...Ethics & Credibility in Business Communications: WMATA Rail System Gwenda Woodland COM/295 August 10, 2015 Sandra Norris Ethics & Credibility in Business Communications: WMATA Rail System The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (“WMATA”) has been plagued with various problems within its system and on the Metro rails lately. These issues are causing Metro riders much grief and they do not feel safe or find the Metro to be dependable at this time. The problems that the Metro rail has been experiencing are rails smoking due to electrical arcing, derailment of trains, and the constant malfunction of the Metro escalators. Metro riders are concerned that whenever there are serious issues taking place in the Metro system WMATA does not have things under control, or notify the riders in a timely manner so that things do not get out of control. Electrical Arcing Accident On January 12, 2015, there was an electrical arcing accident at the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station which caused the station and two trains to fill with smoke. Panic was definitely in the air because the Metro riders were not notified immediately of an emergency evacuation plan or how quickly the situation was going to be resolved. Unfortunately, there was one passenger fatality and two passengers were hospitalized in serious condition. (National Transportation Safety Board, 2015) Train Derailment On August 5, 2015, a derailment of a non-passenger train at the Smithsonian Metro...
Words: 632 - Pages: 3
...Ethics and Credibility in Business Communications Kristen Barnes COM/295 March 27, 2016 Randi Barnes-Plante Ethics and Credibility in Business Communications Social Media can be an effective form of communication for business to consumer relationships. Not only does it allow the business to keep everyone up to date on the latest developments within the company, but it also allows the consumer to reach out to the business without having to make a phone call. We all lead busy lives, and being placed on hold for thirty minutes, just to have a simple question answered, can be somewhat of an inconvenience. With social media, that inconvenience is replaced with a few clicks of a button. After visiting Toyota’s Facebook page, the overall presence was mixed, for me. The company made multiple posts throughout the day; some were just for fun, and some were factual. After reading some of the replies, from consumers, those were mixed, as well. Some posts showed pictures of old Toyota’s, and how they’ve always been loyal customers. Others, were full of complaints. I believe that with any company, this is going to happen; but it’s up to the company to communicate and try to make it right. I noticed that Toyota was fairly prompt in replying to the negative comments, and would refer them to the customer service number. While I’m not certain what happened from there, they at least made the effort to let the customer know that their complaint was not something to take lightly. I...
Words: 564 - Pages: 3
...Ethics & Credibility in Business Communications COM/295 October 5, 2015 Dr. Lodessa S. Washington Ethics & Credibility in Business Communications Volkswagen is the latest car manufacturer to be caught in the act of purposely manipulating emissions tests results in some of their vehicles. Over the years, several other manufacturers including General Motors, Ford and Honda have also been exposed for the same unethical behavior (Biesecker, 2015). In Volkswagen’s case, the long-term impact to their brand, reputation and credibility is further compounded because their cheating was actually uncovered in 2014, but the organization continued to manufacture cars with the faulty software, and intentionally withheld their trickery from consumers who thought they were buying environmentally friendly vehicles. It wasn’t until the scandal became public last month that Volkswagen finally came clean (Plungis and Hall, 2015). In the United States alone, Volkswagen will have to endure both state and federal investigations, as well as the additional scrutiny of congressional hearings, but the greatest cost Volkswagen will have to pay is the long-term impact to their brand, reputation and credibility. Volkswagen is one of the top automobile manufacturers in the world, with worldwide sales reaching 5.04 million vehicles, from January to June of this year, surpassing Toyota who regularly has held the top sales position (Harrison, 2015). The company now finds itself in the...
