Lb170 17j Resource Book 1

LB170
Communication skills for business and management
Handbook for
1 Business
Communication
Prepared for the module team by
Prithvi Shrestha
This publication forms part of the Open University module LB170 Communication skills for business and management.
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First published 2017.
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1.1
Contents
Introduction 7
Chapter 1: Communication skills 8
1.1 Why are business communication skills so important? 8
1.2 Communication skills self-evaluation 9
Chapter 2: Reading strategies for business and
management 11
2.1 Good reading skills 11
2.2 Reading strategies 11
Chapter 3: Making notes 13
3.1 Grammar and notemaking 13
3.2 Example notes from a text 14
3.3 What makes good notes? 15
3.4 Tips for finding the main points in a text 16
Chapter 4: Analysing business case studies 17
4.1 Key concepts and frameworks 17
4.2 Useful points for case study analysis 18
4.3 Approaching a SWOT analysis assignment 19
4.4 Using your own words 19
4.5 Using signposting phrases 19
4.6 What makes a well-structured paragraph? 21
4.7 What is STEEPLE analysis? 22
4.8 The language of cause and effect 23
References 24
Chapter 5: Finding and evaluating sources 25
5.1 Finding sources 25
5.2 Evaluating sources 26
References 28
Chapter 6: Analysing problems and proposing solutions 29
6.1 What is a problem? 29
6.2 Problem–solution patterns 30
6.3 Noticing problem-signalling words 31
6.4 Language for proposing solutions 32
6.5 Justifying a proposed solution 34
References 35
Chapter 7: Presentation skills 36
7.1 Creating effective presentation slides 36
7.2 Checklist for evaluating presentation slides 38
7.3 Effective delivery of a presentation 39
7.4 Organising the content of your presentation 40
7.5 Tips for organising a presentation 41
7.6 Useful signposting phrases for presentations 42
7.7 Are you ready to present? 43
Chapter 8: Structuring a report 44
8.1 A report structure 44
8.2 Useful language for the sections of your report 44
8.3 Referencing 46
Chapter 9: Peer and tutor feedback 48
9.1 How to give peer feedback 48
9.2 How to receive and act on peer feedback 49
9.3 Reflecting on tutor feedback on your assignment 49
Chapter 10: Reflection 51
10.1 So, what exactly is reflection? 51
10.2 Why reflect? 51
10.3 Using a framework to reflect 52
10.4 Useful language for writing reflectively 53
10.5 Using appropriately formal language in your (reflective)
writing 54
10.6 Language use in a reflective piece 55
10.7 Useful questions to ask when writing your reflection 59
References 60
Chapter 11: Building a case 61
11.1 What is an argument? 61
11.2 Examining how people support their claims in an argument 62
11.3 The language of argument 62
References 65
Chapter 12: Negotiation 66
12.1 Participating in negotiation 66
12.2 Components of a negotiation 66
12.3 Language use in negotiation 67
12.4 Concluding a successful negotiation 68
References 68
Chapter 13: Writing effective workplace proposals 69
13.1 What is a workplace proposal? 69
13.2 The structure of workplace proposals 69
13.3 Language to indicate benefits and risks 70
13.4 Language tone when writing proposals 71
References 72
Chapter 14: Effective workplace meetings 73
14.1 Why meetings may fail 73
14.2 Making meetings successful 73
14.3 Language in the workplace 75
References 77
Chapter 15: Developing discussion skills 78
15.1 The language of discussion 78
15.2 What makes argument effective in a discussion? 79
15.3 Communicating ethical issues in business 82
15.4 Language use in ethical discussion 83
Chapter 16: Writing business essays 87
16.1 Tips on preparing for an assignment 87
16.2 Understanding an assignment question 88
16.3 Writing a successful business essay 89
References 97
Chapter 17: Team working and communication 98
17.1 Why teamwork in organisations? 98
17.2 Team development model and associated communication
skills 98
17.3 Team communication strategies 99
17.4 Communicating inclusively and team working 104
References 105
Chapter 18: Dealing with marketing data 106
18.1 Key marketing concepts 106
18.2 Why use data in marketing? 108
18.3 Sources of data in marketing 108
18.4 Quantitative and qualitative data in reports 109
18.5 Language use in marketing data commentary: Gelati report110
Chapter 19: Finance: dealing with data 113
19.1 Communicating changes in income statements 113
19.2 Commenting on a balance sheet 114
19.3 Delivering a presentation on financial information 115
References 115
Glossary 116
Acknowledgements 129
Introduction
Introduction
LB170 Communication skills for business and management is designed to
develop your language as well as written and spoken communication skills,
both on university business courses and in the workplace. It is an interactive
online module accompanied by two books: Book 1: Handbook for Business
Communication and Book 2: Readings, Models and Frameworks.
Book 1: Handbook for Business Communication contains a range of useful
tips and advice taken from the module’s online material, as well as an
extensive glossary of the key business concepts and technical terminology
used in the module. The book focuses on the core communication skills of
reading, writing, speaking and listening, and also includes sections on
grammar and vocabulary for business purposes.
As well as serving as a handbook while you study LB170, it will act as a
useful reference book and guide for your future studies and workplace
communication needs.
7
LB170 Book 1: Handbook for Business Communication
Chapter 1: Communication skills

Communication skills are highly valued both in business and the workplace.
In this chapter you will find material on how to communicate effectively in
business and a list of skills for you to use for self-evaluation.
1.1 Why are business communication

skills so important?
You may have brilliant business ideas together with the skills, creativity and
motivation to be a great success, but if you are not able to communicate
effectively, you may not get the opportunity to ever put your ideas into
practice. Communicating effectively in business means:
‘Purpose’ and ‘audience’ . being aware of the purpose of the communication, e.g. know why the
are defined in the communication is taking place and what the goals are
Glossary.
. being clear, organised and in control of the information relevant to the
topic
. being well prepared by having read and extracted the key points of any
briefs, reports or other documents
. expressing yourself succinctly and well in formal writing
. knowing what the conventions are for the kind of communication you
are making
. controlling the technology you are using for communicating
. considering who your audience are, what they know already and what
they need to know
. being inclusive
. working on your language skills so that they are ready for the world of
business
. building your communication skills and confidence.
All of this means developing and working on your language and skills,
ensuring they are ready for the world of business. It means building up a
specialist vocabulary and practising writing and speaking in a range of
business situations so that you build your communication skills and
confidence when interacting in the workplace and at university. It means
building your awareness of the purposes and conventions for
communicating in certain contexts and with certain audiences, to enable you
to respond flexibly and effectively and with confidence to the situations you
find yourself in.
8
Chapter 1: Communication skills
1.2 Communication skills self-evaluation

A list of the communication skills is shown in Table 1.1. Go through this
list of writing, reading, speaking as well as listening and team-working
skills and select whether each skill is something you are already strong in
or if it is an area where you would like to improve. This will enable you to
prioritise the specific skills you wish to work on as well as identify your
current strengths.
Table 1.1 Evaluate your communication skills
I can do This is something I need to

this work on
Writing skills
Use formal business English for
a variety of writing purposes at
university or in the workplace
Know the purpose of the
business text you are writing
Organise and structure ideas in
writing
Bring together information from
a range of sources to include in
your academic writing and
reference that information
Summarise the key points from
a business reading text and
other sources of information
Use charts, figures, tables and
graphs to present information
Use correct grammar, spelling
and punctuation
Draft and edit writing
Use feedback from others to
improve writing
Speaking skills
Explain something clearly in a
one-to-one academic or
workplace context using an
appropriate level of formality
Present on a business topic to
an audience
Adjust your language for your
audience and purpose
Take part in an academic
discussion on a business theme
Take part in a meeting online or
offline, using appropriate
technology, e.g. phone, video
conference
9
I can do This is something I need to

this work on
Put forward an idea in a
business meeting
Negotiate (also a writing skill)
Persuade (also a writing skill)
Give verbal feedback in a
business context
Listening and team-working skills
Listen actively in a one-to-one or
team context
Respond to others in a
respectful way
Collaborate constructively with
others online and offline to
achieve a business task
(i.e. using online communication
tools or face-to-face)
Work with people from different
backgrounds and cultures in
business contexts
Use strategies to improve
understanding
Ask for clarification
Encourage others
Use strategies to avoid conflicts
and problems when working as
a team
Respond to verbal feedback
constructively
Reading skills
Be aware of your own purpose
while reading a business-related
text
Use strategies to improve
reading efficiency
Make notes of the main points
when reading a business text
Analyse business cases as you
read them
Read critically
Paraphrase information from a
business text
Understand visual information in
a text
Find the meaning of new words
and expressions using a
glossary or business dictionary
10
Chapter 2: Reading strategies for business and management
Chapter 2: Reading strategies for

business and management
This chapter focuses on one of the key challenges in business
communication: reading.
2.1 Good reading skills

Good reading skills are central to effective business communication, both
for study and in the workplace. For example, in study situations you need to
be able to read and summarise the main points from complex texts in order
to complete your assignments. In the workplace, you often need to read and
understand a range of documents and information in order to carry out your
role.
Language awareness is at the heart of the strategies you need for reading
complex texts because language:
. underpins how a text is organised

. represents precise ideas which are specific to your subject
. follows conventions of formality in order to communicate to its intended
audience.
2.2 Reading strategies

You can use these reading strategies to make your reading of texts effective.
You may also have your own reading strategies.
. Be clear what you want from reading the text.

. Consider what you already know about the topic of the text.
. Be critical: make sure you check where the text comes from and that
you understand the aims of the author.
. Think of a question that the text will answer before you read.
. Before you read carefully, look quickly through the text to see what it is
generally about (good places to look are the title, introduction, first
sentences of each paragraph and the final paragraph).
. Keep asking more questions while reading.
. Check the meaning of difficult words and expressions.
. Read the text carefully and try to notice how it is organised.
. Recognise ‘signposting’ words and groups of words.
. Write on the text.
11
. Write notes somewhere else, not on the text, and if possible, draw mind
maps.
. Produce a summary.
. Note down thoughts about what you have read.
. Note down the source of the text.
You can use these reading strategies to make your reading of texts effective.
You may also have your own reading strategies.
12
Chapter 3: Making notes

This chapter contains useful tips and advice taken from the online module
materials on how to make effective notes from a text or event.
Here are some business situations where you might need to make notes
from a written text.
At work
. To prepare for a meeting.
‘Summarising’ is defined . To summarise a document for colleagues.
in the Glossary.
. To record the main ideas from a document for yourself.
. To gather information in preparation for writing a report or delivering a
presentation.
On a business studies course

. To keep a note of things you are learning.
. To clarify your thoughts on what you are learning.
. To prepare for writing a report, essay or presentation.
. To remember things for an exam.
3.1 Grammar and notemaking

The relevance of grammar to note making is that a sentence in a written
text will always have at least one noun and one verb. However, when you
make notes you can often reduce the sentences to nouns. There are two
reasons for this:
1 Nouns, particularly abstract nouns, can contain a large amount of
information. You can summarise a whole sentence or paragraph with the
noun ‘crisis’ for example. Abstract nouns are ideal for reducing the main
ideas in a text to a few words.
2 Nouns can be combined with other words to make noun phrases, for
example:
(a) ‘need for urgent action’
(b) ‘environmental crisis threatening coffee production’.
There is always a main noun in a noun phrase. The main nouns have been
italicised in the two examples just given. The other words are combined
with this main noun to make the noun phrase. These combinations are very
useful in note making and in writing generally.
13
Focus on nouns and noun phrases

One useful tip to keep in mind for note making is that many of the words
‘Noun’, ‘abstract noun’ that you select as main points are nouns. This is because nouns carry most
and ‘noun phrases’ are of the meaning in a sentence. As nouns are words that name things, they
defined in the Glossary. tell you who or what the writer is talking about in a sentence, who performs
the actions and who or what is affected by the actions. Some nouns are
physical things, for example ‘coffee’, ‘farmer’, ‘crop’. These are known as
concrete nouns. Some nouns are not physical things that you can see or
touch; they are more like ideas or processes, for example ‘crisis’, ‘quality’
or ‘production’. These are known as abstract nouns. Abstract nouns are very
common in academic business language as they are used to encapsulate key
concepts and ideas. It is important to recognise them and to use them in
your writing as they help you to be succinct and precise.
3.2 Example notes from a text

The following notes were made from part of the Cafédirect press release (a
copy of this text is in Book 2: Readings, Models and Frameworks):
Introduction
Cafédirect warn environmental crisis threatening coffee production.
Shortages → soaring prices, declining quality.
Urgent action needed: support smallholder coffee farmers who produce
¾ of all coffee.
Impact of climate change = flooding, drought, pests and crop disease.
Some parts of world soon unsuitable for coffee production.
Paragraphs 4 and 5
Cafédirect: new report – Coffee Climate Crisis: environmental issue
affecting 6,000 smallholder farmers in Peru.
Torrential rain washing away soil, destroying crops, damaging
infrastructure.
CD set up unique sustainability programme = reforestation funding by
carbon trading.
Rest of text
Nicola Pearson, Commercial Director: details of one case study: co-
operative in Peru finding new ways to adapt to climate change.
Need for more action: coffee drinkers should only buy responsible
brands and invest in future for farmers.
14
Cafédirect leading by example with Adaptation to Climate Change for

Smallholder Farmers initiative (AdapCC) project. Working in direct
partnership to tackle impact of climate change. Being replicated in
other regions.
Adapting to climate change is essential. Recommend other brands do
the same so as to protect livelihoods and supply.
3.3 What makes good notes?

Here is a summary of what makes good notes. Notes that...
. are relevant for your purpose

. are succinct
. show the main points
. use noun phrases together with key verbs and adjectives
. show how ideas are linked
. are accurate
. are understandable when you come back to them
. can include sketches or diagrams
. can use abbreviations and symbols
. are referenced if used in an academic context
. show if any sections have been copied word for word by using quotation
marks.
Using abbreviations and symbols when notemaking

One way of saving time and keeping your notes to an appropriate length is
to make use of symbols, shorthand and abbreviations. You might already
know some, to which you can add others that you make up throughout your
time as a student. We use a whole range of symbols and abbreviations some
of which are reproduced below:
Table 3.1 Commonly used symbols
Symbol Meaning
= equals (or means)
→ causes
+ plus (or also)
15
Table 3.2 Commonly used abbreviations
Abbreviation Meaning
i.e. that is
e.g. for example
SWOT strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
STEEPLE social, technological, economic, environmental, political,
legal and ethical
In addition, we use our own form of shorthand which sometimes entails

leaving out vowels or cutting off the end of words. This method is
particularly effective where longer words are concerned. For example,
concentrated becomes ‘conc.’, advantage and disadvantage become ‘ad.’ and
‘disad.’ respectively, and consequently becomes ‘consq’. Developing your
own version which makes sense to you can be extremely time efficient and
after a while it becomes a language of your own which flows easily.
3.4 Tips for finding the main points in a

text
How to find main points in a reading text.
. Be clear what you need the information for, i.e. your purpose.
. Use the title, introduction, conclusion and first sentence of each
paragraph to find out what the text is about.
. Consider what type of text you are reading and how the text is
organised. For example, business reports, academic papers, press
releases and newspaper articles all organise information in different
ways.
. Remember that most paragraphs make one main point, which tends to be
found at the beginning of the paragraph. The rest of the paragraph
expands on this point and provides more details.
. Look for key words relating to the main topic.
. Ignore examples and details which are NOT main points.
16
Chapter 4: Analysing business case studies
Chapter 4: Analysing business

case studies
This chapter looks at the use of language for analysing business case
studies.
Analysing a case study means reading or listening to the information
available and using key concepts or a framework from a business context
to examine the situation that is being described in detail. This is called
‘framing the case’. It means choosing the relevant set of concepts to
approach the case with and then analysing it.
The framework you choose will depend on the purpose of the analysis,
i.e. what you want to achieve as a result of it. For example, you may be
analysing a business at a particular time, such as at start-up, or you may be
analysing a change in the marketplace, such as the launch of a new product
which would disrupt the relevant market and require competitors to rethink
their strategy.
In an academic study context a case study is used to draw out principles
which can then be applied to other business situations. The purpose is to
learn from the case study.
4.1 Key concepts and frameworks

Using key concepts and frameworks to analyse a case study enables you to:
. select what is relevant from information which might otherwise appear

very complex
. organise your thinking
. make proposals or recommendations based on that thinking.
Key concepts are words or phrases that have a particular meaning in a
business context. For example, external environment as a key concept has a
special meaning in business and management. It refers to factors that affect
a business, such as economic and political factors.
Key concepts and frameworks are important to the study of business
because using them allows you to give a clearer and more precise
explanation of what is going on in a case study and make recommendations
using vocabulary that is more abstract, therefore more academic. It is
important to learn the key concepts that you come across in your study of
business and management by noting them down along with a definition of
their specialised meaning.
17
4.2 Useful points for case study analysis

These points on useful language are used in the module when looking at a
SWOT analysis report.
Useful language used to express a viewpoint based on

evidence
. It is apparent that …
. It is clear that …
Useful language for making recommendations

. the business has to address …
. … is a priority
. there needs to be …
. the aim of this recommendation would be …
. by … , the company will …
Useful language of cause and effect

The following points are taken from Natalie’s paragraph on strengths in her
SWOT analysis of the Fat Face case study (a copy of this analysis is in
Book 2: Readings, Models and Frameworks).
. The high quality of products has led to a very strong customer base …
. As a result of recently updated software systems, … , customers are able
to purchase items which may not be in stock in that particular store …
. The benefit of having a low staff turnover means that operations … can
be processed quickly and efficiently as staff knowledge … is extensive.
Table 4.1 shows some possible ways of converting source text into bullet
point / noun phrases for a SWOT analysis. This example is taken from the
case study on Brompton Bicycle.
Table 4.1 An example of source text converted into noun phrases for a
SWOT analysis
Sentence in source text Bullet point/noun phrase

We have the best folding bike Best quality folding bike
The bike’s design is still covered by Design covered by copyright
copyright
Our bikes have hardly changed in 20 Investment in manufacturing already
years and we have been able to made
invest over time in the tooling. It’s a
big upfront cost but it’s an investment
we have already made
Butler-Adams has further reduced Reduced costs due to outsourcing
costs by outsourcing non-core non-core manufacturing
elements of the manufacture
18
4.3 Approaching a SWOT analysis

assignment
You need to take the following steps:
1 Analyse the assignment title.
2 Read or watch/listen to the case study text(s).
3 Select the main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
mentioned in the text and put them into a SWOT table in concise note
form.
4 Decide on your recommendations for the business (based on your notes).
5 Write up your assignment, reporting on the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats you noted down and including your
recommendations based on these.
4.4 Using your own words

It is very important to use your own words when making notes from a case
study text in preparation for a written assignment, as this will help you to
avoid copying pieces of the original text. Copying chunks of original text
when you write a business assignment does not show your tutor that you
have understood the text. If it is done without using quotation marks and a
Plagiarism is passing off reference, it can lead to accusations of plagiarism (see side note). There will
someone else’s work as be some words and phrases, however, which will remain the same,
your own without especially if these are key concepts, for example: ‘global market’, ‘research
acknowledgement of the
and development’.
source.
4.5 Using signposting phrases

Michael’s SWOT analysis of Brompton Bicycle contains many examples of
signposting phrases. Look at Figure 4.1 to see how he guides the reader
through the text with signposting phrases. These signposting phrases are
highlighted in the text with an explanation of how they are used.
19
Brompton Bicycle is the biggest bicycle manufacturer in

Britain. The company is well-known for the high quality
of its niche product, a folding bicycle popular with
commuters. This report will analyse the current This sentence (starting 'This report will
internal and external environment for Brompton, analyse') signposts to the reader what
using the SWOT framework and provide the report will contain. This prepares
recommendations for future actions. the reader for the content.
Brompton’s strengths include the fact that the 'Brompton’s strengths include' is a
company is debt free and is seen as having the best useful way to introduce the paragraph
folding bike on the market which is viewed by customers on strengths and provides a starting
as a quality product. The refined manufacturing point for the general to specific
processes, engineering focus and attention to detail organisation.
within Brompton has allowed the company to create a
niche product. Another strength Brompton possesses This signpost ('another strength')
is the aftercare revenue it is able to generate though introduces a further different item on
spares and servicing; this ensures quality control and the list of strengths.
continues to keep a strong relationship with its
customers post sale. Because Brompton’s customers
are responsible for word of mouth marketing, the
relationship with their customers is one of their key
strengths and one which Brompton can rely on for
promoting and providing increased credibility of the
brand.
Although Brompton has many strengths, it also The use of the word 'although' is a
has weaknesses. The main weakness is that the signpost that shows the reader that the
company is not growing in line with the rest of the writer is moving on to a different theme
market. The market has grown 20 – 25% year on year (weaknesses), contrasting with the
and Brompton has been unable to match this rise. theme of the paragraph above. The
This growth has been constrained by inefficient phrase ‘The main weakness’ indicates
production methods and the inability to produce the organisation of the text will move
enough bikes to meet consumer demand. Being from most to least important.
based in London makes production more expensive
as staff costs are high here and, as Brompton is The use of the word ‘This’ in the phrase
unwilling to relocate, this will continue to be a ‘This growth’ is a signpost back to the
weakness in future. Finally, the issue of patent expiry previous sentence. It means that the
has not been addressed and there appears to be little writer is talking specifically about the
research and development into future products and ‘growing’ mentioned previously.
services taking place. Brompton relies on traditional
engineering methods and is not looking to the future The use of the word ‘Finally’ to introduce
with how it can innovate further to develop products to the last sentence of the paragraph, shows
meet the demands of customers and improvements to readers that this is the last area of
its production methods. weakness the writer will address.
Figure 4.1 Annotated SWOT analysis of Brompton Bicycle (Boyd, 2008)
20
Although Brompton has weaknesses, there are The word ‘Although’ is used again to
opportunities for this company. Growth in provide contrast with the theme of the
international markets provides a real opportunity to previous paragraph.
expand Brompton’s sales overseas where already 70%
of the firm’s revenue is generated. Currently The word ‘Currently’ signals that the
Brompton’s enthusiasts provide a good source of existing situation will be described and
word of mouth advertising, however, if this were then this is contrasted with possible
channelled into a more structured approach the brand improvements with the word ‘however’.
could reach a much wider audience.
Brompton must also consider its threats. The word ‘also’ signals a new theme
Competition from many other bike manufacturers and a move away from the focus on
threatens Brompton’s existing market share and future opportunities.
growth potential. Competitors are investing heavily in
research and development and their products are
improving all the time, which means that there is the
threat that not only could another manufacturer undercut
Brompton on price, but they could also design a product
that is of equal quality. As Brompton only sells bicycle The word ‘As’ here and later in the
products, it is impacted by seasonal demand and same sentence signal a cause. It
this is a threat as revenue is not consistent throughout means the same as ‘because’.
the year.
In conclusion, Brompton needs to take advantage of the The phrase ‘In conclusion’ shows the
opportunities in front of it. There is an opportunity for reader that this paragraph will draw the
international growth, however, this needs to be managed text to a close by summarising the
correctly. With this in mind, it would be prudent to recruit situation and providing
the experience of a director for international growth to recommendations.
help focus and manage this expansion. Brompton needs
to agree a research and development budget to improve
quality and further refine manufacturing processes.
Developing an online presence through blogs and web
sites could help increase Brompton’s marketing ability
and provide a conduit for sales through ecommerce.
References:
Smith, P. (2008) 'Bike maker prepares to step up a gear:
Brompton wants to keep up with the competition without
its folding bicycles losing their uniqueness', The Daily
Telegraph, 1 April, p. 11.
Figure 4.1 continued
4.6 What makes a well-structured

paragraph?
There are a few general rules about what makes a well-structured paragraph.
Usually a paragraph in a piece of formal writing:
. is linked to the previous paragraph through signposting and/or

explanation
21
. makes the main point (often called a high-level generalisation) in the

first sentence or the first couple of sentences
. develops the main point through giving examples or further details
(often called low-level generalisations)
. uses signposting to guide the reader
‘Pronoun’ is defined in . uses pronouns to refer back to information already given, e.g. ‘this’, ‘it’
the Glossary. or ‘they’.
4.7 What is STEEPLE analysis?

