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Class SyllabusBCOM/230

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John Sperling School of Business

Class SyllabusBCOM/230 Business Communications for Accountants


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Course Prefix and Number: BCOM/230

Course Title: Business Communications for Accountants

Course Schedule: 11/30/10 – 01/17/11

Course Location/Times/Newsgroup: Online:

Required Course MaterialsLinks to course materials and electronic resources for each week of class are located on the page of the student Website. Content is divided by weeks.

Instructor’s Name: Gary Foote

Telephone: 706-354-7531 8:00 to 5:00 PM Eastern Time

University of Phoenix E-mail Address: [email protected]

Alternative E-mail Address: [email protected]

Availability: 8:00 to 5:00 PM Eastern Time

Where to Go to Class: Your Course Forums

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

Chat-Room: This is a read-and-write access forum. It is designed as a place to discuss issues not related to the course content. This is the forum to which we will send our bios.

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 materials.

Learning-Team-A, B, C, D and E: These five Learning Team forums will be used as workrooms for the learning teams. 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 won’t have access to this forum. This is where you will post some of your individual assignments, and where I will post your feedback. You can also ask questions here. 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.

Welcome!

My name is Gary Foote and I am looking forward to working with you as the class facilitator and instructor. You can find out more about me in my Biography below and I will also send it


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separately. Please feel free to call me Gary. People in business that you want to correspond with are usually very busy people and it takes a bit of an art to learn how to write your letters, memos and emails in a way to capture their attention and get your point across. Over the next five weeks we will learn the in and outs of what is needed to write these items in a way that will get you the results you want which is for them to read it first and understand what you are looking for quickly.

In this syllabus, you will find out what is expected of you, how assignments are weighted for grading purposes and what you need to accomplish to get your grade. I am very fond of accounting and I love what I do. I hope to shed some of that experience to you and give you the information you will need to become good managers.

Instructor Bio

Hello, I am looking forward to meeting all of you and working with you in this course.

My name is Gary Foote. You can call me Mr. Foote, but when I hear that I look around to see my father, so please call me Gary.

I am currently the Manager of Financial Analysis World Wide for Noramco (a subdivision of Johnson & Johnson). I have a varied career path that has taken me all over the world. It started two days after I graduated from Layton High School in Utah. I first left for Marine basic training in San Diego and learned how to be an infantry soldier. I liked the physical aspect of this, but I wanted something that challenged my mind more, so I transferred to the Air Force and became an aircraft technician (crew chief) on F-16 aircraft.

I worked as a technician for the next four years. That period took me all over Europe, allowing me to see many exciting spots such as Spain, Germany, Turkey and England. I then got my orders to Moody AFB, Georgia. There I worked for the Deputy Commander of Maintenance as a Deficiency Analyst. This gave me the schedule I needed to allow me to attend college.

I first started college basically with the intention of just meeting a lot of girls. This turned into a competition with some friends for the best grades and then a mission to just make it out before I got orders. Four years later at 11:00 o’clock in the morning I walked across the stage and picked up my degree in Accounting. That same night at 6:00 PM, I said, “I do” to my wife in a church about a mile a way. Yes, that was a day to remember.

I decided to follow my new career path in accounting and left the Air Force and my military family. My young bride (Kelli), Cinder (our rabbit) and I headed west for my new job as a cost accountant for NCR Corporation in Ogden Utah. I obtained my CMA certification while I was there and then was promoted to an accounting manager position at a plant in Tennessee. We were back on the road again.

While in Tennessee I obtained my Masters in Business (MBA) and was promoted to Manufacturing Accounting Manager. Four months later we had our first child. Her name is Kaitlyn and she is the joy of my life. One day not to long after Kaitlyn was born; I got a call from an executive recruiter. Johnson & Johnson had an opportunity for me as a Plant Controller in Alabama. We decided to take Johnson & Johnson up on this opportunity and relocate to just outside Mobile Alabama. This move put us very close to my wife’s parents so everyone was pretty happy.

The plant that I was a Controller at produced a product called Sucralose. You all may know it better by its brand name Splenda. I started there when the plant site was nothing more than a


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field. I worked through the construction accounting, to putting accounting systems in place and then tying in our plant with all of the Johnson & Johnson worldwide procedures.

