Prof. Jim O'Rourke
Director, Fanning Center for Business Communication
CHICAGO - Like a dark and stormy night, bad writing has long shadowed the business world — from bureaucratese to mangled memos to the cliche-thick murk of corporatespeak.
But in an era of nonstop e-mail and instant and text messaging, written communication skills within companies may be getting even worse as quality is compromised by the perceived need for speed.
Wary of the trend, not just businesses but business schools across the country are working harder to eschew obfuscation. Some have added or expanded writing programs in recent years; others use corporations’ faux pas as case studies in hopes their students will learn to avoid them.
“It happens every day that businesses send bad messages,” said Jim O’Rourke, a management professor at Notre Dame and director of the university’s Fanning Center for Business Communication. “They send messages they don’t intend.” [more]
