Welcome to Effective Organizational Communication!
SPCH 70 Winter Quarter 2014
TR 1:30-3:20 L49
Instructors
Donna Stasio
Office: F31A T 10:30-11:20; TR immediately after class; or by appt
Phone 864-8882
stasiodonna@fhda.edu
WEBSITE http://faculty.deanza.edu/stasiodonna
Russell Hong
Office: F31K MW 11:20-11:50, 2:20-2:50; TR 11:20-12:20, or by appt
E-mail: hongrussell@fhda.edu
Four quarter hours lecture.
Advisory: English Writing 1A or English as a Second Language 5.
Course Description: A study of organizational communication concepts and theories. Impact of
networks, superior/subordinate message patterns, teambuilding, climate, cultural and gender influences,
communication technology, ethics, and globalization on organizational effectiveness. Emphasizes
development of communication skills useful for working productively in a dynamic, collaborative,
multicultural work environment.
Texts (1)Communication for Business and the Professions by Patricia Hayes Andrews and John E. Baird,
Jr./ required
Reader (2)Organizational Communication The Case Method Speech 70 Winter 2014 by Donna Stasio
and Mike Stasio / required / purchase in the De Anza Bookstore
We will also use on-line source materials.
Learning Outcomes
1. Facilitate effective meetings/discussions.
2. Display increasing confidence in ability to apply organizational communication concepts and strategies.
3. Critically assess the effectiveness and ethics of organizational communication through case studies,
self-reflection and shared feedback.
Classroom Protocol
Our primary role as instructors is to facilitate learning. Our experience has shown that learning is
facilitated by open dialogue and sharing multiple perspectives. We ask you to come prepared, and we will
also come prepared, ready to facilitate dialogue rather than regurgitate information. By actively engaging
in the material, we can all learn together. We are going to emphasize teamwork, learning organization,
systems, and critical thinking approach to learning.
 Teamwork involves thinking, learning, communicating, and coordinating in ways that enable
groups of people to develop intelligence and an ability that is greater than the sum of individual
members’ abilities. Collaboration is a cornerstone of successful organizational communication.
 David Garvin defines a learning organization as "an organization skilled at creating, acquiring, and
transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights."
 Systems thinking involves a way of thinking about the forces and interrelationships that shape the
behavior of systems.
 A critical thinking approach to education takes the view that a student’s knowledge is not passively
absorbed from an instructor’s lectures. In contrast, critical thinking assumes students must create
knowledge in their own mind by actually thinking about and applying/integrating multiple concepts
and ideas.
Assignments Spch 70 will involve active participation on the part of all students and instructors. Students
are expected to come to class prepared for the week (i.e. having completed reading and writing
assignments you will be prepared to take an active role in class discussions and activities). How well the
class functions depends on your preparation. We will e-mail or post assignments on the website and then
work through the details of each assignment in class. Check e-mail and website at least twice weekly.
Contact us immediately if you have technical problems with downloading assignments. Written work must
be typed and reflect the neatness and care that characterize professional and college/university work.
Late papers will automatically be penalized 10% per day. A weekly class schedule/calendar will be
developed and distributed within the first two weeks of the quarter once we have determined our
reading, case facilitation, and presentation schedule.
Grading Please keep a file of all your work throughout the quarter so you can track your progress and
check your grade against the scores. You may check your grade at any time using a standard percentage
scale: 90% of the total points possible is an A, 80% is a B, etc. This applies to individual assignments as
well as our cumulative point total.
1 Case Study Facilitation
Outline/event design draft
10 pts
Team responsibilities matrix
10 pts
Outline/event design final
10 pts
Facilitation
50 pts
Reflection essay
20 pts
Quizzes/Weekly Concept Review Questions
Resume
Attendance & Participation
100 pts
100 pts
25 pts
25 pts
As we do in organizations, we will spend much of our time working in teams. Because students will learn
by doing and observing, it is especially important that you attend class. You will receive points for your
attendance and your participation in class activities. Five points are deducted for each absence after your
first two. Three consecutive absences without a legitimate excuse, or a total accumulation of four
absences may result in an automatic “F” grade. Please do not ask to be excused from class to make up
attendance in another class or to take care of personal, student body, or social business.
Since organizations are integral to society and formed by people working together, this course is intended
to provide students with an understanding of the concept of strategic choice making—that we analyze,
select and make decisions primarily based on intrinsic values and assumptions of the overall organization
and society, but in turn, these adaptive human systems create or modify situations and outcomes through
patterns of communication. This complex self-evolving cycle of action-situation-adaptation requires us to
realize how a society’s beliefs, values, structures, and ways of managing tension are embedded within
organizations and human communication. We will study relevant theory and concepts, and apply effective
communication strategies for leadership, operational issues, and problems faced in organizations.
Case Study Facilitation: Students will work in teams to facilitate a case discussion. The objectives of this
assignment are:

To relate the concepts studied in the text to real-life situations.

