Amy Newman is a senior lecturer of management communication at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, School of Hotel Administration. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in business writing, persuasive speaking, and corporate communication. Amy is author of Business Communication: In Person, In Print, Online, 10e and Building Leadership Character: Lessons from Communication Failures. Prior to joining Cornell, Amy taught at Ithaca College, eCornell, and Milano. She also has 20 years of corporate and external consulting experience for Reuters, Canon, Scholastic, and other companies.
Email open and click rates are on the decline, meaning people are less likely to open a marketing email. The latest study shows people opening marketing emails at a rate of 17% (compared to 26% in 2009).
This continues a trend since 2007.
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The Obama Administration had planned a survey to test how difficult it is for Medicaid and Medicare patients to get appointments with doctors. But following criticism about the cost of the study and the "proposed clandestine method of collecting information from physician offices," the study has been canceled.
For data collection, the study called for mystery shoppers, who would pose as patients. In a letter, Senator Mark Kirk emphasized the "stealth" nature of the plan and his belief that the purpose of the study -- to prove a shortage of doctors -- has already been documented.
Watch a related video: President Obama's discussion of Medicare.
Video source.
Pepsi has launched a new commercial featuring Santa Clause at a summer party. In a direct hit to Coke, which Pepsi now trails in sales (including Diet Coke), the ad shows Santa rejecting bottles of Coca-Cola. Critics say that Pepsi had lost focus on its flagship product; does this commercial signal a new direction?
Following Microsoft's acquisition of Skype, former Skype employees are challenging the company's stance on stock options, including those they thought were "vested" or guaranteed. In a letter to one departing employee, the issue of stock options was explained:
"Not withstanding the exercisability of your Options, Section 12 of your Stock Option Grant Agreement (the 'Grant Agreement') provides that any shares issuable upon the exercise of your Options would be issued on your behalf to the Partnership."
Well that clears things up.
Read more here.
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Delta Airlines has formed an alliance with Saudi Arabian Airlines that is causing people to question whether Delta discriminates against Jewish people. The Saudi government does not grant visas to Israelis. The Anti-Defamation League, an organization that fights anti-Semitism, has urged the airline not to "be a party" to discriminatory practices. Delta responded to the criticism in a statement: "Delta Air Lines does not discriminate nor do we condone discrimination against any of our customers in regards to age, race, nationality, religion, or gender." Read more of Delta's response on its blog.
Mayor of Boston Thomas Menino doesn't like Nike's new T-shirts. He believes that messages such as "Get High" and "Dope" promote drug use. In a letter to the general manager of Niketown Boston, Menino urges the company to remove the T-shirts.
Nike has responded to my tweet about the situation:
The U.S. government is using more visuals to help people get healthier. Shortly after revising the food pyramid, federal health officials have selected nine graphic images to appear on cigarette packs. If you're strong, you can see all of the new images here. As we might expect, the major tobacco companies are disputing the images, claiming, among other issues, infringement of their right to free speech. Read the government's news release.
Disappointed fans rioted after the Vancouver Canucks' Stanley Cup loss, and now some are paying the price. A University of British Columbia student, caught up in the action and caught on video, took two pair of pants from a store. She has since apologized on her blog.
Cacnio wasn't the only one identified in riot videos (she can be seen at 1:30 - 1:33 below). According to a Globe and Mail story, "Social media has become the sheriff of this unlawful event, in essence rounding up a number of rioters by posting their pictures on the Internet and encouraging people to identify the people in them. That has led to online shaming of those named, some of whom have since turned themselves into police and are lining up to publicly apologize online."
At a Long Island Starbucks, a customer apparently overheard a manager speaking with an employee (Jeffrey) and then making disrespectful comments about him to other employees. The customer's blog post about the incident got Starbucks' attention.
Starbucks' response, "Our Dedication to Embrace Diversity," states, "We are disheartened by the allegations reported in an East Coast Starbucks store and are taking immediate measures to investigate and take any steps necessary to make this right. The actions reported do not correspond with our values, who we are as a company or the beliefs we try to instill in our partners."
One report indicates that Facebook lost millions of users in May: 6 million Americans, 1.5 million Canadians, and 100,000 Britons. Of course, Facebook still enjoys great success with almost 700 million users worldwide, but the company's goal is to reach 1 billion, and this is a step in the wrong direction.
While critics say that people are tiring of the social networking service and have increasing concerns about privacy, Facebook has responded with optimism. The company has questioned the data (apparently pulled from the reach of Facebook ads) and maintains that it is "very pleased" with its overall growth, claiming that "50 percent of active users log on to Facebook on any given day."
Image source.
The buzz seems to be fading. According to the Guardian, 42% of over 6,000 pages of Sarah Palin's emails scanned so far are "uninteresting." Over 24,000 pages of the former governor of Alaska's emails have been released for public perusal.
Here are a few mildly interesting ones for business communication students:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying a new graphic to help people understand healthy food choices. The pyramid graphic was thought to be confusing (well, yes, we see a person climbing a mountain with a pile of food at the bottom). The USDA's revised graphic is much simpler, showing just a plate with words to represent portions of food. To accompany the new communication, the USDA has a new website.