Course Information
Section: AC
Day and Time: Saturdays (March 5-April 9), 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Location: St. Vincent’s Hall (VINI) 215
Instructor Information
Instructor: Dr. Erin Karper
Email: ekarper@niagara.edu
AIM: ProfKarper
Office: Dunleavy 350
Office Phone: 286-8631
Office Hours: MWF 9:00-11:00 a.m., by appointment
Principles: Communication Effectiveness/Communication Policies
Genres: Meetings
Principles: When Communication Goes Awry
Reading
Clampitt 11
Writing
Weekly memo
Report/Presentation
Final versions of report and presentation are due. You will give your oral presentations in class.
Dear Students,
Due to events beyond my control, I have been stranded in Pittsburgh until tomorrow afternoon. (My flight to Buffalo was cancelled this evening.) This means that we cannot meet as a class. I apologize for this, and will do my best to make sure that you receive the necessary course instruction during our other two meetings.
Please do the following this week and in the upcoming two weeks:
1) Look over the March 19 agenda.
2) Download the PowerPoint presentations on the agenda and read over them. Prepare any questions that you might have for the next class.
3) Download and complete the three cases (Information Hoarding, Spanning Boundaries, Implementing A Change) and e-mail the deliverables to the instructor. For the case that asks you to work in groups, please complete it individually and send the instructor the PowerPoint presentation that you have created. You should be able to get into the 105 computer lab at noon if you would like to stay on campus and work.
4) Please complete the reading and writing assignments (minus the O’Rourke chapter) for our next meeting on April 2nd. When we meet again, we’ll conduct our meetings and conference calls and catch up on what we missed as well as moving on to the next set of topics.
Thank you for your patience. I hope to return graded assignments to you by email in the next week.
Sincerely,
Dr. Karper
Genres: Meetings
Reading
Agenda
Communication Roles for ManagementPrinciples: SpeakingBooks
Introduction to the course and assignments
Why study business communication?Using Case Studies
This course takes a case-based approach to learning about business communication. By devising communication solutions in hypothetical situations, you practice principles of business communication and think about how they could relate to what you already do. Cases ask you to do two things: to take on different roles related to communication and to produce documents or presentations that use different genres of business communication.
Specifics
You will do case analyses in and out of class, and work individually and in small groups to complete them. In general, you will:
Grading Criteria
Your case documents and materials will be graded, with points being assigned depending on the amount of work required.
In general, you will be graded on how well you:
Part of being a manager is determining best practices and implementing them. Business communication has its own sets of best practices, which change with changes in technology, corporate culture, and contexts for communication. As part of this course, you are being asked to choose a trend or practice in business communication that relates to what you do and to report on it in writing and in an oral presentation.
Specifics
For this project, you will:
These projects will be graded on how well they:
You can earn 200 points for the report and 150 points for the presentation. Grading rubrics will be returned to you with your assignments.
Due Dates
The oral presentations and the written reports will be due on April 9.
A key form of business communication is being able to lead and participate effectively in meetings and conference calls. As part of learning about this process, you will be asked to participate in meetings and conference calls related to case analyses and in-class projects.
Specifics
You will:
Grading Criteria
Your participation will be observed and graded by the instructor. You will receive a grading rubric with feedback about your performance. You can earn 100 points for your participation in meetings and conference calls.
You will write the instructor a short memo each week to ensure that you have understood the readings, to allow you to make connections between the readings and your practices, to give you an opportunity to ask questions about the readings, and to give you practice with writing memos.
Specifics
Before each class, you will write a 1-2 page memo to the instructor and submit it via e-mail. This memo will:
Grading Criteria
Memos will be graded based on how well you:
Day 1 || Day 2 || Day 3 || Day 4 || Day 5
Introduction to the course and assignments
Why study business communication?
Genres: Letters and Memos
Reading
Communication Roles: Communicating with Others
Reading
Genres: Meetings and Conference Calls
Reading
Reading
Clampitt 11
Writing
Weekly memo
Report/Presentation
Final versions of report and presentation are due. You will give your oral presentations in class.
Principles: Communication Effectiveness
Review of Principles, Genres, and Roles
Final versions of all written work must be turned in by the end of the day!
From the course catalog:
An examination of the process of communication within the business enterprise and an analysis of its basic components. The presentation will include report writing, meeting leadership skills, and effective speaking and listening skills. All this is done within the appropriate technological framework including PowerPoint, and associated software.
This course will teach you:
Clampitt, Philip G. Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness (3rd Edition). Sage Press: 2005.
Veech, Annette. Managerial Communication Strategies: An Applied Casebook. Pearson Education: 2002.
Other readings and cases as indicated.
Due to the compressed nature of the course, you will be graded on both in-class and out of class work.
Case Analyses (350 points total)
These assignments, which will be done in-class and outside of class, ask you to examine a real-world situation where there is a communication need, analyze the situation and produce a written or oral analysis, and produce and evaluate appropriate communication which would create a resolution to the situation. You will work individually and in small-groups to complete these analyses, which may include producing different types of documents as well as writing an analysis memo or giving a short presentation. These analyses and supporting documents will be graded, with points being assigned depending on the amount of work required.
