COM 623, Organizational Communication
Syllabus
Fall 2007

Required Resources

• Harris, T.E., & Nelson, M.D. (2008). Applied Organizational Communication, 3rd ed. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Outside readings and activities will be assigned from the Web and library resources throughout the semester.

Course Overview
Description
In COM 623, we will read, analyze, discuss and write about major theories and processes of organizational communication. COM 623 is a core course in the communication M.A. for students specializing in organizational/intercultural communication. The catalog description reads: Communication theory/research applied to formal organizations; assessments of strengths and weaknesses of organizational communications systems.

A handful of students who I have talked to about this class are preparing for the organizational communication area examination as part of their progress in the interdisciplinary doctoral program in communication and information sciences. You'll notice a media/technology slant to the readings. This reflects my sense of student interests, current trends in the field, and my own academic background.

We will learn about the following:

• communication as a central process in organizations
• classical theories of organizational communication
• applied contemporary organizational theory
• organizational culture
• use of information technologies in organizational contexts

Objectives
Success in this course means you will:

1. write well about perspectives of organizational communication
2. orally discuss perspectives of organizational communication
3. analyze organizational communication processes
4. apply organizational communication concepts to your own experience in organizations
5. apply organizational communication theory to your academic interests (e.g., research project development or preparation for area exams)
6. offer informed critique of organizational communication practices
7. explore your scholarly and professional options in organizational communication

Expectations 
Your final grade will be based on weekly writing, class participation, a midterm exam, a term paper and in-class presentations.

Final Grade Requirements
A = 90-100% 
B = 80-89% 
C = 70-79% 
D = 60-69% 
F = Below 60% 

Grading Weight

Weekly writing	30%
Participation & attendance	20%
Exam	20%
Term paper (written audit or review)	20%
Oral presentation	10%

Weekly Writing (30%)
Primary Objectives: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6

By noon on each Wednesday starting August 29 and ending November 7, you're required to e-mail me a written response (about 500 words or so should be plenty) in which you discuss and react to the assigned reading material for that week. Here's what I'll look for in the response e-mail:

• Grammar and style. Poorly constructed sentences can be an obstacle to meeting all the criteria that follow.
• Clarity. These short writing assignments can be written in a conversational tone, but clarity is key. Clear writing reflects clear thinking.
• Evidence that you've read the material carefully. I don't expect you to respond to each and every point made in each assigned reading, but an e-mail that lacks any meaningful reference to at least some of the more subtle details of the assigned readings will make me wonder.
• Application. Are you able to apply the concepts you've learned to real-world events, including your own experiences?
• Evidence that you've thought critically about the material. While it should be clear from reading your e-mail that you're familiar with the material as it was presented, don't forget the "response" part. This is where your informed opinion counts, and where you get to show off those critical thinking skills. Keep in mind that critical thinking doesn't necessarily mean negative thinking.

Participation and Attendance (20%)
Primary Objectives: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The participation portion of your grade will reflect your contributions as an individual and as a member of the class as a whole. Your participation in class discussions should reflect your reading and preparation. Here are some examples. Of course, many combinations of factors are possible. These are only examples.

Participation Grade	Example
20	perfect attendance in class; regularly made resourceful and constructive comments in class discussions that reflected reading, preparation and a solid understanding of the material covered; always prepared to make connections between required readings and outside literature, research projects, etc.
18	good attendance, participated regularly in class, clearly kept up with reading
16	good attendance, getting a little behind on the reading at times made it hard for this student to get involved in discussions of more advanced concepts
14	good attendance and participation, but didn't seem to take non-graded assignments and deadlines very seriously
12	attendance issues, often seemed unprepared

Midterm Exam (20%)
Primary Objectives: 1, 3, 5

This will be an open-book, open-note exam in class on November 14. Laptops or handwritten responses are welcome. Basically, the exam will include a few open-ended questions or scenarios that will serve as prompts. Your job will be to respond to the prompts by choosing appropriate concepts and theories covered in class and applying those.

Term Paper (30% = 20% written plus 10% oral)
Choose one of two options: a communication audit or a topic-oriented theoretical review.