The plant was sold about a year ago to a British company named Tate & Lyle. I wanted to stay with J&J so they transferred me to my current position in Athens GA as World Wide Manager of Financial Analysis for Noramco. Since then, I have taken over the head finance position of the site and total responsibility for Noramco Sox related items. I love my job, my field of work and I have learned volumes about accounting and business in general. I look forward to sharing this knowledge and experience with you as a facilitator in our class and learning from your knowledge and experience as well.

Course Description

This course introduces students to the foundations of communication in a business accounting setting. Students are exposed to various topics related to interpersonal and group communications within the context of applications to the accounting field. Students will develop skills in the forms of written communication, including memos, e-mails, business letters, and reports. Other topics include communication ethics, collaboration, information utilization, critical thinking, and professional competence and values.

Course Topics & Objectives

Week One: Organizational Culture and Communication

Use the tools available to University of Phoenix students. Explain the relationship between organizational culture and organizational

communication style. Explain how adapting the message to the audience affects business communication.

Week Two: Group Communication

Describe barriers to group communication. Describe techniques to enhance group communication. Identify the role of conflict in group communication.

Week Three: The Influence of Leadership on Group Communication

Explain the effects of leadership style on group communication. Compare the influence of different sources of power on group and organizational

communication.

Week Four: Information Utilization and Communication

Compare different forms of communication and their use in business communication. Identify relevant information for communication with a specific audience. Create appropriate forms of communication to meet the needs of a given audience.

Week Five: Formal Communication

Analyze the role of ethics in business communication. Evaluate the effectiveness of a business communication.


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Course Materials

Beebe, S., & Masterson, J. (2006). Communicating in small groups: Principles and practices (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Leisker, R. V., Flatley, M. E., & Rentz, K. (2008). Business communication: Making connections in a digital world (11th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2009). Organizational behavior (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

All electronic materials are available on your student website.

Software

Wiley’s CPA Review v. 13.0

Weekly Point Values

Week One Individual Assignment: Behavior and Communication Paper 50

Week Two Individual Assignment: Memo Review 90

Week Three Learning Team Assignment: Group Communication Paper 130

Week Four Individual Assignment: Influencing Group Communication Paper 90Learning Team Assignment: Communication and the Audience 140

Week Five Individual Assignment: Evaluating Business Communication 100Individual Assignment: Final Examination 200

All Weeks Participation & Discussion Questions 200

Assignment TotalsIndividual 730Learning Team 270

Point Total 1000

All Assignment should be posted to the Assignment workbook. The link can be found on your resource page.

CLASS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES


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Class Policies can now be found on the eCampus page for this class. I have expanded on some of the procedures of the class like participation, discussion questions, weekly summaries etc. So please read down through these to make sure you know what is expected in this class.

Please review and be aware of all policies.

Participation

Participation is different from attendance. To receive full participation credit you will be expected to contribute to the class discussion in the MAIN forum in a substantive way four out of seven days each week. (Please note that posting assignments and posting DQ answers do not count for class participation.) “Substantive” postings relate to real world issues, build on the ideas of others, suggest alternative ideas, and even constructively disagree with other ideas. Simply posting “I agree” will not be considered “substantive” participation. Posting fewer than four days will result in a reduction of your discussion points.

Please note that both quantity and quality are important considerations when it comes to participation. For example, a message which says simply, "I agree," does not constitute participation, because it does not add anything of substance to the discussion.

To earn full participation points, you must add something of substance to the discussion 4 out of 7 days per week—this would consist of new ideas, your perspectives, pointed follow-up questions, etc. You will find it is much easier to keep up with an Online class when you are logging in and participating regularly.

Only posts in the Main classroom forum will count towards your class participation score.

Participation and Discussion Question Grading

Discussion question responses will not count towards the class participation requirement and will be evaluated separately.

Weekly Summaries

Weekly summaries will not be required in this course.


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Discussion question responses will not be required during the final week of the course. The final week will be dedicated to completing the final assignments listed below.