STEEPLE analysis consists of:
. identifying the external factors affecting a business

. looking closely at the given or potential impact of those factors on the
business
. making recommendations based on carefully considered evidence.
The ‘analysis’ that takes place consists of establishing the factors that affect
a business and analysing the relationship of those factors to the business
from a ‘cause-and-effect’ perspective: how factors or events may cause
other factors or events to occur.
Using the STEEPLE framework is a very useful way of gathering
information to write a case study analysis or analyse a business. Just as with
the SWOT analysis, the framework helps you to locate the specific
information you need and to ignore irrelevant information. The added
advantage of using STEEPLE is that it helps you to identify cause-and-
effect factors more clearly. This then enables a business to act strategically.
It can sometimes be challenging to decide where to place some of the
STEEPLE factors when trying to categorise them. For example, in the case
study of Marks & Spencer it is clear that rising GDP and continuing
government austerity are economic factors; however, the fact that consumers
are more careful with their spending could be seen as economic or
sociological. This factor could go in either category because it might be
seen as directly related to austerity or it could be seen as part of a general
social trend as mentioned in the text, something that has ‘taken root in the
national psyche’ (The extract from the Marks & Spencer report is included
in Book 2: Readings, Models and Frameworks). When there is this
ambiguity, you can decide yourself where to place a STEEPLE factor, as
long as you can justify it with clear evidence. You can either choose to put
the factor in more than one category, or you can decide to put it in the
category where it has the most relevance and impact on the business.
Identifying cause and effect

You can use this information to analyse cause-and-effect relationships in
case studies.
22
At a simple level:
. ‘cause’ is why something happens

. ‘effect’ is what happens as a result.
There are three kinds of cause-and-effect relationship:
1 simple – where one thing causes another
2 causal chain – where something leads to an effect which causes a second
effect and so on
3 multi-causality – where one effect may have several causes or one cause
may have several effects.
Here are examples of each kind:
1 As a result of the economic downturn, people have less money to spend.
The cheaper supermarkets are therefore attracting more customers =
Type 2: casual chain cause-and-effect relationship.
2 Rapid expansion of the office space available in the area caused a sharp
fall in rent = Type 1: simple cause-and-effect relationship
3 The temporary drop in oil prices led to a boost in consumer spending,

more traffic on the roads and redundancies in the energy sector = Type
3: multi-causality cause-and-effect relationship with multiple effects.
4 Some airlines suffered badly from the rising fuel prices, which, together
with uncertainty about the euro and the unusual good weather, meant
that many people chose to holiday in their home country = Type 3:
multi-causality cause-and-effect relationship with multiple causes.
4.8 The language of cause and effect

Table 4.2 shows some examples of verbs and verb phrases, and linking
‘Verb’ and ‘linking words that signal cause-and-effect relationships.
words’ are defined in the
Glossary. Table 4.2 Examples of cause-and-effect language
Cause Verb / verb phrase Effect
The has led to a downturn in high-street sales.
recession has caused
has resulted in
has contributed to
The has influenced high-street sales, which have
recession has had an impact experienced a downturn.
on
has affected
23
Table 4.2 continued

Effect Verb / verb Cause
phrase
The downturn in high-street has been caused the recession.
sales by
is a result of
has been
influenced by
is an effect of
has been
influenced by
has been affected
by
is due to
Effect Linking word(s) Cause
There has been a downturn because of the recession.
in high-street sales due to
as a result of
owing to
Linking word(s) Cause Effect
Due to the recession, there has been a downturn
Because of in high-street sales.
As a result of
Cause Linking word(s) Effect
There is a recession. Therefore, there has been a downturn
Consequently, in high-street sales.
There is a recession, so there has been a downturn

in high-street sales.
Here is an example of cause-and-effect language (all in italics) used in a

paragraph written from notes on the economic factors affecting Colston
Office Centre:
The main economic factor affecting the business was the 2008 recession.
This caused commercial property prices to fall and many buildings in
Bristol were left unoccupied. As a result of this, landlords reduced rents and
lease lengths, which meant that they were in direct competition with
businesses which offered serviced office space. Consequently, the overall
income from the business is down, despite a growth in occupancy.
References
Boyd, M. (2008) TMA 02, submitted to The Open University as part of
LB160 assessment.
24
Chapter 5: Finding and evaluating sources
Chapter 5: Finding and evaluating

sources
There are various issues to consider when you are looking for information
for a presentation or report and thinking critically about the sources you
discover. In this chapter you will find tips and advice for finding and
evaluating sources.
5.1 Finding sources

When you are looking for sources to use for a presentation or report, it is
important to keep the following tips in mind:
. Stay focused when searching the internet. Do not get sidetracked by

irrelevant content.
. Use search tools to help you save time and limit your results. Look at
the following example of a search created by OU Library colleagues.
Example search: How can you find information for a

SWOT report on Samsung Electronics?
We typed ‘Samsung’ into Google and found a huge variety of news,
shopping and social media websites that referred to Samsung (see
Figure 5.1):
Figure 5.1 The results of typing ‘Samsung’ into Google
25
We then searched for ‘Samsung annual report’ – this produced a large

number of results from many years. We limited the search using the Google
Search tools: click on Search tools, then choose ‘Past year’ from the drop-
down list (see Figure 5.2):
Figure 5.2 Using Google Search tools to limit search for ‘Samsung annual report’
We found a recent annual report as well as an environmental report that

contained useful information – remember, you only need to skim read these
documents to find the information you need. You could also try searching
for ‘company report’ or ‘about us’ to find similar sources.
. Check the date of anything you read. Make sure it is still current for the
purposes of your presentation.
. Make sure you write down the reference for any material you are using.
Your references should appear at the end of your presentation or report.
You need to record: the name of the author (if available), the title of the
document, the full web address, the date the information was posted to
the internet and date you accessed it. A person reading the reference
should be able to easily find the document you accessed from the
information you give.
. Avoid assignment-writing websites, which are common. If you fall into
the trap of using and copying material from them, you are making a
serious breach of the University’s guidelines on academic honesty, the
consequences of which are severe.
5.2 Evaluating sources

When using sources for a presentation or report, it is very important to
evaluate the information you have found. This means examining it to make
sure that it is reliable, objective and up to date. Academic work aims to be
impartial, accurate and trustworthy, so your sources need to meet the same
high standards as those expected by the University. In practice, this means
carrying out a thorough check of any information you find. A quick way of
26
Chapter 5: Finding and evaluating sources
judging the quality and relevance of information you find on the web is to
ask: Who? Why? When?
. Who put the information there (who owns the site)? What authority or
expertise do they have in this area?
. Why did they create the site? Do the stated aims of the site match the
content? Is the person or organisation who created the site coming from
a particular viewpoint?
. When was the site last updated? If the site has not been updated for a
while, how important is this for your needs?
These questions will help you to see if there might be an issue with bias or
lack of credibility. Here is a further example to illustrate this point.
Let’s return to our search for information about Samsung Electronics. You
can find out if a source will be useful by skimming the results page and
identifying the source of the website (see Figure 5.3):
Figure 5.3 The results of a search about Samsung Electronics on Google
This checklist, using PROMPT criteria, can be useful for evaluating

information (The Open University, 2012).
Presentation – Is the information presented and communicated clearly?
Consider the language, layout and structure.
Relevance – Is the article relevant to the topic you are researching?
Look at the introduction or overview to find out what is it mainly about.
Objectivity – Is the article biased, or motivated by a particular agenda?
Is the language emotive? Are there hidden, vested interests?
Method: for research reports – Is it clear how the data was collected?
Were the methods appropriate and can you trust it?
Provenance – Is it clear where the information has come from? Can you
identify the author(s)/organisation(s), and are they trustworthy? Are there
27
references/citations that lead to further reading, and are they trustworthy

sources?
Timeliness – How up-to-date is the material? Is it clear when it was
written? Does the date of writing meet your requirements, or would it be
obsolete?
References
The Open University (2012) PROMPT checklist [Online], Milton Keynes,
The Open University. Available at http://www.open.ac.uk/libraryservices/
beingdigital/objects/87/index.htm (Accessed 12 October 2017).
28
Chapter 6: Analysing problems and proposing solutions
Chapter 6: Analysing problems

and proposing solutions
Analysing problems and proposing solutions are important skills for both
the workplace and your business studies. This chapter looks at how a
problem–solution text is organised and the language used to analyse
problems and propose solutions.
6.1 What is a problem?

What exactly is a problem? At a basic level, a problem describes a negative
situation which threatens or challenges an individual, group or organisation.
A problem often creates a negative attitude towards a situation.
Here is an example of a problem situation:
Patricia: ‘I should have delivered the final version of the sales accounts
today. First Jon stopped by my desk to chat and then Marta and Ronke
were having a long discussion over the photocopier. Then William had
a very long telephone call to our clients in Hong Kong and now I need
to talk to him myself.’
The problem may be that there are distractions in the open-plan office or it
may be that Patricia’s time-management skills are the issue.
Problems are a matter of perception. One person may perceive a situation as
a problem while someone else may be quite satisfied with the same
situation. For example, whereas one person might struggle with the
increased pressures of a new job, another person in a similar situation might
thrive on the same challenges.
It is important to understand who considers these situations to be
problematic. A case study text may present a problematic situation from a
single point of view – that of the company director, perhaps, or a particular
group of employees, for example. Alternatively, it may present a number of
‘Stakeholder’ is defined problems, each perceived by a different group of stakeholders as shown in
in the Glossary. Figure 6.1.
29
Figure 6.1 Cartoon of the blind men and the elephant
Writing case study analyses will require you to look in from the outside and
apply a combination of insights and business and management concepts and
tools to assess the problematic aspects of a business situation.
6.2 Problem–solution patterns

Written and spoken texts are organised differently according to their
purpose. Texts about problems and solutions tend to follow a predictable
pattern. Being familiar with this pattern will help you read and understand
these types of texts more easily. Similarly, using this pattern to organise
your case study write-up will make your writing easier for others to follow.
Structure of a simple problem–solution text

Here is a simple scenario with a problem–solution pattern.
Presto Pizza
Presto, a pizza delivery company, is expanding rapidly.
However, the pizzas are often cold by the time they are delivered and
customers complain about this.
There is a shortage of motorcycle delivery riders.
So Presto will recruit more motorcycle delivery riders.
30
Figure 6.2 shows the five basic questions you can ask about the structure of
a simple problem–solution text.
What is the starting situation?

Situation
What is the problem?

Problem
What are the possible causes?

Causes
Based on your analysis, what

are the possible solutions?
Solution
How successful is the solution?

Evaluation
Figure 6.2 Investigating the structure of a simple problem–solution text
The first question asks about the initial situation. This looks promising for
Presto. The company is expanding rapidly. However, there seems to be a
problem. The pizzas are often cold by the time customers receive them. In
order to solve the problem, the company investigates it further. It decides
that the cold pizzas are caused by a shortage of delivery riders. This is the
problem that the company has identified. The company proposes a solution
– to recruit more riders. The evaluation of the solution is not presented in
the Presto Pizza case study.
6.3 Noticing problem-signalling words

Whether a situation is considered a problem or not depends on how any
given stakeholder perceives it. The perception of the situation is reflected in
the words used to describe it. The fact that you are able to identify the
problem step of the problem–solution texts that you read shows that you
notice the words and phrases sending the message ‘This is a problem!’.
These scenarios contain problem-signalling words and phrases, shown in
bold:
Following a promotion, a senior administrator is struggling to adapt to
the increased pressure of his new and unfamiliar role.
31
An accountant finds that the constant noise of the new open-plan office
makes it impossible for her to concentrate on her work.
A middle manager feels undervalued and demotivated after several
years in the same job with little prospect of promotion ahead.
The threat of redundancy is causing great anxiety among unskilled
workers in a distribution warehouse.
All these words and phrases suggest a negative, difficult or challenging
situation for those involved. Often these words and phrases relate to verb
phrases (the process of doing something, e.g. ‘struggling’) or noun phrases
(concrete and abstract things, e.g. ‘increased pressure’) that are describing
the situation not being satisfactory for the people involved. They help to
indicate the attitudes of the people involved and/or the attitude of the writer
to the problem but they are not always firm evidence on which to base your
analysis.
What type of words signal problems?

Many words and expressions can be used to signal problems. Noticing these
signal words will help you when you read a case study or analyse problems
in your workplace. Note that signal words and phrases which indicate mood
or opinion are intended to influence the reader in the way that the reader
understands the situation.
Some words and expressions may be considered directly negative – in that
they always signal some kind of problem. Examples of these include
inconsistency or blame. These are perhaps the easiest ones to spot.
Other problems are signalled indirectly. For example, when positive things
decrease (e.g. ‘sales were falling’) or negative things increase (e.g. ‘costs
were rising’), this usually indicates a problem. Similarly, words like
‘however’ and ‘despite’ may indirectly indicate problems but this depends
on what goes before and after these signal words.
Note that signal words and phrases are those that catch a reader’s attention
and alert them to the presence of something significant in the text. They
rarely provide enough information on their own. It is usually necessary to
read the stretch of text in which they occur more carefully to get a full
picture of what they refer to.
6.4 Language for proposing solutions

When writing your solution text, you are proposing solutions as in Javier’s
text on Arena Flowers. The solutions in his analysis have not yet been tried
because he is making suggestions to the owner of the flower company. They
‘Verb’, ‘future or are for the future. This means the verbs you use need to show future or
imagined time’, ‘modal imagined time. Javier uses modal verbs, such as ‘would’ and ‘could’, and a
verb’ and ‘conditional’ conditional (‘If ’+ past tense + would/could) to indicate future or imagined
are defined in the
time.
Glossary.
32
Let’s have a look at Javier’s assignment in which future or imagined time is

used to propose solutions. The verbs he used are indicated in bold.
Javier’s solution text on Arena Flowers

According to the SWOT analysis, certain aspects of Arena Flowers
should be strengthened within the organisation. The most important
factor that negatively affects the business is the instability of its
operation due to the huge contrast of the very busy periods and the
‘normal’ periods. Such contrast directly affects the business’ finance
and human resources management. The business could grow if it
focused on raising its production during the rest of the year.
This could be possible with another marketing approach targeting other

markets to boost sales instead of focusing only on the internet market.
If this approach were successful it would have a positive impact on the
weaknesses mentioned in the analysis. The incomes would be higher
other than in peak periods, which would help the financial stability of
the business and would also attract more investors into the business.
(Cobos, 2012)
Here is a range of language for proposing solutions:
. If they want … they should/could …

. If they wanted to … they would have to/this would require …
. It might/may/could be beneficial/better/effective/profitable, etc.
. They should/could/ought to/must …
. It is essential that they …
. They may find it advisable to …
. … needs to be agreed/introduced/set up
… could have benefits.
The solution language in Gillian’s text on Arena Flowers is in bold. Also
notice the use of verbs indicating future or imagined time (e.g. ‘would’).
Gillian’s solution text on Arena Flowers

I would focus on addressing the weaknesses identified the SWOT
analysis.
I would expand the product range and look into possibilities for
diversification utilising existing alliances, for example; with Provide
Commerce and also the web-based greetings card business.
Opportunities may arise for a partnership arrangement to market a

range of products, particularly greetings cards, flowers and balloons,
using product-line pricing to attract new customers. The brand image
needs to be improved upon/promoted to separate itself from inferior
33
products. Promoting other celebratory days would stimulate sales and

income would be earned across the 12-month period.
Additional investment/income is crucial for the purchase of a new

warehouse, recruitment of additional staff and the technology required
to support business growth.
Showing a net profit in the income statement will present a healthier

financial picture. This will help attract potential investors and
interest other financial stakeholders, mainly the bank and creditors.
Staff training on technology systems would benefit the business in

addition to a well-thought-out induction programme. Investing time
and money in training will help retain staff and equip them with the
skills to cope with busy sales periods, making them an even more
valuable business asset since the cost to a business of replacing staff
is high.
(Lowe, 2012)
6.5 Justifying a proposed solution

A solution–justification text is an answer to three questions:
. What is the problem?

. What is your solution?
. Why do you think so?
An important part of a solution is the justification for it which will require
the writer to provide evidence. This evidence needs to be convincing.
There are many ways of justifying a proposed solution. Eight example ways
of justifying a proposed solution are listed in Table 6.1.
Table 6.1 Example ways of justifying a proposed solution
Ways of justifying solutions Examples

1 Refer to another business where the solution This approach has proved profitable in Toyota.
was successful.
2 Explain that a desired outcome depends on the The business could grow if it focused on raising
proposed action. its production during the rest of the year.
3 Explain that the proposal is logical (using signal The government has changed its policy on out-
words like so and therefore). of-town shopping centres, so Asda should find a
way to move into town centres.
4 Explain that the proposal is logical (by organising The company is slipping into bankruptcy. It
the sentences to show this, but not using signal should ask its shareholders for more money.
words).
5 Explain what the purpose of the proposed action The brand image needs to be improved upon /
is. promoted to separate itself from inferior
products.
34
Ways of justifying solutions Examples

6 Describe the benefits of the proposed solution. The incomes would be higher other than in peak
periods, which would help the financial stability
of the business and would also attract more
investors into the business.
7 Compare the proposed solution with a different Gap might be able to avoid major controversy
course of action. with its current vendor selection system but
negative publicity is much less likely with a
partnership sourcing process.
8 Cite a source. Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics
model (1980) highlights the key factors that
human resource management needs to consider
when putting together a new job description and
the result of these.
References
Cobos, J. G. (2012) B120 EMA, submitted to The Open University as part of
B120 assessment.
Lowe, G. (2012) B120 EMA, submitted to The Open University as part of B120
assessment.
35
Chapter 7: Presentation skills

Producing and delivering an effective presentation using slides is a useful
skill commonly used in business and management. In this chapter you will
find information about the design features of presentation slides and how to
use them to good effect, as well as guidance on how to deliver a
presentation effectively.
7.1 Creating effective presentation slides

The first thing to consider when preparing a presentation is how to present
information visually using presentation slides.
Overall design
You can use a range of design options in your slides depending on the
audience, content and purpose. You may wish to use an organisation logo
and style for presentations. This approach, like using a letter heading or
brand, allows you to standardise presentations with the professional look
and feel of a particular organisation. Some organisations use a colour
scheme of the brand and a ‘style sheet’ to make sure that all presentations
retain the same professional and standard look and feel. You may wish to
explore your organisation to find out if there is a standard design handbook
which gives you slides, letter heads, email standards etc. which you must
use when communicating with both external and internal people.
Colour and fonts

Choosing colour and fonts is crucial in creating a professional presentation.
Choose one font and use it throughout using bold or size to differentiate
sections. Use a simple font, which is easy to read and try to keep to a ‘style
sheet’ with the normal design conventions of a hierarchy of headings. So,
use the same size and font throughout for the main heading throughout the
slide deck and a different size for the sub-headings. Never use underlining
because this is now mainly used for links to websites.
Try to use coloured fonts sparingly and take care not to use colours like red
and green together, which some people cannot differentiate. Yellow is very
difficult to read against a white screen especially if the slide is projected
‘Text’ is defined in the onto a screen. Black text against pure white can also be difficult for some
Glossary. people to read. Consider using pale pastel backgrounds such as cream as a
way of being more inclusive.
If you decide to use a background colour keep it consistent and make sure
that the text is readable against it. Keep reminding yourself that the slide
must be easy to read at a distance.
36
How much information on a slide?

