This book makes it easy to teach students the essential team building and other soft skills necessary to succeed in today’s competitive workplace. It delves into the most sought-after skills in the professional world, making students more marketable to employers. Covering topics such as being a team leader and working in groups, developing a personal work ethic and planning and managing a career, etc.
This book has a unique design: each skill is presented on two facing pages, with Essential Elements on the left and illustrations and examples pictured on the right. The layout makes it easy to learn a skill without having to read a lot of text and flip pages to see an illustration.
- Employs the Illustrated Series' reader-friendly pedagogy, providing short, focused text on key soft skills needed to succeed in a technological workplace.
- Provides timeless information about skills that make students more marketable to companies and that are necessary in the professional world.
- In You Try It section of some Parts, new set of questions are refurbished to practice and assess students’ understanding and learning.
- Key terms with definitions for quick look up are provided at the end of the book.
- Includes a licence key for our digital learning app, Cengage app, that provides access to self-assessments.
Part 1: Written Communication
Unit A: Communicating with E-Mail and Memos
Unit B: Uncovering the Secrets of Clear Writing
Unit C: Developing Reports and Proposals
Unit D: Writing for Employment
Unit E: Writing Professional Letters
Part 2: Verbal Communication
Unit A: Understanding the Basics of Verbal Communication
Unit B: Working with Customers
Unit C: Developing Professional Telephone Skills
Unit D: Improving Informal Communication
Unit E: Making Formal Presentations
Part 3: Problem Solving and Decision Making
Unit A: Identifying and Defining Problems
Unit B: Solving the Problem
Unit C: Thinking Critically
Unit D: Group Decision Making and Problem Solving
Unit E: Decision Support Tools
Part 4: Teamwork and Team Building
Unit A: Working in Groups and Teams
Unit B: Exploring Team Roles and Processes
Unit C: Building and Developing Teams
Unit D: Leading a Team
Unit E: Managing Meetings
Part 5: Professionalism
Unit A: Presenting Yourself Professionally
Unit B: Developing a Professional Work Ethic
Unit C: Developing Your Interpersonal Skills
Unit D: Winning at Office Politics
Unit E: Planning and Managing Your Career
Glossary
Inde
Jeff Butterfield, Western Kentucky University
Dr. Jeff Butterfield holds a PhD from the University of Texas-Austin and an MBA from Indiana University, and currently is a faculty member in the Information Systems department at Western Kentucky University. Previously, Dr. Butterfield worked as an electronics engineer with several Fortune 500 companies. He quickly discovered that his writing and public-speaking abilities contributed much more to his professional success than his technical skills. This important discovery has significantly influenced his teaching and Dr. Butterfield has spent more than 15 years in higher education helping technical students develop professional skills. As technology becomes more tightly integrated with business functions, students with well-developed soft skills will enjoy a strong competitive advantage. Dr. Butterfield has worked with Cengage to develop the SOFT SKILLS FOR A DIGITAL WORKPLACE series. These titles are designed to complement any course you teach, regardless of the subject.