Why is providing information that allows your audience to make a good business decision, even if that decision does not support your point of view, important?
What will be an ideal response?
Answer: Inexperienced communicators often make the mistake of looking for content that supports their own point of view, rather than looking for content that provides a complete picture of the issue. As an ethical business communicator, you have the responsibility to provide information that al-lows your audience to make good business decisions—even if that information conflicts with your own ideas.
For example, assume you found positive information about flexible work hours from a non-profit workforce newsletter and two independent news agencies. You select information from each source to prepare a short email report intended to persuade your supervisor to adopt flexible summer hours. However, suppose you also find a source that suggests that some employees take advantage of the flexibility by arriving to work late and leaving early. If you fail to analyze and address relevant information that contradicts your point of view, you are committing an ethical error of omission. Decide how to deal with that information. Is it strong enough to make you modify your point of view? Is it weak enough that you can argue against it? Does it bring up a problem that you can solve? To be ethical, report the information, cite the source, and then argue against it or provide a solution to the problem the source raises. For example, you could suggest that the company implement a reporting process that documents employees' actual work hours. By addressing potentially negative information, you demonstrate your integrity as a business communicator as well as your ability to think critically and solve problems.
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A corporation should account for the declaration of a 10 percent stock dividend by
a. transferring from retained earnings to contributed capital an amount equal to the legal capital represented by the dividend shares. b. transferring from retained earnings to contributed capital an amount equal to the market value of the dividend shares. c. transferring from retained earnings to contributed capital whatever amount the board of directors deems appropriate. d. making only a memorandum entry in the general journal.
Which of the following statements about texting in the workplace is most accurate?
A) All companies allow employees to use texting to communicate with coworkers and customers. B) Texting enables two or more individuals to use the Internet or an intranet to "chat" in real time by exchanging brief messages. C) Texting is a relatively high-cost substitute for voice calls. D) Text messaging is replacing e-mail for short internal communication.
Felix tells Genie, a prospective tenant, that the roof of the Hillside Apartments building does not leak when Felix knows that it does. This may give rise to an action for fraud, because the statement is one of A) ?puffery
B) ?fact. C) illusion. D) opinion.
Financial derivatives are powerful tools that can be used by management for purposes of:
A) speculation. B) hedging. C) human resource management. D) A and B above