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Business and Professional Communication: KEYS for Workplace Excellence
Presenting an exciting new approach to teaching the core concepts and techniques of business and professional communication, Business and Professional KEYS for Workplace Excellence, Second Edition by Kelly M. Quintanilla and Shawn T. Wahl is organized in a way that best reflects the way that students transition from their student environment to their professional careers. Indeed, the fully updated second edition of this best-seller continues to focus on helping readers master the skills they need to move from interviewee to team member to leader, and provides unique coverage of some of the greatest challenges of today's workplace, such as the negative impacts of technology and achieving work-life balance. Incorporating coverage of the latest cultural, economic, and technological developments in the business world, the authors cover communication must-know concepts and skills through the application of their Four Keys Know yourself, Evaluate the professional context, Your communication interaction occurs, and Step back and reflect.
832 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 2, 2010
7 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 27, 2021
This is the worst, most misogynistic textbook that I have ever read. One of the chapters made me so angry that I couldn't even focus enough to finish my homework that day. I'm lucky that my professor also realized the many issues with the book and he would often start each weekly class by allowing students to call out the problems in the text, or he would go on an epic rant about racism and sexism in the workplace. It's unfortunate that he hasn't found a book to replace it yet.
These authors should be ashamed of themselves. I'm going to provide a few quotes from this book that I can quickly find to show you what to expect.
On interview appearance: "For women, it includes a jacket and skirt. Many female students question the necessity of wearing a skirt. For better or worse, even in the 21st century, the standard interviewing uniform for women is the suit with a skirt" (p. 86). There are also tips of bringing extra panty hose and wearing a pump with no more than 2 inch heals. Don't forget to practice walking in heels first...
On leadership traits: Used studies from 1948 and 1959, so you won't be surprised to note that physical traits of leaders include handsome and educated at the right school (p. 238).
On romance in the workplace: Quoting a study from 1987 which "found that of women who had been involved romantically with someone at work, 86% reported motives that were not job related, while 14% did report job-related motives." (p.133). And then goes on to warn about the 14%. What disgusts me most about this section is that the authors are old enough to know what employment was like for women in the 80s and how women were often not taken seriously. AND how men in supervisor positions used their power to coerce women into sexual relationships as the only way to be given a shot at promotion. So maybe what this should have said was to be aware of men that use their power to sexual harass in the workplace. Personally, I am so sick of a society that constantly questions how women make it to the top while never questioning that for a white male.
On work-life balance: After discussing women and the typically stereotypes that are quickly becoming outdated, "If you're a man reading this book, you may be feeling pretty lucky right about now, but don't begin celebrating quite yet. Household and family demands affect you as well." (366)
Please, if you are an instructor that is searching for a textbook on professional communication, do not use this one. It's damaging to the younger generations that might not understand the context behind some of these very old studies being used.
These authors should be ashamed of themselves. I'm going to provide a few quotes from this book that I can quickly find to show you what to expect.
On interview appearance: "For women, it includes a jacket and skirt. Many female students question the necessity of wearing a skirt. For better or worse, even in the 21st century, the standard interviewing uniform for women is the suit with a skirt" (p. 86). There are also tips of bringing extra panty hose and wearing a pump with no more than 2 inch heals. Don't forget to practice walking in heels first...
On leadership traits: Used studies from 1948 and 1959, so you won't be surprised to note that physical traits of leaders include handsome and educated at the right school (p. 238).
On romance in the workplace: Quoting a study from 1987 which "found that of women who had been involved romantically with someone at work, 86% reported motives that were not job related, while 14% did report job-related motives." (p.133). And then goes on to warn about the 14%. What disgusts me most about this section is that the authors are old enough to know what employment was like for women in the 80s and how women were often not taken seriously. AND how men in supervisor positions used their power to coerce women into sexual relationships as the only way to be given a shot at promotion. So maybe what this should have said was to be aware of men that use their power to sexual harass in the workplace. Personally, I am so sick of a society that constantly questions how women make it to the top while never questioning that for a white male.
On work-life balance: After discussing women and the typically stereotypes that are quickly becoming outdated, "If you're a man reading this book, you may be feeling pretty lucky right about now, but don't begin celebrating quite yet. Household and family demands affect you as well." (366)
Please, if you are an instructor that is searching for a textbook on professional communication, do not use this one. It's damaging to the younger generations that might not understand the context behind some of these very old studies being used.
August 10, 2018
summer class textbook
August 5, 2020
I’m finally done with this class.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews