Explain the importance of establishing credibility in business communication. How do the components of credibility?competence, caring, and characte
Part A/1.1 – After reading/studying Chapter 1 in your textbook, answer the following questions, then apply what you learned to Part B of the assignment.
- Explain the importance of establishing credibility in business communication.
- How do the components of credibility—competence, caring, and character—interrelate?
- What is business ethics?
- Explain the FAIR approach to evaluating ethical business communications.
Part B/1.11 Chapter 1 is about establishing credibility. After reading the chapter, think about two people—one whom you trust implicitly and another whom you do not trust. Preferably, these are individuals with whom you currently work or have worked in the past. Identify these individuals only as Person A, the one you trust, and Person B, the person you do not trust. Compare them in the following ways: (1) competence, (b) caring, (c) character, and (d) ease of communication. Your response should be based on your understand of these concepts from Chapter 1 in your textbook.
Write four to five paragraphs (500-word minimum). Conclude with several general statements about the impact of credibility on communication efficiency and effectiveness. Use correct English/grammar. This is a writing class and your writing style will be gauged in this assignment. Think carefully about your response and check your work before submitting.
You are to define or explain A, B, C, and D in Part 1 after reading Chapter 1. Then for Part 2, write a minimum of 500 words in four to five paragraphs about your experience with Persons A and B. As you describe the two individuals, include the four concepts you explained in Part 1 of the assignment.
Part 1 has four parts answered briefly. Part 2 requires four to five paragraphs with a minimum 500 words.
Chapter 1 Establishing Credibility
©McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Authorized only for instructor use in the classroom. No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
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Learning Objectives
Learning Objective 1.1: Explain the importance of establishing credibility for business communications.
Learning Objective 1.2: Describe how competence, caring, and character affect your credibility as a communicator.
Learning Objective 1.3: Define and explain business ethics, corporate values, and personal values.
Learning Objective 1.4: Explain the FAIR approach to ethical business communications.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
LO1.1 Explain the importance of establishing credibility for business communications.
LO1.2 Describe how competence, caring, and character affect your credibility as a communicator.
LO1.3 Define and explain business ethics, corporate values, and personal values.
LO1.4 Explain the FAIR approach to ethical business communications.
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Chapter Overview
Importance of credibility
Competence, caring, character
Business ethics, corporate values, personal values
FAIR approach
Facts, access, impacts, respect
©McGraw-Hill Education.
The chapter covers the following topics: the importance of credibility; competence, caring, and character; business ethics, corporate values, and personal values; and the FAIR approach—facts, access, impacts, respect.
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Why Does This Matter?
Credibility
Your reputation for being trustworthy
The degree to which others believe or trust in you
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Credibility is your reputation for being trustworthy—trustworthy to perform your work with excellence; to care about those you work with and for; to live by high ethical, corporate, and personal values; and to deliver on your promises. In short, your credibility is the degree to which others believe or trust in you.
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The Role of Trust in the Post-Trust Era (1 of 3)
Operating from a position of trust or credibility is one of the first things you should consider as you communicate.
Your goal should be to gain trust or credibility from colleagues, clients, customers, and other contacts.
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Do you operate from a position of trust or credibility? That is one of the first things you should consider as you communicate. In the business world, you often start from a deficit of trust. As a result, one of your first goals should be to gain trust or credibility from colleagues, clients, customers, and other contacts.
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The Role of Trust in the Post-Trust Era (2 of 3)
The public increasingly views companies with less trust.
A deficit of trust also exists within companies.
Surveys show that employees often do not trust their own business leaders.
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The public also increasingly views companies with less trust. Approximately 85 percent of senior executives surveyed believe that public trust in business has gone down. A deficit of trust also exists within companies. Various surveys show that employees often do not trust their own business leaders. Just 51 percent of employees trust senior management, and only 36 percent of employees believe that their company leaders act with honesty and integrity. Furthermore, approximately 76 percent of employees have seen illegal or unethical conduct in the past 12 months at their jobs.
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Figure 1.1 A Look at Trust in Various Professions
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As depicted in Figure 1.1, the trust extended by the general public to business executives is far lower than the trust extended to members of other selected professions.