Words: 687 - Pages: 3
...Ethics and Credibility in Business Communication Seleta Holtzclaw Business Communication/Com 295 23 August 2015 Dr. Cecilia Perez Ethics and Credibility in Business Communication The Department of Veterans Affairs duties are to provide vital services to veterans. VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) provides health care services, benefits programs and access to national cemeteries for vets and their dependents (VA.gov). There are three main administrative divisions that assist in carrying out its duties: Veterans Benefits Administration, Veterans Health Administration, and National Cemetery Administration. The Department of Veterans Affairs is to assist military veterans to assure they are provided the care and needs they are afforded when separated from service. Veterans rely on VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) on these services. When a veteran wants to claim any disability through VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) they are given options to whom they want to represent them on filing their claim for disability. Houston Rip-offs of Disabled Vets Leland Spencer a disabled ex-Marine had the Department of Veterans Affairs appoint him an Attorney to handle his claims. This Attorney was Joe B. Phillips who is 72. Mr. Phillips and his wife Dorothy stood trial for conspiracy to commit fraud. They both had embezzled over 2 million dollars from close to 28 reported disabled veterans (Housotn, Chron 2011). Pulling off the largest uncovered VA (Department...
Words: 975 - Pages: 4
...they were on how the paper was described and may have caused any anxiety to others. According to Abc7 News (2015), "I don't think there's any way to overstate this -- you just simply do not play with people's emotions without asking their permission first," said consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow (6). I believe there should have been a better way of doing this research for the sake of all people and their feelings. Facebook’s ethical obligation in their communications to the general public is to be truthful, respect privacy, deception and the right to be informed. Facebook gives individuals the power to share as part of their mission to make connections with others. However, Facebook has not yet responded to the general public nor the researchers due to allegations being made. There is a policy that states how information is collected and how it is used and shared. Due to the way ethics of Facebook study was conducted, there was no effective communication in terms of establishing credibility. Gajos (2014), “Although Facebook maintained this experiment was “for science,” many users were shocked, outraged, and troubled as they realized the extent to which Facebook owns their private information and how willing they are to use it.” (para. 1). I would suggest the...
Words: 455 - Pages: 2
...network sites who are searching for candidates who they can place into vacant leadership positions. With 14 million unemployed workers seeking employment and over one million recruiters seeking to assist companies’ acquisition of leaders, why are 93% of American businesses facing or predicting to face performance losses due to leadership talent shortages? The most likely cause for this phenomenon is a lack of available personnel who are perceived as possessing the characteristics of an effective leader. What qualities do an effective leader exhibit? The subjective nature of this question makes it difficult to provide a definitive answer; however, a comparison of executive responses reveals three reoccurring answers, good communication skills, credibility, and the ability to inspire. If these three characteristics/skills are the measure by which executives and recruiters determine an individual’s leadership potential, then...
Words: 1720 - Pages: 7
...Introduction Credibility of social media is one of the key factors initiating and further increasing further public engagement and communication effectiveness in the social media. Blogs is one of the social media and chosen to be scoped in this literature, which have been considered to be most pertinent social medium. An effective way to measure blog credibility is hard to achieve without a valid, solid method to insure that measurement. This study has developed and measure blog credibility as well as by the usage of focus groups and a survey. This study also discusses the implications practical aspects of measuring blog credibility (Minjeong, 2010). Recently, it has been suggested that the credibility of the medium of communication influences...
Words: 785 - Pages: 4
...the communication skills of job candidates? Effective communication and networking skills are valuable assets in the workplace. Most jobs require the ability to communicate ideas and reasoning to peers, partners, or customers. These skills help employees process and share information, as well as build social capital. Skills for effectively communicating are also required to build trust and good collaborative working relationships. Recruiters look for candidates with excellent face-to-face verbal language skills, writing skills, presentation skills, and the general ability to convey thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and opinions in a professional manner. The ability to communicate clearly prevents errors from happening on the job or messages being misunderstood. Recruiters also look for candidates with good communications skills because they are characteristics found in effective leaders. 2. Can you describe a work situation where it’s okay to accept less communication effectiveness in order to gain communication efficiency? When it comes to communication in the workplace, there is a big difference between being effective and being efficient. Sending an email or text message to someone is extremely efficient but it is not the most effective means of communicating. These forms of communication often result in messages getting lost, ignored and sometimes misunderstood. If the message being delivered is anything important, the most effective form of communication is face-to-face...
