To talk by phone or leave a voice mail, call: (generally not available on weekends)

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1 Lewis Clark State College Spring 216 Syllabus BUS Advanced Business Communications (Online) Instructor: Jacque Andrews Contact: Please use: jmnandrews@lcsc.edu To talk by phone or leave a voice mail, call: (generally not available on weekends) Office Hours: By appointment only Textbook: Essentials of Business Communication, 1 th ed. Author: Mary Ellen Guffey and Dana Loewy ISBN: Course Description: The purpose of BUS 392, Advanced Business Communications, is to offer students the opportunity to continually develop and improve their communications skills in order to compete effectively and excel in the workplace. Emphasis will be placed activities and exercises that center around the importance of: writing clearly, concisely, and professionally; effectively communicating within the digital age workplace; and, understanding how important nonverbal communication can be in developing good working relationships with other business professionals. This class will also cover interview skills and resume writing. Course Objectives: 1. Complete a self assessment of communication skills, identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. 2. Competently plan, compose, and edit written business communications. 3. Understand electronic messaging in the workplace and the difference between positive, negative, and persuasive messages. 4. Gain skills to develop memos, reports, proposals and presentations.. Identify and practice procedures for planning, leading, and participating in productive meetings. 6. Effectively engage in a team environment to plan, prepare, and present a group project. 7. Explore the communication needs and skills involved with the employment search process. Instructor Expectations: This course requires a high level of commitment and professionalism. Class participation is crucial to the successful completion of this course, as well as your individual growth and development. In an online environment, students may read dozens of postings each week by fellow classmates. Please be respectful of others opinions, perspectives, and approaches to understanding course concepts. Any work submitted that is not your original work needs to be referenced and/or cited appropriately (either MLA or APA styles are acceptable). This applies to Discussion Board postings, as well as more formal assignments. Students are also expected to fully read assigned chapters in our textbook.

2 Assignments are due on Sunday nights, no later than 11:9 p.m. Weekly Activities are due Thursday nights no later than 11:9 p.m. Please check Course Calendar (next page) or either the Assignments or Content by Week pages on our class site to view due dates for the larger assignments and projects. Although family/work/school/life balancing can be extremely demanding, your work must be submitted when it is due. Late work will not be accepted. Academic Dishonesty: Honesty is essential to learning and achievement. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated, regardless of the degree of severity. It may result in an F for the individual assignment or for the entire course. Please ask the instructor if you have any questions about academic honesty before you complete your projects for this class. Students are also encouraged to review the Academic Dishonesty section of LCSC s Student Code of Conduct, as well as in the Syllabus Addendum (go to last page). Evaluation: There are 7 possible points for this course. Specific assignment instructions are posted separately in the course site. Initial SWOT Analysis 1 points 1 points Activities, Chs points each 18 points Library Assignment 1 points 1 points Discussion Board Posts & Responses 1 points each 6 points Microsoft Office Assignments 2 points each 1 points Exam #1*, Ch points 1 points Group Wiki points points Career Prep Project, Chs Part 1: Job Ad, Resume, Cover Letter 4 points 4 points Part 2: Phone Interview, Thank You Letter 3 points 3 points Revised SWOT Analysis 1 points 1 points Final Exam*, Ch points 1 points Total Points Possible: 7 Points There will also be one 1 point Extra Credit assignment available toward the end of the semester. *The exams for this course will be based on the study quizzes provided each week on the chapters we cover. The two exams are closed book/ closed notes, on line proctored exams that must be taken at the Distance Learning Center on the LCSC campus (Lewiston), at the NIC testing center (Coeur d Alene), or another center that is set up with the Distance Learning office. Any student wanting to take tests at another location (e.g. your local library, city hall, clergy) must register that location/proctor with the Distance Learning Office as soon as possible. More information regarding setting up a location/proctor for testing can be obtained at the Distance Learning page of the LCSC website (lcsc.edu/dl). Again, this should be done as soon as possible. Contact: Distance Learning ( ) or ( ), dl@lcsc.edu

3 A plus/minus grading system will be used: A 66 7 points 94 1% C+ 4 6 points 77 79% A points 9 93% C points 74 76% B points 87 89% C points 7 73% B points 84 86% D points 67 69% B points 8 83% D points 6 66% F 419 points and below Below 6% Accessing the College Library and Research Resources: LCSC offers links to the campus library and online sources to help you with research: Library Card: You ll need an LCSC ID card, available in the CdA Harbor Center Office. Register your card on the Library s website (see link above): Click on Library Card Registration. Login: Same as Warrior Web Usually your first initial, middle initial, last name. Password: Your birthdate (mm/dd/yy) [for example, birthdate March 8, 1987 = 3837] Research Tools pages (subject guides): Click on Research Tools (by subject). Scroll down through the alphabetical list of Divisions/Subjects on the right. The business school also has a research tools link available: Ordering Books and Articles: Click Form for requesting materials on the Library Website Need help? Call the Library Information Desk at , or call Distance Learning at and ask them to transfer you to x the library at refdesk@lcsc.edu. Learning Resources and Writing Center: LCSC is committed to helping students navigate the challenges of college life. Services include study skill development, counseling and tutoring support. Information regarding policies and services may be obtained here: or, for the writing center: writinglab@lcmail.lcsc.edu. LCSC students also have access to the NIC writing Center at: COURSE CALENDAR: BUS Business Communications, Spring 216 Details are available on Blackboard (viewable in both Content by Week and Assignments ) Week 1 Jan. 21 Jan. 24 Ch. 1 Activity Initial SWOT Analysis Week 2 Jan. 28 Jan. 31 Ch. 2 Activity Week 3 Feb. 4 Feb. 7 Ch.3 Activity Library Assignment Week 4 Feb. 11 Feb. 14 Ch. 4 Activity MS Word Assignment Week Feb. 18 Feb. 21 Ch. Activity MS Outlook Assignment Week 6 Feb. 2 Feb. 28

