Fanning Center Undergraduate Courses

BACM-30400 BUSINESS SPEAKING (Course Syllabus, PDF 261KB)
More information is passed orally in business than ever before. This course can help you improve your speaking skills and overcome your fear of giving a speech.  This compact course explores the communication process and shows how success in business is directly related to your ability to integrate speaking skills with communication strategy and theory.  You will learn to research, write, organize, and present business briefings, informative speeches, and persuasive talks using PowerPoint technology.  You will learn to confront and overcome your fears about speaking in public, and provide peer critique to classmates about performance as speakers. (1.5 credit hours)

BACM-30420 BUSINESS WRITING (Course Syllabus, PDF 230KB)
Only a fraction of a manager’s communication time and effort are spent on writing, but without question, the most important issues in business end up on paper. This course will help you improve your writing, as well as your critical thinking skills. We look at a range of expression issues related to language use, style, tone, grammar, punctuation, and organization. You will learn to make decisions about document preparation, including format, layout, and design.  You also will develop an understanding of the ethical dimensions of business writing.  You cannot become a better writer overnight, but this course can begin the process. (1.5 credit hours)

BACM-30460 LISTENING AND RESPONDING (Course Syllabus, PDF 51KB)
Being a good listener is frequently cited as one of the most important characteristics of a successful manager, yet listening skills are rarely taught in an academic curriculum. This course will help you develop your listening skills through an examination of individual barriers to good listening and personal strategies to overcome them, and through an exploration of feedback techniques that facilitate effective communication.  Some specific topics include listening to criticism non-defensively, checking perception for accuracy, and providing affirming feedback to a speaker. (1.5 credit hours)

BACM-30490 PERSUASION (Course Syllabus, PDF 64KB)
Every day we are bombarded with messages meant to influence us. This course introduces you to the dynamics of social influence. Through class discussion, activities, and lecture you will learn about classic and contemporary research on persuasion and how organizations are putting these findings into practice. You will learn how to craft persuasive messages, how to evaluate the attempts of others to persuade you, and how to recognize unethical attempts at persuasion. (1.5 credit hours)

BACM-30500 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT (Course Syllabus, PDF 43KB)

Conflict is a central feature of human behavior on interpersonal, organization, societal, and international levels.  In this course, we explore the psychology of disputes, the nature and sources of conflict, and the ways in which conflict and human emotion can disrupt or make business organizations dysfunctional.  As we examine the nature of conflict, we'll explore behavioral responses and theoretical approaches to it, and offer a wide range of alternatives to working through conflict.  This course is highly practical and will offer you an opportunity to apply current research findings as you interactively participate in conflict resolutions. (1.5 credit hours)

BAUG-30210 TEN YEARS HENCE: A SPRING LECTURE SERIES (Course Syllabus, PDF 231KB)

This Spring Semester 2008, 1.0-credit hour course will explore issues, ideas, and trends likely to affect business and society over the next decade.  A series of seven separate lectures on selected Friday mornings from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon will feature a wide range of experts on economic demography, technology, religious fundamentalism, social trends, futurism and work, natural resources, and more.  No examinations or graded assignments.  Students must attend all lectures; no unexcused absences.