WELCOME TO BA 290 Business Communication Section 4 Fall 2013 Monday/Wednesday 2PM – 3:15PM MCS 103 Course Syllabus Instructor: Office Hours: Robert Lawry (619) 594-3033 E-mail rlawry@mail.sdsu.edu M/W 3:30PM - 4:00PM Office SSE 3322 Class Website: http://blackboard.sdsu.edu/ COURSE DESCRIPTION/ LEARNING OUTCOMES: This course is designed to improve your communication skills so that you can present business information more effectively. This course consists of lecture, writing, class participation, homework, quizzes, midterm and final exams. The course places great emphasis on writing, in and out of class. It is assumed that students have a basic understanding of English usage: parts of speech, sentence construction, punctuation, subject-verb and subject-pronoun agreement, etc. At the end of this course you should be able to: 1. Adapt the concepts of business communication to written and oral presentations through careful audience analysis and message planning. 2. Employ business writing techniques and the language of business communication in choosing words, writing sentences, and developing paragraphs for good news, bad news, and persuasive messages that are clear, concise, complete, and accurate. 3. Incorporate technology effectively in gathering, organizing, writing, and presenting messages. 4. Gather, interpret, organize, and attribute both primary and secondary information in analytical business reports. 5. Evaluate and produce graphics to communicate messages quickly and accurately. 6. Discuss effective collaboration in preparing written documents. 7. Explain the role of communication in intercultural and global settings. REQUIRED TEXT: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 2e by Flatley, Rentz and Lentz, Two good resources if English is NOT your first language: Geffner, A.(1998). Barron’s ESL guide to American business English. Huckin, T. and Olsen, L. (1991). Technical writing and professional communication for non-native speakers of English (2nd ed.)New York, NY:McGraw MLA WEBLINKS: You will be using MLA format in our report. The following sites are helpful: http://www.calstatelaedu/library/guides/3apa.pdf http://owl.eglish.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ SUPPLIES: One package of 815-E Scantrons Two 882-E Scantrons for midterm and final Flash Drive—keep all of your BA 290 assignments (in and out of class on this)—bring the flash drive to class daily. Access to a computer ASSIGNMENTS: Check BlackBoard and email before each class session. It is a good idea to do this early enough so that you can complete any assignment that may be posted or print any materials that may be needed for that day’s class. All reading assignments should be completed PRIOR to the class in which the chapter/assignment will be covered. All writing assignments must be KEYBOARDED OR TYPED in acceptable format on 8 ½ by 11 white paper ALL assignments are due on the due date. If you will not be attending class, date-stamped assignments can be put in my mailbox on the due date for full credit. . Assignments will be accepted at the next class meeting for ½ credit. After that, they will not be accepted. GRADING This class is based on POINTS not PERCENTAGES Your grade will be determined by your scores on the assignments, quizzes, tests, group work, a written report, an oral report, the resume packet, the in-class writings, the midterm and the final. Your grades will be posted on BlackBoard. It is your job to keep track of your grades. Points: 200 90 100 50 100 100 100 4 In-class writings- 50 each 9 Quizzes- 10 each Written report Report Presentation Resume Packet Midterm Final A 666-740 B 592-665 C 518-591 D 444-517 F below 444 Total 740 In addition to the required work, there will may be various assignments during the semester that will add to the total points. Total points may also vary depending on class cancellations or other time problems. The points for letter grades would change accordingly. Blackboard will show total points available. Plusses and Minuses will be determined by me. REDO—a redo is an in-class writing assignment in which you did not meet the required “C” writing level, and you are given the paper back to fix (redo). COURSE SCHEDULE: The course schedule gives you an idea of the material covered, assignments, quiz and exam dates. You are, however, responsible for any changes that are made to the schedule in class, via email, or announced on BlackBoard. STUDENTS HELP: I am always available to help you with assignments, review drafts of your writing (but not on the day a writing assignment is due), go over reading assignments you do not understand etc. during my office hours. ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY: You are expected to comply with all university rules and regulations including those regarding cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty and unethical conduct. Go to http://its.sdsu.edu/turnitin/pdf/Plagiarism_AcadSen.pdf, for the entire document. PLAGIARISM: Plagiarism shall be defined as the act of incorporating ideas, words, or specific substance of another, whether purchased, borrowed, or otherwise obtained, and submitting same to the University as one’s own work to fulfill academic requirements without giving credit to the appropriate source. Plagiarism shall include but not be limited to (a) submitting work, either in part or in whole, completed by another; (b) omitting citations for ideas, statements, facts, or conclusions that belong to another; (c) omitting quotation marks when quoting directly from another, whether it be a paragraph, sentence, or part thereof; (d) close and lengthy paraphrasing of the writings of another; (e) submitting another person’s artistic works, such as musical compositions, photographs, paintings, drawings, or sculptures; and (f) submitting as one’s own work papers purchased from research companies. The library has the online information literacy tutorial, "Plagiarism: The Crime of Intellectual Kidnapping." This is a self-directed, 30-minute tutorial that teaches you about plagiarism. Each student must take the tutorial and provide evidence of completion as indicated in the schedule. IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENTS /WRITINGS AND EXAMS: These assignments cannot be made up without prior arrangement with me. The late policy may be applied. Athletes must see me at least one week before missing a graded assignment or exam so that an early date can be set for you to do the assignment. RESEARCH PAPER A research paper and oral presentation of the report are required to pass the class. The oral presentation must also be presented with PowerPoint. OTHER Attendance: I will take attendance. If you are absent, it is YOUR responsibility to find out what you missed. It is a good idea to have a class “buddy ” that you can call for information. If you are absent and miss an in-class writing or other class event, you may not be able to make it up. If a serious illness or situation arises and you will be absent more than two classes, let me know. Cell phones and pagers are to be set on silent/vibrate mode when you enter the classroom. No visitors are allowed in the classroom. Please remove your hat when you enter the classroom—this means all ladies and gentlemen. No texting in class. If you text in class, you will be asked to leave. I will answer all emails as soon as I am able. I will not answer emails on weekends or holidays. DISABILITY If you need accommodation due to a disability, but have not registered with Student Disability Services at 619-594-6473 (Calpulli Center, Suite 3101), please do so. Once you have registered with Student Disability Services, please contact me privately to discuss specific accommodations for which you have received authorization The only thing certain in this class is uncertainty. This syllabus may be altered during the semester. .