Business and Professional Communication Quarterly

Cultural-diversity training programs typically incorporate discussions of why some organizational acts and actors are seen as offensive while others are not. Invariably these discussions elicit perceptions and attributions of the actor's intent and interpersonal style. This paper presents a new model, incorporating intent and style into four archetypes. The archetypes are discussed in detail as are implications for designing and conducting cultural-diversity training.

The global business community makes understanding cultural differences importantfor business communication students, ourfuture managers and negotiators. But discussions of cultural diversity or multiculturalism should not be limited to cultures of a foreign country only. They should also include an understanding of the diversity within one culture. This article discusses several terms used to denote cultural diversity and their implications and then provides assignments that give students experience in researching various aspects of "culture," in exploring issues of cultural diversity, and in producing appropriate documents.

We describe a model organization tree for the typical report expected of stu , dents in the strategy or policy course almost universally required in business programs, whether undergraduate or graduate. By defining the relationships between the various analytical tasks and the overall strategy recommendation, the model helps students not only organize the final report but also under stand the process by which they are to arrive at a strategy recommendation.

This article advocates student learning portfolios as an effective assessment technique and explains how instructors and administrators can devise a process that involves community partners in assessing student performance. Having community experts judge a student portfolio contest helps faculty identify standards for success that can inform decision making about course content and program offerings. The article discusses how to gain and sustain community involvement in program assessment and describes how portfolio assessment led to the creation of a technical and business writing advisory board at an urban university.

Many business researchers today are puzzled when they attempt to construct electronic references to cite sources used in their writing. The most recent edi tions of both the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Associa tion and the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers were published before today's most widely used Internet protocols were introduced: This arti cle presents APA and MLA guides for formatting electronic references. The guides, intended as handouts for students, illustrate typical business communi cation uses.

This article addresses the advantages of using a business structure in the classroom, the purpose of discussing ethics in the classroom, a design of a classroom business, the methodology needed to implement the activity, an assessment of outcomes, and the results of the exercise.

The effectiveness of WordPerfect's Grammatik as a tool for business writing is the sub ject of this study. Results of this informal study suggest significant limitations to the effectiveness of this application as a guide for student writ ers. I reached this conclusion by having 12 students' papers critiqued by both Grammatik (affectionately known as Gramma) and by real English/ business communication professors to compare their values.

The inclusion of cases and simulations in our curricula may reflect a funda mental paradigm shift in American higher education. Now, colleges must do more than instruct; they must also prove that learning takes place. While the movement toward experiential learning has grown, surprisingly little mention has been made in the literature of the need to ground the use of cases and simulations in experiential learning theory. A basic understanding of the experiential learning process and the nature of cases and simulations as expe riential activities will help instructors of business communication develop, evaluate, and use these tools more effectively.

As business relationships with China increase, management of multinational enterprises and joint ventures in the U.S. and in China realizes that success depends on attention to cultural differences. This article was written by a Chi nese professor of business communication who benefited from a business internship in San Francisco and an American professor of finance who wit nessed cultural differences in business during a recent exchange visit in Shanghai. The article highlights several cultural differences that promote understanding and reduce the difficulties of dealing with these disparate cul tures. The Chinese point of view of these cultural differences makes this article uniquely valuable.

This study documents how the literature on group work supports my goals in the business communication classroom and how my experiment with group works proved to be successful. Students were grouped heterogeneously to expe rience the value of working with others and developing intercultural commu nication skills. Student statements and diaries showed that those who were afraid of being exploited or dominated by others in group work discovered the excitement of collaborative learning while exchanging ideas and helping or teaching each other. It was also observed that cultural and demographic differences tended to be eliminated during the interactions.

Corporate America is changing the way it dresses. Students who are preparing for careers in business should be aware of this change, because dress-down days are becoming a part of American corporate culture. Casual dressing is popular, and people-friendly companies are capitalizing on its popularity. This article discusses this corporate trend and offers discussion on the need to include this concept in the business communications curriculum.