Business Communications for Success textbook
Subject: Business
Course Level: 1st Year Ungergrad
Resource Type: Textbook
Date Released: N/A
Description: Business Communications for Success is an introductory textbook geared toward students who need to be able to communicate clearly, concisely and professionally within the business world. The text shows students how to write business documents as well as prepare and deliver business presentations. It is written from an American perspective; however, there is a chapter on intercultural communications. The first three chapters form the core foundation for the study of oral and written business communication. The next sequence of chapters focus on the process of writing, then oral performance with an emphasis on results. The final sequence focuses on contexts where business communication occurs, from interpersonal to intercultural, from groups to leadership. This book is suited for Business Writing, Business English or Business Research/Report Writing courses. The first section, Basics of Written Business Communication, presents basic business communication concepts, vocabulary, models, and exercises. The author provides a set of core chapters intended to provide a highly focused introduction to the field. Then, the author provides an optional series of modules that provide instructors with flexibility to emphasize additional topics of their choice. In each of the process and product chapter sequences, the chapters follow a natural flow, from prewriting to revision, from preparation for a presentation to performance. Each sequence comes together in a concluding chapter that focuses on action—applying the skills and techniques of written or oral communication in business, from writing a letter to presenting a sales speech.
URL: https://www.oercommons.org/courses/basics-of-written-business-communication
Date of Review: 2016-09-13 11:15:00
Review Details
| Comprehensiveness: (The learning object covers all areas and ideas of the subject appropriately.) | No |
| Comments: The text covers business writing and business presentations in great detail. However, some topics are not included: instructions, gender communication, referencing/citing sources, overcoming the fear of public speaking, and project management. Most of these topics should have been addressed in existing chapters. That being said, I like the focus on language, and while there are a couple of references to gender in Chapter 2 (avoiding gender stereotypes and sexist language), differences in gender related to communications should be discussed in more detail. Race, on the other hand, is covered in more detail. In fact, there is an entire chapter on intercultural communications. In Section 6.5, one of the resources listed is about essay writing, which is more academic writing, whereas business writing would involve reports. While I think most of the content is applicable to a Canadian context, this is an American text with references to American resources and Copyright laws etc. There is not an index or glossary although there is a useful table of contents along the side with links to each section. Lastly, some of the references listed at the end of each section, as well as the Additional Resources at the end of each chapter, are quite dated (from the 1990s and earlier), and some of the links no longer work. | |
| Content Accuracy: (Content, including diagrams and other supplementary material, is accurate, error-free and unbiased.) | Yes |
| Comments: Content is accurate and error-free. For the most part, content seems unbiased. There could be more diversity depicted in photographs and examples, and as mentioned before, more discussion related to gender. Also, the textbook has an American focus. | |
| Relevance/Longevity: (Content is up-to-date, but not in a way that will quickly make the text obsolete within a short period of time. The content is written and/or arranged in such a way that necessary updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement.) | No |
| Comments: The theories and examples of business communications are up-to-date; however, more current examples could be included, and Additional Resources and References need to be updated with more recent works. Some links are not working and should be updated. | |
| Clarity: (The learning object is written in lucid, accessible prose, and provides adequate context for any jargon/technical terminology used.) | Yes |
| Comments: The writing in the textbook is clear and concise, making topics easy to understand for first-year students and for an introductory business communications course. | |
| Consistency: (The learning object is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.) | Yes |
| Comments: Both the design and terminology used in the textbook are consistent and accessible. | |
| Modularity: (The learning object is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned at different points within the course (i.e., enormous blocks of text without subheadings should be avoided). The learning object should not be overly self-referential, and should be easily reorganized and realigned with various subunits of a course without presenting much disruption to the reader. The ranking of N/A can be used if the object is already small and therefore would not be used in smaller parts.) | Yes |
| Comments: The textbook is reader-friendly and organized into chapters based on topics. Instructors could easily pick and choose chapters that are relevant to their course. | |
| Organization/Structure/Flow: (The topics in the learning object are presented in a logical, clear fashion.) | Yes |
| Comments: The topics are presented in a logical order so that instructors and students can progress through the material in an organized way. | |
| Interface: (The learning object is free of significant interface issues, including navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, and any other display features that may distract or confuse the reader.) | Yes |
| Comments: The text is easy to read online, and the images are clear except for document examples that need to be clicked in order to make them bigger and easier to read; otherwise, the text is fuzzy and hard to read. It is easy to navigate from one chapter to another and one page to another due to the table of contents and arrow keys provided. | |
| Grammatical Errors: (The learning object contains no grammatical errors.) | Yes |
| Comments: The textbook is well written and free of grammatical errors and typographical errors. | |
| Cultural Relevance: (The learning object is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. It should make use of examples that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.) | Yes |
| Comments: The textbook is not culturally insensitive; in fact, there is an entire chapter devoted to the importance of intercultural communication. However, the text is very focused on American theories and examples related to business communications with little Canadian content. | |
| Are there any other comments you would like to make about this book, for example, its appropriateness in a Canadian context or specific updates you think need to be made? | |
| For the most part, the text is appropriate within a Canadian context; however, many of the topics and resources are based on American viewpoints. | |
| Level: (For what level would this text be appropriate (i.e. First Year, Second Year, etc)?) | |
| This text would be most appropriate for first-year business students as an introduction to business communications. | |
| Subject Matter: Business |
| Subcategories:
Accounting, Commerce, Economics, Human Resources, Management, Marketing |
| Levels: 1st Year Ungergrad |
| Format: eBook |
| Type: Textbook |
| Comments: Thank you for the opportunity to complete this review. I'm excited to use Open Resources for more courses. Please confirm that you've received my review. |
Peer Reviewer Name: Sonia Perna
License for this resource: CC NC-SA 3.0
