3100.Professional Development

Comet Creed: “As a Comet, I pledge honest, integrity, and service in all that I do.”


Course: *3100

Title: Professional Development
Term: Fall 2016

Contact Information
Instructor: McClain Watson, PhD
Office Location: 4.415 JSOM
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 9 – 10am or by appointment
Office Phone: 972.883.4875

Email (heads up here!):
TBD

Course Prerequisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions
There are no pre-requisites or co-requisites for this course.

Course Description
This course is required for all new students in the Naveen Jindal School of Management and is designed to equip students to be both more effective business students and self-starting business professionals. Students will work on networking skills, verbal and written communication skills, professional etiquette, and learn how to increase their human capital. Students will also work on projects geared towards career management and overall professional development as a JSOM student. The goal of this class is to make the student a more marketable and valuable professional to the global economy.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes:
1. Students will demonstrate multi-media career development and job preparedness.

2. Students will construct effective intra-firm communication documents and presentations.

3. Students will construct effective documents and presentations for key external stakeholders.

Required Textbooks and Materials
1) Illustrated Course Guides: Professionalism – Soft Skills for a Digital Workplace, Butterfield, 1st Edition, 0538469781 Cengage.
Buy or Rent the e-book here: http://www.coursesmart.com/9780538469784

2) Student subscription to Bloomberg BusinessWeek. You will pay $14 for 20 digital issues of the magazine. The digital subscription of Bloomberg Business Week is available here: http://goo.gl/Ib43ib

Assignments
50pts – Career Assessment
100pts – CMC Workshop Reflection
200pts – Informational Interview
100pts – Bloomberg BusinessWeek Presentation
50pts – Resume
50pts – Goal Statement
50pts – LinkedIn Profile
50pts – Executive Summary
50pts – Degree Plan Activity
150pts- Reading Quizzes (on elearning)
800 total points possible

Grading Policy
All work should also demonstrate the same professional and ethical standards expected of you in the workplace, including proofreading and editing carefully all work you submit in this class. Professionalism also means that you use appropriate source citation wherever and whenever necessary so that you avoid violations of copyright and academic honesty – even if those violations are inadvertent.
100-97% = A+ , 97-93 = A , 92-90 = A- , 89-87 = B+ , 86-83 = B , 82-80 = B- , 79-77 = C+ , 76-73 = C , 72-70 = C-

Business Communication Center
You are strongly encouraged to use the BCC located in 12.106  Visit http://bcc.utdallas.edu/ to make an appointment, find out how to check out a video camera, and learn how to strengthen your speaking and powerpoint design.

Attendance
You get 2 free absences.
Each absence after that = 10 points off your final grade
It is your responsibility to make sure you are counted present in each class.

Course Policies
Late Work
Deadlines in the professional world are a serious matter. Missed deadlines mean lost contracts, delayed product releases, skyrocketing expenses, and, in some cases, the loss, quite literally, of millions of dollars in revenue. Missed deadlines also compromise professional reputations and careers. Work that does not meet the assignment’s constraints is unprofessional and creates administrative headaches. “I had technical problems’ is not a valid excuse for late work, so plan accordingly. For these reasons, late or incomplete work is not acceptable in this course EXCEPT in the most extreme and unlikely of circumstances.

Individual Extra Credit
Other than extra credit opportunities offered to the entire class, I do not curve individual items, nor do I offer “extra credit” work or “special consideration” to allow individual students a chance to raise their grade. If a personal situation arises during the semester that may affect your classroom performance, please talk to me sooner rather than later. If you wait until the end of the semester, I won’t be able to help you. I can work with you more easily if you speak to me when the situation arises.

Classroom Citizenship
In keeping with this course’s professional communication mandate, students are expected to use every opportunity in the course to practice communicating in a civil and professional manner.

Classroom and Equipment Use Policies
No laptops may be used in the classroom unless you have cleared it with me first.

Additional policies can be found here: http://coursebook.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies

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