Introduction to Strategic Communication (STCM 10300)

Syllabus and Course Policies: Fall 2009

Group Lecture (All sections): Mon. 3:00 - 3:50 Textor 102

Discussion Section 02: Wed. & Fri. 3:00 – 3:50 Textor 101
Course Website: http://www.kurtkomaromi.com/stratcom/
Instructor: Kurt Komaromi
Office: 434 Park Center for Business
Office Phone: 274-1429
E-mail: kkomaromi@ithaca.edu
Office Hours: MW 12:30 – 2:30 and by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Introduction to the fundamental theories, concepts, and applications of

strategic communication to meet a variety of organizational goals. Provides an overview of practices in
communication management, learning, and design, and integrated marketing communication. Describes
how these elements can be combined to create seamless programs that affect the various publics of
businesses and not-for-profit organizations; and how such programs increase organizational value and
effectiveness. Students investigate issues that challenge contemporary organizations by analyzing case
studies, conducting research, and designing possible solutions from multiple perspectives.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:
• Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental theories and best practices of strategic communication
as demonstrated in assignments, exams and the final project.
• Recognize of the role that communication professionals play in achieving organizational goals as
demonstrated in assignments and exams.
• Design an effective corporate communication program by focusing on the fundamentals of
audience analysis, message design, media choice and evaluation assessed on the final project.
• Develop professional writing skills by adopting the discipline of APA style demonstrated in class
assignments.
• Deliver an effective oral presentation as measured by project presentations in class and feedback.

COURSE MATERIALS:
• Textbook—Hamula, S. & Komaromi, K (Eds.). (2009) Introduction to strategic communication
(custom text). Hightstown, NJ: McGraw Hill Primis Online.
• Required style—The required writing style for this course is APA. Online resources that
summarize APA style will be posted to the course website. The source for this style is the
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). (2009). Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association.
• Additional readings and resources will be posted to the course website.
• Students are encouraged to submit resources they feel will be useful to the class.

ASSIGNMENT/EXAM POLICY:
All assignments and examinations must be completed and submitted on the due date, during the regular
class period. If you have an emergency situation or significant health problem, you must advise me in
advance and report this to the College and, upon receipt of official documentation, an acceptable late
submission of work or makeup exam will be negotiated with the instructor. Unless there is an emergency
situation involved, the grade on your assignment will be lowered by 10% or one full letter for each class
period overdue.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING POLICY:

Assignments 40%
Exams 30%
Final Project 20%
Contribution 10%

Assignments – Students will work in teams and individually to complete assignments to analyze and apply
fundamental principles. In addition to a written report, students will be asked to present their work to the
class and participate in discussions to provide each other with constructive feedback. There are two case
assignments and two individual assignments covering key topics in the course.

Exams - Two exams, one at mid-term and the other at the end of the course will assess comprehension of
key principles and concepts. The final exam will not be cumulative but will cover all topics from the
second half of the course.

Final Project – Working in teams, students will apply their knowledge of strategic communication roles
and activities to help a real organization achieve a key goal. Students will complete a strategic
communication proposal and present their proposal to the entire class. Each member of the team will share
the grade equally unless members do not fully participate, in which case individual grades may be adjusted
at the discretion of the instructor.

Contribution – Students are expected to contribute to class discussions, participate in workshops, post
comments on the course website, and offer supplemental articles and resources. Contributions will be
assessed in terms of frequency and ability to integrate concepts and reflect upon cases studies and
examples. Class attendance is a major component in the assessment of overall contribution to the course.

COURSE POLICIES:

Attendance: Only three absences are allowed without an official excuse (as defined by College policy).
Additional unexcused absences will reduce your grade at the discretion of the instructor and you may be
dropped from the class if your absences are excessive. In accordance with the Ithaca College guidelines
absences will be excused for: observation of religious holidays, verifiable family or individual health
emergencies, court appearances, and participation in college authorized activities such as athletic events,
professional conferences and theatrical performances. In all cases, students must notify the instructor and
arrange to complete any work that is missed.

Academic Honesty: The use of work other than your own without proper citation or credit is a serious
offense. Penalties for plagiarism include: failure on the assignment and/or failure in the course and/or
College academic discipline, which could mean suspension or dismissal from the College. Plagiarism can
involve not only written work but also computer programs, photographs, artwork, films, videos, and audios.
If you are at all unsure about what constitutes plagiarism, or how to give credit, see your instructor and
consult the Student Handbook (see "plagiarism" in the index and below). In a collaborative project, all
involved students may be held responsible for academic misconduct if they are either knowing participants
in plagiarism or complicit.

7.1.4.1 Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else's published or unpublished ideas, whether this use
consists of directly quoted material or paraphrased ideas. Although various disciplines follow styles of
documentation that differ in some details, all forms of documentation make the following demands:
• That each quotation or paraphrase be acknowledged with a footnote or in-text citation;
• That direct quotations be enclosed in quotation marks and be absolutely faithful to the wording of
the source;
• That paraphrased ideas be stated in language entirely different from the language of the source;
• That a sequence of ideas identical to that of a source be attributed to that source;
• That sources of reprinted charts or graphs be cited in the text;
 • That all the sources the writer has drawn from in paraphrase or direct quotation or a combination
of paraphrase and quotation be listed at the end of the paper under "Bibliography," "References,"
or "Works Cited," whichever heading the particular style of documentation requires.