• Communication Audit. The communication audit option requires you to get (or already have) access to a real organization, to study first-hand its internal and external communications and to report your findings and recommendations in writing. The oral presentation part of the assignment should simulate a business presentation to organizational management highlighting your recommendations and reasoning behind those recommendations. Primary Objectives: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7
• Theoretical Review. The topic-oriented theoretical review should cover theories and research that can be used to better understand and practice organizational communication using some form(s) of information and communication technology (ICT). This paper will require APA style. The paper should basically answer the following question: "What does theory and research tell us about [insert your ICT interests here] and organizational communication?" This paper should be useful for those preparing for area examinations in the CIS Ph.D. program. The oral part of this assignment is for you to teach a 15-minute lesson on your topic. The lesson need not be as theoretically detailed as the paper. Primary Objectives: 1, 2, 5, 7

Seeking Help
This course should provide a great learning experience for all of us. The success of the course depends largely on effective student-teacher interaction. Don't feel like you have to have a pressing problem to talk to me. I look forward to hearing your input. I'll be available during my office hours unless announced otherwise. Of course, I'm often in and available at times not posted as office hours. Generally, I'll leave my office door open if I'm available. If my door is closed, that either means I'm out or that I'm in but working on deadline or getting ready for class. In any case, we can set an appointment if that works better.

Special Accommodations
Students requiring special accommodations must notify me and present appropriate supporting documentation by the end of the second week of class.

Academic Honesty
Academic dishonesty of any sort will not be tolerated. I take plagiarism very seriously. Please see me if you have any questions about academic honesty, and I'll be happy to discuss such issues in advance of you submitting your work.

Preliminary Class Timeline 
This should give you a general overview of what we'll cover. Additional readings, speakers and assignments may be added as we go. Make sure you get the text book right away. All the journal articles listed below should be available online, but most will require logging in via the UH libraries databases to gain access. Learning to navigate the databases is an important part of this course.

Class Days	General Topics	Assignments and readings
August 22		Review syllabus and handout by 8/22.
August 29	Trends affecting org com (global, cultural, digital); communication as a process	Database dig. Make sure you can access all the readings listed below. In most cases, you'll start with the UHM Libraries web page. Chapter 1 Jones, E., Watson, B., Gardner, J., Gallois, C. (2004). Organizational communication: Challenges for the new century. Journal of Communication, 54, 722-750.
Sept 5	Paradigms, perceptions	Chapter 2 Kuhn, T. (1996). The structure of scientific revolutions. (3rd ed.) Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (ON RESERVE: Read Chapters 2 &3.)
Sept 12	Classical and humanistic foundations, organizational cultures	Chapter 3 Hofstede, G. (1994, April). Business cultures. UNESCO Courier, 47, p. 12.
Sept 19	Verbal; written and oral communication, information richness	Chapter 4 Rice, R.E., D'Ambra, J., & More, E. (1998). Cross-cultural comparison of organizational media evaluation and choice. Journal of Communication 48 (3), 3–26.
Sept 26	Nonverbal interaction	Chapter 5 Burgoon, J.K., Bonito, J.A., Ramirez, A., Dunbar, N.E., Kam, K., & Fischer, J. (2002). Testing the interactivity principle: Effects of mediation, propinquity, and verbal and nonverbal modalities in interpersonal interaction. Journal of Communication 52, 657–677.
Oct 3	Networks and channels	Chapter 6 Haythornthwaite, C. (2002). Strong, weak, and latent ties and the impact of new media. Information Society, 18, 385-401.
Oct 10	Symbolic behavior, organizational identification	Chapter 7 Wiesenfeld, B.M., Raghuram, S., & Garud, R. (1998) Communication patterns as determinants of organizational identification in a virtual organization. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 3 (4). Available online at http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol3/issue4/wiesenfeld.html .
Oct 17	Interpersonal communication, CMC, conflict	Chapter 9 Oetzel, J.G., Myers, K. K., Meares, M. M., & Lara, E. (2003). Interpersonal conflict in organizations: Explaining conflict styles via face-negotiation theory. Communication Research Reports, 20, 106-115. [Not online: Go to Hamilton Library, Call Number: P87 .C675]
Oct 24	Small group communication, dispersed teams	Chapter 10 Walther, J. B., & Bunz, U. (2005). The rules of virtual groups: Trust, liking, and performance in computer-mediated communication. Journal of Communication, 55 (4), 828-846.
Oct 31	Leadership, performance, satisfaction, communities of practice	Chapter 11 Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W.M. (2002), Cultivating Communities of Practice. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. (ON RESERVE: Read Chapters 1 & 6.)
Nov 7	Adopting new communication technology	Chapter 12 Venkatesh, V., Morris, M. G., Davis, G. B., & Davis, F. D. (2003). User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view. MIS Quarterly, 27, 425-478
Nov 14	Exam	Review for exam
Nov 21	Work session for term-papers, peer discussion and editing	Rough draft
Nov 28	Student presentations
Dec 5	Student presentations	Term paper due