BCOM 275 Tutorials Set 1

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 1 – WK 1

What are some ways in which receivers of messages provide feedback when listening to or reading a message? What effect does this have on the message? Provide examples.

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 2 – WK 1

Most papers in this class must be in APA format. The elements I check for in APA formatting are.

• Title page
• Page header but not Running Head
• Everything double-spaced
• Paragraph indentation
• Space after punctuation marks
• Reference list format
• In-text citations

Which of these are unclear or new to you?

Where can you go to look for help on APA formatting?

Is research required for every paper?

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 3 – WK 1

How has technology changed the communication process? Has technology changed the way people communicate in business? Provide examples.

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 1 Individual Assignment

Cite a meaningful misunderstanding rather than a general or less material misunderstanding.

Use business- or work-related examples rather than personal ones.

Identify the roles of the sender and receiver, such as manager, peer, subordinate, client, vendor, and so forth.

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 1 – WK 2

Consider the following statement: Most disagreements or differences of opinion are more often a result of faulty, misunderstood, or confusing premises, rather than faulty reason from a valid premise. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain your answer.

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 2 – WK 2

What is the best way to organize a written communication?

For example I use Say A Few Words (SAFW)

S – Start out with your idea (introduction)

A – Accentuate your idea (expand in introductory ideas)

F – For instance your ideas (research and objective evidence to support your ideas)

W – Wind up with your ideas (conclusion)

How do you do it?

Why is the introduction important in written communication?

Would this approach apply to emails?

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 3 – WK 2

What are some methods you might use to determine the reliability of the data you gather? Why is it important to analyze your data to determine if it is reliable?

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 2 Individual Assignment – Career Plan Building Activity Competencies and Career Interests Profiler

By completing  My Career Plan activities in this course, you are taking some of the first steps to creating a career plan that will help you reach your career goals.

If you need additional information, review My Career Plan Student Guide, located on the Career Plan website.

Navigate to the My Career Plan in Phoenix Career Services through the link on the student website.

Complete the Career Interests Profiler and the Career Plan Building Activity: Competencies.

You may have already completed the Career Interests Profiler during enrollment or during UNIV/100 or US/101. Your results will be saved if this is the case.

You must complete both the Career Interests Profiler and the Career Plan Building Activity: Competencies to proceed with My Career Plan in the following weeks. You may access your results at any time in My Career Plan.

Write a paper of no more than 350 words discussing the results of your Career Interests Profiler and Competencies activities.

Discuss the ways in which understanding your personal competencies will help you to improve your critical thinking skills.

How can knowing your competencies help you to evaluate arguments?

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 2 Individual Assignment – Demonstrative Communication Paper

Provide examples showing how demonstrative communication can be effective and ineffective, positive and negative, for the sender and receiver.

Explain how demonstrative communication involves listening and responding.

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 1 – WK 3

What suggestions would you offer a new employee to help them effectively communicate in your workplace when meeting face-to-face, sending an e-mail, and during a meeting?

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 2 – WK 3

What would be the most effective channel to communicate with your boss? Why is this? Why are other channels less effective?

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 3 – WK 3

You are writing a paper on effective communication. Write the introduction and cite a resource you might use to develop your paper.

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 3 Individual Assignment – Article Rebuttal

Analyze the reliability, credibility, and validity of the data used by the author.

Identify any logical fallacies in the argument.

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 3 Individual Assignment – Career Plan Building Activity Work Culture Preferences

Navigate to the My Career Plan in Phoenix Career Services through the link on the student website.

Complete the Career Plan Building Activity: Work Culture Preferences.

Note. Access to Career Plan Building Activity: Work Culture Preferences is only available after you complete the Career Plan Building Activity: Competencies.

Write a paper of no more than 350 words discussing the results of your Career Plan Building Activity: Work Culture Preferences.

Reflect on your results.

How can knowing your ideal work culture help you in determining appropriate channels for communication?

What do your results tell you about how you communicate? What steps will you take to improve the quality of your messages?

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 3 Learning Team – Career Plan Building Activity (Work Culture Preferences)

Create an outline for the Debate Paper that will be used to write the paper. Include all references to be used in the paper.

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 1 – WK 4

What different persuasive approaches would you use on the following audiences: a boss, a peer, a challenging person, or an open-minded person? Why would your approach differ?

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 2 – WK 4

What is the difference between persuasion and manipulation? How do arguments and language affect the difference?

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 3 – WK 4

Consider the list titled “In Depth: Critical Thinking, The Long Version” in Ch.1 of Critical Thinking. What do you consider to be the most important points? Why do you think this?

