Business Administration 200: Managerial Communication
Fall 2009 (Blended section: classroom and online)
Dr. Jie Wang, Department of Managerial Studies
Office: 2104 University Hall, (312) 413-4433, jiewang@uic.edu
Hours: 2:00-3:00 MWF and by appointment
Course materials: http://blackboard.uic.edu
DESCRIPTION
This course introduces the fundamentals of communication in a corporate environment. The topics to be discussed include, but are not limited to, audience analysis, research methods, organization, drafting, revising, presentation, and visual aids. We will analyze and write essential types of business documents such as memoranda, letters, proposals, and reports. We will also report our research findings in class presentations.
Our section will be conducted in a blended format: About two-thirds of the time we will meet face to face (i.e., in the classroom) and the rest online. The schedule below indicates the format/location for each class.
TEXTBOOK
Mary Ellen Guffey. Business Communication, 6th ed. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2008. (The book cover should indicate "For Professor Jie Wang's Managerial Communication course"; ISBN: 978-0-324-83078-1.)
An electronic version of the textbook is available from Aplia.
The Wall Street Journal (recommended)
EQUIPMENT
One mini-DVD or mini-DVD-R (available from the UIC bookstore and any store where camcorders are sold).
REQUIREMENTS
Course requirements include active class participation and contribution as well as on-time completion of a series of writing and presentation assignments. To ensure fairness, late assignments will incur a penalty (two points for each class period it is late), and daily exercises not submitted when requested will not be accepted.
As part of class preparation, the student should finish reading the chapter assigned on time. In addition, the student is expected to read leading business publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Fortune magazine on a regular basis to keep up to date on the latest business news and issues.
Because
sharing ideas is a crucial part of our learning process, you are expected to
attend all face-to-face sessions (indicated below) and actively participate in and contribute to our
discussions as well as revision and evaluation efforts both in the classroom and
online. For every two unexcused
absences, your course grade may be lowered by one letter grade. In the case of
an emergency, evidence must be presented upon returning to class. If your proof
(such as a physician's note on official stationery) is accepted, that absence
will be disregarded in the final grade determination.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Week 1 (8/24, 8/26, 8/28)
M (classroom) Course introduction
W (classroom) Chapter 1: Communicating in Today's Workplace
F (lab) Criterion introduction and registration: http://criterion.ets.org
Student guide
for using Criterion
Be sure
to select a user name and password that you can remember;
multiple registrations will incur multiple charges to the university.
Meet in computer lab (2249 SEL)
Week 2 (8/31, 9/2, 9/4)
M (online) Chapter 1 assignments 1 and 3
W (online) Chapter 1 assignment 2
F (classroom) Chapter 7: E-mail Messages and Memos
Week 3 (9/7, 9/9, 9/11)
M Labor Day - No class
W (online) Chapter 7 assignments
F
(online) Criterion assignment No. 1
Assignment
directions
Week 4 (9/14, 9/16, 9/18)
M (online) Chapter 2: Developing Team, Listening, and Etiquette Skills
Chapter assignments
W (classroom) Electronic resources: Internet
research on companies
List of Chicagoland-based
companies; click
here for a sample
Bring laptop to class if possible.
F (online) Compose five
company profiles as a team (sample)
Memo
(Exercise 7.14 on page 196) due
Week 5 (9/21, 9/23, 9/25)
M (online) Chapter 3: Communicating Across Cultures
WSJ
article about cultural differences (high- vs. low-context cultures)
Case study: How the
Oreo became the No. 1 biscuit maker in China
Cultural difference
research assignment due
Submit to Criterion before
today's class (Criterion assignment No. 2).
