SUNY OSWEGO

Department of Communication Studies 

COM 211

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS

3 Credit Hours

Course #11386 Section 860

Spring 2024 

Tues/Thurs 2:20 – 3:40 PM

Rm. 102A Lanigan Hall

Final Exam Date and Time –  Tuesday, May 7, 2024 2-4pm

 

Professor: Jim Dunagan Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 11 am – 12:30 pm
Email: jdunagan@oswego.edu Office Phone: 315-312-5449
Office: Mahar 105E Mailbox: Communication Studies Office in Lanigan Hall 

REQUIRED TEXT

Shwom, B., & Snyder, L. (2019) Business Communication: Polishing Your Professional Presence (4th ed.), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN: 978-0-13-474022-5. E-text is automatically available to all students via “RedShelf Inclusive Access- you must “opt out” to avoid being billed to your student account!

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Recognizing that it is imperative for business leaders to have superior communication abilities, Strategic Communication in Business is designed to improve students’ ability to communicate effectively and develop professional skills and behaviors. Through the exposure to communication principles and skills, students learn how to evaluate communication situations and audiences, and determine the most effective way to relay impactful messages. This interactive course improves students’ abilities to gather, organize, and evaluate content, as they learn to create and deliver strategic oral, visual, and written materials that are common in the business world. Through collaborative work activities, students practice interpersonal, time management and team-building skills that are critical for future success.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

  • Evaluate various communication situations and audiences to determine the most effective way to communicate messages.
  • Complete library database research using appropriate and reliable resources to develop effective oral and written pieces.
  • Develop written documents that are grammatically correct and appropriate for business application.
  • Develop dynamic presentation skills that require extemporaneous methods of delivery, and, in some instances, effective use of visual aids including presentation software.
  • Analyze and critique oral and written work.
  • Develop effective interpersonal communication skills and teamwork skills.
  • Use college resources such as Experience-Based Education and Career Services.

COURSE SCHEDULE

The course schedule is provided in a separate document and is subject to change.

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION

  • Class discussion, student interpretation/reaction to work, review video projects
  • Learning module content delivered via Common Ground Scholar learning environment
  • In-class and live video presentations
  • Team projects

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

  • Attendance in-class and via online meetings, participation and professional conduct
  • Complete all Scholar learning module updates including assessments, satisfy contribution requirements
  • Final exam
  • Various writing assignments
  • Graded speeches, including required components
  • Team assignments
  • Critical evaluations of self and others

POLICIES

Strategic Communication in Business is an essential element to your training as a future business professional.  My job will be to help you successfully complete COM 211 which will aid your development as a business professional. A good deal of your work in this class will be done via what’s called “asynchronous” content (online only), thanks to a new tool (for many of you) called Common Ground Scholar. It is an online learning community which we will start working with right away.

Attendance– Ultimately, it is your responsibility to be present for all class sessions, but I do understand that life often interferes with our best-laid plans. If you find you must be absent from class, you will find me both understanding and fair in my dealings with you, provided you keep me informed.  That said, I reserve the right to implement any and all of the policies below:

  • Excused absences will be permitted if I am notified in advance for an appropriate reason (illness, personal/family issues, etc.) Doing work for another class or some related reason will not be excused.  An excused absence cuts you a moderate amount of slack in terms of my attendance policy, but it does not relieve you of your class responsibilities.  If you face serious life/family/health difficulties, please let me know and I will help you to figure out what to do.
  • Unexcused absences are simply any absences that are not excused. They can result in a zero for any work done in class that day and/or a zero for any class participation grade. If you have more than two unexcused absences, you WILL face final grade consequences unless you take action. Request a 1-on-1 meeting with me to get you back on the right track. Without such a meeting, you will be subject to a deduction of up to 100 points on your final grade. If you have more than six unexcused absences, you will receive a failing grade in the class.

Participation – Class participation is crucial in our work together. It is often my best indication that you understand the concepts that we are talking about. There will be several different ways you will be participating. There will be in-class discussions I will initiate with you. I will also ask each of you to speak to the class twice about the content you create in Scholar. In addition, everyone should do a total of five video activities over the semester (one about every 3 weeks) using a fun tool called “Flip.”

Punctuality – Being on time means being in the classroom when class begins. While I am aware of the difficulties of the short interval of time between classes, this is your responsibility to manage. I reserve the right to treat chronic tardiness as unexcused absences. Please do your part by being on time and to let me know if something will cause you to be late.

Deadlines – As a rule, I do not like deadlines. I find them somewhat arbitrary and unnecessary for students able to manage their workloads. However, they are useful for students who struggle with time management. So, there will be deadlines established when necessary and I will retain discretion as to whether or not I will consider any such work as “late.” You will be expected to keep up with the weekly updates from Scholar and to complete the required activities. Since Scholar is not designed to be particularly deadline-friendly, you should also periodically meet with me in a 1-on-1 session to review your Scholar progress. In addition, you will have a writing assignment to complete that has milestone dates for completion that you will need to meet.

