COMM 68000
Ithaca College
Fall 2012
Section Number: 68000-01
Classroom:
Meeting Time:
Credit Hours:
Park 332
Tues. 6:50-9:30 pm
3 CR
Instructor:
Office Address: Park Communications 376
Office Phone:
William Ryan, Ph.D.
274-3642
Office Hours:
Email Address:
Tues. 1:30-2:30 pm, Weds. 2-3 pm, Thurs. 2:30-3:30 pm or by appointment wryan@ithaca.edu
(please use dropbox on Sakai for any files larger than 1 MB you would like me to review)
Course Description:
Capstone course in which students examine relationships of theory and practice in conducting an applied project for a client organization. Includes study of project management and consulting, and a written and oral presentation before a panel of faculty to synthesize and reflect on the project and its relation to key theories and competencies learned in the previous required courses. Prerequisite: All other required courses must be completed or in progress.
Required Texts:
Title: The Little Black Book of Project Management (3rd ed.)
Authors: Michael C. Thomsett
Year: 2009
Publisher: AMACOM
ISBN: 978-0-81441-529-0
Title: The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in
Action
Authors: Donald A. Sch ö n
Year: 1984
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 978-0-46506-878-4
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Course Learning Objectives:
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
 Lead and manage communications projects effectively, efficiently, and ethically, as measured by deliverables for and reflections report about a project you manage.
 Generate basic planning and monitoring tools for your communication project including needs assessment, schedules and tracking documents, budgets, controls, and reports evaluating and describing the project management process, as measured by the process planning tasks.
 Determine project scope, as measured by goals workshop, project contract, and project deliverables.
 Design, communicate, and—in some cases—deploy intervention strategies based on client needs to achieve a desired outcome for the client, as measured through the project deliverables.
 Identify roles, responsibilities, and competencies of project managers as well as other
stakeholders in the process, as measured by reflections report.
 Acquire a concept of consulting and professional practice within the framework of organizational inquiry and problem solving, as measured by panel presentation and reflections report.
 Apply theories, models, concepts, and best practices to the selection of strategies for designing project deliverables, as measured by reflections report and panel presentation.
 Acquire a concept of mutual respect for the work of peers through collaborative assistance in one another’s projects.
Expectations/Guidelines/Policies:
Attendance Policy
All students at Ithaca College are expected to attend all classes. You are responsible for work missed during any absence from class. Please contact me no later than one week after the absence to make up work. You should notify me as soon as possible of any anticipated absences.
Written documentation indicating the reason for your absence will be required. You may be excused for participation in College-authorized co-curricular and extracurricular activities if, in my judgment, this does not impair your or other students’ ability to succeed in the course.
Important: Missing classes will affect your grade
You are allowed two unexcused absences before your grade will be affected. Missing class means you do not show for the entire class. The grade reduction policy works in this way. Each unexcused absence over three will result in a lowering of your final course grade by a partial letter grade (e.g., B+ to a B).
Extenuating circumstances:
In accordance with New York State law, students who miss class due to their religious beliefs shall be excused from class or examinations on that day. I am responsible for providing you with an equivalent opportunity to make up any examination, study or work requirement that the student may have missed. It is strongly recommended you notify me at least one week before any anticipated absence of this nature so that proper arrangements may be made. Any such work is to be completed within a reasonable timeframe, as agreed on by us.
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Any student who misses class due to a verifiable family or individual health emergency or have been summoned to court shall be excused. You, your parent, or your legal guardian may report the absence to the Office of Student Affairs and Campus Life. This information will be disseminated to the appropriate faculty. You should, however, follow-up with your professors.
Class Tardiness
You are expected to be to every class on time. Arriving late to class two times will equal one absence. Please plan ahead and allow yourself enough time for traffic and parking if you are off-campus and general travel to class.
Facebook/Web/Computer/Cell Phone Use
For the entire class period, I need you to be attentive to class activities and lecture. Although I am aware that you are quite adept at multitasking, I ask that you focus on one thing during class.
I want to eliminate distractions during class. Facebook, web use, external computer use, and cell phone use is prohibited during the scheduled class time. I may require students to close their laptops and other portable devices, even if they are doing academic tasks related to this course, if distractions appear to be a problem for the class. Don’t ruin it for the rest of the class.