Expectations for Discussion Question Responses

Discussion question responses should be at least 200-300 words. For discussion question responses in the Main forum, please post responses to the threads provided. 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. Grammar and spelling errors may impact the grading.

I expect your discussion question responses to reflect critical thought. Whenever possible, please try to relate the course content to real-world applications from your work experience.

Attachments

Please do not use attachments in the Main forum. Post DQ responses in the body of OLS messages. Please post formal assignments in your Individual forum as attachments–Microsoft® Word documents or PowerPoint® slides.

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


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should respect human diversity and behave in a tolerant manner toward colleagues and peers.

You will be assigned to a Learning Team during the latter part of week #1. If you have any preferences for team members, please send an e-mail to my University mailbox and let me know. Because teamwork projects are outcome-based, all members of your learning team will earn the same grade. I will be monitoring the small group newsgroups, and I will ask that team provide a brief summary of any communication held outside the newsgroup--e.g. if you hold conference calls, work in a real-time chat room, or in any other way get together outside the OLS (Online Learning System) environment. Please do not use any of these other communication tools unless everyone in your group agrees to the method and to the schedule. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Learning teams are meant to be a collaborative process. I expect everyone to equally contribute to the research, writing and editing processes. When everyone has reviewed the work, it can be posted to the main folder. I reserve the right to record different grades to team members if work is not deemed to be substantially equal.

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.

In order to create structure for your Learning Team, you will complete a Learning Team Charter during Week 1. The form for this charter is provided in a separate message in the Course-Materials forum.

Late Assignments

Late assignments will be penalized with a 10% grade deduction for each day late, unless you have made prior arrangements with me. Deadlines will be defined as 11:59 p.m. EST. No assignment will be accepted that is more than 4 days late. If you know you will be offline the day an assignment is due, please make sure to post it early. Anytime you feel that you might be falling behind in the course, it is best to contact me to discuss your situation. As noted in the first message posted in the Main forum, no assignments can be accepted after the final day of class.


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If you have an assignment completed by the deadline but are unable to post it in the forum for technical reasons, you can send it to me by email to demonstrate that it was completed on time. However, you must post the assignment in the forum once that becomes available.

Academic Integrity

By virtue of membership in the University’s academic community, students accept a responsibility to abide by the Student Code of Academic Integrity, which is a part of the Student Code of Conduct. A link to the Code can be found on the Center for Writing Excellence Web site or by logging into eCampus and then clicking the following URL:

https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/studentdocuments/uophx/academic_integrity.htm

Confidentiality and Proprietary Information

One of the cornerstones of the University of Phoenix learning model is the practical application of theoretical concepts. You are encouraged to share your personal and professional experiences as a means to integrate knowledge by reflecting on its application. However, it is important to note that we all are bound by confidentiality in this class. To assure that we can have a free and open discussion in which you may elect to discuss your company and its policies and procedures as they apply to the course material, I expect each person to respect the confidentiality of what your classmates are willing to share with us. At the same time, I ask that each of you exercise good judgment in what you choose to share and avoid disclosing non-public or competitively-sensitive information.

It is University of Phoenix policy that students and faculty members must not share present or past employer information that is considered to be proprietary, confidential, company-sensitive, or protected trade secrets. Students are encouraged to examine their organization's limitations on sharing information externally.

Students and faculty members may appropriately choose to illustrate lessons from their experience that might challenge these boundaries, without identifying specific employers or individuals by name.

If you have any questions about any of the information contained in this syllabus, or about any other aspect of this class, please do not hesitate to ask!




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Academic Resources

Coursework in this class must uphold the high standards of academic integrity established by the University of Phoenix. Consequently, when you are conducting research for an assignment, the majority of your sources should be peer-reviewed academic journals, such as those you find in the University Library or in the additional readings on the rEsource page for this course.

PLEASE NOTE: Internet searches will often take you to non-academic information resources such as Wikipedia.com, Ask.com, Encarta.msn.com, Infoplease.com, etc. You may supplement your research with these sources, but keep in mind that the information you find there may not be accurate, since it does not come under a formal oversight or peer-review process.

While you may use and cite non-academic resources such as Wikipedia when working on assignments, you may not rely on them exclusively. The majority of your sources should be peer-reviewed academic journals. Further, remember that you are responsible for the accuracy of any facts you present in your assignments and therefore should confirm the veracity of information you find on non-academic sources through further research.

