CMGT 505:
Communication in Work Settings
Spring 2025 – Tuesday, 6:00 – 8:50 pm
Course Description
Communication in Work Settings is a master’s level course focusing on internal communication topics (e, g., manager-employee and peer communication). Equal emphasis is placed on theoretical understanding and practical applications. A strong theoretical foundation is required to ensure that decisions about communication practices are based on sound research rather than popularized myths. That is, how is a concept studied by academicians and why do we want to build/test theories about the concept? Concomitantly, how is the concept treated by practitioners and consultants? Your current and future employers are counting on you to be able to collect and evaluate the most recent research about topics relevant to your profession.
Module 1: History Organizational Communication and Organizational Structures
· The Foundations of Organizational Communication
· Organizational Structure
Module 2: Organizational Culture and Socialization
· Organizational Culture
· Socialization, Organizational Entry & Exit
Module 3: Information Exchange, Leadership and Delegation
· Task Feedback and Delegation
· Dissent
Module 4: Destructive Workplace Communication: Incivility and Bullying
· When Bad Things Happen to Good People: Destructive Organizational Relationships
Textbook
Spaulding, S. (2022). Trending in toxicity: How to stay afloat in a toxic work environment.
Required Readings and Supplementary Materials
All articles are available free through USC Library. Most are posted on Brightspace. Some must be downloaded from the USC Library site.
Course Learning Outcomes
Topics have been selected because of their importance in shaping how people communicate with each other in organizations and how that impacts organizational outcomes such as productivity, satisfaction, innovation, and competitiveness. That is, the topics will help you understand how your performance is positively or negatively affected by your communication encounters.
· Identify the behaviors and artifacts of distinct organizational cultures/subcultures and how they affect communication in diverse workplaces.
· Review and assess the value of applied materials for your potential audiences.
· Delegate (or receive delegation) in a manner that enables the production of high quality, cost effective products.
· Provide information to newcomers to facilitate their organizational entry.
· Identify destructive workplace behaviors and know the intervention options available in one’s organization.
· Learn how to be agile with your communication skills so that you are comfortable moving between theoretical and applied material.
Policies and Procedures
Grades will be lowered for students with more than 2 absences by a minimum of 1/3 grade (B+ to a B). Students with four or more absences will be advised to drop the course (if before week 12) because they risk failing the course.
Unless you have instructor permission arriving late (within 15 minutes of start of class), leaving early, or spending excessive amount of time off camera counts 1/3 excused absence per incident.
Turn off devices not being used for class activities. Students who are instant messaging, web surfing, or involved in other similar activities during class will be marked absent even if physically present in the classroom and receive significant deductions in class participation grade.
All assignments must be the original work of the student and cannot have been used or currently submitted for any other academic course.
Late assignments may receive lower grades. With the exception of submission due during the final exam period, I can typically allow up to a 48-hour extension – but after that a grade penalty should be expected.
Any incident of academic integrity violation on either a draft or final submission of an assignment will be submitted to USC oversight committee for student conduct.
Description, Submission and Assessment of Assignments
Course Assignments (Detailed Information and Grading Rubrics in Brightspace)
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Component
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Points/Percentage of Final Grade
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1. Capstone Project – Project Proposal and Annotated
Bibliography
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10 points/10%
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2. Capstone Project – Theory/Literature Review
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35 points/35%
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3. Capstone Project – Application and revision of theory/literature review
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35 points/35%
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4. Capstone Project Presentation
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10 points/10%
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5. In-class Discussion and Brightspace Posts – Must be submitted by due date/time to receive credit
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10 points/10%
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6: Pay It Forward Article Report
Article report from an article in an academic communication journal 2022 – 2025.
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5 points/5%
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Total Percentage
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100 points/100%
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*Active discussion requires that you read ahead of time and that you are engaged in the evening's session. Your participation grade is based on quality as well as quantity of comments. Attendance does NOT equal participation. USC prohibits any portion of a student’s grade to be based on his/her physical presence in the classroom.
Grading Scale
A 94.0% or higher
A- 90.0% - 93.9%
B+ 87.0% - 89.9%
B 84.0% - 86.9%
B- 80.0% - 83.9%
C+ 77.0% - 79.9%
C 74.0% - 76.9%
C- 70.0% - 73.9%
D+ 67.0% - 69.9%
D 64.0% - 66.9%
D- 60.0% - 63.9%
F 59.9% OR LOWER
A minimum grade of C is required to earn graduate units.
Grading Standards
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Letter Grade
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Description
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A
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Excellent; demonstrates extraordinarily high achievement; comprehensive knowledge and understanding of subject matter; all expectations met and exceeded.
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B
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Good; moderately broad knowledge and understanding of subject matter; explicitly or implicitly demonstrates good, if not thorough understanding; only minor substantive shortcomings.
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C
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Satisfactory/Fair; reasonable knowledge and understanding of subject matter; most expectations are met; despite any shortcomings, demonstrates basic level of understanding.
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D
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Marginal; minimal knowledge and understanding of subject matter; more than one significant shortcoming; deficiencies indicate only the most rudimentary level of understanding.
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F
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Failing; unacceptably low level of knowledge and understanding of subject matter; deficiencies indicate lack of understanding.
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