short case study on business communication

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

1. WHAT IS TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION?

1.4 Case Study: The Cost of Poor Communication

No one knows exactly how much poor communication costs business, industry and government each year, but estimates suggest billions.  In fact, a recent estimate claims that the cost in the U.S. alone are close to $4 billion annually! [1] Poorly-worded or inefficient emails, careless reading or listening to instructions, documents that go unread due to poor design, hastily presenting inaccurate information, sloppy proofreading — all of these examples result in inevitable costs. The problem is that these costs aren’t usually included on the corporate balance sheet at the end of each year; if they are not properly or clearly defined, the problems remain unsolved.

You may have seen the Project Management Tree Cartoon before ( Figure 1.4.1 ); it has been used and adapted widely to illustrate the perils of poor communication during a project.

The waste caused by imprecisely worded regulations or instructions, confusing emails, long-winded memos, ambiguously written contracts, and other examples of poor communication is not as easily identified as the losses caused by a bridge collapse or a flood. But the losses are just as real—in reduced productivity, inefficiency, and lost business. In more personal terms, the losses are measured in wasted time, work, money, and ultimately, professional recognition. In extreme cases, losses can be measured in property damage, injuries, and even deaths.

The following “case studies” show how poor communications can have real world costs and consequences. For example, consider the “ Comma Quirk ” in the Rogers Contract that cost $2 million. [3]   A small error in spelling a company name cost £8.8 million. [4]   Examine Edward Tufte’s discussion of the failed PowerPoint presentation that attempted to prevent the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster. [5] The failure of project managers and engineers to communicate effectively resulted in the deadly Hyatt Regency walkway collapse. [6]   The case studies below offer a few more examples that might be less extreme, but much more common.

In small groups, examine each “case” and determine the following:

• Define the rhetorical situation : Who is communicating to whom about what, how, and why? What was the goal of the communication in each case?
• Identify the communication error (poor task or audience analysis? Use of inappropriate language or style? Poor organization or formatting of information? Other?)
• Explain what costs/losses were incurred by this problem.
• Identify possible solution s or strategies that would have prevented the problem, and what benefits would be derived from implementing solutions or preventing the problem.

Present your findings in a brief, informal presentation to the class.

Exercises adapted from T.M Georges’ Analytical Writing for Science and Technology. [7]

CASE 1: The promising chemist who buried his results

Bruce, a research chemist for a major petro-chemical company, wrote a dense report about some new compounds he had synthesized in the laboratory from oil-refining by-products. The bulk of the report consisted of tables listing their chemical and physical properties, diagrams of their molecular structure, chemical formulas and data from toxicity tests. Buried at the end of the report was a casual speculation that one of the compounds might be a particularly safe and effective insecticide.

Seven years later, the same oil company launched a major research program to find more effective but environmentally safe insecticides. After six months of research, someone uncovered Bruce’s report and his toxicity tests. A few hours of further testing confirmed that one of Bruce’s compounds was the safe, economical insecticide they had been looking for.

Bruce had since left the company, because he felt that the importance of his research was not being appreciated.

CASE 2: The rejected current regulator proposal

The Acme Electric Company worked day and night to develop a new current regulator designed to cut the electric power consumption in aluminum plants by 35%. They knew that, although the competition was fierce, their regulator could be produced more affordably, was more reliable, and worked more efficiently than the competitors’ products.

The owner, eager to capture the market, personally but somewhat hastily put together a 120-page proposal to the three major aluminum manufacturers, recommending that the new Acme regulators be installed at all company plants.

She devoted the first 87 pages of the proposal to the mathematical theory and engineering design behind his new regulator, and the next 32 to descriptions of the new assembly line she planned to set up to produce regulators quickly. Buried in an appendix were the test results that compared her regulator’s performance with present models, and a poorly drawn graph showed the potential cost savings over 3 years.

The proposals did not receive any response. Acme Electric didn’t get the contracts, despite having the best product. Six months later, the company filed for bankruptcy.

CASE 3: The instruction manual the scared customers away

As one of the first to enter the field of office automation, Sagatec Software, Inc. had built a reputation for designing high-quality and user-friendly database and accounting programs for business and industry. When they decided to enter the word-processing market, their engineers designed an effective, versatile, and powerful program that Sagatec felt sure would outperform any competitor.

To be sure that their new word-processing program was accurately documented, Sagatec asked the senior program designer to supervise writing the instruction manual. The result was a thorough, accurate and precise description of every detail of the program’s operation.

When Sagatec began marketing its new word processor, cries for help flooded in from office workers who were so confused by the massive manual that they couldn’t even find out how to get started. Then several business journals reviewed the program and judged it “too complicated” and “difficult to learn.” After an impressive start, sales of the new word processing program plummeted.

Sagatec eventually put out a new, clearly written training guide that led new users step by step through introductory exercises and told them how to find commands quickly. But the rewrite cost Sagatec $350,000, a year’s lead in the market, and its reputation for producing easy-to-use business software.

CASE 4: One garbled memo – 26 baffled phone calls

Joanne supervised 36 professionals in 6 city libraries. To cut the costs of unnecessary overtime, she issued this one-sentence memo to her staff:

After the 36 copies were sent out, Joanne’s office received 26 phone calls asking what the memo meant. What the 10 people who didn’t call about the memo thought is uncertain. It took a week to clarify the new policy.

CASE 5: Big science — Little rhetoric

The following excerpt is from Carl Sagan’s book, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, [8] itself both a plea for and an excellent example of clear scientific communication:

The Superconducting Supercollider (SSC) would have been the preeminent instrument on the planet for probing the fine structure of matter and the nature of the early Universe. Its price tag was $10 to $15 billion. It was cancelled by Congress in 1993 after about $2 billion had been spent — a worst of both worlds outcome. But this debate was not, I think, mainly about declining interest in the support of science. Few in Congress understood what modern high-energy accelerators are for. They are not for weapons. They have no practical applications. They are for something that is, worrisomely from the point of view of many, called “the theory of everything.” Explanations that involve entities called quarks, charm, flavor, color, etc., sound as if physicists are being cute. The whole thing has an aura, in the view of at least some Congresspeople I’ve talked to, of “nerds gone wild” — which I suppose is an uncharitable way of describing curiosity-based science. No one asked to pay for this had the foggiest idea of what a Higgs boson is. I’ve read some of the material intended to justify the SSC. At the very end, some of it wasn’t too bad, but there was nothing that really addressed what the project was about on a level accessible to bright but skeptical non-physicists. If physicists are asking for 10 or 15 billion dollars to build a machine that has no practical value, at the very least they should make an extremely serious effort, with dazzling graphics, metaphors, and capable use of the English language, to justify their proposal. More than financial mismanagement, budgetary constraints, and political incompetence, I think this is the key to the failure of the SSC.

CASE 6: The co-op student who mixed up genres

Chris was simultaneously enrolled in a university writing course and working as a co-op student at the Widget Manufacturing plant. As part of his co-op work experience, Chris shadowed his supervisor/mentor on a safety inspection of the plant, and was asked to write up the results of the inspection in a compliance memo . In the same week, Chris’s writing instructor assigned the class to write a narrative essay based on some personal experience. Chris, trying to be efficient, thought that the plant visit experience could provide the basis for his essay assignment as well.

He wrote the essay first, because he was used to writing essays and was pretty good at it. He had never even seen a compliance memo, much less written one, so was not as confident about that task. He began the essay like this:

On June 1, 2018, I conducted a safety audit of the Widget Manufacturing plant in New City. The purpose of the audit was to ensure that all processes and activities in the plant adhere to safety and handling rules and policies outlined in the Workplace Safety Handbook and relevant government regulations. I was escorted on a 3-hour tour of the facility by…

Chris finished the essay and submitted it to his writing instructor. He then revised the essay slightly, keeping the introduction the same, and submitted it to his co-op supervisor. He “aced” the essay, getting an A grade, but his supervisor told him that the report was unacceptable and would have to be rewritten – especially the beginning, which should have clearly indicated whether or not the plant was in compliance with safety regulations. Chris was aghast! He had never heard of putting the “conclusion” at the beginning . He missed the company softball game that Saturday so he could rewrite the report to the satisfaction of his supervisor.

• J. Bernoff, "Bad writing costs business billions," Daily Beast , Oct. 16, 2016 [Online]. Available:  https://www.thedailybeast.com/bad-writing-costs-businesses-billions?ref=scroll ↵
• J. Reiter, "The 'Project Cartoon' root cause," Medium, 2 July 2019. Available: https://medium.com/@thx2001r/the-project-cartoon-root-cause-5e82e404ec8a ↵
• G. Robertson, “Comma quirk irks Rogers,” Globe and Mail , Aug. 6, 2006 [Online]. Available: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/comma-quirk-irks-rogers/article1101686/ ↵
• “The £8.8m typo: How one mistake killed a family business,” (28 Jan. 2015). The Guardian [online]. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/law/shortcuts/2015/jan/28/typo-how-one-mistake-killed-a-family-business-taylor-and-sons ↵
• E. Tufte, The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint , 2001 [Online]. Available: https://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/teaching/courses/pi/2016_2017/phil/tufte-powerpoint.pdf ↵
• C. McFadden, "Understanding the tragic Hyatt Regency walkway collapse," Interesting Engineering , July 4, 2017 [Online]: https://interestingengineering.com/understanding-hyatt-regency-walkway-collapse ↵
• T.M. Goerges (1996), Analytical Writing for Science and Technology [Online], Available: https://www.scribd.com/document/96822930/Analytical-Writing ↵
• C. Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, New York, NY: Random House, 1995. ↵

Technical Writing Essentials Copyright © 2019 by Suzan Last is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

5 Internal Communication Case Studies and Best Practices To Follow

Alex Cleary

Apr 6, 2022

Internal Communications

From employee engagement to workplace culture to change management, businesses often face similar challenges to each other even if those businesses are radically different. While the specifics of these challenges may differ, how other businesses solve these challenges can give you new insights into addressing your own.

We’re always interested in how our customers use ContactMonkey to solve their internal communications challenges, which is why we publish customer case studies. Learn how other businesses solve their communication challenges and get inspiration on ways you can improve your business by using an internal communications tool .

Real-time analytics that get it right

Discover where your employees are clicking, the best times to engage them, and which content resonates best.

What is an Internal Communication Case Study?

An internal communication case study examines how a company addressed a specific problem facing their organization, or achieved a specific goal. Communication is crucial for every business, and communication challenges can manifest in all kinds of situations.

An effective internal communication case study will clearly outline the problem, solution, and result of the business’ efforts to reach their goal. An internal communication case study should also outline best practices that were developed in this process, and how those best practices serve the business going forward.

Why are internal communication case studies important?

A good internal communication case study should not only explain the circumstances around a specific business’ problems and solution. It should also help others develop new ways to approach their own internal communication challenges , and shed light on common communication pitfalls that face a majority of businesses.

Whenever you’re facing a particular communication problem at your workplace, we recommend searching out a relevant internal communication case study about businesses facing similar issues. Even though the particulars may be different, it’s always important to see how internal communications problems are solved .

Featured Resource: Internal Email Benchmark Report 2023

How do your internal email performance metrics compare to 20 key industries? 

5 Best Internal Communications Case Studies

We put together this list of our favourite ContactMonkey case studies that best demonstrate the many problems our internal communications software can be used to solve. If you want to learn more about any of these customers and see other case studies, check out our Customers page .

Start your 14-day free trial of ContactMonkey

Captivating employee emails without IT approvals, new software, or learning curves.

1. Mettler Toledo Saves Days on their Internal Communications with ContactMonkey

When Kate Kraley began as Mettler Toledo’s Marketing Communications Specialist, she wanted to use internal communications to increase engagement and improve communication with employees.

But Mettler Toledo —a global manufacturer of precision instruments for various industries—had a confusing and ineffective array of internal communications channels . Here’s how Kate took charge of internal communications at Mettler Toledo with ContactMonkey.

Kate came to an internal communications department tasked with reaching employees through a number of channels. Email was the main focus of their approach, but this encompassed many forms of communication based on email like employee newsletters, eNews, and quarterly email updates.

Kate wanted to improve the quality of their internal communications. She used a variety of tools to create their newsletters, including using Mailchimp and online HTML template builder. But because Mailchimp is not for internal communications , Kate and her team found themselves spending over 8 hours a week building their internal communications:

“We faced challenges with Mailchimp. Since we had to leave Outlook to use Mailchimp, we found it was double the work to maintain distribution lists in both Outlook and Mailchimp. The HTML builder in Mailchimp was also difficult to use as it didn’t work well with older versions of Outlook, compromising the layout.”

Kate also needed a way to determine whether Mettler Toledo employees were actually reading her internal communications. She used Mailchimp to track open rate, but wanted more in-depth measures of engagement. That’s when she switched to ContactMonkey.

Kate found ContactMonkey via the IABC Hub in 2018, and began testing it out. ContactMonkey’s all-in-one internal communications software removed the need to switch from tool to tool. Using our email template builder , Kate now builds visually stunning email newsletters and templates without having to navigate away from Outlook:

She also now has access to her own analytics dashboard . Kate analyzes numerous email metrics like open rate, click-through rate, read time, opens by device and location, and more to see which communications are driving the most engagement. With this new centralized approach, Kate knew she had found the right solution:

“Once I started using ContactMonkey, I realized I was able to save 4 hours of work a week, which translated to 25 days saved per year! ContactMonkey has helped us understand what employees are interested in!”

2. BASF Manages Their Remote Workforce with ContactMonkey

Mark Kaplan is the Global Communications Manager at BASF’s Agricultural Group —a department of the German chemical company BASF SE. Because BASF has offices and production sites around the world, Mark coordinates with other internal communicators across the company to drive employee engagement.

With the success of any business comes new challenges, and BASF isn’t any different. While Mark knew he had to keep others informed of the latest news from the BASF Agricultural Group, he was aware employees would be receiving news from other parts of the company as well.

With many different departments sending their own internal communications, Mark faced a difficult task: keeping employees engaged while being careful not to overwhelm them with countless emails and updates.

“We try to be very strategic with what we’re sending out because people are already getting a lot.”

Not only did Mark have to find a solution that made his email communications more engaging, but he also had to prove the value of whatever solution he chose to management. How could Mark show that he was increasing employee engagement while avoiding tuning out from oversaturation?

Mark began using ContactMonkey to create better internal communications for BASF employees. Using our drag-and-drop email template builder, he designs emails that maximized communication and minimized distractions, keeping information to just what his recipients needed to know.

Mark uses ContactMonkey’s email template library to save time on his email design process. He also uses the easy drag-and-drop format of the email template builder to add multimedia into his email communications to save space and increase their effectiveness:

Mark uses the email analytics provided by ContactMonkey to determine the best times to send internal emails . Not only does email analytics help Mark increase engagement on his employee emails, but he now has hard data he can show management to prove the value of his internal communications.

