describing their experiences applying the principles in the “real world.”

Students will write a 5-8 page paper describing their experiences applying the principles in the “real world.” The paper must include a description of why you selected this particular application; what you did in the application; and what was the end result.

For this assignment, you are to design an intervention/policy/event/proposal to address an issue within your organization (work or professional association or personal [ex. church, neighborhood, fraternity, etc.]) which relates to communication either within or outside your organization. This assignment allows you to exercise a fair amount of creativity in your application. Try to find a way to use your “expertise” in organizational communication in a way which appeals to people in your organization or the real world and would really help the organization. As you do this, though, you need to be sure the way in which you “apply” your expertise remains true to the research and theories within organizational communication.

Some possibilities for organizational applications might include:

A training class for new employees or managers
Organizational web page(s)
A section of the employee handbook – either NEW or revised
Informational videos for organizations
Interviewing guidelines for specific positions
Job posting(s) – either NEW or revised
Plans for organizational restructuring
If you are struggling to find a topic, these are my BEST suggestions for ways to approach the project:

Identify an issue within your agency (paid or volunteer) which is in some way tied to communication, you would like to change.
Determine what steps or actions you can take (which are related to organizational communication) to change the issue.
Write the policy, if needed.
Implement the policy
Evaluate the effectiveness of the policy
Please keep in mind:

you may only be able to do a portion of the overall plan due to the time constraints of the COURSE
you likely have an idea you have ALWAYS wanted to try at work but never had the gumption/chance/opportunity to try out your idea
several prior students have received public and/or agency recognition, promotions, and new job offers based on the project completed in this course