BSNS 2550 - BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Three Semester Hours, Fall 2007
Jerrald M. Fox, Ph.D., Instructor
Office: Hardacre
205 Ph:641-4361 Email:jmfox@anderson.edu
Office
hours may vary from week to week. An
appointment sign-up sheet is posted on my office door. I welcome your visits, so please come by
often to discuss this course, your future, or anything else of interest to you.
________________________________________________________________________
This course is designed to assist you in developing
the skills and confidence to communicate well in a variety of business
settings. Over the semester we will
examine the communication process, methods for dealing with communication
barriers, business etiquette and protocol, proper uses of contemporary
communications technologies, forms of business writing, and the preparation and
delivery of business presentations.
1.
To give you a clearer understanding of how important clear and
effective communication is to the success of all business activity (and all of
life!).
2. To
emphasize not only proper grammar and form when writing or speaking, but also
the critical elements of tone, style, context, and nonverbal communication.
3. To
give you opportunities to practice using your communication skills and to
develop your confidence as a speaker, listener, writer, and reader.
Resources
Our primary resource will be the text Excellence in Business Communication,
Seventh Edition, by Thill and Bovee, 2007, Pearson Prentice Hall.
You will also be expected to read The Wall
Street Journal regularly to help broaden your business vocabulary and
understanding of the business environment.
Additional resources will be presented and assigned
during class sessions.
1.
Attendance/Participation: To
paraphrase Woody Allen: Ten per cent of success is due to talent and
preparation; the other ninety per cent is due to just showing up on time. I’ll argue with his percentages, but he’s
right that all of academic success comes from being in every class, on time,
prepared to discuss the topics of the day.
I will take attendance and call on students to lead class
discussions. Your final grade will be
determined not only from your achievement on quizzes and writing assignments,
but also from my subjective evaluations of your preparation and
in-class contributions. See the note
below under “Final Grading.”
2.
3.
Written
Assignments - For most sections you will also be
required to complete written exercises to practice the skills outlined in your
readings and in-class discussions. These
assignments will be made in class along with specific directions and tips for
doing them well. Note: These assignments are not included in this
syllabus. You must be in class to hear
the requirements and instructions.
4.
Oral
Presentations - Over the course of the semester you will
research, prepare, practice and deliver several speeches including a formal
business presentation. You will also
assist your classmates by giving written and oral feedback on their
presentations. Details will be given in
class.
Evaluation
and Grading
The two communication standards we will emphasize
throughout our study are clarity and effectiveness.
Clarity refers to the level of accurate
understanding achieved by the receiver of any communication. It is audience-sensitive and
audience-focused. Clear communication
uses correct and appropriate formatting, grammar, style, and tone. A communication is clear only when it
is correctly comprehended by the receiver of the message.
Effectiveness is the degree to which a
communication accomplishes its purpose.
An effective message fulfills the needs of all concerned parties. Those needs may include informing,
persuading, forming agreements, or moving someone to take some specific
action.
All assignments will be evaluated by measuring your fulfillment
of these two criteria.
Quizzes (15 @ 4%) = 60%
Written assignments (4@5%) = 20%
Class presentations (2@10%) = 20%
* Instructor’s Evaluation +/- 5%
*Based
upon my subjective evaluations of preparation and participation as noted in
requirement 1 above, I reserve the right to adjust a student's final average by
up to 5% if I believe it necessary to give an accurate final evaluation of
overall performance in this course. This will be used in unusual circumstances
only and does not mean that
all grades will be “rounded up” just because they are close to the next higher
grade.
A = 93-100% B+ = 87-89.9% C+ = 77-79.9% D
= 60-69.9%
A- = 90-92.9% B = 83-86.9% C = 73-76.9% F = below 60%
B-
= 80-82.9% C- =
70-72.9%
Tentative
Class Schedule
Date Topic Text Assignments
September
4 Intro,
materials Personal
Info Sheets
Interpersonal
Communication
6-13 Oral
Presentations Ch 13 Notes for quiz
Brief
class presentations
18-20 Bus
Comm and Success Ch 1 Notes for quiz
25-27 Teams
& Nonverbal Ch 2
October
2 Intercultural
Issues Ch 3
The Business Writing Process
4 Planning
to Write Ch 4
9 Writing
Ch 5
11 Completing
the Process Ch 6
Writing for Specific Purposes
16 Routine
and Positive Ch 7
18 Negative
Messages Ch 8
23 Persuasion Ch 9
Date Topic Text Assignments
October
Reporting and Presentations
25 Report Planning Ch 10
30 Reports
and Proposals Ch 11
November
1 Completing
the Process Ch 12
6 Online
Research Meet in
Library Lab
8 Running
Meetings/Events
Communicating to Get Hired and Get Ahead
13 Career
Planning Ch 14
15 Resume
Writing Ch 14
20 Job
Interviews Ch
15
21-25 THANKSGIVING BREAK
27 Final
Presentations
29 Final
Presentations
December
4 Final
Presentations
6 Final
Presentations
11 Final
Presentations
13 Final
Presentations
Finals
Week
17 Business
Etiquette Brunch/Course Closing
Monday,
8:00 a.m. at