Chapter 4 
Planning Business Messages

Planning Business Messages is important for us to make a systematic writing process. This chapter contains of basic principles of writing, the 3-x-3 writing process, the phases of writing process, the 'you' view, conversational but proffesional language, how teams approach collaborative writing projects, and collaboration tools support team writing.

1. Four Basic Principles of Business Planning
Business Planning is the significant step in business process which can determine the succeed of a business. There are some important things while making a business plan :
a. Purposeful > business writing must have a spesific purpose that you want to reach
b. Persuasive > make sure that your business writing can interest the audiences and make them believe in what you offer to them.
c. Economical > try to make your business writing brief but clear
d. Audience oriented > you must understand audience's point of view so it can be your consideration to make a business plan.

2.  The 3-x-3 writing process
This method can help you to do writing process. The steps of this method are :

It has a proportion for each step :
1) Prewriting > 25% including thinking and planning
2) Writing > 25% including organizing and composing
3) Revising >45% and 5% for proofreading










3. Phases of writing process

a.       Developing audience benefits

b.    Cultivate the 'you' view, for example :

c.       Being conversational but professional

You are insisted on being professional, but if you are too formal, your writing will be boring. So, it's better to use conversational sentences but still polite and professional. Using active voice may seem professional and conversational. For example :

d.      Express everything positively

Expressing everything positively can make your surrounding give positive responds too. Try to use positive words or avoiding negative words such as not.                  

Choosing a neutral word also important in business writing. We must  prevent to use the words that seems racist or discriminate people's sex.

For example :

- It's better to use the word 'office worker' rather than 'office girl' or 'office boy'

How to make a collaborative business writing ??

Collaboration is an impoortant method in doing a project. By working together, our task will be easier and even we can get better result. In this modern era, there are many media that can support us to do this such as e-mail, video conference, wikis, etc

Chapter 3
Intercultural Communication

Intercultural communication is the way people communicate with people who have different culture, ethnic and tradition. This tends to be an importantin thing in communication especially in business communication because if we don't have enough knowledge about other culture, it can give bad impact for our business.

In this chapter, I will discuss about :

1.  Significant trends that can increase intercultural communication :
a. Globalization of markets
    In this globalization era, economic situation also  
    grow globally. For example: Start from 2015, global
    economic will be started. Every people can compete
    freely to work in outside of their country. As the result, intercultural communication is very needed for every people to face the global economic.
b. Advance in technology
In this modern era, technology has been developed dramatically. People can access all information quickly. Even nowadays, internet can become the media to develop a business.
c. Intercultural workforce
Global economic will open wider. It will make a workforce for people to compete with other country's generation.

2. Characteristics of culture
a. Culture is learned
b. culture are inherently logical
c. Culture Is the basis of self identity and community
d. Culture combines the visible and invisible
e. Culture is dynamic

3. The ways to achieve intercultural communication
a. Avoiding ethnocentrism
Enthnocentrism is people attitude that always consider that theirself truth.
b. Showing tolerance
c. Keeping patience

4. Succesful oral communication in intercultural communication :
a. Learn foreign phrases
b. Use simple English
c. Encourage accurate feedback
d. Smile when appropriate

5. Effective Written messages in intercultural communication
a. Avoid ambigous expression
b. Strive for clarity
c. Cite numbers carefully

Business Communication

Chapter 2
Professionalism : team,meeting, and etiquette

In this chapter, team work becomes the main topic of the discussion. I got some knowledge about how to decide team member, phases to develop a team, characteristics of people with positive behavior, what do employers want, and methods for reaching group decision.

1. Important elements to decide a team members:
    a. Conceptual strength
    b. Communicator
    c. Mass builder
    d. Operation person

2. 4 phases of team development :
    a. Forming
    b. Storming
    c. Norming
    d. Performing

3. Characteristic of people who exhibit positive behavior :
    a. Set rules and abide by them
    b. Analyze tasks and define problems
    c. Contribute information and ideas
    d. Show interest and listen actively
    e. Encourage members to participate
    f.  Synthesize points of agreement

4. Skills which employers want :
    - Proven team skills
    - Strong verbal and written communication skills
    - Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills

5. Methods for reaching group decisions :
    - Majority 》this method is used by taking the majority vote
    - Consensus 》 by lobbying people
    - Minority 》by choosing some people to decide
    - Averaging 》ask for person' commitment and average it to make a decision
    - Authority rule with discussion 》 a person will make a decision after discussing with the subordinates

Business Communication

Session 1

Business Communication

My Goal

      Hello my name is Helen Kurniawati. Now, I'm studying at Binus University majoring in English Language and Literature.  Actually, English Department is not my dream. After I graduated from high school, I want to take medicine faculty, but I can't reach it because of the high tuition fee. I was very sad at that time, but I realize that life must go on and I can't stuck in that phase.  Finally, I chose English Department. Although it's not my main dream, but I must responsible with it. Whatever the difficulties, I should take it because I believe It's God's plan.

      Talking about my goal, actually I haven't choose a certain goal. However, I have some choices. My first interest is working in Marketing Communication division in a multinational company because I like to interact with other people and working outside not behind the desk. Second, I'm also interested to working at HRD or PR division. In order to reach it, I realize that I can't just rely on English. So, I must learn some additional knowledge such as businee, management, etc. Because of this reason I choose business as my stream start from this fifth semester.

       I hope this streaming can help me to get additional knowledge to support my future. However, streaming is not the only media which I will use to get additional knowledge.  I believe that I can become a successful person by always do my best and pray.  One thing that become my motivation is I must make my family proud of me and also make them happy.