Words: 626 - Pages: 3
...Team Collaborative Outline SPCH 277 May, 31 2014 INTRODUCTION I. In a business environment, clear and professional communication is extremely important. A. As a manager, you will have to have the interpersonal skills required to lead the team. As a salesman, you will often need to give presentations, or at least lead a conversation. B. By understanding and using clear speech habits and open communication, we can grasp the audience’s attention and be assured that our messages to each other and our clients are clear. II. Three major elements make-up good communication/speech. A. Credibility– This is what makes you the expert and part of what compels the client to trust you, believability. This also applies in an internal company setting, such as in the managerial role. Credibility and Authority are major factors in the leadership role. B. Language– Vocabulary is more important than acknowledged. By using the wrong context in a message you are trying to convey can be detrimental to the entirety of the underlining concept. In writing grammatical and typo errors can seriously undermine your credibility as a presenter. C. Connection– This is the human element, in which is more elusive than the other two elements. If you’ve ever endured televisions personality Ben Stein, drone monotone voice, you could imagine how audience members lose interest rapidly. It’s a fact that people listen better when they can relate to you, or when they are drawn in with humor or other...
Words: 580 - Pages: 3
...Chapter 1 Business Communication Foundations 1. Why do organizations value both internal & external communication? (5m) - Internal communication is internal operations depend on the day-to-day exchange of information among employees. - Day-to- day external communications include sales calls, product advertisements, news releases, employment notices and etc. - Both are important to ensure success. - Internal communication can ensures that the work of organization is accomplished effectively. - External communication can bring in order, build goodwill, and contributes to the continued existence and growth of the business. 2. Name the FOUR goals of business communication. Identify the most important one, and explain why it has this distinction. (5m) Four goals: 1. Receiver Understanding 2. Receiver Response 3. Favorable Relationship 4. Organizational Goodwill Receiver’s understanding is the most important one. It ensures to achieve other 3 goals of business communication. 3. What is credibility? Why is it important for communicator to be credible? (5m) - Credibility is the level of believability and trust that people have in you. - Credibility of communication is in fact trust and value given by the audience - If an audience has a high value about the communicator, and respects the information given, the communicator is said to be having high credibility. - If the credibility is questionable then it will reduce the receiver’s understanding, reduces...
Words: 407 - Pages: 2
...constantly changing, affecting the credibility of websites used as research material. With the students using the internet and web- based technologies, it is important to have the right innovative tools to gain experience in determining credible information on the websites being researched. Today’s online universities have developed new strategies for determining how to access the credibility of an information source, by creating their own library, which contains’ credible sources. I. Initial Appraisal A. Author The author is Traci Hong; she has a PhD of Communication, M.A. of Communication and B.A, double major; Communication and Biology. Hong’s work is peer reviewed; she has recieved feedback from other professors in the same field. Hong work has a reference list that vouches for her article’s credibility. The article and research done by Hong is considered current and discusses how important Internet and web- based technology is currently being used as a learning tool and how students can determine websites credibility and how the use of Internet is increasing when doing research. Hong name has not been mention in this course, but I have seen her name on other articles on the internet. B. Date of Publication Hong’s article was published in February, 2006 by the Journal of the American Society for Information of Science and Technology. The source is current and can be used when determining the credibility of websites. C. Edition or Revision ...