The point of a presentation is to project a slide with clear information to a
larger audience. If there is too much text or if it is too small the audience
will not be able to read it and they may be distracted from the message. It
is surprising how little information you can squeeze on to a slide and still
read it comfortably. Normally, about five or six bullet points is enough or
one graph with figures.
Many people today feel they need to put as much information as possible
on slides as they know the audience will be given a hard copy and they
want to include a lot of complex information. It is probably a better idea to
prepare a handout or papers with detailed information so that the slides can
remain simple and provide an overview only. A combination of slides and
paper handouts can be very helpful as the audience has something to write
notes on and to take away.
Use of models and diagrams

Recent versions of some presentation software provide some ready-made
graphics, shapes and tables which you can customise. Business presentations
will almost always include some evidence in the form of figures and graphs.
It is helpful to create the spreadsheets first and create the visuals, which can
then be imported into the presentation slides.
When using models or diagrams in a presentation slide the information must
be easy to read and understand and relevant to the narration. It is very
useful for the presenter to use a laser pointer to help pinpoint particular
quadrants or sections of diagrams rather than simply describe them.
A flow chart is one example of ready-made graphics. It is useful for
presenting information that needs to be shown as steps in a process. It can
be read from left to right or from the top to the bottom of the screen. You
can put a flow chart into your slide by choosing one of the options from
your toolbar, depending on the presentation software you are using.
Use of images
Slides without any images quickly become boring so it is a good idea to use
them, but be sparing. Images should always be relevant to the message and
add to the impact of the narration from the speaker. Remember that any
images used to illustrate your slides should be acknowledged and
referenced.
Organisation of information
The information should be organised in a way that supports your talk. This
usually means grouping it into clear sections with headings and organising
it so that you start with general points and move on to more specific ones
later.
37
7.2 Checklist for evaluating presentation

slides
Table 7.1 can be used as a checklist to evaluate any type of presentation.
Table 7.1 Feedback checklist
Yes/No Add your comments

here
Clarity of information
Is the summary suitable for the intended
purpose and audience?
Is the information grouped into clear sections?
Is the information organised from general to

specific?
Is there the right amount of information to give

a clear idea of the topic?
Is clear, formal language used?
Clarity and appropriacy of layout

Are slides clear, uncluttered and appropriate
for the needs of the audience?
Is the font an appropriate size, comfortable to
read, simple and not over-elaborate?
Are the visuals appropriate to the theme – not
a distraction?
Are the colour and design appropriate to the

theme and do they enhance the text?
Is there a reference to the source of
information (the original text) in the final slide?
Are the slides free of spelling and punctuation
errors?
Further comments
38
7.3 Effective delivery of a presentation

Effective delivery of a presentation includes a number of key factors.
Using your voice to its best effect

How loudly you need to speak depends on the acoustics of the room and
whether or not there is a microphone. It is worth checking with the
audience if you can be heard. It is also worth finding out through practising
with a friend whether or not your voice tends to be quiet or loud and to use
it to its best effect when you are presenting.
Using language that is appropriate for the context

When thinking about the language of your presentation, consider the
situation and how formal it is. Check your language for phrases that might
be too informal, just as you do with your writing. Also, check your
language for words and phrases that might be too difficult and might
therefore need defining or explaining. Make sure the language suits the
needs of the audience.
Pacing your talk

Make sure you speak slowly enough to let your audience absorb
information. Slow down even more for the words you want to emphasise.
This helps the audience to focus on the key information. Vary the pace of
your talk as this makes it more engaging.
Pronouncing clearly
Use intonation and sentence stress. This means putting a stronger emphasis
on some words and making your voice go up in tone when expressing key
information.
Intonation is the way your voice goes up and down as you speak. Lack of
intonation leads to a monotonous sounding presentation and can be boring
for the audience.
Too much intonation can make you sound over-excited and even patronizing
– so be careful.
Sentence stress is the way you put a stronger accent on the words you want
to highlight. It works together with intonation, because a stressed word
requires a slight rise in intonation.
39
Using body language and eye contact to enhance your

message
Use gestures to show emphasis on key words if you are comfortable with
this. We all vary in how much we gesture – don’t try to be something you
are not. Gesturing can help the audience to focus.
The most important aspect of your body language, when presenting, is to
have an open, relaxed posture, i.e. do not cross your arms, or look down at
notes all the time, or move your hands around unnecessarily.
Make sure you look around at the audience to include everyone. This makes
the audience feel more involved and included.
Use of notes
Most presenters need to use notes. In fact, it is inadvisable to memorise a
presentation as this usually makes you speak too fast. Notes should be
unobtrusive and in a format that suits you. They should be short bullet
points and not contain the full text that you want to say as this often leads
to monotonous delivery.
Use of questions
Asking your audience questions can be engaging; they bring the audience in
and get them thinking. It is a good technique for experienced presenters, but
can be awkward to manage as the audience sometimes respond and this can
disturb the flow or the timing of the presentation.
7.4 Organising the content of your

presentation
An important aspect of presenting clearly is the organisation and
signposting of the content. As with planning your writing, you need to
consider how to group your information together so that the audience can
follow the content. It means telling them when you are changing topic and
guiding them to the different sections of the information. This involves:
. organising your information starting with more general information and

moving on to specifics
. grouping similar information together
. preparing an introduction and a conclusion; the introduction should give
an outline of your talk and what it will include, and your conclusion
should bring the talk to a satisfying close.
Each section of information within the presentation should be signposted as
you come to it.
40
7.5 Tips for organising a presentation

Use this list of things to remember when organising a presentation.
Your audience and your purpose

First, think about what your audience need to know. Anticipate what they
are expecting from you. Be clear what your aim is. Is it to inform, persuade,
welcome or something else? Considering these things will help you to select
the information that is relevant to your audience and then to order it in a
way that best meets their needs.
Timing
Timing dictates the amount of information you can include. It often means
that you can only make a few succinct well-chosen points.
Ordering your information

Decide how many main points you want to include. Organise your
information from general to specific (as in formal writing). This is a logical
progression for your audience to follow; however, it is also possible to start
a presentation with an example. This is specific to general organisation and
it can also be effective if the example is well chosen.
Consider the possibility of ordering your information chronologically
(usually good for narratives or describing processes) or whether it is better
grouped into different themes (usually good for analyses, such as SWOT or
STEEPLE). Group similar information together in the same way as you
would when you write. Support your main points with examples or relevant
supporting information.
Linking your information

Consider how to move from one main point to the next. Decide if the
audience need an explicit signposting phrase to help them see that you are
moving on.
Use of introduction
Think about whether your audience need a brief overview of your talk and
what key background information they need at the start. Think about how
you will grab their attention.
Use of conclusion
Consider the purpose of your conclusion. Will you use it to summarise the
talk or will you use it to make recommendations? What do the audience
41
need to hear at this point? If your presentation is a persuasive one, how will
you make the conclusion memorable?
Consider how visuals will guide the audience

Make sure your visuals support the content of your talk and help to make
the organisation clear.
7.6 Useful signposting phrases for

presentations
Here are some useful signposting phrases for your presentation.
Greetings
Good morning/afternoon everyone
Introducing your subject

I’m going to talk about …
Ordering your talk

Firstly, … Secondly, … Thirdly, … , Finally …
I’m going to divide my talk into three main areas. I’ll start with … and then
I’ll move on to … and finally look at …
Giving examples
For example …
To illustrate my point …
Introducing a new point/changing the subject

I would like to turn to …
This brings me to my next point …
To move on …
Adding another point

In addition, …
Furthermore, …
So then …
42
Commenting on visuals
I’d like us to look at …
This is significant because …
Restating/repeating
In other words, …
Summarising
To summarise what I’ve said so far, …
Concluding
In conclusion, …
To conclude, …
7.7 Are you ready to present?

A checklist of all that is needed to prepare for a presentation is shown in
Table 7.2.
(All these steps should be taken, but the order can vary.)
Table 7.2 Presentation checklist
Things to check Yes/No

Are you clear about the purpose of the presentation? Who is the audience and how
much time is allowed?
Have you followed the instructions in the brief?
Have you organised your main points into a logical order and made sure they are
clearly linked and signposted?
Have you carefully planned your introduction and conclusion?
Are your visuals ready and clearly legible?
Are your notes in a format that enables you to communicate naturally and
spontaneously?
Have you anticipated and prepared for questions?
Are all your sources of information referenced?
Have you practised in front of friends or family, and acted on their feedback at least
once?
Have you checked the timing?
Have you worked out some techniques for overcoming nerves?
Have you checked the things you need to be aware of to improve your delivery,
e.g. body language, voice and pace?
43
Chapter 8: Structuring a report

In this chapter you will find materials on how to write a short business
report following a structure, using the correct language to support your
analysis and be persuasive. It also contains information about referencing
your sources.
8.1 A report structure

As you are aware, case study assignments typically ask you to analyse the
situation of the organisation in question. The task may require you to
summarise, describe, outline, explain, evaluate, compare and contrast,
suggest or recommend. You may be asked to focus on areas such as the
business environment, business structure, business processes, human
resource management, finance, marketing, and so on.
A report structure has a flexible format, which can be used to express a
number of the situations above. However, the organisation of a general
report should include the following sections: Title, Abstract or Executive
Summary, Method, Main findings of the report, Conclusion and
Recommendations. Table 8.1 shows a typical structure of a report.
Table 8.1 Typical structure of a report
Section headings Section descriptions

Introduction Background information; the task
Abstract or Executive Summary Brief summary of the report; the task and a
summary of the conclusions and
recommendations
Method How the information was collected
Findings The main body of the report: an analysis,
financial information, etc.
Conclusion A summary of the results
Recommendations What should be changed or started
8.2 Useful language for the sections of

your report
There are a number of phrases you can use to present your work in a clear
and easy-to-read form.
. In the introduction, explain how you are doing your analysis: for
example, ‘the report will begin by discussing …’
. Explain degrees of possibility: for example, ‘It is possible that ...’
44
. Make a judgement on something: for example,

◦ ‘This suggests that ...’
◦ ‘This shows that ...’
◦ ‘This demonstrates that ...’
. Language for explaining how you are doing your analysis: for example,
‘This report will use the STEEPLE framework to analyse …’
. Referring backward and forward. Use phrases such as:
◦ ‘As mentioned ...’
◦ ‘As has been explained ...’
◦ ‘This analysis will examine ...’
◦ ‘This report will investigate ...’.
These are simple ways of helping the reader follow your arguments and
understand your reasoning.
Language of making recommendations

In this module, you learned how to propose solutions. Depending on the
strength of your evidence and explanation, you can present your solutions to
other people as recommendations. This means you need to be able to use
language persuasively. You practised one way of doing so by using modal
‘Modal verb’ and verbs and conditionals.
‘conditional’ are defined
in the Glossary. In addition to using modal verbs and conditionals to show the degree of
possibility of your recommendations, it is important to explain how your
recommendations can work and be beneficial for the organisation or its
stakeholders. To achieve this, you need to use cause-and-effect language
effectively.
The following list provides a range of language for making
recommendations.
It is suggested/recommended that …
It is essential/crucial/important that …
It is beneficial for …
The organisation must/should/has to/needs to …
It would be beneficial/better/effective if …
It may be advisable to …
Objective vs subjective language

Every time you put forward your conclusions and recommendations in an
analysis, you are probably expressing a point of view. Forming this point of
view, based on your evidence, is an important business skill. You will be
less convincing if you write judgementally, according to your opinions or
beliefs and without providing evidence. In the example phrases below, the
opinion words are italicised:
45
. a difficult year for airlines

. excellent working conditions
. good career prospects.
Typically, objective language is evidence based, whereas subjective
language expresses very personal views with little evidence. In each of the
‘Adjective’ and ‘adverb’ following phrases, the writer’s view is revealed in the adjective or adverb
are defined in the chosen: serious crisis, minor difficulty; fell slowly; dropped rapidly. But the
Glossary. reader could ask, how serious or minor was the event? Did the figures really
change rapidly or slowly? In academic writing, you need to avoid extremes
of language and imprecise wording.
8.3 Referencing
As you have seen, the information in a case study can come from various
source materials, including business texts, newspaper reports, company
announcements, business analyst reports, shareholders’ comments and
people or organisations. If you are using information from a source text as
evidence, or you are using a concept from a business studies module to
explain your analysis, your tutor or manager would expect to see where the
information comes from. This proves that you are writing objectively and
that you are not plagiarising by not acknowledging your sources.
‘Referencing’ is defined Referencing is an important part of academic studies generally and is
in the Glossary. especially important in essay and report writing at university. References are
commonly used in assignments, including business reports. There are three
main reasons for listing references.
. References demonstrate you have read widely on the topic.

. The argument in your essay or report becomes more convincing if you
support it by using evidence from other people’s research.
. References allow others to check sources and their validity and
authenticity. This also helps them to find out more about the topic
beyond your work.
Knowing how to reference appropriately

You need to adopt a consistent referencing style when writing assignments.
It is important to check what style you are expected to follow and use it
consistently. At The Open University, most modules expect you to use the
OU Harvard style, which you will practise in this section.
The texts you read and write will have in-text citations and a reference list
at the end of the text. In-text citation is a system that provides, in the main
body of the text, information about the author(s) of the source cited and the
year of publication. Additionally, you should state the page number of any
material you quote directly from the original source, as in this example.
46
According to De Tienne and Lewis:

Nike presented its assertions of fair employee treatment, good factory
conditions, and equitable companywide standards to the public through
many mediums.
(De Tienne and Lewis, 2005, p. 362).
The in-text citation needs to be supplemented by a detailed reference list at

the end of your report. This helps the reader to find the source easily.
Sources are presented in alphabetical order, beginning with the author’s
surname:
Collins, J. (2001) Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap
… and Others Don’t, New York, Harper Business.
Dorsey, J. R. (2010) Y-size Your Business: How Gen Y Employees Can
Save You Money and Grow Your Business, Hoboken, Wiley.
47
Chapter 9: Peer and tutor

feedback
Giving and receiving feedback are important skills to learn for university
study and for the workplace. They can be developed through practice.
9.1 How to give peer feedback

Consider this advice on giving feedback to your peers.
1 Consider the tone and style of the language you use.
When you give feedback to a peer (someone who is your equal), you do not
have to use particularly formal language, but you need to be direct, polite,
friendly and clear. Make sure you avoid comments which sound
judgemental. In this situation, you are making comments online, so the
person will not have the benefit of hearing your voice and your intonation,
so it is very important to check your comments for how they may appear.
You can use emoticons in this context to communicate positive feelings (in
the place of intonation), but be careful not to overuse them.
2 Consider the content of your feedback.
The purpose of feedback is to help someone to improve and also to help
them see what they have done well. So, when giving feedback, keep the
following tips in mind:
◦ Start with some comments on the good aspects of the work. Make
these comments specific. Don’t just say ‘it’s really good’. Say
‘the way you expressed the main points of the introduction was
very clear and concise. I can see why you left out the bit about
… because it is not central to the text.’
◦ Choose one or two things that could be improved and give
specific advice, e.g. do not just say ‘it was a bit disorganised’,
explain why. For example, say: ‘when you put the point about …
after the point about … it seemed like a big jump from one piece
of information to the other, so I felt a bit lost at that point’.
◦ Respond to any requests for specific feedback on particular
aspects.
◦ Be constructive: this is not about judging but about helping
someone to improve, which means offering advice, such as ‘if
you moved the third point you made into second place, it might
flow a bit better, because the topic is very closely linked to the
first point you made’.
◦ Don’t overload someone with feedback. Consider what the other
person is capable of and be realistic with the volume of
suggestions they can take on board.
48
Chapter 9: Peer and tutor feedback
◦ Sometimes a piece of work by another student can look so good

that it is difficult to think of any feedback to give for
improvement. However, do not underestimate the value of your
comments. Try to think of something useful to say, even if it is
about a very small point. If there was something you found
difficult to understand, then say so. Try to explain why this was
the case.
◦ Remember the rules for forum etiquette and make sure you are
polite. You can use emoticons in this context to convey a positive
feeling alongside what you are writing, but avoid overusing them.
9.2 How to receive and act on peer

feedback
Receiving feedback can be hard, especially if we lack confidence in what
we are doing or are trying something for the first time. It is important to see
feedback as an opportunity rather than an attack. When we prepare a
document or slides, it is easy to see the information from our own point of
view and not always so easy to see it from the perspective of the person we
are communicating with. When we reread our own work, we often miss
important things or fail to spot our own mistakes. A fresh pair of eyes can
help us notice what might need adjusting for the audience we are
communicating with.
So, take feedback in the spirit that you can learn something, rather than
thinking that it means you have not done a good piece of work. Try to be
open to suggestions and to realise that the feedback is not about your own
personal worth but about a piece of work that is in development.
If you very much disagree with any of the feedback given, you can choose
not to act on it, as long as you give clear reasons for this. Make sure you
are not being defensive – protective of your own feelings – when you do
this.
9.3 Reflecting on tutor feedback on your

assignment
It is helpful to reflect on your tutor’s comments in your assignment. Do
understand that the tutor is trying to help you master your writing skills and
is not criticising you. The tutor is helping you by commenting on your work
and giving you guidance on how to improve it. Tutors look for very specific
things when they read your work. Having someone to guide you to achieve
higher scores is a great advantage, if you make use of it.
Here are some tips on making full use of the feedback you receive in a
marked TMA.
49
. Have a quick look at your score. You may have an emotional reaction
depending on your score, which is perfectly normal. To allow you to
view the feedback more objectively, leave your TMA for a day.
. When ready, spend about 30 minutes looking over the TMA in detail.
. Note the main points made by the tutor.
. Read the specific comments made in the assignment itself. Do you
understand them? If not, ask your tutor for clarification.
. Write down one or two key points that will help your writing in the next
TMA.
50
Chapter 10: Reflection

Reflection is a valuable tool for both your business studies and your
working life in business and management. This chapter will introduce you
to a definition of ‘reflection’ and some of the key benefits of reflecting. It
will show you how to write a reflective piece effectively by using a
framework and the language of reflection. These reflective skills are
transferable to studying other modules at university as well as to the
workplace.
10.1 So, what exactly is reflection?

Reflection, at its simplest, is:
. looking back at something you have done or experienced

. thinking about what went well, or less well (this is often called
‘evaluating’)
. thinking about what you have learned and what to do next as a result of
that learning.
At its most basic, reflection can be done by asking yourself three questions:
. What happened?
. How did it go?
. What next?
10.2 Why reflect?

Reflection is particularly useful for learning, whether in your study or
workplace, because when you apply it to a learning experience there are a
number of benefits. Possible benefits to reflection might be:
. You can explain what you have learned and recognise how your skills
have developed. This is particularly useful for future situations such as
job interviews where you might have to talk about what skills you have
and the things you have done to develop them.
. You can recognise things about the way you learn and adopt strategies to
improve your future learning. For example, you may discover that when
making notes it really helped you to use some kind of visual notation as
well as text. You can put this into practice the next time you do a
similar activity, or you may discover that when a reading text is difficult
you give up very easily. However, one of the new reading strategies you
have learned may have shown you a useful thing to try when you are
tempted to give up. By noting down these things you can form your
learning into a more controlled process.
51
. You can notice gaps in your learning. For example, you may realise that
you have never learned about sentence structure and that this in
particular is creating a challenge in your writing. This can help you to
seek out activities and resources which will address this gap.
. You can stand back from learning experiences and see them in a more
positive light. For example, you can notice mistakes that you have made,
but instead of feeling discouraged you can think of ways to learn from
them.
. You can seek feedback and support. If you find, through reflection, that
you are really struggling with a certain aspect of learning, you can take
action and ask your tutor for advice. You can also find a range of
information and support at the Student Help Centre.
. You can become an independent learner. You can take full responsibility
for your learning and approach it in a strategic way.
10.3 Using a framework to reflect

Reflection on an experience involves you, your feelings and reactions, but if
you are not careful it can result in rather unstructured and messy thinking
that does not necessarily help you to learn from the experience.
To be at its most effective, reflection should be approached in an organised
and analytical way. Standing back and analysing what happened from an
objective perspective enables you to learn from an experience. A framework
provides a useful tool for facilitating such reflection.
One of the most useful frameworks to use is Kolb’s Experiential Learning
Cycle (1984). This framework has four steps, as you can see in Figure 10.1.
52
STEP 1
Is to describe the experience itself.
It Involves a brief description of
what happened.
Concrete
experience
STEP 1 STEP 2
Is to observe and reflect on the
experience while it happened or just
afterwards. It includes noting down
your feelings and judgements about
the experience.
Action and Observation
experimentation and reflection
STEP 4 STEP 2
STEP 3
Is to stand back from the experience
and look at it more objectively and
analytically. This is where you might
think of an experience at a more
abstract level and think through
Objective strategies for next time.
evaluation
STEP 3
STEP 4
Is where you decide to try out
what you have learned in a new
learning experience.
Figure 10.1 Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (1984)
10.4 Useful language for writing

reflectively
Reflective writing is academic and formal in style but there are some
aspects of language which are a little different to other academic and
business writing.
Use of first person and past simple verbs

In reflective writing you use the first person ‘I’, ‘my’ and ‘me’ to talk
about what happened. The first person is less used in essays or reports as
these are considered to be less personal than reflective writing. When you
describe actions that you took as part of a reflective piece, the verb tense
you use is usually past simple (‘I went’, ‘I saw’, ‘I did’, ‘I looked’ etc.)
53
Useful verbs for evaluation

Reflection involves evaluating what happened in a learning experience.
There are a range of verbs that you can use to introduce your evaluation
such as:
. think
. believe
. judge
. feel
. conclude
. consider.
Useful adjectives to describe a learning experience

When you describe what happened in a learning experience you can use a
‘Adjective’ is defined in range of adjectives. However, to remain formal it is important to choose
the Glossary. adjectives which are fairly neutral, slightly restrained and not over dramatic.
So you would not describe something as ‘dreadful’, but you might use the
word ‘ineffective’. You would not describe something as ‘brilliant’, but
‘very good’.
Useful verbs to refer to future plans

When you reflect, you talk about what you will do differently next time, so
you can use a range of verbs and expressions for talking about the future,
such as ‘I intend to’, ‘I will’, ‘I aim to’, ‘My goal is to’, etc.
Useful verbs to show something was learned

The following list of verbs and other expressions can be used to show
learning: ‘learn’, ‘realise’, ‘improve’, ‘implement’, ‘feedback’, ‘apply
feedback’, ‘follow’, ‘steps’ and ‘be able to’.
10.5 Using appropriately formal language

in your (reflective) writing
It is not always easy to work out if language is suitably formal for academic
writing. Some words and phrases are very neutral and can be used in both a
formal or informal context. This is true of words and phrases such as: ‘I
used’, ‘information’, ‘views’, ‘things’, ‘different’, ‘begin’, ‘start’. However,
there are certain words and phrases which are definitely not suitable for
formal writing. These include:
. Slang phrases or idioms, e.g. ‘divvy up’ or ‘pulling things out of a text’.
54
. Chatty sentence structure that sounds as if you are speaking. Usually this
leads to long rambling sentences where the main point is lost. Stay
concise and use more nouns instead of verbs, e.g. it is much better to
say ‘my willingness to improve’ rather than ‘me being up for learning’;
it is also better to say ‘expert opinions’ instead of ‘people who know
quite a bit’.
. Contractions. This means that you should use the full form when words
are combined. For example, use ‘I have’ or ‘I do not’ instead of ‘I’ve’
or ‘I don’t’.
. Abbreviations. This means avoiding using the short version of a word,
such as ‘re’ instead of ‘regarding’ or signs such as ‘+’ instead of ‘in
addition to’.
. Dramatic or emotional language. This means using more restrained
adjectives when describing things. So, rather than using words like
‘great’ or ‘fantastic’, it is preferable to use words like ‘good’,
‘effective’, or ‘useful’. Avoid the word ‘really’ when describing. It is
better to use ‘very’.
It is a good idea to start a document or notebook to note down useful
formal language to use in your writing if this is an area you find
challenging. Developing a formal style is a bit like learning a new language.
10.6 Language use in a reflective piece

A reflective text contains certain language features as it is a particular kind
of text written for a particular purpose. It generally includes verbs reporting
past experiences, cause-effect language, ‘thinking’ and ‘feeling’ words as
well as phrases and language to indicate future thinking or action plan.
They are highlighted in a student reflection text below.
In Phillipa’s reflection text, verbs are underlined, cause-and-effect signalling
‘Cause-and-effect words and phrases are in bold, ‘thinking’ (mental) and ‘feeling’ words are
language’ is defined in in italics, and sentence(s) indicating future thinking or action plan are in
the Glossary. bold italics.
Phillipa’s reflection text

I will be reflecting on my learning experience in this piece. I will be
providing examples and references to key material to demonstrate my
strengths and weaknesses. My experience of the module so far has
been a mixture of both.
Of the six topics covered in this module, I felt confident with the content
of the topic Leadership, management and motivation. I found that the
concepts and models discussed were easier to understand and relate
back to my workplace. I was naturally interested in this area as this is
the role I have within my workplace and felt that this topic could
develop on skills and knowledge I had already had within this area. I
found this topic interesting and worked through this at an easy pace.
55
Initially, time management turned out to be one of my weaknesses.

