Running Head: Business Writing Culture: Steering The Ship 1

Business Writing Culture: Steering The Ship

Christian Coughlin
Chandler Gilbert Community-College
Business Writing Culture: Steering The Ship 2

Business Writing Culture: Steering The Ship

The language of the business world is defined more by its meaning rather than the

language. We come to know business as a world-wide phenomenon, something that is ran and

produced by the common people. The communicative decisions alongside interpretation is all

relatively similar, but at the same time remotely different. A business is always striving to stay

on top of the market, no matter who’s steering it. As the head of a business, or CEO, you are the

captain of the ship. The direction you take it, how you repair it, or who you bring is all dependent

on you. If the ship crashes and sinks, it’s on you. If you end up in unknown territory, it’s on you.

If you lose a battle with another ship, it’s on you. The business environment itself is very

different everywhere you go. The code for this entrepreneur language is very universal on its

own, but similar on paper. There’s always a task at hand, and an objective on board. Now sailing

away from the ship reference, we can see this language spoken within my business class. The

words applied in the business world are very basic. When you talk business, its seemingly an all-

purpose environment. The basic cost and profit margins, employee sales, net income, it’s all a

bunch of boring jibber-jabber that is used in every business one will come across. Being a

business major myself, the material in the class is very intriguing. The creativity part of the

business is typically left out for educational purposes, and it’s rather a basics class. That’s the

catch, one must have knowledge of basic business attributes before they can be this Bill Gates of

a person. There’s a reason why business recording is so conservative. It’s something you must

understand, before you get your hands dirty. It’s because there’s no secret formula to becoming a

monopolized business that’s taking over the whole industry. It’s all about what’s in your brain,

and what ideas you can pull out that’ll help catapult your business to the next level. My business

class interprets the business world in a simulation scenario by studying corporate figures. We
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perform this by speaking in a conservative manner, looking at specific scenarios, visualizing

business techniques, and recording our numbers in a journal.

Business words are essential to the basic understanding of the culture. For example, buy

and sell are two vital ones to understand. We cannot mix these two up, as they are very important

in determining losses or gains. One misunderstanding of this common language, and your ship

sinks to the bottom. Business words are used to typically make the environment more efficient.

While a boss can ramble for hours about what needs to be done, we can simplify directions by

perhaps writing it on a white board, or perhaps assigning tasks the day before. According to

Stephen D. Lewis, a master’s in business communication, he states that “Regardless of the

instructional or assessment strategy selected, the ultimate goal is to prepare students to

communicate correctly in an increasingly diverse, multicultural workplace and society.” The

productivity level needs to be at a high pace. Business leaders will typically get straight to the

point when talking about their entrepreneurship. It’s like the common phrase “Let’s get right to

business!” There’s not enough time for small talk, when the workplace is on, it’s on. In my class,

I inspect the environment on an everyday basis. The material taught seems to date back to

ancient times, individuals are actively discussing business terms, and we’re often found

performing group assignments. This is because we are trying to simulate a business environment.

Working with other individuals with a task at hand along with applying the material you learned

individually in lectures. Each team member communicating their thoughts or feelings on a

particular business situation, and others giving helpful feedback. Our classroom is purposely
Business Writing Culture: Steering The Ship 4

setup by the professor for group activities. We can clearly see that within this sketch of the

classroom itself. Looking at the classroom, the desks are arranged in sections of 4 each.

Simulating working with others and encouraging group activity. The professor also did this in

preparation for the groupwork we may be doing for that period. We are actively graded upon the

discussion we bring in our specific group or class. Participating encourages more ideas in not

only the business environment, the but the class atmosphere as well. “I have developed a rubric

for evaluating the quality of their participation. The purpose of the rubric is not to evaluate the

quality of the students' ideas; rather, it provides a guideline by which students can assess whether

they have made a significant contribution to the class discussion. The rubric covers three general

areas: development of ideas, level of interaction, and evidence” (Mabrito). This type of rubric

grading is very similar to the one stated on my professor’s syllabus. Because every student has

different ideas when it comes to business, it’s important to assess the contribution rather than

creations the students may have made.

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We often look at real-world business scenarios, and even study modern entrepreneurs like

Elon Musk. In fact, most of our class is based on reading news and articles about these multi-

millionaires. Inspiration is a factor that’s underrated in the cultural aspect of a business. Words

and phrases you hear and read about are what drives people toward incentives they sought to

achieve. Therefore, looking at experts within the field are important to one’s success. This

includes their writings, blogs, and any other material they’ve posted for the public’s view. As a

class, we study their writing and look amongst common patterns to perhaps become successful

on our own. Looking at various writing such as these is vital for one’s understanding on how

people truly become who they are today. My professor demonstrates this through the use of

European business methodology. “I've developed a multi-dimensional framework which applies

to both written and spoken discourse. Louhiala-Salminen (1995) looks at the fax as a new and

unique organizational genre, distinctively different from the memorandum, that deserves its own

framework for study. Whatever the method, there is strong emphasis on studying authentic texts

or writing from professional or business practice,” (Yli-Jokipii). This framework revolves around

studying professionals and diving deep into the concepts they speak about. We cover concepts

that revolve around their innovative technology, and their writing style as well. Similar to writing

an essay or researching on Google, business talk removes unimportant words and phrases to get

straight to the point. As a business class, we make sure every word has a valuable meaning

behind it. Descriptive yet decisive words are the most efficient when used in a business

environment. According to a business professor Paul Scipione, short and sweet is the answer.

