This textbook covers content relevant to COMS342 Problem Solving in Teams and Groups at the University of Kansas.

Table of Contents
I. Groups & Teams Overview

1. Defining Teams and Groups
2. The Psychology of Groups
3. Cooperation
4. Social Comparison
5. Shared Information Bias
6. Judgment and Decision Making
II. Groups & Teams (In)Action

7. Professional Writing
8. Persuasive Presentations
9. Gantt Chart
10. Groups and meetings
11. Organizational culture
12. Inattentional Blindness
13. Teams as Systems
14. Performance Evaluation
III. Group & Team Theory

15. Power in Teams and Groups
16. Leadership
17. Structuration Theory
18. Symbolic Convergence Theory
19. Conformity and Obedience
20. Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions
21. Intercultural and Plane Crashes
22. Conflict and Negotiation
23. Nonverbal Communication

This Open Education Resource (OER), developed by Olds College in collaboration with the Government of Alberta, is a series of modules intended for use in Higher Education courses or by independent learners. Titled ‘Professional Communication’ the resource will be useful for instructors whose courses cover introductory communication skills, workplace communication, technical communication or business writing. The resources is openly available under a Creative Commons license, and may be reused or adapted. It contains four modules, each with its own lesson plans, assets, assessments and supporting materials. Note: Please make a "Copy" of any files you wish to use, you will then have editing abilities.

This is a review of Professional Communication http://louis.oercommons.org/courses/professional-communication-oer/view by Doreen Piano, Associate Professor of English, University of New Orleans, LA.This rubric was developed by BCcampus. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.The rubric allows reviewers to evaluate OER textbooks using a consistent set of criteria. Reviewers are encouraged to remix this rubric and add their review content within this tool. If you remix this rubric for an evaluation, please add the title to the evaluated content and link to it from your review.

The professional world can be full of challenging situations, including conflicting personalities, miscommunication, and cultural differences. In this course, you will learn about typical workplace etiquette protocols, communication standards, and cultural awareness strategies in order to navigate these common obstacles as smoothly as possible.

This course is designed to provide adult learners with the basic skills they need to write effective documents in the workplace.

The purpose of this course is to systematically examine the elements and factors which result in an effective speech. Tying these together are the themes of information and ethics, emphasized in each resource because they are becoming increasingly important to all communicators. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: resolve ethical issues involving speech preparation and presentation; recommend techniques for resolving issues, which may interfere with active listening; identify the most effective speech topics, qualities, content, and delivery techniques based on the specific characteristics of an audience; evaluate the effectiveness of speeches for different types of audiences; use online and library-based research to find and critique the credibility of sources of information; cite sources of information appropriately, accurately, and clearly in both spoken and written contexts; choose the most effective pattern of organization for presenting different types of information to a listening audience; evaluate the effectiveness of supporting details or evidence based on the main ideas or arguments they are used to support; choose the most appropriate pattern for organizing a persuasive speech, based on the relationship between arguments and evidence or the relationship between the topic and the audience; identify whether the functions of an introduction or conclusion have been fulfilled and will be effective when presented to a specific type of audience; create keyword and sentence outlines for informative and persuasive speeches; revise a passage written for readers so that it can be delivered effectively and engagingly to listeners; identify and use techniques to improve the fluidity and clarity of verbal delivery; recognize non-verbal techniques that communicate the speakerĺÎĺ_ĺĚĺ_s confidence and credibility in a sample speech; demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of effective, ethical public speaking by accurately and thoroughly assessing the qualities of entire informative, persuasive, and special occasion speeches. This free course may be completed online at any time. (Communication 101)

This course will help you effectively develop employment application materials for todayĺÎĺs job market by honing your resume writing skills, providing you with tools to create an impressive resume (or to improve the one you already have), and giving suggestions on developing an effective cover letter

This book is a practical discussion of actionable steps (six of them!) that students can take to land a job regardless of the market. Whether the estimate is 25% unemployment or single-digit unemployment, that number doesn’t apply to any one student. For any individual, the unemployment rate is 0% or 100%. One either has a job or doesn't. When any one person is looking for a job and there is 10% unemployment, that person just wants to be one of the nine people that has a job.