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The Role of Trust in the Post-Trust Era (3 of 3)
Post-trust era
The public overwhelmingly views businesses as operating against the public’s best interests, and the majority of employees view their leaders and colleagues with skepticism.
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In the post-trust era, the public overwhelmingly views businesses as operating against the public’s best interests, and the majority of employees view their leaders and colleagues with skepticism. Regarding the post-trust era, Michael Maslansky, a leading corporate communications expert, said, “Just a few years ago, salespeople, corporate leaders, marketing departments, and communicators like me had it pretty easy. We looked at communication as a relatively linear process.… But trust disappeared, things changed.”
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Figure 1.2 The Three Components of Credibility
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As a future manager and executive, you can control your reputation as a credible communicator by focusing on three well-established factors: competence, caring, and character. Research has shown that these three factors almost entirely account for whether a person is considered credible in professional situations. As depicted in Figure 1.2, credibility is like a three-legged stool. Without any one element, it is compromised.
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The Role of Competence in Establishing Credibility (1 of 3)
Competence
Refers to the knowledge and skills needed to accomplish business tasks, approach business problems, and get a job done
Most people will judge your competence based on your track record of success and achievement.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Competence refers to the knowledge and skills needed to accomplish business tasks, approach business problems, and get a job done. Most people will judge your competence based on your track record of success and achievement. In her memoir, Meg Whitman explains how as a young professional she gained credibility and displayed competence within her organization: “I just focused on delivering results,” she said. “You have to excel at the tasks you’re given and you have to add value to every single project, every conversation where someone seeks your input.”
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The Role of Competence in Establishing Credibility (2 of 3)
People develop competence through study, observation, and practice and real-world business experiences.
How you communicate directly affects how others perceive your competence.
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People develop competence in many ways: through study, observation, and, most importantly, practice and real-world business experiences. Your entire business program is likely centered on developing competence in a certain business discipline or industry. You may already have significant business experience. If you’re a novice, seeking internships and jobs related to your discipline will help you develop competence. How you communicate directly affects how others perceive your competence.
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The Role of Competence in Establishing Credibility (3 of 3)
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Throughout this book, you will find an emphasis on two traits associated with competence: a focus on action and an emphasis on results. A focus on action implies that you seize business opportunities. Meg Whitman emphasized this action-oriented approach to work: “The way I usually put it is, the price of inaction is far greater than the cost of making a mistake. You do not have to be perfect to be an effective leader, but you cannot be timid.” She also described an emphasis on results: “I don’t believe that all a company needs to do is declare that it has values and then say, ‘Trust us, we know what’s best.’ To be a success, you must identify a goal with a measurable outcome, and you must hit that goal—every day, every month, every year.”
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Focus on Action
Emphasis on Results
The Role of Caring in Establishing Credibility
Caring
Implies understanding the interests of others, cultivating a sense of community, and giving to others and showing generosity
People distrust individuals who are perceived as unconcerned about the interests of others or disinterested in causes above and beyond themselves.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Your colleagues, clients, and even your customers will trust you far more if they know you care about them. As Mahatma Gandhi once stated, “The moment there is suspicion about a person’s motives, everything he does becomes tainted.” This statement applies in nearly all business circumstances: In the business world, caring implies understanding the interests of others, cultivating a sense of community, and giving to others and showing generosity. People distrust individuals who are perceived as unconcerned about the interests of others or disinterested in causes above and beyond themselves.
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Understanding the Interests of Others
Your ability to gain credibility strongly depends on your ability to show that you care for the needs of others.
Effective communicators gain trust by connecting with others—that is, seeking to understand others’ needs, wants, opinions, feelings, and aspirations.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Your ability to gain credibility strongly depends on your ability to show that you care for the needs of others. Furthermore, your ability to show you care puts you in a rare position as a business leader. After all, less than half (42 percent) of employees believe that their managers care about them. Effective communicators gain trust by connecting with others—that is, seeking to understand others’ needs, wants, opinions, feelings, and aspirations. Virtually every aspect of communication you will focus on in this book relies on this other-orientation.
