Fall 2015
Professor: Sabrina K. Pasztor, Ph.D.
Office: ACC 400B
Office Phone: 213-821-4701 Cell Phone/Text: 847-730-7040
Mailbox: ACC 400
E-mail:
Lecture Class
Section 14679 Section 14689
Section 14693 / Tuesday/Thursday 12:00 noon-1:50 p.m. Room: HOH 302
Tuesday/Thursday 4:00 p.m. – 5:50 p.m. Room: HOH 302
Tuesday/Thursday 6:00 p.m. – 7:50 p.m. Room: HOH 302
Office Hours
Tuesday/Thursday / 11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.; 2:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. and by appointment
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COURSE DESCRIPTION
You are working in an increasingly complex world characterized by explosive growth in access to and quantity of information—and your professional life will likely revolve around how you generate, organize, evaluate, and manage the communication of this information. Almost without exception, today’s business professionals attribute their success largely to their ability to write well, to speak dynamically, and to cultivate business relationships through strong interpersonal communication skills.
Armed with astute communication strategies, business professionals can effectively exercise influence—an essential management skill—and produce desired results.
Whether making a presentation, creating and executing an integrated persuasive appeal, or engaging in group problem solving—you should be able to convey ideas and feelings to your audience clearly, accurately, and persuasively. This course is designed to sharpen your existing skills as a strategic thinker, writer, and speaker and to employ those skills to realize an actionable understanding of strategic communication.
The class is structured to emphasize experiential (hands-on/practical) learning so that our study of managerial communication theory can be applied to exercises and activities mirroring real-world challenges you will face in your professional lives.
At the end of this course, you will be a more articulate and influential business communicator. You will understand the rhetorical reasoning that supports the strategies you learn such that you can successfully meet all types of new communication challenges.
A special note: BUAD 302 is more than “just” a public speaking class. We want you to practice and hone your strategic communication skills. This includes not just completing all the assignments to the best of your ability, but really applying the concepts, models and frameworks you read about and we discuss, using the terminology and tools to maximize your presentation, practicing your presentation skills (verbal and non-verbal), engaging in teamwork and making a contribution as a leader/team member, and reflecting your command of practical strategy use (i.e. “I can craft a strong resume and cover letter”) as well as theoretical application (“I can apply what I did/learned in this assignment to subsequent challenges, because I understand the ideas/concepts and strategies involved”).
GLOBAL LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Business Communication Strategy—Theory & Concepts
Demonstrate understanding of the elements of business communication theory and apply this understanding to communications in a wide range of business contexts.
Business Communication Strategy— Application
Apply communication theory to develop business communication strategies, including evaluation of purpose, audience, context, and channel choice. Demonstrate the ability to analyze, compare and critique these strategies, and effectively communicate this assessment.
DETAILED LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This course is designed for you to acquire knowledge and skills in business communication. The BUAD 302 experience will enable you to:
1. Identify and discuss communication theories, models, and principles that impact business communication across diverse industries and fields in a global landscape by analyzing specific communication behaviors, strategies, and goals through case studies and group discussions.
2. Apply communication theories and principles to achieve communication goals by evaluating the purpose of your message, conducting audience analysis, and selecting the appropriate communication channel to successfully construct and deliver presentations individually and as part of a team in various business contexts.
3. Utilize critical thinking skills to develop and implement communication strategies across diverse business environments by analyzing, comparing, and evaluating the effectiveness of these strategies via scenario-based simulations and exercises.
4. Develop an understanding and awareness of ethical principles and intercultural and diversity factors that impact the communication process as business leaders, managers, colleagues and employees by analyzing and explaining ethical challenges and incidents in their cultural and organizational contexts.
5. Acquire and apply an understanding of small group communication dynamics, including learning to evaluate and articulate obstacles that impact effective team communication and developing collaborative deliverables.
After only fifteen weeks, you probably will not reach a level of professional excellence in all business communication areas; mastery sometimes takes years and always takes dedication. You will, however, clearly understand the strategic objectives toward which you are working, understand the necessary processes involved in meeting those objectives (and helping others meet them), appreciate your strengths and challenges, and feel increased confidence in your communication decisions and in the execution of those decisions.
REQUIRED MATERIALS
Cardon, Peter W. Business Communication: Developing Leaders for a Networked World (Mc Graw-Hill 2014).
Available in the USC Bookstore. Note: you may also use the online version of the text, available with CONNECT PLUS, the publisher’s (McGraw-Hill’s) website. Whether you purchase the text/print copy of the book or opt for the online version, you receive a CONNECT PLUS login code to use. See powerpoint on Blackboard for more information.
***You are required to have the printed textbook or access via CONNECT PLUS.***
Other
· Adobe Reader (http://get.adobe.com/reader/) – for PDF’s
· Access to a computer and course files (which are in Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint 2013)
· Access to YouTube, TED (talks), and other internet sites/links relevant to class
· Regular access to Blackboard for assigned readings, web links, and your university e-mail account (you are required to check one routinely, which means at least 2-3 times per week for the semester).
· A YouSeeU account (for presentation rehearsals, recording your individual presentations, and exercises. Instructions for setting up your account will be covered in class).
COURSE ASSUMPTIONS
In addition to computer and language skills, I assume an ability to perform basic research as part of this course and others. I expect you will be as enthusiastic about this course as you would be in any course important to your future, and that you will actively participate and take responsibility for your own learning. You should consider the classroom a professional environment, in which you are expected to arrive on time, be prepared for whatever activities are scheduled that day, focus on the work at hand, and demonstrate respect for your supervisor and colleagues Whether writing or speaking, you should be able to connect with your audience, conveying ideas and message points in an accurate, complete, and convincing way. Communication skills are developed by practice, so class time will often be devoted to exercises that are applicable to the real-world challenges you will face in your professional lives.