This module focuses your efforts on self-learning and time
management; therefore, there is a requirement to plan your time
effectively to allow you to work through all the required activities. The
module has a weekly planner which helps you structure your learning
and keep you focused on what you should be completing each week. I
realised that one of my weaknesses is the inability to keep to the
planner and allocate the required time to complete the activities; this
was evident within the first 6 weeks when I had already started to fall
behind. A turning point for my realisation that this was not my strength
was when I completed activity 2.2 (Approaches to learning and study
inventory). Through completing this exercise, I was able to reflect on
my current learning approach and identify what I needed to do to
improve this. Since I implemented a structured approach to my
learning, I have seen an improvement in my outputs and have now
stayed in line with the weekly planner. I wish to follow this approach
in future too.
Another challenge was the application of concepts from this module to

my workplace. This module asks you to reflect on a number of concepts
and compare these to your workplace. An example of this was "the
strategic fit of HR practices" Activity 3.14. I struggled to complete this
activity and had to seek advice from colleagues on how we would apply
our HR to that question. On reflection, I should have used the group
forum or even my tutor more to help clarify my understanding of
concepts. I found this very challenging at first and feel that this is a
skill that I still need to develop further.
(Adapted from Parkes-Winters, 2014)
Reflection involves using specific language resources. In Phillipa’s text, she

uses these language resources: verbs reporting past experiences, cause-effect
signalling words, words indicating thinking and feeling, and words
indicating future thinking or action. They are commonly found in reflections
whether written or spoken.
Verbs are used to describe past events and actions related to your reflection
as it is about your past experience. Phillipa, for example, used past verbs
such as turned out, had started and completed to describe her past actions
and behaviour.
When reflecting, it is important to explain why and how something
happened and what happened as a result. Therefore, cause-effect language is
essential in reflection. While some words and phrases are obvious in this
category, others may depend on the context. For instance, therefore (linking
‘Verb’ and ‘linking words) is obvious but the word through depends on the context it is used
words’ are defined in the (e.g. Through completing this exercise, I was able to reflect on my current
Glossary. learning approach (cause-effect) vs. I went through all my notes (not
cause-effect).
Use of thinking and feeling words is another language resource commonly
used in reflection. This is because you are thinking about the past
56
experience which also embodies your feelings and it is personal to you. As

it is personal, it is natural to use personal pronouns, especially the first
person ones (e.g. I, me, we, etc.).
In addition to these language resources for communicating her reflection,
Phillipa’s text also contains evaluative language to make judgements about
events, tasks, behaviour and people. The use of evaluative language helps
you to reflect critically. Most of these words tend to be adjectives and
‘Evaluative language’, adverbs which are either negative or positive (e.g., effectively, focused,
‘adjective’ and ‘adverb’ challenging). Other words may be verbs and nouns too (e.g., mixture of
are defined in the both (weaknesses and strengths); weakness; fall behind etc.). Notice how
Glossary.
Phillipa used evaluative language in her reflection. You need to use
evaluative language to show your critical thinking and analytical skills.
Application of Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle

In Julie’s reflective text (included in Book 2: Readings, Models and
Frameworks), she uses a particular reflective framework known as Gibbs’
Reflective Cycle (1988). It has six steps:
. description – what happened?

. feelings – what were you thinking and feeling?
. evaluation – what was good and bad about the experience?
. analysis – what sense can you make of the situation
. conclusion – what else could you have done?
. action plan – what would you do next time?
Julie uses certain kind of language resources in her text as shown in
Table 10.1.
Table 10.1 Examples of language resources at each step of Gibbs’ Reflective

Cycle
Description
Verbs indicating past experience was consumed; could not be …
removed; finished; emerged; was
unable to complete
Nouns and noun phrases showing staff payroll enquiries, rota issues,
who and what were involved in the Head Office demands, interruptions
experience from customers and a site manager
requiring my assistance; my role;
these tasks; a number of important
tasks
Time-indicating words on one particular working day; as
soon as I finished; that day
Feelings
Words and phrases describing frustrated; deflated, felt; failed to
feelings complete; would need to catch up
57
Table 10.1 continued

Evaluation
Words and phrases evaluating critical; learned; prioritise tasks;
positively important tasks; completed in time
Words and phrases evaluating difficult; found challenging; a bad way
negatively to be working; affect my performance;
have a natural tendency to get
grumpy and snappy; frustrated; my
partner at home would be upset
Analysis
Cause-and-effect language (bold) play an important role; can increase
their productivity by thinking about;
prioritising tasks and being realistic
about them can save a significant
amount of time
Key concepts time management; work–life balance;
work performance; productivity
Verbs referring to the literature argue; suggest
Conclusion
Verbs summing up experience Verbs summing up experience
Nouns showing key aspects of the my performance; take work home
experience (bold) with me; managing my diary and
time more effectively; interruptions
at work
Verbs indicating lessons learned should have prioritised tasks and
(bold) delegated some to others
Verbs suggesting what to do in future should prioritise/delegate; need to
find; plan
Action plan
Verbs indicating future plan (bold) will use the idea of blocking time
slots in my diary (Business
Balls, 2015) as well as creating ‘To
Do’ lists prior to getting to work
will use the idea I found in an article
regarding identifying my key
interruptions (Lee, 2013)
will try to create and follow ‘To Do’
lists with a priority system like the
idea described in Fairweather (2006)
working from home for one day a
week
am going to propose the idea to my
line manager
The language Julie used to communicate her experience is shaped by the

steps of the reflective cycle in her reflection. When she wrote the
Description step, she used the past tense (e.g. consumed) to describe the
past event, nouns to state people and things involved (e.g. customers) and
used the time indicating words to mention the time of the incident.
The Feelings step includes words and phrases to describe positive and
negative personal feelings. In Julie’s case, they were all negative
58
(e.g. frustrated, deflated). Similarly, in the Evaluation step, Julie uses

positive and negative language to evaluate her experience and what she
learned from the experience (e.g. important tasks, difficult). The Analysis
part of Julie’s reflection features cause and effect language, key concepts
and a reference to the relevant literature. As this step requires Julie to
analyse the experience using key concepts, she develops an argument (first
sentence) by using key concepts and supporting it with the literature
(citations). The argument is expressed using the cause and effect language.
The Conclusion part summarises Julie’s experience and what she learned
from it. This is also reflected in her use of language as indicated by nouns
and noun phrases to state key aspects of her experience (e.g. performance,
interruptions at work), as well as verbs and verb phrases to show learning
(e.g. should have prioritised). Finally, the Action plan section of Julie’s
reflection ends her text with some concrete actions for her to take as shown
by the verbs used for a list of future actions she planned or intended to take
(e.g. will use the idea of blocking time slots in my diary).
The use of all these language resources in her reflection text serves her
purpose and makes it effective and successful.
10.7 Useful questions to ask when writing

your reflection
These questions provide you with some guidance on how to write a
reflective piece on your experience.
Structure of reflection: think about the structure of your reflection text:
. What does the first paragraph do?

. What do the subsequent paragraphs do?
. What does the final paragraph do?
Language of reflection: think about the language resources you used in
your reflection text:
. How does your reflection indicate that you are reporting on something
you were involved in or observed?
. How does your reflection show your knowledge of LB170? For example,
have you made any reference to LB170 materials and tutorials?
. How does your reflection relate to your personal experience?
. How does your reflection explain why something happened the way it
did?
. How does your reflection evaluate things or incidents you observed or
experienced?
. How does your reflection show that you are thinking to the future and
the application of your new knowledge?
(Adapted from Ryan, 2011, p. 108)
59
References
Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of
Learning Development, New Jersey, Prentice Hall.
Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning
methods, Oxford, Further Education Unit, Oxford Polytechnic.
Ryan, M. (2011) ‘Improving reflective writing in higher education: a social
semiotic perspective’, Teaching in Higher Education, vol. 16, no. 1,
pp. 99–111.
Parkes-Winters, P. (2014) TMA 01, submitted to The Open University as
part of B121 assessment.
60
Chapter 11: Building a case

This chapter is about developing an argument to build a case in academic
and workplace contexts.
11.1 What is an argument?

In order to build a case in business, you need to show why something is
necessary. This can be achieved by making an argument that is supported by
evidence. So it is important to understand what ‘argument’ means. In
everyday situations, it is common to refer to an argument as an angry
discussion between people who hold contrasting views.
However, the term ‘argument’ can have a different meaning in business and
academic contexts. Presenting an argument means stating one or more
points of view, the claim or claims, and supporting them with explanations,
examples and evidence. The aim of an argument is to persuade other people
to accept, or at least seriously consider, your view and to ultimately
influence their ideas, decisions and behaviour.
The ability to build an argument is essential in the workplace. The need to
put forward and defend a point of view arises when people collaborate to
design, build, sell and buy products, deliver services and coordinate work.
In fulfilling their specific roles and responsibilities, employees and business
partners take part in these collaborative processes. They might, for example,
propose a product design or course of action, highlight problems or suggest
solutions, and support their suggestions by drawing on their specific
knowledge, expertise or insights from research. Persuading other people and
winning their support may not always be an easy task, particularly in
diverse and global working environments where multiple perspectives and
constraints are present, so the ability to present a strong argument is often
crucial.
The skill of argumentation is also valued in academic contexts. Academic
writers put forward and support their arguments in order to compare them
with those presented by their peers and, ultimately, to contribute new
knowledge to their fields. Students are also expected to demonstrate this
skill because they are expected to contribute to the academic community of
which they are junior members, and because the ability to build an
argument is also crucial in the workplace.
61
11.2 Examining how people support their

claims in an argument
To be successful, an argument text must persuade its target readers to
seriously consider the claim or claims put forward by the writer.
The way texts are written differs according to the specific context of which
they are part, the purpose for writing and the specific audiences that are
being addressed. This applies to argument texts, too. To be persuasive and
influential, writers communicate their arguments in the way that is most
appropriate to their purpose and most likely to influence their particular
audience. Arguments are communicated differently because writers, their
purposes and their readers differ.
An argument structure is made up of a claim or claims, explanation and
evidence, as summarised in Figure 11.1.
Claim What is the claim?
Why is the claim

Explanation made?
How is the claim

Evidence made convincing?
Figure 11.1 The relationship between a claim, explanation and evidence
It is important to support your claim through explanations and evidence or

data. In order to support a claim, you need to:
1 Explain why you are making a claim. This could be done using business
concepts, theories and frameworks such as Maslow’s theory of
psychological needs and external business environment.
2 Use evidence or data from research and other sources in the business
world. Evidence can include facts, figures and reports.
It is important to select appropriate explanations and evidence to suit the
context and purpose so that you can make a convincing argument for your
case.
11.3 The language of argument

When making an argument to build a case, the language is used in a certain
way. In this section, you will find key language resources used in
developing an argument: linking words, reporting verbs and hedging and
boosting language.
62
Linking words in argument

Linking words are words that connect ideas in a text, and they can be used
to link sentences and paragraphs. They are essential in developing a
reasoned argument. As they are used to develop logical relations in a text,
they serve different functions, such as indicating an additional point
(e.g. ‘furthermore’) and cause and effect (e.g. ‘as a result’). There are five
main types of linking words and phrases:
1 Addition: to add to an argument (e.g. ‘in addition’, ‘and’)
2 Cause and effect: to show cause-and-effect relationships in an argument
(e.g. ‘therefore’, ‘because’)
3 Comparison: to compare and contrast ideas, or draw conclusions
(e.g. ‘similarly’, ‘in contrast’)
4 Time: to show the sequence of events or ideas (e.g. ‘when’, ‘then’,
‘firstly’)
5 Example: to exemplify a point (e.g. ‘for example’).
Table 11.1 is a useful resource of linking words and phrases that are
commonly used to maintain the flow and relationship of ideas in a text.
Table 11.1 Useful linking words and phrases
Type of linking word or phrase Linking words or phrases

Addition And, furthermore, in addition, additionally,
moreover, in addition to, besides, both
Cause and effect To, in order to, because, as a result,
consequently, if, provided, so that, in case
Comparison However, despite, or, in contrast, on the
other hand, similarly, conversely
Time As, while, when, before, after, since, until,
once, firstly, at the same time, finally,
previously
Example For example, such as, for instance
Reporting verbs in argument

When developing your argument to build a case, you may need to support
your claims by referring to other sources in order to give your argument
greater authority. When you refer to them, certain verbs are used to report
others’ work. Which type of verb you use depends on what meaning you
want to make. For example, you may use various verbs to report the same
thing as shown in Table 11.2
63
Table 11.2 A choice of reporting verbs
Author Reporting verb Noun phrase

Jones (2015) describes several management strategies.
identifies
mentions
outlines
proposes
Reporting verbs also indicate how much you agree or disagree with the
other sources in relation to your argument. So you may be positive
(e.g. facilitate, confirm), negative (e.g. devalue, criticise) or neutral
(e.g. state, mention). You may also fully commit to others’ views or
distance yourself from them.
Making your argument strong or weak: hedging and

boosting
An argument can be made strong or weak. This depends on the explanation
and evidence you have in order to support your claims. If your explanations
and evidence are strong, you may present your argument strongly and if not,
you may make it weak or less strong. For this purpose, the key language
resources used include hedging and boosting. Hedging is used to show
uncertainty, modesty, and respect for others’ views while boosting is used to
show your confidence in your claims and results (Hyland, 2000). They are
linguistic resources to control your claims in the argument and build a
relationship with the reader or listener.
Whether hedging or boosting your claims, modal verbs, certain other verbs,
adverbs and adjectives are primary language resources.
These sentences are taken from business student Stuart’s text about
influences on the organisational culture of a company called Mapco, a fish
Boosting processing company in Scotland (a copy of this text is in Book 2: Readings,
Models and Frameworks):
(a) Who their customers are and what they expect is a big factor.
(b) Future employees may be influenced by stories and lore.
In sentence (a), Stuart seems confident of what he claims, as shown by
the use of ‘is’ instead of, for example, ‘could be’ or ‘may be’. The use
Hedging of the word ‘big’ to describe ‘factor’ also boosts his claim. In sentence
(b), his claim is hedged and so is weaker or more tentative than in
sentence (a). The modal verb ‘may’ indicates less certainty of the claim.
Supporting your argument through paraphrasing

In order to support an argument and persuade the reader, you need to draw
on previous research, reliable sources of information on the topic
(e.g. textbooks, journal articles) and data or other evidence. Although you
need to rely on these sources, you cannot just copy the information, because
such copying is regarded as plagiarism. This can have severe consequences.
64
Therefore, it is important to learn how to avoid unintended plagiarism by

paraphrasing and summarising the information from different sources, and
referencing those sources accurately.
It is worth pointing out that paraphrasing is not the same as summarising.
When summarising a text, you reduce the length by covering the key points
in a concise form. Paraphrasing maintains the same meaning and the length
may stay the same.
Paraphrasing involves stating ideas from the original source in your own
words. You can do this by:
‘Synonyms’ is defined in . using synonyms to replace words in the original

the Glossary.
. changing the word form (e.g. from a verb to a noun)
. changing the grammar or structure of a sentence.
Paraphrasing is used to demonstrate your understanding of the ideas in the
original source as well as supporting your argument in the essay. Of course,
the source needs to be acknowledged even if you write in your own words!
References
Hyland, K. (2000) Disciplinary discourses: social interactions in academic
writing, Harlow, Longman.
65
Chapter 12: Negotiation

This chapter focuses on business negotiation and on the interactions aimed
at finding common ground and reaching an agreement on key issues. You
will find materials about business negotiation skills and the language used
to negotiate effectively.
12.1 Participating in negotiation

This is a checklist which could be used to help you prepare for and take
part in a negotiation.
. Prepare for the discussion by gathering relevant information to support

proposals.
. Keep your desired outcome and bottom line in mind.
. Make sure your argument is convincing by stating your position clearly.
. Listen carefully to the other parties and acknowledge the points they
make.
. Ask for clarification where necessary.
. Aim to make proposals that lead to a mutually beneficial outcome.
. Agree or disagree clearly with proposals supporting your position.
. Try to find common ground where compromise is possible.
12.2 Components of a negotiation

A negotiation tends to consist of some core components and it is a
structured problem-solution activity. According to Almut Koester, a business
communication researcher, there are three core components of a negotiation:
1 Information exchange: sharing the relevant information with the other
party
2 Bargaining: persuading the other party to agree with your proposal and
responding to the other party’s proposal
3 Agreement: concluding with a mutually satisfying agreement
(Koester, 2014, p. 37)
In addition to these three core components, there is a relationship-building
component too. This fourth one often comes at the beginning of a
negotiation. The sequence of these components may not be linear or fixed.
Sometimes they may be blurred. For example, the information exchange
may include bargaining as well. Table 12.1 shows the components of a pay
rise negotiation. Andy is looking for a pay rise and has organised to meet
with his line manager, Julie (this is based on the audio transcript included in
66
Chapter 12: Negotiation
Table 12.1 Components of negotiating a pay rise
Parts of negotiation Component of negotiation

Julie mentions the topic of discussion Information exchange
Andy talks about his achievements Information exchange
Andy proposes for a recognition Bargaining
Julie acknowledges Andy’s achievements Bargaining
Julie tells him recognition of his Bargaining
achievements is reflected in the pay
Andy presents evidence of a higher pay for Bargaining
his kind of jobs in the region and proposes
for matching the salary
Julie responds that those jobs require taking Bargaining
more responsibility and the company has
decided not to approve any payrise for this
year
Andy presents further evidence of his Bargaining
achievements and proposes an alternative
form of recognition
Julie acknowledges Andy’s excellent Bargaining
performance that needs recognition
Julie responds to Andy with a counter- Bargaining
proposal of taking more responsibility and
studying a new course for a possible
promotion next year
Andy checks Julie’s terms and conditions Bargaining
Andy again proposes for recognition of his Bargaining
work through upgrading his insurance policy
Julie rejects this proposal and presents a Bargaining
counter-proposal of sponsorship of his course
Andy agrees with the proposal Agreement
Julie agrees to let Andy know the decision Agreement
12.3 Language use in negotiation

During a negotiation it is important to control your language carefully in
order to achieve your goals. Table 12.2 provides examples of phrases and
commonly used expressions, which indicate agreeing and disagreeing,
clarifying, stating opinions, making a proposal, expressing a possibility,
refusing and indicating understanding.
Table 12.2 Examples of language used in negotiation
Functions Negotiation phrases and expressions

Agreeing I agree that …, I don’t see any problem with that
Disagreeing That’s not how I look at it, I have to disagree here
67
Functions Negotiation phrases and expressions

Making proposals Would you consider …? How would you feel
about …? What I propose is …
Indicating understanding I appreciate what you’re saying, I am aware
that …
Stating an opinion My view is that …, I feel that …
Expressing possibilities We may be able to …, I should be able to
confirm …
Refusing I’m afraid that is out of the question, That may
be difficult
12.4 Concluding a successful negotiation

‘Summarising’ is defined These are guidelines for writing a successful summary of a negotiated
in the Glossary. agreement.
. Identify the parties to the negotiation and the subject matter.

. Make sure that the summary is an accurate account of the terms that
were agreed.
. The summary agreement should be as simple as possible so that the
parties do not begin to argue over misunderstandings in the wording, or
that translators find difficulty in interpreting the text once agreement has
been reached.
. The language will be formal and as concise as possible.
. Neither party should make claims that they cannot keep or promise that
they cannot fulfil.
. Neither party should take the opportunity in the summary to put in
conditions that had not been discussed or agreed, or to leave out those
that they do not want included anymore.
Writing a summary usually takes place at the very end of a negotiation.
This is because there is often a view that what has been written is
permanent. This makes it very difficult to discuss and renegotiate any points
which have been included in error or are simple mistakes in times, dates,
quantities or, in the international context.
References
Koester, A. (2014) ‘“We’d be prepared to do something, like if you say …”:
hypothetical reported speech in business negotiations’, English for Specific
Purposes, vol. 36, pp. 35–46 [Online]. Available at http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.esp.2014.03.005 (Accessed 3 August 2016).
68
Chapter 13: Writing effective workplace proposals
Chapter 13: Writing effective

workplace proposals
In this chapter you will find guidance on how a workplace proposal is
structured in order to present a solution to the problem situation in that
scenario. You will also find materials on how to use language effectively to
develop a workplace proposal.
13.1 What is a workplace proposal?