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 4 Individual Assignment – Career Plan Building Activity (Reasoning Aptitude)

Complete the Career Plan Building Activity: Reasoning Aptitude.

Write a paper of no more than 350 words discussing the results of your Career Plan Building Activity: Reasoning Aptitude.

What do your results tell you about your individual thinking style or your thought process range?

How might your thinking style influence your approach to arguments?

How might persuasive communication help you in your career?

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 4 Individual Assignment – Knowing Your Audience Paper

Individual Knowing Your Audience Paper and Communication Release

Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper using this and other articles as a resource. Because communications must be designed with the audience in mind, answer the following questions:

What are some considerations to remember given the different roles and people in the audience?

What would be the potential needs of the families of the miners in receiving a message about this incident?

What would be the potential needs of the company’s employees when receiving a message about this incident?

What actions must you take before and after the message is delivered to ensure that it was received as intended?

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 1 – WK 5

How did the career plan building activities and the content of this course apply to your career plan?

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 2 – WK 5

Should bloggers have the same ethical standards as news media journalists? How could blogging ethical standards be enforced. What about social media?

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 3 – WK 5

How might cultural differences in India, Japan or Chile affect the way the arguments in your Week 5 debate paper should be presented?

BCOM 275 Version 2 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 5 Learning Team – Debate Paper

Introduction: Introduce the issue that is the subject of the debate

Body

Include a minimum of two but no more than four arguments for the pro and con sides of the debate.

Evaluate any potential ethical, moral, or legal issues.

Cite specific career competencies that are helpful or can be used in debate.

Conclusion

Identify the team’s determination of the more persuasive argument.

Reflect on the arguments presented and reveal the team’s consensus.

Base the conclusion solely on the pro and con arguments.

Include a rebuttal of weaker arguments.

Explain why the selected arguments were more persuasive.

BCOM 275 Tutorials Set 2

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 1 – WK 1 Question:

Which step in the communication process do you consider to be the most important? Why do you think this? Which of these steps is the most uncomfortable for you? Why is this? How might you work to change this?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 2 – WK 1

How has technology changed the communication process? Has technology changed the way people communicate in business? Provide examples

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 3 – WK 1

What are some ways in which senders might receive feedback from their messages? How might this feedback affect the sender and the message? Why is this important?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ4 – WK 1

What are some ways in which receivers of messages provide feedback when listening to or reading a message? What effect does this have on the message? Provide examples.

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 1 Communication Process Model Chart

The Purpose of Week 1’s Individual Assignment is to provide an opportunity to work with and

apply this week’s concepts. In addition to applying the basics of communication and the

process, it also entails some basic critical thinking in citing misunderstandings, which may

reflect a lack of or invalid critical thinking. Working with ineffective communication is a useful

way of learning what is effective

Complete Exercise 1.1 from Ch. 1, on page 23 of Communicating in the Workplace.

Choose two misunderstandings you experienced, depicted as a 2 or 3 column chart, and

populate the chart answering the following questions.

See exercise for questions and your response should include the following:

• Cite a meaningful misunderstanding rather than a general misunderstanding.
• Use business- or work-related examples rather than personal ones.
• Identify the roles of the sender and receiver, such as manager, peer, subordinate,

client, vendor, and so forth

Use the APA format for all individual assignment, which contains 3 parts

(1) first sheet is your introduction page that must contain: your name, assignment

title, date and Dr. Linda Vallejo

(2) second page is the exercise 1.1 is a 2 column chart, cut n paste the questions

within the first column and answer the questions on the 2nd column

(3) the last page contains 3 or more references.

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 1 Weekly Summary

1.     What are the 3 most important things you learned during the week? Include an explanation & definition of each of these three (3) learning’s

(This will include the assignments, articles, discussions, postings, etc.)

Does this week’s class material apply to your work environment? If so how & why?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 1 – WK 2

Consider the following statement: Most disagreements or differences of opinion are more often a result of faulty, misunderstood, or confusing premises, rather than faulty reason from a valid premise. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain your answer

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 2 – WK 2

Ch. 5 & 6 of Critical Thinking cover fallacies and rhetoric.

What are two examples of persuasion that are not valid arguments according to the text?

Why are these invalid arguments?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 3 – WK 2

What are some methods you might use to determine the reliability of the data you gather?

Why is it important to analyze your data to determine if it is reliable?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 4 – WK 2

What are some reasons you might consider data or information to lack validity, credibility, or reliability?

Explain your answer by using examples

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 2 Career Plan Activity Comp & Career Profiler

Individual Career Plan Building Activity: Competencies and Career Interests Profiler

By completing My Career Plan activities in this course, you are taking some of the first steps

to creating a career plan that will help you reach your career goals.