“ContactMonkey has been great in that I can download a report, attach it to an email, and send it to our top leadership and say, ‘Oh, wow. 88% of the organization opened this in the last 24 hours, I think we should do more of this.’ It’s that little extra credibility.”

Best way to build engaging employee newsletters

3. alnylam drives remote employee engagement using contactmonkey.

Employee engagement is crucial for ongoing productivity and growth, and Alnylam’s Brendon Pires wanted to leverage their internal communications to increase engagement.

Brendon is an internal communications specialist at Alnylam —the world’s leading RNAi therapeutics company—and is tasked with keeping their 2000+ employees engaged and informed. But Brendon’s existing internal communications process was leading to issues all over the place.

Like many companies, Alnylam shifted to remote work when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Brendon knew that employees would be relying on his emails to stay up-to-date on the latest company news and announcements, but their existing internal communications tool wasn’t up to the task:

• Scheduled emails were prevented from being sent out.
• Email design was a chore with a difficult-to-use email builder.
• Intranet traffic was down and Brendon’s emails weren’t driving traffic to it.
• Email tracking was limited as many internal emails were being flagged by their tracking software’s firewall.

“We were having consistent issues and it had been going on for like a couple of months. It was one issue after the other, between emails not sending because they were getting caught in our firewall, and then tracking not being consistent. So at the end of the day it was kind of like that’s really important, you know? Obviously if I can’t send that email that’s a problem. So that’s what really drove us to look at other solutions like ContactMonkey”

Brendon and Alnylam use Outlook for their employee emails, so he began looking for alternatives to his current software. That’s when Brendon found ContactMonkey.

Right away Brendon had a much easier time creating internal emails using our email template builder. He can create stellar internal emails and email templates that drive more engagement.

Brendon also uses ContactMonkey’s embedded star ratings to let Alnylam employees rate the emails they’re receiving. This helps Brendon and his team zero-in on their most engaging email content. He also uses our email analytics to measure engagement via open rate and click-through rate. He maximizes his results on these metrics by using ContactMonkey’s scheduled email sending:

Using ContactMonkey, Brendon was able to increase email engagement and drive traffic to Alnylam’s internal intranet . He now sends emails without worry of encountering sending errors that can hinder engagement—like Outlook not rendering HTML emails .

“ContactMonkey is really easy to use and allows me to create really nice content. There’s enough customization so we can do what we really want and have some creative freedom.”

4. Travel Counsellors Ltd. Stays Connected with Remote Employees Using ContactMonkey

In an economy deeply impacted by COVID-19, countless companies had to adapt to new challenges. As Community Manager at Travel Counsellors , Dave Purcell experienced firsthand the effects on morale and engagement his over 1,900 partners experienced as result of the quarantine and resulting societal changes.

Dave wanted to regularly check-in on Travel Counsellors franchisees’ wellbeing, and measure their engagement over time. But Dave’s current method of checking-in on an audience of over 1,900 was not up to the task.

Using their existing email software, Dave encountered all sorts of problems when trying to gauge wellness and drive email engagement. He and his team were unable to create personalized internal communications , as they were told it just wasn’t possible with their existing “solution”. They also experienced numerous tracking issues, as they were receiving tracking numbers that didn’t make any sense.

“The stats we had previously were unusable and that’s the easiest way I can put it. I was getting 200% open rates, which was just impossible.”

Realizing that email tracking and personalization were must-have features for him and his team, Dave sought a new email software that could deliver what he was looking for.

With the aim of sending personalized emails and tracking wellness in his organization, Dave was immediately impressed by ContactMonkey. “I stumbled across ContactMonkey, and everything just screamed: ‘This is the right platform for us’. It’s pretty fantastic.”

Dave uses ContactMonkey’s merge tags to create personalized subject lines and body copy based on the recipient:

He also began using emoji reactions on his weekly employee newsletters , using them as a pulse check survey for his audience.

“Mindset and wellbeing have always been a big part of what we do. It’s even more so now. Our franchisees craved that personal interaction. ‘Welcome to a Brand New Week’ checks in with them on a Monday, sees how they’re feeling with emoji reactions. And we do the same on a Friday.”

In addition to customization and surveys, Dave uses our email template builder’s custom employer branding options to save time on creating his email newsletters. All of this is driven by email analytics that help Dave and his team determine which content is generating the greatest engagement.

“Our commercial team is looking at what people are engaging with in terms of link clicks and what they’re not engaging with and changing our tactic depending on that. We also send an update from our CEO and we can now track this more accurately. We’re getting a 90% open rate within two days.”

5. Exemplis Boosts Internal Communications Engagement with ContactMonkey

When Corey Kachigan arrived at Exemplis as Engagement and Communications Lead, she knew she had her work cut out for her. Exemplis—the largest volume manufacturer of office seating in North America—was experiencing rapid growth but did not have any sort of internal communications strategy . Corey knew if she wanted to properly manage Exemplis’ ongoing growth, she’d need to make internal communications an indispensable part of the business.

Before Corey arrived, Exemplis’ existing internal communications consisted only of random announcements and update emails. They had no defined approach for sending internal communications, which lead to emails that can cause employees to tune out.

“Our receptionist would email: ‘Hey, whoever left their coffee mug in the sink, please clean it and take it back to your desk.’ And it’s like, okay, that just went to 200 people.”

Corey and her team knew they had to harness their email resources better, and wanted a way to measure what employees actually wanted to see.

“We need some metrics to gauge whether this is working or not. We’re rolling out all these things, but we can’t tell if employees are even clicking these emails. Our team is inundated with hundreds of emails a day. How do we know they are reading these and how do we know they find it valuable? We have no idea.”

They also wanted to use emails to align their ever-growing employee base with Exemplis’ core values and vision. Using Mailchimp—an external marketing email tool—resulted in more problems than solutions. Corey experienced issues with importing and tracking emails within Outlook. She realized that Mailchimp is not for internal communications , and set out to find a new solution to power her employee emails.

So Corey began searching for a new email software for internal communications. Creating a definite approach to internal communications was just one priority of hers; she also wanted to prove the value of internal communications to management using hard data.

What first stood out to Corey about ContactMonkey was the crisp layout and that it worked with Exemplis’ existing Outlook system. ContactMonkey uses your company’s existing email services, and this meant Corey would no longer encounter internal email problems caused by an external tool like Mailchimp.

Corey now uses email metrics and employee feedback to inform her internal communications approach. She features pulse surveys on her internal emails, and uses the results in combination with email metrics to pinpoint what Exemplis employees want to see.

With ContactMonkey’s email analytics, Corey can point to real engagement data to back up her internal communications objectives.

“The thing I love about ContactMonkey is that it allows us to communicate more consistently with our team, but also be able to have the data to back it up. When we used to send out newsletters, we didn’t really have a way to see who did or didn’t open it, who clicked what and they couldn’t interact with the communication besides reply to me, which was super cumbersome.”

Turn emails into engaging conversations

Gauge employee satisfaction with embedded pulse surveys in your emails.

Explore engagement features

Achieve Your Internal Communications Goals with ContactMonkey

Although internal communications is a common aspect of all businesses, everyone approaches it differently. Finding out the best email practices that work for your employees is a crucial step in the quest for increased engagement.

Read even one internal communication case study and you’ll see how ContactMonkey stands out among other internal communications tools. You can create, send, and track internal emails, and collect employee feedback and email metrics to develop innovative internal communication tactics . Whether you’re a seasoned internal communicator or new to the field, ContactMonkey can turn your internal communications into a powerful driver of productivity and growth at your organization.

Whip up emails your employees want to open

Want to see ContactMonkey in action? Book a free demo to see how our internal communications software can transform your employee emails:

Revamp your workplace comms with us, right from your inbox. Get started now!

[email protected]

Email Template Builder

Outlook Sending

Email Analytics

Integrations

SMS Communications

Customer Stories

Free Templates

Attend Live Demo

Help Center

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

1.10 Case Studies: The Cost of Poor Communication

This chapter is adapted from Technical Writing Essentials – H5P Edition by Suzan Last licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Learning Objectives

• Apply your understanding of context, purpose, audience, and channel in case studies.

No one knows exactly how much poor communication costs business, industry and government each year, but estimates suggest billions.  In 2017, Josh Bernoff claimed that the cost of poor communication was nearly $4 billion per year: “American workers spend 22 percent of their work time reading; higher compensated workers read more… America is spending 6 percent of total wages on time wasted attempting to get meaning out of poorly written material. Every company, every manager, every professional pays this tax, which consumes $396 billion of our national income” (Meier, 2017).

Poorly-worded or inefficient emails, careless reading or listening to instructions, documents that go unread due to poor design, hastily presenting inaccurate information, sloppy proofreading — all of these examples result in inevitable costs. In one tragic case, a lack of communication between contractors and engineers resulted in a walkway collapse that killed 114 people at the Hyatt Regency .

The waste caused by imprecisely worded regulations or instructions, confusing emails, long-winded memos, ambiguously written contracts, and other examples of poor communication is not as easily identified as the losses caused by a bridge collapse. But the losses are just as real—in reduced productivity, inefficiency, and lost business. In more personal terms, the losses are measured in wasted time, work, money, and ultimately, professional recognition. In extreme cases, losses can be measured in property damage, injuries, and even deaths.

The following cases show how poor communications can have real world costs and consequences.

A .  Read “Case 1: The Unaccepted Current Regulator Proposal”. Then, answer the 5 questions in the quiz set.

CASE 1:  Acme Electric Company

The Acme Electric Company worked day and night to develop a new current regulator designed to cut the electric power consumption in aluminum plants by 35%. They knew that, although the competition was fierce, their regulator could be produced more cheaply, was more reliable, and worked more efficiently than the competitors’ products.

The owner, eager to capture the market, personally but somewhat hastily put together a 120-page proposal to the three major aluminum manufacturers, recommending that their regulators be installed at all company plants.

The first 87 pages of the proposal were devoted to the mathematical theory and engineering design behind the new regulator, and the next 32 pages to descriptions of a new assembly line to produce regulators quickly. Buried in an appendix were the test results that compared her regulator’s performance with present models and a poorly drawn graph showed how much the dollar savings would be.

Acme Electric didn’t get the contracts, despite having the best product. Six months later, the company filed for bankruptcy.

B .  In small groups, examine one of the following cases and complete the following :

• Define the rhetorical situation : Who is communicating to whom about what, how, and why? What was the goal of the communication in each case?
• Identify the communication error (poor task or audience analysis? Use of inappropriate language or style? Poor organization or formatting of information? Other?)
• Explain what costs/losses were incurred by this problem.
• Identify possible solution s or strategies that would have prevented the problem, and what benefits would be derived from implementing solutions or preventing the problem.

Present your findings in a brief, informal presentation to the class.

CASE 2: Petro-chemical company report

Cameron (he/him), a research chemist for a major petro-chemical company, wrote a dense report about some new compounds he had synthesized in the laboratory from oil-refining by-products. The bulk of the report consisted of tables listing their chemical and physical properties, diagrams of their molecular structure, chemical formulas and computer printouts of toxicity tests. Buried at the end of the report was a casual speculation that one of the compounds might be a particularly effective insecticide.

Seven years later, the same oil company launched a major research program to find more effective but environmentally safe insecticides. After six months of research, someone uncovered Cameron’s report and his toxicity tests. A few hours of further testing confirmed that one of Cameron’s compounds was the safe, economical insecticide they had been looking for.

Cameron had since left the company because he felt that the importance of his research was not being appreciated.

CASE 3: Novaware instruction manual

As one of the first to enter the field of office automation, Novaware, Inc. had built a reputation for designing high-quality and user-friendly database and accounting programs for business and industry. When they decided to enter the word-processing market, their engineers designed an effective, versatile, and powerful program that Novaware felt sure would outperform any competitor.

To be sure that their new word-processing program was accurately documented, Novaware asked the senior program designer to supervise writing the instruction manual. The result was a thorough, accurate and precise description of every detail of the program’s operation.

When Novaware began marketing its new word processor, cries for help flooded in from office workers who were so confused by the massive manual that they couldn’t even find out how to get started. Then several business journals reviewed the program and judged it “too complicated” and “difficult to learn.” After an impressive start, sales of the new word processing program plummeted.

Novaware eventually put out a new, clearly written training guide that led new users step by step through introductory exercises and told them how to find commands quickly. But the rewrite cost Novaware $350,000, a year’s lead in the market, and its reputation for producing easy-to-use business software.

CASE 4: Policy memo

Nhi (they/them) supervised 36 professionals in 6 city libraries. To cut the costs of unnecessary overtime, they issued this one-sentence memo to their staff:

After the 36 copies were sent out, Nhi’s office received 26 phone calls asking what the memo meant. What the 10 people who didn’t call about the memo thought is uncertain. It took a week to clarify the new policy.

CASE 5: “Nerds gone wild”

The following excerpt is from Carl Sagan’s book, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, itself both a plea for and an excellent example of clear scientific communication:

The Superconducting Supercollider (SSC) would have been the preeminent instrument on the planet for probing the fine structure of matter and the nature of the early Universe. Its price tag was $10 to $15 billion. It was cancelled by Congress in 1993 after about $2 billion had been spent — a worst of both worlds outcome. But this debate was not, I think, mainly about declining interest in the support of science. Few in Congress understood what modern high-energy accelerators are for. They are not for weapons. They have no practical applications. They are for something that is, worrisomely from the point of view of many, called “the theory of everything.” Explanations that involve entities called quarks, charm, flavor, color, etc., sound as if physicists are being cute. The whole thing has an aura, in the view of at least some Congresspeople I’ve talked to, of “nerds gone wild” — which I suppose is an uncharitable way of describing curiosity-based science. No one asked to pay for this had the foggiest idea of what a Higgs boson is. I’ve read some of the material intended to justify the SSC. At the very end, some of it wasn’t too bad, but there was nothing that really addressed what the project was about on a level accessible to bright but skeptical non-physicists. If physicists are asking for 10 or 15 billion dollars to build a machine that has no practical value, at the very least they should make an extremely serious effort, with dazzling graphics, metaphors, and capable use of the English language, to justify their proposal. More than financial mismanagement, budgetary constraints, and political incompetence, I think this is the key to the failure of the SSC.

CASE 6: Same topic, different genres

Rowan (she/her) was simultaneously enrolled in a university writing course and working as a co-op student at the New Minas Boat Manufacturing plant. As part of her co-op work experience, Rowan shadowed her supervisor/mentor on a safety inspection of the plant, and was asked to write up the results of the inspection in a compliance memo . In the same week, Rowan’s writing instructor assigned the class to write a narrative essay based on some personal experience. Rowan, trying to be efficient, thought that the plant visit experience could provide the basis for her essay assignment as well.