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Cultivating a Sense of Community
The most effective business leaders in today’s corporate environment have generally risen to their positions because of their sense of community and teamwork.
Speaking about “our needs” or “your needs” as opposed to “my needs” engenders trust and helps you come up with solutions that achieve mutual benefit.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
The most effective business leaders in today’s corporate environment have generally risen to their positions because of their sense of community and teamwork. Throughout this textbook, you will see techniques for communicating your “we” and “you” orientation rather than a “me” orientation. Speaking about “our needs” or “your needs” as opposed to “my needs” engenders trust and helps you come up with solutions that achieve mutual benefit.
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Giving to Others and Showing Generosity
Most professionals can be broadly categorized as givers or takers.
Companies with higher percentages of givers have higher profitability, higher productivity, and higher customer satisfaction.
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Recent research has shown that most professionals can broadly be characterized as givers and takers. Givers are those professionals who go out of their way to help colleagues, respond to their requests and needs, and generously support others in the workplace. Takers are those professionals who frequently ask for favors from colleagues yet infrequently volunteer to help their peers in return. Dozens of studies in recent years show that organizations with more generous and giving employees perform better. Such companies achieve higher profitability, higher productivity, and higher customer satisfaction.
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The Role of Character in Establishing Credibility
Character
Refers to a reputation for staying true to commitments made to stakeholders and adhering to high moral and ethical values
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Character refers to a reputation for staying true to commitments made to stakeholders and adhering to high moral and ethical values. Character has always been important in business relationships, especially long-term, collaborative relationships. It is becoming even more important—especially for leaders—in an increasingly open, transparent, connected, and interdependent workplace.
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Figure 1.3 What Determines Trust in Individuals in the Workplace?
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Character is central in creating trust. Consider the recent research, depicted in Figure 1.3. Business executives were asked what the most important determinants of trust in workplace projects were. Overwhelmingly, character-based traits—that is, honesty, ethical behavior, willingness to exchange information—ranked at the top.
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Ethics
Ethics
Are “rules of conduct or moral principles that guide individual or group behavior”
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Ethics are “rules of conduct or moral principles that guide individual or group behavior.”
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Business Ethics (1 of 3)
Business ethics
The commonly accepted beliefs and principles in the business community for acceptable behavior
Transparency
Involves sharing all relevant information with stakeholders
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Business ethics are the commonly accepted beliefs and principles in the business community for acceptable behavior. Transparency involves sharing all relevant information with stakeholders. As defined by Transparency International, transparency “is a principle that allows those affected by administrative decisions, business transactions or charitable work to know not only the basic facts and figures but also the mechanisms and processes. It is the duty of civil servants, managers and trustees to act visibly, predictably and understandably.”
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Business Ethics (2 of 3)
Trust-building behaviors include:
Extending trust
Sharing information
Telling it straight
Providing opportunities
Admitting mistakes
Setting a good example by following rules
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You will soon be in leadership positions within your organization. You can create a transparent workplace by being accessible, acknowledging the concerns of others, and following through when you don’t have immediate answers. Trust-building behaviors include extending trust, sharing information, telling it straight, providing opportunities, admitting mistakes, and setting a good example by following rules.
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Business Ethics (3 of 3)
Often employees fail to speak up when they observe potentially unethical behavior.
Business professionals remain silent for four basic reasons:
They assume it’s standard practice.
They rationalize that it’s not a big deal.
They say to themselves it’s not their responsibility.
They want to be loyal.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Often, employees fail to speak up when they observe potentially unethical behavior. Business professionals remain silent for four basic reasons: (1) They assume it’s standard practice, (2) they rationalize that it’s not a big deal, (3) they say to themselves it’s not their responsibility, or (4) they want to be loyal.
Prepare now to speak up constructively when you observe unethical behavior. It’s part of your job. You can challenge rationalizations with questions such as these:
If this is standard, why is there a policy against it?
If it is expected, are we comfortable being public about it?
I may be new here, so I might not understand our policy clearly. But, shouldn’t we…?
