CMN 136Organizational Communication

(Course Syllabus: Fall, 2016)

*You are required to know all the information presented in this course syllabus.
Instructor: Virginia Hamilton, Ph.D.
Course Time: Ts 12:10 3:50 pm
Hamiltons Office Hours: Ts 10:30-11:30 am and by appointment
Office: Kerr Hall 368
E-mail: vohamilton@ucdavis.edu
Testing Accommodations: If you are SDC certified for testing accommodations email
me ASAP and let me know what your location and time frame requirements are so that I
can make arrangements in a timely manner.
Course Description:
CMN 136 presents a broad range of theories, concepts, and prescriptions pertinent to
essential communication processes that commonly occur within the workplace. For
those who plan to join organizations requiring team-based work and/or for those who
aspire to be organizational leaders in the future, this course will be particularly useful.
Further, for those who are interested in communication theory in general and
organizational theory, specifically, this course will provide a sufficiently strong academic
background for graduate-level study.
All students taking this course can expect to be academically challenged by both the
lecture and reading material. The primary learning objective of the course, however, is to
provide all attentive students with theoretical awareness, practical preparation, and
increased confidence in their ability to succeed within the future organizations in which
they choose to work.
Required Reading:
The required book for my CMN 136 course, Organizational Communication, Edited
by Virginia Hamilton (Third Revised Edition), is published and distributed by
Cognella, Inc. The book is now available for purchase through their student e-commerce
store (https://students.universityreaders.com/store/).
To purchase the textbook, please follow the instructions below:

Step 1: Log on to https://students.universityreaders.com/store/.

Step 2: Create an account or log in if you have an existing account to purchase.
Step 3: Easy-to-follow instructions guide you through the rest of the ordering process.
Payment can be made by all major credit cards.
Step 4: After purchasing, you can access your FREE 30% PDF by logging into your
account and clicking My Digital Materials to get started on your readings right away.

If you experience any difficulties, please email orders@cognella.com or call

800.200.3908 ext. 503.

Evaluation Method:
Your grade will be based on three multiple-choice exams: Exam 1, Exam 2, and Exam
3/Final Exam. Each exam will have 50 questions eachapproximately, 30-35 questions
from lecture material, and 15-20 questions from textbook material. The final exam is
NOT cumulative. I do not curve grades.
You will be able to earn two points of extra credit by attending the movie that will be
shown in class on 11/22.
Exams:
Please bring a Scantron 2000 and a #2 pencil to every exam. Please arrive on time for
exams.
Make Up Exams:
Make up exams will be allowed under extreme cases (and when you have three exams
on one day). If you are sick or had an emergency of some kind, discuss it with me, and
usually we can arrange a time for you to take a make up exam.
Cheating:
Cheating will not be tolerated! Cheating includes (but is not limited to) the following:
Sharing information during exams, reading notes during exams, taking photos of exams,
taking photos of notes and looking at them on your cell phone, taking exams out of the
classroom, discussing exams with latecomers outside of the classroom, having
possession of a stolen exam or a photocopy of any part of a stolen exam, writing a nonattending persons name on an attendance sheet, and copying others work. Any
suspicion regarding cheating of any kind will be reported to Judicial Student Affairs.
Cheating can result in expulsion from UC Davis. Dont do it!
Manners in Class:
Please be conscious of your behavior so as not to offend, bother, or distract those
around you. Dont make noise with food, food wrappers, chewing gum, rustling through
your backpack, texting or playing games on your phone, etc. If you have a cold or
allergies and are sniffing, coughing, and sneezing a lot, please sit as far away from
others as you can. Be aware that you are in a very large crowded classroom and
everyone needs to respect each others space.
Attendance:
Your presence in class is recommended and desired. If you choose NOT to attend class
do NOT e-mail me or come to my office hours to ask me questions about what you
missed. If you miss class, you must get your questions answered elsewhere. Anyone
who asks me a question that was either explained in this syllabus or discussed in class
more than one time will go on my rec letter reservations list. This does not apply to
those who DO attend class.
Final Grades:
Unless you believe I made a mistake in calculating your grade, DO NOT ASK ME TO
CHANGE YOUR FINAL GRADE. Although I do care about your success, I do not want to
be pulled into a conversation about how much you need to get off probation or how
much you need to get into a competitive law school. Your counselor is the one to go

CMN 136 Class /Schedule

Fall, 2016
Date

Lecture Topic

T. 9/27

Course Introduction/
Organizational Theories/ /Organizational
Approaches: Classical, Human
Relations, Critical
Organizational Approaches: Cultural,
Human Resources/ Systems Theory/
Cybernetics/Learning Organizations
Organizational Processes: Assimilation,
Conflict, Change,
Emotion/Diversity/Technology
Exam Review (12:10-1:00)/
Exam #1 (1:30-3:30)
Self mastery/Resumes/Competencybased interviewing/Movie
example/Application discussion
Traditional Interviewing/Salary
negotiation/Career management/Time
management
Exam Review (12:10-1:00)/
Exam #2 (1:30-3:30)
Trends/Effective organizations/Amazons
CEO/Self-managing teams
Apollo 13 (Extra credit)

T. 10/4
T. 10/11
T. 10/18
T. 10/25
T. 11/1
T. 11/8
T. 11/15
T. 11/22
T. 11/29

Textbook
Readings
The History of
Management and
Leadership

Power, Politics, and

Conflict

Business Ethics
Motivation
Writing and Public
Speaking
Managing Your Career
Teamwork
Planning

Leadership/Management/Communicatio
Global Business
n
Management
Final Exam: December 6 @ 10:30 am-12:30 pm