She wrote the essay first because she was used to writing essays and was pretty good at it. She had never even seen a compliance memo, much less written one, so was not as confident about that task. She began the essay like this:

On June 1, 2018, I conducted a safety audit of the New Minas Boat Manufacturing plant. The purpose of the audit was to ensure that all processes and activities in the plant adhere to safety and handling rules and policies outlined in the Workplace Safety Handbook and relevant government regulations. I was escorted on a 3-hour tour of the facility by…

Rowan finished the essay and submitted it to her writing instructor. She then revised the essay slightly, keeping the introduction the same, and submitted it to her co-op supervisor. She “aced” the essay, getting an A grade, but her co-op supervisor told her that the report was unacceptable and would have to be rewritten – especially the beginning, which should have clearly indicated whether or not the plant was in compliance with safety regulations. Rowan was aghast! She had never heard of putting the “conclusion” at the beginning . She missed the company softball game that Saturday so she could rewrite the report to the satisfaction of her supervisor.

Meier, C. (2017, January 14). The Exorbitant Cost of Poor Writing (About $400 Billion). Medium . https://medium.com/@MeierMarketing/the-exorbitant-cost-of-poor-writing-about-400-billion-973b5a4f0096

Sagan, C. (1995). The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Random House.

Exercises adapted from T.M Georges’ Analytical Writing for Science and Technology. T.M. Goerges (1996), Analytical Writing for Science and Technology [Online], Available: https://www.scribd.com/document/96822930/Analytical-Writing

1.10 Case Studies: The Cost of Poor Communication Copyright © 2021 by Suzan Last is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

40 Case: Business communication ethics

Case authors: Jerred Flynn, James Hills, and Ravneel Prasad

This case/scenario is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 International license.

Activity Guidelines

Suggested course level

Lower level undergraduate course

Activity purpose

• Students will complete a case relating to conflict management

Materials required

Activity instructions

Enron was a multibillion-dollar energy company who, through dishonest accounting practices, was able to hide their losses till the point where their next major merger fell through. They did this with shell companies that they would off load their losses to, to make their own financials look pristine. At the point of the failed merger, they filed for bankruptcy as their liabilities were too much for them to stay afloat. This resulted in tens of thousands of people to lose millions, both in pensions and shares of the company they could not sell.

Questions before the case

1) Is it alright to exaggerate anything when submitting official documents? Be it a resume, timesheet, or something else.

2) Back when all of this happened, the incentivization for people who came forward with information (whistleblowers) was almost non-existent. Should there be incentives beyond the social recognition of “doing the right thing” for whistleblowers?

3) If you are a manager, is it ever right to bend the truth so that you and those under you can keep your jobs or tell the truth and possibly lose them?

Revenue Recognition: Why Doing Something Different Isn’t Always Better.

In the case of Enron, they, like most of their competition, had a system of “historical cost” principles they had to follow when they booked their revenue. Basically, they bought the natural gas they sold at a given price, and when they sold it at whatever price they could get for it, they took the costs off and reported that as profit. This was how it worked in any given year to account for fluctuations in the selling price; they had to wait until they sold the gas before they could record revenues.

However, their executives lobbied for, and got, the permission from the SEC to change the way they reported their revenues. Instead of following the “historical cost” model, they switched to a “mark-to-market” model, which allowed them to record the profits on their contracts before the contracts were fulfilled. This led to several concerning outcomes. They were booking hypothetical profits as actual profits before they had sold their natural gas, based on forecasts of what the market would do. But they were booking this profit on contracts that had 20 years to fulfil, in some cases. The first concern is what they would do if they couldn’t continue signing these contracts, and revenues dropped off. The second is what would happen if they wound up having to sell the gas at lower prices than forecasted.

In short, they switched from a system of recognizing revenue after the transaction happened to a system where they recognized revenue at some value which they thought they would get for it at some time in the future. By using this “fair-value” system, it became a system that was almost entirely dependent on manager forecasting, which is almost impossible for managers to accurately calculate and even closer to impossible for anyone else to check (Benston, 2003).

Insider Trading: Making Sure the Boss Gets His…Money, That Is

Alongside the issues Enron was beginning to face from their CEO’s resignation for “personal reasons,” both internal and external sources began to realize that there were issues with the accounting processes at Enron (Healy, 2003). An Enron VP began to raise concerns about the issues with some of the reporting happening, and as such, got both internal and external auditors involved. The external auditors, Arthur Andersen LLP, had their lawyer contact Enron to “remind” them that the official action to take with old documentation was to shred it. All of this eventually led to October 2001.

On October 16, 2001, Enron filed their quarterly earnings statements. When they did this, it came to light that they had incurred their first (recognized) loss in four years. Also included in this figure is the write-down, or loss of income, of more than $1 billion. Finally, one of their subsidiaries which they were using to hide debt was terminated before Enron would be called on to exercise 58 million share options, which caused Enron to have to clear another $1.2 billion dollars from their balance sheet (Thomas, 2002). At this point, the Securities and Exchange Commission began to get involved. However, this isn’t where the insider trading began.

At this point, many of the Enron employees had been compelled to use their company pensions to buy Enron stock. More importantly, many of them had wanted to: the company was doing phenomenally well up to this point, and they saw opportunities for massive returns. However, on October 17, the day after the damning earnings statements, the company announced that their pension plan administrators had changed. This meant, by law, that no trading could happen with Enron’s pension plan assets for 30 days (Healy). So, in the wake of the most terrible earnings statement Enron had released, the employees had their pensions frozen and were unable to do anything about it. The worst aspect of this, however, was that the executives were still free to exercise their stock options and sell the stocks in the open market: this ban on trading only meaningfully affected the rank-and-file employees.

So, not only did Enron’s employees wind up by losing their jobs when Enron filed for bankruptcy in December 2001, they also wound up by losing their entire pension as well (Healy).

There were no good outcomes to the Enron saga; millions of investors lost billions of dollars, the employees wound up unemployed with their life savings wiped out, many of the executives spent years in jail, and two major corporate entities wound up bankrupted. But the conclusions to be learned are quite simple: in the absence of truthful, good faith communication, it doesn’t matter how good you engineer yourself to look. If you lie, cheat, falsify, you will wind up losing everything in the end.

With this information discuss with your group how Enron’s exaggeration of their financials and other unethical dealings led to their bankruptcy. Also discuss the questions posed at the beginning of the case, and if any of your perspectives have changed after reading this case.

Benston, G., Bromwich, M., & Litan, R. E. (2003). Following the money : The Enron failure and the state of corporate disclosure. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Healy, Paul and Krishna Palepu (2003). The Fall of Enron, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 17, No. 2. Retrieved from http://www-personal.umich.edu/~kathrynd/JEP.FallofEnron.pdf

Thomas, C. William (2002). The Rise and Fall of Enron, Journal of Accountancy. Retrieved from https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2002/apr/theriseandfallofenron.html

Download this case

• As a Word document
• As a PDF document

Supplementary resources that are available

Please note the authors and Creative Commons licenses under which the works are published are different for each supplementary resource. Please review the footer of each document for the author’s name and the Creative Commons license that has been assigned to the work.

Word documents

• Accompanying teaching note

PDF documents

Tags: business communication case, business communication scenario, business communication ethics, Enron

Case: Business communication ethics Copyright © 2020 by Melissa Ashman; Arley Cruthers; Sarah Duncan; John Grant; Karen Inkster Vance; and Panteli Tritchew is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

5.1: Preface: Learning with Case Studies

Learning objectives.

• Identify the use of case studies in learning scenarios
• Describe the types of case studies available for learning use

Case Studies: Definition and Uses

Case studies are detailed “stories” about a business situation that allow us to consider a number of aspects of the business world:

• the diversity of everyday business situations we might encounter;
• the seriousness of some of the dilemmas business professionals routinely deal with;
• the consequences involved if a difficult situation is mishandled (if those involved do or say the wrong thing);
• the difficulty to choose the best response in a complicated business situation (sometimes, there is no ideal solution, and we might have to choose the least damaging solution instead).

These “stories” typically provide detailed information about the business situation in question, the problem encountered, how it was approached, and to what results. They can be shorter or longer, and strictly descriptive (most cases used for training purposes in college tend to be descriptive, and students are asked to analyze them) or analytical (some academic case studies provide analysis, too, and they might also make suggestions regarding better ways to address similar situations in the future). For instance, an academic article tracing Target’s failure to operate in Canada (2013-2015) would summarize in detail the facts of the case and analyze where the company went wrong; it might also suggest what the company should have done instead to secure a place on the Canadian market.

Professionals in different fields often use case studies as part of their research into various issues of interest for their organization (for instance, when they decide to launch a new product and/or service and want to learn from other companies’ success/failure before they plan their course of action). In college/university courses, case studies are used in order to connect the course material more effectively to the types of tasks the students will have to perform at work once they graduate.

Main advantages of learning with case studies — in general and in COMM 6019 :

• Case studies allow us to apply the theoretical knowledge we have acquired, so we can see how we can take advantage of our knowledge in everyday business situations.
• Case studies encourage critical thinking and collaborative learning.
• Based on what we know about professional business communication, we can use case studies to assess situations, examine options, trace a course of action for each option, and decide which might be the best. In so doing, we have to keep our focus on our goal.
• For each case study, we should try to make suggestions that would allow those involved to reach their goal, if possible, or get as close to their initial expectations as possible.
• people who are equally valuable in an organization might have very different leadership, management, or communication styles – and they might fail to appreciate each other for these reasons;
• depending on our boss and coworkers’ personality, background, and preferences, different approaches must be taken to ensure success (a direct approach might work with some of them, whereas others might prefer an indirect approach; there might also be situations when certain issues should not be brought up at all in order to avoid making a bad situation worse;
• choosing the wrong words in expressing an idea might have serious consequences for our career, even if we had the best of intentions in initiating contact with the other person(s) involved and did not mean to offend anyone.

Approaching Case Studies Analytically and Making Suggestions

Understanding the situation.

Whenever we work with a case study, we should take an analytical approach. First, we should make sure we understand the situation clearly. That includes identifying the following:

1. The problem/ issue:

What is the problem, exactly? In complex business situations, this question might not be as easy to answer as it seems. For example, there might be several problems involved, and trying to solve them all or treating them all as equally important might cause us to get lost in details and give insufficient attention to the one issue that might have the most damaging effect on our organization. In identifying the problem, we need to clearly distinguish between major concerns and peripheral aspects.

2. The context/background:

What caused the problem? Again, the answer might not be easy to formulate. There might be multiple causes, and some might have had more impact than others. Some of these causes might be out of anyone’s control: unpredictable market fluctuations due to natural disasters, etc. Others might be mistakes people made: lack of foresight in analyzing the market, communication problems, etc.

We also need to analyze the context in terms of the options available in addressing the problem. For example, the context might not allow for a certain type of approach (some obvious examples would be differences in legislation or in cultural norms between different countries).

3. The key aspects/facts of the situation:

Again, distinguishing between major and minor aspects might not be an easy task. Making this distinction might be particularly difficult for people who are directly involved in the situation. This may seem counterintuitive, but if, say, a project leader is more invested in some parts of a project than others for whatever reason, he/she might not be able to judge the key facts correctly in a crisis.

4. The decision-maker’s priorities and goal:

We need to understand exactly what the decision-maker is hoping to achieve, as well as what he/she can – realistically – achieve. We also need to understand the decision-maker’s and the company’s priorities. Caution is recommended here: the decision-maker might not be aware that there is a mismatch between the goal he/she has set and the company’s priorities. If that is the case, our recommendations may have to include cautious explanations that might help the decision-maker redefine his/her goal.

Analyzing Options

Next, we should try to see how many options the decision-maker might have. The key question at this stage is the following: Can the problem be solved (can all negative aspects or effects be completely eliminated) or is reducing the negative effects the best we can hope for?

Many professionals sometimes make a situation worse because they naïvely assume that every conflict or problem can be completely eliminated, in all its overt and hidden implications/ consequences. Thus, they set the wrong goal (an unreachable goal ) and choose their strategies based on that goal. In such situations, the results can be disastrous – financial losses, loss of reputation, etc. — because resources will be wasted on aspects that were hopeless to begin with. Setting a more realistic goal (say, to improve specific aspects of the situation in a limited, achievable way) would allow decision-makers to select the right strategies to reduce losses as much as possible, and to get the most out of the resources available.

Presenting Persuasive Suggestions

Finally, after analyzing the situation and the available options, case studies allow us to present and motivate our recommendation as we would at work. To make our recommendation persuasive, we should offer several options (typically, at least two or three) and discuss them in detail, to show that the one we recommend is the most likely to lead to a positive outcome.

Here are some aspects to consider in choosing the solutions we should discuss and then selecting the best one:

• If other decision-makers involved seem to favour an approach with which we disagree, we need to include that approach as one of the options, analyze it, and show that it will have limited success or that it comports serious risks.
• Potential improvements, as well as potential risks need to be discussed in detail for the solution we want to recommend, too. If we do not mention some obvious drawbacks of the solution we support, we can lose our credibility.
• The idea is to show that we have carefully weighed all relevant options and that we chosen the option that seems to be the most advantageous.

Case Study Work in COMM 6019 and Workplace Applications

Depending on your course section and professor, you might have to do more or less case study-related work in this course, but you are likely going to be asked to complete at least two case study-related assignments. Specifically, your professors might use information from case studies to create scenarios for your written assignments, or they may ask you to find and/or analyze case studies specific to your field, always with a focus on communication aspects. Case study elements can also be used in the Research Report, although they are not mandatory.

Our work with case studies in COMM 6019 is meant to help you assimilate the necessary strategies in analyzing any business situation (from a communication perspective, as well as in general). This experience will prove particularly useful when you are asked to complete analytical reports and recommendation reports at work. Any routine business situation, as well as any crisis, can be analyzed in this manner to make sure we arrive at the best decision.

Whenever you are assigned this type of task in the workplace, make sure you understand what you are expected to do and that you do just that:

• In some cases, you might be asked for a recommendation, whereas in others you might just be asked to analyze options.
• If you are asked to analyze options, you can still explain which option you think is best, to show initiative – but only if you think your reader(s) would be open to accepting a recommendation. (Some upper-management employees might think that you are overstepping your mandate if you do that. Always consider your primary audience carefully when you make such decisions.)

In courses focused on field-specific skills, professors usually use complex case studies, and the students are expected to produce lengthy case study-related assignments (reports). Thus, the case studies provided to students would be at least 4 pages long (usually much longer), and the reports the students would be expected to write might be 2000-word reports that include information from several research sources.

In COMM 6019, our focus is on teaching students how to analyze situations and make recommendations in objective language and without saying anything that might be perceived as unnecessarily negative, insensitive, or offensive . To this end, we typically use short case studies and short articles reporting various real-life business/professional incidents  as “prompts” for assignments – to help you understand what kinds of problems professionals have to deal with in the business/professional world and what might be the best approach from a communication perspective . Your professors might also ask you to read a longer, more complex case study but focus on just one particular aspect of the situation instead of providing a full-length case study analysis (a long report). This is meant to stimulate your critical thinking skills while maintaining the focus on the main objective of this course – helping students to acquire the writing and communication techniques they need in order to make their case effectively in any business situation, however difficult/ sensitive.

