
empathy,andtechnicalcompatibility.
Consideraudienceexpectations.Delivermessagesusingthemediaan
dchannelsthattheaudienceexpects.Ifcolleaguesexpectmeetingnoti
cestobe
deliveredbyemail,don’tsuddenlyswitchgearsandstartdeliveringth
enoticesviablogpostingswithouttellinganyone.Ofcourse,sometim
esgoing
againstexpectationscanstimulateaudienceattention,whichiswhyad
vertiserssometimesdowackyandcreativethingstogetnoticed.Howe
ver,for
mostbusinesscommunicationefforts,followingtheexpectationsofy
ouraudienceisthemostef�icientwaytogetyourmessageacross.
Ensureeaseofuse.Evenifaudiencesareactivelylookingforyourmess
ages,theyprobablywon’tseethemessagesifyoumakethemhardto�i
nd,hard
tonavigate,orhardtoread.
Emphasizefamiliarity.Usewords,images,anddesignsthatarefamili
artoyouraudience.Forexample,mostvisitorstocompanywebsitesex
pecttosee
informationaboutthecompanyonapagecalled“About”or“AboutUs.
”

Practiceempathy.Makesureyourmessagesspeaktotheaudiencebycl
earlyaddressingtheirwantsandneeds—
notyours.Peopleareinclinedto
noticemessagesthatrelatetotheirindividualconcerns.14(http://con
tent.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1
sec28#ch1note14)
Designforcompatibility.Forthemanymessagesdeliveredelectronic
allythesedays,besuretoverifytechnologicalcompatibilitywithyour
audience.
Forinstance,ifyourwebsiterequiresvisitorstohaveaparticularvideo
capabilityintheirbrowsers,youwon’treachthoseaudiencemembers
whodon’t
havethatsoftwareinstalledorupdated.
HowAudiencesDecodeMessages
Areceivedmessagedoesn’t“mean”anythinguntiltherecipientdecod
esitandassignsmeaningtoit,andthereisno
guaranteethereceiverwillassignthesamemeaningthesenderintende
d.Evenwell-crafted,well-
intentionedcommunicationeffortscanfailatthisstage
becauseassigningmeaningthroughdecodingisahighlypersonalproc
essthatisin�luencedbyculture,individualexperience,learningandt
hinkingstyles,
hopes,fears,andeventemporarymoods.Moreover,audiencestendto
extractthemeaningtheyexpecttogetfromamessage,evenifit’stheop
positeofwhatthe
senderintended.15(http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bove
e.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note15)Infact,ratherthan
“extract”yourmeaning,it’smoreaccurateto
saythatyouraudiencemembersre-createtheirownmeaning—
ormeanings—fromthemessage.
Decodingisacomplexprocess;receiversoftenextractdifferentmeani
ngsfrommessagesthanwhatthesenderintended.

Culturalandpersonalbeliefsandbiasesin�luencethemeaningaudie
ncesgetfrommessages.Forinstance,thehumanbrainorganizesinco
mingsensationsintoa
mental“map”thatrepresentstheperson’sindividualperception(http:
//content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch
1lev1sec28#ch1term24)of
reality.Ifanincomingdetaildoesn’t�itintothatperception,amessag
erecipientmaysimplydistorttheinformationtomakeit�itratherthan
rearrangehisorher
mentalmap—
aphenomenonknownasselectiveperception(http://content.thuzele
arning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1t
erm26).16
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note16)Forexample,anexecutivewhohasstak
edherreputationonaparticularbusiness
strategymightdistortorignoreevidencethatsuggeststhestrategyisfa
iling.
Selectiveperceptionoccurswhenpeopleignoreordistortincomingin
formationto�ittheirpreconceivednotionsofreality.
Differencesinlanguageandusagealsoin�luencereceivedmeaning.I
fyouaskanemployeetosendyouareportonsales�igures“assoonaspo
ssible,”doesthat
meanwithin10seconds,10minutes,or10days?Byclarifyingexpectat
ionsandresolvingpotentialambiguitiesinyourmessages,youcanmin
imizesuch
uncertainties.Ingeneral,themoreexperiencesyousharewithanother
person,themorelikelyyouaretoshareperceptionandthussharemeani
ng(seeFigure
1.6(http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sec
tions/ch1lev1sec9#ch1�ig6)).
Individualthinkingstylesareanotherimportantfactorinmessagedec

