Strategic communication course Note: do first assignment 1; 1 and 1; 2 priorities for NEXT week due on TUSDAY Discussion 2.1: Planning Messages (one page) Please use the class discussion forum titled "Week Two Discussion" to answer the following question: Some writers argue that planning messages wastes time because they inevitably change their plans as they go along. Based on your understanding of planning, writing, and completing business messages, how would you respond to this argument? Explain and substantiate your points with relevant examples or illustrations. Discussion 4.1: Ethical Issues ( one page) Please use the class discussion forum titled "Week Four Discussion" to answer the questions: 1. If you were writing a troubleshooting report to help management decide how to reduce quality problems at a manufacturing plant, what ethical issues might you face? 2. How might these ethical issues conflict with your need to report all the relevant facts and to offer evidence for your conclusions? Explain your position. Discussion 4.2: More Ethical Issues ( one page) Please use the class discussion forum titled "Week Four Discussion" to answer the following questions: If a company receives a solicited proposal from a management consulting firm, is it ethical for the company to adopt the recommendations discussed in the proposal even though the company does not hire the submitting firm? Why or why not? Journals: you can get some info as well. Business Communication Quarterly The Journal of Business Communication The Journal of Business and Technical Communication Journal of Strategic Business Communication Journal of Communication Howard Journal of Communication Communication Theory Communication, Culture & Critique Critical Studies in Media Studies Strategic communication course Note: do first assignment 1;1 and 1;2 priority for this week due on friday ASSIGNMENT 1:1 Business Etiquette (2 pages no response) Submit a two (2) page report on the following: 1. Potential customers frequently visit your production facility before making purchase decisions. You and the people who report to you in the sales department have received extensive training in etiquette issues because you deal with high-profile clients so often. However, the rest of the workforce has not received such training, and you worry that someone might inadvertently say or do something that would offend one of these potential customers. Provide at least a 1-page report explaining to the general manager why you think anyone who might come in contact with customers should receive basic etiquette training. 2. Choose a specific country, such as India, Portugal, Bolivia, Thailand, or Nigeria, with which you are not familiar. Research the culture and provide at least a 1-page report explaining what a U.S. manager would need to know about concepts of personal space and rules of social behavior in order to conduct business successfully in that country. Assignment 1.2 Harley –Davidso.

1. Strategic communication course
Note: do first assignment 1; 1 and 1; 2 priorities for NEXT
week due on TUSDAY
Discussion 2.1: Planning Messages (one page)
Please use the class discussion forum titled "Week Two
Discussion" to answer the following question:
Some writers argue that planning messages wastes time because
they inevitably change their plans as they go along. Based on
your understanding of planning, writing, and completing
business messages, how would you respond to this argument?
Explain and substantiate your points with relevant examples or
illustrations.
Discussion 4.1: Ethical Issues ( one page)
Please use the class discussion forum titled "Week Four
Discussion" to answer the questions:
1. If you were writing a troubleshooting report to help
management decide how to reduce quality problems at a
manufacturing plant, what ethical issues might you face?
2. How might these ethical issues conflict with your need to
report all the relevant facts and to offer evidence for your
conclusions? Explain your position.
Discussion 4.2: More Ethical Issues ( one page)
Please use the class discussion forum titled "Week Four
Discussion" to answer the following questions:
If a company receives a solicited proposal from a management
consulting firm, is it ethical for the company to adopt the
recommendations discussed in the proposal even though the
company does not hire the submitting firm? Why or why not?
Journals: you can get some info as well.
Business Communication Quarterly

2. The Journal of Business Communication
The Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Journal of Strategic Business Communication
Journal of Communication
Howard Journal of Communication
Communication Theory
Communication, Culture & Critique
Critical Studies in Media Studies
Strategic communication course
Note: do first assignment 1;1 and 1;2 priority for this week due
on friday
ASSIGNMENT 1:1 Business Etiquette (2 pages no response)
Submit a two (2) page report on the following:
1. Potential customers frequently visit your production facility
before making purchase decisions. You and the people who
report to you in the sales department have received extensive
training in etiquette issues because you deal with high-profile
clients so often. However, the rest of the workforce has not
received such training, and you worry that someone might
inadvertently say or do something that would offend one of
these potential customers. Provide at least a 1-page report
explaining to the general manager why you think anyone who
might come in contact with customers should receive basic
etiquette training.
2. Choose a specific country, such as India, Portugal, Bolivia,
Thailand, or Nigeria, with which you are not familiar. Research
the culture and provide at least a 1-page report explaining what
a U.S. manager would need to know about concepts of personal
space and rules of social behavior in order to conduct business
successfully in that country.

