Communication for Business and Management English 332 Fall 2011

Instructor: Ms. Sarah McKone E-mail: semckone@ncsu.edu Office: Tompkins Hall, G-129 Office Hours: I am available for virtual or in-person appointments; please contact me by email to set up an appointment time.

A survey of 224 recent business graduates ranked communication as the most important area of knowledge both for securing employment after graduation and for advancement and promotion once on the job.
Quoted in Contemporary Business Communications, Scott Ober, 4th edition.

You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere.
Lee Iacocca, former CEO of Ford and famous reviver of the Chrysler brand

Welcome

Welcome to Communication for Business and Management. I am looking forward to working with you this semester. This course provides an environment for you to explore and expand your business communication skills, so I will strive to learn more about you and your occupational interests. Throughout the syllabus, you will see questions that I would like you to answer in our first forum. Please read the syllabus thoroughly to ensure that you understand course expectations and to find all of the forum questions. Here is the first question: 1. What are your first expectations of this course, including what you hope to gain from our class by the end of the semester? Please utilize this syllabus as we navigate through the class together.

Texts/Required Readings
Required Textbook: Business Writer's Handbook 9th Edition, Alred (Isbn: 9780312477097) $29. (Price varies on whether textbook is new, used, spiral-bound, or hardcover version. Students are invited to purchase the cheapest version they find, provided it is the correct edition.) Additional Required Readings: Any additional reading requirements will be posted through the course website. 2. We will use our textbook to help understand different types of documents, formatting and document structures, and general writing tips. What experience do you have creating business-type documents like memos, proposals, presentations, and reports?

Policies & Procedures

Expectations Your Instructor will be... Dedicated to teaching and to providing a quality online academic experience Considerate of individual abilities and circumstances Committed to fostering a fun, safe, and challenging online educational environment. Students will be... Interested in learning and developing your own writing skills Considerate of the members of the class by responding respectfully at all times. Open to the sometimes unexpected challenges presented to you in the online environment Actively participating is forums Participation & Professionalism Without personal contact in class, we must rely on the Discussion Forum to establish a presence in the class and discuss ideas. I expect you to actively participate and this means that you post the required number of responses and read each other's responses. As such, P&P points are part of your grade. Participation & Professionalism points are earned through forum participation, professionalism in course communication with students and with me, and contributions to group assignments and workshops. Missing forum posts will prevent you from earning possible Participation & Professionalism points. 3. How comfortable are you with online forums? Have you used these in class before and, if so, how comfortable were you writing them? If not, how do you plan to manage your time to ensure that you do not miss a forum post? Students with more than three missed forum posts will not receive any points for Participation & Professionalism. If you encounter problems with this policy, you should contact me immediately.

Draft Review: I am willing to review your assignments before their due date. If you would like one of your regular assignments reviewed, you must submit the draft to me least 72 hours (3 days) before the due date. If you and your group would like a group project or presentation reviewed, including the final project, you must submit it 5 days before the due date.

Late Assignments: Unless you and I make special arrangements in writing, you are expected to submit assignments on time. The penalty for missing a deadline is 10 points/day, including weekends. After 5 days, the grade becomes a 50 if you submit it and a 0 if you dont. Emergencies: If a documentable emergency prevents your submitting an assignment on time, let me know ASAP, in writing. Final Project: The final project must be submitted on the due dateno exceptions.

Academic Integrity
You must abide by NCSUs policy on academic integrity outlined in the Code of Student Conduct at: http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/student_services/student_discipline/POL11.35.1.php I expect all students to abide by NC State's Honor Pledge: "I have either given nor received unauthorized aid on this assignment." Submitting any assignment indicates that you have abided by the Honor Pledge. It is against the Code of Student Conduct to: submit as your own work an assignment - or any part of an assignment someone else has written. use any portion of someone else's work - either published or unpublished without clear, adequate citation and documentation. F on the assignment F for the course Judicial board for consideration of suspension 4. Do you feel you understand policies about academic integrity and plagiarism? Are you comfortable citing research, and do you feel you have a good knowledge of what does and does not need to be cited?