oding.Forexample,someonewhoplacesahighvalueonobjectiveanal
ysisandclearlogic
mightinterpretamessagedifferentlythansomeonewhovaluesemotio
norintuition(reachingconclusionswithoutusingrationalprocesses)
.
Figure1.6HowSharedExperienceAffectsUnderstanding
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Themoretwopeopleortwogroupsofpeopleshareexperiences—
personal,professional,andcultural—
themorelikelyitisthatreceiverswillextracttheintended
meaningssendersencodeintothemessages.
HowAudiencesRespondtoMessages

Yourmessagehasbeendelivered,received,andcorrectlydecoded.No
wwhat?Willaudiencemembersrespondinthe
wayyou’dlikethemto?Onlyifthreeeventsoccur.
First,therecipienthastorememberthemessagelongenoughtoactonit
.Simplifyinggreatly,memoryworksinseveralstages:Sensorymemo
rymomentarily
capturesincomingdatafromthesenses;then,whatevertherecipientp
aysattentiontoistransferredtoshort-
termmemory.Informationinshort-termmemory
willquicklydisappearifitisn’ttransferredtolong-
termmemory,whichcanbedoneeitheractively(suchaswhenaperson
memorizesalistofitems)or
passively(suchaswhenanewpieceofinformationconnectswithsome
thingelsetherecipientalreadyhasstoredinlong-
termmemory).Finally,theinformation
needstoberetrievedwhentherecipientwantstoactonit.17(http://con
sec28#ch1note17)Ingeneral,people�indit
easiertorememberandretrieveinformationthatisimportanttothemp
ersonallyorprofessionally.Consequently,bycommunicatinginway
sthataresensitive
toyouraudience’swantsandneeds,yougreatlyincreasethechancetha
tyourmessageswillberememberedandretrieved.
Audienceswilllikelyrespondtoamessageiftheyrememberit,ifthey’r
eabletorespond,andifthey’reproperlymotivatedtorespond.
Second,therecipienthastobeabletorespondasyouwish.Obviously,i
frecipientssimplycannotdowhatyouwantthemtodo,theywillnotres
pondaccording
toyourplan.Byunderstandingyouraudience(you’lllearnmoreabout
audienceanalysisinChapter4
ns/ch04#ch04)),youcanworktominimizetheseunsuccessfuloutcom
es.

Third,therecipienthastobemotivatedtorespond.You’llencounterm
anysituationsinwhichyouraudiencehastheoptionofrespondingbuti
sn’trequiredto.
Forinstance,arecordcompanymayormaynotofferyourbandacontra
ct,oryourbossmayormaynotrespondtoyourrequestforaraise.Throu
ghoutthis
course,you’lllearntechniquesforcraftingmessagesthatcanhelpmot
ivatereaderstorespondpositivelytoyourmessages.
Byexplaininghowaudienceswillbene�itbyrespondingpositivelyto
yourmessages,you’llincreasetheirmotivationtorespond.
THESOCIALCOMMUNICATIONMODEL
ThebasicmodelpresentedinFigure1.4(http://content.thuzelearning
.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec9#ch1�ig4)ill
ustrateshowasingleideamoves
fromonesendertoonereceiver.Inalargersense,italsohelpsrepresent
thetraditionalnatureofmuchbusinesscommunication,whichwaspri
marilyde�ined
byapublishingorbroadcastingmindset.Externally,acompanyissued
carefullyscriptedmessagestoamassaudiencethatoftenhadfewoptio
nsforresponding
tothosemessagesorinitiatingmessagesoftheirown.Customersandot
herinterestedpartieshadfewwaystoconnectwithoneanothertoaskqu
estions,share
information,oroffersupport.Internally,communicationtendedtofol
lowthesame“wetalk,youlisten”model,withuppermanagersissuing
directivestolower-
levelsupervisorsandemployees.
However,inrecentyears,avarietyoftechnologieshaveenabledandin
spiredanewapproachtobusinesscommunication.Incontrasttothepu
blishingmindset,
thissocialcommunicationmodel(http://content.thuzelearning.com
/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1term27)isint

