Communication Management Program - Denver Center

JT 501 -- Process and Effects of
Technical Communication

General Information

Instructor: Kirk Hallahan, Ph.D. Telephone: 970/491-3963. FAX: 970/491-2908. Cellular (enroute Mondays): 970/217-1500. e-mail: hallahan@lamar.colostate.edu. Hours: Mondays 4-5 p.m. and immediately after class at the Denver Center. Other times by appointment via phone or in Fort Collins.

Objectives: This course is a survey of communication theory and is intended to provide a foundation for other courses in the program. The course focuses on the process and effects of communication at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, group and organizational, interorganizational and societal levels. The purpose is to provide a broad introduction to communication principles as well as contemporary thinking about communication from a variety of disciplines: mass communciations, interpersonal and organizational communication, and marketing and advertising.

Daily Routine: We will meet for the full three hours every day and will take a 15-minute break around 6:15 p.m. Class sessions will include a combination of lectures and class discussions. Be sure to bring the assigned readings to class every week.

Course Policies:See Frequently Asked Questions for policies and procedures related to attendance, course assignments, grading and written assignments.

Course Requirements

Readings:

• Severin, Werner J. & Tankard, James W., Jr., Communication Theories. Origins, Methods and Uses in Mass Media, 4/e. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1997.

Individual chapters also will be assigned from the Reading List below..

• Berger, Chester R. & Chaffee, Steven H. (eds.). Handbook of Communication Science. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1987.
• Bryant, Jennings and Zillmann, Dolf (eds.). Media Effects. Advances in Theory and Research. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1994.
• DeFleur, Melvin L. & Ball-Rokeach, Sandra. Theories of Mass Communication. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1989.
• Hanson, Jarice & Maxcy, David J., Sources. Notable Selections in Mass Media. Guilford, CT: Dushkin/McGraw-Hill, 1996.
• Harris, Richard Jackson. A Cognitive Psychology of Mass Communication, 2/e. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 1994.
• Jablin, Fredric, et.al. (eds.). Handbook of Organizational Communication . Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1987.
• Littlejohn, Stephen W. Theories of Human Communication, 6/e. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1998.
• McCall, Ian and Cousins, John. Communication Problem Solving. The Language of Effective Management. New York: John Wiley, 1990.
• Miller, Katherine. Organizational Communication. Approaches and Processes. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1995.
• Pepper, Gerald L. Communicating in Organizations. A Cultural Approach. McGraw-Hill, 1995.
• Rice, Ronald E. & Atkin, Charles E. (eds.) Public Communication Campaigns, 2/e. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1989.
• Salmon, Charles E. (ed.) Information Campaigns: Balancing Soicial Values and Social Change. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1989.
• Shoemaker, Pamela & Reese, Stephen D., Mediating the Message. Theories of Influence on Mass Media Content, 2/e. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1996.
• Stern, Louis W., El-Ansary, Adel I. & Coughlin, Anne T., Marketing Channels ,5/e. Upper Saddleback River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

These readings will be supplemented with other review articles and chapters. Full citations for other resources will be provided.

Copies of readings from other than the Severin and Tankard text will be distributed in class one week in advance. Readings will be accompanied by a study sheet outlining key questions for review and class discussion.

If you are unable to attend a class, please be sure to pick up copies of assigned readings at the Denver Center later in the week, or arrange for a friend in the class to obtain them for you.

Discussants: Beginning in the third or fourth week, students will be randomly assigned to served as discussants of readings. In serving as discussants, students will be responsible for:

• Becoming thoroughly familiar with answers to questions contained in the study guide
• Identifying related examples or contemporary issues of interest to colleagues
• Identifying additional questions for discussion, clarification
• Preparing and duplicating an outline of key points from the readings (optional). (Note: Duplicating is not available at the Denver Center.)

• Attendance and general participation (20%)
• Role as class discussant (up to 20%)
• Final Exam (30%)
• Review paper (30%)

Review Paper: Students will select a concept in communication, then research and write a review paper that examines the concept in detail, drawing upon the literature in communication and/or management. Students will select a concept in the fourth or fifth week and complete the paper by December 7.

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Tentative Calendar of Topics
JT 501, Fall 1998