Workplace proposals can be defined as problem-solving documents in that
they attempt to persuade another party to take some form of action to
achieve a specific goal that will be beneficial for the business. Their first
step is to define and describe the problem that the proposal sets out to
solve. There then follows an explanation of the solution and how it will be
applied. The proposal contains information on the benefits of the
recommended solution to the business and identifies who in the company
will be required to act and what they must do to achieve the solution: in
other words, a call to action is made. Following this, the risks of failing to
act are identified.
Workplace problems can often arise from quite simple situations: for
example, an office relocation; the design of a staff rota; the late delivery of
stock; or poor communication. However, such problems can have a severe
impact on the way an organisation functions. In order to deal with a
problem, a written workplace proposal:
. analyses the problem

. identifies the cause or causes
. proposes solutions
. sets out what action is required and by whom
. lists the benefits of the proposal
. outlines the risks if the proposal is not acted upon
. addresses counter-arguments.
13.2 The structure of workplace proposals

An effective structure for report writing includes the following stages or
sections:
. a brief introduction that gives a context to the report

. an abstract or executive summary of the main claims the report will
make
. the methods used
69
. key findings
. a summary of the key claims in the conclusion
. the report’s recommendations.
Workplace proposals are a form of report writing and so the advice to
provide clear information in an introduction and to write concisely is
relevant in structuring your writing. However, there are other sections that
must be included in order to carry out the problem-solving function of a
workplace proposal.
Another important point to bear in mind is that proposals may be read by a
number of people who work in different parts of the business, and thus one
of the aims of effective proposal writing is to present information in a way
that can be understood easily by a reader who may not have detailed
knowledge of that area of the business.
13.3 Language to indicate benefits and

risks
In order to persuade other members of a business organisation of the value
of your business proposal, you need to build your argument by pointing out
the benefits of what is proposed and the risks to the organisation if action is
not taken. In this text from the Cecil Court proposal, the words in bold in
Section Six are positive words to show benefits. The words in bold in
Section Seven are negative words showing risks.
Cecil Court proposal

[Section Six]
Benefits of the proposal
Cecil Court aspires to be a top retirement home. This proposal will

help us to enhance our reputation as a residential home with care
provided, enhance our reputation as an employer, and ensure reliable,
high standard care for our residents. The benefits of the proposal are
as follows
. More family friendly shift patterns will help us to attract and keep
our evening staff. Public transport will be accessible at the later time
making travel to and from the site to the city cheaper, easier and
safer for staff.
. A more competitive pay structure will improve our ability to
recruit and retain staff. This will result in more reliable care for our
residents.
. Provision of training and staff development structures will improve
our staff retention rate as those undertaking training will have an
interest in continuing their service with us.
70
Chapter 13: Writing effective workplace proposals
[Section Seven]
Risks to the organisation, if the proposed changes are not made:
. If we have continued understaffing of our organisation, this may

result in our failing to provide minimum standards of care to our
residents which will contravene the legislation for our sector. This
could lead to financial penalties or closure.
. If we continue to offer uncompetitive pay rates, we will not be
able to compete with other retirement home providers for quality
staff and our standards of care may fall. Residents may complain
and may decide to leave.
13.4 Language tone when writing

proposals
Written communications in professional contexts are often difficult to
compose with the right tone. One key reason is that writing only in very
short, concise sentences is often mistaken by readers for abruptness. In
written communication, you cannot be sure if you have been correctly
understood and if you may need to qualify your explanations. Your choice
of vocabulary is limited to more formal terms: if your writing is chatty or
informal, this too can convey the wrong impression. Errors in grammar and
spelling can cause annoyance to the reader.
There are a number of actions you can take to avoid giving the wrong
impression:
. Vary the length of your sentences so that you have both long and shorter
sentences in your text. This is closer to the rhythm of ordinary speech.
. Do not economise on politeness: use the same polite requests and thanks
as you would in conversation.
. Restate complex matters or summarise them so that there is less chance
of misunderstanding.
. Leave your work for a short time before returning to edit it. It is more
likely that you will return with a fresh eye and be able to find and
correct mistakes.
This text was written by a business student as part of their workplace
proposal for staff development training. The words and phrases showing the
writer’s positive tone is in bold and those indicating positive attitudes
towards colleagues are in italics.
71
Training proposal
Organisational and Departmental Benefits
I understand that departments are under pressure to stick to tight

budget constraints, however, this communications skills training is
essential and will protect the trust against potential legal action. Staff
attending the training will also improve departmental efficiencies and
performance ensuring that staff are completing their paperwork in a
timely and professional manner. We also need to be seen to invest in
our staff, by providing continued professional development and the
hope is that we will improve staff retention.
Excellent communication skills promote a positive image for the

organisation. This is good marketing for the Trust and will contribute to
improving awareness of the Trust within hospitals, in turn increasing
referrals and income.
Action Required
A meeting has been scheduled for 10 am on 10th March 20.., in the

conference room to discuss any thoughts or concerns. I understand that
not everyone will be able to attend the meeting, therefore, can I request
that you put such concerns in an email to … by 7th March 20.. so that
we are able to work through and address everyone’s concerns. A copy
of the minutes will be disseminated to all Heads of Department shortly
after the meeting.
Our preliminary date for delivery of the training is 1st June. The HR
department requires a list of all staff that you will be putting forward for
the first cohort of the training by 30th April. I understand that this may
be short notice, therefore the HR team endeavour to support you as
much as possible to gather this information.
On behalf of the HR team I would like to thank you for co-operation with
this matter and we look forward to working with you to provide an
outstanding provision for our staff and service users.
(Adapted from Whitehurst, 2015)
References
Whitehurst, S. (2015) LB160 EMA, submitted to The Open University as
part of LB160 assessment.
72
Chapter 14: Effective workplace meetings
Chapter 14: Effective workplace

meetings
In any organisation, people need to communicate in order to achieve
business objectives and to create a healthy and constructive working
environment. Meetings, both formal and informal, are a familiar part of the
workplace. However, the purposes and styles of meetings vary considerably.
This chapter is about workplace meetings and the language used in
facilitating an effective meeting.
14.1 Why meetings may fail

Human resources (HR) professionals have observed behaviours which
commonly arise because of a lack of effective management. Some of these
behaviours include:
. An entire group may sit back and say nothing. When asked to
contribute, they decline.
. People may be reluctant to contribute as they feel their ideas are not
going to be listened to.
. There are times when an individual is unable to limit how much they
say or they provide excessive detail. They may like to hear themselves
talk or they may be insensitive to the needs of others.
. There are sometimes group members who talk over each other, also
known as ‘overtalkers’.
. People may chat with those next to them on other issues, instead of
paying attention to the group discussion. Some people do this out of
habit or because they believe that if they are not involved in the topic,
they can start their own discussion.
. During the discussion, some members may be unable to move beyond an
issue which they see as blocking any further progress. They become
‘stuck’ on issues which they cannot change.
These are some of the behaviours which can challenge a chairperson or
facilitator and which they may have to overcome, first by identifying the
behaviour and then by using professional meeting management skills and
effective language (Human Resources, The Open University, 2015).
14.2 Making meetings successful

Current research into what can make a meeting successful or unsuccessful
focuses on active management of the group. In order to make sure that the
time spent is worthwhile and that the goal of the meeting is achieved, a
structure must be designed to guide the discussion. Table 14.1 shows some
73
positive actions that a chairperson or facilitator can take to structure a

meeting more effectively and whether these actions need to be done before,
during or after a meeting.
Table 14.1 Strategies to structure a meeting effectively
Before the meeting During the meeting After the

meeting
Distribute the agenda Manage the timing of the Distribute the
meeting minutes
Be sure the right people are Take notes for yourself
at the meeting
Create a written agenda Use open and supportive
language
Define the purpose and
expected outcome of the
meeting
Summarise the outcome of
the meeting
(Adapted from Vestal, 2015)
Examples of words and phrases that may be used for a particular action are
described in Table 14.2 (this is based on the video transcript included in
Table 14.2 Example of language use in a meeting
Action Language
Alan begins the discussion by making Well, bearing in mind that this
it clear that the group must follow decision has already been taken …
policy
Alan sets the topic for discussion How do you think we can mitigate
these issues …?
Alan engages Mark in a discussion of Alright, well just imagine for one
how the new office might be minute, there was a way to reduce the
organised disruption for you and your
colleagues, how do you think that
would look …?
Mark shows he is prepared to I suppose ... it might help a bit …
compromise
Alan elicits opinions from the whole If we can go round the room …
group
Louise expresses her opinions I don’t know about you, but I’m fed up
…
Alan makes sure that Michelle is Michelle, is there anything you’d like
included to add?
74
14.3 Language in the workplace

Are there any differences between the ways people talk to each other at
work and in other environments? Research tells us that most conversations
in the workplace are more likely to be about group or team goals rather
than individual concerns. These group or team goals are of interest to
participants in any kind of group working, such as meetings, conferences or
projects.
McCarthy and Handford (2004), cited in Koester (2006), studied over
250,000 words from the Business English database (CANBEC) and
discovered the frequency of expressions such as ‘we need to’ and ‘we
should’ was very high, which suggested a common identification with group
needs. Research has also revealed that conversations in the workplace
usually reflect:
. business goals and social relationships: for example, group dynamics and
power relations
. transactional goals or arrangements to complete tasks.
These relationships are shown in the language used, and achieving business
goals characteristically involves decision-making where the speakers are
trying to reach an agreement. For this, they may need to use clarification
language, for example:
You mentioned that it might be possible to reduce the cost. Could you
say a bit more please?
Am I right to think that you meant reduced costs?
So, would it be correct to say that the cost could be reduced?
In transactional goals, the speakers already have a common aim and are
trying to find a way to achieve it using the language of suggestion: for
example ‘let’s do that’, ‘why don’t we’.
Power relations and language use in meetings

Power relations may exist when some members of a group occupy a higher
status in the company than others, and/or occupy senior positions and
receive higher rewards and privileges. Some staff may also assume powerful
influence due to the length of time that they have worked in a company. In
some workplaces, powerful groups gather around one or two members of
staff to the disadvantage of those who do not ‘belong’ to the group.
Research shows that it is in the conversations where power relations are not
equal that participants will use language which, although it reflects the
difference in the power relationship, will still attempt to persuade the other
person of the desirability of an action (Koester, 2006). Here is an example
of a speaker arranging a meeting with a person of higher status, taking
elaborate care to be polite and to suggest the informality and tentative
nature of the arrangement:
75
I was wondering if … you an’ I could possibly meet this week, at

about eleven o’clock on Thursday morning, for half an hour on – just to
look through …
The speaker uses the past ‘I was wondering’, and ‘could’ rather than ‘can’,
which has the effect of distancing and softening the request and thus
respecting the difference in power relations.
Agreeing and disagreeing also call for careful expressions where power
relations are not equal, to avoid the impression that ideas have been rejected
or accepted without consideration and therefore offending other participants.
Here are some examples of such phrases expressing disagreement:
I can understand your wish to reduce costs but I disagree with the
idea.
Isn’t it really the case that it’s not about reducing costs but increasing
output?
Can I challenge your idea about reducing costs?
Language to soften your tone

There are a number of ways of expressing the same thing in a softer tone.
Here are some examples. Some of the suggestions are phrased in a question
form to indicate a consultation rather than an order and would be spoken as
such with a rising tone of voice at the end. The words and phrases that
soften the tone are in italics.
We will have another meeting next week at 2.00pm. OK?

Do you think we could meet next week at 2.00pm. Is that alright?
I think next week at 2.00 would be the best time for our meeting. Is that
convenient for you all?
Send the completed drafts by the 22nd of April.

Would you mind sending the drafts so that they arrive by 22nd July?
Please could you be sure to send the completed drafts by 22nd July.
Go and ask Mary if she is available.

I was wondering if Mary was available. Do you think you could ask her?
Do you think you could find out if Mary is available?
You can’t submit that. You will have to rewrite it.

I wonder if you would mind rewriting this?
I’m afraid this can’t be submitted and you will need to re-write it.
We will finish this discussion at 5.00pm

Can I ask that we finish the discussion at 5.00pm?
I’d like to finish the discussion by 5.00pm please.
76
References
Human Resources, The Open University (2015) Learning and
Organisations, Milton Keynes, Human Resources, The Open University.
Koester, A. (2006) Investigating Workplace Discourse, London, Routledge.
Vestal, K. (2015) ‘Setting standards for successful meetings’, Nurse Leader,
vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 14–15.
77
Chapter 15: Developing discussion

skills
In academic and workplace situations, you might be required to show an
understanding of multiple viewpoints and express a view on a complex
issue in a reasoned and convincing way. In this chapter you will find
materials on how to use language effectively to present your viewpoints.
15.1 The language of discussion

Here is a list of phrases that are useful for discussions.
Phrases to explain why something is the case

I would argue that …
This is not only because … but also because …
Phrases for bringing in evidence to support a viewpoint and

drawing conclusions from it
Various newspaper articles have highlighted …
It has been widely reported in the press that …
One article explains why …
This shows the seriousness of …
This demonstrates how …
This suggests that …
Furthermore …
Not only … but also …
Phrases for considering an alternative viewpoint and then giving

counterarguments or evidence
Supermarkets might argue that …,
However, …
Phrases for challenging a viewpoint

What evidence do you have that …?
Consider this issue from the perspective of …
Look at the wider implications …
Consider to what extent …
Clarify your values/views/opinion …
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Chapter 15: Developing discussion skills
15.2 What makes argument effective in a

discussion?
In general, an effective spoken argument in a formal discussion has the
following features:
1 Language which is formal.
2 Clarity of organisation – the message is clearly structured, helped by
signposting phrases and expressions.
3 Reliable and valid evidence used to support ideas.
4 Consideration given to other viewpoints.
5 Language of speculation and possibility to show that the issue is
complex, not a simple one of ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.
6 Some reference to abstract, theoretical concepts if the discussion is in an
academic context.
7 Focus on the topic (no irrelevant points made or direct criticism of those
with opposing views).
A look at language
The following extracts come from an audio discussion, in which two
academics (Nik and Owain) outline arguments for and against the use of
zero-hours contracts. A copy of the audio transcript is in Book 2: Readings,
Models and Frameworks.
Nik uses a formal style of language in his argument. Here are some
examples from Nik’s argument contrasted with less formal expressions that
might have been used in a more informal context.
Extract 1: Nik
Formal expression Less formal expression

There are often sound, pragmatic and There are good practical and money
economic reasons. reasons.
If a business is subject to seasonal If a business is only open for part of
fluctuations in demand … the year …
Businesses need to be economically Businesses have to make money.
efficient as a way to create value.
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Owain’s argument is effective in that it includes the features listed above.

The discussion has a ‘for’ and ‘against’ structure and the argument in each
case is supported with explanations and evidence (e.g. examples).
Extract 2: Owain
Sentence Explanation
Both Nik and I have worked on zero Owain starts with an example. The
hour contracts, when we were starting purpose of this is to illustrate the point
out, especially as students to get our he wants to make. This example is
way through and, you know, the personal anecdote, which can be very
people we worked for they were effective, but should be used sparingly
decent people, small business, in formal discussions.
medium business owners – people
who owned hotels and pubs we
understood that we were there to do a
job to get us through and it helped
them out in the short term.
So, perhaps it’s unrealistic to expect The word ‘so’ acts as a signpost to
too much of business, for business to show that Owain is now going to draw
act as these kind of great moral a conclusion from the example made.
guarantors of our society. Owain includes abstract terminology,
‘moral guarantors’ taking the
discussion to a more theoretical level.
The word ‘perhaps’ is an expression
of possibility, which shows that the
issue is complex and he is keeping
the discussion open.
Are they really there to do that? Owain reiterates his point by asking a
rhetorical question. A rhetorical
question is one that does not require
an immediate answer but that makes
your listeners think about the point
made. It can be used sparingly for
stylistic effect in formal speeches,
presentations or discussions.
If their focus was not primarily upon Owain makes a further point to
making profit, then perhaps our strengthen his argument that
society would be much the worse in businesses need to offer zero
terms of innovation, energy, choice contracts hours in order to carry out
and so on. the function expected of them. He
uses expressions of possibility (if,
would) to acknowledge that the issue
is not a simple one of ‘right’ and
‘wrong’.
And making profit provides lots of Owain lists the benefits of profit
opportunities, provides a lot of good making to expand the point in the
for society. It provides employment, it previous sentence. The list effect is
provides decent work conditions in maintained by the repetition of the
many contexts, it provides verb ‘provides’ to guide listeners.
opportunities for people to gain
income and follow their desires, their
needs, the way they want to actually
organise their life.
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Actually one of the arguments for zero Owain signposts that he is going to
hours contracts is in terms of benefits introduce another argument in favour
for workers and often that’s presented of zero hours contracts. He then
in terms of flexibility – as in terms of continues the theme of benefits for
the opportunity to follow one’s life, workers from the previous sentence
underpinned by notions of autonomy and brings in more abstract
and freedom. terminology: ‘flexibility’, ‘autonomy’
and ‘freedom’. This has the effect of
moving the argument into a more
theoretical realm. This can clarify the
issue under discussion as long as all
participants agree on what is meant
by these abstract concepts.
So if zero hour contracts do that and Owain signposts that he will bring the
provide that freedom and flexibility, argument to a conclusion with the
they might be actually considered to word ‘so’. Also it is in a sense drawing
be ethically appropriate. a conclusion from the summary of the
arguments. He then summarises his
argument but the use of the
expressions of possibility ‘if’ and
‘might’ indicate that the argument is
still open.
Both Owain’s and Nik’s arguments are effective in that they include the
features listed above, however, they are constructed differently.
Extract 3: Nik
Well one of the key issues is this Nik introduces a key theme linked to
notion of power. zero hours contracts by using abstract
terminology: ‘notion of power’. This
takes the argument to a more
theoretical realm.
I talked earlier about this idea that Nik outlines the counterargument to
you can decide when you want to the one he is going to put forward,
work, you become flexible, you’ve got signposting that it was mentioned
freedom, you’ve got autonomy earlier. Abstract concepts are used:
‘freedom’ and ‘autonomy’.
but actually the experience of workers In the same sentence, Nik signposts
is actually they’re waiting on the end that he is going to contradict the idea
of the phone or an email and when just mentioned, using the words ‘but
work is offered to them, they feel they actually’. He then expresses his
can’t turn it down and indeed some viewpoint by using an example. This
express the fear that if they turn it example would be stronger if he
down, they will be no longer included where the evidence comes
employed. from (e.g. an ACAS report).
So in this point, the rhetoric of Nik reiterates his point, using abstract
freedom isn’t really realised. language (‘rhetoric of freedom’) to say
that people working on zero hours
contracts are not experiencing the
freedom that is so often mentioned as
a key advantage of these contracts.
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It’s actually workers being very much Nik reiterates the point he has just
dependent upon their employer’s made, using the word ‘actually’ again
preferences and, given that, it to infer that his argument is based on
becomes difficult to make the facts. The expression ‘given that’ is a
argument that this is about freedom. way of saying ‘because of this’.
Actually it’s about asymmetry of Nik continues the argument on an
power and of course in that context, it abstract level, referring back to the
becomes very difficult to actually concept of power mentioned at the
follow some of your life practices. beginning and focusing on
‘asymmetry’ (lack of equality, lack of
balance).
For example, in the U.K. it’s quite Nik gives a concrete example to
common to aspire to own a house. provide evidence to support the point
Now imagine you walk into your he has just made. The language
mortgage provider and say, “I’ve got a becomes less formal to reflect the
zero-hour contract.” You’ve got to day-to-day nature of the example.
demonstrate your income. Well what
is your income? Well it says zero
guaranteed income.
So in that sense, you might feel Nik concludes his point that zero
restricted. You might not be able to hours contracts restrict the freedom
partake in some of the shared and power of individuals. He uses the
aspirations of British society for expression ‘might’ to keep the
example. discussion open.
15.3 Communicating ethical issues in

business
An approach to ethics is central to any business, no matter how small. It
informs, among other things, vision, planning, strategy and actions. It
outlines how the business acts and should act in a complex world with
competing and often conflicting stakeholder needs. It is often communicated
in relation to issues such as:
. the environment
. treatment of stakeholders, including employees, suppliers, customers,
and other people and communities affected by the business
. the impact of the products made, marketed and distributed (e.g. on the
health and well-being of stakeholders)
. the protection of vulnerable people (e.g. children)
. choices about which community causes to support
. choices about what sponsorship a business chooses to offer
. choices about who represents a business’s brand.
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15.4 Language use in ethical discussion

The types of language and techniques used in formal discussions are
different from everyday conversations. So it is important to explore further
how language helps to make discussions more formal and effective.
Table 15.1 shows highlighted phrases from an ethical discussion with an
academic from The Open University Business School, Anja Schaefer, about
corporate social responsibility vs profit maximisation and why these phrases
are used in discussions of complex issues where several stakeholders are
involved.
Table 15.1 Useful phrases for discussions involving stakeholders
Highlighted phrases Why these are useful phrases to

use in discussions involving
several stakeholders
That is quite a difficult question to This phrase acknowledges the
answer actually. Even though it’s an complexity of the issue.
example which is used quite a lot.
Because stakeholder interests, in this Cause and effect language is used
case, are multiple. And they are in here to signpost why something is the
conflict with each other. case. Abstract terminology is used to
outline the issue under discussion,
e.g. ‘stakeholder interests’.
Now, it might well be in the This phrase sets out one possible
shareholders’ interest to move the call stakeholder viewpoint, using language
centres to somewhere else where of possibility (‘might well be’) to
lower wages would mean a cost indicate that this is a tentative point.
reduction.
This is clearly against the interests of This phrase shows a generally
the local community or the employees accepted or acknowledged viewpoint
in England who are now made using definite language (‘clearly’).
redundant.
It may, however, very well be in the This phrase introduces a further
interests of people in that other stakeholder viewpoint using language
country who are now given of possibility: ‘may’ and ‘perhaps’.
employment options which perhaps
are much better than the other
employment options than they
otherwise have.
You might well argue that those This phrase puts forward one side of
people in that lower cost country have the argument as a possibility by using
far fewer opportunities in life ‘might’. It also sets up an imaginary
otherwise than people in England. opponent (YOU) which is common in
discussions.
And that therefore, it’s actually good This phrase continues the ‘possible’
corporate social responsibility to give argument by adding a further point,
them an opportunity to better strengthened by cause and effect
themselves and to benefit from this language: ‘therefore’. This sentence
employment. follows the previous one in which Anja
presents evidence and so draws
conclusions based on that evidence.
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Highlighted phrases Why these are useful phrases to

use in discussions involving
several stakeholders
On the other hand, you might also This phrase puts forward the
well argue that if it is an old alternative (or imaginary opponent’s)
established company that has been in viewpoint as a possibility, again using:
a particular part in Britain for a very ‘on the other hand’, ‘might’.
long time, that it also has, if you like,
a longstanding duty to the community
which allowed it to grow up and to
become the big multinational company
that it is today.
And that therefore making people The cause-effect language is used to
redundant, particularly if it happens draw a conclusion based on what
very quickly with no other option of Anja said before.
employment, is not good corporate
social responsibility.
I think what I’m saying here is that This phrase again acknowledges the
these cases are often quite complex complexity of the issue.
and that corporate social responsibility
thinking would very rarely say ‘This is
definitely right and this is definitely
wrong’.
What I would say however is that This phrase introduces the speaker’s
these other stakeholders’ interests viewpoint in a clear and authoritative
need to be taken into account. way .The phrasing ‘What I would say,
however, is ..’ creates suspense and
signposts very clearly that her main
point is coming up. The language also
moves from a more hypothetical or
modal verb such as would to a more
imperative verbs like need to.
What the final solution is very much This final phrase acknowledges that
depends on the individual there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer.
circumstances of each company, each
community, I would say
An explanation of analogical argument in an ethical discussion is shown in

Table 15.2.
Table 15.2 Explanation of analogical argument
I think the same rule applies here as I Anja starts with a clear statement of
do for private individuals. her viewpoint. This could be made
more formal by replacing ‘I think’ with
a more impersonal expression, such
as ‘Companies should comply with the
same rules that individuals are
expected to’.
So, if we own a car then clearly, it is Use of analogy. Anja compares the
our right to use this car and to drive issue under discussion to something
around it. It’s not, however our right to from everyday life that is easy to
drive around in it recklessly, too fast, relate to: the responsibility that comes
not paying attention to traffic or with driving a car.
pedestrians and thereby harm other
people, say, by knocking them over.
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I think we would all accept that the Anja uses a persuasive phrase ‘I think
right to do as we please with our we would all accept …’ appealing to
private property does not extend to the sense of ‘common decency’
the right to harm other people and mentioned earlier in the discussion.
infringe on their rights.
The same applies to business. Anja makes an authoritative and
unambiguous statement based on the
viewpoint stated above.
So businesses clearly must look after Anja uses impersonal phrasing to put
their shareholders’ property, or their across her viewpoint: ‘businesses
shareholders’ investment by trying to clearly must’. This is more effective
maximise the return on this than ‘I think’ or ‘I believe’ and the use
investment. of ‘clearly’ persuades her listener that
the point is obvious.
They may do so for instance, by Anja introduces an example to
manufacturing goods which they can illustrate the point she has just made.
sell to other people at a profit.
What they can’t do, however, or what The use of an introductory phrase
I think they don’t have a right to do, is such as ‘What they can’t do, however,
to manufacture these goods in such a is …’ makes Anja’s point more
way that to stay with the strongly by creating suspense and
environmental example, the local river then announcing it.
is polluted or the atmosphere is
polluted, because that could harm
other people.
They might get ill or their quality of life Use of modal verbs (e.g. might,
might be quite seriously diminished by would) to imagine the negative effects
having to use water which is not of a situation. This is used as an
clean, by having to breathe air which example to illustrate her point.
is not clean.
And thereby the right to do with Anja uses cause and effect language,
shareholders’ private money as you ‘thereby,’ to illustrate the
please would impinge on the rights of consequences of reckless behaviour
other people to do with their own lives by businesses.
as they please.
And I think there is where the limits to Anja concludes with a clear statement
property rights apply in the same way summing up her argument.
as the limits to all other rights apply.
A summary of making a powerful argument

Here is a list of the techniques used in making a powerful argument.
. Use of analogy – relating an issue to something simple, that everyone

understands: driving a car.
. Use of persuasive phrases such as ‘I think we would all accept …’. This
appeals to a sense of common feelings of decency mentioned earlier in
the discussion.
. Impersonal phrasing which sounds authoritative, e.g. ‘So businesses
clearly must …’ instead of ‘I believe …’.
. Use of examples, introduced by ‘for instance’.
85
. Using an introductory phrase such as ‘What they can’t do, however … is

to …’ to introduce strong idea and create a sense of suspense.
. Explaining why something is the case using cause and effect language:
‘because that could …’, ‘thereby’.
. Using modal verbs such as ‘would’ or ‘might’ to imagine a situation (e.g
what would happen IF something was the case): ‘would impinge on the
rights of other people’.
. Clearly stating viewpoint and summing up in the final sentence.
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Chapter 16: Writing business essays
Chapter 16: Writing business

essays
In this chapter you will find materials on how to write successful business
essays. These skills are transferable to writing other types of texts in
university and the workplace.
16.1 Tips on preparing for an assignment

There are a number of things you need to do as part of a process in order to
produce an effective essay. These tips may be helpful when preparing for
writing your assignment:
. Read the assignment questions carefully.

