ORCO 3240
Organizational Communication
3 credit hours

Course Information
Course Description: This course is an introduction to communication in organizations including relevant theories, technologies, leadership, teamwork, diversity, global organizations, and ethics.  You participate in class discussion of chapter material and write five papers based on readings and your own experiences.
Course Objectives: By the end of the course, you should be able to:
1. Compare and contrast major theories of organizational communication.
2. Discuss the impact of technology in organizational change and employee empowerment.
3. Define corporate culture, leadership, teamwork, diversity, and ethics, and discuss how they impact organizational communication.
4. Identify effective means of communicating in global organizations.
5. Critique an organization's communication system/structure, applying appropriate theories.
Prerequisites and Corequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course.
Course Topics: Course topics include:

  1. Organizational communication foundations

  2. Management theory

  3. Principls of communication

  4. Ethics

  5. Managing information

  6. Communication networks

  7. Culture and Cliimate

  8. Communication in meetings

  9. Making presentations

  10. Interpersonal communication

  11. Written communication

  12. Intercultural communication

  13. Crisis communication

  14. Assessing organizational communication
Specific Course Requirements: You must be familiar with a word-processing software such as Microsoft Word in order to submit your papers.
Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements
Required Textbooks:

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course:

 http://rodp.bkstr.com
Supplementary Materials: None.
Hardware Requirements: Please see the hardware requirements at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm.
Software Requirements: Please see the software requirements at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm.
Assessment and Grading
   
Grading Procedure:

Discussion: Your online discussion will be evaluated on the basis of the following Ideas and Interaction criteria:

Ideas:
A - ideas were original, effective, thoughtful, related to chapter material; added new material (web pages, books, references, etc.); told of your experiences and those of others, using much vivid, concrete detail; responded effectively and diplomatically to your classmates; excellent quantity (at least 3 well developed posts on 3 different days for each unit, with one posted on or before Wednesday); read all discussion messages
B - ideas were thoughtful, related to chapter material; stated experiences and opinions using some vivid, concrete detail; responded to classmates; good quantity (at least 3 developed posts on 3 different days for each unit, with on eposted on or before Wednesday); read most discussion messages
C - ideas were average; many messages were brief; stated experiences and opinions with little vivid, concrete detail; responded to classmates; fair quantity; read many discussion messages
D - ideas were poor, stated mostly opinions; most messages were very brief; poor quantity; read few discussion messages
F - did not participate, or little participation; messages had no substance; ideas were not separated into threads; read very few or no discussion messages

Interaction:
A - quality interaction with others (at least 3 posts that engage another post) each week
B - quality interaction with others (at least two posts that engage another post) week
C - average interaction with others (only 1 post that engages another post) each week
D - poor, barely developed interaction each week
F - no interaction or undeveloped interaction


Papers: Your papers will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:
A - thoughtful, insightful, obvious excellent discussion and application of chapter theory and vocabulary, well organized, appropriate use of grammar and spelling. "A" papers are above and beyond what's expected, and are always of very high quality.
B - thoughtful, good discussion and application of chapter theory and vocabulary, fairly well organized, appropriate use of grammar and spelling. "B" papers are good, but lack the excellence needed for an "A" grade.
C – fair organization, some application of chapter theory and vocabulary, some directions ignored, some grammar and spelling errors. "C" papers are usually much shorter and lack evidence of the time and thought that goes into "A" and "B" papers.
D - poorly organized, almost no application of chapter theory and vocabulary, grammar and spelling errors, did not follow directions. If you earn a "D" on a paper, contact your instructor immediately to discuss ways you can improve your performance.
F - did not turn in paper or turned in error-riddled, disorganized paper.

Grading Scale: 90-100 = A
80-89  = B
70-79 = C
60-69 = D
59-0 = F

Activity                    Percent of Grade
Discussion              49% (14 units, 3.5% for each unit)
Papers                      51% (5 papers, 10.2% each)

Assignments and Participation
Assignments and Projects: You will read each chapter in the textbook. Several times a week, you will initiate and respond to discussion based on chapter material. You will write five papers based on textbook material.
Class Participation: You must actively participate in class discussion, and your participation must be timely. If you consistently wait until the last few hours of a discussion, the quality of your participation may suffer, as will your grade. Don't hesitate to ask questions and mention current events as part of your discussion, but please keep all discussion comments relevant to course material.
Punctuality: Keep up with deadlines by reading the calendar and the course schedule. You have a window of time in which to participate in discussion and in which to submit your papers. Once discussion time ends, you will not receive credit for further discussion on that unit's topics. After the deadline for an essay is past, you will receive a zero for that assignment. Technical problems aren't an excuse for late papers. 
Course Ground Rules
  In this course, participation is required. We cannot be a real class unless you participate. Learn how to navigate in WebCT, and let me know immediately if you experience problems. Keep up with any course announcements. Use the assigned college or university email address as opposed to a personal email address. Take care of technical problems immediately. Observe course netiquette at all times.

If you are caught cheating or using the work of others without attribution, then you will fail that particular assignment. you may fail the course and face other disciplinary action. 
Guidelines for Communications
Email: Guidelines:
1.  Always include a subject line.
2.  Remember that without facial expressions, some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases. Keep your messages positive and professional.
3.  Use standard fonts.
4.  Do not send large attachments without permission from the instructor.
5.  Respect the privacy of other class members. 
Discussion: Guidelines:
1.  Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
2.  Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
3.  Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other's ideas. Try to be positive and constructive.  You might say, "Another way to view that problem is . . ."
4.  Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
5.  Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.
Web Resources: Useful links:
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary.htm

Roget's Thesaurus
http://www.thesaurus.com/Roget-Alpha-Index.html

Strunk & White's Elements of Style
http://www.bartleby.com/141/

APA Style Manual Crib Sheet
http://www.wooster.edu/psychology/apa-crib.html

Guide to Grammar and Writing
http://ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
 

Library
  The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program.  Some of your papers require you to cite sources from the Virtual Library.

Students With Disabilities

  Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

  I reserve the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes must be made during the semester, I will immediately notify you of such changes by email and by a message on the course bulletin board.

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