This course examines the role of written communication in corporate decision-making and group/organizational effectiveness. The course will be based on practice; all assignments are part of a corporate simulation and will be evaluated as if they were presented in "the real world."

Ackley & Greer. Spectrovision. (1 copy per group; 1 set of guidelines per person)

Andrews, Deborah C. and William D. Andrews. Business Communication. Third Edition.

• Late assignments, except under extreme circumstances, are not accepted. The I.R.S. levies heavy fines for tardiness; so do I.
• All assignments, unless otherwise stated, must be typed or word processed.
• This is a writing class; grammar, punctuation and spelling mistakes will be penalized greatly.
• I do not accept rewrites of assignments. You will have the opportunity for peer editing and revision on most assignments. I would be happy to meet with you either during my office hours or during a scheduled appointment. Once you turn in your assignment, it should be a complete and polished product.

WEEK 1 THE JOB SEARCH: This first section of the course will be devoted to business communications you will most likely encounter while hunting for a job.

M 6/8
Introduction to Business Communication, and the Organizational Setting
The Organizational Communication Setting: Business Writing Styles

T 6/9
Composition and Research in the World of Business: Business Writing Styles
DUE: Andrews Chapter 1, Chapter 2; Chapter 9, Chapter 10 and Appendix pgs. 599-609

W 6/10
Getting your foot in the door - The Resume Package: Cover Letters
DUE: Andrews Chapter 4, Chapter 5, and Chapter 6

R 6/11
Resume
DUE: Job classified ad; Andrews Chapter 23 & Chapter 24

F 6/12
Resume - Peer Edit
DUE: First draft of resume and copies; Resume Peer Edit

WEEK 2 - THE FORMAL REPORT: The second section of the course will explore how formal reports are solicited, developed, researched, prepared, and presented, including oral presentation strategies as part of the report process.

M 6/15
Using Graphics and Visuals
DUE: Final Draft of Cover Letter & Resume; Andrews Chapter 6

T 6/16
Intro to Reports - Bid/Proposal
DUE: Andrews Chapter 17

W 6/17
Progress Reports
DUE: Andrews Chapter 18

R 6/18
Final Reports
DUE: Andrews Chapter 19

F 6/19
Report Packages - Examples and Complications

WEEK 3 - MEMOS AND LETTERS: This second section of the course will be devoted to developing skills needed for the most common class of routine business communications: memos and letters.

M 6/22
Project and Proposal - Peer Edit
DUE: First draft of Proposal and copies; Proposal Peer Edit

T 6/23
Movie: Roger and Me

W 6/24
External Communication - Letters
DUE: Final Draft of Proposal; Andrews Chapter 13 & 14

R 6/25
Letters - Informational to Persuasive
DUE: Andrews Chapter 15 & 16

F 6/26
The Avalanche of Info - Memos
DUE: Andrews Chapter 12

Week 4

M 6/29
Internal & External Communication Peer Edit
DUE: Memo & Letter Draft Package & copies

T 6/30
Electronic Communications
DUE: Andrews Chapter 3

W 7/1
Email: In-Class Writing Assignment

R 7/2
Oral Presentation Strategies -- Public Speaking
DUE: Andrews Chapter 20, Chapter 21, & Chapter 22

F 7/3
Holiday - No Class

Week 5 - Oral Presentations base upon your Formal Reports.

M 7/6
Group Edit of Final Report
DUE: Draft of Final Report and copies; Final Report Peer Edit

T 7/7
Oral Reports

W 7/8
Oral Reports

R 7/9
Oral Reports

F 7/10
Oral Reports

DUE: FINAL DRAFT OF YOUR FORMAL REPORT (INCLUDING GRADED COPY OF PROPOSAL AND PROGRESS REPORT) DUE IN MY MAILBOX BY 12:OO NOON, FRIDAY 7/10.

Put it there yourself! Do not ask a secretary to put it there for you. Reports turned in at 12:00:01 or later will incur a substantial grade penalty for tardiness. You may wish to turn in the report early to avoid the possibility of being penalized.

RESUME PACKAGE

Your cover letter and resume could be all that stands between a life of affluence and afternoons in the unemployment line; there should be no technical errors in either the letter or the resume (i.e. spelling, typos, grammar, etc.). Please submit the following material either stapled/paper-clipped together or in an envelope (not in a plastic binder):

• A copy of the job advertisement for which you have constructed letter & resume
• 1 page cover letter with names/addresses/etc. appropriate to ad
• 1 page resume which follows the lead of the ad

Any spelling errors or typos in either the cover letter or resume will result an a grade of "F" for the assignment with no opportunity for revision! Every other syntactical or technical errors (i.e. run-on sentences, comma splices, format inconsistencies, etc.) will affect grade adversely.

MEMO/LETTER PACKAGE

Your memo/letter package will consist of five (5) communications which you have answered from your respective Spectrovision division. Each division must answer the following communications:

Personnel: 3 & 9
Manufacturing: 3 & 11
Marketing: 9 & 10
Administrative Services: 11 & 12
Finance: 8 & 11

You may chose the other three communications yourself.

n.b. Some communications are in two parts. Notes and Memos appear at the beginning of each section and may refer to letters/reports an the latter part of the section and vice versa.

Each of the five communications you hand in must contain:

1. A copy of the assignment as it appears in Spectrovision

2. Your communication

3. A brief analysis of your communication:

• What type of communication was it (good news up, info, etc.)?
• What organizational pattern and styles did you intend in your communication?
• A couple of sentences discussing why you chose to write it that way.

PLEASE!!!! Submit your memo/letter package in a folder or large envelope, NOT in a clear plastic binder

REPORT PACKAGE

Please submit your report package spiral bound, in a folder, or in an envelope, NOT in a clear plastic binder. As always, sloppy errors (typos, spelling, etc.) will affect my evaluation of the project. Your report package will consist of the following:

1. Proposal/Bid:

• 2-3 pages
• you must incorporate at least one graphic.

2. Progress Report:

• 2-4 pages
• you must incorporate at least two graphics
• incorporate one problem (time/$)

3. Formal Report

• 6-15 pages (including front matter)
• be sure to include all appropriate sections
• double check table of contents
• you must incorporate at least three graphics
• include problem from Progress Report

For all sections of the report package:

• include any group editing
• use appropriate margins and white space
• use appropriate style/voice
• graphics must look professional
• layout must be clean (use good printer) and clear (appropriate division of sections)
• use appropriate form (memo? cover letter?) and styles

1.

⁰ These assignments are the requirements for the class. As per University policy, failure to fulfill any of the requirements for class is grounds for failure of the class itself. (e.g. If you do not present an oral report, you may fail the class, even if you have received A's on all the other assignments)