The Business Style Handbook, Second Edition: An A-to-Z Guide for Effective Writing on the Job, 2nd Edition

3THE CASE FOR STANDARDS

COMPANIES, LARGE AND SMALL, increasingly recognize the importance of investing in their employees as a source of competitive advantage. In this environment, strengthening writing skills is an obvious contender for investment, particularly now that the digital age has made everyone a writer. In fact, writing is a competency that is more important than ever in today’s business world.

Joyce E.A. Russell, the director of the Executive Coaching and Leadership Development Program at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, wrote a 2011 article in the Washington Post titled “Are Writing Skills Necessary Anymore?” Here’s an excerpt. “I recently posed this question to a number of executives, consultants ...