COURSE OUTLINE
Communication and Theatre 320-800
Organizational Communication: online
Spring, 2015
Last Revision = 12/19/14
Instructor: Steve Coffman
Office Hours: 1715-1730 Mondays in the chat room.
Chat: 1730-1830 (mountain time) Mondays.
Use the email in our course shell. I can no longer send information to students via an
unsecured server because of the Federal Educational Right to Privacy Act (FERPA).
This syllabus is subject to change. Changes will be noted in the online version of the
syllabus located in the content area of our dtl course page. The syllabus item will
indicate the date of the latest update.
REQUIRED READING: all text reading is electronic reserve located in the content
area of our course. In addition there are a number of video lectures located in the
content area.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students in the Organizational Communication
310 course should be able to: 1) identify and explain the theoretical concepts central
to the study organizational communication and 2) recognize the communication
behaviors that reflect those concepts. Further, 3) students should be able to speak
well and 4) write competently. (Having outcomes are mandated by the Northwest
Accrediting Agency via no child left behind.)
GRADING:
A.
Your ability to participate in the online cognitive discussions will be noted and
count as 30% of your final grade. (outcomes 1,3) You will be required to (1)
attend six chats, OR (2) write six responses to the chat logs, OR (3) some
combination of the two. I hope that you will only use options 2 and 3 in the
event that work prevents you from attending chat. If you choose options 2 or
3 chat responses are due at 1700 on the Friday after the chat for that week
(chat response for 9/10/13 is due by 9/13/13 at 1700). Late chat responses will
not be accepted.
Attend 6 chats and/or respond to 6 chat logs = met the requirement.
Attend 5 chats and/or respond to 5 chat logs = subtract one letter grade.
Attend 4 chats and/or respond to 4 chat logs = subtract two letter grades.
Communication and Theatre 310 2
B. Similarly, willingness to participate in online discussions is also strongly
encouraged. Undergraduates and graduates are required to comment in the five
threaded discussions (I won’t grade the introductions threaded discussion).
Comments on others’ posts count as a comment. Late responses will not be
accepted. Threaded discussion participation:
Threaded discussion participation:
Attend 5 threaded discussions = met the requirement.
Attend 4 threaded discussions = subtract 5 points from final grade.
Attend 3 threaded discussions = subtract 10 points from final grade.
C.
There will be 2 essays designed for you to demonstrate: 1) clear conceptual
content, 2) appropriate application of theory and 3) compositional
competence. The average of these 2 essays will count as 50% of your final
grade, assuming that you meet the chat and threaded discussion requirements
(outcomes 2,4).
These papers will be due as noted in the syllabus. The essay topics are listed in
the content area of our course. The essays will be authored in Arial font, double
spaced, 12 point type, with 1" margins. Upon completion of an essay students
will place their paper in the appropriate dropbox in our course area. Papers
submitted elsewhere will not be accepted or graded because of FERPA
regulations.
Once a deadline has passed for submission of an essay, it will be marked late
as follows: (1 to 7 days = -10; up to two weeks = -20; more than two weeks =
0). So, plan carefully. The attached paper files must be titled as follows:
(your first and last name) (your course and section number) (paper number) as
in steve coffman 320-800 paper 1. (See illustration below.) This is so that I will
know what paper folder to put the paper in without having to open the file.
Papers should be submitted as word documents (.doc; .docx). If you use a Mac,
submit papers via the rich text format (.rtf).
Kelly, Linda
Feedback Left: Oct 2, 2014 1:42 PM
Feedback Read: Oct 7, 2014 10:23 AM
Linda Kelly 320 paper 1.docx (19.63 KB)
Hi Steve, Paper attached. Thank you for everything! Linda
Communication and Theatre 310 3
Each paper will be graded as follows: no paper = 0; minimally acceptable paper
= 70+%; acceptable paper = 80+%; excellent paper = 90+%.
D.
There will be 5 brief quantitative exams which will cover the material of the unit
noted in the course schedule. These exams will count as 50% of your final
grade, assuming that you meet the chat and threaded discussion requirements
(outcomes 1,2).
E.
Finally, students are to adopt the University policy concerning academic honesty
(located in the Student Handbook).
*** When I grade your papers and chat responses I use the reviewing feature
in word. I always comment on papers and my comments should show up in
bold, brown words. Viewing my comments on your papers has become
more complicated. This is because Information Technology has installed
Office 2013 on my computer. One result of this is: that which was simple
and automatic has become manual and more complex. So here are some
instructions for viewing my comments in a different colored font.
1. In the dropbox for your paper, open the returned (graded) paper.
2. You might be able to see the comments in black print, or not.
3. On the ribbon at the top of your screen, click on reviewing. It should show
up like the screen below. Turn on “track changes” (click on it).
4. Click on the “simple markup” icon and change it to “all markup” as pictured
below.
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5. You should now be able to view the comments and you can save the paper
as well.
COURSE FORMAT

Lectures, readings and videos relevant to course topics.

Threaded discussions.

Chats.

There will be five brief quantitative exams and two essays.
TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE
Introductory section: our changing world and the nature of organizational
communication.
1/26
I will be in the chat room from 1715 until 1730 to answer questions. Chat
begins at 1730: Organizational socialization. The reading and narrated
powerpoint are located in the “content” area of our course. You might want to
print a “handout” version to facilitate note taking. The Test 1 study guide is
located in the content unit.
2/2
The Changing Social Contract. Reading: The reading and narrated
powerpoint are located in the “content” area of our course.
2/9
The Nature of Organizational Communication. The reading and narrated
powerpoint are located in the “content” area of our course. Test 1 closes at
1700 on 2/9 (organizational socialization.) The Test 2 study guide is
located in the content unit.
2/16
Presidents’ Day Holiday. No assignments.
Communication and structure section.
2/23
Communicating and Organizational Structure: Hierarchy. The reading and
narrated powerpoint are located in the “content” area of our course. Test 2
closes at 1700 on 2/23 (nature of organizational communication.) The
Test 3 study guide is located in the content unit.
3/2
Spring Break. No assignments.
Communication and Theatre 310 5
Leadership section.
3/9
Scientific and classical management The reading and narrated powerpoint
are located in the “content” area of our course.
3/16
Human Resources Approach and much more. The reading and narrated
powerpoint are located in the “content” area of our course.
Standpoints for framing organizational communication section.
3/23
The Systems Approach. The reading and narrated powerpoint are located in
the “content” area of our course. Test 3 closes at 1700 on 3/23 (leadership)
The Test 4 study guide is located in the content unit.
First Essay is due at 1700 3/27 via the appropriate dropbox.
3/30
Organizations as Cultures. The reading and narrated powerpoint are located
in the “content” area of our course.
4/6
Organizations Viewed Critically: Power Relations. The reading and
narrated powerpoint are located in the “content” area of our course. Test 4
closes at 1700 on 4/6 (system theory and culture) The Test 5 study guide
is located in the content unit.
Conflict and teamwork section.
4/13
Communicating in Conflict Contexts. The reading and narrated powerpoint
are located in the “content” area of our course.
4/20
Communicating in Teams. The reading and narrated powerpoint are located
in the “content” area of our course.
Second Essay is due at 1700 on 4/20 via the dropbox.
4/27
Final office time for any last questions: 1715-1745. Test 5 closes at 1700 on
4/30 (stress and conflict).