MBA8015 STRATEGIC BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Syllabus*: Spring 2008
Business Communication Programs
Department of Marketing, RCB
GSU Office:
Preferred Email: Please use
Cell Phone:
Office Hours: By appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course presents communication as integral to management strategy and as a critical
component for success in the workplace. In this class, you will develop a foundation for designing
effective messages, both written and oral, from concept to delivery. You will use a strategic
communication model to identify objectives, analyze audiences, choose information, and create the
most effective arrangement and channel for that message. Particularly, the course emphasizes
elements of persuasive communication: how to design messages for diverse and possibly resistant
audiences and how to present that information in a credible and convincing way.
Specifically, you will practice drafting and editing clear, precise, and readable written business
documents as well as learn to design documents to make information easily accessible to a busy,
executive-level reader. In addition, you will develop and deliver an individual presentation, using
appropriate and effective visual support, in which you present a persuasive argument that
demonstrates relevance and benefits to an audience at different levels of expertise or interest.
Further, because effective group communication is a necessity in today’s workplace you will learn
and practice skills in low structure presentations, managing meetings, dealing with conflict, and
leveraging the power of diversity, at both the individual and cultural level.
2
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon successful completion of this class, you will be able to:
 Use a strategic communication model and critical thinking to identify objectives, analyze
audiences, and choose the most effective structure and style for delivering strategically sound
written and spoken messages.
 Practice principles of effective business writing and document design in all written documents.
 Design and deliver a persuasive presentation that convinces the audience of the topic’s
relevance and overcomes resistance, using appropriate visual support and adhering to a specified
time limit.
 Employ principles of effective group communication to cultivate trust and understanding,
increase open participation, and strengthen decision making in work groups and teams.

Build an understanding of different organizational cultures, business practices, and social
norms to communicate more effectively in domestic and cross-cultural business contexts.
 Analyze a company’s communication processes or key messages and recommend changes that
can help advance communication as an integral part of that organization’s management
strategy.
 As a team, design and deliver a presentation that both informs and persuades, using an
appropriate visual support strategy and adhering to a specified time limit.
REQUIRED MATERIALS
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Textbooks: Management Communication, 3rd edition, by James O’Rourke (JO) and Guide to
Managerial Communication, 7th edition, by Mary Munter (MM)
Three-ring binder
Email address that accepts large attachments
Mini-sized +RW DVD for videotaping (Provided by PMBA Program)
Fletcher Electronics case (on Study.net) for Strategy Memo Assignment
* This syllabus is preliminary and may undergo some minor changes.
GRADED ASSIGNMENTS
Assignments
Communication Strategy Assignment
Written Assignment (Case Analysis)
Individual Presentation
Communication Audit Report
Group Presentation: Communication Audit
Total
Grade Weights
15%
25%
25%
20%
15%
100%
Grade Scale: Please note that no individual assignment or course grades will be
rounded up.
A = 93-100
A- = 90-92
B+ = 87-89
B = 83-86
B- = 80-82
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C+ =
C =
C- =
D =
77-79
73-76
70-72
60-69
3
Pre-Reading Before Class # 1: Fletcher Electronics Case (Study.net), Mary Munter (MM), Chapter 1;
James O’Rourke (JO) Chapters 1-3. (You do not have to read all the cases that accompany the
chapters unless I have assigned them)
COURSE OUTLINE
Class
Content
Class #1,
Jan. 12
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Class # 2,
Jan. 26
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Welcome and Course Policy
Introduction to Management
Communication Strategy
Communicator Strategy
Establishing Credibility
Audience Strategy
Message Strategy
Discuss Fletcher Case
Communication Strategy
Assignment
Introduction to
Communication Audit
Assignment
Introduction to Written
Communication
Drafting and Editing
Document Design
Writing Exercises
Using Technology: Discussion
of Cerner
What’s Due Today
Reading Assignment for
Next Class
 MM: Chapters 2-4;
Appendices A-D
 JO: Browse Appendices
A-D, as needed
 JO: Chapters 5, 7
 Read JO Case 7-1,
Cerner Corporation, p.
211.
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MM: Chapters 5-7-1
JO: Chapter 4, 6,10
Read JO Case 4-2:
“Preparing to Speak at
Staples, Inc.”