A Sample Case Study

Here is an example of a case study we might use in a Professional Communication class:

• https://www.iveycases.com/ProductView.aspx?id=35525

This is a tricky case study – as case studies usually are. In class discussions, some students rush to suggest that the two business people involved should set up a meeting and solve their financial disagreements immediately, so that they can work together on the new task they have been assigned. However, a more careful analysis of the case study would show that this is a naïve approach. The details provided about the two individuals’ educational background, personality, work history, and history of business conflict (including a lawsuit!) clearly indicate that they won’t be able to “solve the problem” in a meeting (or two, or ten). Therefore, what they need to do is agree to focus on the new task and never mention their previous problems in meetings related to the new task, allowing the old conflict to be solved in court.

Once this aspect of the situation is clarified, a good way to use this case study for an assignment in COMM 6019 would be to ask students to pick one of the two business professionals and write a short recommendation report from a Communication perspective, advising the person of their choice that the best way to approach the situation is to keep the old conflict and the new task separate. To be persuasive and useful, the report would have to include the following sections:

• an analysis of the situation, explaining why this is the best option;
• a section of detailed suggestions concerning exactly how the person they are advising should behave, exactly what he should say, etc.

In order to help you to understand a little better the relevance of the content studied in this course for the work you will do as professionals, your professors may relate case studies or media coverage of business/ professional/ corporate incidents to any number of themes covered in this course, from effective social media use to workplace diversity and intercultural communication to employment interviews.

Case Studies and Workplace Communication: Quick Example

Here is an example of a costly communication mistake concerning the channel of communication chosen by the sender of the initial message and the role the receiver decided to assume — a mistake with serious international consequences, as you are about to see.

You might have heard that Hillary Clinton is assumed to have lost quite a few votes in the US election in 2016 after some emails exchanged between individuals in high-ranking positions in her campaign were “leaked” as a result of hacking. According to a December 2016 New York Times article, FBI agent Adrian Hawkins called the Democratic National Committee in September 2015 to warn them that their computers are being hacked by “The Dukes,” a cyberespionage team linked to the Russian Government. He was transferred to the Help Desk and spoke to Yared Tamene, a tech-support contractor working for the DNC, who did a routine check of the DNC computer system logs to look for evidence of a cyberattack and did not find any.

Tamene was not an expert in cyberattacks, and “The Dukes” appear to be a sophisticated group – they are suspected of having hacked the unclassified email systems of the White House and the State Department, among other cybercrimes. Apparently, Tamene was not sure if Hawkins was a real FBI agent or an impostor – sohe  did not conduct a more thorough search for signs of hacking and did not transmit the information to higher-ranking DNC officials, although Special Agent Hawkins called repeatedly, over several weeks.

You can read a New York Times article on this topic here if you are not familiar with the incident:

• The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S . (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/us/politics/russia-hack-election-dnc.html?_r=0)

It is easy to see that several communication mistakes are to blame for the fact that the cyberattack was not stopped right away. Most importantly,

• The FBI agent spoke on the phone with a tech desk employee instead of setting up an official face-to-face meeting with a top DNC official (he made a serious error in choosing the channel of communication and the person to contact).
• The tech desk employee acted as a gatekeeper for the message although he was not competent to assess the validity of the warning (he made a serious error in judgement).

Since Hillary Clinton won the popular vote (by 2.8 million votes) and was narrowly defeated in several key states, many political commentators have argued that if even one mistake of this type had been avoided, she could have been the President of the U.S. instead of Donald Trump. Imagine what this public perception might mean for the future career of the F.B.I. agent or for that of the tech desk employee involved. Even communication mistakes of a much lower magnitude can get employees into serious trouble. At the very least, they would lose any chance at promotions. Consequences might also include being fired and, perhaps, becoming unemployable in their field. (Who would take a chance on a potential employee with this kind of work history?)

Additional  Case Study Examples

A list of case studies in Astronomy, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Ethics, Evolution, Genetics, Behavior, Biology, Botany, Ecology, Epidemiology, Health Sciences, Microbiology, Phylogenetics, Physiology, Physics,  and other disciplines:

• http://bioquest.org/icbl/cases.php 

National Centre for Case Study Teaching in Science: The purpose of this center is to “promote a nationwide application of active learning techniques to the teaching of science, with a particular emphasis on case studies and problem-based learning” (quotation from front page of the official website). This resource contains many cases in all areas of science:

• http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/ and, more specifically:
• http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/

MERLOT II: Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching: You can have access to many cases in various disciplines by doing a search with the key phrase: “case studies”.

• https://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm

Stanley, E., (n.d.). Investigative case based learning examples, SERC Pedagogic Service Project: Several cases are provided and some of the Earth Systems topics are in atmosphere, biosphere, climate, Earth’s cycles, human dimensions, hydrology and surface processes.

• http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/icbl/examples.html

Ryerson University – The Teaching and Learning Office – Teaching Methods for Case Studies: This is a pdf file with information on how to pick a case study, how to prepare students for it, the importance of knowing students’ abilities and needs, how to lead the discussion, what types of questions to be asked, and the evaluation process.

• http://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/lt/resources/handouts/CaseMethodBestPractices.pdf

Boston University – Center for Teaching and Learning – Using Case Studies to Teach: This website has a brief introduction on case study use to teach: common elements in case studies, advantages in using them in class, guidelines for using them, how to lead a case discussion and how to evaluate performance.

• http://www.bu.edu/ctl/teaching-resources/using-case-studies-to-teach/

The case directory of Western University’s Ivey Business School:

• https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/internationalbusiness/resources/published-cases/case-directory/http://www.bu.edu/ctl/teaching-resources/using-case-studies-to-teach/

Key Takeaways

• Case studies allow for complex learning activities that stimulate the development of higher-order cognitive skills such as critical thinking in students
• Analyzing a case study (and any business situation) involved understanding the problem/ issue, the context of the problem, the key aspects of the situation, and the decision-maker’s priorities and goal.
• In making suggestions, we should always start by carefully assessing what is achievable and what is not — to avoid directing resources at issues that can’t be solved. We should also make our suggestions in clear, objective language, being careful to avoid careless and unnecessarily negative comments.

Additional resources for case study-based learning:

Brown University, (n.d.). Case Studies. Retrieved April 13, 2017 from:

https://www.brown.edu/about/administration/sheridan-center/teaching-learning/effective-classroom-practices/case-studies  

Davis, C., and Wilcock, E. (2003). Teaching materials using case studies. In UK Centre for Materials Education: Working with you to enhance the student experience. Retrieved on April 18, 2017 from:

http://www.materials.ac.uk/guides/1-casestudies.pdf

Stanford University Newsletter on Teaching, (1994). Teaching with case studies. In Speaking of Teaching, 5(2), 1-4. Retrieved on April 13 2017 from:

https://web.stanford.edu/dept/CTL/Newsletter/case_studies.pdf

Stanley, E., (n.d.). Using Investigative Cases. SERC Pedagogic Service Project. Retrieved on April 18, 2017, from:

http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/icbl/index.html

The BioQuest Library IV, (1996). Planning for case-based learning. Retrieved on April 18, 2017, from:

http://bioquest.org/lifelines/PlanningStages.html#structure

Advanced Professional Communication Copyright © 2021 by Melissa Ashman; Arley Cruthers; eCampusOntario; Ontario Business Faculty; and University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Business Communication Case Study: Crisis Communication for a Public Employee Retirement System

As a way of introducing the tasks and skills involved in creating business communication products, we interviewed professionals in the field regarding a project they helped lead. This case study explores the creation of a crisis communication plan and how it is used during a crisis.

Crisis communication planning has become a necessary part of almost every business toolbox. A crisis can be understood as any unexpected situation that interferes with daily business operations, ranging from a natural disaster or major financial loss to a rogue employee on social media. Whether you work for yourself, a small nonprofit, or a large corporation, a crisis communication plan will give you the foundation needed to respond to any emergency situation. Proper planning will help people recognize a crisis immediately and bring it to the attention of appropriate parties. It can also help reduce vulnerabilities when a crisis occurs. With an effective plan in place, everyone involved can act quickly with the best possible tools to deal with the situation.

State agencies are the administrative branch of state government and responsible for the day-to-day business functions of the state. While private business or nonprofits have their agendas set by their Board for long term goals, state agencies can have their business changed frequently by the legislative branch. At the beginning of each legislative session, the Agency Director must be prepared to be aware of any legislation that might impact the Agency and its mission to serve the public.

While it is impossible to anticipate every possible crisis that might occur, it is necessary to create and regularly review a process to deal with potential crises. In a state agency, the Director, along with the management team and legal counsel, has the duty to develop and then review the plan annually. Each person on the team is responsible for reviewing and submitting any necessary updates to their part of the plan (e.g. the IT director will review the potential impacts to the computer systems and prepare for ways to address any crises). The review process includes:

• Crisis Management Plan
• Crisis Management Team
• Spokesperson
• Pre-Draft Messages
• Communication Channels

Pre-Crisis Phase

In a recent legislative session, there were a number of bills proposed that would impact the mission of the public employee retirement system (PERS), with a change from pension to a government form of the individual retirement fund (IRA). This would greatly impact the financial status of the fund for public employees’ retirement and was creating a great deal of anxiety for the employees.

The Director called together the crisis team to review the crisis management plan in light of this particular situation. They defined the stakeholders in the situation (public employees, public employees union, general public, legislators, governor and staff, and the media) and considered the point of view of each of these groups. Since they were in the pre-crisis stage (i.e. no new laws had been passed), the primary response would be through channels of communication. If the laws were passed, the team would be called together to refine the crisis management plan to focus on how to implement the new laws.

Rather than have the Communications Officer be the public spokesperson, the team decided that the Director would take on that role; she had been in her position many years and was trusted. The Communications Officer and the agency’s legal counsel were assigned the duties of creating a series of messages based on the possible outcomes from the various bills. The Communications Officer also contacted the local media outlets, particularly those reporters who covered the legislative sessions, to be prepared for press releases and public statements as the legislative session developed.

Crisis Response

Some crises are short-term and abrupt situations; however, the crisis in this situation was a months-long process of following the bills as they moved through the state legislative committees and were discussed in the state House and Senate. The crisis management team had to balance their release of information so the stakeholders didn’t feel overwhelmed by too much rapidly changing information, but also didn’t feel that they were being left in the dark. The Crisis Response process included:

• Initial Response
• Ongoing Responses
• Reputation Repair

The agency’s initial response was to produce a series of fact sheets about each of the bills that were likely to move through session. The Communications Officer posted that information on the agency website and sent them to their political allies, which included the employee union and certain legislators. The Communications Officer also arranged for a press conference at the beginning of the legislative session for the Director to give a prepared statement and answer questions from the media.

During the crisis (which lasted five months), a weekly email was sent out with updates on the various bills and likelihood of them being passed. This information was also posted on the agency’s website. The Director worked with the Communications Officer and the legal counsel to draft appropriate statements for times when she was requested to attend legislative hearings.

The Communications Officer also drafted statements for the agency staff to use when they were asked questions about the situation. The crisis management team agreed that it was important to have a consistent message for everyone and that the Director would be available to speak with people who were not satisfied with more general information.

Post-Crisis Phase

Once a crisis has been navigated, whether successful or not, the final stage is as significant as the previous stages. The review process included:

• Delivering promised information to stakeholders
• Analyzing crisis management and lessons learned

While messages had been drafted for either outcome, at the end of the legislative session the attempt to change pensions to IRA accounts was not successful. The Director held a press conference to announce that there were minimal changes to the pension fund. The Communications Manager sent out press releases, a final email update, and posted information on the agency’s website.

The crisis management team had been meeting every other week to review the situation and make adjustments to the crisis management plan, if necessary. The final meeting was a discussion on lessons learned from the situation and some permanent changes were made to the plan for future situations.

Crisis management is a team effort; the communication aspect is the most public face and often the critical piece that makes or breaks public opinion on how the crisis was handled and resolved. This form of business communication requires strong knowledge by all stakeholders involved in the situation, as well as the ability to make adjustments quickly and effectively with confidence.

In this case study, the Communications Manager used their skills of:

• Content Creation
• Public Relations
• Research (Legal)

A crisis can arrive in many different forms. In this agency, some of the crisis communication plans they maintained included how to deal with an earthquake (backup computer systems in different part of the state); what to do in case of the illness or death of the Director with a succession plan; and how to address stakeholders in case of a severe financial downturn (this occurred in both 2007 and 2008 and many lessons were learned from that experience). While it is common to think of public relations crises in terms of wrong doing by a company or its employees, it is not uncommon for organizations to have crisis communication plans for many different types of situations, including the one described in this case study.

Additional Business Communication Case Studies:

Human Resources Communication and an Integrity Pledge

This case study examines a company HR strategy that created deep divisions throughout the organization and was ultimately unsuccessful. It deals with the creation and implementation of an Integrity Pledge meant to address issues plaguing a small business.

Strategic Communication for Floodplain Education

In this case study, a communication specialist helps spearhead a strategic communication project for a non-profit conservation collective. Their work entails collaborative project planning and evaluation, content creation, event management, and public relations.