GRADING

Feedback

Each week, I will provide grades or scores and comments on assignments within 7 days of when they were submitted. I will post your feedback in your Individual forum. After I post feedback each week, I will post a notification in the Main forum.

Grading Formula

Points Grade950+ A900-940 A-


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870-899 B+840-869 B 800-839 B-770-799 C+740-769 C700-739 C-670-699 D+640-669 D600-639 D-<599 F

Final Week Requirements

Discussion question responses will not be required during the final week of the course. The final week will be dedicated to completing the final assignments listed below.

Expectations for Discussion Question Responses

Discussion question responses should be at least 200-300 words. For discussion question responses in the Main forum, please post responses to the threads provided. 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. Grammar and spelling errors may impact the grading.

I expect your discussion question responses to reflect critical thought. Whenever possible, please try to relate the course content to real-world applications from your work experience.

Attachments

Please do not use attachments in the Main forum. Post DQ responses in the body of OLS messages. Please post formal assignments in your Individual forum as attachments–Microsoft® Word documents or PowerPoint® slides.

Learning Teams

Learning teams are meant to be a collaborative process. I expect everyone to equally contribute to the research, writing and editing processes. When everyone has reviewed the work, it can be posted to the main folder. I reserve the right to record different grades to team members if work is not deemed to be substantially equal.


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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.

In order to create structure for your Learning Team, you will complete a Learning Team Charter during Week 2. The form for this charter is provided in a separate message in the Course-Materials forum.

Late Assignments

Late assignments will be penalized with a 10% grade deduction for each day late, unless you have made prior arrangements with me. Deadlines will be defined as 11:59 p.m. EST. No assignment will be accepted that is more than 3 days late. If you know you will be offline the day an assignment is due, please make sure to post it early. Anytime you feel that you might be falling behind in the course, it is best to contact me to discuss your situation. As noted in the first message posted in the Main forum, no assignments can be accepted after the final day of class.

If you have an assignment completed by the deadline but are unable to post it in the forum for technical reasons, you can send it to me by email to demonstrate that it was completed on time. However, you must post the assignment in the forum once that becomes available.

GRADING

Feedback

Each week, I will provide grades or scores and comments on assignments within 6 days of when they were submitted. I will post your feedback in your Individual forum. After I post feedback each week, I will post a notification in the Main forum.

Grading Formula

Points Grade950+ A

900-940 A-870-899 B+

840-869 B 800-839 B-

770-799 C+740-769 C

700-739 C-670-699 D+

640-669 D600-639 D-

<599 F


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Week One

Organizational Culture and Communication

Use the tools available to University of Phoenix students. Explain the relationship between organizational culture and organizational

communication. Explain how adapting the message to the audience affects business communication.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

Read Ch. 17 of Organizational Behavior. Read Ch. 1–4 of Business Communication.Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

2. Individual Assignment: Behavior and Communication Paper

Select one of the following organizations:

o Walt Disneyo Cisco Systems, Inco Appleo Macy’so Starbuckso Googleo IBMo 3Mo Southwest Airlineso US Army (or other branch of the armed services)o The American Red Cross

Review the chosen organization’s philosophy, mission, vision, and values statements. This statement identifies the organization’s espoused values. Research the University Library or the Internet to locate articles about the organization’s enacted values.

Write a 350- to 700-word paper based on your review and research. Complete the following in your paper:

o Describe the culture of the organization.o Discuss the types of communication this organization uses for internal and

external communication.o The extent to which communication in an organization is determined by the

organization’s culture.o Do the espoused values of the selected organization align with its enacted

values?


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Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.


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Week Two

Group Communication

Describe barriers to group communication. Describe techniques to enhance group communication. Identify the role of conflict in group communication.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

Read Ch. 1, 6, & 7 of Communicating in Small Groups: Principles and Practices.Read Ch. 5–7 of Business Communication: Making Connections in a Digital World. Read Ch. 11 of Organizational Behavior.Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

2. Individual Assignment: Memo Review

Resource: University of Phoenix Material: Accounting memoReview the Accounting Memo, which is an informal memo sent to you and your peers.

