Business Administration 200: Managerial Communication
Spring 2010 (Blended format: classroom and online)
Dr. Jie Wang, Department of Managerial Studies
Office: 2104 University Hall, (312) 413-4433, jiewang@uic.edu
Hours: 12:00 - 1:00 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-R or mini-DVD-RW (not an 8-mm disk) for recording presentations.
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 prior to coming to class. 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 classes and actively participate in and contribute to our
discussions as well as revision and evaluation efforts. 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 (1/11, 1/13, 1/15)
M (classroom) Course introduction
W (classroom) Chapter 1: Communicating in Today's Workplace
F (2058 SEL) 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. Do
not register a second time (e-mail me instead if you forget your
log-in info) as duplicate registrations will incur a separate charge to your
account.
Meet in computer lab (2058 SEL)
Week 2 (1/18, 1/20, 1/22)
M Martin Luther King Day - No class
W (classroom) Three-to-five-minute infomercial
about yourself (personal background, focusing on education, work experience, and
career goals)
Transcript of sample infomercial
F (classroom) Three-to-five-minute infomercial continued
Week 3 (1/25, 1/27, 1/29)
M (classroom) Chapter 7: E-mail Messages and Memos
W (online)
Chapter 7 assignments
Memo (Exercise
7.14 on page 196) due next Wednesday
F
(online) Criterion assignment No. 1
Assignment
directions
Week 4 (2/1, 2/3, 2/5)
M
(online) Chapter
2: Developing Team, Listening, and Etiquette Skills
W (classroom)
Electronic resources: Internet
research on companies
List of Chicagoland-based
companies; click
here for a sample
Hard copy of memo (Exercise 7.14 on page 196, properly initialed) due
F
(online)
Compose company profiles as a team (one profile per team member; see sample),
hard copy due next Friday
Week
5 (2/8, 2/10, 2/12)
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 due (log into your
Criterion account to see assignment directions)
Submit
via Criterion before
today's class (counted as Criterion assignment No. 2).
W (classroom) Speaker: Why internship matters and how you can get one
F (classroom) 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
Hard copy of company profiles (see sample) due
Week 6 (2/15, 2/17, 2/19)
M (online) Chapter 9: Persuasive and Sales Messages
Chapter assignments
W (library) Online research resources for term project
Meet
in Electronic Learning Lab, first floor of main library
F (classroom) Chapter 10: Negative Messages
Extra-credit language challenge available today
Week 7 (2/22, 2/24, 2/26)
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 (3/1, 3/3, 3/5)
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
Get started on interview with a professional in your field project
W (classroom) Test 1 (covering Chapters 1 to 11)
F (on campus) Teamwork on letter to company (hard copy due at individual conference) and final project work plan (hard copy due March 15)
Click here for a work plan sample
Week 9 (3/8, 3/10, 3/12)
M (2104 UH) Individual conferences
Bring letter to company (see directions here) and Wall
Street Journal presentation team evaluation memo (sample)
Teamwork on term project work plan (sample)
W (2104 UH) Individual conferences
Bring letter to company (see directions here) and Wall
Street Journal presentation team evaluation memo (sample)
Teamwork on term project work plan (sample)
F (2104 UH) Individual conferences
Bring letter to company (see directions here) and Wall
Street Journal presentation team evaluation memo (sample)
Teamwork on term project work plan (sample)
Week 10 (3/15, 3/17, 3/19)
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
Hard copy of team project work plan
memo due
W (2058 SEL) Creating professional PowerPoint slides
Meet in computer lab (2058 SEL)
Create these slides in PowerPoint
Tips
for creating presentation slides
Click here for a PowerPoint tutorial
F (online) Chapter 15: Résumés and Cover Messages
Chapter assignments
Week 11 (3/22, 3/24, 3/26)
Week
12 (3/29, 3/31, 4/2)
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 on professional interview project
Week 13 (4/5, 4/7, 4/9)
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
14 (4/12, 4/14, 4/16)
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 (2058 SEL) Criterion assignment No. 3
Meet in computer lab (2058 SEL)
F (classroom) Entrepreneur speaker: How communication skills helped me
succeed in business
Week
15 (4/19, 4/21, 4/23)
M
(classroom) Final presentations
Presentation
tips
W (classroom) Final presentations
Presentation
tips
F (classroom) Final presentations
Presentation
tips
Week
16 (4/26, 4/28, 4/30)
M (classroom) Test 2 (covering Chapters 1 to 16)
W (classroom) Course review/summary
F (classroom) In-class assignment
Term paper due
Click here for
term paper instructions
Click here for
a sample term paper
Click here for APA documentation guidelines
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
Return to main page
