Course Syllabus
Contact Information
Course Details
Course Description
Prerequisite: Business majors and students enrolled in approved degree programs or by permission of Price College advising; ENGL 1213 or EXPO 1213 or equivalent. Business professionals communicate effectively when integrity, emotional intelligence, exceptional judgment, and technical skills converge.
Business professionals communicate effectively when integrity, emotional intelligence, exceptional judgment, and technical skills converge. This course is a writing- and presentation-intensive class for future business professionals.
The course builds skills to enhance personal and professional credibility, adapt to the unique contextual features and audiences in various professional settings, and deliver the best content through appropriate channels. Students learn to work in high-performing teams and to integrate feedback into presentations and written documents. Students will reflect on analytics and feedback to drive improvements in essential writing and speaking skills.
Course Objectives
- Build and exhibit credibility through integrity, accountability, and exceptional judgment in writing, presenting, and interacting with others.
- Employ strategic, audience-centered analysis to plan, research, write, revise, and deliver effective and appropriate messages for various business writing genres.
- Develop, organize, and deliver excellent, audience-centered presentations.
- Demonstrate effective professional communication to produce positive work climates and maximize performance in small-group and interpersonal interactions.
Course Materials
Required Textbooks and Program
Cardon, P.W. (2024). Business communication: Developing leaders for a networked world. (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill LLC.
Other Required Materials
- Laptop, tablet, or desktop computer with word processing functions.
- Reliable Internet Access
- Paper and pencil for note-taking and in-class writing.
- AI Tool (Instructor will specify when you may use AI Tools).
- A professional business suit for your final presentation. Owning professional attire is an invest for your business future. Sometimes we have financial assistance options for purchasing a business suit. Let me know as soon as possible to allow adequate time to process your request.
- Printer Access: You may be asked to submit some printed assignments in addition to uploading them electronically.
Dr. Robertson’s Instructional Philosophy
To create a successful learning environment, I conduct classes interactively. Practicing business and academic competencies, sharing ideas, and respecting others are foundational to increasing your professional competency and relational awareness. Class interactivity is designed to help you find your voice about who you are and how to express yourself in a business environment.
As we discuss business communication strategies, my goal is for you to ask questions, share your ideas respectfully, and practice listening to others’ ideas respectfully. In this course, I will facilitate opportunities for you to collaborate with your peers in small groups and as a class. To guide your learning process, I will provide honest, detailed feedback with open improvement opportunities in several business communication skills, including business writing, presentation, and interaction with others (Brown et al., 2014; Heen, 2015).
I will instruct class activities through the lens of credibility. Our textbook author, Peter Cardon (2024), demonstrates and defines credibility as a three-legged stool. Each leg represents one of the following components: competence, caring, and character. I will remind you to filter each activity's purpose and actions through the credibility aspects to increase your communicative competence, interact with more empathy, and promote your integrity.
I value your right to choose success in this course. A successful choice is equivalent to a fulfilled responsibility, including, but not limited to managing your time properly to attend class and complete assignments promptly, conducting yourself respectfully, and completing work with your most diligent effort. Notable successes are built on the knowledge you acquire (competence), the ethical and honest way you make decisions (character), and the generosity you show to the community around you (caring). These are your choices. I encourage you to choose success daily.
The values outlined by the Michael F. Price College of Business also influence course interactions inside and outside the classroom https://www.ou.edu/price/studentresources/diversity/about,
- Appreciation: Use differences as opportunities to learn and grow from each other.
- Community: Understand we are a subset of the OU community but place absolute importance on achieving the Purpose of Price.
- Excellence: Strive for the best in all our actions and practices across Price College.
- Respect: Share a common goal of respect for each other irrespective of difference.
Grades
| Activity | Description | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Elevator Speech | 50 | |
| LinkedIn Learning Certificates | 3 @ 10 | 30 |
| Resume and Cover Letter | 100 | |
| Professional Email | 50 | |
| Midterm Examination | 50 | |
| Academic Integrity Pledge | 20 | |
| Progress Update Briefing | 50 | |
| Business Report | 100 | |
| Team Presentation | 100 | |
| Final Examination | 100 | |
| In-class Participation | 240 | |
| Connect Videos and Questions | 11 @ 10 | 110 |
| Total | 1000 |
| Percentage | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 90.00–100% | A |
| 80.00–89.99% | B |
| 70.00–79.99% | C |
| 60.00–69.99% | D |
| Below 60.00% | F |
Instructor's Grade Policies:
1) I do not round grades. Do not email to ask me this. Your grade earned corresponds to the letter grade I report to Banner.
