Amy Newman 9/19/10 Amy Newman 9/19/10

University Blocks Access to Social Media

The Story

Could you live without Facebook for a week? Students at the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology couldn't. To encourage students, faculty, and staff to think about the role social media plays in their lives, the university blocked access to several social media sites from the campus network. University officials estimate about 10% of the students went "cold turkey." The rest used their smartphones or other wireless networks to stay connected.

Read more here. Image source: blog.theduffyagency.com.

Discussion Starters

Why would the university block access to social media sites? Ideally, what was the administration hoping would happen?
What are the downsides of the university's move? What were the possible repercussions for students, staff, faculty, and the university as a whole?
Overall, do you think this was a good strategy for the university? How would you react if your school blocked access to sites for a week?

Assignment Ideas

In small groups, discuss how you use social networking as a distraction. How does your online activity prevent you from doing your work and from participating in other types of communication?
Give it a try! Take a break from Facebook and your other favorite social networking sites for a week (or how about a day?). After the break, write a brief memo to your instructor to discuss what you missed out on and what you gained from the experience.

Amy Newman 9/14/10 Amy Newman 9/14/10

Strong Earnings at Best Buy

The Story

Happy days (may be) here again. Best Buy's second-quarter earnings are up a remarkable 61%. This is good news the company can brag about, but some remain wary about consumer spending.

Read more here. Image source: laughingsquid.com.

Discussion Starters

How can Best Buy capitalize on this good news in its communication with customers, analysts, investors, and employees?
What are the potential downsides of Best Buy presenting a picture that's overly optimistic? How can company communicators temper their messages?

Assignment Ideas

As the VP of sales and marketing at Best Buy, write a memo to all employees reporting the quarterly results and congratulating the group on a job well done.
As the VP of the television division, one of the laggard groups at Best Buy, write a memo to employees in your division to share the results and help boost morale.
As the director of the notebook computer division, write a handwritten note to one of your employees who has done an exceptional job in the past three months. How can you, in a personal way, show your appreciation for his or her hard work? You may add your own details and examples.

Amy Newman 9/8/10 Amy Newman 9/8/10

Craigslist De-lists Adult Services Ads

The Story

Big news this week about Craigslist's decision to censor its adult services ads. Craigslist has been under fire for allowing not-so-subtle ads for prostitution -- ads that people claim have facilitated human trafficking and assaults against women. Before this decision, a CNN reporter asked Craig Newmark, the company founder, blunt questions about the ads. Newmark didn't handle the situation very well, and the company has been criticized for its lack of communication around the censorship decision.

Get Your Inbox in Order

The Story

Google just released a beta version of Priority Inbox, a tool to help you manage your Gmail. Priority Inbox categorizes messages, so you see the most important first. This may be a good way to manage some of your email overload.

Egg Recall Scares Some, Brings Opportunities to Others

The Story

Millions of eggs have been recalled since a salmonella outbreak sickened over 1,000 people. The egg industry is on the defensive, but some local farmers have seen increased interest in their eggs. Both groups can use communication to their advantage.

NYT Article: In Serious Company Crisis, "P.R. May Only 'Get People to Hate Them Less.'"

The Story

The New York Times reported quite the story about the recent P.R. failings of BP, Toyota, and Goldman Sachs, citing both missteps and what sounds like hopelessness. Some crises, the article concludes, may be beyond repair through communication. This paints a dim picture of corporations' attempts to recapture trust and rebuild a brand.

Discussion Starters

Do you agree with the conclusions drawn in the article? Why or why not?
If these companies-BP, Toyota, and Goldman-hadn't made mistakes in their communication, would public perception be different?
Thinking as a customer or client of each business, what, if anything could each company have done differently to win you over?
What principles of persuasion (from Chapter 7) did each company use? Which could it have used more or less?

Assignment Ideas

As a group, watch viewers' perceptions of CEO Akio Toyoda, as he discusses Toyota's issues. Why do you think the viewers gave him mixed reviews, with "skepticism" their most common reaction? At what points did viewers' ratings decrease and increase? What do you think caused these changes?
After reading the NY Times article, choose one of the three companies and do your own research about how it handled the crisis. Write a report to the CEO with your analysis and recommendations for communicating during a crisis in the future.
Find a speech or commercial from one of these companies about its crisis. You'll find several on MediaCurves.com, on YouTube, and on each company's website. Analyze the video in terms of persuasion techniques discussed in Chapter 7. Write a memo summarizing your analysis.

Amy Newman 8/20/10 Amy Newman 8/20/10

What Do Dr. Laura and Jennifer Aniston Have in Common?

The Story

Answer: They both used offensive language this week. Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the radio talk-show host, used the "n-word" an astonishing 11 times. Granted, she didn't direct it at anyone in particular, but many people found it offensive. She has since announced that she won't renew her contract as radio host.

