The Joseph M. Bryan School of Business and Economics
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO
Business Communications MGT 309
Instructor:
Phone:
E-mail:
Angelika Kausche, M.A.
(336) 256-0263
a_kausch@uncg.edu
Office: 344D
Office Hours: M/W 11:00 – 11:45
or by appointment
Sections:
MGT 309-01 MWF 09:00 – 09:50 am
MGT 309-02 MWF 10:00 – 10:50 am
Class Room:
Class Room:
BRYN 216
BRYN 216
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE
The purpose of Business Communication (MGT 309) is to strengthen your
understanding of the complexities of oral and written communication in everyday
business situations. Strong communication skills are the key to success in today’s global
business world, especially in an increasingly team-oriented work environment. Your
professional image will depend tremendously on your ability to communicate
effectively in national and international business settings.
We use a combination of group discussions, exercises, lectures, and presentations to
enhance your professional communication skills and prepare you for the communicative
challenges of an increasingly global workplace. I emphasize a collaborative learning
environment and will give you various opportunities to contribute to discussions and
class activities.
Specific Course Objectives
After completion of this course, you should:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Understand the importance of effective communication skills in the workplace.
Identify communication strategies to business situations.
Create responses to communication problems.
Conduct research for evidence-based writings and presentations.
Use accurate documentation of sources
Practice work place team behaviors.
Appreciate diversity in the workplace.
Write concise and organized documents using the appropriate format.
Use the three step writing process.
Write reports based on evaluation of data.
Develop effective messages
In presentations, use non-verbal behaviors to enhance the message.
The Joseph M. Bryan School of Business and Economics
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO
Business Communications MGT 309/Kausche
Course Requirements
1. Course text: Business Communication, McGraw-Hill/Irwin. This is a custom text
available in the UNCG bookstore & Addams.
2. Blackboard computer proficiency.
3. You are expected to adhere to the UNCG Honor Code, which can be found at
http://academicintegrity.uncg.edu,
4. In addition, you are expected to adhere to the Bryan School of Business and
Economics guidelines for professional behavior, which can be found at
http://www.uncg.edu/bae/faculty_student_guidelines.pdf
PROFESSIONALISM
To prepare you for your entry into the business world, I try to mirror a business
environment in this class. Imagine that you have been hired for a career in business
communication and I am your new boss, who is a very busy executive with very limited
time at her hand.
Your objective is to complete this course successfully in order to be considered for a
promotion – moving on to your junior or senior year - and NOT to get fired (failing the
course),
As a newcomer, you probably are a little nervous about my expectations for your
performance. Therefore, this syllabus will give you guidance on what you need to do to
complete this course successfully.
I truly believe that students learn best in a positive learning environment. However,
building this positive learning environment is a mutual process. Thus, because you
receive clear expectations and guidelines of what you should do, please follow those
guidelines.
Let’s look into some of the basic communication foundations for this course:
Attendance & Participation: Because this is a communications course, active
participation in class is vital. Pretend you are showing up for work every class. As if this
were your job, you have to be productive every week, accumulate experiences, and
contribute to the team’s success. Thus, your collaborative effort counts every class and
your attendance is essential.
However, I do understand if you have to miss a class occasionally due to sickness or
other personal reasons. Therefore, you will receive three personal days without penalty.
2
The Joseph M. Bryan School of Business and Economics
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO
Business Communications MGT 309/Kausche
For each additional absence (four and above) your final grade will be lowered by one
percent.
For any class you cannot attend, you are responsible for missed handouts, lecture notes,
changes in deadlines, or assignments. Please rely on a classmate for help. You cannot
make up in-class participation assignments.
Coming late to class: Just remember that this is your job: would you consider coming
late to work regularly? - Probably not; however, if you have to come late, do this quietly.
Coming late is very distracting to your classmates and me. It may be disadvantageous to
you, since you may miss important directions, assignments, etc.
Quality of your e-mails: Busy professionals waste a lot of time on weeding through a
mountain of unclear, unspecific, and badly written e-mail messages. As I am a busy
professional, please do not waste my time! Write your e-mails clearly and concisely.
Please use proper spelling and grammar. E-mails that do not adhere to these basic
standards will not be answered. Instead, you may receive the following message:
Your e-mail message does not adhere to the basic communication standards of this
course. Therefore, I am not able to answer your message at this point. If you send a
professionally revised version of your text, I will be glad to respond to your message.
Teamwork: This class takes an intensive team approach. You will work in teaching
teams, which I will assign within the first couple of weeks of the semester. You will stay
in your team for the whole semester. The team’s responsibility is to actively engage in
discussions, prepare a Newsletter presentation (see assignment), facilitate a Hot Seat
discussion (see assignment), and prepare the final report and presentation.
