Communication Studies 361 Business and Professional Communication Summer 2001 Syllabus

Transcription

1 COMS Communication Studies 361 Business and Professional Communication Summer 2001 Syllabus Instructor: Tim Pierce Office: Watson Hall 231 Office Hours: 9:30-10:30 a.m., Monday Office Phone: Hone Phone: RhetoricalFusionDude@niu.edu Class Web Site: Course Description: Communication is an integral component of any work place. However, while most communication in the work place is oral in nature, learning different forms of communication becomes more important in presenting a favorable face internally to co-workers and management and externally to the public. This course will focus on different types of communication that a prospective employee will need to be able to accomplish. During the semester, you will write a résumé and cover letter and go through a mock interview. You will also write an analysis paper that can be adapted to either an internal or external audience. You also will be exposed to different software packages to help you accomplish these tasks, and you will be using mediated communication (e.g., ) as a way of working and communicating back-and-forth. The technical course description states, Development of communication skills commonly used in governmental, corporate, and nonprofit agencies. Emphasis on report generation, information interviewing, and the presentation of proposals. Because a significant portion of the course grade is based on student team projects, this course cannot be taken pass/fail, PRQ: COMS 100. Textbooks: Required: Bovée, C. L., & Thill, J. V. (1999). Business communication today. (6 th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Recommended (Get these if you feel that you may have a need for them): Gookin, D. (1999). Word 2000 for windows for dummies. Foster City, CA: IDG. Lowe, D., & Jasmine, G. (1999). PowerPoint 2000 for windows for dummies. Foster City, CA: IDG. Strunk, Jr., W., & White, E. B. (1999). The elements of style. (4 th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Course Objectives: By the end of the semester, you should be able to successfully demonstrate the following: 1. Explain the constructs of appropriate business communication in organizational settings through various assignments and examinations. 2. Demonstrate dyadic communication through the employment interview. 3. Demonstrate public communication through business-oriented presentations (business problem assignment). 4. Apply concepts of clear writing. 5. Demonstrate an effective use of technology appropriate for an organizational setting through the various projects during the semester.

2 COMS Class Policies: 1. The general policy is that work must be turned in when it is due. Due dates are clearly noted in your syllabus. There are, of course, circumstances when written work may be turned in late based on the urgency of the situation. If you believe that the reason that you cannot turn written work on time is justifiable, you must contact me before the deadline. Written work, regardless of the reason, will be unacceptable if you contact me after the deadline. The easiest way to contact me is via . I must have verbal contact with you before the deadline. If your work will be accepted late, any point deductions will be negotiated and accepted in writing by all responsible parties. The best way for you to think about whether something is justifiable is to think of this class as a job in the same sense that a boss is willing to accept your explanation. Excuses such as your computer crashing, your printer running out of ink, or your computer having a virus that wiped out your hard drive especially when it happens the night before or the morning of something being due is likely to be inexcusable and will be dealt with accordingly. Make multiple copies of your work. Save your work to several floppy disks or your F-drive if you re doing your work in the computer lab. 2. There is no way for you to make up a presentation, regardless of the reason. It is your responsibility to make sure that you are in class and ready to go with the other members of your team. 3. You must dress in business attire when presenting. Failure to abide by the dress policy for any performance will result in a point deduction for the assignment. If you don t have appropriate clothing to wear, go to a thrift shop (e.g., Salvation Army) where you can find something that is second-hand but reasonably priced. Below are some do s and don ts as to how to gauge your dress (Goodall & Goodall, in press): Do Match your level of dress to the type of company you re interviewing with. Wear conservative clothes: solid dark blue or gray suit, long sleeved white blouse (preferably 100% cotton), conservative tie (simple pattern preferably silk), clean polished navy or black shoes, panty hose or navy or black socks. Have your hair cut in an attractive, simple style. Make sure that your nails are well groomed, people notice the small things. Carry a professional brief case or portfolio. Leave the backpack at home. Don t Wear heavy cologne or perfume. Wear distracting jewelry (earrings on men may still be a problem for some people and multiple piercing on men or women may keep you from getting a job you really want). Wear heavy makeup, keep it simple. Wear extremely high heels, again keep it simple. 4. Please be to class on time on performance days. Anyone entering the classroom while someone is giving his or her speech will need to deal with the wrath of Tim. It is common courtesy to wait outside the door and wait until you hear the applause before entering. Please see Policy 6 below regarding entering class late. 5. You are allowed two sick days for the semester, which you may use at your discretion considering that there is no interference with getting work turned in on due dates. To use a