Sanctions for violations could include:

Learning Outcomes & Course Goals

Each course in the writing and speaking category of the General Education Requirements will provide instruction and guidance that help students to: 1. communicate effectively in specific writing or speaking situations, which may include various academic, professional, or civic situations. 2. understand and respond appropriately to the critical elements that shape communication situations, such as audience, purpose, and genre. 3. critique their own writing or speaking and provide effective and useful feedback to enable other students to improve their writing or speaking. 4. demonstrate critical and evaluative thinking skills in locating, analyzing, synthesizing, and using information in writing or speaking activities. The following are the ten learning outcomes for ENGLISH 332 as described by the Professional Writing Committee and the English Department: 1. Students will be able to write documents that address purposes, audiences, and conventions of professional contexts: industrial, governmental, and applied research environments. 2. Students will be able to recognize and construct effective arguments for a variety of audiences and to adapt these to the formats and conventions of professional documents and genres. 3. Students will be able to apply principles of document design and incorporate visual elements in order to meet the needs of different professional audiences. 4. Students will be able to construct presentations appropriate for professional audiences and to apply the principles of effective oral communication. 5. Students will be able to communicate effectively using electronic media appropriate to their professional fields. 6. Students will be able to participate effectively in the writing process by planning, drafting, reviewing, revising, and critiquing professional documents. 7. Students will be able to collaborate effectively in teams to create, review, and revise documents. 8. Students will be able to analyze and justify the persuasive strategies and professional conventions they use in their own writing. 9. Students will be able to describe ethical implications of communication situations in professional contexts. 10. Students will be able to locate, analyze, and use information appropriate for selected professional documents and communication tasks. 5. After reading these learning outcomes, which three would you say you are most looking forward to gaining more knowledge about and practice with?

Assignments
Introductory Memo 5% of grade Your introductory memo is a one-page description of you, your course goals, your academic career and your professional interests. Career Assessment 10% of grade This is a report-style memo, through which you will detail your research of three possible companies (or graduate schools) that you would like to pursue in the future. Students may also use the memo as an opportunity to research starting their own business or a military career; however, you must discuss this idea with me before beginning your document. Presentation Assignment 15% of grade The presentation assignment is a group assignment. Your group will choose a business-related Internet technology (from a list) and create a presentation explaining the tools business uses. You will be responsible for creating the visual (slides, video, website, or other) and auditory (script, narration, or other) aspects. You will upload your finished presentation file (or link to your website) to Moodle. 6. Have you created a presentation for an online class before? Are you aware of any technologies that can help you to create or record online presentations? Resume / Cover Letter 15% of grade After finding a job posting that you would like to apply for, you will create a resume and cover letter tailored to the position. 7. Have you created a resume in the past? What about a cover letter? What resume skills would you like to work on? Progress Report 10% of grade Halfway through you final group project, you will write an individual progress report detailing the finished tasks and remaining tasks for you and for your group. Group Project Reflection 5% of grade Before the semesters end, you will submit an individual reflection. You will discuss your own participation, your groups successes and struggles, and goals for future collaborative endeavors. Group Presentation 10% of grade All groups will create one presentation, complete with visuals and audio, to explain their proposal. The audience is board members deciding whether to approve your proposal idea. Group Proposal 20% of grade Each group will pick their own charity idea and create a proposal that explains the event, the benefits of the event, and plans the schedule and budget for the event. The proposal will be a 710 page, comprehensive document. Groups will be given ample time to complete this project. Often, team members do not receive the same grade on the project; grades depend upon the progress report, group reflection, and quality of proposal content. Participation & Professionalism 10% of grade

8. After reading these small assignment descriptions, which assignment are you most apprehensive about completing this semester?

Submitting Assignments: All assignments will be submitted through Moodle. 9. Have you used Moodle before? If so, have you had any issues with it? If not, have you used other online course environments like Wolfware or Blackboard? Assignments must be submitted no later than the posted due date Adhering to assignment guidelines will positively impact your grade Submitting late assignments will negatively impact your grade (see Policies & Procedures) For the universitys definition of excused absences, see REG 02.20.3 - Attendance Regulations

Grading
Points System Each assignment is worth a certain percentage of your grade (see Assignments) Submitting late assignments will impact your grade (see Policies & Procedures) There are 100 possible grade points total Final grades will be distributed according to the following scale: Points 100-97 96-94 93-90 89-87 86-84 83-80 Grade A+ A AB+ B BGPA Equivalency 4 1/3 4 3 2/3 3 1/3 3 2 2/3 Points 79-77 76-74 73-70 69-67 66-64 63-60 59 or Less Grade C+ C CD+ D DF GPA Equivalency 2 1/3 2 1 2/3 1 1/3 1 2/3 0

For information about NC States official grading policies, see REG 02.50.3 - Grading.

Special Needs
"Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. In order to take advantage of available accommodations, students must register with Disability Services for Students at 1900 Student Health Center, Campus Box 7509, 5157653. *For more information on NC State's policy on working with students with disabilities, please see Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Regulation (REG02.20.1). Please let me know immediately if you are having problems with any resources used in this course. 10. After reading this course syllabus, please describe your initial assessment of this course. Do you feel it will challenge your writing skills, or are you hoping to learn more about formatting and document design? Is there more group work than you expected, or are you more apprehensive about the forum posts?