One of your readings this week is Chapter 1, “Effective Business Communication.” On page 7 of that chapter, the following is noted:

Business communication can be thought of as a problem solving activity in which individuals may address the following questions:

What is the problem or situation?

What are some possible communication strategies?

What is the best course of action?

What is the best way to design the chosen message?

What is the best way to deliver the message?

Please think of an example of a problem or situation in your workplace or your community. Then answer the following four questions with regard to that problem or situation. Post your answers to this discussion topic.

What is the problem or situation?

What are some possible communication strategies in notifying someone about the problem?

What is the best course of action to take in solving the problem?

What is the best way to communicate this problem to the relevant individuals?

__________________________

An example of how to respond to this discussion topic is the following:

1. What is the problem or situation?

I am on a committee at work. There are five members of the committee. However, three of the members telework two days a week, and, as a result, we can never meet face-to-face. Our meetings are not very productive because some of us are in the room during the meeting while some of us are on the phone during the meeting.

2. What are some possible communication strategies in notifying someone about the problem?

I could email me supervisor, who formed the committee.

3. What is the best course of action to take in solving the problem?

Our committee was formed for a specific duration of time. We have two months remaining for our committee.

I think we should arrange for everyone to be in the office on the same day each week for this two months. We could hold our committee meetings on that day of the week. This arrangement would solve the problem in that we would all be physically in the room for the meeting.

4. What is the best way to design the chosen message in communicating the possible solution?

A series of messages would be preferred in this case. They would be the following:

I could send an email message to my supervisor. In that email message, I would note the following:

how many times we have met

what types of communication problems have occurred during our meetings that have caused the meetings to be less than productive

I could then outline a plan for having everyone in the office one day during the week so that we could hold our meetings on that day.