Meanwhile, on the Live with Regis and Kelly show, actress Jennifer Aniston used the "r-word," also not appropriate for primetime media.

Read more about Dr. Laura and Jennifer Aniston.

Discussion Starters

What other examples were in the news lately of people using these or similarly offensive words? How did the public react in these cases?
Is this a big deal? What are your own views of "politically correct" language?
What, if any, differences do you see in using this language among your friends and using this language in a workplace?

Assignment Ideas

In small groups, discuss your own use of potentially offensive language. In what ways do you adapt your language at work?
With a partner, role play a situation where you, as a business professional, explain to either Dr. Laura or Jennifer Aniston why the use of the term is offensive.
As either Dr. Laura or Jennifer Aniston, write a letter of apology for using the offensive word. Imagine that you would post this message on your website.

Amy Newman 8/18/10 Amy Newman 8/18/10

GM Issues Recall for Safety Belts

The Story

Right on the heels of communicating good news (profits for a second quarter) and a big management change, General Motors gives us the bad news: 243,000 crossover vehicles are being recalled for a safety belt inspection.

JetBlue Finally Comments on Flight Attendant's Dramatic Exit

The Story

If you watched any news this week, you heard about Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who, after cursing passengers over the intercom, grabbed two beers, inflated the emergency chute, and slid off the plane. He was arrested but has since been released from jail. JetBlue, normally a chatty social media participant, has been suspiciously quiet during the past few days (possibly on advice from the legal department). But on Wednesday, they finally addressed the situation, with a light-hearted blog post that included a link to the movie trailer for Office Space.

New Study: Ninety Percent of Teens Drive While Distracted

The Story

A survey published this week by AAA and Seventeen magazine reported that teenagers understand the dangers of distractions while driving, but they multitask anyway. Read the full story here.

Discussion Starters

In Chapter 1, we talked about distractions as a barrier to communication. Which other communication barriers could affect driving ability?
What data presented in the article would most influence you to stop texting while driving? Why do you find this statistic most persuasive?

Assignment Ideas

Convert the following paragraph from the article into one or more charts. How can you turn the numbers into graphs that are easier to read?
"Aware of the dangers, 73 percent of teens admit they have adjusted their radio/CD/MP3 player, 61 percent have eaten food, and 60 percent said they've talked on a cell phone while driving. Teen drivers justified their actions and said they think it's okay to engage in these distractions because: 41 percent think their action will only take a split second; 35 percent don't think they'll get hurt; 34 percent said they're used to multitasking; and 32 percent don't think anything bad will happen to them."
Write an email to convince a teenager you know well-your little brother or sister or another relative-not to drive while texting. Knowing this teen, which data from the survey would most likely encourage him or her to stop driving while texting? See more data here. What other principles of persuasion (from Chapter 7) will you use in your message?
Write a report to your local PTA or PTO that includes the survey data. The purpose of your report is to encourage parents and teachers to create a new promotional campaign against driving while distracted.

Amy Newman 7/24/10 Amy Newman 7/24/10

Black Employee Gets Unfairly Clipped

The Story

This week, the White House forced the resignation of Shirley Sherrod, a Department of Agriculture employee. Her termination was based on a 39-second video clip of her at a NAACP meeting. The White House believed her comments were racist. Later, the entire presentation was released, which showed -- rather than her discrimination -- how she learned from an interaction with a white farmer way back in 1986. The White House apologized and offered Sherrod her job back.

Watch the full video here. Read more here.

Discussion Starters

What does this incident tell us about race relations in the U.S.?
Why would someone take Sherrod's comments out of context and publicize just a small segment of her speech? Read the original post here.
How does this situation relate to race relations in business?

Assignment Ideas

Think about a time when you may have unfairly prejudged someone because of his or her race. Talk with 2 or 3 other students about the situation and what you learned from the experience.
Review a presentation you gave recently. Identify a small part that -- if taken out of context -- would have distorted your message. How could you have reinforced your main message more often throughout the presentation? Consider what you could have said and what you could have written on visuals to support your key points and possibly avoid this situation.

Amy Newman 7/21/10 Amy Newman 7/21/10

BP Doctors a Press Photo

The Story

BP needs better PR advice. A company spokesperson admitted to altering a photo of their Houston crisis center. Photos were added where video feeds were blank.

"Refudiate" This!

The Story

Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska and U.S. vice presidential nominee, creates a new word. A blend of refute and repudiate, "refudiate" seems to fit the bill. After making headline news, here's her response in a tweet.

