Syllabus CST 227
Business and Professional Communication
(emphasis on interpersonal communication skills, perceptions, interviewing, group decision
making, and business oral and writing skills)
Fall 2012, CST 227- 002A (64862) Alex. Campus
Instructor’s name: Dr. Bobi S. Wallace
Office hours: before and after class
phone703/304-1514, office number
E-mail address: bwallace@nvcc.edu
Credit hours: 3
Location: Room AA 330
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Days: Tuesday and Thursdays
CATALOG/COURSE DESCRIPTION
Business and Professional Communication. This class introduces communication skills that
are critical to your success in business and professional contexts. You will develop a working
knowledge of theory and improve your skills in interpersonal communication, teamwork, and
public presentations. Emphasis is on [tailor to your particular emphasis, i.e., working in groups
and teams, and conducting meetings or preparing and presenting various business presentations].
Prerequisites: none
TEXTS/MATERIALS
Adler, R. B., & Elmhorst, J. M. Communicating at work: Principles and practices for business
and the professions. 10th edition. (NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 2010)
CAW Online Learning Center, available at http://www.mhhe.com/adler10
Course Description
Effective communication is frequently cited as one of the most important elements contributing
to corporate and personal success. This course will:
(1) introduce you to basic theoretical concepts designed to improve your interpersonal
and organizational communication competence, and
(2) provide you with an opportunity to apply these concepts and practice these skills.
The communication concepts we will study include listening, superior-subordinate
communication, conflict resolution, oral presentations using PowerPoint, resume writing,
interviewing, and interaction in task groups.
Course Objectives
After successfully completing this class, you will be able to
 Describe the transactional nature of communication.
 Understand culturally diverse approaches to communication.
 Explain principles and techniques of effective communication in interpersonal, group,
organizational, written, electronic, and public speaking contexts.
 Successfully apply the above knowledge in actual small-group, organizational, public
speaking, and interpersonal situations.
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

Critically analyze the potential impact of your own communication choices.
Write valid and well-supported analyses of communication problems encountered in realworld situations using the correct business formats in writing memos, letters, reports, and
proposals.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
With the exception of the first day, do the readings before coming to class. You are responsible
for changes in dates and assignments announced in class.
Week
Course Content
Reading & Assignments
Week 1
08/23/2012
Introduction to Course, Classmates, &
Communication
Preface & Chapter 1
Communicating at Work
Case Study: Google Goes Low Tech &
Your Elevator Speech Due
Chapter 1 continued
Week 1
08/28/2012
Week 2
08/30/2012
Interactive Lecture & Discussion
On Case Study A $48 M
Misunderstanding
Chapter 2
Communication, Culture, & Work
Week 2
09/04/2012
Case Study: A Great Place to Work &
Describing Organizational Cultures
Speech Due
Chapter 2 continued
Week 3
09/06/2012
Interactive Lecture
& Activity
Chapter 3
Listening
Week 3
09/11/2012
Case Study: Keynote Listening &
A Listening Experiment Sph Due
Chapter 3 continued
Week 4
09/13/2012
Interactive Lecture & Activity
Chapter 4
Verbal and Nonverbal Messages
Week 4
09/18/2012
Quiz I: Chapters 1–4
Models of Nonverbal Effectiveness &
Case Study: Sexual Harassment Due
Chapter 4 continued
Week 5
09/20/2012
Climate, Criticism, Conflict, &
Negotiation Interactive Lecture
Chapter 5
Interpersonal Skills
Week 5
Case Study: Boss’ Angry Email &
Chapter 5 continued
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09/25/2012
Best and Worst Communication Due
Strategic Cases Due
Chapter 1-5 Principles
Week 6
09/27/2012
Week 6
10/02/2012
Interactive Lecture & Activities
Chapter 6
Principles of Interviewing
Week 7
10/04/2012
Case Study: Interview Planning &
Planning Your Dream Interview
Chapter 6 continued
Week 7
10/09/2012
Interactive Lecture & Activities
Chapter 7 Types of Interviews
Week 8
10/11/2012
Interactive Lecture on Effective
Small Group Communication
Chapter 8
Working in Teams
Week 8
10/16/2012
Case Study: The Redeem Team &
Functional Roles in Action
Chapter 8 continued
Week 9
10/18/2012
Chapter 5-8 Quiz
Interactive Lecture
Chapter 9
Effective Meetings
Week 9
10/23/2012
Case Study: (Lap)topless Mtg. &
Agenda for Your “Dream Team” Mtg.
