Business Communication BA100 Directory
Syllabus
mmmRationale
mmmObjectives
mmmPhilosophy
mmmTeamwork
Procedures
mmmPurchases
mmmEthics
and rules
mmmmmmAttendance
mmmmmmCheating
mmmmmmTimeliness
mmmGrading
mmmmmmAristocratic
mmmmmmDemocratic
Assignments
mmmWritten
mmmmmmFirst
mmmmmmSecond
mmmmmmThird
mmmmmmEvaluation
mmmOral
mmmmmmFirst
mmmmmmSecond
mmmmmmEvaluation
Appendices
mmmA--Importance
mmmB--Reading list
Business
Communication BA100
Haas School of Business Administration
University of California, Berkeley
Spring, 1998
Instructor: Arturo Pérez-Reyes
Phone: 510-642-4733 extension 2
E-mail: perezre@haas.berkeley.edu
Web: http:// haas.berkeley.edu/~perezre
Office: F473 Haas School Faculty Building
Hours: By appointment only Friday after 4 PM
Section 3: Friday 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM in Cheit 125
Business professionals spend 70% of their time communicating. Consequently, employers make communication skills the chief criteria for promoting employees. Despite the importance of these skills, few business schools do enough to prepare their graduates. Study after study of employers and recruiters finds dissatisfaction with the communication skills of recent graduates (see Appendix A). The Haas School of Business Administration has decided to meet this challenge head on with Business Communication 100. In this course, you will learn the theory and practice of effective communication while modeling real-life business situations. You will be asked to practice what you learn with a variety of in-class exercises, formal oral presentations, and written assignments. Oral assignments will run from three to ten minutes and will be video taped in class before a jury of your peers. Written assignments will run from one to five pages in length and will be evaluated by a group of your peers.
When writing, you will be able to
When speaking, you will be able to
When computing, you will be able to
This course is eminently practical. It will require effort, regular attendance, and a willingness to grow and run risks. You will hone yourselves to a sharp edge by providing each other with constructive criticism. Such criticism is difficult to give, and even harder to heed. In this class, we will practice skills in self-presentation, writing, speaking, conflict resolution, persuasion, and argumentation. These skills can only be learned by emulation, role playing, and performance. Your most significant work will take place in class. You must attend class and arrive prepared for work.
Our work will not be safe. Communication is about bridging. What you intend matters only to you and your god or gods. What your audience infers 'means' everything. Messages only have meaning in the mind of a beholder and audiences are a fickle lot. They bore easily. They are filled with preconceptions, passions, and suspicions. They attend most to signifiers that they feel you cannot control, such as body language, vocalization, eye contact. It is often painful to discover the gap between what we wish to project and how others perceive us. The comments of others are often less than flattering. They can touch on personal weaknesses or raise sensitive issues. This gives us special obligations. As receivers of criticism, we must maintain a spirit of openness and learn to accept criticism gracefully. As givers of criticism, we must maintain a spirit of helpfulness, speak the truth, and keep our comments constructive.
We will set up rules of engagement and institutionalized conflict. Throughout the semester, we will use a system of devil's advocacy. Each person will be given the role of catching a classmate doing something right as well as doing something wrong. The instructor will not be exempt. Feel free to praise or raise concerns with him personally. If you require anonymity, use your class representative. In sum, this class will require from us all the courage of conviction, the love of truth, and the desire to be more than what we are or appear to be.
Every class and assignment will have some component of teamwork. For
example, oral presentations will be rehearsed by groups. You will meet
in advance to practice and give each other feedback. On the day you present,
each member of the group will have a role in videotaping and evaluating
the assignment. Similarly, written assignments will be corrected and commented
upon by your group. These corrections and comments will be collected and
used to evaluate the final result. Both writer and reviewer will be graded
according to Demming's principle of collective responsibility for quality
assurance. Final assignments will receive group grades
Attend class regularly. We will do our most significant work in class. We only meet in class fourteen times. Call me if you are not coming. My number is 642-4733. A call is common courtesy and a requirement in any workplace. Unexcused absences will lower your grade; more than three will result in failure. The only excused absences will be those caused by illness or a death in the family. Do not bother explaining about interviews with recruiters or assignments and exams in other classes. They do not constitute excused absences.
Additionally, please arrive and leave on time. Class will begin promptly ten minutes after the hour and will end exactly on the hour. Late arrivals and early departures disrupt class and ruin the presentations of others. They are unprofessional. Unexcused disruptions will lower your grade; more than three will result in failure. Again, do not bother explaining about interviews with recruiters. They do not constitute excused disruptions.
Do your own work. Plagiarism and cheating will lead to dismissal. Do not copy the work of others. Do not use others to do your work. Do not pass off work done in past semesters as work done for this course. Assignments must incorporate lessons taught in class. Personal assignments must be produced individually. Group assignments must be produced by the members of the group. Please note, however, that once your work is completed, you may freely exchange it with others to be proofed or discussed. Mutual revision and correction are strongly encouraged. This is particularly the case if English is a second language or if 'received standard' is an alien speech community. Make sure that several people work with you on each assignment.
