Syllabus
School of Business
BCOM/230
Business Communications for Accountants
Instructor - Ms. Jhankhana Patel
Copyright © 2010 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

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.

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.

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 the student website.

Software

Wiley’s CPA Review v. 13.0

Week One: Organizational Culture and Communication

Details
Due
Points
Objectives
1.1 Use the tools available to University of Phoenix students.
1.2 Explain the relationship between organizational culture and organizational communication.
1.3 Explain how adapting the message to the audience affects business communication.

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

Participation and Discussion Questions
Participate in class discussion.
Respond to two discussion questions.
Post a weekly summary on Sunday or Monday.

Be sure to thoroughly answer the discussion question, and respond to other student’s posts.

You are required to be active in the classroom on a minimum of three days with eight “S” posts each week. Active means, a minimum of one substantive (S) post on that given day. You may choose which days to be active, as they do not have to be consistent each week. Responses to Discussion Questions and the Weekly Summaries will count as a substantive post if it meets the substantive post requirements.

NOTE: Eight (8) substantive posts are required each week, on a minimum of three (3) days. With that said, be sure to log in and post in the Main Forum, on a minimum of three days each week, for the corresponding week’s discussion questions and weekly summary.
Any three + days you choose
9
Individual
Behavior and Communication Paper
Select one of the following organizations:

Walt Disney
Cisco Systems, Inc
Apple
Macy’s
Starbucks
Google
Southwest Airlines
US Army (or other branch of the armed services)
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 350-700 word paper based on your review and research. Complete the following in your paper:

Describe the culture of the organization.
Discuss the types of