Due
Chapter 9 continued
Week 10
10/25/2012
Interactive Lecture on Planning
Your Presentation
Chapter 10
Developing and Organizing Ideas
Week 10
10/30/2012
Interactive Lecture &
Activities
Chapter 11
Verbal & Visual Support
Week 11
11/01/2012
Storytelling Activity Due
Chapter 11 continued
Week 11
11/06/2012
Interactive Lecture
Delivering Your Presentation
Chapter 12
Delivering the Presentation
Week 12
11/08/2012
Case Study: Cheerleader Sales
Reps & Impromptu Talk Due
Chapter 12 continued
Week 12
11/13/2012
Strategic Cases Due
Chapters 6-10 Principles
Interactive Lecture
Chapter 13
Types of Business Presentations
Week 13
11/15/2012
3
Week 13
11/20/2012
Poster Presentations Due
Week 14
11/22/2012
Holiday – No Class
Week 14
11/27/2012
Lecture and Activities on Resume
Writing
Week 15
12/04/2012
Discussion on Job Interviewing
& Research
Week 15
12/06/2012
Discussion on progress of research for
Jobs
Week 16
12/11/2012
Presentations of Job Interviews
Week 16
12/13/2012
Continue Presentations of
Job Interviews
Chapter 13 continued
Grading
The following grading scale will be used to determine your final grade in this class:
Assignment
Introductory Speeches
Chapter Mini Speech 1.5 points each x 10 speeches
Case Studies 1.5 points each x 9 studies
Strategic Group Cases 10 points each x 2 per group
Class Participation
Chapter Quizzes (2)
Job Interview
Resume
Total Points
Points
possible
2.5
15
13.5
20
10
20
12
7
100
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POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Student Code of Conduct: As a student at our college, you are expected
to read, be familiar with, and abide by the Student Code of Conduct.
Compassion, respect, and tolerance toward other members of the college
community are essential characteristics of an educated person. Plagiarism
(claiming someone else’s work or ideas as your own), academic dishonesty,
and cheating of any type are not conducive to learning. This statement
applies to helping others cheat as well. Don’t take the chance: The
penalties are (1) failure and (2) a guilty conscience.
Classroom etiquette: Please contribute to the supportive climate of this
class by observing the following norms.
 If you have a mobile phone, turn off the sound. Please don’t carry
on a phone conversation, even a short one, while class is in session.
 If you should arrive late to class, please don’t enter the classroom
while a student is making a presentation. You could disrupt their
train of thought, and you would certainly distract the audience. Wait
outside until that student has finished, and then enter. Better yet,
arrive on time!
 Respect the opinions, values, and contributions of others.
 Your classmates have paid good money to take this class. Please don’t
detract from their learning environment by disrupting class with crosstalk or other distracting behaviors.
 Refrain from packing up books and papers until class has been
formally dismissed.
Assignments:
Students will be given several written assignments which will encompass
preparing full sentence typewritten outlines with three references for all
speeches at the time of delivery to the professor. Also, please upload into
Blackboard the original copy of each speech with three references on the
day you are presenting. Speeches will have to be organized by appropriate
research and speech guidelines. All assignments are due on the appointed
date otherwise grade reduction will be assessed. Outlines must be
presented at the time of presentation to the professor and the full
speech must be up loaded on Blackboard before the speech is delivered.
Wikipedia is prohibited from use on any and all assignments for this course. Please do not use .com a
Please refrain from using commercial websites as well i.e., .com.
If using newspapers or journals, please use the NOVA online library and
retrieve newspaper, journal, and magazine articles through the library and
other online databases. Search Engines such as Google, Bing, yahoo,
among others are unacceptable.
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Modern Language Association (MLA) Style
All written work submitted by students in this course must confirm to the
most recent MLA guidelines for referencing, in text citations, appendices,
and/or any means of crediting an outside source.
Honor Pledge
All work submitted for this course is subject to the NOVA’s Academic
Integrity Policy available in the Student Handbook and online.
Academic Integrity
NOVA holds its students to high standards of academic integrity and will
not tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts
of intellectual dishonesty include, but are not limited to, cheating or
copying, fabricating data or citations, stealing examinations, the
unauthorized use of instructor editions of textbooks, taking an exam for
another student or having another student take an exam intended for
oneself, tampering with the academic work of another student, submitting
another’s work as one’s own, facilitating other students’ acts of academic
dishonesty, using internet sources without citation and plagiarizing.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism means the act of passing off the work or ideas of another
person as one’s own. Plagiarism can be either intentional
(for example, downloading a research paper from the Internet and
submitting it as one’s original work), or unintentional (for example,
the single improper citation of another person’s statement).
Both forms of plagiarism are unacceptable at NOVA and will result
with the student failing this course.
Attendance Policy
Students are expected to attend all regularly scheduled classes. Should
absences be necessary, students are responsible for the material covered
during the absences. However, as your professor, I cannot grant requests
for excessive amounts of make-up material, and please be advised that
should absences become excessive, I may request written documentation
detailing the reason for the absences.
Grade Dispute Policy
If you have questions with regard to the grading policies in this course,
please contact Dr. Wallace for clarification. Questions on the final
grades received in this course should be directed to her regarding the
course. In the event you still seek to dispute the final grades after
contacting the instructor, please see the Student Handbook for more
information or contact the Asst. Dean Dr. Brenda Holmes-Lewis
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of CST.
Inclement Weather Policy
In the event of inclement weather, listen to the news reports on television
and/or radio, and you may contact NOVA via online instruction.
VIII. College Services
Library
A variety of learning resources designed to help students succeed
academically is available through the NOVA Alexandria Campus
Library. The campus library offers resources, books, and periodicals for
research. Circulating books located at any library may be requested for
use through the librarian which include online.
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