3. Assignment 1.2 Harley –Davidson Case study (one page (no
response)
Read the Harley-Davidson Cruises Toward Team-Based
Management case study. Then, submit a one (1) page report
answering the following questions:
1. Why are companies such as Harley-Davidson switching to
team-based management?
2. How can smaller operating units be helpful in responding to
competition?
3. What kinds of problems would you expect work groups or
teams to experience when they form to make decisions?
Assignment 2.1 Claim letter ( one page letter no responses)
Choose an incident from your own experience and write a claim
letter, asking for a refund, repair, replacement, or other
adjustment. You will need to include all the details of the
transaction, plus include your contact address and phone
number (this can be fabricated). If you cannot think of such an
experience, make up details for an imaginary situation. Please
note that claim-writing skills are important in business
transactions; therefore, choose your words carefully.
· Using the Three-Step Writing Process outlined in this week's
lecture content, formulate a one (1) page claim letter. You may
include graphics to explain and support your conclusions
Assignment 2.2 Trends in tuition coast ( two pages no
responses)
Are tuition costs going up, going down, or remaining the same?
Your college's administration has asked you to compare your
college's tuition costs with those of a nearby college and
determine which has risen more quickly. Research the trend by
checking your college's annual tuition costs for each of the most
recent four years. Then research the four-year tuition trends for
a neighboring college. For both colleges, calculate the
percentage change in tuition costs from year to year and

4. between the first and fourth years.
· Using the Three-Step Writing Process outlined in this week's
lecture content, prepare an informal one to two-page report (in
letter format) as if you were presenting your findings and
conclusions to the president of your college. You may include
graphics to explain and support your conclusions.
ASSIGNMET 3.1 Strategic Planning ( ONE PAGES NO
RESPONSE)
Identify a company in any industry that interests you. Imagine
you are doing strategic planning for this firm, and identify one
of your company's key competitors. Search through social media
sources (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc) to find three (3)
strategically relevant pieces of information about this
competitor, such as the hiring of a new executive, the launch of
a major new product, or a significant problem of some kind.
1. State the three pieces of information you found and the
sources.
2. Re-state each of the three pieces of information in a positive
way in 140 characters or less.
3. Re-state each of the three pieces of information in a negative
way in 140 characters or less.
For more information on writing in 140 characters or less (in

5. the style of Twitter or SMS messages), refer to: How to Write in
140 Characters or Less
ASSIGNMENT 3; 2 WRITING MESSAGE ( ONE PAGE)
Your company sells flower arrangements and gift baskets.
Holidays are always a rush, and the overworked staff makes
occasional mistakes. Last week, somebody made a big one. As a
furious email from a customer named Anders Ellison explains,
he ordered a Valentine's Day bouquet for his wife, but the
company sent a bereavement arrangement instead.
· Day 1: Issue occurs.
· Day 2: Your Social Media Director informs you that this issue
has blown up all over Twitter, The Consumerist, and YELP.
You need to do damage control quickly as this issue is now
beyond a simple email.
1. Formulate a personal e-mail directly with the initial
customer, Mr. Ellison, apologizing for the error, promising to
refund all costs that he has incurred, informing him that the
correct arrangement will arrive tomorrow (without charge), and
offering him the choice of any floral arrangement or gift basket
for free on his wife's birthday.
2. Formulate a one (1) page press release addressing the World
Wide Web audience for the mishap.
3. Formulate a 140 character message as your company
statement related to the mishap
Assignment 4.1 Cycling case study (two pages no response)
Read the Specialized Bicycles Wonders Whether Cycling Is a
Men-Only Sport case study. Then, submit a one (2) page report
answering the following questions:
1. In your present work or organization experience, what kinds
of reports are you familiar with? What is their purpose and how
are they presented?
2. Do you think an employee like Ariadne Scott, who wants her