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

Crisis communication

• Business management
• Corporate communications
• Internal communication
• Public relations

How to Vet a Corporate Intelligence Vendor

• Maria Robson Morrow
• Katherine Tucker
• Paul R Kolbe
• January 19, 2024

The Power of Options

• David Noble
• Carol Kauffman
• From the January–February 2023 Issue

How to Talk to Your Team About Distressing News Events

• Allison Shapira
• March 07, 2022

"They Burned the House Down"

• Michael Lynton
• Adi Ignatius
• From the July–August 2015 Issue

What 100,000 Tweets About the Volkswagen Scandal Tell Us About Angry Customers

• Vanitha Swaminathan
• September 02, 2016

When Staying Neutral Backfires

• August 23, 2022

Don’t Hide Bad News in Times of Crisis

• Amy C. Edmondson
• March 06, 2020

Samsung, Shame, and Corporate Atonement

• May 17, 2017

How a FIFA-Like Scandal Affects Your Talent Pipeline

• Jennifer Petriglieri
• June 09, 2015

The Former CEO of Guardian on Using Values to Drive Strategic Planning

• Deanna Mulligan
• From the January–February 2021 Issue

Why Ben & Jerry's Speaks Out

• Alison Beard
• January 13, 2021

Let the Response Fit the Scandal

• Alice M. Tybout
• Michelle Roehm
• From the December 2009 Issue

Corporate Crises - and Reputational Recovery - Have Changed

• December 12, 2023

How to Be a Supportive Manager When Times Are Tough

• March 31, 2022

7 Steps to Stop Finger-Pointing in a Crisis

• Marshall Goldsmith
• October 01, 2008

Crisis Communication: Lessons from 9/11

• Paul A. Argenti
• From the December 2002 Issue

We Need Trauma-Informed Workplaces

• Katharine Manning

The Art of Communicating Risk

• Ann Cleaveland
• Jessica Cussins Newman
• Steven Weber
• September 24, 2020

The Harder They Fall

• Roderick M. Kramer
• From the October 2003 Issue

Unifying Your Company Around a Moral Goal

• Ranjay Gulati
• November 22, 2023

Ichko: In the Eye of a Cyclone

• Chandra Mohan B
• Anusha Parihar
• Philip Zerrillo
• February 08, 2021

#BaghjanBurns: Crisis at Oil India Ltd

• Vidhi Chaudhri
• September 12, 2022

General Motors and the Chevy Cobalt Ignition Switch Crisis

• Randall D. Harris
• Walter S. Sherman
• September 01, 2017

Navigating SheaMoisture through a Racial Awakening: Cara Sabin's Authentic Leadership

• Stephanie Robertson
• Jeremy Petranka
• July 26, 2022

Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (B): The Crisis Widens

• Luk Van Wassenhove
• Mark Hunter
• Maria Besiou
• July 30, 2014

When Imperatives Collide: The 2003 San Diego Firestorm

• Kirsten Lundberg
• October 30, 2005

The Shootings at Columbine High School: The Law Enforcement Response

• Richard Falkenrath
• Susan Rosegrant
• March 01, 2001

Recovery in Aurora: The Public Schools' Response to the July 2012 Movie Theater Shooting (B)

• Arnold M. Howitt
• David L. Tannenwald
• August 26, 2014

Respond Swiftly to a Crisis

• Harvard Business Publishing
• May 15, 2016

Lawnsite.com vs. DuPont (C): After the Crisis

The flawed emergency response to the 1992 los angeles riots (b).

• September 01, 2000

A Study in Grey: Lisa LaFlamme's Dismissal from CTV News

• Gerard Seijts
• Jana Seijts
• Lindsay Hobbs
• September 14, 2023

Uni-President: Crisis Management Strategy

• Huei-Mei Liang
• Chung-Cheng Tu
• December 12, 2017

Prion Disease Contamination: Should We Disclose? (A)

• Elizabeth A. Powell
• Rebecca Goldberg
• Nathan Nair
• December 12, 2018

The Phoenix Project: Remediation of a Cybersecurity Crisis at the University of Virginia

• Ryan Nelson
• Ryan Wright
• September 27, 2017

Transformation at Loyola New Orleans (A)

• David G. Fubini
• Patrick Sanguineti
• March 03, 2022

A Brand Under Attack: The Boycott of Stoli Vodka and the Power of Social Media

• Grishma Shah
• Janet L. Rovenpor
• March 01, 2016

D&G's Marketing Missteps in China (A): How to Balance Fashion Brand Strategy and Cultural Sensitivity?

• Kineta Hung
• October 10, 2019

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response (A)

• David Giles
• Arnold Howitt
• Dutch Leonard
• February 25, 2013

Nestlé Entangled! Braving the Maggi Noodle Crisis in India (A)

• June 14, 2016

Exploring the Effectiveness of Creating Regulatory Fit in Crisis Communications: Can it Change Perceptions of Media Coverage During a Crisis?

• Tamar Avnet
• Daniel Laufer
• March 15, 2015

Ichko: In the Eye of a Cyclone, Teaching Note

Commuter complaints on smrt train breakdowns, teaching note.

• Susheela Varghese
• November 27, 2013

Better Safe Than Sorry: Why Organizations in Crisis Should Never Hesitate to Steal Thunder

• An Sofie Claeys
• May 01, 2017

Popular Topics

Partner center.

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

A CASE STUDY OF WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION PROBLEM: STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION TO MAKE THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS MORE EFFECTIVE

Instituting effective organisational communication is imminent for organisations if they want to be relevant in the business world, going forward. Severally, breaches in communication ethics result in conflicts between top management and the labour force. This work examine such a case with a fictitious company name, in order to address the issue, by proffering a way forward using psychological theories and models.

Related Papers

Hesti Nur Syafa'ati

Geet Divekar

This journal was my submission for the course's final assignment. it is my reflection on ethics base on the case studies from Steve May's Case Studies in Organizational Communication. Ethics stand different for every individual and therefore, assuming that the thoughts in this journal are the only right ethical decisions would be wrong.

NHRD Network Journal

Prasenjit Bhattacharya

Journal of Marketing and Consumer Research

Ngorang Philipus

abhilasha ram

Excellent employee communication is must for any thriving organization. Effective internal communication is key to success of any organization. The need for communicating information to an organization's internal public — its employees — has become of utmost importance in the recent years. This research article studied internal / employee communication in terms of openness of communication and adequacy of information. The openness should be followed across the organization – between the employer and employee as well as amongst employees. Giving too little information as well as too much information to the concerned employee makes him/her confused; so, the importance of adequate information. The effectiveness of information studied on the basis of communication tools and practices used in the organization for the proper dissemination of communication.

Carl Harshman

Journal of Communication Management

Robert Beckett

RELATED PAPERS

Natalia Benitez

Umran Serpen

Case Reports

Shah A Khan

Kardiovask Med

Andràs Gyöngy

Bijay Bhujabal

Natchiappan Senthilkumar

International Journal of Reproductive Medicine

Zenawi Negash

Alexis Metzger

Flat Earths and Fake Footnotes

Derrick Peterson

Rick Benitez

Eddi Pianca

Journal of the International AIDS Society

Marcello Mazzetti

Francesca Pongetti

Henry Bating

Applied Physics Letters

Cadernos de Saúde Pública

Aline Barbosa

Revista Chilena de Pediatría

Juan Ignacio Juanet

Ivanna Pivdiablyk

Egyptian Journal of Health Care

Journal of Social Work and Science Education

nuril furkan

Rustam Hadi

2011 7th International Conference on Emerging Technologies

Abdullah Abdul Rehman

Research in Veterinary Science

Gabriela Santiso

Revista da FAEEBA - Educação e Contemporaneidade

Alboni Marisa Vieira

RELATED TOPICS

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

We use essential cookies to make Venngage work. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.

Manage Cookies

Cookies and similar technologies collect certain information about how you’re using our website. Some of them are essential, and without them you wouldn’t be able to use Venngage. But others are optional, and you get to choose whether we use them or not.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are always on, as they’re essential for making Venngage work, and making it safe. Without these cookies, services you’ve asked for can’t be provided.

Show cookie providers

• Google Login

Functionality Cookies

These cookies help us provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, and remember your settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers.

Performance Cookies

These cookies help us analyze how many people are using Venngage, where they come from and how they're using it. If you opt out of these cookies, we can’t get feedback to make Venngage better for you and all our users.

• Google Analytics

Targeting Cookies

These cookies are set by our advertising partners to track your activity and show you relevant Venngage ads on other sites as you browse the internet.

• Google Tag Manager
• Infographics
• Daily Infographics
• Template Lists
• Graphic Design
• Graphs and Charts
• Data Visualization
• Human Resources
• Beginner Guides

Blog Graphic Design

15+ Professional Case Study Examples [Design Tips + Templates]

By Alice Corner , Jan 12, 2023

Have you ever bought something — within the last 10 years or so — without reading its reviews or without a recommendation or prior experience of using it?

If the answer is no — or at least, rarely — you get my point.

Positive reviews matter for selling to regular customers, and for B2B or SaaS businesses, detailed case studies are important too.

Wondering how to craft a compelling case study ? No worries—I’ve got you covered with 15 marketing case study templates , helpful tips, and examples to ensure your case study converts effectively.

Click to jump ahead:

• What is a Case Study?

Business Case Study Examples

Simple case study examples.

• Marketing Case Study Examples

Sales Case Study Examples

• Case Study FAQs

What is a case study?

A case study is an in-depth, detailed analysis of a specific real-world situation. For example, a case study can be about an individual, group, event, organization, or phenomenon. The purpose of a case study is to understand its complexities and gain insights into a particular instance or situation.

In the context of a business, however, case studies take customer success stories and explore how they use your product to help them achieve their business goals.

As well as being valuable marketing tools , case studies are a good way to evaluate your product as it allows you to objectively examine how others are using it.

It’s also a good way to interview your customers about why they work with you.

Related: What is a Case Study? [+6 Types of Case Studies]

Marketing Case Study Template

A marketing case study showcases how your product or services helped potential clients achieve their business goals. You can also create case studies of internal, successful marketing projects. A marketing case study typically includes:

• Company background and history
• The challenge
• How you helped
• Specific actions taken
• Visuals or Data
• Client testimonials

Here’s an example of a marketing case study template:

Whether you’re a B2B or B2C company, business case studies can be a powerful resource to help with your sales, marketing, and even internal departmental awareness.

Business and business management case studies should encompass strategic insights alongside anecdotal and qualitative findings, like in the business case study examples below.

Conduct a B2B case study by researching the company holistically

When it comes to writing a case study, make sure you approach the company holistically and analyze everything from their social media to their sales.

Think about every avenue your product or service has been of use to your case study company, and ask them about the impact this has had on their wider company goals.

In business case study examples like the one above, we can see that the company has been thought about holistically simply by the use of icons.

By combining social media icons with icons that show in-person communication we know that this is a well-researched and thorough case study.

This case study report example could also be used within an annual or end-of-year report.

Highlight the key takeaway from your marketing case study

To create a compelling case study, identify the key takeaways from your research. Use catchy language to sum up this information in a sentence, and present this sentence at the top of your page.

This is “at a glance” information and it allows people to gain a top-level understanding of the content immediately. 

You can use a large, bold, contrasting font to help this information stand out from the page and provide interest.

Learn  how to choose fonts  effectively with our Venngage guide and once you’ve done that.

Upload your fonts and  brand colors  to Venngage using the  My Brand Kit  tool and see them automatically applied to your designs.

The heading is the ideal place to put the most impactful information, as this is the first thing that people will read.

In this example, the stat of “Increase[d] lead quality by 90%” is used as the header. It makes customers want to read more to find out how exactly lead quality was increased by such a massive amount.

If you’re conducting an in-person interview, you could highlight a direct quote or insight provided by your interview subject.

Pick out a catchy sentence or phrase, or the key piece of information your interview subject provided and use that as a way to draw a potential customer in.

Use charts to visualize data in your business case studies

Charts are an excellent way to visualize data and to bring statistics and information to life. Charts make information easier to understand and to illustrate trends or patterns.

Making charts is even easier with Venngage.

In this consulting case study example, we can see that a chart has been used to demonstrate the difference in lead value within the Lead Elves case study.

Adding a chart here helps break up the information and add visual value to the case study. 

Using charts in your case study can also be useful if you’re creating a project management case study.

You could use a Gantt chart or a project timeline to show how you have managed the project successfully.

Use direct quotes to build trust in your marketing case study

To add an extra layer of authenticity you can include a direct quote from your customer within your case study.

According to research from Nielsen , 92% of people will trust a recommendation from a peer and 70% trust recommendations even if they’re from somebody they don’t know.

So if you have a customer or client who can’t stop singing your praises, make sure you get a direct quote from them and include it in your case study.

You can either lift part of the conversation or interview, or you can specifically request a quote. Make sure to ask for permission before using the quote.

This design uses a bright contrasting speech bubble to show that it includes a direct quote, and helps the quote stand out from the rest of the text.

This will help draw the customer’s attention directly to the quote, in turn influencing them to use your product or service.

Less is often more, and this is especially true when it comes to creating designs. Whilst you want to create a professional-looking, well-written and design case study – there’s no need to overcomplicate things.

These simple case study examples show that smart clean designs and informative content can be an effective way to showcase your successes.

Use colors and fonts to create a professional-looking case study

Business case studies shouldn’t be boring. In fact, they should be beautifully and professionally designed.

This means the normal rules of design apply. Use fonts, colors, and icons to create an interesting and visually appealing case study.

In this case study example, we can see how multiple fonts have been used to help differentiate between the headers and content, as well as complementary colors and eye-catching icons.

Marketing case study examples

Marketing case studies are incredibly useful for showing your marketing successes. Every successful marketing campaign relies on influencing a consumer’s behavior, and a great case study can be a great way to spotlight your biggest wins.

In the marketing case study examples below, a variety of designs and techniques to create impactful and effective case studies.

Show off impressive results with a bold marketing case study

Case studies are meant to show off your successes, so make sure you feature your positive results prominently. Using bold and bright colors as well as contrasting shapes, large bold fonts, and simple icons is a great way to highlight your wins.

In well-written case study examples like the one below, the big wins are highlighted on the second page with a bright orange color and are highlighted in circles.

Making the important data stand out is especially important when attracting a prospective customer with marketing case studies.

Use a simple but clear layout in your case study

Using a simple layout in your case study can be incredibly effective, like in the example of a case study below.

Keeping a clean white background, and using slim lines to help separate the sections is an easy way to format your case study.

Making the information clear helps draw attention to the important results, and it helps improve the  accessibility of the design .

Business case study examples like this would sit nicely within a larger report, with a consistent layout throughout.

Use visuals and icons to create an engaging and branded business case study

Nobody wants to read pages and pages of text — and that’s why Venngage wants to help you communicate your ideas visually.

Using icons, graphics, photos, or patterns helps create a much more engaging design. 

With this Blue Cap case study icons, colors, and impactful pattern designs have been used to create an engaging design that catches your eye.

Use a monochromatic color palette to create a professional and clean case study

Let your research shine by using a monochromatic and minimalistic color palette.

By sticking to one color, and leaving lots of blank space you can ensure your design doesn’t distract a potential customer from your case study content.

In this case study on Polygon Media, the design is simple and professional, and the layout allows the prospective customer to follow the flow of information.

The gradient effect on the left-hand column helps break up the white background and adds an interesting visual effect.

Did you know you can generate an accessible color palette with Venngage? Try our free accessible color palette generator today and create a case study that delivers and looks pleasant to the eye:

Add long term goals in your case study

When creating a case study it’s a great idea to look at both the short term and the long term goals of the company to gain the best understanding possible of the insights they provide.

Short-term goals will be what the company or person hopes to achieve in the next few months, and long-term goals are what the company hopes to achieve in the next few years.

Check out this modern pattern design example of a case study below:

In this case study example, the short and long-term goals are clearly distinguished by light blue boxes and placed side by side so that they are easy to compare.

Use a strong introductory paragraph to outline the overall strategy and goals before outlining the specific short-term and long-term goals to help with clarity.

This strategy can also be handy when creating a consulting case study.

Use data to make concrete points about your sales and successes

When conducting any sort of research stats, facts, and figures are like gold dust (aka, really valuable).

