Welcome to BA3790 Business Communication
This course introduces you to the theory and practice of communicating within professional organizations, with emphasis on written, oral, and visual communication. We practice how to determine the needs of a particular audience and how to design the most appropriate organization and language for communicating with that audience.
We progress from conventional correspondence and formats to situations that require more complex persuasion or arrangement.
After we work through some of those conventions during weeks 1-7, we then plan, design, and develop formal business reports based on original research, and on the professional interests and needs of the class. For example, we may break into teams that focus on:
- Business Communication in Information Technology Contexts
- Business Communication in Entrepreneurial Contexts
- Business Communication in Intercultural/International Contexts
- Uniform CPA Examination
- Computer-Mediated Communication
- Intellectual Property
If you have any comments or questions about these materials or about the course, please e-mail me at mmoore@mtu.edu.
I put an example of a proofread page here —
http://www.composing.org/courses/ba3790/files/proofreading.pdf — the first
page is a sample proofreading document; the second page explains
proofreader’s marks.
If you’ve ever worked on a publication project, these marks might look
familiar: they are conventional in the editorial world, but not necessarily consistent across disciplins.
This week we practice Team-based drafting, revising, and editing. On Tuesday Teams meet in class with laptops to draft, and on Thursday we meet in the SBE classroom ChemSci 108.
Due Thursday: Project Draft (Team) & Progress Reports (Individual).
Project Teams
“Communicating the SBE”
Maria Carollo, Randi Woodward, & Flavio Macorig
“Strategies for Uniform CPA Exam Success”
Erin Schaller, Dawn Pemble, Jessica Desselier, & Aaron Somero
“The Effects of Peer-to-Peer Technologies on Business Communication: A
Background Report”
Kristin Antilla, Alison Phillips, & Rick Houghton
“International Differences in Written and Verbal Business Communication”
Wendy Aho, Brian Beck, & Kelvin Dady
“Salaries, Lockouts, and Bankruptcies: An
Analytic Report on the NHL’s Financial Situation”
Dave Dokman, Nick Bronzyk, & Joe Zerbst
The major project for this class is to plan, design, and develop a formal Business Report based on original research. Since the very best Business Reports are ones that solve a problem or guide someone’s decisions, l’ll ask you to focus on one of those two areas.
For next week, write a one-page memo in which you propose a team-based Business Report Project for weeks 7-15. You might start by identifying a general topic area that interests you:
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We’ll meet Tuesday in 134 Walker, where we’ll watch and then discuss the documentary film, Startup.com.
Feel free to bring snacks.
From one review: “… the fine line between personal friendship & business betrayal, the ambiance of a motivated workplace, and its give-it-all-you-got & life-must-go-on analytical futuristic outlooks.”
To which I would add: there are some astonishing instances of internal & external communication, too.
Case Study Resources:
For this week’s Memo, take the position of a mid-level or upper-level manager. Write a persuasive memo to someone higher up the organizational ladder in which 
you describe and advocate for some sort of training, seminar, workshops, or other globalization-education initiative for your organization.
Be sure to define globalization for your reader(s) and don’t assume that they know about all of the economic, cultural, social, and technological contexts involved in this concept.
Be specific about your proposed initiative (costs, benefits, intended outcomes, etc.)
Conclude your memo with an invitation for feedback, questions, concerns, further conversation.
Summary & reminder for Thursday: find a globalization-related article to bring to class — it can be photocopied from a book or journal, accessed via the library’s databases, or downloaded from the internet.
Pick an article that addresses globalization in the context of an area that interests you:
globalization & accounting?
globalization & marketing?
globalization & finance?
globalization & health care?
globalization & information technology?
globalization & social equality?
MTU has extended its weather advisory through today based on current conditions.
I sent out an update via the class mailing list.
Stay warm and drive carefully.
KEWEENAW-NORTHERN HOUGHTON-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…COPPER HARBOR…HOUGHTON
648 AM EST THU JAN 22 2004
…BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EST THURSDAY…
NORTHWEST WINDS OF 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH…ALONG WITH
LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS…WILL CONTINUE TO CREATE SEVERE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WITH VISIBILITIES NEAR ZERO AT TIMES. THE WINDS WILL SLOWLY SUBSIDE TODAY…HOWEVER VISIBILITY WILL REMAIN VERY POOR FOR THE ENTIRE DAY. EXPECT AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 4 INCHES OF SNOW TODAY…WITH THE GREATEST AMOUNTS SOUTH OF HOUGHTON. THE STRONG WINDS AND BITTER COLD AIR WILL CAUSE WIND CHILL VALUES OF 25 TO 35 BELOW THIS MORNING.