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Corporate and Personal Values (1 of 2)
Corporate values
The stated and lived values of a company
Personal values
Those values that individuals prioritize and adhere to
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Corporate values are the stated and lived values of a company. The Society for Human Resource Management espouses corporate values as the essence of business ethics. It defines business ethics as “organizational values, guidelines, and codes,” and it emphasizes “behaving within those boundaries when faced with dilemmas in business or professional work.” Personal values are those values that individuals prioritize and adhere to.
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Corporate and Personal Values (2 of 2)
Most organizations have created a written code of conduct or code of ethics.
Publicly traded companies are required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to have a code of ethics available to all employees and to ensure that it is enacted.
Aligning personal values with corporate values is an important element of character.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Most organizations have created a written code of conduct or code of ethics. Publicly traded companies are required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to have a code of ethics available to all employees and to ensure that it is enacted. For example, eBay’s culture of trust is embodied in its Code of Business Conduct & Ethics. It encourages employees that “beyond complying with the law… [they] can Do the Right Thing.” It encourages them to “be open, honest and direct and conduct business with integrity” and “encourage open communication free from the threat of retaliation.” Aligning personal values with corporate values is an important element of character. After all, if one is living corporate values that do not match one’s personal values, then there is a lack of integrity.
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Open and Honest Communication
By avoiding open and honest communication of business problems, employees doom a business to poor financial performance.
Dishonesty is among the primary reasons for lower employee morale.
Dishonesty can be reason for dismissal.
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By avoiding open and honest communication of business problems, employees doom a business to poor financial performance. Also, dishonesty is among the primary reasons for lower employee morale. Nearly six in ten employees say that they’ve left an organization because of lack of trust—the key reasons being lack of communication and dishonesty. Finally, dishonesty can be reason for dismissal. In some cases, dishonesty can destroy careers and even result in criminal charges.
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Stakeholder View of Accountability
A sense of accountability implies an obligation to meet the needs and wants of others.
It also involves an enlarged vision of those affected by your business activities.
It takes a stakeholder view that includes all groups in society affected by your business.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
A sense of accountability implies an obligation to meet the needs and wants of others. It also involves an enlarged vision of those affected by your business activities. It takes a stakeholder view that includes all groups in society affected by your business activities. Thus, a sense of accountability involves a feeling of responsibility to stakeholders and a duty to other employees and customers. By placing a rationale for accountability in your communications, you will generate substantial trust and goodwill from others.
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Fairness in Business Communications
The FAIR test helps you examine:
How well you have provided the facts
How well you have granted access to your motives, reasoning, and information
How well you have examined impacts on stakeholders
How well you have shown respect
©McGraw-Hill Education.
The FAIR test helps you examine how well you have provided the facts; how well you have granted access to your motives, reasoning, and information; how well you have examined impacts on stakeholders; and how well you have shown respect.
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Figure 1.4 The FAIR Test of Ethical Business Communication
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In all your communications, you should consider whether you are being fair to others. For routine communications, you make this calculation quickly. For important, less straightforward, and perhaps even controversial communications, you should spend a significant amount of time evaluating the best way to be fair. You might consider talking to your supervisor, peers, and other trusted individuals to appraise the situation.
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High-Trust Relationships, Ease of Communication, and Improved Work Outcomes (1 of 3)
Establishing credibility allows you to communicate more easily and more influentially.
Credibility leads to less resistance from others, an increased willingness to cooperate, and a reduced likelihood of miscommunication.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Establishing credibility allows you to communicate more easily and more influentially. Extensive research has shown that high-trust relationships lead to more efficient and superior work outcomes. In terms of ease of communication, credibility leads to less resistance from others, increased willingness to cooperate, and less likelihood of miscommunication. In high-trust relationships, since individuals willingly and freely give the benefit of the doubt, communication is simpler, easier, quicker, and more effective.
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High-Trust Relationships, Ease of Communication, and Improved Work Outcomes (2 of 3)
Engagement
A measure of how much employees are connected emotionally to their work, how willing they are to expend extra effort to help their organizations meet their goals, and how much energy they have to reach those goals
©McGraw-Hill Education.
