ADMN 507 - Course Information

Managerial Communication

COURSE POLICIES AND INFORMATION

Fall 1996

Instructors / Office Hours / Materials / General Description / Course Goals / Grading / Daily Schedules

INSTRUCTORS

SUPPLIES

Subscription to the Wall Street Journal. Have on hand: one VHS blank videotape new or used, purchased anywhere, and blank sheets for transparencies.

TEXTS

(Required) Business and Managerial Communication: New Perspectives. (Recommended) The Business Writers' Handbook, Brusaw, Alred, and Oliu. Additional materials and assignments on reserve in the Business Information Center and on the World Wide Web at http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~admn507.

READING MATERIALS

Reading materials are on reserve in the Business Information Center (BIC) or in some instances can be accessed through the Internet.

GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course teaches a strategic approach to managerial communication that can be applied to a variety of situations. Participants have opportunities to master fundamentals of creating and delivering oral presentations, writing letters and memos, preparing graphics, and using and editing standard English. In addition, the course textbook includes chapters on communication practices relating to various business specialties, such as managerial accounting communication, marketing communication, and communicating about finance, which should be useful in other Jones School courses and summer internships. The two credit hours awarded are required for graduation.

COURSE GOALS

Communication skills are a prerequisite for success in business. The Jones School has established specific objectives for Administration 507. By the end of this course, you should be able to

Assess situations, analyze your audiences, and plan communication strategies accordingly.

Conduct interviews to obtain information and listen actively.

Research business topics and develop effective written communication (letters, memos, and reports).

Plan and deliver prepared and impromptu oral presentations confidently and persuasively.

Generate and use high-quality visuals to support written materials and oral presentations.

Analyze communication situations by applying models and theories of organizational communication.

In addition, course activities have been designed to help you work constructively in groups and coach other class members as you would coach fellow employees at work.

CLASS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Administration 507 will approximate the real business world, where arriving on time, performing well, and exhibiting a positive attitude will result in new clients, higher profits, and eventually a better job for you. Here, this behavior will impact your grade positively -- just as arriving late, performing poorly, and having a bad attitude will yield the opposite result. Your grade will be reduced if you are habitually late, have unexcused absences, or FTAT (fail the attitude test). If you must miss class, you must inform the instructor in advance, in person or by telephone. Failure to do this will indicate to the instructor that you have cut class and your class participation grade will suffer.
The instructor expects you to have completed all assigned readings before each class. Familiarity with the material will be required for class discussions, and exercises. Written assignments are due at the beginning of class on the date listed. The instructor will deduct half a letter grade for assignments received late. Note that anything more than one class late shall not be accepted at all, in fairness to those students who turned in their work on time. We will consider documented illnesses and/or family emergencies on a case-by-case basis for exceptions to this rule. If you have an interview scheduled (or in the case of flex-time students, a business trip) and know you will miss class, turn in assignments in advance.
Assignments must be TYPED, printed in black ink on a letter-quality or laser printer on white 8 1/2" x 11" paper and must follow an accepted business letter or report format unless otherwise noted (see BMC, pp. 228-240). Please staple pages together on any assignment longer than one page! The instructor will deduct points for handwritten assignments unless the requirement to type is specifically waived in the syllabus.
Pay attention to your grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, and other conventions. Use your computer to spell check and then proofread carefully. Grammatical and typographical errors undermine your communication at work and will reduce your Admn 507 grade accordingly.
"On my honor . . . ." The Rice University Honor Code applies to work prepared for this course. Unless you are working on a team assignment, you alone are responsible for your work.
Grades received on team assignments are shared; if a problem exists within your group, try to work it out. If you cannot resolve the problem, please come talk with an instructor.
You will be evaluating the work of other class members on a regular basis. Think of this as practice for supervision: analyze the work carefully and make your feedback fair and honest. Follow a constructive "COACH" approach: Commend, Observe objectively, Ask for rationales, Consider egos, and Help with specific suggestions. We are asking for objective, specific, constructive feedback -- not devastating criticism!

The instructor's job here is to help you learn. If you do not understand an evaluation of your work or are having trouble with the course, the instructors hope you will talk with them. Please drop by during office hours or make an appointment for a mutually convenient time. To make an appointment, please try the instructor's Rice office first. If you can not reach the instructor at Rice, you may call alternate phone numbers (see Instructor Information).

This syllabus may be changed to accommodate students' needs or interests, to accommodate speakers' schedules, to adjust for software availability or technical problems, or for other reasons. Changes will be negotiated with the class whenever possible.

GRADING WEIGHTS

Section 1 - Driskill

Communication plan assignment	5%
Written case	7 %
AEI case documents	15%
3-minute talk on corporate culture	5%
AEI briefing	5 %
"Nightly Business Report"6-min. talk	5%
Wetlands team presentation	15%
Wetlands individual assignment	5%
Research project	33%
Participation	5%

Grading policy note: The Jones School faculty have endorsed a policy of awarding no more than 50% of the students in a course a grade of "A" (A-, A, or A+). The numerical grade required for specific letter grade will depend on the distribution of scores. It is therefore impossible to say with certainty what grade a student will receive until the end of the semester. There are no quizzes, and there is no final examination in this course.

Sections 5 and 6 - O'Sullivan

Class attendance, preparation, and participation	10%
Oral presentations (individual and group)	30%
Written work	30%
Research project	30%

Note to students in Sections 5 and 6: Students will be graded relative to one another. High quality work that meets the instructor's expectations will receive a B+. Outstanding, average, and below average work will fall above or below this level accordingly.

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