COM/TM541 Official Syllabus

Posted: Tue 08/23/2011 12:26 PM , by: Robert Ross ( bobeross@email.phoenix.edu )

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COM/TM541 SYLLABUS

University Of Phoenix -Online

Course Number: COM/TM541 Ver.1

Course Title: Communications for Managers of Technology

Course Start Date: 08/23/2011

Course End Date: 10/03/2011

Course Syllabus: COM/TM541 R. 1

REQUIRED READING: Students are required to read all materials available at the rEsource site for this course on http://mycampus.phoenix.edu.

FACILITATOR: Bob Ross

2625 SW 47th Terrace

Cape Coral FL 33914

Cell: 239 849-4922 Eastern Time Zone

UOP-Email: bobeross@email.phoenix.edu

Personal Email: rez7ross@embarqmail.com

Facilitator Availability

I will be available for discussing any questions raised and to offer my views on your responses to the discussion questions in the main classroom Forum most every day until 10:30 EST. In addition, if you have an emergency question, you may contact me through my cell phone number.

For emergencies, when you are not able to gain access to messages on the Online Learning System (OLS), please send a message to my personal email address. In the event a third party needs to contact me, please direct them to my contact information listed under "facilitator information." No third party should use your login credentials to gain access to the classroom.

Welcome to the Official COM/TM541 V1 Syllabus where all of the requirements for the course activities are described either directly or by reference to another document or source. Please print out and/or download a copy of this syllabus to your hard disk for reference throughout the term of the class.

Policies

Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents:

· University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document.

· Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum.

University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality.

General Course Description

Course Title: COM/TM541 V1 Communications for Managers of Technology

Course Description

This course prepares graduate students to apply communication principles to the roles they play as technology managers. Students will learn how to effectively communicate technical issues to non-technical stakeholders in a business environment. Other topics include the role of perception in communication, techniques, aligning communication to an audience, business justifications, presenting data, and ethics in organizational communications.

Course Topics & Objectives

Week One: Communication

· Explain the business communication process.

· Conduct an audience analysis.

· Compare and contrast communications with different purposes.

· Explain the effects of style on the various forms of communication.

Week Two: Communication Mediums

· Identify the advantages and disadvantages of various communication mediums.

· Compare and contrast appropriate mediums to deliver various types of messages.

Week Three: Data Presentations

· Explain principles of creating effective graphics.

· Design effective graphics for various forms of communication.

· Apply graphics to support various forms of communication.

· Identify ethical concerns when communicating to various departments in an organization.

Week Four: Communicating Technical Information

· Translate technology information toward various audiences.

· Apply techniques in delivering technical information to non-technical audiences.

Week Five: Business Justification

· Describe the purpose of formal business cases and their components.

· Explain the characteristics of well designed business cases.

· Create key components of a formal business case to communicate the benefits of a technical product.

Week Six: Technical Communication

· Apply recent communication tools to communicate with a variety of non-technical audiences.

· Communicate the details, benefits, and purposes of technological information to non-technical audiences.

Course Materials

Gerson, S. J. & Gerson, S. M. (2008). Technical communication: Process and product (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Lesikar, R. V., Flatley, M. E., & Rentz, K. (2008). Business communications: Making connections

in a digital world (11th ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill.

All electronic materials are available on your student Web site.

Recommended Weekly Point Values

Week One

Individual Assignment: Audience/Purpose/Tone 8

Week Two

Learning Team Assignment: Choosing the Right Medium 15

Week Three

Individual Assignment: Graphic Representation 12

Week Four

Individual Assignment: Distilling Technical Information 15

Week Five

Learning Team Assignment: Product Justification 15

Week Six

Individual Assignment: Components of a Business Case 17

All Weeks

Participation & Discussion Questions 18

Point Total 100

Week One

Communication

· Explain the business communication process.

· Conduct an audience analysis.

· Compare and contrast communications with different purposes.

· Explain the effects of style on the various forms of communication.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

· Read Ch. 1 of Business Communication.

· Read Ch. 4 of Business Communication.