Being able to quantify your findings is important to help understand the information fully. Saying sales increased 10% is much more effective than saying sales increased.

While sales dashboards generally tend it make it all about the numbers and charts, in sales case study examples, like this one, the key data and findings can be presented with icons. This contributes to the potential customer’s better understanding of the report.

They can clearly comprehend the information and it shows that the case study has been well researched.

Use emotive, persuasive, or action based language in your marketing case study

Create a compelling case study by using emotive, persuasive and action-based language when customizing your case study template.

In this well-written case study example, we can see that phrases such as “Results that Speak Volumes” and “Drive Sales” have been used.

Using persuasive language like you would in a blog post. It helps inspire potential customers to take action now.

Keep your potential customers in mind when creating a customer case study for marketing

82% of marketers use case studies in their marketing  because it’s such an effective tool to help quickly gain customers’ trust and to showcase the potential of your product.

Why are case studies such an important tool in content marketing?

By writing a case study you’re telling potential customers that they can trust you because you’re showing them that other people do.

Not only that, but if you have a SaaS product, business case studies are a great way to show how other people are effectively using your product in their company.

In this case study, Network is demonstrating how their product has been used by Vortex Co. with great success; instantly showing other potential customers that their tool works and is worth using.

Related: 10+ Case Study Infographic Templates That Convert

Case studies are particularly effective as a sales technique.

A sales case study is like an extended customer testimonial, not only sharing opinions of your product – but showcasing the results you helped your customer achieve.

Make impactful statistics pop in your sales case study

Writing a case study doesn’t mean using text as the only medium for sharing results.

You should use icons to highlight areas of your research that are particularly interesting or relevant, like in this example of a case study:

Icons are a great way to help summarize information quickly and can act as visual cues to help draw the customer’s attention to certain areas of the page.

In some of the business case study examples above, icons are used to represent the impressive areas of growth and are presented in a way that grabs your attention.

Use high contrast shapes and colors to draw attention to key information in your sales case study

Help the key information stand out within your case study by using high contrast shapes and colors.

Use a complementary or contrasting color, or use a shape such as a rectangle or a circle for maximum impact.

This design has used dark blue rectangles to help separate the information and make it easier to read.

Coupled with icons and strong statistics, this information stands out on the page and is easily digestible and retainable for a potential customer.

Case Study Examples Summary

Once you have created your case study, it’s best practice to update your examples on a regular basis to include up-to-date statistics, data, and information.

You should update your business case study examples often if you are sharing them on your website .

It’s also important that your case study sits within your brand guidelines – find out how Venngage’s My Brand Kit tool can help you create consistently branded case study templates.

Case studies are important marketing tools – but they shouldn’t be the only tool in your toolbox. Content marketing is also a valuable way to earn consumer trust.

Case Study FAQ

Why should you write a case study.

Case studies are an effective marketing technique to engage potential customers and help build trust.

By producing case studies featuring your current clients or customers, you are showcasing how your tool or product can be used. You’re also showing that other people endorse your product.

In addition to being a good way to gather positive testimonials from existing customers , business case studies are good educational resources and can be shared amongst your company or team, and used as a reference for future projects.

How should you write a case study?

To create a great case study, you should think strategically. The first step, before starting your case study research, is to think about what you aim to learn or what you aim to prove.

You might be aiming to learn how a company makes sales or develops a new product. If this is the case, base your questions around this.

You can learn more about writing a case study  from our extensive guide.

Related: How to Present a Case Study like a Pro (With Examples)

Some good questions you could ask would be:

• Why do you use our tool or service?
• How often do you use our tool or service?
• What does the process of using our product look like to you?
• If our product didn’t exist, what would you be doing instead?
• What is the number one benefit you’ve found from using our tool?

You might also enjoy:

• 12 Essential Consulting Templates For Marketing, Planning and Branding
• Best Marketing Strategies for Consultants and Freelancers in 2019 [Study + Infographic]

Your browser is ancient! Upgrade to a different browser or install Google Chrome Frame to experience this site.

Master of Advanced Studies in INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Case Studies in Intercultural Communication

Welcome to the MIC Case Studies page.

Here you will find more than fifty different case studies, developed by our former participants from the Master of Advanced Studies in Intercultural Communication. The richness of this material is that it contains real-life experiences in intercultural communication problems in various settings, such as war, family, negotiations, inter-religious conflicts, business, workplace, and others. 

Cases also include renowned organizations and global institutions, such as the United Nations, Multinationals companies, Non-Governmental Organisations, Worldwide Events, European, African, Asian and North and South America Governments and others.

Intercultural situations are characterized by encounters, mutual respect and the valorization of diversity by individuals or groups of individuals identifying with different cultures. By making the most of the cultural differences, we can improve intercultural communication in civil society, in public institutions and the business world.

How can these Case Studies help you?

These case studies were made during the classes at the Master of Advanced Studies in Intercultural Communication. Therefore, they used the most updated skills, tools, theories and best practices available.   They were created by participants working in the field of public administration; international organizations; non-governmental organizations; development and cooperation organizations; the business world (production, trade, tourism, etc.); the media; educational institutions; and religious institutions. Through these case studies, you will be able to learn through real-life stories, how practitioners apply intercultural communication skills in multicultural situations.

Why are we opening our "Treasure Chest" for you?

We believe that Intercultural Communication has a growing role in the lives of organizations, companies and governments relationship with the public, between and within organizations. There are many advanced tools available to access, analyze and practice intercultural communication at a professional level.  Moreover, professionals are demanded to have an advanced cross-cultural background or experience to deal efficiently with their environment. International organizations are requiring workers who are competent, flexible, and able to adjust and apply their skills with the tact and sensitivity that will enhance business success internationally. Intercultural communication means the sharing of information across diverse cultures and social groups, comprising individuals with distinct religious, social, ethnic, and educational backgrounds. It attempts to understand the differences in how people from a diversity of cultures act, communicate and perceive the world around them. For this reason, we are sharing our knowledge chest with you, to improve and enlarge intercultural communication practice, awareness, and education.

We promise you that our case studies, which are now also yours, will delight, entertain, teach, and amaze you. It will reinforce or change the way you see intercultural communication practice, and how it can be part of your life today. Take your time to read them; you don't need to read all at once, they are rather small and very easy to read. The cases will always be here waiting for you. Therefore, we wish you an insightful and pleasant reading.

These cases represent the raw material developed by the students as part of their certification project. MIC master students are coming from all over the world and often had to write the case in a non-native language. No material can be reproduced without permission. ©   Master of Advanced Studies in Intercultural Communication , Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland.

Subscribe Us

If you want to receive our last updated case studies or news about the program, leave us your email, and you will know in first-hand about intercultural communication education and cutting-edge research in the intercultural field.

• CRM Asignment Help
• MBA Assignment Help
• Statistics Assignment Help
• Market Analysis Assignment Help
• Business Development Assignment Help
• 4p of Marketing Assignment Help
• Pricing Strategy Assignment Help
• Operations Management Assignment Help
• Corporate Strategy Assignment Help
• Change Management Assignment Help
• Supply Chain Management Assignment Help
• Human Resource Assignment Help
• Management Assignment Help
• Marketing Assignment Help
• Strategy Assignment Help
• Operation Assignment Help
• Marketing Research Assignment Help
• Strategic Marketing Assignment Help
• Project Management Assignment Help
• Strategic Management Assignment Help
• Marketing Management Assignment Help
• Business Assignment Help
• Business Ethics Assignment Help
• Consumer Behavior Assignment Help
• Conflict Management Assignment Help
• Business Statistics Assignment Help
• Managerial Economics Assignment Help
• Project Risk Management Assignment Help
• Nursing Assignment Help
• Clinical Reasoning Cycle
• Nursing Resume Writing
• Medical Assignment Help
• Financial Accounting Assignment Help
• Financial Services Assignment Help
• Finance Planning Assignment Help
• Finance Assignment Help
• Forex Assignment Help
• Behavioral Finance Assignment Help
• Personal Finance Assignment Help
• Capital Budgeting Assignment Help
• Corporate Finance Planning Assignment Help
• Financial Statement Analysis Assignment Help
• Accounting Assignment Help
• Solve My Accounting Paper
• Taxation Assignment Help
• Cost Accounting Assignment Help
• Managerial Accounting Assignment Help
• Business Accounting Assignment Help
• Activity-Based Accounting Assignment Help
• Economics Assignment Help
• Microeconomics Assignment Help
• Econometrics Assignment Help
• IT Management Assignment Help
• Robotics Assignment Help
• Business Intelligence Assignment Help
• Information Technology Assignment Help
• Database Assignment Help
• Data Mining Assignment Help
• Data Structure Assignment Help
• Computer Network Assignment Help
• Operating System Assignment Help
• Data Flow Diagram Assignment Help
• UML Diagram Assignment Help
• Solidworks Assignment Help
• Cookery Assignment Help
• R Studio Assignment Help
• Law Assignment Help
• Law Assignment Sample
• Criminology Assignment Help
• Taxation Law Assignment Help
• Constitutional Law Assignment Help
• Business Law Assignment Help
• Consumer Law Assignment Help
• Employment Law Assignment Help
• Commercial Law Assignment Help
• Criminal Law Assignment Help
• Environmental Law Assignment Help
• Contract Law Assignment Help
• Company Law Assignment Help
• Corp. Governance Law Assignment Help
• Science Assignment Help
• Physics Assignment Help
• Chemistry Assignment Help
• Sports Science Assignment Help
• Chemical Engineering Assignment Help
• Biology Assignment Help
• Bioinformatics Assignment Help
• Biochemistry Assignment Help
• Biotechnology Assignment Help
• Anthropology Assignment Help
• Paleontology Assignment Help
• Engineering Assignment Help
• Autocad Assignment Help
• Mechanical Assignment Help
• Fluid Mechanics Assignment Help
• Civil Engineering Assignment Help
• Electrical Engineering Assignment Help
• Ansys Assignment Help
• Humanities Assignment Help
• Sociology Assignment Help
• Philosophy Assignment Help
• English Assignment Help
• Geography Assignment Help
• History Assignment Help
• Agroecology Assignment Help
• Psychology Assignment Help
• Social Science Assignment Help
• Public Relations Assignment Help
• Political Science Assignment Help
• Mass Communication Assignment Help
• Auditing Assignment Help
• Dissertation Writing Help
• Sociology Dissertation Help
• Marketing Dissertation Help
• Biology Dissertation Help
• Nursing Dissertation Help
• MATLAB Dissertation Help
• Law Dissertation Help
• Geography Dissertation Help
• English Dissertation Help
• Architecture Dissertation Help
• Doctoral Dissertation Help
• Dissertation Statistics Help
• Academic Dissertation Help
• Cheap Dissertation Help
• Dissertation Help Online
• Dissertation Proofreading Services
• Do My Dissertation
• Business Report Writing
• Programming Assignment Help
• Java Programming Assignment Help
• C Programming Assignment Help
• PHP Assignment Help
• Python Assignment Help
• Perl Assignment Help
• SAS Assignment Help
• Web Designing Assignment Help
• Android App Assignment Help
• JavaScript Assignment Help
• Linux Assignment Help
• Mathematics Assignment Help
• Geometry Assignment Help
• Arithmetic Assignment Help
• Trigonometry Assignment Help
• Calculus Assignment Help
• Arts Architecture Assignment Help
• Arts Assignment Help
• Case Study Assignment Help
• History Case Study
• Case Study Writing Services
• Write My Case Study For Me
• Business Law Case Study
• Civil Law Case Study Help
• Marketing Case Study Help
• Nursing Case Study Help
• ZARA Case Study
• Amazon Case Study
• Apple Case Study
• Coursework Assignment Help
• Finance Coursework Help
• Coursework Writing Services
• Marketing Coursework Help
• Maths Coursework Help
• Chemistry Coursework Help
• English Coursework Help
• Do My Coursework
• Custom Coursework Writing Service
• Thesis Writing Help
• Thesis Help Online
• Write my thesis for me
• CDR Writing Services
• CDR Engineers Australia
• CDR Report Writers
• Homework help
• Algebra Homework Help
• Psychology Homework Help
• Statistics Homework Help
• English Homework Help
• CPM homework help
• Do My Homework For Me
• Online Exam Help
• Pay Someone to Do My Homework
• Do My Math Homework
• Macroeconomics Homework Help
• Jiskha Homework Help
• Research Paper Help
• Edit my paper
• Research Paper Writing Service
• Write My Paper For Me
• Buy Term Papers Online
• Buy College Papers
• Paper Writing Services
• Research Proposal Help
• Proofread My Paper
• Report Writing Help
• Story Writing Help
• Grant Writing Help
• DCU Assignment Cover Sheet Help Ireland
• CHCDIV001 Assessment Answers
• BSBWOR203 Assessment Answers
• CHC33015 Assessment Answers
• CHCCCS015 Assessment Answers
• CHCECE018 Assessment Answers
• CHCLEG001 Assessment Answers
• CHCPRP001 Assessment Answers
• CHCPRT001 Assessment Answers
• HLTAAP001 Assessment Answers
• HLTINF001 Assessment Answers
• HLTWHS001 Assessment Answers
• SITXCOM005 Assessment Answers
• SITXFSA001 Assessment Answers
• BSBMED301 Assessment Answers
• BSBWOR502 Assessment Answers
• CHCAGE001 Assessment Answers
• CHCCCS011 Assessment Answers
• CHCCOM003 Assessment Answers
• CHCCOM005 Assessment Answers
• CHCDIV002 Assessment Answers
• CHCECE001 Assessment Answers
• CHCECE017 Assessment Answers
• CHCECE023 Assessment Answers
• CHCPRP003 Assessment Answers
• HLTWHS003 Assessment Answers
• SITXWHS001 Assessment Answers
• BSBCMM401 Assessment Answers
• BSBDIV501 Assessment Answers
• BSBSUS401 Assessment Answers
• BSBWOR501 Assessment Answers
• CHCAGE005 Assessment Answers
• CHCDIS002 Assessment Answers
• CHCECE002 Assessment Answers
• CHCECE007 Assessment Answers
• CHCECE025 Assessment Answers
• CHCECE026 Assessment Answers
• CHCLEG003 Assessment Answers
• HLTAID003 Assessment Answers
• SITXHRM002 Assessment Answers
• Elevator Speech
• Maid Of Honor Speech
• Problem Solutions Speech
• Award Presentation Speech
• Tropicana Speech Topics
• Write My Assignment
• Personal Statement Writing
• Narrative Writing help
• Academic Writing Service
• Resume Writing Services
• Assignment Writing Tips
• Writing Assignment for University
• Custom Assignment Writing Service
• Assignment Provider
• Assignment Assistance
• Solve My Assignment
• Pay For Assignment Help
• Assignment Help Online
• HND Assignment Help
• SPSS Assignment Help
• Buy Assignments Online
• Assignment Paper Help
• Assignment Cover Page
• Urgent Assignment Help
• Perdisco Assignment Help
• Make My Assignment
• College Assignment Help
• Get Assignment Help
• Cheap Assignment Help
• Assignment Help Tutors
• TAFE Assignment Help
• Study Help Online
• Do My Assignment
• Do Assignment For Me
• My Assignment Help
• All Assignment Help
• Academic Assignment Help
• Student Assignment Help
• University Assignment Help
• Instant Assignment Help
• Powerpoint Presentation Service
• Last Minute Assignment Help
• World No 1 Assignment Help Company
• Mentorship Assignment Help
• Legit Essay
• Essay Writing Services
• Essay Outline Help
• Descriptive Essay Help
• History Essay Help
• Research Essay Help
• English Essay Writing
• Literature Essay Help
• Essay Writer for Australia
• Online Custom Essay Help
• Essay Writing Help
• Custom Essay Help
• Essay Help Online
• Writing Essay Papers
• Essay Homework Help
• Professional Essay Writer
• Illustration Essay Help
• Scholarship Essay Help
• Need Help Writing Essay
• Plagiarism Free Essays
• Write My Essay
• Response Essay Writing Help
• Essay Assistance
• Essay Typer
• APA Reference Generator
• Harvard Reference Generator
• Vancouver Reference Generator
• Oscola Referencing Generator
• Deakin Referencing Generator
• Griffith Referencing Tool
• Turabian Citation Generator
• UTS Referencing Generator
• Swinburne Referencing Tool
• AGLC Referencing Generator
• AMA Referencing Generator
• MLA Referencing Generator
• CSE Citation Generator
• ASA Referencing
• Oxford Referencing Generator
• LaTrobe Referencing Tool
• ACS Citation Generator
• APSA Citation Generator
• Central Queensland University
• Holmes Institute
• Monash University
• Torrens University
• Victoria University
• Federation University
• Griffith University
• Deakin University
• Murdoch University
• The University of Sydney
• The London College
• Ulster University
• University of derby
• University of West London
• Bath Spa University
• University of Warwick
• Newcastle University
• Anglia Ruskin University
• University of Northampton
• The University of Manchester
• University of Michigan
• University of Chicago
• University of Pennsylvania
• Cornell University
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• National University
• University of Florida
• University of Minnesota
• Help University
• INTI International University
• Universiti Sains Malaysia
• Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
• University of Malaya
• ERC Institute
• Nanyang Technological University
• Singapore Institute of Management
• Singapore Institute of Technology
• United Kingdom
• Jobs near Deakin University
• Jobs Near CQUniversity
• Jobs Near La Trobe University
• Jobs Near Monash University
• Jobs Near Torrens University
• Jobs Near Cornell University
• Jobs Near National University
• Jobs Near University of Chicago
• Jobs Near University of Florida
• Jobs Near University of Michigan
• Jobs Near Bath Spa University
• Jobs Near Coventry University
• Jobs Near Newcastle University
• Jobs Near University of Bolton
• Jobs Near university of derby
• Search Assignments
• Connect Seniors
• Essay Rewriter
• Knowledge Series
• Conclusion Generator
• GPA Calculator
• Factoring Calculator
• Plagiarism Checker
• Word Page Counter
• Paraphrasing Tool
• Living Calculator
• Quadratic Equation
• Algebra Calculator
• Integral Calculator
• Chemical Balancer
• Equation Solver
• Fraction Calculator
• Slope Calculator
• Fisher Equation
• Summary Generator
• Essay Topic Generator
• Alphabetizer
• Case Converter
• Antiderivative Calculator
• Kinematics Calculator
• Truth Table Generator
• Financial Calculator
• Reflection calculator
• Projectile Motion Calculator
• Paper Checker
• Inverse Function Calculator

