Prerequisites: C Grade in English 101 and C Grade in BA 201

Required Texts:
Management Communication-A Case-Analysis Approach by James O’Rourke
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
Blackboard 5.5 for syllabus and additional handouts
 
With a C grade or better, BA 301 satisfies the CSUF Upper Division Writing Requirement for the College of Business and Economics.

Common body of knowledge content coverage: This course provides an understanding of Advanced Business Communication and is designed to increase students' knowledge of organizational writing/communication in domestic and international markets. Students will write arguments and persuade decision makers to accept proposals and solutions. Additionally, through information competency/library research and electronic database information gathering, this course prepares students to critically analyze cases, interpret data, research alternative solutions, solve problems, organize, and write case reports.

The standard of writing is that of an upper division class. Students should have already achieved correct grammar and punctuation; those who have not should expect to catch up by asking for help, attending special seminars, and spending time studying The Elements of Style. This course is intended to bring students to a higher level of expertise in writing style, strategy, clarity, and precision of thought.

Policies:
Papers are accepted on, or before, the due dates only. In the case of an out-of-town business trip, please plan ahead and send in exam or papers ahead of time. Plagiarism, an attempt to pass off someone else's work as your own, is grounds for dismissal from the university and an F in the class.

Your analytical case report will solve a i./ii./iii./iv./v. corporate—ethical, global, regulatory, technological, cultural—problem (not campus or government). You may form a group if you wish. If you do so, plan carefully and e-mail each other often; remember that all group members are responsible for the entire project and grade. When searching for a problem, ask yourself what the problem is, why is it important, who is involved, and how did it develop. The issue you choose must be from a business point of view: analyze facts, draw conclusions, propose two or three alternatives with pro and con evidence, make a recommendation supported by evidence, defend your chosen solution, and persuade others, in a presentation, to accept your solution. iv. Information Competence: Search the Internet, Lexis-Nexis, Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, etc.

Ethics: Using case analysis of crisis situations, professors teach that managers and public relations/communication directors must be candid and transparent even in the face of wrong doing on the part of corporate executives.

Students also learn to devise solutions to ethical dilemmas, use arguments of fact, policy and worth, and confront ethics in daily business operations.

Teaching materials include an analytical report about a business problem using unbiased sources and correct attribution.

Below are your major assignments. * means written in class/lab

E-mail (if you send them late, don’t bother) Learn correct e-mail etiquette
1. Where and when you took BA 201 and what you learned
2. Library assignment; what did you learn
3. Proposal and brochure progress
 Bring stapled hard copies (in order) to final exam with date you sent highlighted

* Case Analysis—due end of class in computer lab/week 4
See Five Preparation Steps to Case Analysis handout and textbook/Appendix A

* Crisis/Press Release

* Personnel Appraisal

* Group or Individual Oral/PowerPoint Presentation of Report—PowerPoint required—
Visual Presentation Technology. You must attend all presentations. Ten points (10) will be deducted from your miscellaneous grade for late and/or class missed

* Miscellaneous—Attendance is obvious (50)—to be late is to be absent—would you keep job?
Some items within Participation: (50) summaries/critiques, quizzes, homework, exercises, following directions, time line, e-mails, status reports, progress reports, class/group discussions/input and any other ungraded item. Keep a perfect notebook for me to see

Report—due before exam is distributed/computer lab/week Analytical Business Case: Peer editing Case Report required (3 copies)—part of participation grade. Incorrect attribution (cites/references) earns a substantial grade reduction penalty.

* Final Written Examination: The Business Writing Department requires that students must pass the final in order to pass the class.

The perspectives that form the context for business education, as stated in the AACSB Standards, are indicated by the following code:

i. Ethical issues6/3/04
ii. Global issues
iii. Political, social, legal, regulatory, and environmental issues
iv. Technological issues
v. The impact of demographic diversity on organizations

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