Organizational Communication Project Description and Scoring Guide

Overview
Your course work will culminate in a final paper that will demonstrate your understanding of the course material through the development and analysis of a detailed case study. The case study will be based on a significantly problematic communication situation you have observed or participated in at an organization.

One possible approach to help you develop your project is to think of yourself as an outside consultant hired to research, evaluate, and present formal communication-related improvement recommendations to the upper management of your organization. While it is not necessary to use this approach to complete the project, it might help you understand the information needed to complete the project if you think of it from this perspective.

Most learners choose their current workplace for their case study organization, but you may use any of the following:

A former place of employment.
A club.
A committee.
An organization where you volunteer.
If your organization is larger than 500 employees, you may choose to concentrate on a communication situation pertaining to a particular section or department.

The success of your project will depend on the knowledge, skill, sensitivity, and value-related communication competencies you have acquired throughout the course. You will draw on the insights and awareness you have gained through the research and writing of your weekly assignments and your participation in the ongoing weekly discussions.

As Shockley-Zalabak (2012) describes in your text:

Case studies help to close the gap between reading about organizations and theory and knowing what to do in an actual organizational situation. Case studies are examples or illustrations of organizational problems to which we apply the theory we study to determine how best to solve problems. (p. 98)

Reference
Shockley-Zalabak, P. (2012). Fundamentals of organizational communication (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Project Objectives
To successfully complete this project, you will be expected to:

Analyze contemporary business communication situations using organizational communication concepts.
Analyze interrelationships between organizational communication components.
Develop personal communication competencies in regard to process understanding, interpersonal sensitivity, communication skills, and ethical responsibility.
Evaluate organizational communication events and recommend improvements.
Project Components

Project Requirements
To achieve a successful project experience and outcome, you are expected to meet the following requirements.

Follow the three-step process to case development (1. Identify and describe the situation or problem 2. Develop alternatives and test the “reality” or possible solutions. 3. Propose solutions and suggest implementation plans.) The answers to the questions listed within the three steps will be the starting point of your paper.
Support your writing with material from your text, other course materials, and outside sources.
Cite and format resources following APA guidelines (6th ed.). For more information visit the APA Style and Formatting tutorial on the Capella Web site.
Format your paper with 1″ margins and double-spacing. A project template is provided to help you with the formatting of your project.

Analyzes business communication through specific, theoretically grounded concepts and appropriate methods, and provides supporting references and/or examples.

Analyzes the interrelationship of organizational communication specifically in regard to individual and team relationships, culture, and performance, and provides supporting references and/or examples.

Develops personal communication competencies in regard to process understanding, interpersonal sensitivity, communication skills, and ethical responsibility, and analyzes these competencies based on communication theories and styles.

Evaluates organizational communication theories and includes recommendations for improvement supported by references and/or examples.