eractive,conversational,and
usuallyopentoallwhowishtoparticipate.Audiencemembersarenolo
ngerpassiverecipientsofmessagesbutactiveparticipantsinaconvers
ation.Social
mediahavegivencustomersandotherstakeholdersavoicetheydidnot
haveinthepast.Andbusinessesarelisteningtothatvoice.Infact,oneo
fthemost
commonusesofsocialmediaamongU.S.businessesismonitoringonli
nediscussionsaboutacompanyanditsbrands.18
Theconversationalandinteractivesocialcommunicationmodelisrev
olutionizingbusinesscommunication.
Insteadoftransmittinga�ixedmessage,asenderinasocialmediaenvi
ronmentinitiatesaconversationbysharingvaluableinformation.Thi
sinformationis
oftenrevisedandreshapedbythewebofparticipantsastheyshareitand
commentonit.Peoplecanaddtoitortakepiecesfromit,dependingont
heirneeds
andinterests.
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Justastheterm“Web2.0”hasbeenappliedtothesecondgenerationof
WorldWideWebtechnologies(blogs,wikis,andothersocialmediato
ols),“Business
Communication2.0”isaconvenientlabelforthisapproachtobusiness
communication.Figure1.7
ns/ch1lev1sec9#ch1�ig7)listssomeofthesigni�icantdifferencesb
etweentraditionalandsocial
modelsofbusinesscommunication.
TheBusinessCommunication2.0approachcanincreasethespeedofc
ommunication,lowercost,improveaccesstoexpertise,andboostemp
loyee
satisfaction.
Thesocialcommunicationmodeloffersmanyadvantages,butithasan
umberofdisadvantagesaswell.Potentialproblemsincludeinformati
onoverload,
fragmentedattention,informationsecurityrisks,distractionsthathur
tproductivity,theneedtomonitorandrespondtonumerousconversati
onalthreads,and
blurringofthelinebetweenpersonalandprofessionallives,whichcan
makeitdif�icultforpeopletodisconnectfromwork.19
Foralltheiradvantages,socialmediatoolsalsopresentanumberofco
mmunicationchallenges.
Figure1.7BusinessCommunication:1.0versus2.0

BusinessCommunication2.0differsfromconventionalcommunicati
onstrategiesandpracticesinanumberofsigni�icantways.You’repro
bablyalreadyan
accomplisheduserofmanynew-
mediatools,andthisexperiencewillhelpyouonthejob.
Ofcourse,nocompany,nomatterhowenthusiasticallyitembracesthe
socialcommunicationmodel,isgoingtoberunasaclubinwhichevery
onehasasayin
everybusinessmatter.Instead,ahybridapproachisemerginginwhich
somecommunications(suchasstrategicplansandpolicydocuments)
followthe
traditionalapproach,whileothers(suchasprojectmanagementupdat
esandcustomersupportmessages)followthesocialmodel.
YoucanlearnmoreaboutbusinessusesofsocialmediainChapter8(htt
p://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/c
h08#ch08).
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4LEARNINGOBJECTIVE
Outlinethechallengesandopportunitiesofmobilecommunicationin
business.

1.4TheMobileRevolution
Asmuchofagame-
changerassocialmediahavebeen,someexpertspredictthatmobileco
mmunicationwillchangethenatureofbusinessandbusiness
communicationevenmore.VenturecapitalistJoeSchoendorfsaystha
t“MobileisthemostdisruptivetechnologythatIhaveseenin48yearsi
nSiliconValley.”20
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note20)ResearcherMaribelLopezcallsmobil
e“thebiggesttechnologyshiftsincethe
Internet.”21(http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626
.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note21)
Companiesrecognizethevalueofintegratingmobiletechnology,fro
minternalcommunicationtobankingtoretail.Mobileappsandcomm
unicationsystemscan
boostemployeeproductivity,helpcompaniesformcloserrelationshi
pswithcustomersandbusinesspartners,andspurinnovationinproduc
tsandservices.
Giventheadvantagesandtherisingexpectationsofemployeesandcus
tomers,�irmsontheleadingedgeofthemobilerevolutionareworking
tointegrate
mobiletechnologythroughouttheirorganizations.22(http://content
.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec
28#ch1note22)
Thissectionoffersahigh-
levelviewofthemobilerevolution,andyou’llseecoverageofspeci�i
ctopicsintegratedthroughoutthebook,ineverythingfrom
collaborativewritingandresearchtopresentationsandjobsearchstra
tegies.
Mobiledevicesarerapidlytakingoverastheprimarycommunication
platformformanybusinessprofessionals.