Class # 3,
Feb. 9
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Introduction to Spoken
Communication
Discussion of Staples Case
Persuasion and Influence;
Handling Objections and
Audience Resistance
Presentation Design and
Delivery
Handling Q and A in
Presentations Managing
Audience Participation;
Difficult Situations
Turn in Communication
Strategy Written
Assignment based on
the Fletcher Electronics
Case (See instructions on
page 7 of syllabus)
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Submit email evaluation
of presentation by March
8
Submit email evaluation
of presentation by March
22
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Class # 4,
Feb. 23
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Individual Presentations (1/2
Class)
Class # 5
Mar. 8
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Individual Presentations (1/2
Class)
Class #6,
Mar. 22
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Low Structure Spoken
Communication: One-on-one;
Difficult Messages
Nonverbal Communication
Intercultural Communication
Dealing with the Media
Working in Groups: Team
Communication
Role Play
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Class #7
April 5
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Class # 8
April 19
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Meeting Management/Group
Dynamics
Resolving Conflicts
Dealing with Difficult People
Communication Audit Group
Presentations
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Turn in Written
Assignment on case of
your choice (See
instructions on p. 11 of
syllabus)
Turn in Written
Assignment on
Communication Audit
MM: Chapter
4 7-2
JO: Chapter 8, 9,13
MM, Chapter 5 (p. 97107)
JO Chapters 11-12
5
COMMUNICATION STRATEGY (C/S) WORKSHEET
ASSIGNMENT________________________________ NAME_________________________
Mary Munter writes “A brilliant message alone is not sufficient; you are successful only
if your message leads to the response you desire from your audience.” Use this form to
help you develop a communication strategy that will result in the “desired audience
response.”
Please complete the following form, before you begin to write, to describe the strategy
you have used to create your communication document/presentation. Attach the typed or
neatly printed form to each assignment.
AUDIENCE: (Who is my primary audience? What do I know about him/her/them? What is my audience’s
likely reaction to this message?)
PURPOSE: (What is the general purpose of the message – to inform or persuade? Specific
purpose – action I want my audience to take?)
CONTENT: (What obstacles must I overcome? What reader benefits can I emphasize? What
will audience need to know to take the desired action? List the major point and supporting
points.)
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STRUCTURE: (What approach will I use to organize my message – direct or indirect, formal
or informal? How will I make it easy for my audience to locate/understand my main points –
bullets, agenda, etc.?)
CHANNEL: (What channel will I use – written or spoken? What medium – memo, letter,
speech, email, brochure, etc.?)
CULTURE: What cultural variables and nonverbal elements should you consider? These can
be corporate culture issues as well as demographic, ethnic, or national differences (List)
Adapted by Dr. Gillian Royes, BCOM, 2006, from Mary Munter’s Guide to Managerial
Communication
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COMMUNICATION STRATEGY ANALYSIS: Fletcher Electronics
Write a memo to your instructor analyzing the Fletcher situation. What was VanDyke trying to
accomplish? What mistakes did he make in his communication strategy? What should he have
done initially? What should he do now to salvage the situation? Use the information on
communication strategy from your textbook and handouts to help you structure your analysis of
the situation. Turn in a copy of the strategy worksheet written as though you were Bill
VanDyke. What should have been his strategy? In other words, when you analyze the
audience(s), you should analyze VanDyke’s audiences. When you consider the message
construction, you should be assessing what VanDyke did and what he should have done.
Do not fill out the strategy worksheet dealing with your memo to me. Fill it out as what Van Dyke
should consider.
Other issues to consider:
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Strategic Communication Objectives.
Audience Analysis.
Message Construction.
Medium Selection.
Measurement of Outcome.
Turn in your strategy worksheet with your assignment. Note that your strategy worksheet is
merely to show what went into your conclusions and recommendations. It is not a
substitute for putting your ideas in the memo. This assignment is the only time you need
to attach a strategy worksheet to a written assignment.
Here are some additional resources.
 MM: Chapter 1 and “Communication Strategy Checklist” (p.32)
 JO: Appendix E: Sample Strategy Memo (p.361)
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INDIVIDUAL PERSUASIVE PRESENTATION
Combine the elements of effective persuasion strategy with strong presentation skills to convince
your audience to support your conclusions on a business issue. Choose the topic for your
persuasive presentation from the list below. In the case of a topic that has two sides to the issue,
indicate whether you want the pro or con side so that a classmate can take the other side. If you
don't see a topic that interests you, submit a proposed topic for my approval.
