E312.016 Written Communications in
Business. Fall 2004
Course
Description
This course will help you
develop effective strategies for communicating as a professional within an
organization. It consists of two modules: a career module in which you practice
the genres of an employment search and a reporting module. In the reporting
module, you will participate as a member of a team composed of students in
E312.016 and students in a management communication class at McGill University
in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Each team will analyze business practices in a
company or industry sector in the U.S. and Canada, determine how those
practices reflect and shape the particular environments and cultures in which
the business operates, and interpret what might be transferable in those
practices between the two sites. In pursuing its work, the team will produce
various brief memos, a proposal, an oral presentation, and a short final
report. Teams will communicate through a blog (Web log) set up by each team, by
email, and, if the team chooses, with other technology, for example, a
collaborative document development space on the Web. In addition, the course
provides you with opportunities to practice the important skill of commenting
on others’ communication strategies and soliciting comments about your own.
Learning
Goals
1. Understand and apply the
principles of effective communication in an increasingly global,
technologically mediated, and complex business environment.
2. Create effective,
accessible, and well designed communication products that respond to the needs
of specific situations, media, and audiences.
3. Become familiar with the
genres and conventions of professional communication and know how and when to
adjust them for changing circumstances and technologies.
4. Manage the development and
presentation of communication products on an intercultural team.
Texts
Management Communication: A Guide (MC). Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
Employment Communications (EC). Reports and Reporting (RS)
Schedule
*indicates that class will
meet in MEM 039 computer lab
For detailed descriptions of
each assignment in the virtual intercultural teamwork project, see
http://www.education.mcgill.ca/profs/starke-meyerring/ProjectDescription.htm
T 31 A The management
communication process. Course logistics
R 02 S How to use this guide. MC Ch. 1. Assigned
readings on blogs. Blogs and other genres
T 07 S MC Chs.2,3 and Appendix B. EC pp. 1-37. Employment Websites.
Employment communication
R 09 S MC Chs.10, 11. Virtual intercultural
teamwork. Assignment of teams for
business communication across borders project (with McGill University)
T 14 S Draft resume (3 copies). MC Ch. 4 and pp.91-94, 120-122. EC pp. 37-47.
Interviews. Letters
R 16 S* Team blogs set up. Self introductions. MC Ch. 5
T 21 S Employment interviews. Draft cover letter
with job description (3 copies). MC
Appendix A. EC pp. 54-58
R 23 S Employment Interviews. MC Ch. 6
T 28 S Employment interviews. Final resume and cover letter. MC pp. 94-101
R 30 S MC Ch. 8. RS pp. 1-6 . The genre system
of reporting
T 05 O Team policies and guidelines: blog entry
and memo. RS pp. 7-19, 30-33.
Business Information
R 07 O RS 20-29. Scenario Ch. 1. Accountability
reports
T 12 O Team progress report: memo. Scenario Ch. 2.Guest speaker: Marcia
Carle
R 14 O Scenarios Chs. 3,4
T 19 O RS pp. 33-41. Proposals
R 21 O MC Ch. 9. Scenario Ch. 5. Verification.
Outline of team project proposal
T 26 O Team project planning proposal. Scenario
Ch. 8
R 28 O* Team time: workshop
T 02 N No class. Election
day
R 04 N * Team time:
workshop
T 09 N MC pp. 101-112. Scenarios Ch. 6 ,7, 9 and
Websites. Presentations
R 11 N* RS pp. 41-end (model report). Workshop
on drafts of report and presentation
T 16 N Team project oral reports
R 18 N Team project oral reports
T 23 N MC Appendix C. Scenario Ch. 10. Corporate
communication; crisis communication
T 30 N Team written report. Scenario Ch. 11
R 02 D* Team retrospective memo. Workshop on
corporate communication
T 07 D Blog briefing. Self-assessment/ performance
review memo. Portfolio
Grading
Employment
module (resume, cover letter,
interview, self-assessment/ 20%
performance review
Virtual intercultural team project (memo on team policies and guidelines, 50 %
progress memo, proposal, oral
report, written report,
retrospective memo)
Blogging (individual:
self-introduction, weekly postings, 20%
blog briefing)
Professionalism,
including responses to scenarios 10%
--You must complete all assignments by their due dates to pass the course
--Assignments are due at class time on the dates indicated on the schedule. I do not accept late papers. If you have an emergency please provide a rationale in writing before the deadline.
Since this course prepares you for your role as a professional in the workplace, each class period is considered a meeting to which you have committed by signing up for the course. As is common at such meetings, your participation is expected. The course can only be successful if participants share ideas, listening respectfully to others and inviting as well as responding to comments. Unprofessional participation, including being late, leaving early, holding side conversations, and using course technologies for unrelated purposes and unexcused absences will result in a reduction in your grade. If you have an emergency that prevents you from attending the class or from arriving on time, email me in advance with a strategy for catching up. If your email is persuasive, I’ll accept your strategy.
If you have a disability requiring specific arrangements in this class, please let me know as soon as possible. I’ll keep this information confidential.
The University of Delaware values academic integrity. Thus you must understand the meaning and consequences of plagiarism and other academic offences. Simply stated, “plagiarism” is presenting as your own original work something that is not. Any work that you submit must be your own. If you borrow any words, ideas, or information from other people and include those under your name, you must properly document the borrowed material. This requirement applies to visuals as well as text. Demonstrating the highest levels of ethical behavior concerning the use of sources is a significant element in both the content of this course and your behavior in it. The University of Delaware protects the rights of all students by insisting that individual students act with integrity. Accordingly, the University severely penalizes plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty. If you have any questions about why and how to document sources, please talk with me.