. Identify the instruction words and key words including business
concepts.
. Identify the context (e.g. what field of business? Marketing, human
resource management, etc.; from what perspective?).
. Understand requirements of the essay task (e.g. what do the guidance
notes say?).
. Identify and select sources of information (e.g. case studies, module
materials, other sources).
. Read and make notes of relevant information from selected sources.
Think through how you will use this information to support your
perspective in your writing.
. Consider the perspective you are taking in the essay (your argument or
position).
. Make a mind-map, key notes followed by an outline of your essay
(planning).
. Draft your essay (introduction, body and conclusion).
. Redraft and edit your essay.
. Write the final version of your essay.
. Check over your essay to make sure it reads well and that there are no
spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors.
Many of the things in this list may not be new to you. In that case, the list
will serve as a reminder.
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16.2 Understanding an assignment

question
Once you have understood the general requirement of your assignments and
what the business lecturers are looking for in a good essay, the next step is
to read and understand the assignment question. For this, these questions are
helpful:
. What is the topic and the context?

. What are the key concepts and theories you need to know?
. What sources do you need to consult or read?
. Do you need to use any case studies to apply concepts?
. Do you need to relate theories to your workplace?
. What do the guidance notes on the assignment say?
A worked example
In these assignment questions from a business module the key concepts
(also called content words) are in bold and the instruction or process words
are in italics.
Assignment questions
Read the case study below and then answer the questions that follow
as instructed.
[Mapco case study (Mapco is a fish processing company in Peterhead,

Scotland)]
(a) Explain the extent to which you think that Mapco is a globalised
business.
(b) Evaluate the relevance of each of the four drivers of globalisation

to this case. Which do you think is the strongest?
Guidance for students
Question (a) relates to Session 3.1 and 3.2 of Book 5. In your answer
you will need to explain briefly what globalisation is, before explaining
the extent to which you think that Mapco is globalised. In answering
this part of the question, reflect specifically on the examples that you
can find in the article that agree or disagree with the definition of
globalisation that you have provided. You might consider things like
the nature of Mapco’s product, supplier, trading and other
relationships.
Question (b) asks you to discuss how each of the four drivers of
globalisation relates to the case before concluding which of the four is
more influential. You will find Session 3.3 of Book 5 helpful. Explain
your understanding of each driver and give examples from the case
88
that illustrate its relevance. If you do not think that a driver is

particularly relevant then you should explain why. Remember to
conclude by stating which driver you think is most influential and why.
(The Open University, 2014)
In addition to read and answer, there are two main instruction words in
these assignment questions: explain and evaluate . It is essential that you
understand what they mean and how you should respond to them.
. When you are asked to explain, you should focus on the why of a
particular business issue or on the how by looking at cause and effect
relationships (e.g. why Mapco is a globalised business or how it is or it
is not).
. Evaluate requires you to think about an issue in an organisation
critically by applying some criteria and analysing strengths and
weaknesses, and the value of something under consideration
(e.g. strengths and weaknesses of four drivers of globalisation –
i.e. factors causing globalisation – and their relevance to Mapco). This
also means giving reasons for your argument.
The guidance note repeats the word ‘explain’ and rephrases the word
‘evaluate’ (e.g. it uses ‘discuss’, ‘explain’, ‘conclude’). The note asks you
to conclude which driver of globalisation is the most influential. This
requires you to identify one most influential driver and explain why. In sum,
the instruction words require you to show knowledge and understanding of
concepts and theories and their critical application.
The key concepts primarily include globalisation and its associated terms in
marketing. In order to answer this assignment, you should know about
globalisation and its relevance to an organisation’s marketing. This requires
you to select relevant concepts and theories on globalisation taught in
module materials and from other sources.
16.3 Writing a successful business essay

In this section you will find guidance on how to write your essay
introduction and conclusion, and how to develop and support the main
argument of the essay.
Writing your essay introduction

The introduction comes at the beginning of the essay. So what should an
introduction introduce?
An introduction:
. introduces the topic (i.e. globalisation, including definitions)

. introduces the situation (the company under study and relevant
information the reader needs to know about it) and the concepts and
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dimensions through which the question will be addressed. When you

choose a company unknown to the reader, you should give an indication
of their location, products and size
. introduces this text (essay) – a brief guide to the reader on how the text
will be organised.
Developing paragraphs to support your argument

When developing your paragraphs in support of your argument (main claim)
in the essay, the information flows from general to particular as shown in
this paragraph of an essay on Mapco, by a student called Michael, and its
globalisation (the full version of Michael’s essay is included in Book 2:
Readings, Models and Frameworks).
Paragraph 4 of Michael’s essay

Government drivers
Mapco’s globalisation is influenced by government drivers to some

degree. Government drivers involve national governments encouraging
international trade in an attempt to create economic advantage and
wealth. This encouragement can come in forms such as the removal of
tariffs on imports and exports, the creation of trading blocs, the
willingness of countries to let companies from other nations trade inside
their borders, and the privatisation of previously nationalised industries
or companies (Ball, 2012). There is little to suggest that any
governmental drivers have had a significant effect on Mapco’s
globalisation within the report provided by Hurley (2013) although the
economic openness between the UK and African nations is self-evident
given that trade takes place between Mapco and African consumers.
(Adapted from Johnson, 2015)
His claim (first sentence) is general and it is supported by particular details

in the rest of the paragraph (e.g. definitions, explanations). This paragraph
has four functions in support of the argument in the essay:
1 States the main point or claim
2 Defines key concept
3 Gives an explanation of the concept
4 Gives evidence/data/examples to support the main point.
These functions are often typical of an essay paragraph. The main point or
claim comes at the beginning of the paragraph to signal to the reader what
the paragraph is going to be about; the general point or claim that will be
supported in this paragraph.
Sometimes, the claim may come in the end of the paragraph. For example,
in Michael’s paragraph, the last sentence can also be considered as his main
point though it also presents data from the case study: ‘Hurley (2013)’.
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After stating the claim (general point), the paragraph moves to particular
points that explain and support it as shown in Figure 16.1. This is what
lecturers mean by coherence: the reader can see clearly what you are doing
and the steps are clear through which you achieve it.
Sentence 1
(Claim)
Sentence 2
(Supporting point)
Sentence 3
(Supporting point)
Sentence 4
(Supporting point)
Figure 16.1 General to particular in Michael’s essay paragraph: claim (S1) plus
support points or evidence
Michael defines the key concept ‘government drivers’ in the second

sentence. If you are using a key concept to frame your paragraph, you may
often have to define what it is. If it is clear from the context, you may not
define it. Having defined the key concept, he explains specific forms of
government drivers in the third sentence. The final sentence provides
evidence of the relevance of the concept to Mapco’s globalisation – an
answer to the assignment question.
Using language to focus on the main point in your

essay paragraph
A paragraph is effective when it maintains focus on its main point. There
are five main ways to do this by using language effectively. They include:
. Reference words (pronouns such as ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘they’; demonstratives like

‘this/that’, ‘these/those’ and ‘the’; comparative reference such as
‘another’, ‘more’, ‘such’ etc.)
. Linking words (e.g. ‘and’, ‘because’, ‘nevertheless’, ‘however’ etc.)
. Associated vocabulary of key words (e.g. ethics, beliefs, values, moral
etc.)
. Information flow (the information moves from familiar/given to new as
shown in Michael’s paragraph)
. Repetition of words or phrases.
Returning to paragraph 4 of Michael’s essay on Mapco and its globalisation,
he uses these techniques in this text. In this paragraph the reference words
are in bold and the linking words are in italics.
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Paragraph 4 of Michael’s essay

Government drivers
Mapco’s globalisation is influenced by government drivers to some

degree. Government drivers involve national governments encouraging
international trade in an attempt to create economic advantage and
wealth. This encouragement can come in forms such as the removal of
tariffs on imports and exports, the creation of trading blocs, the
willingness of countries to let companies from other nations trade inside
their borders, and the privatisation of previously nationalised industries
or companies (Ball, 2012). There is little to suggest that any
governmental drivers have had a significant effect on Mapco’s
globalisation within the report provided by Hurley (2013) although the
economic openness between the UK and African nations is self-evident
given that trade takes place between Mapco and African consumers.
Michael uses a number of reference words to refer to ideas and things

mentioned in the paragraph: ‘this’ encouragement (demonstrative referring
to governments encouraging in the previous sentence), ‘their’ borders
(pronoun referring to other nations used in the same sentence), ‘any’
governmental drivers (demonstrative referring to any one government
drivers mentioned in the second or the third sentence), ‘the’ report
(demonstrative/definite article referring to a report by Hurley (2013) already
mentioned in the essay), and ‘the’ economic openness (demonstrative/
definite article referring to the ideas mentioned in the third sentence).
Michael uses four types of linking words.
. He uses ‘and’ to add information. Other linking words that you can use
for this purpose are: ‘also’, ‘besides’, ‘furthermore’, ‘moreover’, ‘in
addition’.
. He uses ‘such as’ to exemplify or elaborate a concept by providing
examples. Other linking words to exemplify include ‘for example’, ‘for
instance’, ‘to illustrate’, ‘to exemplify’, etc.
. He uses ‘although’ to contrast ideas. Some other words that function like
this word are ‘even though’, ‘but’, ‘however’, ‘nevertheless’,
‘nonetheless’, etc.
. The fourth type of linking words in the paragraph is ‘given that’ which
shows a causal relationship between ideas in the paragraph.
Other linking words or phrases indicating causal relationships are ‘because’,
‘because of’, ‘therefore’, ‘so’, ‘as a result’, ‘consequently’, etc. All these
linking words help Michael to focus on the key point of the paragraph.
In order to maintain the focus of the paragraph, Michael repeats some key
words such as ‘globalisation’, ‘trade’ and ‘government drivers’. In addition
to the repetition of the key words, some words are repeated in different
forms, for example, from a verb (e.g. ‘encouraging’ in sentence 2) to a noun
92
(e.g. ‘encouragement’ in sentence 3) which is done to continue the topic.

Additionally, he uses some terms that are associated with globalisation in
the paragraph (e.g. international trade, economic openness, trading blocs).
All these different uses of language not only help Michael to maintain the
focus of the paragraph but also develop the main point gradually.
Michael’s paragraph has all the functions of an essay paragraph listed
earlier. These functions are realised by using the language effectively to
develop the main point in support of the argument: ‘Mapco’s globalisation
is influenced by government drivers to some degree’.
Writing your essay body paragraphs

Here are some useful tips when writing your essay body paragraphs. They
apply to writing paragraphs in reports too.
. Consider what sources of information you can use (e.g. concepts from
the reading text on globalisation, information about the organisation such
as marketing)
. Look back at notes and develop your ideas
. Decide on the main idea of the paragraph
. Consider what your topic sentence is (your key point and claim in the
paragraph). Remember your topic sentence frames the paragraph and it
needs to have a key concept
. Consider how you want to organise the paragraph to support the key
point and the argument in the essay
. Define the key concept
. Explain the main idea of the paragraph
. Elaborate the points by giving examples or data from the organisation
(e.g. how the chosen driver of globalisation is relevant or not to the
organisation and why)
. Think what linking words, reference words and technical terms are
suitable for the paragraph
. Consider if you need a sub-heading for the paragraph
. Proofread and edit your paragraph
. Include your references in an alphabetical list at the end of the
paragraph.
Writing your essay conclusion

The final part of your essay is the conclusion. The function of the
conclusion is to restate or summarise your argument or main points in the
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body of the essay. More importantly, your conclusion should answer the
assignment question by pulling key points together. Successful business
essay conclusions tend to have these functions:
. Link back to the assignment title/topic

. (Re)State the argument
. Summarise the supporting reasons for the argument
. Make recommendations or look to the future.
It is a good practice not to introduce new ideas or data in the conclusion.
Amanda, another business student, wrote an essay in response to the same
assignment question that Michael responded to.
Evaluate the relevance of each of the four drivers of globalisation to

this case [Mapco]. Which do you think is the strongest?
Amanda’s conclusion is shown in Table 16.1 and each section is mapped to

the function it performs. The phrases in bold show Amanda’s judgement in
the argument.
Table 16.1 Functions of an essay conclusion
Conclusion Function
Based on the discussion of four Links back to the assignment title and
drivers of globalisation, the most – the second part of the sentence –
relevant driver for Mapco is market states the argument (main claim)
drivers.
As the case study states, fish heads Summarises the argument
and fish frames are not appealing in
the western world and of little
monetary value; however, they can
provide nutritious and life-saving
food for people in other countries.
Therefore, there is a market for Makes recommendations
Mapco’s product in other countries
and profit can be made by exporting
it to them. Without being able to
trade on a global level Mapco would
not be a profitable business.
(Adapted from Wells, 2015)
Amanda begins the conclusion by referring back to the body of the essay
(i.e. ‘Based on the discussion of four drivers of globalisation’) and states
her main argument: ‘the most relevant driver for Mapco is market drivers’.
This argument is expanded in the next sentence which summarises her
previous explanations and argument why market drivers are influential. In
the last two sentences, Amanda looks to the future of Mapco by making
recommendations. Throughout the conclusion she uses evaluative terms (in
bold) to show her judgement.
94
Supporting your argument: referencing

Referencing is used to show the sources that you have used to support your
claim or argument and to demonstrate that you have read relevant concepts
and theories which you can apply to a new context. Your tutor assesses your
referencing skills (in-text citation and reference list) when marking your
essay. In this section, you will find information on how to integrate the
information from various sources in support of your argument in the essay.
In particular, you will find guidance on in-text citation.
In this paragraph from Michael’s essay, the in-text citations are in bold
along with the use of square brackets and three dots to indicate that he has
cut some of the original quote for the purposes of his essay.
Globalisation is the ‘expansion of economic activities across political

boundaries of nation states’ and is characterised by ‘increasing
economic openness […] interdependence […] and integration between
countries in the world economy’ (Nayyar, 2002) cited in Ball (2012,
p. 32). There are four different categories of pressures which can force
businesses and nations towards globalisation. These categories are
commonly known as drivers of globalisation and relate to cost,
government, competition and market (Ball, 2012). The strategic alliance
set up between Mapco and its Icelandic distributor (Hurley, 2013) is
indicative of competition resulting from increased economic openness.
In the first sentence Michael uses a quote to define globalisation. The quote
comes from an author called Nayyar. When you use a quote, it is necessary
to include in your text the author’s name, the date of the publication and the
page number to indicate exactly where the quote has come from.
As you can see, this is a particularly complicated citation as it is a
secondary reference. This means that Michael read the quote in his module
materials (written by Ball) and did not read the original source of the quote.
He shows this by naming the author, Nayyar, and indicating the date of the
original publication (2002). Michael then adds the words ‘cited in’ to
indicate the course materials where he read the quote (Ball, 2012). Notice
the punctuation. It is important to be consistent with this.
The next two sentences talk about pressures forcing businesses towards
globalisation. All the information comes from the materials written by Ball
and therefore it is enough to cite this at the end of the information along
with the date of the publication. There is no need for a page reference as
this is summary or paraphrase.
The final sentence refers to information which has come from a source
written by Hurley and published in 2013. The page reference is not
necessary as this is summary, not a quote. You can see that the citation is
placed in the middle of the sentence. This is because only the first half of
the sentence contains information from Hurley. The second half of the
sentence is Michael’s own idea.
95
As you can see, any information which comes from another source, must be
cited within your text. This is the case when you have used a direct quote,
and also when you have summarised or paraphrased. The citation that you
see here in the text refers your reader to the full reference list which you
write below your assignment. Here the reader will find the full details of the
source, should they wish to consult it.
Michael will need to write two full references for his paragraph, one for
Ball and one for Hurley. He does not need to write a full reference for
Nayyar as he did not read the original text and has indicated in his
paragraph that he read it in Ball. This is what Michael’s references should
look like if you are using the OU Harvard referencing system.
Ball, K. (2012) Different ways of looking at business, Milton Keynes,
The Open University.
Hurley, J. (2013) ‘Fortune to be made from fish heads; a storm destroyed
Mapco’s processing factory but the tenacious owner has resurrected the
business’, in B120 EMA Assignment Booklet, Milton Keynes, The Open
University.
First of all, they should be listed in an alphabetical order, organised by
family name of the author.
The first reference is a book and includes:
. The author’s family name followed by a comma

. The author’s initial or initials followed by a full stop
. The date of the publication in brackets
. The title of the publication in italics followed by a comma
. The place of publication followed by a comma
. The name of the publisher followed by a full stop
The second reference is more complicated as it is an article which was
reproduced in an Open University assignment booklet. It includes:
. The author’s family name followed by a comma

. The author’s initial or initials followed by a full-stop
. The date of the publication in brackets
. The title of the article in single quotation marks, followed by a comma
. The name of the assignment booklet in italics, preceded by ‘in’ and
followed by a comma
. The place of publication followed by a comma
. The name of the publisher followed by a full stop
As you can see, accurate referencing is a detailed and complicated process.
It is important to gather your references as you write, so as to avoid rushing
to complete the details just prior to a deadline.
96
References
Ball, K. (2012) Different ways of looking at business, Milton Keynes, The Open
University.
Hurley, J. (2013) ‘Fortune to be made from fish heads; A storm destroyed
Mapco’s processing factory but the tenacious owner has resurrected the
business’, in B120 EMA Assignment Booklet, Milton Keynes, The Open
University.
Johnson, M. (2015) B120 EMA, submitted to The Open University as part of
B120 assessment.
The Open University (2014) B120 EMA, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Wells, A. (2015) B120 EMA, submitted to The Open University as part of B120
assessment.
97
Chapter 17: Team working and

communication
This chapter focuses on what makes team working successful and how
communication in the team affects the team’s success. These skills are
directly relevant to your workplace and study.
17.1 Why teamwork in organisations?

Team working is one of the core skills for employability. Employers look
for people who have effective team-working skills, such as the ability to
communicate with others and listening to others. If you look at a person
specification for a job, you find that one of the skills often sought is team
player. However, research shows that employers do not always find team-
working skills in graduates. For example, in a recent survey conducted by
the Confederation of British Industry (2015), it was found that 31% of the
surveyed employers said team-working skills were lacking in prospective
employees and yet these skills are needed in every job.
Team working involves working with others who have a shared purpose or
goal and make individual contributions towards achieving the goal. It also
implies interactions, coordination of activities, and dependence on other
team members. The process of team working consists of making the best
use of team members’ expertise and learning from others. This is why team
working is commonly practised in workplaces or study for better results.
17.2 Team development model and

associated communication skills
Table 17.1 shows Tuckman and Jensen’s (1977) team development model
and the communication skills associated with different stages of
development.
Table 17.1 Five stages of team development
Stages of team development Associated communication skills

1 ‘Forming’: the pre-team stage where Asking focused questions
people are still working as individuals. Clarifying/discussing team goals and
Team members try to find out the challenges
purpose of the team and what
expertise team members have. It is a Listening to others
stage to develop team bonding. Presenting ideas clearly
Summarising key points
Giving directions to the team (team
leader)
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Chapter 17: Team working and communication
Stages of team development Associated communication skills

2 ‘Storming’: the stage of conflict that Presenting ideas clearly
many teams need to go through to Making decisions collaboratively
achieve their potential. During this
stage the team becomes more Disagreeing and agreeing politely
aggressive and challenges previously Presenting alternative views / Making
agreed or taken-for-granted rules and suggestions
restrictions. The team defines roles
Giving constructive feedback
and responsibilities and iron out any
differences. This stage is also an Receiving feedback
opportunity for growth. Persuading others
Encouraging others
Summarising key points
Negotiating roles and responsibilities
Using inclusive language (e.g. we, us)
3 ‘Norming’: the consolidating phase Listening to others
in which the team works out how to Presenting ideas clearly
use the resources they have to apply
to the task. Roles and responsibilities Making decisions collaboratively
are clarified. The information flows Asking for advice
smoothly in the team. The ownership
Encouraging others
of the task is shared and
interdependence among team Discussing problems together
members becomes a norm. Facilitating and enabling discussion
(team leader)
4 ‘Performing’: the optimal stage in Listening to others
which the team works well and strives Presenting ideas clearly
to be even better by concentrating on
the development of the team, Making decisions collaboratively
individuals and the task in hand. The Asking for advice
team establishes routines and uses a
Encouraging others
shared language. There are no
conflicts and task deadlines are met. Discussing problems together
5 ‘Adjourning’ (sometimes also Summarising key points
referred to as ‘mourning’ or ‘ending’): Evaluating/Reflecting
the stage when the team disbands
and individuals move on to other Encouraging others
responsibilities. This may be Listening to others
emotional for some members as some
team bond has developed and they
may feel insecure when moving to a
new task. They even feel vulnerable.
(The Open University, 2011, p. 191)
17.3 Team communication strategies

Language and communication strategies used by a team member affect how
a team develops and works. Table 17.2 provides some examples of positive
communication strategies. The key words or phrases are in bold. (These
examples are taken from the transcript of a team discussion at FITCH, a
London branding consultancy company. The exception is the example of
taking turns which is taken from the transcript of an unsuccessful open plan
99
office team meeting at storming stage. These transcripts are included in