2) You have one week from the date an assignment is graded to email me about your grade concern. To initiate a grade review, you need to follow these steps:
a. Identify a specific grade error or concern. [I will not generally review an assignment looking for an error.]
b. Compare your grade concern with the assignment instructions and rubric, ensuring you followed all the instructions.
c. Email me, following professional business writing. Include the specific error. If the error was made on a paper assignment, ensure I have a screenshot of the graded assignment.
BC 2813 Attendance and Participation Policies
BC 2813: Strategic Communication for Business Professionals Attendance Policy
Regular attendance is crucial to success in this course. The following attendance policy will apply to this course and is the same for all Strategic Communication for Business Communications Sections.
Regular attendance is crucial to success in this course. The following attendance policy will apply to this course and is the same for all two-day-per-week Strategic Communication for Business Professionals sections:
One to four absences (personal leave). Personal leave includes absences for any reason, including sickness. You will miss valuable information and participation activities, likely affecting your assignment performance, but your instructor will make no attendance deductions. Please see the class participation policy for details.
Fifth or more absences- Your final course grade will be reduced by one full letter grade.
These four days include temporary sickness with or without a doctor’s note and missing for a family emergency. These four days are not in addition to these reasons. Doctor's notes do not permit you to make up in-class assignments. University policy and teacher discretion may affect this policy. The most common exception is bereavement. Email me if you would like to discuss how your situation is affected by this policy.
Participation Policy
When you enter Price College, you are entering an opportunity to join one of the top business schools in the United States (U.S. News and World Report, 2022). Please treat BC 2813 with the same care and attention you would at an extended interview for your dream job. What you do today in Strategic Communication for Business Professionals influences what doors open tomorrow. Embrace the discomfort of technical writing, public speaking, revision, giving and receiving feedback, and developing emotional intelligence. You can earn total participation points if you show up to work on time with a great attitude, stay for the entire class period, participate in the daily activities, and take an interest in your classmates' successes. Students can only make up participation points if they represent the University at an official function.
Course Assignments
Teacher Policies. Please follow the directions below about Connect assignments.
-
Complete weekly Connect assignments by their due dates and times (usually on Mondays at 11:59 p.m.).
-
Because all Connect assignments were opened on the first day of the semester, you can work ahead. Therefore, there is no excuse for incompletion.
-
Late work is not accepted. After the due date, assignments will close, and you will receive a zero for that assignment.
-
Connect assignments cannot be made up. I will not extend an assignment.
-
Absences because of illness, with or without a doctor’s note, will not excuse you from Connect assignments.
-
Experiencing computer problems is also not an excuse for assignment incompletion. Connect assignments are accessed through the Internet, permitting you to log in on any computer.
-
-
Ensure the Connect score populates in Canvas before closing your assignment. If it does not, snap a photo of your completed assignment scores with your ID in front of the assignment showing your completed score. Emailing me the photo (not a screenshot) helps me help you. In situations where you finished the assignment, but it did not post in Canvas, I have limited options to help you.
Grading Policies. Read the following about Connect scoring.
-
You have one attempt, but study attempts are allowed.
-
Check your work and Hints have not been activated.
-
Questions are scrambled, and no time limits are set.
-
Feedback will be posted one hour after the due date and time. It will include detailed feedback with correct answers, explanations, and solutions. You can use this to study for mid-term and final exams.
Videos and Questions. The Videos and Questions type of Connect assignments is most utilized in this course because the speaker usually provides clear and concise information followed by a few questions, usually in multiple-choice format. If you think that a question contradicts the information in the video or are sure that there is more than one correct answer when only one answer is required, please note what the question is asking and email me. Do not write the number of the question because the questions are scrambled.
Elevator Speech
After watching the Elevator Pitch Mini-Lecture and Sample Student Elevator Pitches, develop, practice, and deliver a brief, creative elevator pitch introducing yourself to your classmates. As you prepare your speech, strive to emphasize your credibility and creatively connect with your audience.