Chapter assignments
W (classroom) Speaker: Why internship matters and how you can get one
F (online) Chapter 8: Positive Letters and Messages
Click here for
a traditional-format sample
Click here
for a block-format sample
Letter-writing
tips
Directions for
company information request letter
Chapter assignments
Week 6 (9/28, 9/30, 10/2)
M (online) Chapter 9: Persuasive and Sales Messages
Chapter assignments
W (in library) Online research resources for term project
Meet
in Electronic Learning Lab, first floor of main library
F (classroom) Chapter 10: Negative Messages
Chapter assignments
Extra-credit language challenge available today
Week 7 (10/5, 10/7, 10/9)
M (online) Chapter 11: Business Report Basics
Chapter assignments
W
(classroom) Recorded
10-to-15-minute Wall Street Journal presentations,
followed by Q&A
Bring
mini-DVD
Team presentation assessment memo
due on the day of your individual conference (WSJ
presentation evaluation sample)
Click
here for assignment directions
Click here for a
PowerPoint sample
Presentation
tips
F (classroom) Recorded
10-to-15-minute Wall Street Journal presentations
continued
Bring
mini-DVD
Team presentation assessment memo
due on the day of your individual conference (WSJ
presentation evaluation sample)
Click
here for assignment directions
Click here for a
PowerPoint sample
Presentation
tips
Week 8 (10/12, 10/14, 10/16)
M (classroom) Recorded
10-to-15-minute Wall Street Journal presentations
continued
Bring
mini-DVD
Team presentation assessment memo
due on the day of your individual conference (WSJ
presentation evaluation sample)
Click
here for assignment directions
Click here for a
PowerPoint sample
Presentation
tips
W (classroom) Test 1 (covering Chapters 1 to 11)
F (2104
UH) Individual conferences in my office:
2104 University Hall
Bring letter to company and Wall
Street Journal presentation team evaluation memo
Teamwork on
term project work plan (sample)
Week 9 (10/19, 10/21, 10/23)
M (2104 UH) Individual conferences in my office:
2104 University Hall
Bring letter to company and Wall
Street Journal presentation team evaluation memo
Teamwork on
term project work plan (sample)
W (2104 UH) Individual conferences in my office:
2104 University Hall
Bring letter to company and Wall
Street Journal presentation team evaluation memo
Teamwork on
term project work plan (sample)
F (online) Teamwork: finalizing term project work plan
Click here for a work plan sample
Week 10 (10/26, 10/28, 10/30)
M (classroom) Chapter 13: Proposals and Formal Reports
Term paper
instructions
Chapter 14: Business Presentations
Click here for a
professional PowerPoint presentation sample
Click here
for a student PowerPoint presentation sample
Click here for
another student PowerPoint presentation sample
Final team project work plan memo due
Chapter assignments
W (lab) Creating professional PowerPoint slides
Meet in computer lab (2249 SEL)
Create these slides in PowerPoint
Click here for a PowerPoint tutorial
F (online) Chapter 15: Résumés and Cover Messages
Chapter assignments
Week 11 (11/2, 11/4, 11/6)
M
(classroom) Chapter
16: Interviewing and Follow-up
Guest speaker Jaime Velasquez:
Interview Techniques
W (classroom) Business communication video (Hint: helpful for Test 2)
F (on campus) Teamwork (location to be decided by each team)
Week 12 (11/9, 11/11, 11/13)
M (classroom)
Report
on interview with a professional in your field
Click here
for sample informational interview questions
Click here
for a PowerPoint Presentation sample
Click here
for a second PowerPoint presentation sample
Presentation
tips
W (classroom)
Report on
interview with a professional in your field continued
Presentation
tips
F (classroom)
Report on
interview with a professional in your field continued
Presentation
tips
Week 13 (11/16, 11/18, 11/20)
M
(online) Team review/revision of final presentation visual aids
Click
here for a professional PowerPoint presentation sample
Click here
for a student PowerPoint presentation sample
Click here for
another student PowerPoint presentation sample
W (online) Criterion assignment No. 3
F (classroom) Final presentations
Presentation tips
Week
14 (11/23, 11/25, 11/27)
M (classroom) Final presentations
Presentation tips
W (classroom) Final presentations
Presentation tips
F Day after Thanksgiving - No class
Week
15 (11/30, 12/2, 12/4)
M (classroom) Test 2 (covering Chapters 1 to 16)
W (classroom) Final presentations
F (classroom) In-class assignment
Term paper due
Click here for
term paper instructions
Click here for
a sample term paper
Teamwork
evaluation
Course Grade*
Components
|
Assignment |
Points |
|
Memo |
10 |
|
Letter |
10 |
|
Wall Street Journal report |
10 |
|
Professional interview report |
10 |
|
Other assignments |
15 |
|
Test 1 |
20 |
|
Test 2 |
25 |
|
Final presentation |
20 |
|
Term paper |
20 |
|
Class participation and contribution |
10 |
|
Junior Achievement project (optional) |
0-6 |
* Grades and their significance:
A: Outstanding (at the very top of the class)
B: Superior (exceeding expectations)
C: Average (meeting expectations)
D: Below average (passing)
F:
Failing
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