· Read Ch. 15 of Business Communication.

· Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

2. Individual Assignment: Audience/Purpose/Tone

· Choose two forms of communications that you have either created or received at some point in your career.

· Complete the Components of Communication Worksheet from the attachment provided in the course materials for each type or form of communication.

· Write a paper of no more than 700 words describing the common communication process underlying both forms of communications you presented in the worksheet.

· Summarize the effects of audience, purpose, tone, and style on the communication process.

· Submit the worksheet and the paper.

· Format your paper according to APA standards which are also available at the CWE

Week Two

Communication Mediums

· Identify the advantages and disadvantages of various communication mediums.

· Compare and contrast appropriate mediums to deliver various types of messages.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

· Read Ch. 5 of Business Communication.

· Read Ch. 18 of Business Communication.

· Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

2. Learning Team Assignment: Choosing the Right Medium

· Resources: Virtual Organization Web site

· Choose a company or scenario as a team from the virtual organization list that follows. Go to the Virtual Organization Web site for more information about each company.

o Kudler Fine Foods: Let cashiers know that they will soon go through training for a new model of cash register.

https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/CIST/VOP/Business/Kudler/Admin/TrainingMemo.pdf

o Boffy Company: Let the public know we have just been awarded a patent for a new plastic material.

https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/CIST/VOP/Business/Boffy/Comm/BofPatEmail.pdf

o Patton-Fuller Community Hospital: Train employees about the proper way to handle and store compressed gas cylinders.

https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/CIST/VOP/Healthcare/PFCH/Ancillary/Comm/AncTrainingMemo.pdf

o City of Kelsey: Inform the voting public about the benefits of the new bond issuance.

https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/CIST/VOP/Government/KelseyCity/documents/LtrICCBondIssue.pdf

Prepare a paper of no more than 1,050 words that compares the use of different presentation mediums to communicate the same message in the selected scenario. The mediums to compare include the following:

o Oral presentation (Technical Communication, Ch. 18, Formal Presentations)

o Written report (Technical Communication, Ch. 15, Criteria for Writing Reports)

o Video (Technical Communication, Ch. 18, Video and Teleconferences)

o E-mail (Technical Communication, Ch. 6, E-Mail)

o Web site (Technical Communication, Ch. 13, The Characteristics of Online Communication)

Discuss factors that may affect the choice of medium, such as the message to communicate, audience, purpose, reach, cost, and effort, using this week’s textbook reading and information provided within course materials.

Format your paper according to APA standards.

Week Three

Data Presentations

· Explain principles of creating effective graphics.

· Design effective graphics for various forms of communication.

· Apply graphics to support various forms of communication.

· Identify ethical concerns when communicating to various departments in an organization.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

· Read Ch. 13 of Business Communication.

· Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

2. Individual Assignment: Graphic Representation

· Choose a data source and create a graph or table that illustrates a story behind the data. You may choose a single data set (e.g. a stock price) or a number of data sets (e.g. population numbers over time in four major cities.)

· Use the following sites as suggestions for data sources:

o Stocks: http://finance.google.com/finance?q=goog

o Census data: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

o Internet usage data: http://www.pewinternet.org/Data-Tools/Download-Data/Trend-Data.aspx

o U. S. Energy stats: http://www.eia.doe.gov/overview_hd.html

· Create a professional graph and write a summary of no more than 350 words that explains the following:

o The source of the data

o What story the data is telling the reader

o The reasons for which you used certain graphing or charting techniques (e.g. line graph instead of a bar or pie chart)

o Principles used to make the graphic more effective

· Create a second graph or table that tells a contradicting story. Refer to techniques such as those in the Misleading Statistics document provided within course materials. Use the same data set, but create a different graph, chart, or table.

· Write a word summary of no more than 350 words explaining the

o different or contradictory story being told.

o techniques you used in order to alter the story.

o ethical implications of altering the aesthetics of the graphic.

· Submit two graphs and two summaries in one Word document.

· Format your summaries according to APA standards.

Week Four

Communicating Technical Information

· Translate technology information toward various audiences.

