BUS216

Fraser International College

Introduction to Essentials of Business Communications (BUS216)

Summer 2024

INSTRUCTOR: Steve Gibson

OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday/Thursday 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
OFFICE: WMC 3370 (in the Beedie School of Business)
EMAIL: gibs@learning.fraseric.ca
_______________________________________________________________________________________

PREREQUISITES

Students must be exempt from INTEGRATED 100 OR have completed INTEGRATED 100 with a grade of “B”
or higher before enrolling in BUS 216.

OBJECTIVES AND COURSE FORMAT:

Business 216 will introduce you to the essentials of effective business communication. In this course you will
learn about and practice how to communicate effectively within a business context in three important areas:
writing, speaking, and teamwork. You will spend time writing, building teamwork skills and developing oral
presentation skills.

Writing: You will work through the textbook other exercises designed to strengthen the effectiveness of your
written communication. By practicing writing within a business context, you will work to develop the
mechanical writing skills needed to produce clear, concise, and correct business writing.

Speaking: Working as a team member, each student will play a key role in developing, practicing and
presenting a professional, persuasive business presentation. You will also present individually on a relevant
business communication topic.

Teamwork: The ability to function effectively as a team member is a necessary business skill, and a skill
highly valued by employers. You will work on team development and learn strategies for effective team
communication, project management, and conflict resolution. Working in collaboration, teams will research,
evaluate, and present business information.

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BUSINESS 216 LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Through active participation in Business 216 students will learn how to:

1. Think critically to solve communication problems

2. Improve writing mechanics
3. Plan, draft, edit and revise written work
4. Understand the principles of clear, concise, business communication
5. Be an effective team member
6. Write reflective, analytical self and peer assessments
7. Create business presentations

REQUIRED TEXT

Custom E-Book

To purchase online with a major credit card or PayPal, go to:

https://console.pearson.com/enrollment/x4wsup

If you have an existing Pearson login ID, you can use that again or you will be prompted to create a new
account.

You can download the “eText” App for mobile textbook access.

If you have technical issues, please review “Help documents” on Moodle.

EVALUATION

15%…………Classroom (quizzes, assignments & professionalism)

10%…………Solo Presentation

10%…………Business Report

5% …………Writing Tutorials*

30%…………Midterm Exam

30%…………Team Project

* Students are required to attend two of the weekly writing tutorials of their choice.

THE GRADES IN THIS COURSE ARE NOT CURVED

Review your posted grades regularly. Students have only one week after posting to identify a missing
grade, an error or provide medical documentation.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS

Assignments are to be submitted in MSWord format, single-spaced, stapled (if a paper submission), single
sided, typed using Times New Roman 12 pt font with one-inch margins. Assignments should be page
numbered. Assignments should have a cover page with the title of the assignment, course id, instructor name,
date, student name(s), student id(s), and word count. The cover page should not be numbered. PDF
DOCUMENTS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE.

THERE WILL BE SIGNIFICANT PENALTIES FOR INCORRECT FORMAT.

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LATE PENALTIES

Late assignments will be marked down by 15% with additional 15% deducted each 24 hours it is overdue. No
resubmissions are allowed. All grades are final and non-negotiable. If you have a technical problem
submitting, email me immediately with your assignment attached-BEFORE THE DEADLINE

MID-TERM EXAM

It will cover Chapters 1- 8.

FINAL EXAM - THERE IS NO FINAL EXAM FOR BUSINESS 216

MISSED CLASSES, ASSIGNMENTS AND QUIZZES

1. Students need to be in class to complete online class quizzes.

2. Students must inform the instructor before the class/due date if they are going to be absent or miss the
deadline.
3. A printed “Declaration of Illness” form must be provided to the instructor the following class for the student
to be eligible for an accommodation.
4. Students will be required to complete an alternative accommodation assignment/quiz/ during office hours
within 1 week.

If the above are not completed, students will receive zero on any missed assignments and quizzes.

MISSED MIDTERM

There will be no make-up exams. In case of extenuating circumstances, a student must notify the instructor
BEFORE the exam or as soon as reasonably possible AND provide written, documented evidence to the
instructor within 48 hours of the exam time. Extenuating circumstances are defined as: 1. circumstances
which prevent a student from attending the exam; or 2. circumstances which have resulted in the student
being rendered absolutely unable to write the exam.

Extenuating circumstances are not:

• “Not feeling well”, headache, stomachache, nervousness, cold, etc.;
• Misunderstanding the instructions about the exam;
• Public transit issues;
• Pleasure related travelling;
• “Flying back home”;
• Commitments scheduled by a student in advance.

The documented evidence must be in English and describe one of the two scenarios above. In case of a
death of a family member, a student must provide a death certificate. In the case where medical documents
are submitted, they must be from a practicing doctor recognized by the Canadian Medical Association who
can be contacted for verification. Documents that cannot be validated will be considered unacceptable. The
instructor reserves the right to decide whether the make-up exam is granted in case of extenuating
circumstances.