Complete all written and oral assignments on time. Late work will drop one letter grade. To add some flexibility to this requirement, you may be late with one and only one assignment. If you feel that this is not enough leeway, please use this syllabus to prepare and submit your assignments in advance.
Whenever one evaluates an object or person, one can use democratic or
aristocratic principles of judgment. Democracies esteem the mean and thus
measure everything against a central point that embraces the maximum number
of participants. For example, our undergraduate program curves grades to
make them conform to a normal distribution. This system is unfair to the
superior few. On the other hand, aristocracies ignore masses and measure
everything by the very best paradigm or the highest values. For example,
athletic contests note only the best or record-breaking performance. This
system is unfair to the many who also ran the course. This class will use
both principles in conjunction. Course evaluation will be based on the
clarity and grace of your prose, the effectiveness of your oral presentations,
and on your capacity to guide others to excellence in business communication.
A students
B students
C students
D students
All assignments will go through a three to four week process. On the first day, papers are due, you will work in class as groups. Bring a copy for each member of your group and two for the teacher. You will read each other's work, discuss the good and bad points of each paper, and decide how they might be made better. You will then go home and rewrite. The finished product will be due in the next class. I will only grade the final version. My criteria for grading will be based on the highest registers of 'received standard' and on the principles taught in lecture. It usually takes me from one to two weeks to return papers.
Please submit a one page cover letter. You may answer an interesting job listing, apply for the job of your dreams, or vie for your boss' position. Begin by identifying the most salient concerns of your audience. Then claim to fulfill their needs and desires. Back your claims with evidence. This evidence will usually consist of details from your educational background and work experience. However, the most important evidence is that which draws attention to accomplishments, achievements, and motivation beyond the norm. Show not just that you have occupied specific occupational roles, but that in these roles you have a track record of excellence.
Life is choices, and often our decisions hurt others. When pain is expected it often does not enrage so much as arouse a sense of fatalism and despair. However, when pain comes as a surprise that diminishes hopes and expectations, it often leads to feelings of betrayal, abuse, and injustice. These emotions sour business relations, lead to bad press, and sometimes provoke violence. The solution is to learn the art of presenting unexpected bad news in a way that minimizes pain to others and reduces the cost of decisions to the firm. For this assignment, write a one-page bad-news letter or memo to a client or employee. Turn down a request or solicitation. For example, deny an insurance claim, turn down a credit application, or tell someone that they will be laid off. In all cases, use a point-last structure that develops a buffer and rationale that cushions the blow. Conclude on a sympathetic note that indicates humanity. Where appropriate, invite return business.
When your group presents, it needs to turn in two sets of printed supporting materials. First, summarize on one page the argument and chief evidence of your persuasive presentation. Second, append either a printed version of your slides or the speaker notes with thumb-nail images.
| Grade | General comments: how communication goals define grades | Code issues: grammar, mechanics, format | Style issues: clarity, cohesion, emphasis | Argument issues: organization, validity, and persuasive force |
| A+ | Superior work | Perfect adherence to received codes, classy exploitation of higher registers, beautiful formatting, individual panache | Optimal use of syntactic and paradigmatic resources: syntactically clear, anaphorically cohesive, highly emphatic, richly polyvalent, euphonious | Powerfully persuasive: analyzes reader's needs; defeats potential objections or opponents; supplies reasons with argument and motivation with narrative or emotive analogy |
| A | that should enhance | Best of conformist prose: no code errors; little individuality | Clear style and reader friendly; little flair or beauty | Makes a case with relevant claims, interesting evidence and valid inferences |
| A- | job prospects | No errors but does not use highest standards or show much initiative | Superior work, but with room for improvement | Logical and probative, but not very relevant to reader's heart or head |
| B+ | Above average work that ought | 1 error | 1 blemish | 1 flaw |
| B | to be an asset, but with problems | 2 errors | 2 blemishes | 2 flaws |
| B- | that make it a liability | 3 errors | 3 blemishes | 3 flaws |
| C+ | Average work | 4 errors | 4 blemishes | 4 flaws |
| C | that will in no way | 5 errors | 5 blemishes | 5 flaws |
| C- | help your prospects | 6 errors | 6 blemishes | 6 flaws |
We will have video equipment present during all oral presentations. It will be used to maintain a visual record of your work. Bring a VHS tape to class on the day that you are due to present. Your team will use a video camera to record your presentation. This recording will be used in three ways. You will take this tape home to evaluate yourself. It will allow you to see how you look to the audience. Each tape will also contain a recording of the feedback you received; thus you can use it to review and evaluate the comments of your peers. Finally, these tapes will be used by you and your groups to perfect your stage presence and prepare for future presentations.
Oral presentations should be prepared and rehearsed several times before delivery in class. Do not attempt to "wing it." All good extemporaneous speakers practice a great deal. Good speakers experiment with modes, topoi, and arguments in the same way that good improvisational jazz players practice riffs and melodies. In both music and speaking, poorly conceived execution bores; meagerly practiced delivery, stinks. Bad presentations are embarrassing to witness; humiliating to produce; and waste the time of all. They show grave disrespect for audiences and little regard for one's self. In business and in this class, the stakes are too high for sophomoric disorganization. Come to class prepared, refreshed, and ready to knock'em dead.