“This study has shown that descriptive words and phrases can play a crucial role in engendering

magnitude value impressions in the minds of persons who read market research reports and then

make business decisions based on them,” (Scipione). It’s important to be transparent when
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dealing with others in this sort of environment, due to monetary value. The writing culture of the

class teaches us these essential understandings of words. Not only what we specifically state in

transactions, but how we interpret them as well.

The mind is a powerful tool when it comes to making decisions and visualizing one’s

surroundings. In my class, we practice these uses of brainpower in order to truly maximize the

feelings on a successful entrepreneur. We will physically close our eyes and lay on our heads

down in order to physically embrace our inner selves. I know, it sounds very psychological for a

business class. But in fact, most of our financial decisions are obliviously made in our brains.

This activity is unique to my classroom, and my professor does a great job guiding us through

these gestures. Although this doesn’t necessarily pertain to a writing motion, we like to embody

our minds to the likes of others. Another common assignment is recording journal entries based

off accounting principles. While accounting and business are two different classes, they typically

go together. Recording financial transaction using basic calculations and formulas are key to

accounting environment. We are essentially taking what we do and see and writing these debits

and credit using numbers. It’s sounds unnecessarily complex, but it’s essential to seeing the

performance of a business. Like how a scorekeeper records the number of hits, runs, balls, and

strikes in a baseball game, we can see the same scenario but different categories in accounting

and business. In class, we simulate business situations to fully grasp what exactly is going on. I

interviewed 10 classmates on their thoughts about accounting in comparison to business. The

question was based off if accounting was necessary or unnecessary in a general business.
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Student Response Number of Students

Necessary 8

Unnecessary 2

It’s very evident that accounting principles are often recognized as vital for a business. While

accounting seems to be the unpopular class within a business degree, it’s required.

Understanding the specifics of financial transactions recorded through numbers is essential for

figuring out adjustments or decisions that need to be made. Like stated previously, we can expect

a business to do well when the fundamentals are understood, and the creativity is brought to

light.

A business technique performed commonly was introduced through our class with the

common name of advertisements. As we interpret these specific brand names, it’s important to

realize the marketing reasons behind them. It must include the basics: A short and simple name,

a remembering slogan or catch phrase, a bright and colorful logo, and fine goods and/or services.

Understanding the words and visuals used in advertisements are all about the rhetorical appeal of

persuasion. My professor commonly will place a picture of a common advertisements and

discuss it as a class. We interpret the picture, what it’s trying to convey, the targeted audience,

etc. We break down these parts from the inside out, analyzing every detail that comes about.

Marketing is a way the business communicates to the consumer. The culture of displaying

appealing aspects using visuals and writing are what persuades us to buy or sell a certain

product. “Industry beliefs also suggest that creative execution impacts branding. Advertisements

that perform best reveal the brand early on. Similarly, lighter backgrounds, high contrast, and

dynamic messages improve branding. Another study concludes that limiting clutter, using larger
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brand logos, and depicting human faces improves branding. Keeping the message simple and

straightforward helps advertising performance,” (Lohita). It’s essential to keep these aspects in

mind when marketing a specific product. In my business class, we participate in these activities

to get in the mind of a consumer. How we want to display our product to the public’s view is a

key understanding to the class itself.

Assessing the class from an inside out perspective just allows myself to dig deeper into

what it’s truly about. While my professor really has strange activities and assignments, I’ve

learned an immense about the business culture alongside the professionalism and understanding

that goes with it. It’s important to note that the culture itself is basic at hand, but diverse among

others. We cannot expect everyone to have the same goals when it comes to business. However,

we can assess the basics and writing style within the environment and course. Although it’s

bland on paper, the ideas that come along with it can vary from person to person. Mastering this

subject must come with fundamental use. The practice of owning a business in comparison to

creating ideas for it are two whole different practices we must do. The classroom itself has taught

me many ways to communicate through not only words, but numbers. Verifying transactions,

communicating through common terms, and writing about company needs. I can really feel the

backbone of the business world when interpreting the writing of this class. The natural verbal

communication among students is assessed as if it were a business scenario. From the visuals,

assignments, groupwork, activities, classmates and professor, I can conclude that this class takes

the business writing culture to a whole different scenario.

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References

Lewis, S. D., McGrew, L. G., & Adams, C. N. (2002, June). Assessing business communication

assignments of English-as-Second-Language students. Business Communication

Quarterly, 65(2), 30+.

Lohtia, R., Donthu, N., & Hershberger, E. K. (2003, December). The impact of content and

design elements on banner advertising click-through rates. Journal of Advertising

Research, 43(4), 410+.

Mabrito, M. (2001, September). Facilitating Interactivity in an Online Business Writing Course.

Business Communication Quarterly, 64(3), 81.

Scipione, P. A. (1995, May-June). The value of words: numerical perceptions associated with

descriptive words and phrases in market research reports. Journal of Advertising

Research, 35(3), 36+.

Yli-Jokipii, H. M. (1998, September). Europe: business writing. Business Communication

Quarterly, 61(3), 94+.