Business Communication and Critical Thinking

Course Syllabus

School of Business

BCOM/275 Version 1

Business Communication and Critical Thinking

Copyright © 2011 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

Course Description

This course introduces students to the foundations of communication in a business setting. Students will develop skills in critical thinking and decision making through the forms of written communication, including memos, emails, business letters, and reports. Other topics include communication ethics and cross-cultural communications, personal communication styles, solving organizational problems, and the evaluation of an organizations strategic direction.

Policies

Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents:

 University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document.

 Instructor/Course policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum.

University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality.

Course Materials

Cheesebro, T., O’Connor, L., & Rios, F. (2010). Communicating in the workplace. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Moore, B. N., & Parker, R. (2009). Critical thinking (9th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

All electronic materials are available on the student website.

Week One: The Communication Process November 15~21, 2011 Details Due Points

Objectives

1.1 Explain the steps in the communication process.

1.2 Describe the roles of listening and responding in the communication process.

Readings

Read Ch. 1, 4 & 5 of Communicating in the Workplace.

Read Ch. 1 & 2 of Critical Thinking.

Read University of Phoenix Material: Communication Process

Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

Participation &

Discussion Questions

Participate in class discussion.

Respond to weekly discussion questions.

Post at least 4 substantive responses to the Main forum by Saturday; post the remainder by Monday.

Saturday; Monday

4

Individual

Assignment 1.1

Complete Exercise 1.1 from Ch. 1 of Communicating in the Workplace.

Choose two misunderstandings you experienced and fill out the chart for these.

Monday

5

Course Design Guide

BCOM/275 Version 1

2

Respond to questions 1 and 2 shown under the chart for each example of a misunderstanding. In your response, include the following:

 Cite a meaningful misunderstanding rather than a general or less material misunderstanding.

 Use business- or work-related examples rather than personal ones.

 Identify the roles of the sender and receiver, such as manager, peer, subordinate, client, vendor, and so forth.

Week Two: Critical Thinking Applied to Effective Communication November 22~28, 2011 Details Due Points

Objectives