We report our survey research about what American business professionals consider appropriate or civil mobile phone behavior during formal and informal meetings. The findings come from two of our recent research studies: an open-ended survey of 204 employees at a beverage distributor on the East Coast and a nationwide, random-sample survey of 350…

Following Rogers's theory of the diffusion of innovations, the author questions whether youth entering the workforce will act as change agents to evolve primary business communication channels from email to text-messaging. Expanding on research performed in 2009, the author investigates three communication scenarios: scheduling meetings,…

Although the concept of multitasking itself is under debate, smartphones do enable users to divert attention from the task at hand to nongermane matters. As smartphone use becomes pervasive, extending into our classrooms, educators are concerned that they are becoming a major distraction. Does multitasking with smartphones impede learning? Can…

With the increase in the use of mobile devices in the workplace, both employer supplied and personally owned, and the major role social media has begun to play in today's world, businesses face many new challenges with their employees. Social media may be seen by some employers as a virtual Pandora's Box. Though it may seem to hold…

In this article, we describe a project in which undergraduate business seniors at a university in the Arabian Gulf created or evaluated the chapters of an iBook as part of their final course in business communication. Students were surveyed throughout the project, and they also participated in a focus group discussion at the end. The aim was to…