Business Communication for Managers
Fall 2004
Professor: Dr. Lauren Wright Office:
471 Tehama
lkwright@csuchico.edu (for emergencies
only)
Office
Hours: Tuesday
Thursday
(Plus by appointment or email)
Good
communication skills have always been important in business. They are even more critical in the current
business environment as managers tackle communication challenges created by
globalization and work force diversity, technological advances, and increasing
reliance on project teams. Perhaps the
most revolutionary change in business communications is the recognition that
managers can not merely present information.
They must persuasively sell their messages to different target
audiences. Thus all effective business
communications contain an element of marketing in order to achieve the desired
outcomes.
“To know the world, one
must construct it.” (Giovanni Batista Vico)
“Education is not
preparation for life; education is life itself.” (origin unknown)
Demands
on a business manager’s time are endless in today’s fast paced, global environment. Businesses in today's competitive environment
expect you to possess a wide range of communication skills, including: 1) good
problem-solving and critical-thinking skills; 2) excellent communication skills (both
written and oral); 3) the ability to work well in teams; 4) listening skills and a willingness to
understand the opinions of others; and 5) information literacy.
Management
338 is designed to help you:
Thill
and Bovee, Excellence in Business
Communication, 6th edition, Prentice Hall, 2005.
Cialdini, Influence: Science and Practice, 4th
edition, Allyn and Bacon, 2001.
WebCT
WebCT
will be an important communication tool for this class. You will be able to email other people in the
class via WebCT, and you should use it to communicate with me. I check my WebCT account frequently, so you
should email me there regarding any class-related issues. You will need to access your grades for
exams, quizzes, team presentations etc. online using the “My Grades” link.
All
of the course material (including the syllabus) will be available under the
WebCT link called “Course Information.”
You should be able to open and print the MS Word files (e.g., the
syllabus and other assignment descriptions) in WebCT. However, depending on your computer setup,
you may need to download the PowerPoint files to your computer to open and
print them. You may want to create a
folder on your computer titled “Management 338” so that you can download the
files into a place where you can locate them easily.
If
you need help with anything related to WebCT, you can stop by the help desk in
the first floor computer lab in Meriam Library or call the Student Computing
Help Line. You can also access help
through the Student Resources link on the WebCT homepage for this course.
Academic
Honesty
Honesty and integrity are critical attributes in both our professional
and personal lives. As recent events in
the corporate world have shown, unethical behaviors have high societal and
individual costs. I expect you to
maintain a very high standard of academic honesty (as discussed on pages 154
and 595 of The 1999-2001 University Catalog.) This means doing your own work on quizzes,
exams and written assignments, contributing your fair share of work to the team
projects, and signing only your own name on the sign in sheets. Dishonesty may result in a grade reduction or
other penalties described in Section IV-A of the University Code.
Class Conduct
As a member of this class, you are invited to
think, question, disagree, and offer alternatives. However, my expectation is that you are all
mature, professional people and that you will behave accordingly. Your enrollment in this course indicates your
agreement to follow the class rules regarding conduct, which are based on Cisco
Systems CEO John Chambers’ motto for success: “Treat people like you like to be
treated yourself.” This means:
·
Being
quiet when someone else is “officially” speaking
·
Being
on time to class and don’t leave early
·
Being
professional in your verbal feedback to others and in your use of emails
·
Leaving
our business environment as clean or cleaner than you found it
In
addition, I expect you to:
·
Attend
class regularly
·
Check
the WebCT site frequently
·
Read
the assigned material (text chapters and articles) before we discuss it in
class
·
Bring
your text to every class
·
Work
hard in this course so that you will maximize your learning experience
Grading Criteria
CSU,
A:
B: Adequate Work; A level of achievement
indicating adequate competence in the subject matter/skill. This level will usually be met by a majority
of students in the class.
C: Minimally Acceptable
Work; A
level of achievement which meets the minimum requirements of the course.