4 Ch. 6 Activity Discussion #1 Ch. 7 Activity Week 7 March 3 March 6 Ch. 8 Activity Discussion #2 Week 8 Midterm Exam, Chapters 1 8: Available at Distance Learning/Proctoring office from Wednesday, March 9 to Saturday, March 12 Week 9 March 17 March 2 Ch. 9 Activity Discussion #3 Week 1 March 24 March 27 Ch. 1 Activity MS Excel Assignment SPRING BREAK, March 28 April 1 Week 11 April 7 April 1 Ch. 11 Activity Discussion #4 Week 12 April 14 April 17 Ch. 12 Activity MS PPT Assignment Week 13 April 21 April 24 Group Wiki Due Week 14 April 29 May 1 Job Ad/Resumé/Cover Ltr. May 4 May May 8 Week 1 Phone Interviews will take Extra Credit Interview Thank You Letter place through /2 and /6. Assignment Due Schedule TBA. FINAL EXAM, Chapters 9 14 and Revised SWOT Analysis: Available at Distance Learning/Proctoring office from Monday, May 9 to Wednesday, May 11 Course Calendar is subject to change at Instructor s discretion Syllabus Addendum Consumer Information In 28, the federal government required all post secondary institutions offering federal financial aid programs to provide key data to both prospective and current students. To comply with this requirement, Lewis Clark State College has developed a consumer information page, which may be accessed at consumer information/ Disability Accommodations Students requiring special accommodations or course adaptations due to a disability and/or a healthrelated issue should consult their course instructors and the LCSC Student Counseling Center immediately (RCH 111, ). Official documentation may be required in order to provide an accommodation and/or adaptation. Student Rights and Responsibilities Students have the responsibility for knowing their program requirements, course requirements, and other information associated with their enrollment at LCSC. Students should review the LCSC General Catalog ( and the LCSC Student Handbook (available at 14 Student Handbook Revised.pdf) for more information.

5 Accidents/Student Insurance Students participating in LCSC classes normally must look to their personal health insurance policy (Student Health Insurance Plan or comparable private coverage) should an accident occur. In the event of an accident, please seek medical help, if necessary, and report the incident to LCSC Security ( ). Fieldtrips or other special student activities may also require students to submit a signed participation waiver (forms can be obtained from the supporting Division Office). Enrollment Verification/Attendance Students who are not actively pursuing their classes may have to repay part or all of their financial aid awards depending upon the circumstances. Academic Dishonesty Academic dishonesty, which includes cheating and plagiarism, is not tolerated at LCSC. Individual faculty members will impose their own policies and sanctions regarding academic dishonesty. Students who are accused of being academically dishonest may be referred to the VP for Student Affairs for official disciplinary action. Illegal File Sharing Students using LCSC s computers and/or computer network must comply with the college s appropriate use policies and are prohibited from illegally downloading or sharing data files of any kind. Specific information about the college s technology policies and its protocols for combating illegal file sharing may be found on the VP of Student Affairs web page ( affairs/studentcode of conduct/). Diversity Vision Statement Regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation, you will be treated and respected as a human being. Disclosures During this course, if you elect to discuss information with me which you consider to be sensitive or personal in nature and not to be shared with others, please state this clearly. Your confidentiality in these circumstances will be respected unless upholding that confidentiality could reasonably put you, other students, other members of the campus community, or me in danger. In those cases or when I am bound by law to report what you have told me, such as incidents involving sexual assault or other violent acts, I will submit a report to appropriate campus authorities.

6 Component Hours A. Accounting (ACT) B. Marketing (MKT) C. Finance (FIN) D. Management 1. Management Principles (MGT) 2. Organizational Behavior (OB) 3. Human Resource Management (HRM) 4. Operations Management (OM) Total Management E. Economic/Social/Legal Environment 1. Legal Environment of Business (LAW) 2. Economics (ECN) 3. Business Ethics (ETH) Total Economic/Social/Legal Environment F. Decision Support Tools Information Systems (IS) 2. Quantitative Methods/Statistics (QM) Total Decision Support Tools G. Global Dimensions of Business (GLOB) H. Integrative Experience (INT) Total Contact Hours