COM 285 Complete Course

Week 1

Individual Assignment: Business Communication Trends Paper

Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper that describes current trends in business communication. Address the following questions in your paper:

What role does business communication play in your day-to-day activities at work?

How does it help you manage your daily work activities?

What trends have you seen in your current or previous workplaces?

What message types result from these trends?

Format your paper according to APA standards. (For information on formatting, writing, and APA, please see:)

All papers must include an APA formatted cover page and APA formatted reference page.

Your paper must contain at least two sources that are properly cited, and must be in a Microsoft Word Document.

Discussion Questions

Think about someone in your workplace whom you consider to be an effective communicator. What about this person's communication style causes you to think this? What characteristics does this person have that causes him or her to be effective?

What are two strengths and two areas for improvement in your own business communication abilities? You may address verbal, written, or electronic communication; provide examples to explain your choices. How could your improvement in these two areas enhance your work performance?

Week 2

Individual Assignment: Audience Analysis Paper

Write a 1,050- to 1,200-word paper addressing your steps of preparation for a situation in which you are a sales manager who is called on to present quarterly sales information at an in-person meeting to a group of stakeholders, including managers and salespeople. Knowing that communication must always be designed with the audience in mind, answer the following questions:

What characteristics of the audience must you consider?

What communication channels are appropriate? Explain.

What are some considerations to keep in mind given the diversity of the audience?

How would you ensure that your message is effective?

Format your paper according to APA standards. (For information on formatting, writing, and APA, please see:

All papers must include an APA formatted cover page and APA formatted reference page. Your paper must contain at least two sources that are properly cited, and must be in a Microsoft Word Document. Post your final version to the assignment section by Monday.

Discussion Questions

What are the three most important points that a group must keep in mind when working collaboratively on a writing project? Why? Support your response with references to the readings, facilitator's posts and personal experiences.

What are at least two effective techniques in preventing or resolving conflicts when working in groups? Support your choices with references to the readings, facilitator's posts and personal experiences.

Week 3

Individual Assignment: Cross-Cultural Communication Matrix

Format your paper according to APA standards. (For information on formatting, writing, and APA, please see:.)

Your paper must contain at least two sources that are properly cited, and must be in a Microsoft Word Document.

Learning Team Assignment: Learning Team Charter Analysis

Write a 2,100- to 2,800-word analysis of the Learning Team Charter. Discuss the following:

In your own words, define group communication in three to five sentences. How does group communication differ from individual communication? Discuss strategies to promote individual and group communication.

Does the section in the charter on dispute resolution have enough information? What would you include to provide stronger strategies?

Has the team provided effective strategies for fostering good team communication? Provide examples of how to use these strategies

Discuss two to three technologies you might use to facilitate group communication. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using each? Format your paper according to APA standards. Submit in a Word document.

The Team Leader will submit a final copy to the assignment section for grading on behalf of the team. Post a current dated (that is the date of assignment posting) copy of the Certificate of Originality along with your paper in the assignment section, bearing the names of all team members.

Discussion Questions

What are three examples of bias in business writing? Identify two methods you consider important to use in reducing bias in business writing.

In your opinion, what situations require positive or negative information to be delivered using the following methods of communication: face-to-face, telephone, printed mail, and e-mail? Provide examples using references from the readings and your observations.

Week 4

Individual Assignment: Business Writing Portfolio

Assume you are part of the following scenario:

You are a public relations manager who must present information regarding changes in retail store operations of a retail clothing chain to store managers, employees, retail customers, and the public. You must explain adjustments that allow employees to come to work on fewer days a week in an effort to combat rising gas prices and to save money on store operations. The message must be professional and positive in tone.

Stores will close on Sundays. On Monday through Saturday, stores will open an hour later and close an hour earlier. Full-time employees, including managers, will work four 10-hour days a week. Part-time employees will consolidate their hours in 1, 2, or 3-day workweeks, depending on how many hours they are scheduled to work. No stores are closing, but no new stores are opening.

While constructing your messages, determine the characteristics of your audience and consider the appropriate communication type and style for each audience. This is a three-part assignment to be submitted as one document: Writing Steps, Portfolio of Messages, and Reflections. Submit all in one document.

Part I: Business Writing Steps. Outline the steps you must take in drafting the three business communications. This document can take the form of a list, a flowchart, or a Web diagram.

Part II: Portfolio. Write three messages using the assigned message format for each audience. Explain the changes in the retail store operations. The three messages contain potentially negative information; address the information presented in the scenario so your audience might perceive it in a positive way. See the table below for the message format to be used for each different audience.

Part III: Reflection. Write a 200- to 300-word reflection on your writing, and compare and contrast the business writings in this assignment with academic papers you have completed.

Audiences

Assigned Message Format

Store managers

A business letter

Store employees

A business memo

Retail customers

and the public

An e-mail message

1. Submit your paper containing all parts as one Word document with page breaks between each format to the assignment section. Each part should be correctly formatted for the assigned type of message. Turn in just one document, including all assignment parts, with cover page and reference page.

Format your paper according to APA standards. (For information on formatting, writing, and APA, please see:.)

All papers must include an APA formatted cover page and APA formatted reference page.

Your paper must contain at least two sources that are properly cited, and must be in a Microsoft Word Document.

Discussion Questions

Describe the communication privacy policies for e-mail and telephone use at your past or present workplace, or for some other company with which you are familiar. (Be careful to avoid disclosing any confidential or proprietary information!) 2) How do these policies align to the best practices discussed in the readings? Do you feel that these policies are ethical? Why or why not?

Consider some recent event that has created a negative situation for a company and describe that event briefly. How could the company write a message to communicate the situation to the general public?

Week 5

Individual Assignment: Employee Privacy Report

Write a 1,050- to 1,200-word report addressing e-mail, Internet use, and privacy policies. Answer the following questions in your report:

What are the e-mail, Internet, and privacy policies at your job?

What are the current laws regulating employee e-mail and Internet privacy?

Why do companies implement e-mail and Internet use policies?

What assumptions might employees make about their privacy at work?

How do these policies affect employee privacy at work?

Format your paper according to APA standards. (For information on formatting, writing, and APA, please see:

All papers must include an APA formatted cover page and APA formatted reference page. Your submission must contain at least two sources that are properly cited, and must be in a Microsoft Power Point Document.

Learning Team Assignment: PowerPoint Presentation

Create a 10-to-15-slide PowerPoint presentation on the subject of oral presentation best practices.

Use information gathered from your text and online resources.

Include, but do not limit, content to slide-formatting, organization, and presentation skills. Include APA-formatted citations on a slide titled References.

Discussion Questions

Web sites are often used as research resources, both in academic and business-related work. What are some important criteria that one must use in determining the validity, accuracy, and appropriateness of information presented on a Web site? Please discuss.

Clipart, charts, graphs, and other graphics and animation are often used in Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. How have you incorporated these into your presentations? What purposes do they serve? How can you decide what graphics or other visuals might be appropriate for use in a particular presentation? Can you have too many graphics in a presentation? Please discuss.