Course Lecturer Name(s): Dr. Antonia MacDonald, Mrs. Leonie St. Juste, Miss Annie Gill, Dr. Reccia Charles
Course Director Name: Dr. Antonia MacDonald
Course Lecturer(s) Contact Information: amacdona@sgu.edu
Course Director Contact Information: amacdona@sgu.edu
Course Lecturer(s) Office Hours: By appointment only
Course Director Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Course Lecturer(s) Office Location: Ground Floor, Ballsier Building; Top floor, Windward Hall
Course Director Office Location: Ground Floor, Ballsier Building
Course Support: Miss Nichole Phillip, nphillip2@sgu.edu, ext. 3823
Course Management tool: To learn to use Sakai, the Course management tool, access the link https://apps.sgu.edu/members.nsf/mycoursesintro.pdf
Course Description:
This course is an introduction to communication in organizations. It exposes students to relevant communication theories, and to issues of ethics, leadership, teamwork, diversity, global organizations, and technologies. It focuses on how effectively human communication generates success within organizations, and across various contexts, cultures, channels and media.
Course Objectives: This course:
- Focuses on communication as a process and skill that can help individuals and their organizations gain competitive advantage.
- Introduces students to contemporary philosophies, methods and designs for studying the communication systems within organizations of varying sizes.
- Exposes students to organizational needs assessment and to a variety of the methods available for improving communication in organizations.
- Addresses the more sensitive and challenging issues facing managers and employees in their efforts to communicate with each other.
- Teaches students the techniques and specifications of group communication and relationships between the leader and members.
- develop in students the values and ethics, professional attitudes and personal skills needed for their preparation as good communicators in the organization.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- Compare and contrast major theories of organizational communication.
- Describe the major functions of communication in organizations
- Discuss the impact of technology on organizational change and employee empowerment.
- Define corporate culture, leadership, teamwork, diversity, and ethics, and discuss how they impact organizational communication.
- Describe the various forms of communicative relationships within organizational networks and the functions that they serve
- Understand the relation between communication practices and culture and how this can affect the organizational communication
- Discuss and practice decision-making and conflict-management processes utilized in organizations
- Identify effective means of transparency and disclosure in organizations.
- Identify effective means of crisis communication in organizations
Program Outcomes Met By This Course:
GEPO – 1: Effectively communicate information by extracting and constructing meanings through analysis and critical thinking.
GEPO -2 : Ability to demonstrate knowledge and skills related to communication issues in a social, cultural, political and environmental context.
SAS Grading Scale: Grades will be assigned as follows:
A = 89.5% or better
B+ = 84.5 - 89.4%
B = 79.5 - 84.4%
C+ = 74.5 - 79.4%
C = 69.5 - 74.4%
D = 64.5 - 69.4%
F = 64.4% or less
Course Materials:
Text: No text assigned
Supplementary Readings/Resources:
Where appropriate, additionally material will be provided in lectures, or will be placed in a Reading Folder on Sakai or tap here to enter text.
Course Grading Requirement:
Continuous assessment [ group work]: ( 4 Milestones) – 50 marks.
