Assignment B Due Nov. 15

I loved your various notes--and the humor was much appreciated. Just to clarify where we're at:

Oct. 25 Please hand in Assignment A (posted on blog Oct. 4) to Prof. Kathy Kane. I will grade them and get you back some specific feedback as soon as possible (well before your Nov. 15 assignment is due).

Nov. 15 Your team will give a "practice" presentation, based on the blog assignment posted in early October. We won't consider this assignment a "graded" experience, since we haven't had time to work through an executive presentation class together. But let's do give the presentations, which I will videotape and give you feedback on. I'll work with Karl Boedecker to schedule a later date in your MBAE program (perhaps in coordination with a presentation for another class) so we can finish up our formal presentation work together, per the syllabus.

Nov. 15 ASSIGNMENT B is due. By this time you will have read about Communication Architecture and other topics of a "macro" nature to executive communication. The assignment: Please write about three pages describing how and why you would structure a human communication system (including technical links, of course, but focusing on how humans at different levels of responsibility can best communication) for a) an existing organization OR b) an organization you would like to develop. Feel free to include as appendixes any schematics or other visual representations of communication relationships in the organization you choose. (You may keep all identifying information about the organization anonymous.)

Why do this assignment? Human communication patterns and channels tend to grow up like weeds in organizations--unplanned, haphazard, unmonitored, redundant, and expensive especially in terms of salaried time. We can DO BETTER by thinking creatively about what kinds of communication access (personal and electronic) should be available to different levels of employees to maximize efficiency, productivity, and morale. Part of your planning and analysis may include cultural rules regarding communication habits in the organization ("rules of the road") which all participants tend to obey for the good of the organization. Feel free to email me with questions. I look forward to your best thoughts on this important topic. (Due Nov. 15 in class.)