COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON
Fall 2009
I. COURSE AND FACULTY INFORMATION
Course Title: MBA MGT 697: Written Communication for Managers
Instructor: Katherine Hatzis,
Office Hours: by appointment on Skype or blackboard chatroom,
Course Description:
II. COURSE BACKGROUND
This course stresses fundamental theories and strategies needed for effective writing in diverse management situations. The course perspective is that of the manager in a multi-national organization; the course focus is on the impact of written messages on receivers both internal and external to the organization; the course context is communication in the global marketplace, bearing in mind that although English is used extensively in doing business in the world communication is always influenced by culture. Written communication topics will focus on areas, such as audience awareness, organizational strategies, content development, language control, persuasion, and intercultural communication. Although most work is done in writing, students will be able to make effective communication choices. This course provides rigorous instruction in analytical reading, critical thinking, and business writing for Management students. The course will be writing intensive and will prepare students for the challenges of the College of Management’s Graduate programs.
III. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This course has two primary pedagogical foci: written communication critical, and analytical thinking. A structured set of experiences will give students a chance to practice and improve their skills in these crucial areas. In addition to the individual assignments, the course will involve group assignments, presentations, and some collaborative research, to enhance the development of teamwork skills. The knowledge acquired during this course will help the students deal with the rigors they will face while taking the rest of their graduate courses. Through online asynchronous and synchronous (Horizon Wimba) discussions, presentations from fellow students, and instructor feedback, students will be able to enhance their oral communication skills as well.
IV. COURSE FORMAT
Required text: Successful Writing At Work 9th edition, by Philip C. Kolin ISBN 978-0547147918
Required equipment: headphones, microphone, and webcam.
Method of Instruction:
This online version of MBAACM 684: Writing Fundamentals for Managers is designed to achieve the same performance objectives as the face-to-face version of the course, so that students have the required knowledge to complete other courses in the College of Management Graduate program. However, taking a course online is a different type of experience from meeting face-to-face each week, and the activities of the class will reflect these differences. While my instructional goals andobjectives are similar, we will use some different instructional strategies and materials that are more appropriate to our learning context.
· This course is divided into “sessions,” each of which will run for one week. Each new session begins on Tuesday at 12:00 am EST. Any work due during a previous session must be submitted BEFORE that time. Late assignments will not be accepted.
· Students will have two weeks to rewrite an assignment from the day they receive it. After that rewrites will not be accepted. When an essay is rewritten, it will receive 30% of the overall grade. While the original grade will receive 70% of the overall grade. Then I will take the results from both grades, add them up, and the result will be the final grade for each assignment.
· Sessions will become visible a week BEFORE they begin, so that you can be prepared for what is coming and get a head start if you want. Keeping up is one of the keys and challenges to successful online learning! I will send out a message each Sunday night/ Monday morning, announcing the beginning of the new session.
Most weeks, the work will include the following activities:
· Reading a breeze presentation (lecture), or a handout and my introduction to the topic and work for the week.
· Reading from the book(s).
· Completing a task that applies to the weekly reading(s). These assignments will be similar to in-class activities.Assignments may includeInternet research, working on your group activity homework,reviewing another student's work and providing feedback, or working on your business report.
· We will use wikis, Adobe presenter, and podcasting to enhance your learning experience. Since you will also be using these tools to display your work online I will be available to support you and help you if you experience any technical difficulties. You do not have to be a technological wizard to excel in an online learning environment! Even novices in the field of computer technology can be star students as long as they understand a few core concepts, including how to use plug-ins, how to access streaming video, how to participate in synchronous and asynchronous discussions, and how to send email attachments. Also, don’t be intimidated by the jargon. These concepts sound more complicated than they really are.
· A podcast is a collection of files (usually audio and video) residing at a unique web feed address. You will use podcasting to create you’re a couple of your presentations.
· A wiki is a website that allows you to add, remove, or edit content. You will use this tool to work on a group assignment. I will set up a wiki for us at www.pbwiki.com called MBA MGT 697. You will find the link on the Blackboard home page. I want you to go to the wiki and request access to the course. I want you to spend the time doing research and adding the information that you need to fulfill the assignment. You will be also responsible to design the page(s) so feel free to be creative and unique.