7.1.4.2 Other Forms of Academic Dishonesty

Other violations of academic honesty include, but are not limited to, the following behaviors:
• Handing in to a class a paper written by someone else;
• Handing in as an original work for a class a paper one has already submitted to another course;
• Handing in the same paper simultaneously to two courses without the full knowledge and explicit
consent of all the faculty members involved;
• Having someone else rewrite or clean up a rough draft and submitting those revisions as one's own
work.
These offenses violate the atmosphere of trust and mutual respect necessary the process of learning.
Note: Students who would like help in learning how to paraphrase or document sources properly should
feel free to come to the Writing Center in Smiddy Hall for assistance.

Students with disabilities: In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the
Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodation will be provided to students with documented
disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Students must register with the Office of Academic Support Services
and provide appropriate documentation to the college before any academic adjustment will be provided.
To contact that office call 274-1005, or contact Leslie Schettino, Director of Support Services for Students
With Disabilities, at lschettino@ithaca.edu.

Safety: You must respond to and report conditions and actions that may jeopardize your safety, or that of
other people and/or equipment. Report to the responsible College employee. During class sessions that
person would be your instructor or lab assistant. Outside of class the person might be your instructor, lab
supervisor, co-curricular manager, equipment and facilities manager, or one of the engineering support
staff. You must be aware that misuse of equipment or use of damaged equipment can create the risk of
serious injury, infectious contamination, and expensive damage. You may be liable for damage or injury
resulting from such use. Unsupervised use of facilities puts you at risk. Failure to be alert to safety
problems, or to report them, may have serious consequences for you or others.

Electronic Devices: Students are permitted to bring laptop computers to class solely for the purposes of
taking notes, collaborative work, or making presentations. Checking e-mail, web surfing, or any other non-
course activities may result in loss of privileges. Cell phones should be turned off or muted prior to class.
COURSE SCHEDULE:
Date Topic Readings/Assignments
8/26 Course introduction: Buckstar Buckstar worksheet
8/28 Buckstar workshop
8/31 Strategic communication is collaborative: Stakeholder Waddock (pp. 1-39)
relationships (Young)
9/2 Lecture – Stakeholder relationships
9/4 Workshop on case assignment #1
9/7 Labor Day – No classes Rothwell (pp. 40–63)
9/9 Strategic communication is grounded in theory (Komaromi) Case assignment #1
9/11 Case Assignment #1
9/14 Strategic communication is informed by research (Rowland) Keyton (pp. 64–78)
9/16 Lecture – Research methods
9/18 Workshop on survey design
9/21 Strategic communication supports organizational stability, Bateman-Snell (pp. 79–110)
change, and resilience (Kalman)
9/23 Lecture – Organizational learning
9/25 Workshop on SWOT analysis
9/28 Strategic communication is process oriented (Komaromi) Komaromi (pp. 111–121)
9/30 Lecture – Evaluation metrics
10/2 Workshop on case assignment #2
10/5 Strategic communication is brand focused (Hamula) Duncan (pp. 122–156)
10/7 Lecture – Branding strategies Case assignment #2
10/9 Case Assignment #2
10/12 Mid-term Exam (Textor 102) Mid-term exam
10/14 Final project review and team assignments
10/16 Fall break – No class on Fri. 10/16
10/19 Strategic communication is audience driven (Walsh) Locker-Kaczmarek (pp. 157-
10/21 Lecture – Audience analysis 176)
10/23 Individual Assignment #1 Individual assignment #1
10/26 Strategic communication is purposeful (Ressler) Franzoi (pp. 177-217)
10/28 Lecture – Persuasion
10/30 Workshop on persuasive messages
11/2 Strategic communication is intentionally designed: verbal Angell (pp. 218-242)
design (Peruta) Individual assignment #2
11/4 Lecture – Creative message strategies
11/6 Individual Assignment #2
11/9 Strategic communication is intentionally designed: visual Angell-Rizkallah (pp. 243-269)
design (Seidman)
11/11 Lecture – Visual design
11/13 Workshop on effective presentations
11/16 Strategic communication is mediated (Charsky) Duncan (pp. 270-312)
11/18 Lecture – Choosing media
11/20 Workshop on final project
11/23 - Thanksgiving Break – No classes
11/27
11/30 Communication is consciously ethical (Gayeski) Murphy-Hildebrandt-Thomas
12/2 Lecture - Ethics (pp. 313 – 334)
12/4 Final project presentations
12/7 Final project presentations (meet in Textor 101) Final projects due on 12/7
12/9 Final project presentations
12/11 Course review and evaluation
12/14 Final Exam @ 1:30 – 4:00 (Textor 102)