BCMU 301 Office
Hours: T/Th, 1-2
Lecturer: Jack Whelan Balmer Café or by
appointment
All dropoffs to Mackenzie Faculty Mailroom 522-7724
http://faculty.washington.edu/jwhelan/index.html jwhelan@u.washington.edu
SYLLABUS
READINGS
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. To
provide opportunity to develop practical, real-world skills
2. To
develop professional writing and oral communication skills
3. To
encourage a methodical, conscious approach in solving communication problems
4. To
provide opportunities to develop group communication skills
5. To
teach communications tools necessary for finding a job
CLASS PARTICIPATION
Since an important dimension to this class is using
and practicing with the tools you will be taught, I will be calling on each of
you randomly to give you the opportunity to think on your feet--or in your
seat, as the case may be. In order
to participate effectively, you will have to integrate the information
presented to you in the lectures, the packet, and the text as we go along. You will not do well in this class if
you wait until the midterm to learn this material.
GRADING
There will be two individual assignments and one
group assignment that will be graded acceptable or unacceptable. Drafts for your accounting class
assignments will be due on the days indicated. They will graded credit/non-credit. An unacceptable assignment must be
redone or lose 50 points off a base grade of 500 points. Failure to submit an ungraded
assignment will result in a loss of 75 points. There is a cover letter/resume assignment which is
optional.
Positive grades will be given to the third
letter/memo assignment (75 points), the midterm (150 points), the individual
written report (125 points), and the group oral report (150 points). My evaluation of your effort, class
participation, and improvement could possibly bounce your final grade up or
down a point or two.
Calculating Your Grade: At the end of the quarter, when you know all your scores, add them up and divide by 5 to render a number on a 100 point scale. That number translates into your grade according to the following table:
Grade
Scale
97 4.0
95.5 3.9
94 3.8
92.5 3.7
91 3.6
89.5 3.5
88 3.4
86.5 3.3
85 3.2
83.5 3.1
82 3.0
80.5 2.9
79 2.8
77.5 2.7
76 2.6
74.5 2.5
73 2.4
71.5 2.3
70 2.2
Class |
Date |
Topic |
Chapter |
Assignment due |
1 1/5
Introduction/Problem
Solving BM,
Intro PTO 1 This class will focus on the course objectives and
the approach that I take toward teaching practical communications skills
appropriate for the workplace.
We’ll also introduce the four problem solving steps appropriate
for any problem solving challenge, adapted here for CMU challenges |
||||
2 1/7 Analysis PTO
2, 6 This class will begin with an exercise that will
introduce the three phases of the Analysis process: defining the problem,
defining the goals, and defining the audience. Then continue with a detailed discussion of each element. |
||||
3 1/12 Strategy
PTO 3, 4 In this class we continue development of the
problem solving process by exploring basic elements that compose the Strategy
step: Composition and
Organization. Composition is
about generating the raw material of your message; Organization is how you
structure it. |
||||
4 1/14 Execution
PTO 5 If the strategy stage is about the raw meat and the
skeleton of your message, Execution is about dressing it up so it can go out
in public. We’ll focus on
effective paragraphs and formats, vigorous sentence style, and working
quickly and efficiently. |
||||
5 1/21 Evaluation,
Workshop PTO
7, 8, 9 Assgmnt
#1 This stage is about straightening the tie,
polishing the shoes, and making sure everything is perfect. We’ll finish up our discussion
of PTO and common usage mistakes and workover the assignments you hand in to
see what you missed. |
||||
6 1/26 Informational
Messages BM
1, 2
Every message type we’ve looked at so far has
been “informational” using the direct approach. Today we’ll summarize what we
know about using the direct approach and introduce the second informational
strategy which uses the indirect approach otherwise known as the bad news
message. |
||||
7 1/28 Review
Assignment, BM 3, 4 Assgmnt
#2 Request
Messages, Sales
#1 Redoes due We shift in this class from informational to
request messages. We’ll
spend a little time talking about the direct request and move to Sales
letters and the problem/solution strategy. |
||||
8 2/2 Persuasive
Requests BM
8 Workshop
Accounting Assgmt In this class we build upon what we learned from
junk mail letter strategy to a broader category of persuasive messages in
which your goal is to motivate a resistant audience to action. We’ll
extend this discussion to a consideration of the major group project, a persuasive
challenge par excellence. Your
job will be to persuade investors to give you the capital you’ll need
to begin a new business. |
||||
9 Business
Plans BM 5 Assignment
#3 2/4 Business
Plan Video #2
Redoes due Group
Meeting We’ll go into more detail about the
strategies and objectives of a business plan. We’ll talk about various investor types and how you
have to shape your presentation to meet the investment objectives of each. We’ll watch and critique the
oral presentation of a group presentation from a previous class. |
10 2/9 Report
Strategies/Work Plans Discuss
Option 1 / Group Meeting
We’ll talk about Option #1 today, which is
the possibility of writing a formal analytical report. We’ll talk about the elements
of a formal report how to develop an useful planning tool for group projects
known as the work plan. |
11 2/11 Making
sense of numbers/Visual Aids in Reports This class will focus on how to make sense of
numbers and to talk about theme in a way that stimulates them with insights
rather than boring them with abstractions. We’ll also talk about how to put together an
effective chart by outline four criteria you should use to evaluate the
effectiveness of any chart you create. |
12 2/18 Press
Kits/Discuss Option 2 BM
2,3 Work
Plan due We’ll discuss the second option which is to
put together the elements that go into a press kit with a special emphasis on
strategies for developing an effective press release. |
13 2/23 Mid-Term BM
4, 6 Test will have two parts. Part I, worth 75 points will be short answer questions
testing your knowledge and skills regarding material presented in class so
far. Part II will be a 75-point
writing exercise similar to the homework assignments you’ve done. You will have the full two hours to
complete the test. |
14 2/25 Oral
Presentations I, Content BM
9
Group Meeting Time We’ll talk in this class about the question
and answer strategy for developing content for an oral presentation. Goal is to find a way to give
audience answers to its question by stimulating it with insights rather than
boring them by information dumping. We’ll also be talking about the use
PowerPoint and other visual aid possibilities. There are so many ways to go wrong here. You need to learn what they are and
avoid them |
15 3/1 Oral
Presentations II, Delivery BM
9 Option
1/2 This class will focus on delivery skills and
rehearsal strategies.
We’ll watch a video of a student group and critique the delivery
of its presentation, and then outline what goals you should be setting for
yourself to achieve as a group when you get in front of the class. |
16 3/3 Oral
Reports It’s all you now. This will be your opportunity to show me that you’ve
learned what persuasion really means so that by the end of your presentation
I’ll be salivating to invest with your new startup. |
17 3/8 Oral
Reports |
18 3/10 Oral
Reports |