· Get involved! Your success, enjoyment, and learning in this course are closely related to how you engage with the material presented. This includes both responding to the posed discussion question(s) in a substantive way and commenting on the responses of other participants. You are expected to contribute to the class discussion in a substantive way by posting four substantive notes each week to the other participants as well as posting your own response to the discussion question. Again, participation will be graded.
V. EVALUATION
Participation 10%
Homework 15%
Case Study 15%
Business report 20%
Short Report 10%
Feasibility Report 15%
Cross Cultural Report 15%
· All assignments must be typed, using Arial or Times New Roman font and 12-point font size.
· CM Writing Guide website: http://www.management.umb.edu/master/master_style.php
· Library Resources for Management Students: http://www/lib.umb.edu/databses/db_browse_subject.cfm
· Email policy: Instead of sending me an email with general questions regarding this course, please post them in the Q & A folder found in the Blackboard Vista Discussions section. I will respond to any questions posted within48 hours (except on weekends). Posting all non-private questions allows other members of the class to benefit from the answers as well.
· Blackboard Vista Mail: The Mail tool is for use in Blackboard Vista only. It isn’t your UMB or outside email account. You can ONLY send messages to your instructor and other students enrolled in your course. You can forward all of your Blackboard Vista email to an outside account by clicking the Mail Forwarding icon (to the left of “Search this tool”). But you will not be able to reply to messages from your outside account.
VII. ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES
Academic Integrity:
Education should always be an interactive, affirming, challenging experience. All students are expected to treat each other and the instructor respectfully so as to maintain an environment conducive to online collaborative learning. This includes a commitment not to engage in dishonest acts such as copying another student’s work, plagiarizing, using Internet sources without citation, fabricating data, etc.
· To assist in the learning process, you should participate in synchronous and asynchronous discussions and class activities. Class participation is a vital component of the class; you cannot learn from the class unless you respond to the online discussions.
· The Distance Learning program operates on the assumption that students in class are thoroughly familiar with the UMass Boston Code of Student Conduct, available at: http://www.management.umb.edu/undergrad/undergrad_code_of_conduct.php .
· An online tutorial from the Healy library will help you to avoid plagiarism and provides reference material related to proper citation of material from other sources in your work. It is available at http://www.lib.umb.edu/newtutorial/module6.cfm .
· Academic honesty is also an integral part of education. All work that you hand in must be your own work, and all ideas taken from the work of others must be properly cited.
ANY WORK THAT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THESE STANDARDS WILL AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE AN “F”; THE STUDENT TURNING IN SUCH WORK MAY ALSO FAIL THE COURSE OR BE EXPELLED FROM THE UNIVERSITY.
Plagiarism is defined as writing three words or more in a row of someone else’s work and not using quotes to identify the author. Plagiarizing is the act of claiming someone else’s words to be your own. When you don’t use quotes you are claiming those words to be your own. Plagiarizing is when you paraphrase what someone else says and you do not cite and give credit to the author. Plagiarizing is when you have someone, i.e. a friend or tutor, help you write an academic assignment and three or more words in a row are the other person’s words.
Anyone found plagiarizing on an assignment or a test will receive a grade of a zero for that test or assignment. Additionally, the act of plagiarizing will be put on the student’s academic record. (See the student’s Code of Conduct for more detailed information of the actions that will occur if you are culpable of plagiarizing.)
I would also like students to be aware that assignments may be submitted to plagiarism detection software programs for the purpose of detecting possible plagiarism.
VIII. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Blackboard Vista Browser Check
You will have problems using Blackboard Vista if you are not using a supported browser, a specific version of java, have multiple versions of java on your computer and your pop-ups are not enabled. After logging into Blackboard Vista, run Check Browser from the My UMassOnline Boston web page. This will let you know if your browser is ready. If not you will find information on how to configure it correctly.
PDF Files/Adobe Acrobat Reader:
This course contains PDF files. To view them, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download this software free from http://www.adobe.com. Click the Download button under “Solutions and Products” and follow the directions on your screen for downloading and installing the software. Depending on the speed of your Internet connection (dial-up modem, cable modem, DSL/broadband), downloading the software could take several minutes.
Technical Support: Help for Blackboard Vista is available 24/7 via e-mail, or phone. Send e-mail to: or call 1-888-300-6920. For live text chat, see the link on the User Login Page http://boston.umassonline.net/.