Meetings/Conference Calls (100 points total)
You will participate in leading and participating in meetings and conference calls related to cases (or other appropriate contexts) in class in order to practice appropriate communication strategies within these contexts. Your participation will be observed and graded by the instructor.
Report (200 points total)
You will choose a trend in business communication that you find interesting and appropriate for the type of business that you are currently in or would like to work in. You should identify a practice, procedure, or technology that you feel your company (or a company for which you would like to work) should adopt. You will then write a 6-8 page report that informs employees above and below about this trend and practice, procedure, or technology, explains how it could be implemented and used in your specific corporate setting, and makes a persuasive case for its adoption.
Presentation (150 points total)
In addition to writing a report on this trend, you will also give a 15 minute presentation to the class about this trend in business communication in an attempt to convince the company to adopt this new practice, procedure, or technology. This presentation should include a PowerPoint presentation to complement your speaking as well as handouts for the audience. The class and instructor will play the role of your fellow employees and their feedback will become part of your grade.
Memos to the Instructor (100 points total)
Before each class, you will write a 1-2 page memo to the instructor and submit it via e-mail. This memo will:
Class Participation (100 points total)
You will also be graded on your participation in class, including your contributions to whole-class and small group discussion.
Specific grading rubrics will be given out with the final version of each assignment which explain the exact criteria for that specific assignment. In general, though, your assignments will be graded based on:
Grading Scale
Your grade will be computed by totalling all points that you receive on assignments as well as points for class participation. You can earn a maximum of 1000 points in this class. The thousand points will then be converted into a letter grade based on Niagara’s grading scale.
Conversion Scale
Attendance
Because this class relies heavily on in-class work and feedback from your peers, and because our in-person time is so compressed, your regular attendance at course meetings is important. Attendance in class is taken each day via a sign-in sheet that is passed around the classroom. It is your responsibility to make sure that you sign the sheet each day, as that is your official record of being present in the course.
If you experience personal circumstances that affect your ability to be present, it is your responsibility to inform the instructor as soon as possible so that arrangements can be made.
Late Work
You are expected to turn assignments in on the date they are due. Assignments that are turned in between one (1) and five (5) days late will receive a deduction of ten (10) points for each day that they are late. After five days, an assignment will no longer be accepted and you will receive zero points for the assignment.
If you need to renegotiate a deadline for personal reasons, please consult the instructor as far in advance as possible.
Academic Honesty
According to the Niagara University Graduate Catalog:
The integrity of an academic community necessitates the full and correct citation of ideas, methodologies and research findings to the appropriate source. This is necessary to protect the original work whether it is found in reference material, other published matter, or unpublished communication from faculty, other scholars, and fellow students. In addition, each student can promote academic honesty by protecting his or her work from inappropriate use. Academic honesty is essential to ensure the validity of the grading system and to maintain a high standard of academic excellence. The principal violations of academic honesty are cheating and plagiarism.
Cheating includes the unauthorized use of certain materials, information or devices in writing examinations, or in preparing papers or other assignments. Any student who aids another student in such dishonesty is also guilty of cheating. Other possible forms of cheating include submitting the same work in more than one class without permission, and fabricating or altering references or actual research results.
Plagiarism is the presentation of ideas, words, and opinions of someone else as one’s own work. The offense does not extend solely to directly quoted materials presented without documentation. Paraphrased material, even if rendered in the student’s own words, must be attributed to the originator of the thought. Furthermore, if the student adopts a line of reasoning or a point of view adopted or derived from the work of another, such adoption or derivation must also be properly acknowledged. (p. 20)
In this course, you will be working with the words, ideas, and works of others quite often. Part of that work will be learning how to correctly credit the originators of the works you use within a business communication context. However, if you ever have a question about how to properly use these works, please ask the instructor as soon as possible.
Instances of academic dishonesty will be dealt with following the policies and procedures laid out on page 20 of the Graduate Catalog.
Technology Use
As part of your work in this course, you will be expected to use technologies in conducting research and producing writing. Also, information about assignments, deadlines, and other course information will be disseminated through the course Web site at
Throughout the course, you will be expected to:
Students With Disabilities
Students with documented disabilities who may need accommodations, who have any emergency medical information the instructor should know about, or who need special arrangements in the event of an evacuation, should make an appointment to see the instructor as early as possible in the semester, preferably no later than the first week. Students must also register with Diane Stoelting, Coordinator of Specialized Support Services (286-8076, ds@niagara.edu) in order to facilitate the provision of needed accommodations.
Counseling Services and Academic Support
The staff of the office of counseling services in the lower level of Seton Hall and the Academic Support staff in the Learning Center in Seton Hall are available to help students manage the stresses of university life. All private consultations are confidential and free of charge. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 286-8536 (Counseling) or 286-8072 (Office of Academic Support).
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