· Apply techniques in delivering technical information to non-technical audiences.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

· Read Ch. 12 of Technical Communication.

· Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

2. Individual Assignment: Distilling Technical Information

You are creating a flyer or Web site that has the goal of selling the consumer on a new technical product or service.

· Choose from the selection of links below to search for a technical product or service published no longer than 6 months ago.

· Use communication techniques to distill the content down to the most salient aspects of the product from the article and related product information sources.

· Create a flyer of no more than 2 pages or Web site describing the product or service and its application.

· Refine the product’s technical data using at least one of the techniques described in this week’s reading.

· Refer to the following Web sites for new technology products and services:

o http://www.engadget.com/

o http://hardware.slashdot.org/

o http://www.wired.com/gadgets/

· Think of something that might accompany a product on display in an electronic retail store if creating a flyer. If creating a Web site, think of a product page like this one for the Eee PC: http://eeepc.asus.com/global/index.html

· Refer to the ERR article, “How to Talk About Technology,” for communication strategies, including:

o Pictures

o Analogies

o Testimonials

o Proper organization or outline

· Include an Executive summary word document to indicate how you distilled the content down to the most salient aspects of the product from the article and related product information sources, and

The techniques you have used to deliver the technical information to nontechnical audiences.

· Submit the flyer or the Web site documents. If you publish the Web site on a space, submit the URL of the Web site.

Week Five

Business Justification

· Describe the purpose of formal business cases and their components.

· Explain the characteristics of well designed business cases.

· Create key components of a formal business case to communicate the benefits of a technical product.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

· Read Ch. 8 of Business Communication.

· Read Ch. 17 of Technical Communication.

· Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

2. Learning Team Assignment: Product Justification

Huffman Trucking has been evaluating a new fleet tracking system. This system is used for tracking and controlling their fleet of trucks: location, speed, and communication. A memo is linked on the Huffman site. The goal of the assignment is to utilize the details of the fleet tracking system product to build a case for or against the decision of implementation.

· Resource: Huffman Trucking Tracking Memo

· Prepare a presentation packet for the board that either supports or is against the decision to implement the tracking system. The presentation packet will include:

o A 6- to 10-slide PowerPoint® presentation outlining the details of this business case. Refer to the readings and articles for details on what must be included in a business case. Include only key components in this presentation. The presentation must be made in a clear and concise fashion.

o An executive summary of no more than 700 words outlining the problem, potential solution, and reasoning to support or oppose the project. The executive summary will include the same content as the PowerPoint® presentation. It will be appropriate for a quick read by executives while the presentation is meant to be delivered in a face-to-face meeting.

Week Six

Technical Communication

· Apply recent communication tools to communicate with a variety of non-technical audiences.

· Communicate the details, benefits, and purposes of technological information to non-technical audiences.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

· Read Ch. 10 of Technical Communication.

· Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings

3. Individual Assignment: Components of a Business Case

The goal of this assignment is to create a press packet that is delivered to different channels with the hopes of further publicizing the product.

· Resource: http://tektrekker.pbwiki.com/Tools-List

· Choose a technical product or service, either real or made up, and assume the role of the owner who is responsible for launching the product.

· Refer to the link above for free Web tools that can help with the production.

· Create two items for the press packet:

o Write a cover letter of no more than 700 words to accompany the main communication piece. The cover letter must address the following:

· A description of your product and how it works

· Why is it beneficial

· To whom are you sending the press packet

· Why are you sending it

· Who the audience is for the main communication piece

· The optimal delivery channel for the main communication piece

o Include the following in the main communication piece.

· This piece is directed at the end user of your product. Think of it as the sales pitch or the infomercial. The piece may be one of three forms:

o 10-slide PowerPoint®

o 1 to 2 minute audio

o 1 to 2 minute video

· The piece must be a clear and concise communication about your product including such information as

o what your product is and how it works.

o what problems it solves for the user.

o how to buy or obtain it.