Discussion Starters

Sarah Palin's gaffe has caused quite a stir in the media. Is this fair? Sure, she may run for U.S. President in 2012, but we all make mistakes, right?
Sarah Palin's first response to the media attention was to remove her tweet. Then, she posted her short explanation. Was this the best approach for her? Why or why not?
What's the danger of using malapropisms? Do you see a downside?
Why does language evolve? What are other examples of recent additions to the English language? Could "refudiate" be the latest addition? Why or why not?

Assignment Ideas

Advise Sarah Palin on a better editing process for Twitter. Write an email with your recommendations using guidelines from Chapter 5 and your own thinking about Twitter.
Debate with a partner Sarah Palin's use of "Got to" instead of "Gotta" in her tweet. Have one of you argue that "Got to" is more appropriate and the other support "Gotta." Which is the better argument?

Amy Newman 7/15/10 Amy Newman 7/15/10

Best Buy Employee Insults Apple and Customers

The Story

Brian Maupin, a Best Buy employee, was reprimanded after posting videos about the company on YouTube. His first cartoon video, which has amassed over 4.7 million views, mocked a customer of "Phone Mart," desperate for the latest version of the iPhone. Apparently, Best Buy planned to fire Maupin, but management changed its mind after the media attention.

Read more about the situation here on TechCrunch.
Watch the first video here (warning: very rude and lots of cursing, so you may want to skip this one) and the interaction with the corporate executive here.

Discussion Starters

Was Maupin's behavior ethical? Was Best Buy right to suspend him? Should the company have fired him?
If Maupin was frustrated by Best Buy's sales policies (which he addressed in another video that was removed), how could he have handled the situation differently? What internal channels may have been more appropriate for him?
If you were the CEO of Best Buy or another company, how could you deter employees from going public with negative information? Think about communication and management practices as well as internal, online media that may prevent a situation like this.

Assignment Ideas

Imagine you're Brian Maupin's manager at Best Buy. If you had a chance to speak with him about the situation, what would you say? What questions would you ask him to learn more about his mindset? Role play the scenario with a classmate.
Search online for a company's social media policy. You'll find several here. Write a memo to the chief ethics officer with your analysis of the policy. What works well in communicating guidelines to employees, and what could be improved?
Write a statement on behalf of Best Buy in response to the situation. What would you say in a news release to give your perspective of the videos and repair the company's reputation?

Amy Newman 7/13/10 Amy Newman 7/13/10

Kagan Downplays Intelligence for the Masses

The Story

Elena Kagan, the Supreme Court nominee is no dummy, but she's intentionally simplifying her language to avoid an "egghead" stereotype, according to a New York Times article. Apparently, most Americans don't value intelligence in their political candidates and may perceive the super-bright as just plain arrogant.

Discussion Starters

Watch part of Kagan's opening statement. How successful do you think she was in coming across as a "regular person"?
How is Kagan's attempt at simple, clear language similar to business writing principles discussed in Chapter 5? How is this example different? (Hint: How do Kagan's audiences differ from business audiences?)

Assignment Ideas

Find a business report (e.g., an annual report) or presentation (e.g., an investor presentation) online. How appropriate is the communication for the intended audience? Write a memo to the writer or presenter with your assessment about the level of communication.
Take a fresh look at a report you wrote recently. Imagine you need to send the report to a new audience who is less familiar with the topic. What adjustments would you make in writing style to adapt to this audience?

Amy Newman 7/12/10 Amy Newman 7/12/10

About / Contact

About BizCom in the News

I started this blog in 2010 because I was spending a lot of time searching for company examples to bring into my classes and wanted to make it easier for other business communication instructors. Students are more engaged and see the relevance of what we teach with real messages from real companies in real time.

About Amy Newman

Since 2004, Amy Newman has been a senior lecturer at Cornell University, College of Business, in the School in Hotel Administration. Prior to her academic experience, Amy worked as an internal manager and external consultant in major corporations, such as Canon, Reuters, Scholastic, and The New York Times. At Cornell, she teaches courses in business writing, persuasive written and oral communication, and corporate communication, including crisis communication. Amy teaches both undergraduate and graduate students at Cornell.

Amy is author of Business Communication, In Person, In Print, Online, 10e, with Cengage Learning. Since 2010, she has maintained a blog, BizCom in the News, to chronicle stories and company examples for instructors to use in their classes. Amy has developed online content in the form of multimedia simulations, video screen captures, self-assessments, and video-based assignments. She also has developed tools for students and industry managers, for example, "How to Feel Confident for a Presentation," to help people manage speech anxiety, and "Communication Planning: A Template for Organizational Change."

Amy has a bachelor's degree from Cornell University in Human Development and Family Studies and a master's degree in Human Resources Management from Milano, The New School for Management and Urban Policy in New York City. She is a director-at-large for the Association for Business Communication, for which she is an annual presenter. In 2015, she won the organization's Meada Gibbs Outstanding Teacher-Scholar Award. In addition, she has won six faculty teaching awards since joining Cornell.