My goal is to help you become more professional business communicators. If you prepare for and attend all classes, participate actively in activities and discussions, and complete all assignments conscientiously, you will improve your skill level. By the end of this course, you will have increased your ability to organize and present ideas more clearly, develop stronger and more convincing arguments, thoughtfully apply communication strategies to a variety of professional situations, participate in job interviews, work more effectively with other people, and how to incorporate media into your message. You may not have attained mastery in all these areas, for significant improvements sometimes take years and always require dedication to achieve. You will, however, have a better understanding not only of your strengths and weaknesses but also the processes involved in improving your communication skills over time.
Participation and Classroom Demeanor
I consider this Syllabus to be my ‘contract’ with you. I am confident that both of us will conduct ourselves professionally in our classroom and office hour interactions. In that vein, we both have certain expectations of each other. Below you will find mine:
· I anticipate you will attend every class, and be ready to begin work at start of class.
· A course roster (sign-in sheet) will be passed around at the beginning of every class, and students must sign the roster for their attendance to be accurate. The roster is the final arbitrator of your attendance: if you do not sign, you will not receive credit for attendance on that date. Therefore, if you arrive late to class, you should still sign in at the end of class.
· Should you need to be absent – for any reason – I will expect to receive an email message from you () before the start of class. You do not need to tell me why you will be absent. Keep in mind this email does not “excuse” your absence. It does, however, show me that you are taking responsibility for your actions and decisions. See section below on “Absences” and “Missing Class on a Day an Assignment is due” for more specifics.
· I am confident that all of us will conduct ourselves professionally in our classroom and office hour interactions. The following activities are not appropriate in class: 1) reading materials during lecture, discussion or class activities that are not related to BUAD 302; 2) disturbing others in class (with loud comments, conversations, or interruptions); 3) using technology unless instructed to do so (all mobile devices – see section below on “Technology Use in Class”).
Technology Use in Class
Communication devices, such as cell phones and Blackberries which are capable of sending and/or receiving electronic communication, and all entertainment devices, such as iPods or other MP3 players, are to be turned off and kept off throughout the class session. Receiving or sending communication during class disrupts the learning environment. Use of laptops and iPads is not allowed in this class without the instructor’s permission. While you are in class, you are expected to conduct yourself professionally. This includes being focused exclusively on BUAD 302, not on extraneous matters. It also includes treating everyone else in the room with the same respect and consideration you want to receive.
Absences
If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to stay current with the content, class notes, due dates, and changes to class information via Blackboard. Reach out to another student for class notes (i.e. the email to your instructor that reads, “I missed class – did I miss anything? Can you tell me what I missed?” is not appropriate). You can always schedule office hours with me as well for help with understanding or interpreting class materials, but the onus is on you to ‘catch up’.
Further, if you are absent six or more times prior to September 15, 2015, I will ask you to withdraw by that date. These policies maintain professionalism and ensure a system that is fair to all students.
Missing Class on a Day an Assignment is due or Quiz date
Due to ELC scheduling constraints, making up ELC presentations or activities is not possible. If it is absolutely necessary for you to miss an ELC presentation or activity, and a make-up opportunity is granted after a discussion during office hours with the instructor, you will need to deliver your presentation to the class at the beginning of the subsequent class session. You will also forfeit 25 points automatically for missing the original presentation.
If you miss class or the beginning of class on a quiz date, you will forfeit the points for that quiz. You should ask your instructor for a copy of the quiz so that you are aware of the questions that were asked (since they may also be on your final exam).
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Plagiarism – that is, the act of copying another individual’s work and attributing as your own original work – is dishonest and unacceptable in an academic (and business!) setting. Some examples of plagiarism include but are not limited to: Misquoting a source, not quoting or citing a source (meaning not identifying it clearly with the author’s name and date of publication), not preparing a bibliography; writing sentences that are too similar to the original work; buying a paper, presentation, or other document online, eyes wandering to your classmates’ quizzes in class, and copying and pasting an entire resume and/or cover letter from the internet and simply changing it to your name/contact information.
If you need guidance on how to avoid plagiarism, please see: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/forms/tig.pdf. Most importantly, don’t wait until the ‘last minute’ to throw together an assignment: the likelihood you will rely upon other sources too much increases exponentially when you don’t give yourself sufficient time. Finally, come and see me (or email me with specific questions) about your work. If you are not sure if you might be plagiarizing, we can take a quick look at your work and adjust it if needed. When in doubt, check it out!
Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/ Failure to adhere to the academic conduct standards set forth by these guidelines and our programs will not be tolerated by the USC Marshall community and can lead to dismissal.
BLACKBOARD
This class uses Blackboard extensively. The most updated version of the Syllabus, class announcements, assignments, links to videos/websites (except YouSeeU), copies of Powerpoint lectures, additional assigned readings, and your grades for each assignment are posted on BBD. You are 100% responsible for keeping up-to-date with the posted course materials.
WRITTEN WORK
You should use the spell-checking and grammar-checking features built into Microsoft Office for any written deliverables including your own PowerPoints. I will ask that you challenge yourself to include charts, video, sound, and external links into your PowerPoints. For PowerPoints, these types of “good to great” elements can make a positive impact on this component of your presentation grade.
If you are having difficulties with the mechanics of writing, help exists. The USC Writing Center located on the third floor of Taper hall is an excellent resource. You may schedule 30-minute appointments with writing consultants trained to assist you in planning, organizing, and revising your assignments. Some consultants are graduate business students in the Marshall School of Business. Others have special skills in working with students for whom English is a second language. The Writing Center also offers daily workshops on troublesome language and grammar issues, and makes available a number of handouts on an array of grammar and usage points: http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/writing/writingcenter/.