Words: 1022 - Pages: 5
...Question 1: Q.1.1 - Interpersonal communication can be defined as a process by which two persons or people exchange messages to create shared understanding/meaning, through both sending and receiving verbal and non-verbal messages. The exchanging of messages makes communication a transactional process as both sender and receive take part in the exchanging episode. One is not usually aware but communication is functional as we all communicate with a reason behind us, and at the end of the communication episode a function is always fulfilled. Our environment, moods and changes in our daily lives, influence our communication behaviour, therefore communication is always reshaping and dynamic. The very motive and backbone of communication is to create shared meaning, which both parties are liable for. Q.1.2 - Communication cannot be a static process. Humans are dynamic, therefore communication is dynamic, meaning it is always in a state of flux. Change is part of our daily lives and every change within ourselves and environment influence our communication behaviour, i.e. different moods influence communication behaviour. Communication is never the same, it changes from...
Words: 1743 - Pages: 7
...Education Research – Fourth Quarter 2013 Volume 6, Number 4 Student Perceptions Of Peer Credibility Based On Email Addresses Jeffrey A. Livermore, Henry Ford Community College, USA Marla G. Scafe, Walsh College, USA Linda S. Wiechowski, Walsh College, USA David J. Maier, Henry Ford Community College, USA ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to evaluate students’ perceptions of their peer’s credibility based on email addresses. The survey was conducted at a community college in Michigan where all students were registered and actively taking at least one course. The survey results show that a student’s selection of an email address does influence other students’ perception of their credibility. An email address that consists of a nickname reduces the student’s perception of peer credibility. Keywords: Student Credibility; Email Address; Peer Credibility; Online Education INTRODUCTION T here is a growing trend toward online education. Schools find that there is a financial incentive and students appreciate the convenience and freedom of not being tied to set class times and locations. One of the challenges of online education is that students may never meet their peers and only have contact with them through an electronic learning management system. Online students complete group assignments and may even be asked to assess the course work of their peers. Some students question the credibility of their peers’ ability to perform in these roles (Kaufman & Schunn, 2011). Students...
Words: 3823 - Pages: 16
...Personal Communication Monica Fisher COMM102 February 19, 2013 Terrilyn Fleming Personal Communication A. Communication is the process of transmitting messages. It can be non-verbal, verbal, or both. The fundamentals of the communication process are sender, message, channel, receiver, and feedback. The sender is the person who initiates the message. The message is the idea or thought that the sender is trying to communicate. The way the message travels to the receiver by means of a channel. The receiver is the target of the message. Feedback is the receiver’s response to the sender’s message (Pearson, Nelson, Titsworth, & Harter, 2011). The meaning is the understanding of the message. The same meaning to a message is not always shared by all. If the sender and receiver have minimal shared experiences, the message can have different interpretations. For example, if someone asks a classmate to borrow a pencil, but in their mind it means that the pencil is being given away. Things like this happen because both people do not have any shared experiences and have different meanings for what they thought the message was (Pearson, Nelson, Titsworth, & Harter, 2011). B. An example of a professional message being perceive differently is that at work there was an issue with a written communication that was posted for all employees. The sign read, “Cleaning Service Area Only, Unauthorized Staff Do Not Enter.” The message on the sign caused a lot of chaos...
Words: 1126 - Pages: 5
...Workplace Communication Assessment Kenneth Bradberry Jack Welch Management Institute Professor Ardith Bowman JWI 505 October 26, 2014 Abstract Communications in a large company can be a challenge, especially when you have a very diverse organization with several business groups and leaders with different missions and values that drive their respective businesses. In order for any large company to maintain a competitive position, innovation is a critical practice that all business groups across the company must participate in and contribute ideas and resources. As a leader in the innovation team, my responsibility focuses on the communication and delivery of innovation tools and concepts that align with the overall company’s strategy as well as the respective business groups. I recently had to issue a communication to several of the business groups on a research initiative that could potentially create a very profitable business for my company and enter into a new market. When I was putting together my thoughts to create a communication to the executive leadership and the F&A group within the company, I had to pull from several different business and technical areas. Introduction Some of these areas I’m considered a subject matter expert, some I’m not, but I had to assemble a paper that addressed the all the elements of the opportunity and created a solid business and technical case for the company to invest a substantial amount of money to support...
Words: 861 - Pages: 4