3 COMS sick day, you must contact me before class begins either by phone or by . Coming to class late (after the attendance sheet has been passed around), or leaving class at the break will result in half of an unexcused absence. Each full, unexcused absence will result in a 30- point deduction from your final course grade for each infraction of the attendance policy. 6. Plagiarism, whether you do it in a testing, speaking, or writing situation, will be dealt with severely. Cases will be investigated and if found to be true, will result in having the situation turned over to the judicial office. Minimally, you will receive an F for the assignment. Maximally, you will receive an F for the course or expulsion from the University. 7. You will be required to turn in various assignments by as a way of getting materials back to you as quickly as possible. To make our lives easier, there are three rules that you will need to follow. First, make sure that you put the following in the subject line: COMS 361 (yes, all caps). This will allow your mail to be routed into the proper mailbox on my computer. Second, you must use Microsoft Word (Windows version) to complete your assignments. I realize that there are various word processing programs on the market, and this is not to imply that one is better than another, but I only have Microsoft Word and there is no guarantee that Word will open up your attachment if you decide to use another program. Also, you will be relying on the Microsoft Office Suite to complete your parts of the analytical paper, which is going to make your team members lives easier in compiling the final report. If you do not have Word and you do not want to work in a computer lab, you can purchase an academic version of the program at the NIU bookstore or at Technology Resource Center < or > in West Dundee. It is the exact program that you can buy at any software retailer, but it will cost you less money. Finally, ed assignments are due no later than the date and time on the syllabus. Assignments and How Points are Assigned: 1. Interviewing Unit (Résumé, cover letter, and interview) will require outside class time for presentation 2. Analytical Paper and Presentation Unit (Work plan, survey/interview, rough draft, progress report, final draft, presentation, and PowerPoint slides) 3. Midterm Examination (25 true-false and 50 multiple-choice questions) 4. Final Examination (25 true-false and 50 multiple-choice questions) Your examinations will be open-book and open-note. Do not assume that this will make the tests easier. You will be responsible for much reading this semester, and you need to keep up with it because I will not cover every page of each chapter you are responsible for. Relying on your books and notes for the exams will not get you far if you fall behind in the reading. Also, some of the test questions focus on minor points in your reading. The reason for this is simple: being in the business world requires you, whether you are an employee or in management, to keep focused on all details whether how small or large. It is not to get caught up in minutiae, but it can be the minor details that can cause problems in an organization. Point Breakdown for Assignments (See course web site for how points are allocated): 1. Interviewing Unit: 250 points 2. Analytical Paper and Presentation: 350 points 3. Midterm examination: 200 points 4. Final examination: 200 points

4 COMS Grades will be based on this scale at the end of the semester: 900 and above = A 899 to 800 = B 799 to 700 = C 699 to 600 = D 599 and below = F There will be no adjustment to this scale at the end of the semester.

5 COMS Date Topics to Familiarize Yourself With Before Reading for Next Class Class June 19 Introduction to course Chapters 1-3 and 10 Understanding business communication June 21 Internet and other technologies Chapter 17 Listening, teams, and nonverbal communication Communicating interculturally Class will meet from 6-8:40 on this date. We will have class with the DeKalb section via videoconference. June 26 Assign Interviewing Unit Chapter 18 Interviewing Time Sheet Due Writing résumés and cover letters June 28 Interviewing for employment and following up Chapter 14 July 3 Interviewing Materials Due Chapter 11 Assign Analytical or Informational Paper and Presentation Planning, organizing, and writing reports and proposals July 5 Interviews (Outside of class) Chapter 13 Work Plan Due Submit via no later than 5PM on July 6 (Friday) Finding, evaluating, and processing information July 10 Interviews (Outside of class) Survey Questionnaire Due Submit via no later than 5PM on July 11 (Wednesday) Finding, evaluating, and processing information Communicating through reports July 12 Interviews (Outside of class) Chapter 12 Communicating through reports Midterm Examination (Chapters 1-3, 10-11, 14, and 17-18) Examination period will be from 8:00-9:15. Rough Draft Due Submit via no later than noon on July 15 (Sunday) July 17 Graphs and other visuals Chapters 6 and 15 July 19 Progress Report Due submit via no later than 5PM on July 20 (Friday) Revising audience-centered messages Completing formal reports and proposals July 24 Group meetings (Times will be announced on 7/19) Chapter 16 July 26 Giving speeches and oral presentations July 31 Work night August 2 Work night Final Draft Due Needs to be given to me by 8:30 PM August 7 Presentations August 9 Course Evaluations Presentations (6:30-7:45 PM) Final Examination (Chapters 6, 12-13, and 15-16) Examination period will be from 8:00-9:15.