If you need additional information, review My Career Plan Student Guide, located on the

Career Plan website.

Navigate to the My Career Plan in Phoenix Career Services through the link on the student

website.

Complete the Career Interests Profiler and the Career Plan Building Activity: Competencies.

You may have already completed the Career Interests Profiler during enrollment or during

UNIV/100 or US/101. Your results will be saved if this is the case.

You must complete both the Career Interests Profiler and the Career Plan Building Activity:

Competencies to proceed with My Career Plan in the following weeks. You may access

your results at any time in My Career Plan. Write a paper of no more than 350 words discussing the results of your Career Interests

Profiler and Competencies activities.

Discuss the ways in which understanding your personal competencies will help you to

improve your critical thinking skills.

How can knowing your competencies help you to evaluate arguments?

Note. If you have already completed this Career Activity, please use your results to fulfill this

Assignment.

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 2 Individual Paper: Demonstrative Communication Paper

Students are to address the concept of demonstrative communication and its importance to

the entire communication process through the Individual Assignment

Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper describing demonstrative communication. Demonstrative

communication includes nonverbal and unwritten communication and involves such things as

facial expressions, tone of voice, body language, and so forth. Include the following elements

in your paper:

• Provide examples showing how demonstrative communication can be effective and

ineffective, positive and negative, for the sender and receiver.

• Explain how demonstrative communication involves listening and responding. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 2 Weekly Summary

1. What are the 3 most important things you learned during the week? Include an explanation & definition of each of these three (3) learning’s

   (This will include the assignments, articles, discussions, postings, etc.)

   2.   Does this week’s class material apply to your work and/or personal environment? If so how & why?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 1 – WK 3

What would be the most effective channel to communicate with your boss? Why is this? Why are other channels less effective?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 2 – WK 3

What do you consider to be the most important features of an effective communication? Explain your choices.

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 3 – WK 3

You are preparing to write a formal report to be presented to the management at your workplace. What are some potential needs for the audience that you should be aware of when writing the report? What are the risks of not considering the needs of the audience?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 4 – WK 3

What suggestions would you offer a new employee to help them effectively communicate in your workplace when meeting face-to-face, sending an e-mail, and during a meeting?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 3 Individual paper Article Rebuttal

Locate an article on a controversial subject where the author makes an argument you do not

agree with.

Write a 350- to 700-word rebuttal to the article using valid arguments and supporting data. In

the rebuttal, offer an analysis in which you do the following:

• Analyze the reliability, credibility, and validity of the data used by the author.
• Identify any logical fallacies in the argument.

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 3 Individual Career Plan Building Activity: Work Culture Preferences

Navigate to the My Career Plan in Phoenix Career Services through the link on the student

website.

Complete the Career Plan Building Activity: Work Culture Preferences.

Note. Access to Career Plan Building Activity: Work Culture Preferences is only available after

you complete the Career Plan Building Activity: Competencies.

Write a paper of no more than 350 words discussing the results of your Career Plan Building

Activity: Work Culture Preferences.

Reflect on your results.

How can knowing your ideal work culture help you in determining appropriate channels for

communication?

What do your results tell you about how you communicate? What steps will you take to

improve the quality of your messages?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 3 Learning Team Assignment

Learning Team Debate Paper Outline

The purpose of Week 3’s Learning Team Assignment is to provide students with the

opportunity to organize resources and obtain feedback prior to submitting the final paper in

Week 5. The outline debate paper includes and exhibits many of the issues in the course—

formulating and presenting valid arguments, awareness of an audience, use of a paper as a

communication channel, critical thinking by being able to see and argue both sides of an

issue, and the ability to express the arguments and rebuttals with appropriate and persuasive

language.

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 3 Weekly Summary

(1) What are the 3 most important things you learned during the week? Include an explanation & definition of each of these three (3) learning’s

(2) Does this week’s class material apply to your work environment? If so how & why?

(This will include the assignments, articles, discussions, postings, etc.)

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 1 – WK 4

What different persuasive approaches would you use on the following audiences: a boss, a peer, a challenging person, or an open-minded person? Why would your approach differ?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 2 – WK 4

Consider the list titled “In Depth: Critical Thinking, The Long Version” in Ch.1 of Critical Thinking.

What do you consider to be the most important points? Why do you think this is?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 3 – WK 4

What is the difference between persuasion and manipulation? How do arguments and language affect the difference?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 4 – WK 4

What keys or tips can raise suspicion about the validity of arguments, presented verbally and in writing? Share specific examples.

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 4 Individual Career Plan Building Activity: Reasoning Aptitude

Navigate to the My Career Plan in Phoenix Career Services through the link on the student

website.