6. company to fund a special project, should make her request
orally or in writing?
3. Before funding an expensive project, what would most
companies require?
Submission requirements:
1. 12-point Times New Roman font.
2. Single space.
3. Put your name on the document.
4. Present report in a professional manner, as if submitting to a
supervisor (writing that is not only thoughtful and accurate, but
also organized, clear, and consistent with the rules of a
Standard English). For assistance with your writing, consider
visiting the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) website
Assignment 5.1 (one pages no responses)
Read the Walt Disney Imagineering Sells Tokyo Disneyland on
Winnie the Pooh case study. Then, submit a one (1) page report
answering the following questions:
1. What kind of oral presentations might you have to make in
your chosen career field?
2. Why are most people fearful of making presentations?
3. How do you think people become effective speakers?
ASIIGNMET 5:2 (POWER POINTS SLIDES)
Identify five business communication skills that you have either
learned for the first time or developed during this course, then:
1. Create a six-slide presentation (using PowerPoint or another
software solution), with a title slide and five slides that describe
each of the five skills you have identified. Be sure to explain

7. how each skill could help you in your career. Use any visual
style that you feel is appropriate for this assignment; however
you will not be assessed on artistic merit. This can be used as
your outline for the video presentation.
2. Record an 8 to 10-minute video describing five skills you
have learned or developed in this course (referencing
assignments you have completed during the course) and how
each skill could help you in your career. Use professional public
speaking techniques, such as having proper attire, maintaining
eye contact, speak eloquently, use voice inflection, etc.
3. Post the link to the presentation video (and include your full
name) into the Discussion 5.1: Presentation Feedback discussion
thread in Week Five Discussion Board forum.
Journals: you can get some info as well.
Business Communication Quarterly
The Journal of Business Communication
The Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Journal of Strategic Business Communication
Journal of Communication
Howard Journal of Communication
Communication Theory
Communication, Culture & Critique
Critical Studies in Media Studies
Strategic communication course
Note: do all discussion 1.1 up to 1; 4 priority for this week due
on Friday
Discussion 1.1: Diversity in the Workplace ( ONE PAGE)
Please use the class discussion forum titled "Week One
Discussion" to answer the questions:
1. What advantages has diversity brought to your workplace?
2. What kind of challenges has diversity brought to your

8. workplace?
3. Have you ever worked in a corporate situation where
workplace diversity was an issue (such as having lunch with a
vegetarian, a member of the opposite gender, or a person whose
primary language was foreign)?
Discussion 1.2: Idiomatic Expressions (ONE PAGE)
Please use the class discussion forum titled "Week One
Discussion" to answer the questions:
1. Share your favorite idioms and idiomatic expressions that
you use commonly.
Research the following link for more information:
· http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/
2. In the Filipino culture, people purse their lips together
toward an object to point instead of using their fingers. Share a
nonverbal element (related to greeting, touching, personal
space, facial expressions, eye contact, posture, and formality)
from your culture.
Discussion 1.3: Ethical Choices (ONE PAGE)
Please use the class discussion forum titled "Week One
Discussion" to answer the questions:
Because of your excellent communication skills, your boss
always asks you to write his reports for him. When you overhear
the CEO complimenting him on his logical organization and
clear writing style, your boss responds as if he had written all
those reports himself.
1. What kind of ethical choice does your boss's response
represent?
2. What can you do in this situation? Explain your solution and
your reasoning.
Discussion 1.4: Teamwork Dilemma (ONE PAGE)
Please use the class discussion forum titled "Week One
Discussion" to answer the questions:
You head up the interdepartmental design review team for a
manufacturer of high-performance motorcycles, and things are
not going well at the moment. The design engineers and

9. marketing strategists keep arguing about which should be a high
priority, performance or aesthetics, and the accountants say
both groups are driving the cost of the new model "through the
roof" by adding too many new features. Everyone has valid
points to make, but the team is bogging down in conflict. Based
on your understanding of teamwork, how could you go about
resolving the stalemate?
Journals: you can get some info as well.
Business Communication Quarterly
The Journal of Business Communication
The Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Journal of Strategic Business Communication
Journal of Communication
Howard Journal of Communication
Communication Theory
Communication, Culture & Critique
Critical Studies in Media Studies