Book 2: Readings, Models and Frameworks.)
Table 17.2 Examples of positive team communication strategies
Positive team communication Examples

strategies
Setting goals Brands and charities do things like
cycle rides and runs. So I think what
I’m looking to get from the
workshop is some new ideas,
which aren’t those classic things
that charities do.
Taking turns Perhaps we could just go round the
room then and see if anyone has
anything they would like to bring to
the table?
Asking open questions or asking … We went to a few ridiculous places.
others to contribute We had some safe ideas. But I feel
like as a team, we’ve got something
good there. Anything else? You
good?
Praising others That’s really good, the thought of,
like, all the senses as well. So it’s not
just a visual thing. There could be
smells, sounds. Like, it’s the whole
experience when you go there, that
really engages you in whatever the
message is.
Phatic communication (to show TEAM MEMBER 1: It was just a really
engagement with the speaker who is interesting thing. It wasn’t a billboard
holding the floor) saying, ‘Go to AirBNB app.’ They did
something really disruptive like that.
TEAM MEMBER 2: Yeah.
Keeping control of team discussion I think we’ve got the cracking idea
there. I think we’ve got one bigger
idea and we’ve got three or four we’ve
all been catching there, three or four
textural ideas that underpin it. So for
me, that’s good. I think we’ve got
something quite exciting. We went to
a few ridiculous places. We had some
safe ideas. But I feel like as a team,
we’ve got something good there.
Maintaining an inclusive atmosphere Brands and charities do things like
cycle rides and runs. So I think what
I’m looking to get from the workshop
is some new ideas, which aren’t those
classic things that charities do. And
we all know them because we
sponsor them every month because
our mates are jumping out of
planes. What can we do that goes
out? Is it a bus? Is it something
more cultural or something that
lives in social media, that really
mixes it up a little bit?
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Positive team communication Examples

strategies
Suggesting ideas in a way that keeps It could be festivals. There’s, like,
the conversation about the ideas and tonnes of festivals now, and not just
not the people suggesting them, to based in London, but nationally. So is
maintain harmony (through impersonal it an ice cream van or a van that
forms) goes around the country? It has to
be something that hasn’t been
done before or something that’s
really going to stand out.
Critiquing others politely TEAM MEMBER 1: … So yeah,
thinking about ways that we can get
that information from a book form into
a more engaging pop-up environment
would be interesting.
TEAM MEMBER 2: But you know,
one of the things that slightly bores
me with pop-ups, they’re all in the
expected places.
Summarising and moving on TEAM MEMBER 1: Yeah, Would it be
a place that people just go and buy
the juice? Or is it they can get
involved in making it? Maybe, like,
learn a bit about how ...
TEAM MEMBER 2: That’s a good
idea.
TEAM MEMBER 1: … how it’s
actually made.
TEAM MEMBER 2: Build on that
idea, the idea of making it. Being
involved, I think, is a key thing
there. Because I think if you just went
there and it’s more of a billboard done
and in a cool way, but it’s just still a
shop, you don’t really get that kind of
knowledge transfer.
Concluding So next step, so let’s be clear. We’ll
capture this …
Setting follow-up tasks … We’ll put it into kind of a visual
document. Maybe we’ll do some
orientation. We’ll do that back in the
studio. And then next week, we’ll take
these ideas. I think the two of us will
go and meet Jane and Kevin, who are
the partners of the charitable
foundation. And we’ll go and kind of
pitch this idea and see if they love it
and take it on the road next year. So,
good stuff. Have a good week. One of
50 workshops this week.
Table 17.3 shows some examples of negative communication strategies. The

key words or phrases are in bold. (These examples are taken from the
transcript of an unsuccessful open plan office team meeting at storming
stage. This transcript is included in Book 2: Readings, Models and
Frameworks.)
101
Table 17.3 Examples of negative team communication strategies
Negative team communication Examples

strategies
Dominating the discussion by one MICHELLE: It’s been fixed for the first
person week in August. Now IT confirmed
that most of our requirements are
already been logged and taken down.
But you know what they’re like. We
order it. They say no. We have to
rethink everything. So I think we just
need a little bit of extra input with the
draft plan to make sure that we are as
prepared as we can be. So, here we
go. I’ve already started working on it
already. All I need you guys to do is
have a look at the details and then
OK and we’re good to go.
[Michelle leaves very little space for
others to speak]
Limiting opportunities for others to MICHELLE: So I think we just need
contribute a little bit of extra input with the
Not being inclusive MICHELLE: So I think we just need
a little bit of extra input with the
Not critiquing others’ ideas politely MARK: Look, it’s just staff are feeling
a little helpless at the moment. And it
certainly doesn’t help matters if ideas
are bulldozed through, which we
have had no part in discussing.
MICHELLE: Hello – sorry. Can I just
say, once and for all, all I’ve done is
put together a draft plan? Nothing’s
been decided. For goodness’ sake.
All I’ve done is pencilled in a few
dates and put together an IT plan. We
can’t just sit around waiting for a
committee to make decisions. Things
need to be organised. Things need to
be decided and booked.
Not contributing to the team LOUISE: Not from my team.
discussion GRACE: When is the move date,
again?
[Grace makes no other positive
contributions]
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Negative team communication Examples

strategies
Not accepting others’ views MICHELLE: Sorry, Louise, I did say
draft plan. Of course I did expect that
we’d talk about it a little bit.
MARK: Yeah, even so, it certainly
does seem to imply that decisions
have been taken without consulting
the rest of us.
MICHELLE: Sorry. All I’ve done is put
together a few basic ideas. And if at
the end of the day, if this isn’t done
on time, we’ll get the blame for it.
And I certainly don’t intend for that
to happen.
Talking with a team member about GRACE: Oh, while we’re here, Mark,
matters outside the agenda can I just pick your brains for a minute
about the latest brochure print? I’ve
just had an email from Alice, and you
really need to get our copies to the
team.
MARK: Oh I thought Becca had
spoken to you. We’ve decided to hold
off until after the date of the move has
been finalised. It’s just there’s no
point sending stuff out with the wrong
details on. All it will mean is that we’ll
just have to put stickers on
everything.
GRACE: Just have to make do for
now, I suppose. When do you think
we’ll get it now then?
[Grace’s phone rings.]
Being distracted GRACE: Sorry, urgent call. Hello?
Yeah, look. I’m in a meeting at the
moment. Can I call you back? What
now? Yeah, OK. Yeah, all right. I’ll be
right with you. Sorry, everyone. Urgent
call. Must dash. Let me know what
happens and I’ll catch up with you all
later.
[Grace leaves.]
Not setting future goals ALAN: Right. Well, should we carry on
then?
MICHELLE: There doesn’t seem to be
much point, does it? We’re not all
here. We can’t do anything without
Grace’s input.
103
17.4 Communicating inclusively and team

working
How you behave as a team member influences the team’s performance.
Crucially, this behaviour includes your language and communication
strategies in the team. So how you communicate with other team members
can affect the team work. It is important that you are aware of the type of
team members in the team and you use inclusive language to communicate
with them. For example, you may need to consider whether your language
is sexist or gender-biased, if you have colleagues from different cultural
backgrounds and if you have considered an individual’s needs. Even though
you may be unconscious of your language, if you communicate with others
without considering who they are (i.e. audience), your language may not be
serving the intended communicative purpose.
Here are some guidelines as to how you can be inclusive in your
communication. They are not in an order of importance.
. Use plain English (or appropriate language) where possible rather than
using idioms and culture-specific humour.
. When communicating with a team member with a disability, adjust your
tone (e.g. when talking with someone with hearing difficulties), physical
position (e.g. position your head/face at the same level if the person is in
a wheelchair) and style of speech if required. At the same time, do not
make them feel that you are treating them differently from other team
members.
. Avoid using language that indicates stereotypes of people, their cultures
and their languages.
. If your team comprises members from different cultures, research these
cultures to show respect and reduce the risk of causing offence.
. Silence can be interpreted differently by people from different cultures –
for instance, in many Asian cultures it is seen as positive, whereas
people from most Western cultures consider it negative – so respect how
others use it.
. Develop an awareness of how team members disagree with each other.
In some cultures, people are direct, while in others they are less so.
Adjust your communication with each member accordingly.
. Consider if everyone in the team is task-oriented or if there are some
who value building relationships in the team and may therefore use
different styles of language.
. It may be inappropriate to use humour when communicating in a team
of members from diverse cultures because, while something may be
regarded as funny in one culture, it may be offensive in another.
104
References
CBI (2015) Inspiring growth: CBI/Pearson education and skills survey
2015, London, Confederation of British Industry.
The Open University (2011) B628: Managing 1: organisations and people,
Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Tuckman, B. and Jensen, M. (1977) ‘Stages of small group development
revisited’, Groups and Organization Studies, vol. 2, pp. 419–27.
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Chapter 18: Dealing with

marketing data
This chapter is about marketing and how data is used in marketing. You
will find guidance on how to make data commentary in marketing reports.
This skill is directly relevant to your workplace and study.
18.1 Key marketing concepts

Understanding key concepts will help you to understand certain aspects of
business and management, as well as analyse business problems and
organise your writing. Marketing has its own key concepts. It is necessary
to understand them when learning about marketing and for reading
marketing reports. The most common of them together with their
descriptions or definitions are presented below.
Consumer
A person who actually uses a product or service. A customer may also take
this role.
Customer
A person or organisation that buys a product or service.
Need
An individual’s perceived lack of something.
Product
Anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a need or want.
Selling orientation
A perspective that a business needs to focus its efforts into selling a product
or service no matter how good or attractive they may be.
Marketing orientation
A perspective that ‘takes an “outside-in” approach, starting with a thorough
assessment of the needs and expectations of buyers and then trying to fulfil
those needs and expectations in order to attract customers’ (Schaefer, 2012,
p. 11).
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Chapter 18: Dealing with marketing data
Product orientation
A perspective that customers value product quality more than anything else.
As long as a business produces better quality products than others, there is
little else to do.
Production orientation
A perspective ‘that buyers are very price conscious and are prepared to
accept merely adequate quality. These businesses focus on making their
production and marketing processes as efficient as possible so they can
produce large quantities of products at low cost. This usually means mass
production of fairly standardised goods’ (Schaefer, 2012, p. 9).
Market
The actual and potential buyers of a business’s products or services.
Marketing strategy
This ‘starts with the setting of objectives that will support the overall aims
of the business. Next, a company needs to decide on a strategy that will
allow these objectives to be achieved. The strategy may involve research
into product or service development, how the product or service will reach
the market (channels) and how the customers will find out about it
(communication). It will also attempt to define a unique positioning for the
product or business to differentiate it from its competitors’ (CIM, n.d.).
Marketing information
Different ways of gathering and analysing information about a business’s
customers, their needs and expectations, and its competitors, as well as
social and economic factors affecting the business.
Market research
Formal research that provides specific data (primary or secondary) about
customers, products and services to solve a particular problem.
Market segmentation
Grouping a business’s customers according to their needs, expectations and
behaviour.
Marketing communication
‘Getting the right message about a business and its products or services
with the appropriate promotional channel’ (CIM, n.d.).
107
18.2 Why use data in marketing?

If a business or other organisation is to survive, it is crucial for it to find
out as much as possible about its market, so any information that helps it to
make informed decisions about its products and services is very important.
Such information is called marketing information, which is generated
via data obtained from a range of sources.
There are many purposes of marketing information. Here is a list of the
most common purposes from an organisation’s point of view.
. Find out current and prospective customers’ needs.

. Understand customer behaviour.
. Make decisions about a product/service.
. Design a new product.
. Improve a particular product/service.
. Analyse the social environment of the business.
. Analyse the economic environment of the business.
. Understand what other organisations are doing in the market.
. Compare a business’s own product with its competitors’ product.
. Detect opportunities and threats to business.
. Check progress against targets.
18.3 Sources of data in marketing

Marketing information can be obtained from a range of sources and can
serve various marketing purposes in an organisation, depending on what the
information is and how it is collected. Table 18.1 summarises this.
Table 18.1 Marketing data
Marketing data Description Purposes

sources
Internal records/ Marketing information Data can be analysed to
information collected from internal understand an
sources such as sales organisation’s performance
records, complaints and customer types.
records, etc. This
information may be partial
(e.g. may lack customers’
demographic data) and
may not help to solve all
problems and so
information may be need
from other sources.
108
Marketing data Description Purposes

sources
Market research Formal research conducted Data can be analysed to
by gathering a certain type investigate a particular
of marketing information problem or issue and
such as what customers opportunities identified by
think about the design of a the organisation. It can also
new product. The data help to inform a decision.
source may be primary
(e.g. gathered from
customers
through instruments like
surveys and interviews) or
secondary (e.g. reports
produced by other
organisations or from
publicly available
government statistics).
Market Information collected by a Data can be analysed to
intelligence business through publicly help an organisation make
available data, observations, strategic decisions.
etc. about consumers,
competitors and new
developments in the market.
18.4 Quantitative and qualitative data in

reports
The data from any source can be divided into two types: quantitative and
qualitative. Quantitative data is measurable or countable and so numerical.
It is generally considered objective and reliable although the data may be
subjective as well if it includes people’s views, for example. The data is
usually collected from a large sample of a population through surveys. Such
‘Quantitative data’, data usually answers questions like ‘How many?’ and ‘How often?’.
‘qualitative data’ and
‘statistically robust’ are Qualitative data, in contrast, is word based and often answers questions
defined in the Glossary. ‘Why?’ and ‘How?’. Qualitative data tends to be in-depth and is, therefore,
typically collected from a small sample. Such data may be subjective and
statistically less robust. However, a large scale qualitative data collection
may also be possible if resources are available.
It is, however, difficult to draw a line between qualitative and quantitative
data, because the same data collection instrument may collect both types of
data (e.g. a survey may have open comments, thus collecting qualitative
data). An organisation may use one or both types of data in order to make
marketing decisions.
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18.5 Language use in marketing data

commentary: Gelati report
The case study on Gelati, an ice cream company based in the south of
England, contains a number of discourse features (the case study, including
tables, is included in Book 2: Readings, Models and Frameworks).
Table 18.2 shows some examples of discourse features and language
resources in the Gelati report.
Table 18.2 Examples of discourse features and language resources in the Gelati report
Key discourse features and language resources Examples from the Gelati report
Highlighting key patterns in the data and explaining A recent Euromonitor report (2016a) on ice cream
the pattern with supporting details and frozen desserts in the UK indicates that ice-
cream sales have grown marginally in recent
years, as shown in Table 1 [Key pattern]. This is
because consumers are increasingly health-
conscious and concerned about levels of obesity,
and so tend to cut back on the consumption of fat
and sugar, resulting in the decline of sales of
traditional family-pack sizes. [Explanation with
supporting details]
Correlating with other evidence The remaining interviewees, nevertheless, agreed
that they were more likely to buy organically
sourced ice cream than a normal ice cream, which
supports the survey result.
Compare patterns in two or more data sets For example, similar to the UK trend, more than
three-quarters of the interviewees preferred to buy
frozen yoghurt because it has health benefits and
can be taken as a snack or breakfast option.
However, the interview data indicated mixed
results.
Use and punctuation of direct quotes from However, during the interview, 12 of the 30
participants to support or give examples of what is participants were concerned that the quantity of
claimed sugar may be too high in our ice creams, and this
was cause for concern. One participant, for
example, argued that
… this is a product aimed at children.
Companies have a responsibility to promote
healthy eating.
Reference to data A recent Euromonitor report (2016a) on ice cream
and frozen desserts in the UK indicates that ice-
cream sales have grown marginally in recent years,
as shown in Table 1.
The results, as presented in Table 3, showed that
the vanilla flavour (30%) was the most popular,
followed by chocolate (20%).
As summarised in Table 4, the majority of them
(80%) reported that they would buy frozen yoghurt,
which we currently offer in a limited amount.
Words for referring to the people involved in Participants and interviewees for interviews and
surveys, interviews and studies respondents for people replying to surveys
110
Key discourse features and Examples from the Gelati report

language resources
Key language for reporting other Preferred; raised the issue; argued;
people’s words and views agreed; reported; mentioned; wanted
Language for non-numerical ways of Almost all; the majority; most; the
reporting instead of percentages or remainder; a few; many
exact numbers
Language for hedging it appeared; indicated; seemed to
prefer; were likely to buy
A summary of language use in data commentary

Table 18.3 summarises key language resources that can be used when
commenting on the data. They can also be used when developing your
argument in formal writing.
Table 18.3 Key language resources in data commentary
Key language Purpose Examples

resources
Verbs and verb Summarise data/research Show, give, provide,
phrases present, summarise, reveal,
indicate, display,
demonstrate, illustrate
Highlight key point Show, reveal, indicate,
(significance) of the data display, demonstrate,
illustrate, suggest
Refer to visuals (tables and Shows, presents, illustrates,
figures) summarises, demonstrates,
provides, lists, listed in,
contains, depicts, reports
Passive forms:
Shown in, presented in,
illustrated in, summarised
in, seen in, seen from,
provided in
Linking text to Refer to specific patterns in As can be seen/as shown in
visuals visuals (tables and figures)
Modal verbs Hedge or soften claims May, might, can, could
Boost or strengthen claims Will, must, should, need to,
can (ability)
Verbs and verb Hedge or soften claims Seem, appear, tend to
phrases
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Key language Purpose Examples

resources
Adverbs Boost or strengthen Generally, in general, usually,
claims normally, in most cases, in this/
that case, always, nearly,
almost, invariably, clearly,
obviously, confidently
Hedge or soften Rarely, seldom, probably,
claims possibly, perhaps, unlikely, likely,
hardly ever, presumably,
somewhat, slightly
Adjectives Show attitudes All adjectives may be positive or
negative. Some may be neutral.
Comparatives (e.g. better …
than, worse than) and
superlatives (e.g. best, worst)
may be used to hedge or boost
claims about the data, for
example:
‘The results, as presented in
Table 3, showed that the vanilla
flavour (30%) was the most
popular [showing attitude and
boosting claim], followed by
chocolate (20%). Chocolate chip
and strawberry flavours were
equally liked while exotic fruits
were the least favourite (3%).
[Showing attitude and boosting
claim].’
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Chapter 19: Finance: dealing with data
Chapter 19: Finance: dealing with

data
This chapter is about finance and how data is used in finance. You will find
materials on how to make data commentary in finance reports. This skill is
directly relevant to your workplace and study.
19.1 Communicating changes in income

statements
Here is an example of some writing about changes in the income statement
of a company called SportswearKit, taken from a TMA.
I have made the following observations after reviewing the income

statements for SportswearKit for the years 2013 and 2014. Firstly,
there’s a pleasant 18.8% increase in sales/income (up to £895,500 from
£753,500). However, there is a 41% increase in the stock purchase
amount in 2014 compared to 2013, which seems excessive; particularly
when the company has only seen a 2% increase in gross profit (sales/
income profit sans cost of goods) in 2014 of £590,500 up from
£577,500 in 2013. There has also been a 10% increase on the standard
expenses of business operations (insurance, salaries, admin, utilities,
interest and so on). These factors have resulted in a major decrease of
83% in net profit, down to £8,943 in 2014 from £51,527 in 2013 – I
would consider this a cause for concern.
(Harris, 2014)
Table 19.1 shows examples from this text of a positive description,

emphatic language and softening terms, where the writer is being polite in
his criticism. The key words or phrases are in italics.
Table 19.1 Use of language to present and comment on an income

statement
Positive description Firstly, there’s a pleasant 18.8% increase …

Emphatic language … particularly when the company has only seen
a 2% ; … have resulted in a major decrease of
83%
Softening terms … compared to 2013, which seems excessive; I
would consider this a cause for concern.
(Harris, 2014)
In this text, the writer is addressing a real audience of managers. The writer
begins with positive remarks about the general performance of the company,
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before highlighting the negative aspects of the business. Emphatic terms are
used. These are useful to draw attention to significant differences but
remember to be moderate in your description of accounts, so that you do
not exaggerate the position for managers. The report then concludes with a
comment.
19.2 Commenting on a balance sheet

Here is an example, taken from a TMA, in which a student has commented
on the balance sheet of the SportswearKit company.
I have made the following observations after reviewing the balance

sheets for SportswearKit for the years 2014 and 2013. The overall
amount in assets (both fixed/long-term and current/short-term) has
increased, however, there is currently no cash in the bank, as opposed
to £21,750 in 2013. There has been a 13% increase in the amount of
money tied up in stock, indicating 10 months’ worth bought in advance.
The amount of money owed to Sportswearkit has increased to
£170,168 in 2014 from £130,500 in 2013, suggesting that debtors are
not being managed properly. The company’s level of debt is high, with
£99,250 still owed to creditors, and a significant bank overdraft increase
of £96,002 in 2014 up from zero in 2013. Also, despite the 5% increase
in equity (up to £187,068 in 2014 from £178,125 in 2013), there has
been a lack of drawings made by the owner – once this amount has
been taken, the equity will be further reduced.
(Harris, 2014)
Table 19.2 shows examples from this text of language used to qualify a
previous statement; to make a direct criticism; to indicate a problem; to
emphasise a point; and to indicate cause and effect.
Table 19.2 Use of language to comment on a balance sheet
Qualifying a previous statement However

Making a direct criticism Debtors are not being managed properly
Indicating a problem There has been a 13% increase in the
amount of money tied up in stock
Emphasising a point Significant
Indicating cause and effect Once this amount has been taken, the
equity will be further reduced
In this strong response, the writer begins by signposting what they are going
to discuss. The writer starts with a positive indicator – the increase in assets
– and then goes on to highlight the negative indications in their findings.
The writer does not use distancing or polite language and makes a direct
criticism of the company. He indicates that debtors are usually expected to
pay their debts in the short term, but there is always a risk that they will
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not, so the language reporting that ‘debtors are not being managed properly’
– is a clear message to the manager concerned that action needs to be taken.
The writer ends with a warning about a reduction in company equity in the
near future.
19.3 Delivering a presentation on financial

information
There are a number of useful phrases that you can use when delivering a
slide presentation on financial information, such as:
. These figures describe …

