PTC 642: Corporate Communication
Instructor
Professor Norbert Elliot
Course Description
This seminar approaches the corporate communication as integral to the success of the modern business enterprise. As such, the study of corporate communication must encompass the study of the modern corporation from the last quarter of the 19th century to the first decade of the 21st century. Information-based management principles-vision, ethical conduct, structure, motivation, assessment, and research-are therefore treated in the seminar in both their historical and communicative aspects. Special attention will be paid to organizational theory, the roles of global capitalism, the creation of community through discourse, and the impact of technology on corporate communication. Because documents are critical to the creation, maintenance, and continuous quality improvement of the contemporary corporation, students will be required to assemble a seminar portfolio including critical business documents such as vision/mission statements, proposals, business cases, press releases, policy/procedure documents, and risk analyses.
Prerequisite/Corequisite
PTC 601. Students must have graduate standing and are usually enrolled in the PTC Certificate or the MS in PTC. If you are not part of these programs, permission of the instructor is required.
Texts
Paul A. Argenti. Corporate Communication. 4th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-07-299054-6
Jeffry A. Frieden. Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century. New York: Norton, 2006. ISBN: 0-393-05808-5
A variety of peer-reviewed articles will also be required from journals such as Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Technical Communication Quarterly, Management Communication Quarterly, Management Science, and Harvard Business Review.
Students will also be expected to work up their case studies using the search engines and full-text databases at the Van Houten Library.
Case Study Approach
The seminar will use a case study approach. While a number of corporate situations will be examined in group discussion, students will be encouraged to base their own document design and analysis on a case study that they select. By this method, students will use each document to build their portfolio of corporate communication strategies.
Assignments
Weekly Student-Led Discussions (20 pts)
Assignment 1: Corporate Reflections (10 pts)
Assignment 2: Identification of Individual Case Studies (10 pts)
Assignment 3: Identification of Communication Documents for Case Studies (10
pts)
Assignment 4: Vision/Mission Statement (10 pts)
Assignment 5: Proposal (10 pts)
Assignment 6: Business Case (10 pts)
Assignment 7: Press Release (10 pts)
Assignment 9: Risk Analysis (10 pts)
Assignment 10: Assembling and Submitting the Document Portfolio (Cumulative)
Sample Syllabus
Part 1: Historical and Conceptual Background; Selecting the Case Study
Week 1
Discussion: What We Talk About When We Talk About Capitalism
Reading: Argenti, Chapter 1: The Changing Environment for Business; Frieden, Prologue: Into the Twentieth Century; Chapter 1: Global Capitalism Triumphant
Group Case Discussion: Arthur Anderson; Cardinal Health
Assignment 1: Corporate Reflections
Week 2
Discussion: Corporate Communication--Case Study Selection
Reading: Argenti, A Note on the Case Method; Chapter 2: Communicating Strategically; Friden, Chapter 2: Defenders of the Global Economy, Chapter 3: Success Stories of the Golden Age, Chapter 4: Failures of Development, and Chapter 5: Problems of the Global Economy
Group Case Discussion: Carson Containers
Assignment 2: Identification of Case Studies
Week 3
Discussion: Corporate Communication-Document Function
Reading: Argenti, Chapter 3: An Overview of the Corporate Communication Function; Friden, Chapter 6: "All that is Solid Melts into Air . . . ," Chapter 7: The World of Tomorrow, Chapter 8: The Established World Order Collapses, Chapter 9: The Turn to Autarky, Chapter 10: Building a Social Democracy
Group Case Discussion: Dell Computer Corporation
Assignment 3: Identification of Communication Documents for Individual Case Studies
Part 2: In Action-Identity, Image, Reputation
Week 4
Discussion: Mission Differentiation and Identity
Reading: Argenti, Chapter 4: Identity, Image, and Reputation; Friden, Chapters 11: Reconstruction East and West, Chapter 12: The Bretton Woods System in Action, Chapter 13: Decolonization and Development, Chapter 14: Socialism in Many Countries, Chapter 15: The End of Bretton Woods
Group Case Discussion: Muzak
Assignment 4: Vision/Mission Statement
Weeks 5 and 6: Planning the Launch
Reading: Argenti, Chapter 8: Investor Relations, Chapter 9: Government Relations; Friden, Chapter 16: Crisis and Change, Chapter 17: Globalizers Victorious, Chapter 18: Countries Catch Up, Chapter 19: Countries Fall Behind, Chapter 20: Global Capitalism Troubled; Conclusion
Group Case Discussion: Steelcase; Disney
Assignment 5: Proposal
Weeks 7 and 8: Advertising
Reading: Argenti, Chapter 5: Corporate Advertising
Group Case Study: Corporate Ad Samples
Assignment 6: Business Case
Weeks 9 and 10: Media Relations
Reading: Argenti, Chapter 6: Media Relations
Group Case Study: Adolph Coors Company
Assignment 7: Press Release
Weeks 11 and 12: Internal Communications
Reading: Argenti, Chapter 7: Internal Communications
Group Case Study: Westwood Publishing
Assignment 8: Policy/Procedure Document
Weeks 13 and 14: Risk Communication
Reading: Argenti, Chapter 10: Crisis Communication
Group Case Studies: Morton Thiokol and the Challenger Explosion; Coca-Cola India
Assignment 9: Risk Analysis
Part 3: The Portfolio
Week 15
Assignment 10: Assembling and Submitting the Document Portfolio