Assignments and Due Dates
All assignments must be ready to hand in at the designated time and place. For technical submissions, assignments submitted online only may be submitted up to 11:59 pm on the day it’s due without penalty. The penalty will kick in at midnight. All assignments handed in late will be reduced by 5% for every calendar day late after the time they are due.
Mental Health Statement
Diminished mental health, including significant stress, mood changes, excessive worry, or problems with eating and/or sleeping can interfere with optimal academic performance. The source of symptoms might be related to your course work; if so, please speak with me.
However, problems with relationships, family worries, loss, or a personal struggle or crisis can also contribute to decreased academic performance.
Ithaca College provides cost-free mental health services through the Center for Counseling and
Psychological Services (CAPS) to help you manage personal challenges that threaten your personal or academic well-being.
In the event, I suspect you need additional support, expect that I will express to you my concerns and the reasons for them. It is not my intent to know the details of what might be troubling you, but simply to let you know I am concerned and that help (e.g., CAPS, Health
Center, Chaplains, etc.), if needed, is available.
Remember, getting help is a smart and courageous thing to do -- for yourself and for your loved ones.
Safety
You must respond to and report conditions and actions that may jeopardize your safety, or that of other people and/or equipment. Report to the responsible College employee. During class sessions that person would be your instructor or lab assistant. Outside of class the person might be your instructor, lab supervisor, co-curricular manager, equipment and facilities manager, or one of the engineering support staff.
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You must be aware that misuse of equipment or use of damaged equipment can create the risk of serious injury, infectious contamination, and expensive damage. You may be liable for damage or injury resulting from such use. Unsupervised use of facilities puts you at risk. Failure to be alert to safety problems, or to report them, may have serious consequences for you or others.
Students with Disabilities
In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with
Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodation will be provided to students with documented disabilities on a case by case basis. Students must register with the Office of Academic Support
Services and provide appropriate documentation to the college before any academic adjustment will be provided. If you require extra time to complete quizzes and assignments, please contact your instructor at the beginning of the semester once you have registered with the Office of
Academic Support Services.
Academic Integrity
You are encouraged to consult with your classmates as you work on projects and assignments
(collaborations and cheating on quizzes and individual assignments will result in failure for all parties involved), but you are expected to turn in your own original work for each assignment.
Using another student’s work on a project or assignment, cheating on an exam, or any other form of dishonesty or plagiarism will result in a grade of zero on that assignment and possibly an
“F” in the course, and all parties involved will be referred to the Dean of Students. In a collaborative project, all involved students may be held responsible for academic misconduct if they are either knowing participants in plagiarism or complicitous. If you would like to review your rights and responsibilities as set out by the university, please visit http://www.ithaca.edu/attorney/policies/vol7/Volume_7-70102.htm
.
Plagiarism
You are expected to submit your own work for reading responses, quizzes, blog entries, projects, and exams. Whether intended or not, plagiarism is defined as the unacknowledged use of someone else’s published or unpublished ideas. However, finding other sources supporting your claims or design decisions is perfectly reasonable as long as you properly cite the source that you are using. If you do bring in other sources, you are expected to add your own insights in addition to the text, diagrams, or designs that you incorporate into your design. This requires the following:
 Each quotation or paraphrase must be acknowledged with footnotes or in-text citation
 Direct quotations must be enclosed in quotation marks and be absolutely faithful to the wording of the source
 Paraphrased ideas be stated in language entirely different from the language of the source
 A sequence of ideas identical to that of a source be attributed to that source
 All sources the writer has drawn from in paraphrase or direct quotation must be listed at the end of the paper under “References,” or “Works Cited.”
Plagiarism can involve not only written work but computer programs, photographs, artwork, films, videos, and audios. If you are at all unsure about what constitutes plagiarism, or how to give credit, talk with me about it and consult the Student Handbook (see the section on
“personal honesty”). Penalties for plagiarism may include: failure on the assignment and/or failure in the course and/or College academic discipline, which could mean suspension or dismissal from the College.