Midterm exam – 25 marks
Final exams – 25 marks
TOTAL = 100 marks
Course Requirements:
Students will be required to:
- be prepared for class by doing the necessary readings
- contribute thoughtful ideas to class discussions and engage in constructive debate
- conduct themselves in ways that are appropriate to a respectful academic environment
- be respectful of the opinions of others
- be responsible team-members
Course Schedule:
This is a draft schedule and may be subject to change
Week 1
- Course Overview
- TOPIC: Communication Theory
- INSTRUCTOR: Dr. MacDonald
Week 2
- TOPIC: Management Theory and its Impact on the Flow of Communication
- GUEST INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Anthony Andall
- CLASS ACTIVITY: Opening Date for Milestone #1
Week 3
- TOPIC: Writing Principles for Effective Communication
- INSTRUCTOR: Miss Annie Gill
Week 4
- TOPIC: Current technological trends affecting Organizational Communication
- GUEST INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Avril Best
- CLASS ACTIVITY: Due date for Milestone #1
Week 5
- TOPIC: Non Verbal Communication
- INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Antonia MacDonald
Week 6
- TOPIC: Communication Networks: Structures and Group Dynamics Leadership, team management and communication
- INSTRUCTOR: Dr. MacDonald
- CLASS ACTIVITY: Milestone # 2 – In-class Group Activity
Week 7
- TOPIC: Interpersonal Communication: The impact of Race, Class and Gender
- INSTRUCTOR: Dr. MacDonald
- CLASS ACTIVITY: Opening Date for Milestone # 3
Week 8
- MID TERM WEEK - Midterm EXAM
Week 9
- TOPIC: Intercultural Communication
- INSTRUCTOR: Mrs. Leonie St. Juste, Dr. Reccia Charles,
Week 10
- TOPIC: Appreciating Cultural Diversity
- INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Reccia Charles, Mrs.Leonie St. Juste
- CLASS ACTIVITY: Due date for Milestone #3
Week 11
- TOPIC: Decision making and Problem-solving
- INSTRUCTOR: Dr. MacDonald
- CLASS ACTIVITY: assigned Opening Date for Milestone # 4
Week 12
- TOPIC: Transparency
- INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Charles
Week 13
- TOPIC: Disclosure
- INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Charles
Week 14
- TOPIC: Public Communication
- INSTRUCTOR: Miss Gill
Week 15
- TOPIC: Public Communication INSTRUCTOR: Miss Gill
- CLASS ACTIVITY : Due date for Milestone #4 - Group Presentations.
Week 16
- WEEK OF FINAL EXAMS
School of Arts and Sciences Master Syllabi — Info for All Sections
Academic Integrity
The St. George’s University Student Manual (2019/2020) states as follows:
“Plagiarism is regarded as a cardinal offense in academia because it constitutes theft of the work of someone else, which is then purported as the original work of the plagiarist. Plagiarism draws into disrepute the credibility of the Institution, its faculty, and students; therefore, it is not tolerated” (p. 48).
Plagiarism also includes the unintentional copying or false accreditation of work, so double check your assignments BEFORE you hand them in.
Be sure to do good, honest work, credit your sources and reference accordingly and adhere to the University’s Honor Code. Plagiarism and cheating will be dealt with very seriously following the university’s policies on Plagiarism as outlined in the Student Manual.
Your work may be subject to submission to plagiarism detection software, submission to this system means that your work automatically becomes part of that database and can be compared with the work of your classmates.
The St. George’s University Student Manual (2019/2020) states as follows:
“Students are expected to attend all classes and or clinical rotations for which they have registered. Although attendance may not be recorded at every academic activity, attendance may be taken randomly. Students’ absence may adversely affect their academic status as specified in the grading policy. If absence from individual classes, examinations, and activities, or from the University itself is anticipated, or occurs spontaneously due to illness or other extenuating circumstances, proper notification procedures must be followed. A particular course may define additional policies regarding specific attendance or participation” (p. 9).
The St. George’s University Student Manual (2019/2020) states as follows:
“All matriculated students are expected to attend all assigned academic activities for each course currently registered. Medical excuses will be based on self-reporting by students. Students who feel they are too sick to take an examination or other required activity on a specific day must submit the online SAS medical excuse, which is available on Carenage. Students are only allowed two such excuses a year. Upon consultation with the Director of University Health Service, the third excuse will result in a mandatory medical leave of absence. The policies regarding make-up examinations are at the option of the Course Director” (p.46).
For additional specific examination policies and procedures, refer to the St. George’s University Student Manual (2019/2020), pages 31 through 37.
The St. George’s University Student Manual (2019/2020) states as follows:
“A student with a disability or disabling condition that affects one or more major life activities, who would like to request an accommodation, must submit a completed application form and supporting documentation to the Student Accessibility and Accommodation Services (SAAS) located in the Dean of Students Office. It is highly recommended that students applying for accommodations do so at least one month before classes begin to allow for a more efficient and timely consideration of the request. If a fully completed application is not submitted in a timely fashion, an eligibility determination may not be made, and accommodations, where applicable, may not be granted prior to the commencement of classes and/or examinations” (p. 8).
It is the responsibility of the student to read and understand the policies, laws, rules and procedures that while they could affect your grade for a course, have not been specifically outlined in the course syllabus. These are contained in the St. George’s University Student Manual.