MBA 665
Activities: Analysis of Samples


Internal Communication Sample

Objective: Due Date: To be turned in: Grading:
To identify basic components of successful business communication Week 1 Copies of samples. No written analysis necessary. Pass/Fail. To be counted toward final activities grade.

 

Overview

Collect one good example of internal business communication from your place of employment and be prepared to discuss the following in class:

a.   Does the message accomplish its goal? Why or why not?
b.   What issues do you think the author of the message considered important? Does the audience also consider these important?
c.   What problems are their with the message?
d.   What are its strengths?
e.   What strategies does it employ to accomplish its goal?
f.    How would you improve it?

Typically, I will ask students to share interesting samples they have collected while we discuss some of the key questions listed above. This is an informal discussion designed to introduce the strategic significance of even simple communication.

Advertising Samples

Objective: Due Date: To be turned in: Grading:
To identify fundamental persuasive appeals and attention-getting devices. Week 2 Copies of samples. No written analysis necessary. Pass/Fail. To be counted toward final activities grade.

 

Overview

Look for one or two good advertisements from popular magazines or trade publications. Look for ads that you consider to be poignant examples of either good or bad persuasive appeals. Be prepared to discuss why you consider the ads to be exceptional along with the following: any metaphors, attention-getting strategies, persuasive appeals, types of support, implicit arguments, assumed issues and the target audience. Be prepared to give reasons why you believe the ads to be effective or not.

As with the internal communication samples, I will ask students to share interesting samples they have collected while we discuss some of the key questions listed above. This is an informal discussion designed to identify the basics of various persuasive appeals.

Corporate Web Sample

Objective: Due Date: To be turned in: Grading:
To identify the unique characteristics and constraints of different media. Week 6 Copies of samples. No written analysis necessary. Pass/Fail. To be counted toward final activities grade.

 

Overview

Go to a corporate web site. Choose one that presents the corporate image, not one that is oriented toward consumer sales. If you cannot go to a web site, see me for an alternative. Be prepared to discuss the following things about the site and its message:

  • Who is the implied audience or audiences for the site?
  • What issues does the site cover?
  • What attention devices does the site use?
  • How does the medium of the World Wide Web make this message different than if it were delivered on paper or orally? Does this site take full advantage of the WWW medium?
  • What is the arrangement of information on the site?
  • What stylistic devices does the site use to make its point—either verbally or graphically?
  • What metaphors does the site use?

As with earlier samples, I will ask students to share interesting samples they have collected while we discuss some of the key questions listed above. This is an informal discussion designed to identify the constraints of different media and the unique characteristics of electronic communication over the Internet.

Administrative Rhetoric Sample

Objective: Due Date: To be turned in: Grading:
To identify the persuasive dimension of non-verbal symbols in a business environment Week 5 Copies of samples. No written analysis necessary. Pass/Fail. To be counted toward final activities grade.

 

Overview

Collect one good example from your work place of administrative rhetoric as Burke defined it and as we discussed in class. Administrative rhetoric is persuasion that works without words. Examples might include the physical structure of the building or the design of work areas, posted policies, time clocks, locked cabinets, the design of a company intranet site. Be prepared to discuss answers to the following questions:

  • Is this persuader effective? Why or why not?
  • What assumptions underlie this persuader—about humanity, authority, the capacity of workers, etc.?
  • Is this persuader tied into a corporate mythology? How?
  • Was this persuader overtly intentional?
  • If you were to create a verbal message for this persuader, what would it be?

As with earlier samples, I will ask students to share interesting samples they have collected while we discuss some of the key questions listed above. This is an informal discussion designed to identify the constraints of different media and the unique characteristics of electronic communication over the Internet.

This page was last modified on Saturday, December 23, 2006.
You may contact the instructor at SHKaminski@yahoo.com
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