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Course Grading Breakdown (1000 Total Points)
 Reading questions (10 x 9 points)
 Project
90 points
 Process Management o Needs Analysis o o
Project Contract
Budget o Schedule/Tracking Documents
 Project Deliverables o Quality of Work Performed/Delivered o Scope Appropriateness
240 points
30 points
90 points
60 points
60 points
240 points
120 points
30 points
 o Need-Deliverable Fit
Project Report & Reflection
90 points
240 points o Self-Reflection of Process/Project Review 90 points o Appreciation of Professional Practice o Application of Theory
 Panel Presentation
 Peer Consultation/Evaluation
Basic Grading Scale
75 points
75 points
120 points
70 points
A (930-1000) High quality work: outstanding suggested questions/reflection
A- (900-929)
B+ (870-899) about reading; well-planned project; excellent quality deliverables, well-written and thoughtful project report, and outstanding and convincing presentation
Satisfactory work: reasonable questions about reflection, may
B (830-869)
B- (800-829)
F (<= 799) even have had some good ones, but most of the time could have given more thought to the readings; well-planned project, though project may not have gone smoothly due to unforeseen circumstances; perhaps some reflection about project, but not enough appreciation for practice or theory; and adequate presentation
Unsatisfactory work: Overall lack of reflection on course topics and on project itself; poor planning marked an unsuccessful project.
Course Work
Questions from readings for class: Before the start of each class, you will need to submit 3 questions you had about the readings. These will be graded as either unacceptable (2 points), satisfactory (2.5), or superior (3) for each question. Think hard about what the authors are talking about and what questions they imply (or other ones you might have as well). You may skip this activity three weeks of the semester—e.g., you only need to do this ten weeks during the semester—although you are strongly encouraged to do the readings every week. Due Weekly.
Needs Analysis: You will conduct organizational research on what needs your client has. You are allowed to use any methods/models you feel are most appropriate based on your course work, but make sure that your analysis is supported by interview, survey, collected documents, or some
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other form of research method (in other words, do not just trust your gut here). You can then compare what you find with what your client thinks their needs are. In the project contract, you will need to come to some agreement about which project to follow. The analysis will be a 2 single-spaced page write-up with attached collected data/notes. Analysis Due 9/18.
Project Contract: The contract is a letter of agreement between you and your client. It will contain details on what the client needs as well as what you will do and how you will likely do it. This project contract must at least contain 1) a statement of the identified and agreed upon need for the project, 2) a statement of desired outcomes of the project 1 , 3) a detailed list of deliverables for the client that you will produce for this project, 4) a description of your role and your client’s role in the project, 5) a proposed timeline with major tasks and deadlines spelled out, 6) a project renegotiation statement, and 7) consultant and client signature lines. Depending on the nature of your project, you may also need to include a) required resources from client to complete project, b) a confidentiality statement, c) statement concerning ownership of deliverables between client, and d) expectations about prototype testing or other evaluation and assessment of the project deliverables. Keep this contract to 4 single-spaced pages or less. It is more important you include everything necessary for the contract. Identification of Client Due 9/11. Rough Draft Due
9/25. Signed copy of contract Due 10/2.
Tracking Documents/Schedule: You will first identify phases based on the deadlines and tasks submitted to the client. You will use the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) method, first, to outline major phases, activities, and events and, next, to use the diagramming method you are most comfortable with (Gantt Chart, PERT, CPM, Network Flowchart/Diagram, or any other logical and consistent representation) to create a visual representation of the schedule. The diagram should represent 1) key activities, 2) phases, 3) start and end time of activities and phases, and 4) dependencies between activities. You may use any software you choose including
Microsoft Visio, Microsoft Project, Inspiration, or Omnigraffle. Part of the project will involve comparing expected time for each activity and phase and comparing that to actual time used for each activity and phase. Tracking Documents Due 10/16. Revised Schedule/Project Controls
Due 12/18.
Budget: You will need to construct a detailed budget for this project. This budget will NOT be given to the client, but will be an exercise to practice the full process of consulting for a client project. The budget will include labor (of anyone involved) and materials needed to complete the project. You will need to include “budget notes” explaining how these costs were calculated. You will also need to complete a “lifecycle” analysis for the implementation of your plan until its discontinuation. This “lifecycle” will show phases, upgrades, and maintenance costs over the life span of the project’s implementation. Just like with the tracking documents, you will need to revisit your budget near the end of the project to compare the proposed budget to the actual expenditure of resources. Budget Due 10/23. Budget review/Project Controls Due 12/18.