· Submit the cover letter document and the communication piece. If you choose to create an audio or video clip for the communication piece, compress it to an appropriate file size so that it is clear to hear or view and easy to download. Consider using common video or audio file formats for your instructor to open it.

The Online Weekly Schedule

The course week begins on Tuesday and ends on Monday. Please see the following for a break down of the week:

Day 1 – Tuesday

Day 2 – Wednesday

Day 3 – Thursday

Day 4 – Friday

Day 5 – Saturday

Day 6 – Sunday (Latest day you will receive weekly feedback for previous week’s work)

Day 7 - Monday

Where to Go to Class: Your Course Forums

Main: This is the main forum for the class and is where all class related discussions are conducted. It has read-and-write access for everyone.

Chat-Room: This is a read-and-write access forum, which is designed as a place to discuss issues not related to the course content. Your personal Bios will not be posted here because you will post them in the Main class Forum where I will post my Bio.

Course-Materials: This is a read-only forum, which means you can read messages here but cannot send any. This is where I will post the course syllabus and supplemental materials such as Lectures with the discussion questions I will post separately in the Main forum for you to respond to the thread I start, so we can track the responses more easily.

Learning-Team-A, B, C, D and E: These five Learning Team forums will be used as workrooms for the learning teams depending on the number of students. You will be assigned to one of these learning teams.

Individual Forum: You will see one forum with your name on it. This is a private forum, shared only by you and me, the facilitator. Your classmates will not have access to this forum. This is where you will post your individual assignments. However, if you have general questions about instructions of assignments, please post those in the Main forum, since other students may benefit by that exchange as well. Also, if you need to contact me more quickly, send an email to my personal UOP email address because I will see that sooner than one in your personal Forum.

Learning Teams

University of Phoenix students are expected to work effectively in diverse groups and teams to achieve tasks. They must collaborate and function well in team settings as both leaders and followers. They should respect human diversity and behave in a tolerant manner toward colleagues and peers.

Several of the assignments in this class will be completed in Learning Teams of three to five students. I will set up these teams midway through Week 1.

If you experience difficulties working with your team, you are expected to resolve them within the team if possible. However, please feel free to contact me for guidance if you have concerns in this area.

You will be expected to actively participate with your learning team and contribute to the team discussions. Starting in Week Three, you and your team members may complete a Learning Team Member Evaluation Form. This form will be used as part of my assessment of individual team member performance.

Learning Teams should provide a brief summary of any communication held outside the forum. Therefore, if you hold conference calls, work in a real-time chat-room, or get together outside the OLS (Online Learning System) environment in another way, please post a log, transcript, or summary in the Learning Team forum. Furthermore, do not use any of these supplementary communication tools unless everyone on your Learning Team agrees to the method and to the schedule. If you have any questions, please contact me.

Participation

Participation is very important online. Participation includes providing an answer to each discussion question assigned and to engage in substantive conversation with your instructor and classmates regarding the replies to the discussion questions. You will receive 3 points each week for your Participation credit provided you meet the participation requirements

There are two components to participation:

1. An original reply to each assigned discussion question.

2. Substantive contributions to conversation about the assigned discussion questions: You will be expected to participate four days a week in several different discussions and to contribute at least two substantive discussion messages on each of those four days. This is a required part of your grade. Participation consists of notes you send above and beyond graded assignments. This generally means the messages you send as replies to messages from your classmates and me.

Participation which includes responding to the posted discussion questions will be counted only in the Main forum. Messages posted in the Individual, Chat Room, or in the Learning Team forums will not count towards your individual class participation score.

You will be expected to contribute to the class discussion in a substantive way (minimum of 2 postings) at least four out of seven days each week. However, to be realistic, logging on every day is more effective to avoid creating a backlog of material that can very quickly become overwhelming.

Participation means posting notes in the main forum that everyone has access to. Sending notes to your instructor's personal mailbox does not constitute participation. Requirements must be met on each

individual day to receive full credit, meaning 2 postings on Day 1, 2 postings on Day 2, etc...... up through any of the 4 days of attendance. That should result in a minimum of 8 conversation postings over the course of a week. They are not cumulative though, meaning 1 one day and 3 the next still results in a shortfall on the day in which there are 2 postings. Partial credit will be given in the event of a shortfall.