ATTENDANCE

ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY FOR THE FIRST CLASS UNLESS YOU HAVE

WRITTEN APPROVAL FROM FIC ADVISING.

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As per Fraser International College policies, attendance in class is mandatory. Classes missed or attended
late throughout the semester without a valid instructor approved reason will be reflected in your classroom
contribution mark. You may also be referred to the FIC counselling staff for poor attendance.

• Arriving after attendance is taken is considered “H”

• Being 5 minutes late from the break is considered “H”.

• Two half-attended (“H”) classes equal 1 missed class.

• Attending other sections of the course is not allowed.

COMMUNICATION

The instructor will use e-mail to communicate with the class. Ensure you check your FIC e-mail daily.

If you would like help with assignments, want to discuss ideas, talk about the readings or have any concerns
about the course, do not hesitate to come and speak to me in class or during office hours. E-mail questions
will not be responded to if the content has been covered in lecture or posted on Moodle.

I will respond to e-mails within 48 hours on weekdays.

Business 216 is an SFU Transfer Credit Course. Students will be graded according to the SFU
GRADING RUBRIC:

Grade Percentage Descriptor

A+ 95-100 Exceptional
A 90-94 Outstanding
A- 85-89 Excellent
B+ 80-84 Very Good
B 75-79 Good
B- 70-74 Minimally Good
C+ 65-69 Satisfactory +
C 60-64 Satisfactory
C- 55-59 Minimally Satisfactory
D 50-54 Unsatisfactory
F 0-49 Does not meet requirements
N 0.0 Did not write the final exam or otherwise complete the course

IMPORTANT

1. All cases of plagiarism will receive a zero grade of “F”, no exceptions.

TEAM ASSIGNMENTS AND ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Students who minimally contribute to group assignments will have their grade adjusted or set to zero.
Students’ names should not appear on an assignment if they did not contribute to the assignment.
Putting a student’s name on an assignment when they did not contribute to an assignment is considered
academic dishonesty for all members of the team.
If any form of academic dishonesty is discovered in a team assignment, all members of the team will face the
consequences of academic dishonesty including, but not limited to, receiving zero on the assignment.

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ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY

Academic Integrity refers to the values on which good academic work must be founded: honesty, trust,
fairness, respect and responsibility. Academic integrity includes a commitment not to engage in or tolerate
acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts of dishonesty violate the fundamental ethical
principles of the College community and compromise the worth of work completed by others.

Students found to have breached the regulations related to any form of academic misconduct including but
not limited to plagiarism and cheating will be subject to the following measures:

• First Offence: Awarded “0” for the assessment and given a permanent record on their file
• Second Offence: Awarded “0” for the course, regardless whether the offence was committed in the
same course or another course
• Third Offence: Risk expulsion from FIC and the cancellation of Study Permit

It is solely the student’s responsibility to be aware of Academic Integrity Policy and consequences of violating
it. The policy is available at: http://85401dc13f6ba5867f46-
aacfababc729cd49a24606938417f53d.r33.cf6.rackcdn.com/FIC_Academic_Integrity_Policy.pdf

“Challenge” exams and tests may be held at the instructor’s discretion to verify test and midterm results.
Students who are not able to repeat their performance will receive zero on the assignment and face academic
discipline.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE POLICY

The use of technology to produce content for your assignments that is not specifically listed in the syllabus as
permissible is strictly prohibited. All submissions for grading must be your own work. This specifically
includes a prohibition on artificial intelligence writing software such as ChatGPT and translation software as it
will interfere with the learning objectives outlined for this course.

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WEEKLY SCHEDULE (subject to change)

WEEK OF TOPICS & ACTIVITIES

W1 • Introduction and course overview
May 6
W2 • Chapter 1-Becoming a Successful Business Communicator
May 13 • What is successful business communication?
• Introduction: “Solo Presentation” Assignment and “Business Report” Assignment

W3 • Chapter 2-Managing the Communication Process (ACE)

May 20 • Business Report Workshop

W4 • Chapter 3-Who am I?
May 27 • Interpersonal communication styles

W5 • Business Report Written in Class

June 3 • Chapter 4 -Who are You??

W6 • Chapter 5- How Can We Be Better Together?

June 10 • Introduction: “Team Project” Assignment
• Formulating your team project topic

W7 • Chapter 6 -Communicating Routine and “Bad News” Messages

June 17
W8 • No class because of the exam on Saturday July 6
June 24 • Chapter 7
• Chapter 8- Writing with Impact

W9 • Chapter 6 -Communicating Routine and “Bad News” Messages

July 1 • LIBRARY RESEARCH WORKSHOP
• Midterm: July 6, 9:00-11:30 a.m.

W10 • Researching & evaluating business information

July 8 • Persuasion
• Work on team presentation

W11 • Presentation Outline Workshop

July 15 • Presentation Design & Development Workshop
• Finalize presentation
• Work on project portfolio
• Presentation Practice

W12 • Presentation practice

July 22
W13 • Team Project Portfolio is due
July 29 • Final Project Presentations

The course is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.

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