When business leaders and managers are considered credible, the positive effects on company performance are dramatic. One recent study of 32,000 employees examined the relationship between employee engagement and profitability. Engagement is a measure of how much employees are connected emotionally to their work, how willing they are to expend extra effort to help their organizations meet their goals, and how much energy they have to reach those goals.
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High-Trust Relationships, Ease of Communication, and Improved Work Outcomes (3 of 3)
A study showed that companies with highly engaged employees were nearly three times as profitable as companies with low engagement among employees.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
A study showed that companies with highly engaged employees were nearly three times as profitable as companies with low engagement among employees. A key influence on this employee engagement was the credibility of business leaders. For example, in highly engaged companies, 77 percent of employees said that their managers act consistently with what they say, whereas just 29 percent said the same in disengaged companies.
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Figure 1.5 Overview of Book
©McGraw-Hill Education.
This textbook is designed to help you improve your skills in a variety of professional settings so that you can become a credible and trusted communicator. Overall, you may feel that you excel at some communication skills but not others. Regardless of your present skill level, this textbook gives you opportunities to deliberately and consciously elevate your communication skill set. It also gives you tools to continue developing your communication abilities over the course of your career. Figure 1.5 provides an overview of the topics we will cover in this textbook.
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Chapter Takeaways
Importance of credibility
Competence, caring, character
Business ethics, corporate values, personal values
FAIR approach
Facts, access, impacts, respect
©McGraw-Hill Education.
After studying this chapter, you should understand the following topics: importance of credibility; competence, caring, and character; business ethics, corporate values, and personal values; and the FAIR approach—facts, access, impacts, respect.
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Image Descriptions Appendix
©McGraw-Hill Education
Figure 1.1 A Look at Trust in Various Professions Appendix
Trust is indicated from zero percent (low trust) to 100 percent (high trust). From highest to lowest, the professions are: nurses at 82 percent; pharmacists at 70 percent; grade school teachers at 70 percent; medical doctors at 69 percent; military officers at 69 percent; police officers at 54 percent; clergy at 47 percent; auto mechanics at 29 percent; bankers at 27 percent; business executives at 22 percent; lawyers at 20 percent; advertising practitioners at 14 percent; car salespeople at 9 percent; and members of Congress at 8 percent.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Figure 1.3 What Determines Trust in Individuals in the Workplace? Appendix
From highest to lowest, the character-based traits most important to business executives were: honesty, 77 percent; ethical behavior, 68 percent; exchanges information willingly, 63 percent; shared objectives, 53 percent; respectfulness toward others, 49 percent; expertise, 42 percent; positive attitude, 40 percent; motivation, 39 percent; consideration of others, 37 percent; ability to do the job well, 36 percent; communication skills, 36 percent; intelligence, 29 percent; experience, 23 percent; connectedness, 17 percent; and works for a reputable company, 12 percent.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Figure 1.4 The FAIR Test of Ethical Business Communication Appendix
Facts. How factual is your communication? Have you presented the facts correctly? Have you presented all the relevant facts? Have you presented any information that would be considered misleading? Have you used the facts in a reasonable manner to arrive at your conclusions and recommendations? Would your audience agree with your reasoning?
Access. How accessible or transparent are your motives, reasoning, and information? Are your motives clear, or will others perceive that you have a hidden agenda? Have you fully disclosed how you obtained the information and used it to make your case? Are you hiding any of the information or real reasons for making certain claims or recommendations? Have you given stakeholders the opportunity to provide input in the decision-making process?
Impacts. How does your communication impact stakeholders? Have you considered how your communication impacts all stakeholders? Have you thought about how your communication will help or even hurt others? How could you learn more about these impacts?
Respect. How respectful is your communication? Have you prepared your communication to recognize the inherent dignity and self-worth of others? Would those with whom you are communicating consider your communication respectful? Would a neutral observer consider your communication respectful?
©McGraw-Hill Education.
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Figure 1.5 Overview of Book Appendix
Chapter 1 covers establishing credibility.
Chapters 2 through 4 cover principles of interpersonal communication.
Chapters 5 through 16 cover principles for and types of business messages.
©McGraw-Hill Education.
Business Communication Chapter 1
The End
The End
©McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Authorized only for instructor use in the classroom. No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
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