Students might think even that one job is beyond their grasp. They think they don’t have the right degree. Their school is in a different location than where they’d like to work. Not enough jobs are listed or employers are visiting the campus. This type of thinking cedes control of a student's search to outside forces. It is not up to professors, schools, career services support, or recruiters to get students a job. This book is about the proactive things that students can do to get themselves a job.

In the first chapter, Six Steps to Job Search Success covers the different types of job searches: full-time job after graduation, internship, return to workforce, career change, relocation. The rest of the book is about how, regardless of the type of job search or overall market, one can be proactive and successfully land a job. This textbook outlines a structured approach, actionable steps, and stresses the importance of a student's willingness to see this through.

Six Steps to Job Search Success provides that structure with six steps anyone can take to: 1. identify the types of jobs they’d like (Step 1: Identify Your Target) 2. position themselves for these jobs (Step 2: Create A Powerful Marketing Campaign) 3. figure out what employers are looking for (Step 3: Research) 4. develop relationships with prospective employers (Step 4: Network and Interview) 5. stay connected throughout the decision-making process and fix any problems that might arise (Step 5: Stay Motivated; Organized and Troubleshoot Your Search) 6. complete their search (Step 6: Negotiate and Close the Offer).

Connie and Caroline are both former recruiters with over 40 years of combined hiring experience between them. Connie led recruiting areas for three Fortune 500 companies, and Caroline led recruiting in-house for a Fortune 500 but also as an external recruiter for established firms and start-ups. They’ve hired thousands of people from interns to senior executives. They developed the process detailed in Six Steps to Job Search Success based on how hiring works.

The authors explain that in reality, the ability to look for a job and land a job is a separate and distinct skill than any of the skills required for the job itself. The goal of their book is share their job search techniques with your students so that your students can take control of their job search, add an exceptional new job to their career and enjoy the life rewards a satisfying career can bring. If you are interested in a practical approach that can deliver results, this book is for you and your course. Order a desk copy today and see for yourself.

Text covers how to communicate effectively in a professional context, focusing on both oral and written communication skills, including business correspondence, interviewing, individual presentations, group problem-solving and adapting to organizational cultures.
Chapter 1: Communication Foundations
Chapter 2: Audience
Chapter 3: The Writing Process - Researching
Chapter 4: The Writing Process - Drafting
Chapter 5: The Writing Process - Editing
Chapter 6: Routine Messages
Chapter 7: Persuasion
Chapter 8: Electronic Written Communication
Chapter 9: Job Search, Résumés and Cover Letters
Chapter 10: Interpersonal Workplace Communication
Chapter 11: Group Communication
Chapter 12: Developing Presentations
Chapter 13: Visual Communication
Chapter 14: Intercultural Communication
Chapter 15: Ethics

Attached is an example/template syllabus for CMST 2061: Business and Professional Communication at Louisiana State University. This course maps to the CCOM 2313 Business and Communication Matrix. 

Scholars and communication professionals have adopted strategic communication as an umbrella term meant to include a variety of communication-related professions, such as public relations, brand communication, advertising, and more. Although the term is not new, scholars have only recently examined it as a cohesive paradigm.

This is a review of Writing for Strategic Communication Industries https://louis.oercommons.org/courses/writing-for-strategic-communication-industries by Doreen Piano, Associate Professor of English, University of New Orleans, LA.This rubric was developed by BCcampus. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.The rubric allows reviewers to evaluate OER textbooks using a consistent set of criteria. Reviewers are encouraged to remix this rubric and add their review content within this tool. If you remix this rubric for an evaluation, please add the title to the evaluated content and link to it from your review.