COM321 / COM 321 / ENTIRE CLASS/COURSE TUTORIAL INCLUDES EVERYTHING LISTED

COM321 / COM 321 / ENTIRE CLASS/COURSE TUTORIAL INCLUDES EVERYTHING LISTED

COM321 / COM 321 / WEEK 1 DQ 1 ARISTOTLE’S CLASSIFICATION SCHEME

Aristotle’s Classification Scheme

Think of a speaker you admire. What was it about that speaker that made his or her communication memorable? Using Aristotle’s classification scheme, decide whether you believe this speaker’s power to persuade comes from ethos, pathos, logos, or from a combination of these methods and explain what led you to this conclusion. What qualifications do you believe a communicator needs to be considered effective today? Your initial response should be 250-300 words in length. Your claims should be supported by assigned readings and/or other academic resources.

COM321 / COM 321 / WEEK 1 DQ 2 FOUR PERSPECTIVES ON COMMUNICATION

Four Perspectives on Communication

Thinking Through Communication discusses four different theoretical perspectives on communication. Consider each of these perspectives and answer the questions below about these perspectives.

a. Consider the psychological perspective. In what ways do you believe that what goes on inside people’s heads (beliefs, values, attitudes, etc.) affects their communication?

b. Consider the social constructionist perspective. How do we “build worlds” through communication? Think of some ideas we talk about in our culture that may not exist in other cultures. How do these concepts contribute to our happiness or success (or lack of them) in our culture?

c. Consider the pragmatic perspective. How is communication like a game? How is it different from a game?

d. Consider the cultural studies perspective. What is the goal of a researcher who takes a cultural studies approach?

e. Which of these perspectives is closest to your own view of communication?

Your initial response should be 250-300 words in length. Your claims should be supported by assigned readings and/or other academic resources. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings by Day 7. (Less)

COM321 / COM 321 / WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT YOUR STUDY OF COMMUNICATION

Your Study of Communication

Respond to the following questions:

a. What is your motivation for studying communication?

b. What benefits does an understanding of communication give you in your personal or professional life?

c. Which of the definitions in Table 2.1 in Thinking Through Communication comes closest to your own personal definition of communication? Explain why you chose this particular definition.

The paper must be 150 to 250 words in length and formatted according to APA style. Cite your resources in text and on the reference page. For information regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar, in your online course. NOTE: You will incorporate information from this assignment into the Final Portfolio due in Week Five of this course.

COM321 / COM 321 / WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT YOUR STUDY OF COMMUNICATION

Your Study of Communication

Respond to the following questions:

a. What is your motivation for studying communication?

b. What benefits does an understanding of communication give you in your personal or professional life?

c. Which of the definitions in Table 2.1 in Thinking Through Communication comes closest to your own personal definition of communication? Explain why you chose this particular definition.

The paper must be 150 to 250 words in length and formatted according to APA style. Cite your resources in text and on the reference page. For information regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar, in your online course. NOTE: You will incorporate information from this assignment into the Final Portfolio due in Week Five of this course.

COM321 / COM 321 / WEEK 2 DQ 2 LANGUAGE AND ATTITUDES

Language and Attitudes

According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, we think through language. The words we use to talk about the world reinforce our attitudes and, occasionally, our prejudices. Changing our language to eliminate offensive language, many argue, may change our attitudes as well. At the very least, becoming aware of the biases in language practices may make us more sensitive to the feelings of those who are the targets of these biases. Thus, we try our best to avoid sexist and racist language by substituting new, more “politically correct” usage. Do you think that language affects thought and behavior? Does changing our language make a significant change in the way we think and behave? Have some efforts to be more politically sensitive gone too far? We say, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Can words hurt?

COM321 / COM 321 / WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENT PERSONAL CONSTRUCTS

To get a clearer sense of the kinds of judgments you make, think of specific people who fit the following categories: a family member, a teacher, a male friend, a female friend, a person you dislike, and a person you work or socialize with. Choose two of these people and list five to ten adjectives that describe ways in which these people are similar and five to ten adjectives that describe ways in which they are different. Then, choose two other people and repeat the exercise. It is acceptable to use some of the same adjectives again. Finally, choose another person (or one of the people you examined earlier) and compare them to yourself. List five to ten adjectives that describe how you and this person are similar and five to ten adjectives that describe how the two of you are different. These adjectives represent some of your personal constructs. Now analyze your list, clustering together constructs that are similar.

Write a paper in which you discuss what your list tells you about your values. Address the following issues and any other insights you gained from completing the paper:

a. Do you have a relatively stable set of constructs about people, or do your constructs vary widely depending on whom you are judging?

b. Does stereotyping enter your judgment process; for example, do you use different kinds of constructs to describe men than to describe women? Are the constructs you use fair? Are they complete? Do they allow you to make adequate assessments of others?

c. Did you judge yourself more favorably than you did others?

d. How do the constructs you use affect the way you communicate with others?

e. Discuss how people can be encouraged to develop a rich and complex set of personal constructs.

The paper must be two to three pages in length and formatted according to APA style. Cite your resources in text and on the reference page. For information regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Writing Center, within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar, in your online course.

