CMM 401/501
Organizational Communication
Spring 2007
Instructor: Dr. Edward Woods
Office: 250 Smith Hall
Office Hours: MW-12-2; Th 11-1
Office Phone: 696-3104
E-mail: woods@marshall.edu
Fax: 696-2814
1. Provide you with an understanding of concepts and theories influencing the study of communication in organizational settings.
2. Enable you to use communication skills associated with positive communication climates in solving problems and managing conflict.
3. Increase your interviewing, small group discussion, and team presentation skills.
4. Use communication for coordination and control to optimize job performance.
Shockley-Zalabak, P. (2006). Fundamentals of Organizational Communication (Sixth Edition).
Article readings also may be assigned.
Undergraduates will also need access to a tape recorder to conduct an interview.
Training Module 75 points
Individual Presentation 75 points
Reaction Paper 50 points
Exam 1 50 points
Final Exam 50 points
500 points
Undergraduate Students: For this assignment, you will select someone in a management position or established professional on a career path in which you are interested. This person must be willing to be interviewed by you and cannot be a personal friend or family member.
I recommend that when you call for an appointment you explain that the interview you are requesting is to fulfill a class assignment and should take between 30-60 minutes of the person’s time. Make sure you have permission to record before you start.
Your questions should focus on 1) general qualifications and characteristics that employers look for in hiring for a position in the career path you have chosen; 2) communication skills employers look for in hiring for the position; 3) the importance of communication for the organization and the interviewee’s job, and 4) the strengths and weaknesses of the communication structures of the organization and of the interviewee.
The interview paper should be 7 pages long, printed and double-spaced in a 12-point font. Make sure you have corrected typos. Clearly divide your paper into the following sections:
Section 1:
a. The list of questions you took with you to the interview.
b. A paragraph discussing whom you selected to interview and why. Include the interviewee’s telephone number in this paragraph.
Section 2:
A discussion of the information you concerning the qualifications, characteristics and skills employers look for in the career field you are investigating. Of course, an emphasis on communication is expected.
Section 3:
A discussion of the information you obtained about the organization as it relates to the specific concepts presented in this class. The discussion should be extensive and communication based.
Section 4:
(A small section). Three or four paragraphs discussing:
a. To what extent did you use your planned questions?
Did you make use of follow-ups and probes?
b. Your strengths and weaknesses as an interviewer and those of the interviewee.
And of course, the APA style should govern your in-text citations and bibliography format. The double-space and the 12 point font apply to your papers too.
From the cases in our text 437-455, you will choose one (first come, first serve) and fashion a three- to five-minute extemporaneous presentation analyzing the case. This oral presentation of your case will be presented extemporaneously (prior preparation but not memorized word for word—conversational in style).
In developing this presentation, developing content that provides the facts of the case and responds to the wonderful questions that accompany the case to an appropriate explanatory depth would be a winning formula.
Your group will teach an important concept covered in the course to the rest of the class, using a workshop approach (using exercises, leading students in activities to illustrate your group’s ideas). The training module should take up to a 50-minute segment of class (but no more). The extemporaneous expectation for delivery holds here too.
The group will receive an overall score out of 75 points.
Reaction Paper—50 points.
The reaction paper will respond to one of the readings. These papers should be 4 pages responding with your insights and evaluations, in addition to summarizing content.
Participation and Attendance
If you want to do well on the examinations and assignments (may I call this a short-term goal) and grow in your readiness to enter an organization on your career journey (or move up in your current organization (which is really what this course is all about), you should have a commitment to attend class regularly and be an active participant. Attendance is required on any days students speak for a grade, and on group workdays. A 10 points penalty on your class point total will be assessed for each unexcused absence or lateness on those required days. Missed work because of an absence or lateness can be made up only if you can document a University approved reason for your absence.
Missing 3 of the class meetings for unexcused reasons will result in your final grade being lowered by one letter grade. Missing 1/3 of the class sessions for any reason means you cannot pass the class—you won’t have had the class.
Written Assignments
Since the writing assignments make up a good chunk of your grade, it seems appropriate to address some general fundamentals about your written work. While the content of your work is critical, the content cannot be considered apart from the style and form of your work in assessing overall quality. Here are some guidelines to remember when preparing your papers:
1. All papers should be typed and double-spaced (using a 12-point font).
2. Papers should be clearly organized (don’t forget about introductions and conclusions for the reaction papers).
3. Proofread to detect and correct grammar and spelling errors.
Some general standards for grading your papers are:
A = Excellent writing style
Concrete development
Integration of course content
Nearly perfect mechanics
B = Good writing style
Some concrete development
Substantive content
Nearly perfect mechanics
C = Adequate writing style
Not much concrete development
Mainly descriptive content
Some mechanical difficulties
D = Poor writing style
Too abstract
Weak content
More pronounced mechanical difficulties
The groups providing the workshop sessions to the rest of the class are a wildcard making a fixed schedule unreliable at this point. (Workshop sessions can occur just about anywhere along the way, depending on decisions the groups make.) But I can provide the order for covering the topics and some of the projected due dates.
I. Course Introduction—Chapter 1.
II. Approaches to organizational communication and understanding organizational communication Chapters 4, 2 & 3.
III. Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Communication—Chapter 5
IV. Group Communication—Chapter 6
V. Organizational Leadership—Chapter 7
VI. Critical Organizational Competencies—Chapter 8
VII. Conflict Communication—Chapter 9
VIII. Applications of organizational communication—Chapters 10-11
IX. Organizational Communication and Ethics, Chapter 12
Reaction Paper due Tuesday, February 20, if you react to a chapter covered on the first test; otherwise April 10
First Test, Tuesday, February 27
Final Exam Tuesday, May 1
Term Papers due Tuesday, April 24
It is COLA policy to provide you with the following withdrawal information:
Tuesday, January 16—Friday, March 30: Withdrawal period for individual classes.
Monday, April 2—Friday, April 27: Complete withdrawal from all classes.