THERISEOFMOBILEASACOMMUNICATIONPLATFORM
REAL-TIMEUPDATES
LEARNMOREBYWATCHINGTHISVIDEO
Themobilebusinessadvantage
Hearhowleading-
edgecompaniesareadaptingtotakeadvantageofmobilecommunicati
on.Gotohttp://real-timeupdates.com/bct13(http://real-
Whetherit’semailing,socialnetworking,watchingvideo,ordoingre
search,thepercentageofcommunicationandmediaconsumptionperf
ormedonmobile
devicescontinuestogrow.Formillionsofpeoplearoundtheworld,am
obiledeviceistheirprimaryway,ifnottheironlyway,toaccesstheInte
rnet.Globally,
roughly80percentofInternetusersaccessthewebatleastsomeoftheti
mewithamobiledevice.23
REAL-TIMEUPDATES
LEARNMOREBYVISITINGTHISWEBSITE
Themobilerevolutionbythenumbers
Exploredozensofstatisticalmeasuresthatshowtheimpactofmobilec
ommunication.Gotohttp://real-
timeupdates.com/bct13(http://real-
Mobilehasbecometheprimarycommunicationtoolformanybusiness

professionals,includingamajorityofexecutivesunderage40.24
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note24)Emailandwebbrowsingrank�irstand
secondintermsofthemostcommonnonvoice
usesofsmart-
phones,andmoreemailmessagesarenowopenedonmobiledevicesth
anonPCs.25
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note25)RoughlyhalfofU.S.consumersuseam
obiledeviceexclusivelyfortheironlinesearch
needs,andmanyonlineactivitiesthateventuallymigratetoaPCscreen
startoutonamobilescreen.26
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note26)Formanypeople,thefactthatasmartph
onecanmakephonecallsispracticallya
secondaryconsideration;datatraf�icfrommobiledevicesfaroutstri
psvoicetraf�ic.27(http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bove
e.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note27)
Moreover,mobilephones—particularlysmartphones—
havebecomeintenselypersonaldevicesinwaysthatPCsneverdid.For
manyusers,theconnectionisso
closetheycanfeelasenseofpanicwhentheydon’thavefrequentaccess
totheirphones.28
lev1sec28#ch1note20
lev1sec28#ch1note21
lev1sec28#ch1note22
lev1sec28#ch1note23

lev1sec28#ch1note24
lev1sec28#ch1note25
lev1sec28#ch1note26
lev1sec28#ch1note27
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Figure1.8TheIn�luenceofMobileTechnologyon
BusinessCommunication
Whenpeopleareconnectedtoinformationsourcesformostoftheir
wakinghours,eitherthroughamobiledeviceorwearabletechnology,
thecommunicationexperiencecanstarttoresembleanendless
conversation.
Source:SergioAzenha/Alamy
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note28)Whenpeoplearecloselyconnectedtot
heirphones,dayandnight,theyaremore
closelyconnectedtoalltheinformationsources,conversations,andn
etworksthatthosephonescanconnectto.Asaresult,mobileconnectiv
itycanstartto
resembleacontinuousstreamofconversationsthatneverquiteend,wh
ichin�luencesthewaybusinessesneedtointeractwiththeirstakehold
ers.Ifwearable

technologiessuchasGoogleGlassbecomemainstreamdevices,they
willcontributeevenmoretothisshiftinbehaviors(seeFigure1.8
ns/ch1lev1sec16#ch1�ig8)).
Theparallelsbetweensocialmediaandmobilecommunicationarestri
king:Bothsetsoftechnologieschangethenatureofcommunication,al
terthe
relationshipsbetweensendersandreceivers,createopportunitiesas
wellaschallenges,andforcebusinessprofessionalstohonenewskills.
Infact,muchofthe
riseinsocialcommunicationcanbeattributedtotheconnectivitymad
epossiblebymobiledevices.Companiesthatworktounderstandande
mbracemobile,
bothinternallyandexternally,standthebestchanceofcapitalizingont
hismonumentalshiftinthewaypeoplecommunicate.
Peoplewhogrewupwithmobilephonesoftenexpecttohavethesamele
velofconnectivityascustomersandasemployees.
HOWMOBILETECHNOLOGIESARECHANGING
BUSINESSCOMMUNICATION
Theriseofmobilecommunicationhassomeobviousimplications,suc
hastheneedfor
websitestobemobilefriendly.Ifyou’veevertriedtobrowseaconventi
onalwebsiteonatiny
screenor�illincomplicatedonlineformsusingthekeypadonyourpho
ne,youknowhow
frustratingtheexperiencecanbe.Increasingly,usersexpectwebsitest
obemobilefriendly,
andthey’relikelytoavoidsitesthataren’toptimizedformobile.29
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note29)Asmobileaccess
overtakescomputer-
basedaccess,somecompaniesnowtakeamobile-
�irstapproach,inwhich

