Mary Ellen Guffey′s essentials of business communication.docVIP

ENG 200 Syllabus, Fall 2008 Welcome and Introduction Regardless of their academic disciplines and the natures of their jobs, all college graduates are expected to have one common attribute: good communication skills. This is because the deliverable outputs from most professional endeavors are communications – documents such as reports, plans, diagnoses or proposals. What you learn in this course will play a role in almost every one of your career undertakings. Competence in communicating your ideas will be rewarded by your employers with good compensation, promotions, and choice assignments. So, welcome to the one course that will be a great benefit to your career, whatever direction that may take! Goals of the Course We tend to think of communication as written documents, and transfer of information in any form – written, face-to-face, by telephone, e-mail, web page, video, or film are all covered by the term: communications. Even within these different media, the desired message can take several forms, depending upon its purpose and content. We will learn to compose a variety of messages using appropriate media. Of course, there are elements of the communication process common to all media and message forms. Appropriate, reliable, audience-focused content which is logically arranged and clearly presented in good English is a must. In today’s global marketplace, communicators must also be sensitive to cultural and gender differences, and be careful to observe intellectual property laws by properly crediting information sources. Other ethical criteria must also be considered. The presence of these common elements will be a factor in the grading of your assignments. The reality of today’s workplace is that much work is accomplished by teams of people whose members sometimes work in different locations. The ability to work productively with other people is another much-prized skill, and this course will afford you some opportunities to do so. Methodology Employed t