10123-006-Clayton

SECTION                  CRN                                       DAY                                                 TIME                                                        LOCATION

   006                      21120                                   Wednesday                       2:15 PM – 3:05 PM                                                A 311

                INSTRUCTOR:            Yvette D. Clayton, MBA

        OFFICE:                College of Business - # A 410

        PHONE:                330-672-1159

        HOURS:                Monday & Wednesday:        8:15 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.                                      

                                        Tuesday & Thursday:              4:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

                                        Also by appointment

        EMAIL:                  yclayton@kent.edu

                        Text: Anderson, L. & Bolt S. (2013). Professionalism Skills for Workplace Success. Upper Saddle River, Pearson. (Note: Use text with the caveat that some organizational and formal elements will vary from author to author.  When there is a “disagreement” between the author of the textbook and your instructor, always defer to the instructor). 

        Student Learning Outcomes:

1.       Be able to deliver professional oral presentations.

2.       Be able to deliver presentations that are visually appealing.

3.       Understand different organizational cultures and hierarchies.

4.       Understand professional ethics and etiquette.

5.       Be able to think critically about communication conflicts and convey messages that result in a professional outcome.

                        Course Prerequisites:

BUS 10123, COMM 15000, ENG 11011 and ENG 21011

Corequisite:  ENG 30061

Students in the course who do not have the proper prerequisites risk being deregistered from the class.

Course Description:

The purpose of this course is to help students develop appropriate approaches to oral communications given organizational cultures and hierarchies, proper business etiquette (regarding dress, dining and behaviors) and other professional business acumen.  This course is linked with ENG 30061.  Therefore, students must be registered for the matching section of that course with this course. 

NOTE: This course and ENG 30061 give students instruction in, and practice with, business communication.  Re-enforcing the link between the two courses, two activities from these courses are connected: the job application activities and the team report.

Job application materials: Students will develop a resume and elevator pitch in the BUS 30061 course.  In the ENG 30061 class, as part of the correspondence portfolio assignment, they will develop an application letter that will be based on the resume they develop for BUS 30061. 

                Graduating Seniors:

If you are eligible to graduate, it is your responsibility to apply for graduation before the set deadline (May Graduation: Apply before September 15^th August Graduation: Apply before December 15^th December Graduation: Apply before March 15^th)  If you apply after the deadline you will be assessed a $200 late fee. Please see your academic advisor as soon as   possible if you are uncertain as to your progress toward graduation.  To apply for graduation complete the following steps: Log onto your Flashline account (1) Click on the Student Tools tab (2) Look in the Graduation Planning Tool Box (3) Click on Application for Graduation.  If an error message appears, you must contact your advisor.

                        Class enrollment:

Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools on FlashLine) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Sunday, September 7, 2014 to correct the error.  If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

                Course Withdrawal Deadline:

                For fall 2014, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, November 2, 2014.

                Students with disabilities:

University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these accommodations through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.kent.edu/sas/index.cfm for more information on registration procedures).

                Academic Honesty:  

        Academic honesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit.   In addition, it is considered to be cheating when one cooperates with someone else in any such misrepresentation.  The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense.  It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course.  Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.

Plagiarism: 

Plagiarism means to take and present as one’s own a material portion of the ideas or words of another or to present as one’s own an idea or work derived from an existing source without full and proper credit to the source of the ideas, words or works.  This definition includes using another student’s work as your own as well as inadequately referencing other sources in your work.  Plagiarism carries a variety of sanctions, ranging from lowering of the grade to dismissal from the University.  The Universal Policy on Plagiarism is published in the KSU Phone Directory under “Student Cheating and Plagiarism.”  You are responsible for knowing and abiding by this policy.

Extra Credit:

There will be no extra credit available for this class.

Attendance:

During the semester, students can earn up to 150 points (10 points per class) for attendance. Attendance is expected.  Attendance will be taken each class period. Students are responsible for ascertaining all information provided in any class if they are absent.  Tardiness (more than 10 minutes late) will affect the attendance grade.  Arriving to any class meeting more than 25 minutes late or leaving with 25 minutes left in the class will result in an absence.  Excessive absences could result in one grade lower or more. The points listed below for each assignment will be used to determine the final grade. 

        “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” (Anthony Robbins)

Grading:

This class is structured to assist you in your professional career.  Therefore, you must maintain a professional mindset.  In order to prepare, approach this class as you would a job.  Your syllabus and book are tools to be considered as an employee handbook. Therefore, it will be your responsibility to know important assignment dates and other pertinent information. You are expected to conduct yourself in a professional manner at all times.  Consider your classmates as co-workers and your instructor as the CEO of the organization. 