Effective Business Communication Case Study

Task: Case study: A multi-national organisation operates in various countries including Australia, Vietnam, India, Oman, and Nigeria. The organisation manufactures and distributes agricultural equipment to local and international clients. In total the organisation has 8,000 employees in five countries and more than 1 million customers worldwide. The head office is based in Australia. In recent years the organisation is facing several communication challenges.

They include:

• Ineffective use of social media such as blogs, wikis, social networks to support teams in sharing ideas, building knowledge bases and task management.
• Lack of quality feedback from clients on ways to improve product quality and service delivery
• Misunderstandings and lack of trust based upon intercultural communication issues in different contexts

Your manager has asked you to develop strategies and plans to improve communication at all levels In order to complete this task, you will need to review relevant academic literature and case studies to provide evidence and examples.

Introduction: Effective business communication is perceived as the key to accomplishing sustainable improvement in the performance of a business. The necessity for communication within the organization as well as in the external context is profoundly observed in the modern business environment that is characterized by drastic changes consistently.

• Description of organization: The following assessment is directed towards evaluation of the case of a multinational organization headquartered in Australia which deals with manufacturing and distribution of agricultural equipment with a prominent local as well as international client base. The organization’s workforce comprises of 8000 employees with its operations spread across five different countries namely Australia, India, Vietnam, Nigeria and Oman (Adnan & Jambari, 2016). Another profound highlight that can be noticed in the case of the selected organization is the formidable customer base which accounts for more than 1 million customers all over the world.
• Primary Purpose of the Report: The primary purpose of the report is vested in addressing the communication challenges encountered by the case study organization in recent times. The report would aim at evaluating the communication-related issues faced by the organization and develop reasonable insights for resolving the issues.
• Scope of report: The scope of the report would include the three notable communication issues that would be evaluated by referring to literature available with references to the three issues. The scope of the report would also imply that there would be no consideration for the influence of additional factors that influence effective business communication and would focus mainly on the three concerned issues. The report would cover issues such as the use of social mediaas a resource for business communication, feedback’s significance and the necessity of intercultural communication.
• Report outcome: The report outcome would be primarily identified in the comprehensive interpretation of the nature of the issues and the factors that promoted them that can help in deriving strategic recommendations for addressing the issues (Asante, Miike & Yin, 2013). The report outcome would also emphasize the implementation aspects of the recommendations alongside establishing metrics for ascertaining the success or failure of the recommendations.
• Structure Preview: The structure of the report would be divided into four distinct sections with the first section denoting an introductory statement regarding the scope and purpose of the report. The next section would present an analysis of the situation encountered by the case study organization that would be illustrated in the form of critical review of literature with respect to the three issues identified for the organization. The third section of the report presents a concluding summary of the discussions in the assessment which is followed by presenting recommendations for addressing the individual issues (Bennett, 2017).

Analysis: Communication is an imperative factor for ensuring success and prosperity of a business organization. The impact of corporate communication is not limited to the scope of conveying information but also for crucial business activities that include motivation of the workforce, coordination among different departments or business units of organization and most important of all for management decision making(Breakenridge, 2017). The case of the selected organization in this report reflects profoundly on the communication challenges such as ineffective use of social media for improved support for teams in the organization to develop knowledge bases, sharing information and ideas as well as supporting the management of tasks.

Subscribe our YouTube channel for more related videos

Other notable impacts of corporate communication in the case of the selected organization are identified in limitations for acquiring quality feedback from clients that could cater the needs for improvement in service delivery and product quality (Buenviaje, et al., 2016). Furthermore, the organization also experiences pitfalls in intercultural communication that are responsible for large-scale setbacks in the form of lack of trust and misunderstanding among employees in the different geographical jurisdictions where the organization operates(Apparaju, 2016).This section of the report would present a comprehensive illustration of literature review in the case of the three communication challenges to ascertaining the possible alternatives and the nature of the issues as well as their influence on the organization’s effectiveness in the short term as well as long-term(Hall, 2017).

• Issue 1 Social Media: The use of social media has become a common and mandatory element in the society due to its notable involvement with the behaviour and lifestyles of people. The effectiveness of social media as a tool for personal communication is considered as one of the prominent reasons for its increasing popularity. As per Haslinda, et al(2016), a clear overview of literature sources depicting the implementation of social media as a tool for business communication could provide major insights into the approaches used for business communication in social media and the influence of additional factors such as nature of the social media on its use(Haslinda, et al., 2016). Online marketing and communication have improved many setbacks that were prominent in traditional methods. According to Holmes &Parker(2017), the development of the internet in 1991 has been a notable determinant of the changes in the world of communication (Holmes & Parker, 2017). The internet facilitated options for removing potential obstacles from the communication process and enabling collaboration as well as introducing synchronous communication through instant messages and chat rooms that imply real-time communication. The term social media can be defined as the collection of internet-based applications that facilitate options for creation and sharing of user-generated content (Ayob, 2017).

Primary Elements: The primary elements that can be identified in social media are blogs, social networking sites and social search applications and platforms. As per House(2014), the explicitly accessible and scalable communication technologies identified in social media are responsible for the capability of social media for introduction of formidable and substantial changes in communication between individuals, communities,and organizations(House, 2014). The implementation of social media for communication is primarily based on the principle of improved availability and is responsible for developing groups on the social networking sites and other platforms on the basis of educational level, social status or nationality that are found in the real world social groups and classes(Jandt, 2017).

Implementation of Social Media: The implementation of social media for communication and collaboration could also be justified on the grounds of six core principles that are accountable as the defining characteristics of social media. First of all, social media contributes to participation of various individuals in the society through mobilizing the community for contributing to the process of communication. This factor can be leveraged to improve communication within an organization’s various departments thereby leading to enhanced levels of participation of employees in the communication process. According to Manisaligil & Bilimoria(2016), the next significant aspect that can be noted in the case of social media is the collective nature of social media that implies the involvement of people in the creation of content rather than focusing on individual generation of content and distribution(Manisaligil & Bilimoria, 2016). The implications of transparency could also be identified as a core principle of social media which is identified in the form of references to the facilities for viewing, utilizing, reusing, improving, validating or critique of the content that is distributed on social media. The defining characteristic of independence in the case of social media could not be undermined as it specifically relies on the facilities for users to contribute independently without the involvement of another participant. The other core principles associated with the significance of social media are persistence and emergence which implies that content is provided in a persistent state enabling users to view, distribute and improve the content (Martin & Nakayama, 2013). The principle of emergence reflects on the flexibility for individual users to adapt to the changing needs of collaborative interactions which signifies the scope for adaptability in social media. As per Mindess(2014), the use of these core principles in the case of business communication can be aptly reflective of eliminating barriers pertaining to conventional approaches for business communication(Mindess, 2014). The example of transparency in the information sharing among employees could be a major motivation for improving the level of trust among employees alongside facilitating opportunities for presenting suggestions for collective involvement of employees in decision making.

The application of social media also facilitates the features for real-time adaptability so that employees could be flexible in their approaches to communication rather than depending on a predefined framework for business communication (Nabi, Foysol & Adnan, 2017). The changes in the domain of communication can be accounted as a formidable aspect of the contemporary business environment. Furthermore, it is essential to reflect critically on the differences in application of social media for personal communication and business communication.

According to Neuliep(2017), the primary challenges that are identified in the case of utilizing social media for communication in context of organizational purposes are identified in consciousness of individual employees regarding the pervasive impact of their personal life on their professional life as well as the training and development required for effective technology adoption(Neuliep, 2017). The use of social media for professional purposes could result in conflicts with the identity of an employee in their personal life which suggests that employees could be apprehensive regarding the use of social media for business communications. It is imperative to consider the impact of training and development needs for employees to cope effectively with the business approaches for communication. However, it is also essential to focus on the necessity of technology adoption primarily for the provision of reactive support as well as services of support and resolution.

The use of social media for external context such as the purposes of marketing could be noted in various literature sources but the implementation of the resource for communication in the internal context is associated with the needs for establishing a comprehensive support network that can be accessed by the employees for accomplishing their allocated tasks and responsibilities through coordinated measures (Piller, 2017).

• Issue 2 Feedback: Communication in its generic form is associated with eight distinct components that are referred to in majority of communication theories. The components are independent of each other and are accounted as basic aspects of any communication process. According to Rojas, Rojas &Villamizar (2017), the components include the source, sender, receiver, channel, destination, context, message,and feedback. Feedback is considered as the sole element responsible for inducing a two-way communication process with respect to a specific message (Rojas, Rojas & Villamizar, 2017). Feedback can be defined as the reaction of the destination or the receiver to the source or sender of a message through direct or indirect channels. In the context of business communication, feedback within the internal, as well as external contexts of the organization, facilitates adequate scope for improvement of business operations and their effectiveness in catering the sustainability of a firm. The necessity of customer feedback is viewed from a significant perspective as it is aligned with the identification of the customer’s perception regarding a specific brand on the grounds of their experience of the brand’s products and services thereby impinging formidable impacts on the business of the organizations.

Customers have noticeable influence over the selection of brand according to their choices which are based on positive experiences of the brand’s products and services. Therefore companies are interested in collecting information and feedback from customers regarding the different transactions of customers with the brand and general attitudinal data that can be leveraged for accomplishing the objective of improving customer experience (Sadia, et al., 2016). However, various indications have suggested a prominent disparity between the collection of feedback and implementing necessary action according to the feedback which can be attributed to the lack of an integrated, systematic and organized process or framework for making use of collected feedback.

The definition of customer feedback implies the possibilities for distinct forms but is generally obtained through surveys that can be conducted through various channels such as telephonic, online, mail or personal surveys. The surveys are generally focused on dimensions of customer experience that could be substantially critical for customer satisfaction and loyalty (Samovar, et al., 2014). The lack of customer feedback could be a major setback for planning and develop strategic approaches for product and service improvement and it is not necessary that the lack of availability of customers for obtaining feedback would always be responsible for this. In certain cases, the inappropriate treatment of the feedback data could render it irrelevant for obtaining valid insights to develop a necessary plan of action. Shen, et al. said that the general approach followed for treatment of customer feedback is their representation in the form of graphs and charts derived through comprehensive numerical analysis(Shen, et al., 2016). However, the reports are complex to understand thereby leading to setbacks in the implementation of an action plan to leverage customer feedback for improving products and services. Another potential reason for which feedback cannot be used to the advantage of the organization is identified in the superfluous complications associated with the process of executing the feedback in action.

This factor could be largely attributed to the time taken for decision making from the available feedback which also implies delays in implementing action plans. Therefore a client-centric business has to be dependent on the dynamics of customer feedback management as a mandatory strategic approach through which it can accomplish the objectives of improving customer experience (Sorrells, 2015). Customer feedback management could be described as a process that enables the integration of customer feedback into operational processes such as customer support, account management, product management and sales thereby increasing their efficiency and orientation towards customers’ needs.