Complete the Career Plan Building Activity: Reasoning Aptitude.

Write a paper of no more than 350 words discussing the results of your Career Plan Building

Activity: Reasoning Aptitude.

What do your results tell you about your individual thinking style or your thought process

range?

How might your thinking style influence your approach to arguments?

How might persuasive communication help you in your career?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 4 Individual Assignment – Knowing Your Audience Paper

Knowing Your Audience Paper and Communication Release

There are 2 parts to the Week 4 Individual Paper

The paper is to be written using the resource: “Over 30 Workers Trapped After Chilean Copper

Mine Collapse” article found in the Electronic Reserve Readings.

(A) Research additional articles and information about the Chilean mine collapse.

the Chilean Copper Mine Collapse story and other articles as a resource.

Because communications must be designed with the audience in mind answer the following

questions:

• What are some considerations to remember given the different roles and people in the

audience?

• What would be the potential needs of the families of the miners in receiving a message

about this incident?

• What would be the potential needs of the company’s employees when receiving a message

about this incident? What actions must you take before and after the message is delivered to ensure that it was

received as intended?

Format the paper consistent with APA guidelines.

(B) Draft two communications about the mining company announcing the accident, using what

you have learned about the audience and effective messages. (1) One communication

should be directed to the families of the trapped miners and (2) the other is an internal

news release to employees in the company.

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 4 Learning Team Collaborative Discussion

Laws allow employers to fire employees for: Misusing communication resources that are

provided for company use, including inappropriate use of email and/or the Internet.

In the Learning Team forum discuss as a group an event (past, current, and/or personal

experience) that applies to the misuse of your company’s communication resources and write

a short 200-350 words of the Team’s collaborative discussion. Include references if applicable

BCOM 275 Week 4 Weekly Summary

(1) What are the 3 most important things you learned during the week? Include an explanation & definition of each of these three (3) learning’s

(2) Does this week’s class material apply to your work environment? If so how & why?

(This will include the assignments, articles, discussions, postings, etc.)

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 1 – WK 5

Consider the following: Some Pacific islander tribes expect the elderly or infirm to leave the group and go off on their own to die. Provide your view of this practice by providing arguments that consider cultural diversity.

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 2 – WK 5

You are a journalist for an up-and-coming online news website. You are inadvertently given some information that you know would increase your website’s popularity, but could potentially compromise national security. How might you handle the story? Explain your decision.

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 3 – WK 5

As a manager for a large, multinational corporation, you travel around the world to different countries giving presentations and conducting meetings. You always try to include humor as an icebreaker. What potential barriers could you face when delivering your presentation in the United States, China, the United Kingdom, and India? Are you able to give the same presentation in all four locations? Why do you think this?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

DQ 4 – WK 5

Is it possible for a communication to convey a message that is legal, but ethically wrong?

Is it possible for a message to be ethical, but not legal? Explain your answers and provide an example.

BCOM 275 Week 5 Weekly Summary

(1) What are the 3 most important things you learned during the week? Include an explanation & definition of each of these three (3) learning’s

(2) Does this week’s class material apply to your work environment? If so how & why?

(This will include the assignments, articles, discussions, postings, etc.)

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 5 Individual Career Plan Reflection Paper

Write a reflection paper no more than 350 words based on the Career Plan Building

Activities completed throughout this course. In the paper, consider the following area:

How does this course apply to your career plan?

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 5 Learning Team Debate Paper

The paper is to exhibit many of the issues in this Communication Course by formulating and

presenting valid arguments, awareness of an audience, use of a paper as a communication

channel, critical thinking that includes an argue both sides of an issue, and expresses the

arguments and rebuttals with appropriate and persuasive language. In addition, the paper

shall include a Cultural Evaluation.

There are 2 parts to the Learning Team Debate Paper (LTDP) 2 Points are earned for Part 2

• a 1,750 – 2,100 word paper focusing on current events or other controversial topics and

provides an analysis of arguments presented for both sides and

• a 350-500 word cultural evaluation and

address the following items in the LTDP:

• Introduction: Introduce the issue that is the subject of the debate Body
• Include a minimum of two but no more than four arguments for the pro and con sides

of the debate.

• Evaluate any potential ethical, moral, or legal issues.
• Conclusion
• Identify the team’s determination of the more persuasive argument.
• Reflect on the arguments presented and reveal the team’s consensus.
• Base the conclusion solely on the pro and con arguments.
• Include a rebuttal of weaker arguments.
• Explain why the selected arguments were more persuasive.

BCOM 275 Business Communications and Critical Thinking

BCOM 275 Week 5 TEAM EVALUATION

Use the Learning Team Evaluation form to evaluate each of your team members performance.