Overview
Business fluency is essential today for effective strategic communication. To fulfill the mandate of trusted counselors and advisors to executives and the C-suite, communication professionals must no longer just have excellent communication skills, but they must understand and speak the language of the business world. The challenge is that many communication graduates and professionals did not go to business school and do not hold an MBA. Business Acumen for Strategic Communicators: The Workbook provides the essential practical learning needed to help upskill communication professionals into bona fide business leaders and advisors. Through briefs, exercises and discussion activities, readers will learn to analyze and interpret key business materials produced by companies and nonprofit organizations, including CEO letters, annual reports, financial statements, earnings releases, CSR, DEI and ESG reports, and more. A revised and expanded glossary is provided, as are answer keys for the exercises. Drawing on the success of Ragas and Culp's prior books, this innovative workbook offers hands-on learning opportunities to help put newly acquired business acumen knowledge into practice.
Full Product Details
Author: Matthew W. Ragas (DePaul University, USA) ,
Ron Culp (DePaul University, USA)
Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
Imprint: Emerald Publishing Limited
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.60cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.440kg
ISBN: 9781837970858
ISBN 10: 1837970858
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 10 September 2024
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
The insights, examples and workbook exercises cut to the chase, providing the reader with just the essential knowledge and ‘inside baseball’ aspects of how organizations measure and disclose their performance. With this one book as a guide and ongoing reference, you and your team will gain the understanding and the vocabulary necessary to become more sophisticated, valuable and influential advisors and leaders. -- Paula Davis (Former CCO, Colgate-Palmolive; Communications Search & Advisory Consultant, Heidrick & Struggles) Business acumen and command of business language, protocols, systems and economics helps practitioners stand out and earn respect. This easy-to-follow workbook and valuable glossary will go a long way in improving the business acumen of anyone who absorbs its wisdom. -- Grace Leong (CEO, HUNTER) With 'Business Acumen for Strategic Communicators: The Workbook,' Ragas and Culp have added yet another valuable resource for communications students and professionals striving to increase their business IQ. I wish I had this book at the beginning of my career when I transitioned from journalism to the corporate world! -- Linda Rutherford (Chief Administrative Officer and former CCO, Southwest Airlines) Kudos to Matt and Ron for writing a workbook that focuses on strategic communicators to think and operate as business leaders. There is no doubt that the business side of the craft is directly proportional to the impact of the enterprise. The workbook will provide a guide to the profession that truly wants to understand how the CEO and the board of directors, in particular, thinks and how she or he makes decisions. This will only make CCOs more valuable to all stakeholders. -- Kim Hunter, CEO, LAGRANT COMMUNICATIONS. Chairman & CEO, The LAGRANT Foundation. Managing partner, KLH & Associates As your communications career progresses, you become part of a larger team charged with making business decisions – not simply communications decisions. Your communications functional expertise will be expected, but it is your business knowledge – especially your financial literacy – that will accelerate your career growth. Business Acumen for Strategic Communicators: The Workbook is the perfect roadmap needed to start this journey. -- Ron DeFeo, Executive vice president, chief communications and marketing officer, American Airlines PR pros who claim they entered the industry because they don’t like numbers are doomed. Students and ambitious pros will learn how to find and use important information in balance sheets, annual reports and more in Ragas and Culp’s Business Acumen for Strategic Communicators: The Workbook. -- Kim Sample (President, PR Council) I wish this book was available much earlier in my career - it would have saved me a lot of time, energy and embarrassment. And I’m sure I’ll keep it handy at this relatively late stage of my professional life - the glossary alone is an enormously valuable resource! -- David Gallagher (Managing Partner, Next Practices Group) Matt Ragas and Ron Culp continue to champion the need for deep business acumen among communications’ professionals and to provide a critical roadmap and tools to attain such knowledge. The 32-page glossary alone provides us a rich collection of essential terms from which to guide pursuit of the knowledge essential to better fulfill our roles as strategic communicators. -- Rodrigo Sierra (CCO, American Medical Association) In this terrific new workbook, Matt Ragas and Ron Culp demonstrate the importance of both acquiring and applying business acumen in strategic communication. I wish such resources had been available decades ago when I was a rookie corporate communication professional tasked with drafting quarterly earnings reports I knew virtually nothing about! -- Kathy Fitzpatrick, JD, APR (Director & Professor, The Zimmerman School at the University of South Florida) Timely and relevant, Business Acumen for Strategic Communicators offers clear insights and actionable advice for communicators looking to elevate their role and impact globally. With practical examples and vital strategies, this workbook is essential for navigating today’s business landscape. -- Tracy Faulkner (Chief Communications and External Relations Officer, First Abu Dhabi Bank) Business acumen is crucial for communication leaders, yet it remains one of the most underdeveloped skills. By bridging the gap between communication and business acumen, this book equips leaders at every level with the necessary skills to provide informed and strategic counsel to the C-suite, ensuring they are not just heard but also heeded in critical decision-making processes. -- Tina McCorkindale, Ph.D., (President and CEO, Institute for Public Relations) This book is an essential resource for communication professionals aiming to bridge the gap between communication expertise and business fluency. Through practical exercises and real-world examples, this workbook empowers readers to become trusted business advisors, enhancing their ability to navigate and interpret key business documents and strategies effectively. -- Adrienne A. Wallace, Ph.D. (Associate Professor, Grand Valley State University; Editor in Chief, Journal of Public Relations Education) This workbook provides public relations students and professionals at all career stages with practical knowledge, exercises, and insight to build a rich array of business mindsets and actions that deliver communication excellence. I am excited to share the authors’ wisdom in my PR leadership course at the University of Georgia. -- Juan Meng, Ph.D., UGA Athletic Association Endowed Professor of Public Relations and Head of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, University of Georgia
Author Information
Matthew W. Ragas, Ph.D. is Professor, College of Communication, DePaul University, USA. An award-winning teacher, researcher and adviser, he was the founding director of the DePaul Master’s in Professional Communication program and served as the academic director of the Master’s in Public Relations and Advertising program during which it was named the PRWeek Awards PR Education Program of the Year. Ron Culp is Professional-in-Residence, College of Communication, DePaul University, USA. Before joining DePaul, he served as a managing director and partner at global public relations firms Ketchum and Sard Verbinnen (now FGS Global). Earlier in his career, Ron held senior communications positions at four Fortune 500 corporations. He has received numerous professional awards, including the Gold Anvil for lifetime achievement from the Public Relations Society of America.