websitesaredesignedforoptimumviewingonsmart-
phonesandtablets.30
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note30)Anothersuccessful
approachiscreatingmobileappsthatofferamoreinteractiveandmobi
le-friendlyexperience
thanaconventionalwebsitecanoffer.
However,devicesizeandportabilityareonlythemostobviouschange
s.Justaswithsocial
media,thechangesbroughtaboutbymobilegofardeeperthanthetechn
ologyitself.Mobile
changesthewaypeoplecommunicate,whichhasprofoundimplicatio
nsforvirtuallyevery
aspectofbusinesscommunication.
SocialmediapioneerNiccoMelecoinedthetermradicalconnectivityt
odescribe“the
breathtakingabilitytosendvastamountsofdatainstantly,constantly,
andglobally.”31
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note31)Mobileplaysa
majorandever-
expandingroleinthisphenomenonbykeepingpeopleconnected24/7,
wherevertheymaybe.Peoplewho’vegrownupwithmobilecommunic
ationtechnologyexpecttohaveimmediateaccesstoinformationandt
heabilitytostay
connectedtotheirvarioussocialandbusinessnetworks.32(http://con
sec28#ch1note32)
Herearethemostsigni�icantwaysmobiletechnologyischangingthe
practiceofbusinesscommunication:
Constantconnectivityisamixedblessing.Aswithsocialmedia,mobil
econnectivitycanblurtheboundariesbetweenpersonalandprofessio

naltime
andspace,preventingpeoplefromfullydisengagingfromworkduring
personalandfamilytime.Ontheotherhand,itcangiveemployeesmor
e
�lexibilitytomeettheirpersonalandprofessionalobligations.33(htt
h1lev1sec28#ch1note33)Inthisregard,
mobileplaysanimportantroleineffortstoreduceoperatingcoststhro
ughtelecommutingandothernontraditionalworkmodels.34
Constantconnectivityisamixedblessing;youcanworkfromanywher
eatanytime,butit’smoredif�iculttodisconnectfromworkand
rechargeyourself.
Smallmobiledisplaysandsometimes-
awkwardinputtechnologiespresentchallengesforcreatingandconsu
mingcontent,whetherit’stypinganemail
messageorwatchingavideo.Asyou’llreadinChapter6(http://conten
t.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch06#ch06
),forexample,email
messagesneedtobewrittenandformatteddifferentlytomakethemeas
iertoreadonmobiledevices.
Mobileusersareoftenmultitasking—
roughlyhalfofmobilephoneusagehappenswhilepeoplearewalking,
forinstance—sotheycan’tgivefull
attentiontotheinformationontheirscreens.35(http://content.thuzel
earning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1
note35)Moreover,mobileuseoften
occursinenvironmentswithmultipledistractionsandbarrierstosucc
essfulcommunication.
Mobilecommunication,particularlytextmessaging,hasputpressure
ontraditionalstandardsofgrammar,punctuation,andwritingingener

al.Chapter
4(http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/secti
ons/ch04#ch04)hasmoreonthistopic.
Mobiledevicescanserveassensoryandcognitiveextensions.36(http
://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch
1lev1sec28#ch1note36)Forexample,
theycanhelppeopleexperiencemoreoftheirenvironment(suchasaug
mentedrealityappsthatsuperimposeinformationonalivecameravie
w)and
lev1sec28#ch1note28
lev1sec16#ch1fig8
lev1sec28#ch1note29
lev1sec28#ch1note30
lev1sec28#ch1note31
lev1sec28#ch1note32
lev1sec28#ch1note33
lev1sec28#ch1note34
6#ch06
lev1sec28#ch1note35
4#ch04
lev1sec28#ch1note36