This presentation should be a combination of your own thoughts on the issue and some expert
opinion, so some research is necessary. You have seven minutes for your presentation.
Unfortunately, due to the class size, we won’t have much time for questions.
Suggested Topics
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CEO Compensation: Too High? Too Low? Just Right? What’s the
solution?
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Credibility: How To Gain It And Keep It
When Generations Collide: Tips For Managing A Multi-Generational
Workforce
 Cultural Relativism Or Ethical Absolutism: Which Is “Right?”
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Downsizing and Rightsizing: The Best Solution for Declining Profits?
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Drug Testing: A Company’s Right or Invasion of Privacy?
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The New CEO: Why Companies Should have a Chief Ethics Officer
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E-Mail: How To Manage This Tool Effectively
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Leveraging Diversity in the Workplace
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The e EU: Good or Bad for the US?
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Glass Ceiling: Myth or Reality?
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Globalization: Pain or Gain?
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Internet Security: Fact or Fiction?
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More Technology or More People: What’s The Best Bang for the Buck?
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Outsourcing: Good for Productivity or Bad for US Business?
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Teams vs. Hierarchy: Best Organization Strategy?
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Teleworking/Telecommuting: More Work or More Play?
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Technology and Interpersonal Skills: Friends or Foes?
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Trust In The Workplace: Pipe Dream Or Possibility?
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“Whistleblowers:” Heroes or Tattletales?
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Workplace Monitoring: An Ethical Dilemma
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What Makes s Leader?
Communicating Change In The Workplace—Why So Many Companies Do A
Lousy Job
 Creating A Fear-Free Workplace: Important Or Impossible?
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Key Attributes Of A Successful Employee Recognition Program
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Community Service: Corporate Responsibility or Individual Choice?
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Developing Tomorrow’s Corporate Leaders: Guidelines For Action
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How To Overcome Destructive Internal Competition
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How To Leverage Internal Competition To Benefit The Corporation
When Companies Merge: Strategies For Bringing Corporate Cultures Into
Alignment
 Attracting and Keeping Top Talent in Organizations: How To Do It
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Why Failing is Important
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How Should Business Deal with an Aging Population?
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Benefits: What Do Companies Owe Employees?
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Creative Solutions for Dealing with the Cost of Employee Health Care
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Should We Put a Leash on Lawsuits?
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How to Achieve Your Goals
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How to Get Noticed Without Being Notorious
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How to Overcome Resistance to Your Good Ideas
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How to Hire the Right People? Interviewing Techniques
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What US business people can learn from other cultures
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The Most Serious Threat to the Human Race
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The future of the wireless industry around the globe. What smart companies
should do
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What the airline industry needs to do to avoid bankruptcy.
10
03/07/16
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Why the US needs a stronger corporate governance system—and how it will
benefit the economy.
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What environmental risk management can mean to the average company
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How to win in the luxury hotel industry.
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ERP systems: centralization vs decentralization.
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A major idea from The Lexus and the Olive Tree. Take a pro or con position
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Your Choice of Topic, with Instructor’s Approval (Please submit in a oneparagraph email)
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CASE ANALYSIS: COMMUNICATION STRATEGY PROPOSAL
TO MANAGEMENT (INDIVIDUAL PAPER)
Choose one of the following cases for your paper: Your audience will be senior
management of that company.
Case Number
Case 1.1
Case 1-2
Case 2-1
Case 2-3
Case 3-1
Case 3-2
Case 3-3
Case 7-1
Case 7-2
Case 10-2
Case 11-3
Case 11-3
Case 12-2
Case 13-1
Case 13-2
Case Name
Odwalla
Great West Casualty vs. Estate of G. Witherspoon
Starbuck’s Corporation: Can Customers Breastfeed in a Coffee
Shop?
Taco Bell Corporation: Public Perception and Brand Perception
Excel Industries
A Collection Scandal at Sears Roebuck and Company
The Soul of Dell
Cerner
Vitruvius Sportswear Inc.: A Question of Online Privacy
La Jolla Software, Inc.
Dixie Industries
Hershey Foods
American Rubber Products Company
L’Oreal USA
Bayer AG: Anthrax and Cipro
Please prepare your paper with senior management of the chosen company as your proposed
audience, unless you have a clear reason for identifying a different audience.
In this assignment you should
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Identify the key issues of the situation.