Please do not expect points to be given to you – they must be earned – just as promotions are in a job. If you work hard, your grade will reflect it.  If not, your grade will reflect that as well. Bring your best self to “work” each day you attend!

*************************

ASSIGNMENTS / PRESENTATIONS:

The order of all individual presentations will be determined by a random drawing.  The process will be discussed in detail in class.  Group presentations will be in numerical order. Rubrics will be available before each presentation. In addition to the instructor’s evaluation of the presentations, peer evaluations will be given as well.  More information will be provided in class about peer evaluations. 

ALL PRESENTATIONS MUST BE DELIVERED IN PERSON – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Professional dress is required for all presentations.

ELEVATOR PITCH PRESENTATION (60 points):

Students will present their elevator pitch in front of the class for critique from fellow classmates as well as the instructor.  These presentations will take place on September 17, 2014.

REQUIRED RESUME ASSIGNMENT (50 points):

Students are required to make an appointment with the College of Business Career Services Office (Room #A  309) to have their resume reviewed by December 3, 2014 (NO EXCEPTIONS). To make an appointment, use the following link:

https://advising.ehhs.kent.edu/index.php?gid=33

Please note that all appointments must be made in advance.  SAME DAY APPOINTMENTS WILL NOT BE GRANTED – NO EXCEPTIONS.

CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS: (No points):

Weekly chapter discussions will take place to measure the understanding of topics discussed. Students will be chosen randomly to discuss text topics and give their opinions on what was read.   See section on QUIZZES below.

GROUP PRESENTATION (60 points):

As a team, students will address a business situation provided to them in ENG 30061.  Teams will develop a team research report and make recommendations to address the problem.   In this course, the teams will present their findings and recommendations orally.

These presentations will take place October 15, 2014 and October 22, 2014 and will be 10 minutes in length.

Teams will consist of 4 or 5 students. Each team member is expected to deliver one part of the presentation as listed below: 

1.        The situation and their team’s preliminary considerations

2.       Research methods and  data

3.       The conclusions

4.       Recommendations based on the research data they collected.

One team member from each team must submit the Powerpoint presentation to Blackboard by

Friday, October 10, 2014 indicating the course section, team number and members’ names.  If slides are not submitted by the deadline, five points will be deducted for each day late. 

Group Presentation Evaluations:

This presentation will not only be evaluated by the instructor, but by peers as well.   A low peer evaluation could affect an individual’s final grade for the group presentation. 

INFORMATIVE SPEECH (60 points):

Students will choose a topic they are very familiar with to present (i.e. a hobby, your favorite city, etc.) Do not choose topics that are controversial or political in nature.   The topic chosen must be given to the instructor for approval by Friday, September 26, 2014. If the topic is not submitted by the stated deadline, five points will be deducted for each day late.  Each speech will be 4 minutes in length.  The informative speeches will take place October 29, 2014 and November 5, 2014.

FINAL SPEECH (60 points):

Students will research an ethical dilemma in their major field and present their findings.   The presentation must include the following:

1.       Describe the case

2.       Define the ethical dilemma

3.       Indicate the stakeholders involved

4.       Provide a better alternative and why it would be better

Student presentations will be recorded for assessment purposes, with their permission. These presentations will take place November 12, 2014, November 19, 2014 and December 3, 2014 and will be 5 minutes in length.   Since these presentations will be spread over three weeks.  Presentation slides are to be uploaded to Blackboard exactly one week prior to your presentation date.  If slides are not submitted by the stated deadline, five points will be deducted for each day late. 

·         FINAL SPEECH REFLECTION SUMMARY – In class, write up a brief summary of what you learned from each presentation and one follow-up question per presentation.

QUIZZES (30 points each / 60 total points):

There will be two “pop” quizzes given over the textbook during the semester to assess your comprehension of the material.  If a pop quiz is missed, there will not be an opportunity for a “make up”.  Therefore, attendance is IMPERATIVE.

FINAL EXAM (100 points):

There will be a one hour final exam.  Detailed information is forthcoming.

                           Final Exam Day/Date                                                                              Final Exam Time

                                        TBA                                                                                                               TBA

Please arrive early for the exam! There will be no late admissions to the classroom once the exam has begun.

Schedule of Topics (Schedule may change as necessary)