To improve analytical and problem-solving skills.

To practice collaboration, leadership, and facilitation skills.
The purpose of the case study facilitation is to connect the principles from the reading materials to the
actual case. Begin by carefully studying the text and the case. Although questions should generally focus
on the assigned text reading for the week, feel free to integrate concepts from prior reading assignments.
The following guidelines will help your team prepare the case facilitation:
1. We will assign teams and select who will take which case within the first two weeks of the quarter.
2. Begin by carefully studying the text and the case. Determine which concept(s) from the text are
most relevant to the case.
3. Prepare a list of 3-5 questions for the audience to discuss. Design your questions to reflect the
problem/issues/concepts you want your audience to focus on. +Test your questions out
beforehand to insure they are clear, open ended, and invoke discussion. Be sure to include both
relevant case discussion questions and questions that tie concepts to the case. We will lead the
first case discussion to demonstrate this to you.
4. Your job as facilitators is to create an event design, facilitate the case discussion, guide process,
clarify when needed, keep the audience focused and skillfully take the group deeply into inquiry.
5. Teams will set the context for the case facilitation by using a number of facilitation methods such
as ice-breakers, ground rules, role-play, you-tube video, and/or world café.
6. Get the audience to answer the questions. Do not answer for them. (You should, however, have a
clear grasp of the answer in order to effectively facilitate the discussion.) Avoid the temptation to
cover too many broad issues. What is most important for your team to focus on? If the team
deviates from the questions, bring them back on track in a positive way.
7. After each case discussion facilitators will report the key take-away(s) from the case facilitation in
a reflection essay (3-4 pages).
Written Responses To Weekly Concept Review Questions: Answers will be evaluated based on
(1)quality of response/critical thought, (2)direct connections to reading (3)completeness, (4))clarity and
coherence of writing. Consider what you can do to make your writing original instead of copying word for
word from the text/reader. Where relevant, use specific examples from the case to illustrate. Use at least
one direct quote from the text/reader. Unless otherwise posted, answers for each question should be
approximately 1 page, typed, double-spaced. (10 points possible for each question)
What do we hope you will accomplish in this course?
 Demonstrate communication skills necessary for effective performance as a knowledgeable and
culturally competent organizational member.
 Apply concepts and theories of organizational communication to new problems and situations.
 Learn to critique, evaluate, and manage methods, problems and strategies central to effective
organizational communication through case study analysis.
 Discuss the importance of ethics for organizations and assess how communication both shapes and
reflects an organization’s ethical standards.
 Improve ability to work productively in a collaborative environment.
 Improve ability to participate productively in group meetings and facilitate meetings.
 Develop communication skills used to foster productive interpersonal and group relationships within
organizations.
 Assess, apply and evaluate appropriate types of listening behavior in a variety of organizational
situations.
 Examine verbal behaviors that commonly produce defensive, aggressive, and supportive reactions.
 Examine types and influences of non-verbal communication in a variety of situations.
 Practice communication appropriate for a job interview.
 Evaluate and apply techniques and methods for managing differences and conflicts.
 Improve writing, presentation, and self evaluation skills.
 Examine specific theoretical perspectives and organizational practices in both domestic and global
contexts relating to organizational communication.
 Compare diverse organizational philosophies and implications for communication.
 Assess how communication relates to success of and within organizations.
 Discuss the concept of corporate culture and how it is reflected in organizational communication
practices.
 Evaluate how ethics, gender, and cultural values and beliefs influence organizational communication
processes and outcomes.
 Evaluate appropriate and inappropriate computer mediated communication (CMC) in a variety of
organizational situations.
(*Included in official course outline)
Students earning higher grades in this course tend to actively and thoughtfully participate in discussions,
start assignments early so they can ask any questions for clarification, and have a desire to learn more
about organizational communication.
Winter Quarter Dates
Jan 18 Last day to add
Jan 28 Last Day to drop w/”W”
Jan 20 Martin Luther King Holiday
Feb 17 President’s Holiday
Mar 25-28 Finals Week
Final Grades
A+250-245 A244-231 A-230-225
B+224-220 B219-206 B-205-200
C+199-195 C194-175
D+174-170 D169-156 D-155-150
F Less than 150