Identify the main stakeholder groups and their value propositions.
Define and address any ethical issues.
Anticipate and deal with possible objections or resistance.
Make recommendations with regard to strategy: Analyzing the audience, choosing the
media, structuring the message, considering the context, and timing.
 Describe how your message should be tailored to various audiences.
 Outline next steps.
 Present a clear vision for the future: What are the benefits of the company’s accepting
your recommendations?
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GROUP ASSIGNMENT: COMMUNICATION AUDIT
Your Assignment: Audit the communication of a company of your choice. You may
choose to audit a department or a branch office of a larger company.
Your Audience: The audience of your audit should be the client company’s senior
leadership. I am not the audience. However, if you need to give me some background
about the company, you can provide it in a short memo to me or as an appendix.
Keep in mind that your audience is thoroughly familiar with the history of the company,
so you do not need to give them background information about their own organization
unless it is relevant to some point you are making in the audit.
Your Deliverables
Cover Letter, Agreement, and Disclaimer for Client Company
Before you begin the audit, you need to write a short cover letter to the contact person at
the company which you will audit and attach the Agreement and Disclaimer to that
document. Include a copy with your written report.
Written Report:
Prepare a written report that analyzes the situation, considers the implications, explains
your research, and recommends a workable strategy. Use a combination of primary and
secondary research. For example, you may want to review the company’s collateral
material and then conduct a focus group on how consumers or stakeholders react to that
material.
Some of your findings should have a quantitative component, for example a survey or a
poll.
Include samples of instruments you used to conduct the audit as well as compilations of
your results.
Include an analysis of whatever difficulties you encountered in conducting the audit and
how you overcame these problems. In your recommendations, discuss the possible
implementation as well as the concept.
Presentation to Senior Management (or other appropriate audience) 15-20 minutes
Deliver a team presentation (although not everyone has to speak) as though you were
presenting to management at your client organization, giving a high-level overview of the
situation, recommending a strategy, and “selling” your approach. Include a sufficient
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element of persuasion to convince management that a degree of intervention is necessary.
Include recommendations about creating a safe environment in which new
communication behaviors can be practiced. Suggest ways that management can assess
the success of any changes.
Assume that you may encounter some resistance in the audience although the audience is
not necessarily hostile. However, whenever you come into a company and observe areas
for improvement, you may find that your audience becomes defensive.
Make sure that you spend adequate time on the benefits of implementing your strategy
and the changes that you believe will take place as a result. This presentation must be
considerably more than informational. You need to convince your audience of the merits
of your approach.
Note: Please make sure that all members of the team work on both parts of the
assignment. I am attaching a Bonus Sheet that you can use to assess the contribution that
each member makes and to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the team.
Conducting a Communication Audit
Choose a company which you will audit for the effectiveness of its communication.
Working in teams, you will examine the company’s communication in the following
areas:
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Internal
External (Advertising, PR, Community Relations, Investor Relations, etc.)
Electronic (website, email guidelines)
Public Perception (Image, Identity)
If possible and available, you should avail yourself of three kinds of research:
Exploratory, Secondary, and Primary.
Exploratory: Looking through publications—books magazines, newspapers, pamphlets,
etc. for information on, for example, the industry of the subject company.
Secondary: Secondary research is the study of any primary conducted by others that can
be extrapolated to apply to your research topic. For example, you may find an example of
a communication audit performed by someone else.
Primary: Obviously, secondary research cannot provide the specific answers to the
questions that apply to your topic. Primary research is information that you will obtain
first hand from information sources that are not currently in publications. This research
includes the following:
 Observations
 Surveys
 Interviews
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Your audit report should include the following elements:
Introduction: Discuss either typical organizational communication problems or specific
problems that you suspect or have observed in your subject company.
Objectives: What do you want to know? What insights do you hope to achieve from
your audit?
Problem Statement: What exactly are you researching? Your problem statement will
define the scope of the problem and try to determine any cause-and-effect relationships
between variables. For example, a company’s use of email may have become a problem.
Or, the external perception of the organization may not be what it would like.
Methodology:
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Determine what secondary information you will research (books, trade publications,
internal documents,
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List the primary research that you will engage to solve the problem.
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Determine the proper sample sizes. See sample size guidelines.
Number of Employees
Sample Size
10
30
50
75
100
150
200
300
400
500
1000
2000
3000
5000
10,000
9
27
44
62
79
108
131
168
196
254
277
322
340
356
369
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Do primary research.