Technology – Since our class work requires that you have a mobile device, so I am asking you to bring your laptop to each class meeting. You may also use a phone or tablet if you prefer. However, please limit any device use to classroom activity.  If you have a pressing need to call or text someone, please leave the classroom so as not to distract your fellow classmates.

Communication – In the event that you need to email me, please use ONLY your oswego.edu email account and in the subject line include “COM 211.”  I will do my best to respond to you in a timely fashion, but don’t assume I have forgotten about you if it’s less than 24 hours after sending me a message.

Scholar – Common Ground Scholar will be the principal learning environment for this class. Please visit my Professor Dunagan website for help with creating a Scholar user account and then joining our class community, which is called “COM 211 Fall 2023 Strategic Communication for Business.” We’ll spend a significant amount of time during the first week in class making sure everyone understands how it works and how you will contribute to it. Please let me know if you are having any specific problems related to Scholar or Scholar activities.

Brightspace – We won’t be using Brightspace for a lot in this class, but it will be where you can keep track of your grade progress (exclusive of Scholar). In addition, the various individual and team/group assignments you will complete will be submitted to Brightpace.

Grading – You will have constant and real-time access to your grade progress during the course on Brightspace.  You can track your completion of in-class activities like Scholar update presentations, impromptu status reports and discussion participation. You’ll also be able to monitor your progress in Scholar via the Analytics module.  As you complete Scholar activities, you will be assessed a score based on the individual metrics of each activity. It’s a bit complicated but it will make sense as we progress through the semester. My goal for each of you is to encourage you to do your best possible work, which will include getting feedback from me and fellow students. It’s part of a proven effort that improves your quality of work, and in turn, your grade.  In any case, please remember that I will always be happy to work with you on succeeding in this class. That said, it is ultimately your responsibility to make sure you have received credit for the work you have done, which means monitoring your grades in Brighspacend the Analytics tool in Scholar. I will always be happy to make sure your grades are correct, but I will not be making such changes as a result of last-minute requests at the end of the semester. Once a final deadline for requesting changes has been established and communicated to you (which will be done well in advance), NO REQUESTS FOR GRADE CHANGES WILL BE CONSIDERED. See the grading scale below.

Grading Scale*

Requirement Total Points

 
“Ready for Scholar” activities (watch videos, join group, complete first update) 50
5 Flipgrid video activities (complete at least 4 @ 10 points each) 40
 Minimum of 2 Scholar update presentations @ 10 points each 20
Ethical Moment presentation (20 points), Impromptu speech (20 points), Informative Speech (20 points)  60
4 Group/Team assignments @ 30 points each 120
6 Discussion Contributions (answer a question, contribute to discussion) @10 points each 60
Individual Writing Assignment 50
Team Final Presentation 75
Team Final Paper/Report 125
Scholar Analytics, based on “ideal” score of 80 250
Final Exam 150
Total Points 1000

1000 – 930 = A; 929 – 900 = A-; 899 – 870 = B+; 869 – 830 = B; 829 – 800 = B-; 799 – 770 = C+; 769 – 730 = C;

729 – 700 = C-; 699 – 650 = D; 649 – 0 = E

GRADES

You will be able to track your grade progress during the course on Blackboard.

*The assignments and point values could change based on the needs of the schedule, class or instructor.

COLLEGE POLICY ON INTELLECTUAL INTEGRITY

SUNY Oswego is committed to Intellectual Integrity. Any form of intellectual dishonesty is a serious concern and therefore prohibited. Student guidelines and the university’s Academic Integrity Policy can be found at https://www.oswego.edu/intellectual-integrity/key-points-students.

In addition, the rise in awareness and popularity of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools is a fluid and ongoing matter of some importance. While there are some legitimate benefits in using AI tools, there are also dangers that relate to student academic integrity. For the purposes of this class, any student-created content developed using any AI tools will be considered academically dishonest and in violation of the SUNY Oswego Academic Integrity Policy.

CLERY ACT/TITLE IX REPORTING STATEMENT

SUNY Oswego is committed to enhancing the safety and security of the campus for all its members. In support of this, faculty may be required to report their knowledge of certain crimes or harassment. Reportable incidents include harassment on the basis of sex or gender prohibited by Title IX and crimes covered by the Clery Act. For more information about Title IX protections, go to https://www.oswego.edu/title-ix/ or contact the Title IX Coordinator, 405 Culkin Hall, 315-312-5604, titleix@oswego.edu. For more information about the Clery Act and campus reporting, go to the University Police annual report: https://www.oswego.edu/police/annual-report.

COMMUNICATION STUDIES DEPARTMENT WRITING STATEMENT:

Writing is essential to critical thinking, which is an important component of a liberal arts education. The Department of Communication Studies shares a commitment to writing and expects quality professional and academic writing from our students. Your grade in this course will reflect the quality of your writing.

DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES

If you have a disabling condition, which may interfere with your ability to successfully complete this course, please contact the Office of Disability Services.