COM321 / COM 321 / WEEK 3 DQ 1 NOT COMMUNICATING

Not Communicating

During this week, select one hour of the day when you are with other people and try not to communicate. During this hour, try your best not to communicate verbally and to keep nonverbal communication to a minimum. Take note of the opportunities for communication you passed up, how it felt when you couldn’t communicate, and how others reacted toward you. Once you get an initial reaction, if your behavior seems to be upsetting those around you, give a brief explanation that you are conducting an exercise for a communications class, and then go back to being non-communicative. Share your experience and discuss what you noticed about your behavior and the behavior of others while you conducted this exercise.

Your initial response should be 250-300 words in length. Your claims should be supported by assigned readings and/or other academic resources .

COM321 / COM 321 / WEEK 3 DQ 2 RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Relationship Development

Think about the progression of relationships in your life. How is your communication different when you first meet a stranger, when you get to know the person and find something in common, and when you get to be good friends? Does it change significantly if you establish an intimate relationship with that person? Have you experienced the dialectical tensions described by Baxter and Rawlins? How have you resolved them? Have you known people whose relationships broke apart because they could not resolve dialectical tensions? Share your views on these issues. Your initial response should be 250-300 words in length. Your claims should be supported by assigned readings and/or other academic resources.

COM321 / COM 321 / WEEK 4 DQ 1 ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Organizational Communication

Discuss the upward and downward communication channels you have experienced here at Ashford University. Identify any problems in organizational communication you have seen. Do you feel that you have adequate information? In what areas would you like clearer information? What could the university do to provide more useful information to you and to improve communication? Your initial response should be 250-300 words in length. Your claims should be supported by assigned readings and/or other academic resources.

COM321 / COM 321 / WEEK 4 DQ 2 THE GLOBAL VILLAGE

The Global Village

What is your attitude toward living in the global village? For example, if you were offered a good job in a foreign country, how would you feel about packing up and moving there for several years? If your roommate were of a different cultural background, would you welcome the experience or would you feel a little uncomfortable? Do your answers depend on what country the job is in or where the roommate comes from? Explore this attitude. Why do you think you feel the way you do? Your initial response should be 250-300 words in length. Your claims should be supported by assigned readings and/or other academic resources .

COM321 / COM 321 / WEEK 4 ASSIGNMENT ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS ASSESSMENT

Organizational Skills Assessment

Think about the skills you have gained through coursework, personal experiences, and previous employment that will help you be effective in organizations. Prepare a written list of the skills you possess in each of the following categories: (a) work-content skills, (b) personal attributes (such as communication and self-management), and (c) technology. Following each skill listed, explain how the skill might help you in your current career or in the career you intend to pursue.

COM321 / COM 321 / WEEK 5 DQ 1 MASLOW’S NEEDS HIERARCHY EXERCISE

Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy Exercise

Assume that a friend has asked you to help her in developing a series of messages to persuade people to join literacy classes and to learn to read. The messages will take the form of a public speech or radio and television public service announcements. Use Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy to construct five different messages, each of which focuses on how learning to read can help people fulfill one of Maslow’s basic needs. You do not need to create a speech; simply describe what the message will be and discuss which need it is based on. Post your five messages. Your initial response should be 250-300 words in length. Your claims should be supported by assigned readings and/or other academic resources.

COM321 / COM 321 / WEEK 5 DQ 2 TELEVISION MESSAGES

Television Messages

During the week, watch a national news broadcast of your choice and a half-hour or hour-long television sitcom comedy that contains a family or a neighborhood of people. While you are watching these programs, take notes of the messages these programs are giving you. For example, on the news program, what types of stories are reported? What kind of ideological messages can you detect? On the sitcom comedy, what types of values do these people hold? Are they similar to your values or to those of the people you know? With both programs, include an analysis of the advertising during commercials. What types of products or services are being advertised? What is the message? In the ads, how was happiness defined? Your goal is to notice what audience members are being told about themselves and the values they should hold.

COM321 / COM 321 / WEEK 5 ASSIGNMENT FOCUS OF THE FINAL PORTFOLIO

Focus of the Final Portfolio

In this final assignment, you will assess your skills in interpersonal, group, and organizational communications based on your studies of these forms of communication. Address each of these forms of communication separately in the portfolio, assessing your overall skills in this area and then specifically addressing the issues listed below. Also, apply at least four of the theories or models of communication you have studied in the course. Your portfolio should address the following:

1. Interpersonal Communication:

a. Your overall skills in this form of communication

b. Your spoken language skills

c. Your listening skills

d. Your relationship skills

e. Issues discussed in the Your Study of Communication Assignment

f. Issues discussed in the Personal Constructs Paper Assignment

g. Issues discussed in the Relationship Development Assignment

2. Group Communications:

a. Your overall skills in this form of communication

b. Five characteristics that would describe you

c. Group roles you play most frequently

d. Are you all territorial? How do you show your territoriality?

e. Do you have a large or small “personal space bubble”? How does this affect your communication with others?

f. Families are groups with definite roles, structure, and norms. Analyze your family communication and your skills in this area.

3. Organizational Communications:

a. Your overall skills in this form of communication

b. Issues related to work-content skills, personal attributes such as self-management, and technology skills discussed in the Organizational Skills Assessment Assignment