ASSIGNMENTS
Over the course of the semester you will have to write several individually created
messages, give presentations, create your résumé, and write a collaborative report.
Assignments weigh differently for your final grade:
Individually written assignments (WA)
Reflective writing
Presentations (2 individual, 1 group)
Blackboard quizzes (7)
Group report & work plan
Total
35%
15%
15%
20%
15%
100%
3
The Joseph M. Bryan School of Business and Economics
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO
Business Communications MGT 309/Kausche
You will submit most of your written assignments via Blackboard using the Assignment
Function. Please check each assignment for instruction of how and when to submit it.
Usually, assignments are due on the stated date at the beginning of class. All written
work prepared outside of class must be composed using word-processing software.
Presentations will be prepared using software such as PowerPoint. Unless stated
differently in the assignment, you will submit all of your written assignments via
Blackboard. Here is a brief description of how to do this:
1. Go to “Assignments”
2. Read the assignment carefully
3. Write your assignment in Word and save it as a Word file – give it a meaningful
name like “Joe_personalintro” (please save it as a Word 2003 file)
4. Go back to “Assignments” and open your specific assignment, for example:
Personal Introduction
5. Click “View/Complete assignment”
6. Write a brief comment like “Prof. Kausche, this is my first assignment”
7. Attach your Word file via “attach local file”
8. Submit your assignment
Late submission: In order for me to give you timely and adequate feedback, you need to
submit assignments on the stated due date. If you submit an assignment after the due
date and time, you will receive a 20% late penalty. The last date for you to submit an
assignment late is one week after it was initially due. For example, if an assignment is
due on Monday at the beginning of class, the last day to submit it with 20% penalty is
the following Monday at the beginning of class.
GRADING
You will receive lots of feedback for you written assignments. Use this feedback as a tool
to help you improve. I will not point out every error because you are expected to review
your message for recurring errors. Please review attached Business Writing Expectation
Rubric to see what you need to consider when writing a business message.
All business communication needs to have at least three paragraphs (opening, body,
closing). Visual appeal makes it easier for the reader to comprehend your message. If
your assignment does not adhere to this basic format standard, you will automatically
receive a F.
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The Joseph M. Bryan School of Business and Economics
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO
Business Communications MGT 309/Kausche
If you receive an F for an assignment, you may submit a revised version by the next
class period. Submit both your old and new version of the assignment (hardcopy
please). Depending on the quality of your revision, you grade will be a D+ to a C.
All grades will be recorded in Blackboard and you will be able to review your standing
in class via “My Grades.”
Grading Standards:
A
In a business environment, this assignment would distinguish you as a top
performer in your company. It represents work that is outstanding in every
way. You fulfilled all the requirements of the assignment and went beyond by
contributing additional material or developing new insights, and distinguished
yourself using a particularly creative or inventive approach.
B
In a business environment, this work would reflect well on you and your
company. You completed the assignment, fulfilled all requirements, and went
beyond by contributing additional material or developing new insights.
C
You completed the assignment and fulfilled the requirements of it. However, in
a business environment this work would not represent you or your company
well without major revision and polish.
D
You fulfilled some of the requirements of the assignment, but not all of them.
This work would need to be completely reworked before it could be used to
represent you professionally.
F
You totally missed the point of the assignment or you did not turn it in.
Grading Scale:
A+
A
AB+
B
100%
94%
90%
87%
84%
BC+
C
CD+
83%
77%
74%
70%
67%
D
DF
5
64%
60%
59>%
The Joseph M. Bryan School of Business and Economics
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO
Business Communications MGT 309/Kausche
Assignment
Details
Percentages
Individually
Written
Assignments
(WA)
WA1: E-Mail
WA2: Persuasive Message
WA 3: Résumé
WA 4: Application Letter
WA 5: Negative Message
WA6: Business Communication Application
Quizzes
Seven Chapter Quizzes Blackboard
Quiz 1 – L & K Module 4, 9, 13
Quiz 2 - L & K Module 6, 12, A & E Ch. 4
Quiz 3 – L & K Module 27, 28, 30 (job search)
Quiz 4 - A & E Ch. 3 p. 90 ff.,11, 12 L & K Module 5
Quiz 5 – A & E Ch. 8, 9 (teams)
Quiz 6 - L & K Module 21, 22, 24 (reports)
Quiz 7 - L & K Module 11, A & E Ch. 2
20
Reflective
Writing
R1: Personal introduction
R2: Self evaluation first presentation
R3: Self evaluation second presentation
R4: Career fair
R5: Peer evaluation
R6: WA evaluation (team)
R7: Portfolio
15
Presentations
a. Individual plus Outline & PPT
b. Group plus PPT
Report
a. Work plan
b. Report
35
15
15
Total
100
6