Customer Feedback Management: The process of customer feedback management has to be associated with the mandatory implications towards systematic gathering of customer feedback data, critical analysis of data and interpretable dissemination of the feedback alongside information regarding follow-up actions. According to Stachova, Stacho &Vicen (2017), the effectiveness of customer feedback management is identified in the provision of response and profile data of customers in the responsibility of appropriate authorities that can implement the data for accomplishing business objectives. The business objectives of an organization could be accounted as the driving factors for implementation of customer feedback management (Stachova, Stacho & Vicen, 2017). For example, in context of marketing objectives, the customer feedback has to be directed towards development of marketing solutions tailored to the target audience and the definition of a message that could resonate with the audience. In the case of service objectives, the customer feedback is used to determine whether the products and service offerings, as well as support provided by the organization, are able to address customer expectations.

• Issue 3 Intercultural communication: Intercultural communication has become a prominent entity in the domain of business especially with large-scale improvements in globalization observed all over the world. The primary aspects of intercultural communication addressed in literature refer to the influence of culture on the perspective of individuals, communication theories in different cultural contexts and the common barriers to intercultural communication. As per Zheltukhina, et al(2017), majority of research on intercultural communication has been directed towards identifying and investigating the communication among people from distinct cultural backgrounds. The studies are generally associated with investigation of differences between separate cultural groups and the interactions between the groups(Zheltukhina, et al., 2017). Communication and culture can be accounted for the significant aspects of intercultural communication. Communication categorized into verbal and non-verbal communication is generally associated with the necessity of learning a foreign language for verbal communication and variations in standards of non-verbal communication according to the culture.

The implications of culture could be identified through Hofstede’s model which conceptualizes culture as a combination of four distinct elements such as heroes, symbols, values,and rituals. Symbols are reflective of images, gestures, objects,and language that are recognized in specific cultures. Heroes could be identified in imaginary or real persons that are revered in a culture and are generally assumed as benchmarks for social behaviour (Manisaligil & Bilimoria, 2016). The element of Rituals reflects on the mandatory activities that are exercised at free will in a particular culture and can be defined in examples of religious customs or expressing respect to other people. These three facets are considered visible element of culture while the aspect of values forms the core component of culture and is generally vested in the preferences or tendencies of people to act in specific manners according to difference in situations.

Influence of Culture on Perception: The influence of culture on perception of an individual is identified through the three phases of the process of perception that include selection, organization,and interpretation. Selection aspect of perception is vested in the perception for similar stimuli in a foreign environment that can be considered as responsible for the difficulties in understanding new languages that are different from the native language of the receiver. The perception is associated with organization of the selected information into an interpretable fashion and the organization is generally based on a specific attribute that is found commonly in a group (Rojas, Rojas & Villamizar, 2017). Interpretation is another notable determinant of the effectiveness of intercultural communication as similar situations, gestures or actions can be perceived differently by various people. According to Holmes &Parker (2017), the influence of cultural stereotypes is profoundly observed in the case of interpretations of people regarding culture. Another promising theoretical model that can be accounted for determining the influence of culture on communication in business is Hall’s high and low context culture concept (Holmes & Parker, 2017).

High context culture is defined explicitly through the surrounding environment without the requirement for description while low context culture is dependent on communication through verbal communication. The low context cultures are highly dependent on detailing and specificity of verbal messages thereby leading to appreciation for verbal abilities in low context cultures. On the other hand, in the case of high context cultures, sensitivity towards nonverbal messages is profoundly observed and messages are generally presented in the physical context or through internalization in the person. High context cultures are generally associated with communication on behalf of a group rather than individual perspectives with emphasis on the use of intermediaries (Manisaligil & Bilimoria, 2016).

Conclusion: The assessment presented an introductory statement for the tasks that would be undertaken in the report with prominent emphasis on the scope and primary objective of the report alongside a description of the case of the multinational organization that is considered for evaluation. Then the report presents a literature review that helps in evaluation of the issues in communication encountered by the organization that leads to development of suitable recommendations that are presented in the final section of the report.

Recommendations: Based on the inferences derived from analysis of the issues encountered by the multinational corporation with respect to business communication, different recommendations can be suggested individually for the three issues evaluated in this assessment.

• Issue 1 social media: First of all, it is essential for the organization to address the use of technology adoption recommendations in order to help employees to improve their use of social media to coordinate for task management and sharing information. This measure has to be implemented by the human resources department of the organization at its five different locations in international markets and the various business units of the organization. The human resources department maintains direct contact with the workforce and is responsible for providing them with necessary training and support to improve their potential for delivering efficient performance in their tasks. The human resource department would have to work in unison with the technical department of the organization to select competent trainers that can assist employees in understanding the necessity of social media as a tool for intra organizational communication. The training and development schedule would also account for resolution of issues arising from the apprehensions of employees regarding the intervention of their professional activities on social media in their personal lives through communicating necessary information for managing security and preference settings on social media that can help in effective management of personal and professional profiles. The evaluation of the success or failure of the recommendation could be realized through the implementation of data analytics in order to figure out the involvement of employees with social media and the tasks accomplished through it. The evaluation would also provide insights into the social media platforms used frequently by employees that can help in tailoring business communications to the specific platform thereby encouraging higher employee engagement on social media.
• Issue 2 Feedback: In terms of feedback issues, the recommendation would be guided towards the implementation of an integrated customer feedback management process that can be realized throughout the different areas of operation of the multinational firm. The formidable customer base is a notable pitfall that can lead to complicacies in collection of feedback which could also be attributed to the lack of understanding of the context in which the data has to be collected. The use of the general mode of survey questionnaires should be directed towards the most basic aspects of customer experience such as product quality, product user experience,andproduct aesthetics. In the case of agricultural equipment, the product user experience and the conformity of the product to customer expectations of performance as well as effectiveness of customer support services should also be included as major entities in the survey questionnaires. The use of native language translators fordissemination of questionnaires could be a prolific contributor for accessing feedback that could be leveraged for product and service delivery improvement. The measurement of the effectiveness of the recommendation could be realized through using previous records of customer feedback in terms of volume and comparing it with the volume of feedback data obtained after implementing the suggested recommendation.
• Issue 3 Intercultural communication: The aspect of intercultural communication could be addressed through reflecting on the context of the culture in which communication is carried out which can be identified with diversity in the case of the concerned multinational firm. The company should prefer localized communication rather than standardization of the communication process that could lead to acceptance of the employees for the communication process. The reflection in distinct aspects of the host culture alongside the context of the culture could enable the organization to refrain from unacceptable behaviours and actions in different cultural contexts thereby leading to effective translation and perception of the communicated information. The success of the recommendation could be interpreted from the use of feedback within the internal environment of the organization obtained from employees that would depict the extent of perception of the messages communicated by the organization. The emphasis on values of the organization by the senior management could also be considered as a prolific measure for addressing the issues of intercultural communication through alignment of practices in accordance with the uniform values.

Reference List Adnan, N. M., & Jambari, D. I. (2016). Mutual Understanding Determinants for Effective Communication in Business and IT Strategic Alignment Planning. International Journal on Advanced Science, Engineering and Information Technology, 6(6), 914-921.

Apparaju, H. (2016). How Effective are the Persuasive and Other Communication Abilities of MBA Students in India: Implications for Business Communication Courses. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 10(3), 24.

Asante, M. K., Miike, Y., & Yin, J. (Eds.). (2013). The global intercultural communication reader. Routledge.

Ayob, A. (2017). Effective Communication in Business. Journal of Modern Languages, 9(1), 105-109.

Bennett, M. J. (2017). Developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. The International Encyclopedia of Intercultural Communication, 1-10.

Breakenridge, D. (2017). Answers for Modern Communicators: A Guide to Effective Business Communication. Routledge.

Buenviaje, M. G., Morcilla, G. P., FernanRefozar, R., Macalalad, J. A., & Laguador, J. M. (2016). Role of Effective Communication in the Organizational Commitment and Employee Behavior as Input to Human Resource Management. Quarterly Journal of Business Studies, 2(4), 193-200.

Hall, R. (2017). Business Express: Effective Communication Skills: How to get your message across successfully. Pearson UK.

Haslinda, A., Saharudin, S., Roslan, N. H., & Mohamed, R. (2016). Safety Training, Company Policy and Communication for Effective Accident Management. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 6(9), 141-158.

Holmes, W. T., & Parker, M. A. (2017). Communication: Empirically testing behavioral integrity and credibility as antecedents for the effective implementation of motivating language. International Journal of Business Communication, 54(1), 70-82.

House, J. (2014). Moving across languages and cultures in translation as intercultural communication. In Translational action and intercultural communication (pp. 14-46). Routledge. Jandt, F. E. (2017). An introduction to intercultural communication: Identities in a global community. Sage Publications.

Manisaligil, A., & Bilimoria, D. (2016). Taking Your Talents to Business Communications: Analyzing Effective Communication Through LeBron James’s Career Moves. Journal of Management Education, 40(6), 769-793.

Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2013). Intercultural communication in contexts. New York: NY: McGraw-Hill.

Mindess, A. (2014). Reading between the signs: Intercultural communication for sign language interpreters. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

Nabi, N. M., Foysol, K. M., & Adnan, S. M. (2017). The Role and Impact of Business Communication on Employee Performances and Job Satisfactions: A Case Study on Karmasangsthan Bank Limited, Bangladesh. Arabian J Bus Manag Review, 7(301), 2.

Neuliep, J. W. (2017). Intercultural communication: A contextual approach. Sage Publications.

Piller, I. (2017). Intercultural communication: A critical introduction. Edinburgh University Press.

Rojas, M., Rojas, M., & Villamizar, K. (2017). Eficom, Game Designed for the Analysis of Effective and Efficient Communication Skills. In Advances in Human Factors, Business Management, Training and Education (pp. 1083-1090). Springer, Cham.

Sadia, A., Salleh, B. M., Kadir, Z. A., & Sanif, S. (2016). The Relationship between Organizational Communication and Employees Productivity with New Dimensions of Effective Communication Flow. Journal of Business and Social Review in Emerging Economies, 2(2), 93-100.

Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., McDaniel, E. R., & Roy, C. S. (2014). Intercultural communication: A reader. Cengage Learning.

Shen, G. C. C., Chiou, J. S., Hsiao, C. H., Wang, C. H., & Li, H. N. (2016). Effective marketing communication via social networking site: The moderating role of the social tie. Journal of Business Research, 69(6), 2265-2270.

Sorrells, K. (2015). Intercultural communication: Globalization and social justice. Sage publications.

Stachova, K., Stacho, Z., & Vicen, V. (2017). Efficient involvement of human resources in innovations through effective communication. Business: Theory and Practice, 18, 33.

Zheltukhina, M. R., Biryukova, E. V., Gerasimova, S. A., Repina, E. A., Klyoster, A. M., & Komleva, L. A. (2017). Modern Media Advertising: Effective Directions of Influence in Business and Political Communication. Man in India, 97(14), 207-215.

CHECK THE PRICE FOR YOUR PROJECT

Number of pages/words you require, choose your assignment deadline, related samples.

• Enhancing Leadership and Management Strategies at Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel
• Herbal Tea Enlightenment: A Comprehensive Digital Campaign Proposal for Twinnings Tea
• Navigating Professional Growth: A Reflection on Co-operative Education Experience at Post Haste
• Adapting Strategies: Navigating the Impact of Macro-Environment Factors on Kroger's Marketing Approach
• Harmony in the Park: A Sustainable Outdoor Music Event Marketing Plan
• Unveiling Marketing Strategies: A Personal Evaluation of Samsung S22 Purchase
• Journey through Entrepreneurial Leadership: A Reflection and Case Study Analysis
• Navigating Ethical Challenges: A Case Study on Wells Fargo's Sales Culture
• Unlocking the Power of Employee Motivation in Effective Management
• Impact of effective leadership strategies on the business performance of UK retail firms- A Case of Tesco
• Analysing the operational aspects for a new resort
• Analysing leadership approaches within a project environment
• Safeguarding Children's Welfare: Legal Protection Against Abuse
• Navigating Compassion and Law Enforcement: A Case Study Analysis
• Unveiling the Shadows: Understanding Drug Addiction in Australia
• Enhancing Patient Safety Through Medication Administration: A Case Study Analysis
• Climate Change's Impact on Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study of Viva Energies Australia
• Analyzing narrative techniques in a given reading
• Planning a web-based reporting system for Rimu Art
• The effects of technological implementations on sustainable development in the UK construction industry
• Child protection policy that has emphasis on an adoption approach versus child protection policy that has emphasis on use of intensive family support programs
• Reflective essay on understanding human development across the lifespan
• Evaluating different management support systems relating to information systems
• Evaluating gender discrimination in early childhood education in Australia
• Improving Early Education Standards for children and families

Looking for Your Assignment?

FREE PARAPHRASING TOOL

FREE PLAGIARISM CHECKER

FREE ESSAY TYPER TOOL

Other assignment services.

• SCM Assignment Help
• HRM Assignment Help
• Dissertation Assignment Help
• Marketing Analysis Assignment Help
• Corporate Finance Assignment Help

FREE WORD COUNT AND PAGE CALCULATOR

QUESTION BANK

ESCALATION EMAIL

To get answer.

Please Fill the following Details

Thank you !

We have sent you an email with the required document.

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

This article is part of the research topic.

Destination Advertising in the Digital Age

A Study on the Construction of Destination Image for China's County-Level Integrated Media Centers: A Case Study of Four Counties in Fuzhou Provisionally Accepted

• 1 Communication University of China, China
• 2 South China University of Technology, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Today, as social media plays an increasingly important role in disseminating destination images, short videos have emerged as the primary channel through which tourists obtain information about their desired destinations. In comparison to traditional methods of using text and pictures, the new media accounts of local government agencies offer a means to convey more comprehensive local news and shape destination images that are more accurate and diverse, leveraging the potential of the short video platform. This study utilizes a combination of manual analysis (subject terms classification) and computer-assisted techniques (key-frame extraction and text mining) to examine the short videos posted on the TikTok (Douyin) platform by the integrated media centers of Minhou County, Yongtai County, Minqing County, and Lianjiang County in Fuzhou City, China. The objective is to explore the shared characteristics and variations in the dimensional aspects of destination images. The findings reveal that the short video contents released by the governmental new media accounts in these four locations primarily highlight three dimensions: stakeholders, urban infrastructures, and regional landscapes. These dimensions are evident in both descriptive texts and visual symbols.However, in terms of the presented destination image, a notable degree of homogeneity is observed, and there is a lack of emphasis on uncovering and presenting the cultural dimensions, thus failing to fully reflect the distinctive local characteristics.Consequently, it is essential for local integrated media centers to thoroughly explore the cultural uniqueness of their respective regions and enhance the development of thematic dimensions in creating short video content. This approach will effectively strengthen tourists' association with and perception of destination images.

Keywords: Short videos, Destination images, TikTok Platform, Governmental New Media, visual symbol

Received: 29 Nov 2023; Accepted: 23 Apr 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Lin, Wen and Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Mx. Hanzheng Lin, Communication University of China, Beijing, China

People also looked at