The Scenarios that conclude each chapter are narratives in which managers address communication challenges. Based on real business situations and highlighting key issues in management communication, the Scenarios show how managers analyze problems and select the best communication strategy to achieve outcomes. They illustrate the underlying assumption of Management Communication that you manage through communicating. The challenges these managers face reflect the centrality of good communication to good management because to achieve some business objective the managers need to make smart choices about what to say, write, or present. The Scenarios reinforce the advice in the text by illustrating in story form how such advice plays out when managers face communication challenges.

As users--students and teachers--of Management Communication, you should approach the Scenarios as appropriate to the context of the course. At a minimum, consider the Questions for Discussion as a way of opening up the Scenarios. These questions can be answered individually as you read chapters of the text, but they are even more useful for framing and structuring class discussions to explore the richness of the issues and air a variety of viewpoints. The questions generally target issues introduced or elaborated in the corresponding chapter, but communication situations are too complex to lend themselves to a single emphasis. As you progress through the guide, issues from earlier chapters reappear and can lead to deeper discussion of concepts. Below are chapter-by-chapter suggestions about how to bring the narratives to bear on understanding and applying concepts of business communication. For each Scenario, we highlight:

• key issues-- communication and management concepts underlying the narratives
• opportunities for assignments--topics for practice (written and oral, individual and team)
• opportunities for role playing--class activities to reinforce concepts

The courses for which Management Communication is an appropriate text vary widely. In presenting possible assignments and opportunities for role playing, we recognize that not all courses involve both speaking and writing, and that role playing may not be a typical classroom exercise. You should therefore pick and chose among the suggestions. If, for example, you are not comfortable with role-playing exercises, you might skip those entirely--or perhaps try a simple one as an experiment. If you stress interpersonal and group dynamics over writing documents, the suggested assignments involving draft memos or reports may be less relevant--but again you may find use of a few simple ones will add a new dimension to the course.

Indeed, as you use Management Communication, you will no doubt imagine further ways to exploit the Scenarios. These suggestions are meant merely to highlight issues about on-the-job communication that can serve as starting points in using the guide.

Chapter 1: Managing by Communicating

Chapter 2: Overview of the Management Communication Process

Chapter 3: Analyzing Outcomes and Audiences

Chapter 4: Analyzing Media and Timing

Chapter 5: Designing the Communication Product

Chapter 6: Creating the Communication Product: Visuals and Text

Chapter 7: Creating the Communication Product: Speaking

Chapter 8: Creating the Communication Product: Writing

Chapter 9: Verifying the Communication Product

Chapter 10: Managing Group Communication

Chapter 11: Collaborating with Technology