LinkedIn Learning Certificates
You will complete several LinkedIn Learning Certificates to improve your speaking and writing skills. You can add these certificates to your resume to demonstrate your communication skills.
Resume and Cover Letter
Research an internship position. You can access Handshake, a Price College Center for Student Success service, at OU Handshake. You may also choose another website, such as Indeed.com, LinkedIn, or a company's website. Once you have selected an internship posting, use one of the Price College Center for Student Success resume templates available in Canvas to create your resume. Next, apply business letter-writing principles to design and create a cover letter.
Professional Email
Use effective business writing skills to create a clear, concise, complete, and correct email. Please see the assignment details in Canvas.
Academic Integrity Pledge
You will complete the University of Oklahoma Library and Writing Center's tutorial on Academic Integrity. Please see the Canvas assignment for details.
Progress Update Briefing (Individual)
Each student will prepare an individual update to brief the instructor on their individual and team progress toward completing the business report.
Business Report (Team)
Use effective business writing skills to create an analytical business report in several stages. You will have both individual and team responsibilities. Professional business dress is required.
Business Report Presentation with Deliverables (Team)
Use effective group presentation skills to showcase your analytical business report to the class.
Mid-Term and Final Examinations
Midterm Examination. The midterm examination will test your applied communication skills. For example, you might be given a sample resume or cover letter to test your understanding of the communication principles you have learned in class. You will also need to identify communication concepts in examples. This exam will be 25 questions, mostly multiple choice on Canvas. You will need to bring your charged laptop to class. You cannot make up the mid-term exam without prior permission from the teacher. University policy and teacher discretion determine if a makeup is permissible.
Final Examination. The final exam will test your cumulative understanding of the course content. This exam will be 50 questions, mostly multiple choice on Canvas. You will also be given samples of business communication artifacts and evaluate their effectiveness. You will need to bring your charged laptop to class. By university policy, you must take the final exam at the university's alloted time for this course. For this course's final exam times, see the top of this syllabus, the assignment in this course's module, or the Academics and Final Exam Schedule on your one.ou.edu account.
Course Policies
Grading and Feedback
I will try to grade all work approximately one week from the due date. Please read my written or listen to my audio feedback for each assignment. For many assignments, I will spend time making constructive and encouraging comments intended for you to improve your business communication skills. I encourage you to ask questions about the feedback.
For mid-term and final grades of A.W., W, and I refer to the university catalog for information and how they might affect eligibility for financial aid, etc. Even if you can pass the course mathematically without completing the presentation, business report assignments, or exams, I will not pass any student who does not complete each speech assignment, the business report, or the mid-term and final exams.
Late Policy
All written and oral assignments are due on specified dates in Canvas. Late work without penalty is not accepted unless an extension is arranged with me before the assignment's due date and time. Dr Robertson and university policy discern circumstances that allow late work and include school-involved activities and bereavement. Late work will NOT be allowed because of class absence, job interview, vacation, work, or other responsibilities.
Unexcused late assignment submissions for any number of points will receive a 15% grade reduction. I am defining unexcused in this topic as not arranging a new assignment due date with Dr. Robertson before the assignment's original due date and time passes. You must complete the assignment within six calendar days of the scheduled date. On the seventh day, the unexcused assignment will receive a zero (grade) for the assignment.
If you arrange special permission from Dr. Robertson to make up any assignment or the mid-term exam other than the original date and time, you must complete the assignment or mid-term exam within one week (seven calendar days) from the original assignment or exam due date). The exception to this rule is the final exam, which must be taken during the university's allotted time for this course. Special permission to arrange a different exam time is based on university policy only and must be completed during Finals Week.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the most common form of academic misconduct at OU. No college-level assignment can be satisfactorily completed by copying. OU's basic assumption about writing is that all written assignments show the student's own understanding in the student's own words. All in-class or out-of-class writing assignments are assumed to be composed entirely of words generated (not simply found) by the student. The exception is words written by someone else specifically marked with the proper citation or when asked to experiment with generative AI. Including other people's words in your paper is helpful when you do it honestly and correctly. When you do not, it is plagiarism.