. What I’d like to point out to you is …
. What is particularly interesting here is …
. There are a number of things to note about this table …
. Turning to the negative side of the accounts …
. Let me end by saying that …
References
Harris, C. (2014) TMA 03, submitted to The Open University as part of
B120 assessment.
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Glossary
Abstract noun
The general term for nouns which describe an idea or quality, such as
globalisation or happiness.
Abstract vocabulary
The general term for words which refer to mental things and actions, such
as ability or democracy.
Adjective
Used in a sentence, adjectives describe or modify nouns or pronouns. For
example, in the phrase ‘a difficult problem’, difficult (the adjective)
describes what kind of problem (the noun) it is. Adjectives generally come
before a noun, or after verbs such as be, sound, look and seem. For
example, in ‘this problem is difficult’, the adjective difficult comes after is
(which is a form of the verb be) even though it is describing this problem
(the noun).
Adverb
Describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a phrase, a
clause or a sentence. For example, in the sentence ‘Gap improved its
relationship with its vendors significantly’ the verb improved is modified by
the adverb significantly. Adverbs tell you why, how, when, how often,
where, how far and for what purpose something happened. They are
commonly used in academic writing.
Agenda
A list of matters to be discussed at a meeting. The items are usually
numbered.
Analogy
A comparison between two things that are perceived to have similarities,
usually for the purpose of explaining or clarifying something. Those
similarities are often presented in support of an argument.
Argument
This can either refer to the flow of information in a text – how one point
links to another in a coherent way – or refer to the point of view that a
writer presents in a text. This point of view may be made up of several
claims, usually with a single central claim. The claims are supported by
evidence and data, which are often linked to the claims by explanations.
Assurance
A positive signal given to the other party that what is agreed will be
adhered to. Offering assurance to the other party in negotiation may help
with reaching mutually satisfying agreements.
Audience
A listener or reader who is intended to receive the message (spoken or
written).
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Axe (verb)
To cut (i.e. cancel, withdraw, terminate).
Balance sheet
A summary statement that shows the financial position of an organisation at
a specific point in time.
Boosting
Increasing the strength of claims with certain modal verbs (e.g. must),
adverbs or other word choices. See hedging.
British Airways
British Airways, often shortened to BA, is the flag carrier airline of the
United Kingdom and the largest airline in the United Kingdom based on
fleet size.
Broadsheet
Large paper-sized newspapers.
Bulldozed
A colloquial expression for when people are forced to do things that they do
not want to, by powerful and often insensitive argument that ignores their
point of view.
Business hypothesis
A business statement that makes predictions based on relevant information.
Cause
Something that makes something else happen. For example, in ‘Due to an
interruption, we did not finish the deal’, the interruption is a cause because
this made us not finish the deal.
Cause-and-effect language
Words or phrases used to explain why something happened (cause) and
what happened as a result (effect). For example, in ‘due to an interruption,
we did not finish the deal’, due to indicates the cause being an interruption
and the effect being we did not finish the deal. Examples of cause words are
‘because’ and ‘due to’. Examples of effect words are ‘as a result’ and
‘consequently’.
Centre–left press
The news media that is associated with the political view that social justice
and equality can be achieved by working within the established system.
Claim
This word can be used as both a noun and a verb. In academic writing, if
someone claims something, they are presenting a point of view or an
opinion. This point of view or opinion may be supported by evidence or
explanation. A claim is therefore an opinion or a point of view. See
argument.
Close reading
Reading a text carefully looking at details.
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Coherent
When a text is coherent, it is logical and easy to follow. It is important to
be coherent in professional communication.
Company limited by shares
A private limited company which has shareholders with limited liability and
does not offer shares to the public unlike a public limited company (plc),
such as Sainsburys.
Comparative
A form of adjective or adverb used to show the difference between two
items (e.g. words, ideas, actions and states). The comparative form of an
adjective or adverb can be made by adding er to the end of the word or
more/less in front. For example, becomes more successful, larger and less
profitable.
Concept
A concept is an idea. In this module, the word is used frequently to refer to
key concepts. These are the ideas which are central to the study of business.
Usually, in this module the ideas referred to are represented by nouns; that
is, they are things. However, it is important to recognise that they are
usually mental things and often expressed by abstract nouns. For example,
stakeholder is a business concept.
Part of the meaning of a concept is that it has relationships with other
concepts. To ‘know’ the concept properly you may need to know some of
the related concepts. For example, other concepts associated with the
concept of stakeholder include power and interest. Business theories and
models are often sets of concepts related in various ways, particularly in
causal relationships.
Conditional
Conditional sentence in English expresses a factual or hypothetical situation
and its consequence(s). It is conditional because the event is dependent on
certain circumstances. For example: if the house price goes up, fewer
people may be buying houses.
Conjunction
In this module, this term is used to refer to the words that connect sentences
or clauses. These are words or phrases, such as however or as a result in
sentences, and because or but in clauses. These words tell us something
about the relationship between the sentences or clauses. For example,
whether it is a cause and effect, compare and contrast, or time sequence
relationship, or any of the other possible relationships between ideas in
writing. Conjunctions that make these relationships clear make the text
easier to read. See also linking words and phrases under signposting.
Content
The subject matter in a text. It is the information in a text communicated to
the intended audience.
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Context
A situation where language is used to convey meanings. It is affected by
who is involved in communication, what is communicated and how the
information is communicated (e.g. written or spoken).
Critical thinking
This means, in simple terms, asking questions about something (such as an
argument, claim or evidence), rather than accepting that thing at its face
value. It is also an ability to develop a reasoned argument based on
evidence. It does not necessarily mean being negative.
Current assets
Assets that form elements of the working capital cycle, comprising cash or
assets that are to be transformed into cash in a relatively short period (less
than 12 months), e.g. inventory and receivables.
Data
Information in its raw or unorganised form that can be about an
organisation, its stakeholders, products, etc.
Data commentary
An interpretation of the data collected for a particular purpose. It highlights
key patterns and its significance for an organisation when making decisions.
Decision making
This involves taking a certain course of action to address a problem or issue
in a workplace. It may relate to negotiation where a decision has to be
made to reach an agreement between parties.
Depreciation
The amount by which a non-current asset is deemed to have fallen in value
in any particular accounting period.
Discourse feature
Characteristics of any spoken or written language used for a particular
purpose in a specific context. For example, a business negotiation discussion
has certain discourse features that are not found in a team meeting
(e.g. bargaining in negotiations).
Discussion
A form of argument. Its main point is to present more than one side of an
argument. It usually requires an explanation and evidence as well.
Diversity
Diversity is the current term used for equal opportunities. It is the legal
obligation to protect against discrimination on grounds of sex, gender,
disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief, race or age.
Dividend
A sum of money paid regularly (typically annually) by a company to its
shareholders, out of its profits or reserves.
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Effect
The result of an event or an action. For example, the decrease of house
sales is an effect of the high interest rate in ‘the high interest rate decreased
house sales’.
Emotive language
Language that has an impact on the reader’s or listener’s emotions, such as
sadness, happiness, anger, etc. It is often used in advertising and news
reports.
Empathy
Ability to connect with and relate to others or see through others’ eyes. In
the workplace, whether working with a colleague or negotiating with others,
empathy helps you find shared ways of doing things.
Etiquette
Acceptable or appropriate professional behaviour when negotiating with
another party. Depending on various factors, such as culture and language,
your etiquette may need to be adapted in meetings or business dialogue with
the other party.
Evaluative language
It refers to the language used to make judgements about people, their
behaviour, things, their quality and events.
Fishbone diagram
It is a diagram showing root cause or causes of a problem. It is also known
as an Ishikawa diagram.
Focus group discussion
Group discussion consisting of a small number of people who discuss
specific issues related to an organisation (e.g. marketing a new product). It
is led by a facilitator and used to collect qualitative data.
Framework
A basic structure that supports a set of ideas. Frameworks are used to
outline policies, procedures and management in organisations.
Future or imagined time
One of the main uses of a verb is to tell what time the sentence refers to.
The main way of referring to imagined time, using the verb leave as an
example, is would leave. This is also referred to as the conditional.
Generalisation
A general statement about situations, events or ideas in contrast with
statements of detail. In a text, generalisations are sentences or clauses which
sum up the general idea of several paragraphs or sentences. These are the
high-level information in a text.
Goodwill
The excess of purchase price charged over the fair market value of a
company’s identifiable assets and liabilities based on intangible items such
as reputation, experienced workforce, family name, etc.
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Grammar
A system of language to describe how people use language(s) to make
meanings when they communicate with others for a particular purpose.
Graphs and charts
These are visual representations of a set of data or findings from data. They
are commonly used in business reports and workplaces. The most common
graphs and charts are bar graphs, line graphs and pie charts.
Gross profit
The profit earned directly from the sale of a particular good or goods,
before any costs.
Hedging
Reducing the strength of claims by showing uncertainty or modesty, or by
referring to other sources through citations. You can use certain modal verbs
(e.g. may and might), adverbs (e.g. possibly and potentially) and other word
choices for hedging your claims. See boosting.
Holistic
The belief that the parts of something are interconnected.
Imperative
It refers to the verb form used to give orders or instructions. For example,
in the sentence ‘Follow the policy guidelines’ the verb follow demands the
reader or listener to follow what is said. The modal verb must in ‘You must
consult your line manager before making the decision’ is also used for
giving instructions.
Infinitive verb
The basic form of a verb that usually follows to. For example, every
organisation should consider its external environment to plan for its future
success. Both consider (i.e. to consider) and to plan are infinitives.
Inflation
The increase in the cost of goods and services over time. It focuses on the
overall level of prices in a country.
Informal meeting
A meeting that has no formal agenda and a chair to run the meeting. It is
quite common in an organisation to meet informally and discuss minor
issues.
Instruments
Tools designed to collect data for a particular purpose (e.g. to understand
the marketing environment of a company). Some examples of these tools
are surveys, interviews and observations.
Intangible assets
Assets that cannot necessarily be seen or touched in a form that represents
their true value – for example, a patent.
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Interviews
Tools used to collect in-depth information from a small number of people
about issues related to an organisation or a business issue. Interviews are
used to collect qualitative data.
Language of possibility
The language used to show how likely something is to happen as
understood by the speaker or writer. When you are not 100 per cent certain,
you want to use the language that expresses a degree of possibility. This
kind of language is particularly useful when you are evaluating something
and you do not have sufficient evidence to be 100 per cent certain. For
example, ‘Gap’s vendors may have exploited their employees’ uses the
language of possibility as indicated by may. This expresses a degree of
possibility.
The language of possibility can also be used in persuasive writing to signal
awareness of other opinions on a subject.
See modal verb.
Language register
The level of formality you use in the language when communicating with
others. It is always associated with your audience, purpose and context.
Legally binding
This means that those who have agreed to a decision now have certain
responsibilities in law.
Liabilities
A company’s debt or obligations that arise during the course of its business
operations (e.g. loans, expenses, etc.)
Linking words
In this module, the term ‘linking word’ is sometimes used instead of the
terms ‘connective’ or ‘connecting word’. Linking words connect sentences
or clauses together, showing how they relate to each other and making a
text flow more smoothly. They are words such as however or as a result in
sentences, and because or but for in clauses.
Liquid assets
The resources that can be converted into cash quickly, which a business can
call on to conduct its operations or fulfil its obligations.
Marketing information
Information about a business’s customers, their needs and expectations,
competitors, and social and economic factors affecting the business.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
A theory of human motivation that Abraham Maslow developed in
psychology. According to Maslow, humans are motivated to fulfil their
needs, which start from a basic low-level need of survival and develop to
growth and self-development. His theory is often used in business studies to
understand people’s motivation.
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McGregor’s (1960) Theory X and Theory Y

Social psychologist Douglas McGregor’s (1960) Theory X and Theory Y is
one of the most well-known models of motivation in business studies. It
comprises two different perspectives on individuals at work: the kind of
people they are and what managers need to do to keep them working.
Theories X and Y can be thought of as two different sets of assumptions
that lead managers in a business to adopt two different management styles.
Theory X managers believe that workers are motivated only by money.
They are lazy, dislike work and lack ambition. They need to be controlled
and coerced.
Theory Y managers believe that workers are motivated by many needs.
They can take pride and responsibility in doing a good job. Management
should trust workers and help them to do their best.
Minutes
Minutes are a record of the attendees, events and discussions that took place
in a meeting. They are taken so that someone who was not present at the
meeting can follow what was said, and the attendees have a record of
decisions made. Minutes usually record the discussions of the items on the
meeting agenda.
Modal verb
The words could, should, might, may, needs to, can and ought to are modal
verbs. They are used to express degrees of certainty/possibility. They are
commonly used to propose solutions and make recommendations in business
analyses. They are also used to boost or hedge claims. See hedging and
boosting.
Model
A simplified description of a part of the business world, which can help you
understand it better. Models can be presented as verbal descriptions or
diagrams. Business studies use many models to represent the business
world, for example, the circular flow of income model and the STEEPLE
model.
Negotiation procedure
A set of guidelines followed in negotiations. These guidelines may be from
the organisation you represent or mutually agreed with the other party for
the purpose of a specific negotiation.
Non-current assets
Assets that endure for several financial periods, and which are used to carry
on business operations. Examples include land, buildings, vehicles,
computers, etc. Sometimes referred to as ‘fixed assets’.
Not-for-profit
Any independent organisation that does not make private profit for directors,
shareholders or members. Instead, it invests any profits or surplus to further
achieve its purposes.
Noun
The general term for all words which refer to things and people.
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Noun phrases
Groups of words which include a noun. There are many different ways in
which words can be combined with a noun to make a noun phrase, e.g. ‘the
external environment’ and ‘an increase in the sale price’.
Observation
A data collection tool used to observe participants in their natural settings
in relation to a product or service. It is used to collect qualitative data.
Oxfam
Oxfam is a globally renowned aid and development charity with 70 years of
experience, working and campaigning with partners in over 90 countries
worldwide.
Paraphrasing
Restating the ideas in the original source in your own words. It is a skill
you need to show your understanding of an academic text. It also helps you
with avoiding plagiarism. Paraphrasing can be commonly done by using
synonyms and changing grammar of the original source. See plagiarism and
summarising.
Partnership
A form of business in which several people work jointly, by agreement,
with the objective of profit to be shared by all. In general partnerships, there
is no separation between personal and business resources.
Past participle
A form of a verb in the past tense, for example fired, stored and replaced. It
is used with the passive and all perfect forms, for example: They were fired
[passive]; he has stored [present perfect] his data on a memory stick; they
had already replaced [past perfect] the computer when they bought the new
software.
Pitch
In a business context, a pitch is a speech or an act that attempts to persuade
someone to do or buy something.
Plagiarism
Deliberately copying others’ work and presenting it as your own. Plagiarism
is taken seriously at university and can lead to severe consequences. You
should avoid it by acknowledging sources and paraphrasing or summarising
the information.
Press release
A public statement given by an organisation about an event, product or
programme. It is to promote what is in the statement. The statement may be
written, audio or video.
Pro bono work
Pro bono work is work that is done by a business for free. Usually it
involves giving skills and expertise to a chosen interest, such as a charity.
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Procedure
The (negotiation) procedure is a set of guidelines followed in negotiations.
These guidelines may be from the organisation you represent or mutually
agreed with the other party for the purpose of a specific negotiation.
Pronoun
A short word that substitutes for a noun or a noun phrase (e.g. he, she and
it).
Purpose
A goal someone wants to achieve by communicating verbally or in writing.
There is always a purpose when we speak or write and this purpose is
determined by our audience too.
Qualitative data
Data that is word-based and often answers questions such as why and how.
Qualitative data tends to be in-depth and is, therefore, typically collected
from a small sample. Such data may be subjective and less statistically
robust than quantitative data. See quantitative data.
Quantitative data
Data that is measurable or countable, and so numerical. It is generally
considered objective and reliable. However, the data may be subjective if it
includes measurement of people’s views, for example. The data is usually
collected from a large sample of a population through surveys. Such data
usually answers questions like how many and how often.
Questionnaire
A series of questions used to collect information from a large sample.
Organisations may use it to collect marketing information. It is used as a
source of quantitative data.
Reading for gist
Reading a text for main points in it. See skimming.
Referencing
It is a common practice to refer to other sources of information or research
in university writing and some business reports. This means you need to
include the detailed information about all the sources you have consulted in
your text. Referencing takes two forms: in-text citation in the body of your
text and reference list at the end of your text.
Reflection
Looking back at what we did and considering how we can improve what we
do in the future. It is part of our learning process based on our experience.
It applies to both study and work.
Register
The level of formality in the language you use when communicating with
others. It is always associated with your audience, purpose and context.
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Rhetorical question
A question asked to make a point or an emphasis. It is not meant to elicit
an answer.
Robust
Strong or healthy.
Salutation
A greeting at the beginning of a letter, email or when you meet another
person or group. It may be formal, such as Dear … or Ladies and
gentlemen, or informal, such as Hi or Hello. The type of salutation you use
depends on how much you know the other person, your relationship with
that person and the context in which you are communicating.
Scanning
To look through a text quickly in order to find a piece of information that
you want.
Scenarios
A description of business circumstances imagined or in the future. Scenarios
are often used to discuss potential threats and opportunities resulting from
possible interactions of external agents such as competitors, customers and
the economic environment.
Screencast software
A digital video recording of what happens on the screen of a computer. It
often includes an audio narration describing what is happening onscreen.
Screencasts are used to demonstrate a process of doing something, such as
how to identify main points in a paragraph and how to use spreadsheets.
Serviced office space
Fully furnished, work-ready offices to rent on flexible terms.
Sheltered accommodation
Self-contained accommodation, often for elderly or infirm people, with
communal areas and a warden.
Signposting
In language, signposting is a way of signalling to the listener or reader what
is going to happen, so that they can follow and understand. There are two
types of signposting:
Major signposting marks the development of a text or speech, such as the
introduction and conclusion.
Linking words and phrases are used to connect ideas developed in the text
or speech (e.g. in addition, however, as a result, etc).
Skimming
Reading something quickly to understand the main point(s) without studying
it in detail.
Socialisation processes
Socialisation is more long term and less tangible. It is an ongoing process
of understanding, in terms of how the newcomer makes sense of the
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business and their role within it. It is as much about the unwritten rules of
the business (often referred to as organisational culture) as it is about the
formal procedures.
Sole-trader
A business owned and run by a single person, with no separation between
personal and business assets.
Spreadsheet
A computer application programme that captures, displays and manipulates
data arranged in rows and columns. It is mainly used to hold numerical data
and short strings of text. For example, Microsoft Excel® is widely used to
produce spreadsheets.
Stakeholder
A popular way of identifying groups of people who have a legitimate
interest in the way a business is being run. Stakeholders might typically be
identified as employees, shareholders, government, Inland Revenue, public
and local community.
Statistically robust
If a statistical measure does not change when some variables change, it can
be considered robust. This is important for quantitative data.
STEEPLE
This model is commonly used to assess a business’s external environment.
The initials stand for the social, technological, environmental, economic,
political, legal and ethical factors facing a business in its environment.
Summarising
Selecting the relevant key information from an original source and
condensing the information by using your own words (paraphrasing). You
should present the information in the original source accurately and
acknowledge the source. Summaries vary depending on your purpose and so
does their length.
Support
Any evidence, data or explanation you present to back up your claims in
your report, essay or discussion. Support is an essential element in an
argument as without it your claims, made in support of the argument,
become baseless. See claim and argument.
Survey
A tool used to collect data from a large sample to understand particular
marketing issues of an organisation. It is commonly used to collect
quantitative data. Typically, it includes a questionnaire.
SWOT
A business framework which provides a way of analysing aspects of an
organisation according to four criteria: its internal strengths and weaknesses,
and the opportunities and threats within the wider environment.
127
Synonyms
Words that mean the same or a similar thing.
Tangible assets
Physical assets, such as vehicles and machinery.
Text
A unit of authentic language that is spoken or written for the purposes of
communication by real people in real circumstances. It is a harmonious
collection of meanings which fit the circumstances and also fit together. A
text is a unit of language which is complete, in contrast with an extract,
which is a part of a text. Usually it is possible to say which text type a text
belongs to. Examples of text types are essay, case study, newspaper article,
academic textbook, conversation and negotiation.
Theme
The opening part of a text or sentence which says what the text or sentence
is about. The writer wants the reader to know what topic the writer is
writing about as soon as possible and puts it first in the sentence or
paragraph. The theme of a sentence/paragraph/text may be a person, an
object/organisation or an idea/concept. The theme of the sentence ‘The boss
hired a new secretary’ is the boss.
Topic sentence
It is generally the first sentence in a paragraph which contains the main
point of the paragraph. It is also known as high-level generalisation.
Verb
The central language unit in most sentences. There are many types of verbs,
but in simple terms, verbs are ‘doing’, ‘being’ and ‘having’ words.
Examples of ‘doing’ words are buy, sell, expand and rise. The main ‘being’
and ‘having’ words are be and have, but these have various forms
(depending on what the sentence is conveying) including is, was, has and
had.
128
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources:
Text
Section 6.4, Javier’s solution text on Arena Flowers: Javier Garcia Cobos
Section 6.4, Gillian’s solution text on Arena Flowers: Courtesy of Gillian
Lowe
Section 10.6: Used by permission of Phillipa Parkes-Winters
Section 19.1: Used by permission of Carl Harris
Illustrations
Cover: © iStock.com/lisegagne
Figure 4.1: Courtesy of Michael Boyd
Figures 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3: Google
Figure 6.1: Himmelfarb, J. et al. (2002) ‘The elephant in uremia: Oxidant
stress as a unifying concept of cardiovascular disease in uremia’ Kidney
International, vol 62 issue 5. Elsevier. Cartoon Artist G. Renee Guzlas
Figure 10.1, Step 1: © iStockphoto.com/Sam Camp
Figure 10.1, Step 2: Petra U
Figure 10.1, Step 3: © iStockphoto.com/woolzian
Figure 10.1. Step 4: © iStockphoto.com/ShutterWorx
Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders. If any have been
inadvertently overlooked the publishers will be pleased to make the
necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.
129

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LB170

Communication skills for business and management

The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA

ISBN 978 1 4730 03804

Chapter 1: Communication skills

1.1 Why are business communication

1.2 Communication skills self-evaluation

Table 1.1 Evaluate your communication skills

I can do This is something I need to

I can do This is something I need to

Chapter 2: Reading strategies for

2.1 Good reading skills

. underpins how a text is organised

2.2 Reading strategies

. Be clear what you want from reading the text.

Chapter 3: Making notes

On a business studies course

3.1 Grammar and notemaking

Focus on nouns and noun phrases

3.2 Example notes from a text

Cafédirect leading by example with Adaptation to Climate Change for

3.3 What makes good notes?

. are relevant for your purpose

Using abbreviations and symbols when notemaking

Table 3.1 Commonly used symbols

Table 3.2 Commonly used abbreviations

In addition, we use our own form of shorthand which sometimes entails

3.4 Tips for ﬁnding the main points in a

Chapter 4: Analysing business

4.1 Key concepts and frameworks

. select what is relevant from information which might otherwise appear

4.2 Useful points for case study analysis

Useful language used to express a viewpoint based on

Useful language for making recommendations

Useful language of cause and effect

Sentence in source text Bullet point/noun phrase

4.3 Approaching a SWOT analysis

4.4 Using your own words

4.5 Using signposting phrases

Brompton Bicycle is the biggest bicycle manufacturer in

Figure 4.1 Annotated SWOT analysis of Brompton Bicycle (Boyd, 2008)

Figure 4.1 continued

4.6 What makes a well-structured

. is linked to the previous paragraph through signposting and/or

. makes the main point (often called a high-level generalisation) in the

4.7 What is STEEPLE analysis?

. identifying the external factors affecting a business

Identifying cause and effect

. ‘cause’ is why something happens

3 The temporary drop in oil prices led to a boost in consumer spending,

4.8 The language of cause and effect

Table 4.2 continued

There is a recession, so there has been a downturn

Here is an example of cause-and-effect language (all in italics) used in a

Chapter 5: Finding and evaluating

5.1 Finding sources

. Stay focused when searching the internet. Do not get sidetracked by

Example search: How can you ﬁnd information for a

Figure 5.1 The results of typing ‘Samsung’ into Google

We then searched for ‘Samsung annual report’ – this produced a large

We found a recent annual report as well as an environmental report that

5.2 Evaluating sources

Figure 5.3 The results of a search about Samsung Electronics on Google

This checklist, using PROMPT criteria, can be useful for evaluating