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haveinstantaccesstoinformationwithoutrelyingonfaultyandlimite
dhumanmemory.Theadditionoflocation-
awarecontent,suchasfacilitymaps
andpropertyinformation,enhancesthemobileexperience.
Mobiledevicescreateahostofsecurityandprivacyconcerns,forendu
sersandcorporatetechnologymanagersalike.37
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note37)Companiesarewrestlingwiththe“brin
gyourowndevice”or“BYOD”
phenomenon,inwhichemployeeswanttobeabletoaccesscompanyne
tworksand�ileswiththeirpersonalsmartphonesandtablets,bothint
heof�ice
andawayfromit.However,thesedevicesdon’talwayshavetherigoro
ussecuritycontrolsthatcorporatenetworksneed,andusersdon’talwa
ysusethe
devicesinsecureways.
Mobiletoolscanenhanceproductivityandcollaborationbymakingit
easierforemployeestostayconnectedandgivingthemaccesstoinfor
mationand
worktasksduringforcedgapsintheworkdayorwhiletraveling.38(htt
h1lev1sec28#ch1note38)
Mobileappscanassistinawidevarietyofbusinesstasks,fromresearch
topresentations(seeFigure1.9
ns/ch1lev1sec16#ch1�ig9)).39

Figure1.9MobileCommunication:OpportunitiesandChallenges
From24/7connectivitytobusiness-
orientedappsthatletprofessionalsperformworktasksonthego(sucha
smakingnotesforapresentation,asshown
hereonthemobileversionofPowerPoint),mobiletechnologyisrevol
utionizingbusinesscommunication.
Source:MicrosoftOf�ice365app
Mobileconnectivitycanacceleratedecisionmakingandproblemsolv
ingbyputtingtherightinformationinthehandsoftherightpeopleatthe
right
time.Forexample,ifthepeopleinadecision-
makingmeetingneedmoreinformation,theycandothenecessaryrese
archonthespot.40
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note40)Mobilecommunicationalsomakesite
asiertoquicklytapintopocketsof
expertisewithinacompany.41(http://content.thuzelearning.com/b
ooks/Bovee.7626.17.1/sections/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note41)Custo
merservicecanbeimprovedbymaking
suretechniciansandotherworkersalwayshavetheinformationtheyn
eedrightathand.42
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note42)Companiescanalsorespondandcomm
unicatefasterduringcrises.43
lev1sec28#ch1note37

lev1sec28#ch1note38
lev1sec16#ch1fig9
lev1sec28#ch1note39
lev1sec28#ch1note40
lev1sec28#ch1note41
lev1sec28#ch1note42
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Withinteractivitydesignedtotakeadvantageofthecapabilitiesofmo
biledevices(includingcameras,accelerometers,compasses,andGP
S),companies
cancreatemoreengagingexperiencesforcustomersandotherusers.4
4(http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Bovee.7626.17.1/secti
ons/ch1lev1sec28#ch1note44)
Themobilerevolutioncomplicatesbusinesscommunicationinsome
ways,butitcanenhancecommunicationinmanywaysifdonethoughtf
ully.You’llread
moreaboutmobileinthechaptersahead.
Collaborationandproblemsolvingaretwokeyareaswheremobilecon
nectivitycanboostproductivitybyenablingreal-
timeinteractionandaccess

tovitalinformation.
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5LEARNINGOBJECTIVE
Listfourgeneralguidelinesforusingcommunicationtechnologyeffe
ctively.
1.5UsingTechnologytoImproveBusinessCommunication
Today’sbusinessesrelyheavilyontechnologytoenhancecommunica
tion.Infact,manyofthetechnologiesyoumightuseinyourpersonallif
e,frommicroblogs
tovideogames,arealsousedinbusiness.Youwill�indtechnologydis
cussedextensivelythroughoutthisbook,withspeci�icadviceonusin
gbothcommonand
emergingtools.Thefour-
pagephotoessay“PowerfulToolsforCommunicatingEf�iciently”(s
eepages20
ns/ch1lev1sec19#page_20)–23
ns/ch1lev1sec19#page_23))providesanoverviewofthetechnologie
sthatconnectpeopleinof�ices,
factories,andotherbusinesssettings.
However,anyonewhohasusedadvancedtechnologyknowsthebene�
itsarenotautomatic.Poorlydesignedorinappropriatelyusedtechnol
ogycanhinder