Please work in groups to prepare oral presentations. Groups should serve as sounding boards and ready audiences. Meet in advance of class to give each other assistance, rehearse, and evaluate. On the day you present, each member of the group will have a role. While one member presents, others will take turns setting up, running the video camera, marking time, and leading the evaluation. Each group will receive a collective grade that will be factored into the grade for individual performance. Just as in the work place, teams will rise or fall on the strength of their weakest links. Everyone will have to pull together to do well.
Give a three minute informative speech in which you explain a business concept or theory to a group of subordinates. You can use the same topic and scenario as your written assignment. You can also challenge yourself with a new subject and scene. In either case, be careful not to use a text written for the eye. Speeches must be specially written for the ear. Deliver the presentation without reading. Speaking for three minutes without notes should be well within your abilities. The ability to speak without breaking eye contact will make a decisive difference to your future as a speaker.
This is a group project in which half of your grade will come from individual
performance and half from the average of the group. Your group has two
minutes per person in which to give a persuasive slide presentation. Address
an audience that contains members of upper management or a board of trustees.
Persuade them to make a change in policy worth at least $250,000. You must
use slides to make a business case with charts, graphs, and pictures. Qualify
your claims so that you cannot be counter attacked easily. Rebut pre-emptively
any intelligent criticism or hostile opponents. Support your logical claims
with convincing business statistics and measures of performance such as
return on investment, break-even analysis, sensitivity testing, etc.. Use
analogies, metaphors as well as stories and anecdotes to build emotional
involvement with your case. You must use slides to make a business case
with charts, graphs, and pictures.Evaluation sheet
for oral assignments
Evaluation Guide for Oral Presentations
| Grade | Delivery issues: posture, movements, eyes, voice | Content issues: structure and interest | Media issues: demonstrations and visual displays | Argument issues: supplies reason and moves emotions |
| A+ | Uses eye contact to establish a personal relationship with audience. Orchestrates movement and voice to entertain and surprise. Dresses well for the part. Shows appropriate emotions for the message. Displays a winning personality. | Bridges to audience by establishing how they have a personal stake in the speech topic and its real-world outcome. Defuses skepticism and wariness and builds credibility and rapport. Maintains interest and good will with humor, analogy, imagery, and tales. Delivers more than promised in an entertaining and memorable way. Closes with a round house that brings sympathetic applause. | Sophisticated visual sizzle delivered with carefully crafted graphics, color projection, videotape, or multimedia. Quantitative information organized to show key trends, contrasts, or conflicts. Outlines and slides express simple ideas and use progressive builds. Props and demonstrations involve as many different senses as possible to enhance experience, increase retention, overwhelm reason, and build excitement. Audience leaves with concrete reminders of their experience or thumbnail versions of slides. | Uses one or two-sided argumentation depending on the audience's inclinations. Finds common ground even in the face of resistance and suspicion. Dramatizes the choice at hand. Makes cogent arguments that use logically valid inferences. Only resorts to sophisticated fallacies or the instruments of influence for the highest of ends. Creates needs from desires. Uses analogies and narratives to engage pre-existing motives and beliefs. Exploits audiences prejudices and passions for ethical ends. Carefully adopts either the offensive or defensive with regard to strategy and tactics. |
| A | Emphasizes points verbally with volume, pitch, pauses; punctuates topics physically with gestures, movement, and props; speaks to all sides of the room | Opening grabs attention and signposts structure. Body has clear outline, logical development, ample enumeration, smooth transitions, and redundant clarification. Conclusion draws together all parts, reemphasizes main points, and delivers a memorable finish | Uses black and white overheads, magic marker flip charts, or collaged posters to make visual displays. Displays summarize data, show trends, or present complex information. Also uses props and photos to raise interest or gain good will. Brings in product and demonstrates features and benefits. | Analyzes reader's needs. Makes a relevant claim and presents a plausible case. Develops sound arguments. Supplies compelling or indubitable evidence. Develops all artistic proofs by explaining warrants and exploring further backing. Qualifies claims to limit rebuttals. Anticipates potential objections and discounts opponents. |
| A- | No gross errors but little animation or excitement; hence inappropriate ethos | Clear structure and development, but with little engagement of audience's interests, desires, or feelings | Seeks to make information more memorable with simple mnemonics, graphs, outlines, blackboard work, demonstrations | Argument is logical and persuasive, but not made sufficiently relevant to reader's situation or interests. Little engagement of heart and mind. Hence, little action or change. |
| B+ | 1 error | 1 blemish | 1 glitch | 1 flaw |
| B | 2 errors | 2 blemishes | 2 glitches | 2 flaws |
| B- | 3 errors | 3 blemishes | 3 glitches | 3 flaws |
| C+ | 4 errors | 4 blemishes | 4 glitches | 4 flaws |
| C | 5 errors | 5 blemishes | 5 glitches | 5 flaws |
| C- | 6 errors | 6 blemishes | 6 glitches | 6 flaws |
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