Portfolio Project ORG 536

1. Best Practices of Business
Communication
TAMYRA MITCHELL
ORG 536
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY-GLOBAL CAMPUS
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

2. Four parts of Effective Business Communication
PROFESSIONALISM IN THE
WORKPLACE
EFFECTIVE AND ETHICAL
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
THE USE OF ELECTRONIC
MESSAGES AND DIGITAL MEDIA
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE
MESSAGES

3. Professionalism in the Workplace
Professionalism is defined as an
individual’s conduct at work. Within
the workplace business leaders sets
the tone for professionalism within
the workplace (Guffey & Lowell,
2015).
Professionalism focus on verbal and
nonverbal skills.
Non-verbal focus on physical
appearance and your writing skills
As a professional being able to write in
a professional approach by using the
Focus on how you speak and able to
communicate effectively, how you
behave within the workplace and
even the way you think will help you
be successful within the workplace
(Guffey & Lowell, 2015).

4. Professionalism in the Workplace
 Practicing professionalism involves effective communication within the workplace at
my company having good listening skills is key to being professional.
 Building trust and establishing rapport
 Showing that you are able to understand
 Nonverbal cues which show understanding such as nodding, eye contact, and leaning
forward.
 Self-management skills is one of the practices you will need to show you are able to
manage your time and your talent in order to reach your goals in your workplace
(Guffey & Lowell, 2015).
 Acting like a professional really means doing what you need to do to make others in
your work environment know that you are reliable, respectful and knowledgeable.

5. Professionalism in the Workplace
 Leaders in an organizations who embraces diversity promotes professionalism in
the workplace.
 Effective leaders will be able to recognize conflict through team development and
promoting working in a team (Guffey & Lowell, 2015).
 The ability to work in a team is a professional skillset most employers are looking
for in candidates (Guffey & Lowell, 2015).
 Working in a team promote diversity and shows many different benefits for the
employer such as:
 Improved decisions
 Faster responses and more productive
 Better employee morale

6. Effective Communication
Communication as defined is the transmission of information and
the meaning of the information from one individual or group to
another (Guffey & Lowell, 2015).
Promoting effective communication starts at the tops with upper
management and leaders within your organization.

7. Ethical Communication
 According to Guffey and Lowey (2015), ethics is defined as a system of
moral “standards” that is considered right or wrong that prescribe what
people should do and how they should act.
 Best practices to eliminate any type of unethical behavior would be to
have all employees understand the policies and guild lines on ethical
behavior (Ghosh et al., 1997).
 According to Guffey and Lowey (2015) there are five tools for doing the
right thing when dealing with ethical dilemmas.
 Understanding if the action you will proceed is legal or not.
 How would the problem look on the opposite side?
 Are there any other solutions?
 Can you discussed the problem with someone trustworthy?
 How would outside people or influences feel about the problem?

8. Electronic Messages and Digital Media
 Electronic messages and digital media can be achieved by finding the
right tool for communication within your organization.
 . According to Guffey and Lowey (2015) the benefits and tools to
electronic messages is that:
 It saves time
 Able to communicate globally with different offices within your
organization
 Reduces the cost when using electronic messages and digital
media.
 Using electronic messages and digital media for business
purpose is shown to be smarter, safer and more professional

9. Positive and Negative Messages
 Delivering positive messages in email is based on how the email is started by
delivering information that will require a natural response or the person on the
other end who is receiving the message will receptive the news and will share the
same tone back in the email thread or etc. (CSU Global, 2019).
 When delivering positive messages, the best tip is to always have:
 a warm and positive tone to ensure that the delivering of the message is in a positive
narrative
 Always have a direct approach to ensure it is clear and concise (CSU Global, 2019).

10. Positive and Negative Messages
 Delivering bad news is not always an easy task to do but how you choose to deliver the
bad news will show how effective you are able to communicate (Bovee & Thill, 2010).
 Using a direct approach to deliver negative message may not always be best.
 Consider your audience when delivering a negative message
 Show empathy and use an indirect approach, but always be clear with the message.
 The best way to deliver bad news is face-to-face over any other communication channel
(Bovee & Thill, 2010).
 Using a less direct approach will help the person receiving the bad news better to
understand the bad news (Bovee & Thill, 2010).

11. References
 Agarwal, D. S. (2012). The Importance of Communication within Organizations: A Research on Two
Hotels in Uttarakhand. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 3(2),
 Bovee, C., & Thill, J. (2010). Business communication essentials: A skills-based approach to vital
business English (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
 Bucăţa, G., & Rizescu, A. M. (2017). The Role of Communication in Enhancing Work Effectiveness of
an Organization. Land Forces Academy Review, 22(1), 49-57
 Colorado State University – Global Campus. (2019). Module 5 –. Workplace Communication:
Positive and Negative Messages [Canvas ecourse]. In ORG 536-1 – Contemporary Business Writing
and Communication. Greenwood Village, CO: Author.
 Ghosh, B., Fullerton, S., & Taylor, D. (1997). Ethics and business communication: a cross‐cultural
study of CEO potential. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 2(4), 130-137.
 Guffey, M., & Loewy, D. (2015). Business communication: Process and product (8th ed.). Stamford,
CT: Cengage Learning.
 Smith, I. W. (2004). Continuing professional development and workplace learning 9: human
resource development: measuring return on investment. Library Management, 25(6/7), 318-320.