When you participate, try to integrate what you have learned from the assigned readings with relevant work experiences. Give classmates an opportunity to make comments or ask questions by completing assignments as early as possible. Simple compliments and statements of agreement are nice, but they do not count toward class participation. To earn class participation points, you must make meaningful contributions to the online discussions.

While logging on does constitute "attendance" on the file server for financial aid and billing purposes, it does not constitute participation. You are "participating" only if I can see your notes in the main forum. Individual participation counts only in the Main forum where you hold your classroom discussions. Attendance counts in any forum – Main, Learning Team, and Chat-Room.

For the purpose of tracking the submission of an assignment, I will use midnight Phoenix time as the calendar date cutoff. For the purpose of tracking the submission of a discussion posting, we will also abide by Phoenix time. Any postings made after that time will count as the "next" day. This is important to note if you are traveling while the class is in session.

Expectations for Discussion Question Responses

Discussion question responses should be at least 100-125 words. For discussion question responses in the Main forum, please post responses to the threads I will post. To respond, highlight the appropriate thread, click on Reply, type your response, and send. Please do not start a new thread for the weekly Discussion Questions in the Main forum.

Unlike your formal written assignments, I do not require that your discussion question responses adhere to specific formatting requirements. However, please make sure to proofread carefully and cite all references in proper APA format if you have any. Do remember to set the spell check feature on in your Preferences section of the OLS sign in page. If you are not sure how to access your Preferences section, please let me know.

I expect your discussion question responses to reflect critical thinking in relation to the assigned readings.

Student Bios

You will find my instructor’s biography in the Main Forum. Please send your bio to the MAIN Forum on the first day of our class – Tuesday to introduce yourself. In addition to sharing with us auto-biographical information about yourself, please include the following:

In the upper left-hand corner of your bio, please be sure to indicate:

Your NameYour CompanyYour Job TitleYour Job FunctionAlternative/emergency e-mail address

In the free-form text of your bio tell us about you!

APA Writing Guide

Both University of Phoenix and I assume that students will perform professionally in preparing work required for this class. All documents are to be spell-checked and grammar-checked, and follow general APA requirements (i.e. numbering, paragraphs, bibliography, citing references, etc.). Strict APA formatting is required in the Masters Degree program. In addition, familiarize yourself with the automatic correcting tools and writing handouts at the Center for Writing Excellence (CWE). A link to the CWE is in the upper, left-hand corner of your rEsource page for this course. However, remember that like every technology, they are not perfect so you should always proofread your assignments before submitting them.

Feedback

Each week, your facilitator will provide grades or scores and comments on assignments within six days of when they were submitted. The detailed feedback will be seen each week in the Grade Book.

*****A FEW WORDS IN SUMMARY*****

PARTICIPATE Participating online is a must to pass this class. In order for you to grow, we have got to create an environment where each of you can take risks, think things through, and find your voice.

BE POSITIVE Keep your papers and comments on the positive side. Find something with which you can agree, and then develop themes around that. If you do not agree - state your position positively - rather than argumentatively.

GIVE DEPTH Simple compliments and statements of agreement are not sufficient to be responsive to assignments. You must add something substantive of your own to the discussion.

BE INVOLVED Give classmates an opportunity to make comments or ask questions on your work. If you know someone is going to jump you, you may not take the risk. Do not play it safe. Experiment! Make statements! Take positions! Open up and learn. Creativity flourishes when you are stimulated.

If you have any questions or comments about the syllabus, please bring them up in the class meeting by DAY 3 of WEEK 1. Please send me a message to my email address confirming that you have read the Syllabus and understand the requirements. I will be logging in daily.

Now!…. Relax…and enjoy the next 6 weeks.

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

"If he is indeed wise, he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind"

The Prophet

by Kahlil Gibran

Bob RossUniversity of Phoenix Facultyemail: bobeross@email.phoenix.eduCell: 239 849-4922