You must now send an accounting memo to the executive vice president.Write a 350- to 700-word summary indicating the ways that this memo should be

changed based on its audience. In the summary, identify how and why the audience affects the style of communication. Include the following:

o Types of information to include or omito Use of jargon. such as accounting-specific languageo Potential repercussions of failing to know the audienceo Write Summary using APA guidelines


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Week Three

The Influence of Leadership on Group Communication

Explain the effects of leadership style on group communication. Compare the influence of different sources of power on group and organizational

communication.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

Read Ch. 13 & 14 of Organizational Behavior.Read Ch. 12 of Communicating in Small Groups: Principles and Practices.Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

2. Learning Team Assignment: Group Communication Paper

You are a manager responsible for introducing new employees to their teammates. Having recently accepted a promotion, you have decided to write a three-page memo for the new manager who will replace you. The new manager is an accountant with limited background in group communication.

Write a three-page memo based on the scenario. In this memo, draw upon both the personal and workplace experience of your Learning Team members. Refer to real-life examples to complete the following:

o Analyze barriers that may exist in group communication.o Describe techniques to overcome those barriers and enhance group

communication.o Explain the role of conflict in effective group communication.o Format paper consistent with APA guidelines

Week Four

Information Utilization and Communication

Compare different forms of communication and their use in business communications. Identify relevant information for communications with a specific audience. Create appropriate forms of communication to meet the needs of a given audience.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

Review Ch. 11 of Organizational Behavior.Read Ch. 10–12 of Business Communication: Making Connections in a Digital World.Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

2. Individual Assignment: Influencing Group Communication


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Consider the organization where you work or an organization with which you are familiar. Reflect on your professional experiences or possible professional experiences within this organization. Consider how these experiences relate to the five bases of power, which are coercive power, reward power, legitimate power, expert power, and referent power.

Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper describing the five bases of power. Indicate which power bases are formal and which are personal. How might each of these power bases affect communication in your selected group or organization?

Format your paper consistent with APA standards.

3. Learning Team Assignment: Communication and the Audience

Resources: University of Phoenix Material: Accounting ScenarioAssign each team member a different audience from the following list:

o Marketing managero Sales managero Accountant-peero Chief executive officer

Write four 250- to 350-word communiqués. Different communiqués may include a formal memo, e-mail, presentation, text message, accounting report, and so forth. Members of the team are on the accounting team for ABC Company – as either the accounting manager or staff accountant. Refer to the matrix in the Communique Scenario for roles, audience, and the purpose of the communique.

Determine which type of communiqué to send to each assigned character from the Communiqué Scenario.


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Week Five

Formal Communication

Analyze the role of ethics in business communication. Evaluate the effectiveness of a business communication.

Course Assignments

1. Readings

Read Ch. 16–17 & Appendix E of Business Communication: Making Connections in a Digital World.

Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings.

2. Individual Assignment: Evaluating Business Communication

Resources: Communiqués from the Week Four Learning Team assignmentReview the communiqués from the Week Four Learning Team assignment.Evaluate each communication to determine its effectiveness.Write a 350- to 700-word summary in which you address the following questions:

o How well did the communication convey the intended message?o Would another type of communication have been more appropriate? Why?o Is the communication at the appropriate level for the intended audience?o How did the leadership styles in the scenario affect the communication within the

group?o What changes would you recommend to improve the communiqué?o What are the ethical implications of the information being shared?o Does the communication share too much information?o Does the communication share too little information?o How does considering the ethical implications affect your evaluation?

Format Paper Consistent with APAP guidelines

3. Individual Assignment: Final Examination

Click the link to the Final Examination on your student website. The link is available from the end of Week Four through Week Five.

Complete the Final Examination. You are allowed one attempt to complete the exam, which is timed and must be completed in 3 hours. Results are autograded and sent to your instructor.

Note. Final Examination questions are adapted from Organizational Behavior, Business Communication: Making Connections in a Digital World, and Communicating in Small Groups: Principles and Practices.

As always, Please let me know if you have any questions at all about the syllabus or anything regarding the class. Thanks and I look forward to working with you all.

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