BUS 340 AU Wk 2 Successful Business Communications Challenging Dos & Donts Discussion

Week 2 – Discussion 1

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read Chapter 4, Chapter 5, and Chapter 6 from your textbook; the Week 2 Weekly Lecture; and the article Business Etiquette Throughout the Organization.

After reading Business Etiquette throughout the Organization, explain, through your own experience, why it is important to use the communication practices the author has described. In your response, address the following:

• Describe which of the top 10 “dos and don’ts” is most challenging for you.
• Explain why it would be important for you to improve any areas that you deem challenging, based on importance of effective business communications.
• Describe the benefits and include a minimum of one scholarly and/or credible source to support your response.

Week 2 – Discussion 2

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read Chapter 4, Chapter 5, and Chapter 6 from your textbook; the Week 2 Weekly Lecture; and Types of Writing (Links to an external site.). Then pick the type of writing relevant to your needs.

Are you sure that readers perceive your written message as you intended it? If you want help revising a message you are writing, use Types of Writing (Links to an external site.). This section of the Ashford Writing Center can help you make a document that communicates to your audience clearly. It provides tips and examples for several formal documents, and position papers for business and academic environments. In your response, address the following:

• Explain the appropriate times to use first person and when to use third person, according to Types of Writing.
• Describe the three elements of “Academic Voice” and how you will incorporate these elements into your academic writing.
• Describe the goal of research writing and why it is important to “follow the evidence” and use the evidence to draw conclusions.

Week 2 – Assignment

Skills Inventory and Gap Analysis

Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 18, and Chapter 19 from your textbook; the Week 2 Weekly Lecture; Making PowerPoint Slides: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Bad Slides PowerPoint presentation; the article The Challenge of Exceptional Communication; and the web page Self Assessment: Learn About Your Personality and Strengths (Links to an external site.).

In preparation for the Final Paper as well as having real-world applicability, this week’s assignment is a PowerPoint presentation that will provide you an opportunity to create a career skills inventory and associated gap analysis. Using the article The Challenge of Exceptional Communication as a guide, the goal for this assignment is to professionally present your current skills and identifiable gaps in existing skills to promote yourself as an ideal candidate for the career of your choice. The information derived from this assignment should accurately reflect your existing skills.

In your presentation,

• Describe the skills you possess that make you an ideal candidate for your chosen career.
• Identify any gaps in your existing skill set that an employer may require.
• Explain how you plan on honing these gaps in your existing skill set.
• Explain how you would effectively and persuasively communicate this gap in a manner that would still qualify you for your career choice.

The Making PowerPoint Slides: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Bad Slides PowerPoint is a good resource to use for tips and guidelines for creating an effective PowerPoint presentation.

The Skills Inventory and Gap Analysis presentation

• Must be five to six slides in length (not including title and references slides), formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation (Links to an external site.) resource, and include substantial speaker notes (no less than 100 words per slide in the speaker notes).
• Must include a separate title slide with the following:
  • Title of presentation
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.
• Must use at least two scholarly or credible sources in addition to the course text.
  • The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
  • To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view this Ashford University Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty (Links to an external site.) tutorial, which introduces the Ashford University Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips.
• Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)

Must include a separate references slide that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.