GBUS 7620

Course Description

This course looks at the barriers that limit individual and institutional networks and explores the ways in which networks can be expanded and strengthened resulting in more effective interpersonal communications. Students will learn that managers who understand and identify such networks are better informed, more effective, and more influential in their positions. Also included in the course will be the study of interpersonal, social, and organizational networks, how they can be created, and why they are valuable. Although the course will build on a number of the concepts presented in First-Year Management Communication, including audience analysis and persuasion, it will focus most closely on the role that storytelling plays in network creation and expansion. Instructional methodologies are a balance of cases and presentations, along with technical readings where appropriate. Leveraging our diverse community, role playing, impromptu speeches, narratives, more formal presentations, and some short written work will be used to build the skills necessary for effective networks. Students may choose a final presentation and paper to complete the course.