F: Unacceptable Work; A level of achievement
that fails to meet the minimum requirements of the course. Not passing.
Your
final grade in Management 338 will be a function of:
Individual Oral Presentations 150 points
Individual Writing Projects 250 points
Team Oral Presentations 150 points
Team Writing Projects 150 points
Individual Exercises and Assignments 300 points
1000 points
All assignments are due
on the date assigned and must be typed and
professionally presented. No late
work will be accepted without a valid excuse.
In general, the maximum credit for an assignment turned in 1 day late =
80%, 2 days late = 70%, etc.
Final grades will be determined by the following distribution:
|
A = 926-1000 |
B+ = 875-899 |
C+ = 775-799 |
F = Below 699 |
|
A- = 900-925
|
B = 825-874 |
C =
725-774 |
|
|
|
B- = 800-824 |
C- = 700-724 |
|
There
is in every part of life a distinction between effort and achievement. This is true in sports events (like the
Olympics), musical and theatrical settings, academics, the business world and
virtually every setting where performance is evaluated. It is very hard to assess effort, so your
grade in this class will be based entirely on the outcomes of your work (i.e., your
actual achievements). However, it is
typically true that increased effort leads to higher achievement!
Business Communication
for Managers
Course Outline
Required Texts: l Excellence
in Business Communication by Thill and Bovee (BC)
Influence:
Science and Practice by Cialdini (I)
** = Assignment Due
8/24 Course
Overview
8/26 Chapter
1 (BC) (Week 1)
8/31 Chapter
1 (BC)
Individual Assignment 1 Due**
Pictures Taken
9/2 Chapter
2 (BC) (Week 2)
9/7 Chapter
2 (BC)
9/9 Chapter
2 (BC)
Guest
Speaker – Bill Bergman (Week
3)
9/14 Chapter
3 (BC)
9/16 Chapter
3 (BC)
Team Names/Values Due**
Individual Assignment 2 Due** (Week 4)
9/21 Chapter
4 (BC)
Individual Presentations – Teams Articles**
9/23 Chapter
4 (BC)
Individual Presentations – Teams Articles** (Week 5)
9/28 Chapter 4
(BC)
Guest
Speaker – Wendy Diamond
Individual Paper Due – Teams Articles**
9/30 Chapter
13 (BC)
Individual Presentations – Teams Articles** (Week
6)
10/5 Chapter
13 (BC)
Individual
Presentations – Teams Articles**
10/7 Assignment
to be Announced
(Week 7)
10/12
Chapter
5 (BC)
Individual
Assignment 3 Due**
10/14 Chapter
6 (BC) (Week
8)
10/19 Chapter
7 (BC)
Individual Presentations – Business Books**
10/21 Chapter
8 (BC)
Individual
Presentations – Business Books** (Week 9)
10/26 Chapter
9 (BC)
Individual
Presentations – Business Books**
10/28 Assignment
to be Announced (Week 10)
11/2 Team 1 Presentation**
Chapters
1 & 2 (I)
Individual Papers Due – Business Books**
11/4 Team 2 Presentation**
Chapter
3 (I) (Week 11)
11/9 Team 3 Presentation**
Chapter
4 (I)
11/11 Team 4 Presentation**
Chapters
5 & 6 (I) (Week 12)
11/16 Team 5 Presentation**
Chapters 7 & 8 (I)
11/18 Chapter
10 (BC)
Team Papers Due** (Week 13)
11/23 Thanksgiving Break No Class
11/25 Thanksgiving Break No Class
11/30 Chapter
11 (BC)
12/2 Chapter
12 (BC)
Individual Assignment 4 Due** (Week 14)
12/7 Team
Consultations
12/9 Team
Consultations (Week
15)
12/13- Finals
Week Industry
Analysis Team Presentations**
12/17 Industry
Analysis Team Papers Due**
Team
Member Evaluations Due**