Project Deliverables: These include all deliverables as specified (or later modified/renegotiated) by the project contract. Make sure that you make copies of any deliverables for me as well as your client. Due as specified in the original/modified project contract (no later than 12/4).
Project Report & Reflection: This will be both a project review: describing success and problems in the project itself, as well as an introspection of your project and how it relates to professional
1 This needs to be something that you or the client can accomplish with the pooled resources you both have.
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practice as well as theory examined and explained in your prior coursework. Outline Due 11/13.
Final Report Due 12/18.
Panel Presentation: You will need to present a 10-minute presentation that includes a very brief overview of the organization, identification of the need or problem, description of the intervention, and how the intervention will be evaluated. The presentation should also highlight how your thinking was influenced by theories/concepts/models from your coursework as well as how, through the course of your work, you negotiated and enacted the dual roles of professional consultant and student on this project. Working Rehearsal Presentation Due 12/4. Panel
Presentation Due 12/11.
Peer Consultation/Evaluation: You will need to assist your peers in the completion of their projects in addition to leveraging their assistance in the completion of yours. While your work must be submitted to the client and me, you are encouraged to consult with your classmates to produce the best quality work possible. You will be asked to evaluate yourself and each of the other members in the class in terms of your assistance to them in the course. Your grade will depend on the average of all of these evaluations. Due 12/18.
Class Calendar
This calendar is subject to change.
Dates Topic
T 9/4 Introduction to the Course
Introduction to Project
Management
Project Contracts
Entering the Consulting
Workplace
T 9/11 Needs Analysis
Project Success
Client Expectations
T 9/18 Reflection-in-action
Negotiating
T 9/25 Resource Management
Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS)
T 10/2
Flowcharting/Scheduling
Activity
Syllabus
Schedule
Contract Workshop
Project Update
Goals Workshop
Project Update
Project Update
Schedule
Workshop
Reading*
Read Thomsett [CH
1, 3]
Read Sch ö n [CH 1]
Read Zabrosky’s article on project contracts
Read Jugdev’s and
M ü ller’s article on notions of
Deadlines
Client
Identified . project success
Read Thomsett [CH
9]
Read Sch ö n [CH 2] Needs Analysis
Due .
Read Thomsett [CH
6]
Rough Draft of
Project
Contract Due .
Read Thomsett [CH
7, 8]
Signed Project
Contract Due .
T 10/9 Budgeting
Lifecycles
T 10/16 Project Controls &
Evaluation
T 10/23 Consulting Practices &
Issues
Project Update
Flowcharting
Workshop
Project Update
Project Update
Evaluation
Workshop
Project Update
Read Thomsett [CH
5]
Read Thomsett [CH
11]
Read Fincham’s article on
Tracking
Documents
Due .
Budget Due .
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consultant-client relationship
Read Sobel’s article on consulting pitfalls
Read Thomsett [CH
4, 10]
T 10/30 How does theory inform your project?
T 11/6
Working in teams
T 11/13 Professional Practice
Project
Closure/Termination
T 11/20 Thanksgiving Break
T 11/27
T 12/4 Presentation Rehearsal—
Class Feedback
Project Update
Theory Workshop
Project Update
Project Update
Professional
Practice
Workshop
Project Update
Read Thomsett [CH
12, 13]
Read Sch ö n [CH 8] Project Report
Outline Due .
Read Sch ö n [CH 9]
Last Day for
Project
Deliverables .
T 12/11 * Presentation Panel *
Tuesday, December 11, 6:50– 9:30 pm
(if you have a conflict, talk to me)
T 12/18 Class Reflection and Discussion Read Sch ö n [CH
10]
Project Controls
Due .
Project Report
Due .
Peer Evaluations
Due .
*** Thomsett and Schön books are required texts and all CH# in assignments reference the chapter number. All other articles will be found in resources on OnCourse.
Bibliography
Fincham, R. (1999). The consultant-client relationship: Critical perspectives on the management of organizational change. Journal of Management Studies, 36(3), 335-351.
Jugdev, K., & Müller, R. (2005). A retrospective look at our evolving understanding of project success. Project Management Journal, 36(4), 19-31.
Sobel, A. (September 2004). 15 pitfalls for the client advisor. Consulting to Management, 15(3),
5-8.
Zobrosky, A. W. (September 2004). It’s Greek to me: Or contracts 101. Consulting to
Management, 15(3), 18-19.
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