For more information about plagiarism, watch this video and then take this short course offered by University Libraries.
Communication, Responsibilities, and Expectations
The student is responsible for communicating with the professor regarding problems or concerns, assignment clarification, or other issues. Do not wait until the end of the semester to tell me you are having problems because it may be too late to address issues. Students may visit scheduled office hours, schedule an appointment, or correspond with me via email for assistance.
- Students are responsible for reading assigned textbook content and any additional assigned readings, as well as completing activities/exercises/assignments prior to the live virtual sessions. The textbook is required for BC 2813.
- Students are responsible for attending, participating, and completing assigned exercises, activities, and assignments on time and according to outlined standards.
- Students are responsible for maintaining appropriate behavior in the classroom. Courteous and respectful attention will be given during lectures, activities, and presentations. Do not leave or enter the room randomly, particularly while a student is speaking.
You can expect Dr. Robertson to:
- Challenge you to think about and understand the material in this course.
- Encourage you to learn the material in the course and become a lifelong learner.
- Engage you in discussion and provide feedback.
- Ask you to engage with and speak in front of the class.
- Hold you to high standards.
- Post critical information on Canvas via Announcements and assignment feedback. Turn on Canvas notifications to receive announcements automatically via text or email.
You are expected to:
- Accept responsibility for your learning.
- Accept responsibility for completing assignments to standard as outlined in requirements and policies.
- Follow assignment, activity and other task instructions to standard as outlined in this course.
- Be engaged in the course.
- Arrive on time to class ready to work and stay for the entire class period.
- Practice effective communication skills and professionalism in all forms in this class.
- Work to develop a professional mindset.
- Set aside enough time to read and understand assigned course materials, successfully complete assignments, quizzes, and exams, actively participate in class discussions and activities, engage in effective oral communication skills, and pen thoughtful writing assignments.
- Have or find access to a reliable computer device to complete final drafts and complete quizzes and exams.
Standards for Typed Work
All typed assignments in BC 2813 are expected to meet college-level proficiency standards. Current Microsoft Word documents (.doc) or PDFs (.pdf) are required for digital, graded, and written assignments. Other formats (e.g., .pages or .html) will lose points unless otherwise noted. in the assignment Files that cannot be opened, read, or viewed in Canvas cannot be graded and will be assessed a zero. Assignments cannot be resubmitted. Convert files to the appropriate form, if necessary, before submitting. Files submitted in incorrect formats or as blank documents cannot be resubmitted for credit after the due date.
Label files with YourName_Section#___Assgmt. Your first initial and last name is preferable. The section number does not have to contain the words Section#. The assignment name needs to be as brief but obvious as possible. For example, MVargas_004_Resume. Specific file names keep you organized. Files without names or labels are chaotic and unprofessional. Thus, they may impact your grade negatively.
Printed Work. If you must print your assignment, ensure that your name and date appears on the top of the assignment. You can handwrite this information.
University Academic Policies and Student Support
Access the University Academic Policies Document.
Support for Active-Duty Military, Reserves or National Guard
In the event students are called to active service on short notice, faculty are expected to be sensitive to the special needs of these students and assist them in the disposition of their coursework. This policy also applies to civilian employees of the military whose work hours are changed in a manner that affects their ability to attend classes. Students who are called up, or who anticipate being called up, should immediately alert their instructor and get in touch with Kellie Dyer, Registrar at 405-325-4147 or kdyer@ou.edu.
I thank you for your service to this country and am happy to have you in my classroom. I look forward to supporting you in your education. Navigating higher education as a service member or veteran can be complex at times. Below are some campus resources you can utilize to help you navigate any education benefits you may have or to connect you with supportive staff and other student veterans:
- Veteran Student Services Center
- Peer Advisors for Veteran Education (PAVE)
- Green Zone Faculty
- The Student Veterans Association
Food Pantry
As a member of the OU community, you have access to the University of Oklahoma Food Pantry and can receive free supplemental food, as well as other necessities such as menstrual hygiene products. All students, faculty, and staff, with an OU ID, are eligible. Visit their website to stay up to date on hours of operation, as well as to access additional information about other basic needs resources, including financial and budget assistance through the OU Student Financial Center.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|