Sioux Central Community School District
High School Course Outline
Department: Business
Course Title: Business Communications
Grade Level: 11-12
Length of Course: Semester
This course introduces students to the fundamental principles of business communications and provides the opportunity to develop and practice communication skills; both written and oral. A simple three-step writing process that works for all types of writing/speaking projects, for school and work, addresses the strategies for today’s communication challenges, including the job search. Business communication differs from personal and social communication in addressing business use of email, blogs, social networks, podcasts, and other technologies professionally in marketing, servicing, and creating strong business relationships.
Critical Thinking: The ability to dissect a multitude of incoming information, sorting the pertinent from the irrelevant, in order to analyze, evaluate, synthesize, or apply the information to a defendable conclusion.
Effective Communication: Information, thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or beliefs transferred either verbally or nonverbally through a medium in which the intended meaning is clearly and correctly understood by the recipient with the expectation of feedback.
Personal Responsibility: Initiative to consistently meet or exceed stated expectations over time.
Apply effective business or career-related communication
Demonstrate business or career-related human relations skills
Solve business or career-related problems
Read to acquire meaning from written material and to apply the information to a task.
Apply active listening skills to demonstrate understanding of what is being said.
Apply verbal skills to obtain and convey information.
Record information to maintain and present a report of business activity.
Write internal and external business correspondence to convey and obtain information effectively.
Use social media to communicate with a business's stakeholders.
Foster positive relationships with customers to enhance company image
Understand the nature of customer relationship management to show its contributions to a company.
Understand the nature of business to show its contributions to society.
Use communication skills to foster open, honest communications.
Use communication skills to influence others.
Acquire self-development skills to enhance relationships and improve efficiency in the work environment.
Utilize critical-thinking skills to determine best options/outcomes.
Participate in career planning to enhance job-success potential.
Implement job-seeking skills to obtain employment.
Utilize career-advancement activities to enhance professional development.
Link to state website for business standards.
Grading Configuration:
➢ Classroom participation/activities = 30% of total grade
➢ Prework/Homework for class = 30% of total grade
➢ Projects, Quizzes, and/or Unit tests = 40% of total grade
Essentials of Business Communication, 11th Ed. ©2019 – Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy