Customer Reviews

Business Communication Today (8th Edition)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've been teaching this course for 20 years, and I've used various editions of this text for the past 15 years. The book is now in its 9th edition, which is the best edition yet.

The book is beautifully written, concise, and has a strong scholarly foundation. A look at the reference section at the end of the book shows more than a 1,000 sources the authors used in writing the book. In terms of overall length, however, the book is about the same as other texts in the field.

I've reviewed virtually all of the leading business communication texts, and this book is miles ahead of the competition. For example, while other textbooks for this course are still emphasizing paper documents, this book is the only business communication textbook that gives extensive coverage of electronic documents. Students will see actual examples of blogs, instant messages, RSS newsfeeds, wikis, and podcasts (actual podcasts for students to analyze are on the authors' website). Amazingly, examples of these electronic documents aren't contained in any of the competing books.

Semester after semester, my students have rated this book very highly. The authors are to be commended for their outstanding work!

Well, what can I say, I simply love the book. It has reminded me that when it comes to communication, we are all human beings not machines. We have feelings and different situations at every moment of our lives; we need to remember all this when deciding to play the communication game.

To some, the elements of communication mentioned in the book are taken for granted basics but, for some others, it is a guideline to learn how to communicate better. Simply put, not every one is born with the give of "gap-ping". Let it be face-to-face conversations, emails, letters, blogs, IM and/or all other ways of communications, we must have some guidelines.

This text provides the reader with the guidance of learning basic to professional techniques of communication; not only do we learn how to use clarity, conciseness, etiquette when writing to others, but also teach us to learn to recognize the audience which, in a era of globalization, is of most importance. The authors of the books point out our cultural diversities and remind us to treat each other with respect, patience and understanding.

I could say much more of the text, but as you probably figured out, I am a student and have only read up to Chapter 7. So much to read, so much to learn! I am so thrilled to have come across this book and be able to keep up with the trends of communication and the reminder, that unfortunately, we all need once in a while when it comes to communicate with each other. This book not only applies to professional life but every day life as well. I could go on and on with the thoughts this book has provoked in me but, maybe, I will get back with more to say once I finish reading the book. Do not miss the chance to read it!

If you are a college professor or instructor, please do not use this book. A far more accessible and technically correct book for your students would be Dale Carnegie's The Leader In You (How To Win Friends and Influence People). While Carnegie's book does not have "reading exercises" like a traditional textbook might, your students will get far more out of reading his book than Bovee's.

I am a senior in college and my Communication for Business Professionals course is using this textbook as the primary learning resource. I feel this book was a waste of my money due to the number of content faults in the 8th Edition. I have not reviewed nor read previous editions.

A major gripe I have with this book is incorrect statements, a polite way of saying the author did not fact-check and proof-read their work. Again, this book is in its 8th Edition and the current layout of this book is discouraging considering the book is supposed to be about communication. I accumulated a list of content faults regarding this book, and will try to share some of them with you to help dissaude you from wasting your money on this book:

(1) Indirectly referring to the United States as a high-context culture, stating that high-context cultures prefer very strict schedules. A few pages earlier, the book contradicts this statement by directly detailing how the United States is a low-context culture.

(2) The book constantly mixes up its point-of-view on what the best way to approach others is. Earlier on, it suggests its important to consider your own feelings first. A few chapters later, it scalds you for putting yourself before others and on several occasions reminds you that "earlier" in the text it referred to how important talking in terms of others desires is. What is the better way? Well, having read Dale Carnegie's book on leadership, I can tell you the best approach is always to "bait the hook to suit the fish" as Carnegie would say. In other words, address your audiences needs before you take into account your own feelings.

Overall, the book tries to be all-encompassing and fails. To cover communication in detail, you cannot be general and all-encompassing. You have to be specific and follow a model for communication.

This book also does not appropriately address large issues in communication, such as PERCEPTION. In business, perception is everything and can lead to you trying to negotiate too hard and costing your company dollars. There is a famous anecdote of Japanese and American businessman sitting across the table from one another negotiating a business deal. After the American finishes discussing his business proposal, he is unnerved by the silence of the Japanese negotiators to the point where he believes something is wrong. The end result, and conclusion of this anecdote, is the American perceived the need to devoid the silence by talking more. In the process, the American lowered his demands and the Japanese negotiators then agreed once the American backed himself into a corner.

I did enjoy every page of this book, although I haven't read all of them. It's more an encyclopedia, which you may use in your day-to-day business, than something you will read straight through over the weekend. Very valuable and up-to-date were the chapters about intercultural and e-mail communication. Strong recommendation.

The book combines much useful infomation. Various examples and appendixes are helpful in ordinary (but important) questions. It is a straight-to-the-point book.

This book is really good to help me understand my course. It was well developed and accounted for basic skills needed for people to develop their skills. It was full of useful, colourful illustrations and easy to comprehend. The exercises were excellent and it did make me really able to detect my mistakes. The book would be helpful for future references (example: attending interviews, writing letters). I wouldn't even trade this book with another since I found it will help me to improve my skills in communicating and writing.

Reviewer John Zabroski hits on some great points and I have a few more to add.
The book definitely contains some useful information. This is why I give it two stars. Still, the amount of fluff, bloat and redundancy is incredible. It is painful to read through page after page where information is repeated.

For concepts that would need a one inch paragraph for their explanation, the authors occupy a page. The nature of business communication is to be short and to the point. The authors completely fail to convey this essential feature. This book should have comprised of 200 pages maximum, not counting the appendices. Instead it turned into an almost 600 page monstrosity. In my opinion the price of paper is too low. This is why there is so much of it wasted.

In some instances, things can turn outright ridiculous. For example, look at page 269. In the fifth line of the first paragraph the authors list objectivity as a trait of credibility. Then they encourage the reader to exceed this by "Being Objective" (the sixth bullet below the paragraph). Give me a break!

This is a fantastic book. It can be used for reference at home and at work. It helped me fine tune my job resume and also helps in communications between companies at work. Keep this book, you never know when you need a letter format or an outline for some other form of written communication.

This book is a great text to consider for class adoption. The wording is clear and is easy to read and relate to. Also, the book offers various examples through out the chapters, making it easy to understand.

This book was in amazing condition. I got it for a great price and it looked brand new. I will definitely purchase a product from this person again.