communicationmorethanhelp.Tocommunicateeffectively,learnto
keeptechnologyinperspective,guardagainstinformationoverloada
ndinformation
addiction,usetechnologicaltoolsproductively,anddisengagefromt
hecomputerfrequentlytocommunicateinperson.
MOBILEAPPS
Pocketcollectscontentyou’dliketoreadorviewlaterandsyncsitacros
syourmobiledevices.
KEEPINGTECHNOLOGYINPERSPECTIVE
Perhapsthesinglemostimportantpointtorememberabouttechnolog
yisthatitissimplyatool,ameansbywhichyoucanaccomplishcertaint
asks.Technology
isanaidtointerpersonalcommunication,notareplacementforit.Tech
nologycan’tthinkforyouorcommunicateforyou,andifyoulacksome
essentialskills,
technologycan’t�illinthegaps.Throughoutthetext,you’llseeadvic
eonkeepingthefocusonyourmessagesandyouraudiences,andusingt
echnologyto
enhancethecommunicationprocess.
Don’trelytoomuchontechnologyorletitoverwhelmthecommunicati
onprocess.
GUARDINGAGAINSTINFORMATIONOVERLOAD
Theoveruseormisuseofcommunicationtechnologycanleadtoinfor
mationoverload
ns/ch1lev1sec28#ch1term21),inwhichpeoplereceivemoreinforma
tionthantheycaneffectively
process.Informationoverloadmakesitdif�iculttodiscriminatebetw
eenusefulanduselessinformation,lowersproductivity,andampli�i
esemployeestressboth
onthejobandathome—

eventothepointofcausinghealthandrelationshipproblems.45
Informationoverloadresultswhenpeoplereceivemoreinformationt
hantheycaneffectivelyprocess.
Youoftenhavesomelevelofcontroloverthenumberandtypesofmess
agesyouchoosetoreceive.Usethe�ilteringfeaturesofyourcommuni
cationsystemsto
isolatehigh-
prioritymessagesthatdeserveyourattention.Also,bewaryofsubscri
bingtotoomanyTwitterstreamsandothersources.Focusontheinform
ation
youtrulyneedinordertodoyourjob.
Asasender,youcanhelpreduceinformationoverloadbymakingsurey
oudon’tsendunnecessarymessages.Inaddition,whenyousendmessa
gesthataren’t
urgentorcrucial,letpeopleknowsotheycanprioritize.Also,mostcom
municationsystemsletyoumarkmessagesasurgent;however,usethis
featureonly
whenitistrulyneeded.Itsoveruseleadstoannoyanceandanxiety,nota
ction.
Animportantstepinreducinginformationoverloadistoavoidsending
unnecessarymessages.
DIGITAL+SOCIAL+MOBILE:TODAY’SCOMMUNICATIONE
NVIRONMENT:
It’sAllFunandGames—andEffectiveBusinessCommunication
Thefactthatmillionsofpeoplespendbillionsofhoursplayinggameso
ntheirmobiledevicesisnotlostoncompanieslookingforwaystoenha
nce

communicationwithemployeesandcustomers.Whethertheyfeature
skill,chance,orcompellingstorylines,successfulgamestrytoengage
users
intellectuallyandemotionally—
justassuccessfulbusinesscommunicatorstrytodo.
Gami�icationistheadditionofgame-
playingaspectstoanactivityoraprocesswiththegoalofincreasinguse
rengagement,andit’sanaturalforsocialmedia
andmobiledevices.Foursquare’scheck-
incompetitions,inwhichthepersonwho“checksin”usingFoursquare
themosttimesduringa60-daywindowis
crownedthe“mayor”ofthatlocation,areoneofthebest-
knownusesofgami�ication.Foursquarewasn’tinventedasawayfor
peopletobecomeimaginary
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mayorsofplacestheyshoporeat,ofcourse.Itisanadvertisingplatform
thatreliesonuseractivityanduser-
generatedcontent,andthegameelement
encouragespeopletousetheappmorefrequently.

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