Major Changes to the Ninth Edition

• Major changes make the ninth edition even better:
• New chapter on the business environment, including sections on topics such as:
  • Ethics.
  • Interpersonal communication.
  • Networking.
  • Time management, including multitasking.
• Separate chapter on proposals, with expanded coverage of both proposals and business plans.
• Expanded coverage of electronic communication including new topics such as instant messaging, social networks, electronic privacy, and Word 2007.
• New material in the job chapters such as the new section on application essays for students applying for internships, fellowships, and graduate and professional schools.
• New material on the job search such as the use of keywords, safety considerations with online ads and job sites, online job fairs, altruistic job opportunities, and the role of networking in the job search process.
• New material on interviewing such as meal etiquette, hidden negatives, employment history gaps, poor questions for interviewees to ask, and group interviews.
• New material on teamwork such as consensus building, crisis leadership, and 360-degree feedback.
• New material on researching including the use and misuse of Wikipedia and focus groups.
• Expanded material on topics such as PowerPoint, Web site design, social networks, layoffs, and performance appraisals.
• More emphasis on choosing and using conventions (checklists, patterns of organization) within the individual context of a specific writing task and audience.

Content Updates

• In addition to the major changes, the ninth edition has new material throughout to keep it up-to-date for instructors and interesting for students:
• Current content such as:
  • President Obama keeping his BlackBerry.
  • Incomprehensible documents as part of the financial meltdown of 2008.
• • Definitions of torture with respect to waterboarding by two different attorneys general.
  • Tips for handling a layoff in both job search documents and interviews.
  • Bank scripts for leery customers after the September 2008 meltdown.
  • Sexting.
  • Speedo's high-tech swimsuit that helped swimmers win in the Olympics.
• New material from business best sellers:
  • Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.
  • Bill Walsh, The Elephants of Style: A Trunkload of Tips on the Big Issues and Gray Areas of Contemporary American English.
  • Geoff Smart and Randy Street, Who: The A Method for Hiring.
  • Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture.
• Interesting new examples:
  • Dilbert May Get You Fired.
  • Intern Queen.
  • Outlandish debt collection.
  • Tiger Woods and April bond performance.
  • Toy safety recall notices.
  • Doomsday clock.
• New exercises based on current events.

Features Retained

• BAC is flexible. Choose the chapters and exercises that best fit your needs. Choose from in-class exercises, messages to revise, problems with hints, and cases presented as they'd arise in the workplace. Many problems offer several options: small group discussions, individual writing, group writing, or oral presentations.
  
• BAC is specific. BAC provides specific strategies, specific guidelines, and specific examples. BAC takes the mystery out of creating effective messages.
  
• BAC is interesting. Anecdotes from a variety of fields show business communication at work. The lively side columns from the Wall Street Journal and a host of other sources provide insights into the workplace
  
• BAC is comprehensive. BAC includes international communication, communicating across cultures in this country, ethics, collaborative writing, organizational cultures, graphs, and technology as well as traditional concerns such as style and organization. Assignments offer practice dealing with international audiences or coping with ethical dilemmas.
  
• BAC is up-to-date. The ninth edition of BAC incorporates the latest research and practice so that you stay on the cutting edge.