Faculty Page at Cornell

Email: amynewman@cornell.edu

Amy Newman 7/10/10 Amy Newman 7/10/10

Department of Defense Memo Tries to Fix "Lax," "Sloppy" Media Relations

The Story

Last week, Defense Secretary Gates issued a memo with new rules for how the military should deal with the media. Although Gates denies a connection between this memo and the recent Rolling Stone article that got General Stanley McChrystal fired, Gates says openly that the military has "become too lax, disorganized and in some cases flat-out sloppy in the way we engage with the press..."

Click on the image to download the PDF.

Discussion Starters

Do you believe this memo is unrelated to the McChrystal situation? Why or why not?
What impact might this memo have on the news media? How do you think the press might react to this?
Why would Gates choose a memo instead of another medium for his message? Was this the best choice?

Assignment Ideas

Analyze Gates' memo according to the principles in Chapters 4 and 5. To what extent does this memo measure up to business writing guidelines?
Rewrite Gates' memo to reflect the business writing principles in Chapters 4 and 5. What improvements can you make?

Amy Newman 7/8/10 Amy Newman 7/8/10

Shooting at McDonald's in Finland

The Story

Three people died this week during a shooting incident while on line at McDonald's drive-through in southern Finland. Although McDonald's may not have liability for the situation -- the shooting resulted from an argument between drivers -- this would be considered a crisis situation for the company.

Read the full story.

Discussion Starters

What is the local McDonald's responsibility during an incident like this? How should management respond?
Who are McDonald's internal and external consistuencies? How should McDonald's communicate with each after this incident?
What, if any, action should McDonald's Corporate (in the U.S.) take? How do you see the Finnish store interacting with McDonald's headquarters during this situation?

Assignment Ideas

Imagine you're the store manager of this McDonald's. Write an email to your manager (probably a regional director for all McDonald's stores in Finland) describing what happened and your response. Consider that your manager may forward this on to the Corporate office.
As the store manager, write an email to your employees. You'll want to explain what happened, reinforce emergency procedures, and assure employees of store safety.
As the store manager, imagine that you and Fagerholm, the detective inspector, are planning a news conference about the incident. What will you say to explain what happened and reassure the public that your McDonald's is safe? Write a script and deliver the news conference.

Amy Newman 7/4/10 Amy Newman 7/4/10

BP Adversary Fakes a Twitter Account

The Story

Someone has been having a lot of fun mocking BP and the oil spill disaster. Posing as BP Public Relations, the writer has over 180,000 followers as of July 2010 (compared to BP's real Twitter page, which has only 16,000).

Source: http://twitter.com/bpglobalpr

Discussion Starters

How do these tweets affect BP's credibility and its own efforts to manage its reputation?
Can BP stop this Twitterer? If not, should the company respond in some way? What are the risks of responding?
How can BP use its own social networking presence to combat this site?

Assignment Ideas

Address the fake Twitter account. Decide whether you'll write a public news release, write an article for the BP web site, create a video, or respond in some other way. Produce your response.
Write a recommendation report to BP's lead Twitterer with your analysis of the company's real Twitter page. First, research how to use Twitter successfully. You might look at online articles to start. Next, plan, draft, and revise your report to reflect your analysis: what works well, and what would you suggest the Twitterer change?
Write a few new tweets for BP's real Twitter page. How would you communicate with people during this crisis?

Amy Newman 7/4/10 Amy Newman 7/4/10

Student Fabricates Resume

The Story

A student's "life of deception," as reported by the The New York Times, finally caught up with him this week. Adam Wheeler was accepted into Harvard as a transfer student, but the admissions staff missed a few issues: a suspension from Bowdoin, fake reference letters, and plagiarism. The graphics below summarize Wheeler's falsifications on his resume and his claims when applying to three schools.

Click on the graphic to view the PDF. Resume graphic source.

Claims graphic source.

Discussion Starters

What would lead a student to this level of fakery, which landed him with criminal charges including larceny for accepting $50,000 in financial aid and prizes?
What is Harvard's responsibility in this situation? What could the admissions staff have done differently?
How does this situation relate to employment applications? How does this situation compare to that of Jeffrey Chiang, who, a year earlier, lied during his job search and was black listed from many Wall Street firms?

Assignment Ideas

Take a fresh, objective look at your own resume. During an interview with a sharp recruiter, will you be able to explain and justify all of your claims? Do you need to tone down any examples? Or, on the other hand, are you representing your "best self," as discussed in Chapter 12? Are you unnecessarily downplaying parts of your experience?
With a partner, practice a couple of interview questions around the items that may be a stretch on your resume. For example, if you included membership in an organization, have your partner ask you about it to see whether you can say enough during an interview to support what you wrote on your resume.