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Gather data.
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Analyze the data.
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
Make a decision.
Conducting Primary Research
Observation: Specific Techniques
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On-site visits
Reports and Written Documents
Surveys: Specific Techniques
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Close-ended questions
Open-ended questions
Checklists
Example: Check the types of communication you have with your supervisor
 Informal Meetings
 Formal Meetings
 Written Reports
 Letters
 Telephone
 Committee Meetings
 Social Gatherings
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Multiple choice questions
Example: How often do you communicate with your supervisor?
a) Once a day
b) Twice a day
c) Three to five times a day
d) Six or more times a day

Ranking scales
Example: Of the five types of communications that you have with your supervisor, rank
them in order of importance with 1 being most important. Rank all items
____ Formal meetings
____ Informal conversation
____ Written reports
____ Letters or memos
____ Telephone discussions
____ Emails
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Likert scale
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Example: Please indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree with the following
statement:
I have the right amount of communication with my supervisor.
Strongly Agree
5

Agree
Neither Agree
Nor Disagree
4
Disagree
3
Strongly Disagree
2
1
Semantic Differential
Example: Place an “X” on the spot that most describes your feelings about the words
that reflect a situation.
My supervisor’s communication with me is
Esteem Building .
.
. . .
.
.
.
.
.
. , . Demeaning
Interviews: Specific Techniques
Individual Interviews
Face-to-Face
Telephone
Group Interviews
Panel: 7-12 people who share the same organizational expertise. Generally, the
information is more reliable than that you receive from one person. Advantage: group
may be reassembled if needed.
Focus Group: 8-12 people selected more randomly. They may be within or outside an
organization.
Here is an example of some Focus Group questions used in an actual audit.
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“What are you hearing about changes taking place in your industry?
Where are you hearing about these industry changes?
Whom or what source do you trust the most?
Are there changes that you would like to know more about that you aren’t hearing
much about now?
Are there some things you think you are hearing too much about?
If you could change the way you are getting information now about changes at XXX,
how would you change it?
Where would you like to receive the information (workplace, home, off-site?)
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How often do you think you need to hear about changes in order to do your job?
What or how much does the company’s management want to hear? How do you
think they want to hear it?
Can you suggest ways to share information throughout the company that will benefit
both the company and your day-to-day work activities?
Communication Audit Model
Source: Paul Timm and Kristen DeTienne, Managerial Communication: A
Finger on the Pulse
Developed by Beverly Langford, Ph.D. from first-hand experience as well as an
adaptation of information contained in Managerial Communication by Paul Timm and
Kristen DeTienne.
Additional Resources
http://www.sideroad.com/Business_Communication/communications-audit.html
http://www.communicationideas.com/communication-audit.html
http://www.mediaevaluationproject.org/WorkingPaper1.pdf
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PMBA 8015: Final Paper
Team Participation Evaluation
Please rank each person on your team (for participation) on a scale of 1-10, with one
being minimal participation and 10 being full and valuable participation and fulfillment
of assignments/responsibilities. Obviously, anything in between will be varying degrees.
Include yourself in the evaluation. I will average each person’s points and use them to
assign individual grades to the assignment. Each assignment will receive a team grade,
which I will convert to individual grades based on each person’s score.
I will determine the grade by taking the average and converting it to 91-100 %. So,
someone who received an average of 3 will receive 93% of the team grade. Therefore, if
the team grade is 95, that person’s grade will be 93% of 95 or 88. If someone’s average
is 100, that person will receive the team grade.
Name
Comments:
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Amount
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PMBA 8015: Final Presentation
Team Participation Evaluation
Please rank each person on your team (for participation) on a scale of 1-10, with one
being minimal participation and 10 being full and valuable participation and fulfillment
of assignments/responsibilities. Obviously, anything in between will be varying degrees.
Include yourself in the evaluation. I will average each person’s points and use them to
assign individual grades to the assignment. Each assignment will receive a team grade,
which I will convert to individual grades based on each person’s score.
I will determine the grade by taking the average and converting it to 91-100 %. So,
someone who received an average of 3 will receive 93% of the team grade. Therefore, if
the team grade is 95, that person’s grade will be 93% of 95 or 88. If someone’s average
is 100, that person will receive the team grade.
Name
Comments
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Points