English 310 - Corporate Communication

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID: ENGL 310 - Corporate Communication
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in an English course for undergraduate students by Erin Martin-Elston at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The open textbook provides concepts, formats, samples, and guides to professional corporate communication techniques and corporate social responsibility. The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was reducing student costs and using quality resources. Most student access the open textbook in Canvas through digital links to chapters or incorporation in the LMS software as the CC license allows.

Course Title and Number
Brief Description of course highlights:  Engl 310 is a required course for some majors (Agricultural Communications, Construction Management, Recreation, Parks and Tourism) and a recommended course for other majors (COMS, Computer Science, Business). This course also can meet the Graduate Writing Requirement for Cal Poly.   Prerequisites include: completion of A2 requirement—ENGL 134 Writing and Rhetoric and completion of A3 requirement—any of the following courses: ENGL 145 Writing Arguments, Engl 147 Writing Arguments about STEM, WGS 145 Reasoning, Argumentation, and Writing on Gender and Sexuality, COMS 145 Reasoning, Argumentation and Writing or PHIL 126 Logic and Argumentative Writing.  Course Description: https://catalog.calpoly.edu/coursesaz/engl/

Student population:  
Majors required to take the course include:
Agricultural Communications, 

Construction Management,
Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration

Other common majors include:
COMS
English
Computer Science
Engineering
Business

Learning or student outcomes:  

• Understand the rhetorical dimensions of corporate communication
• Recognize the social and cultural functions of a corporation and the importance of ethical communication
• Explicate how corporate social responsibility and transnational communication systems impact marginalized and underrepresented groups
• Analyze examples of corporate communication based on their rhetorical dimensions and social and cultural functions
• Compose rhetorically effective writing across multiple genres

Key challenges faced and how resolved: I think the biggest challenge for me was allotting enough time to review and select the best fit for my course. There’s a lot of great materials available now that weren’t there 5 years ago when I started adopting OER materials. Also, some of the materials aren’t complete, so I have to make sure everything is there, accessible, and ADA compliant.  Also, picking and choosing from so many strong options was the biggest issue for me

Erin Martin-Elston, English Lecturer
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

https://english.calpoly.edu/faculty-staff-directory

Erin Martin-Elston teaches courses in
Composition, Rhetoric, and Technical Writing for Cal Poly State University—SLO. Courses include
Engl 134: Writing and Rhetoric
Engl 145: Writing Arguments
Engl 147: Writing Arguments about STEM
Engl 149: Technical Writing for Engineers (no longer available)
Engl 310: Corporate Communications.

Erin also taught writing and literature courses for Cuesta Community College from 2004-2016. She is a strong advocate for free/ accessible course materials for her students and primarily uses OER course materials for her classes.

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option. The quality and free access to OER textbooks make my course more accessible to my students. The learning materials and their CC licensing allow me to customize the materials to suit my students’ needs. The quality of available OER materials is fantastic.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course? I browsed OER sites and consulted with other instructors who have taught this course for their “best finds.”

Sharing Best Practices: Looking through MERLOT and the OER Commons for course materials is very helpful. Use the filters and keywords for exactly what you want to find. I found the OER commons website very user-friendly. A big piece of advice: check the CC licenses closely for how you can incorporate the materials into your course. 

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title: 

• Fundamentals of Business—Canadian Edition: https://www.oercommons.org/courses/fundamentals-of-business-canadian-edition-2/view
• Communication for Business Success: https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/communication-for-business-success/
• Technical Writing Essentials: https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/ technicalwriting/chapter/stakeholderengagement/
• Fundamentals of Business—3rd Edition: https://pressbooks.lib.vt.edu/fundamentalsofbusiness3e/chapter/chapter-4-ethics-and-social-responsibility/
• Business Ethics: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/businessethicsopenstax/chapter/corporate-social-responsibility-csr/
• Organizational Communication: https://www.oercommons.org/courses/organizational-communication/view
• Technical and Professional Writing Genres: https://open.library.okstate.edu/technicalandprofessionalwriting/

Brief Description:

• Fundamentals of Business—Canadian Edition and 3rd Edition—I use these texts to provide material examining and defining Corporate Social Responsibility concepts. The Canadian edition examines more through Canada-specific materials while the 3rd Edition looks through a more U.S.-centric lens. The graphics are clear and illustrative (yet different) for both textbooks.
• Communication for Business Success—I use this textbook for Negative News Delivery concepts and strategies—very clear by offering sample scripts as well as real-world scenarios to illustrate these concepts
• Technical Writing Essentials—I use this book to discuss concepts like analyzing stakeholders, writing basics like writing summaries, and incorporating clear, plain language.
• Business Ethics—I use this textbook to define ethical challenges in business, especially in regards to the Environment as a Corporate Social Responsibility Category
• Organizational Communication—I use this textbook to introduce concepts of Crisis Communication strategies and best practices and the Postmodern Workplace, which explains concepts like teamwork and collaboration
• Technical and Professional Writing Genres—I use this textbook to provide information for structuring common corporate writing genres like memos, reports, and proposals. Also, this textbook offers some helpful instructions for analyzing audiences, implementing the rhetorical appeals, and writing documents for both solicited and unsolicited audiences

Authors:

• Fundamentals of Business—Canadian Edition: Business Faculty from Ontario Colleges and eCampusOntario Program Managers
• Communication for Business Success: Scott McLean
• Technical Writing Essentials: Suzan Last 
• Fundamentals of Business—3rd Edition: Stephen Skripak and Ron Poff
• Business Ethics: Rice University
• Organizational Communication: Julie Zink, Ph.D
• Technical and Professional Writing Genres: Michael Beilfuss; Staci Bettes; and Katrina Peterson

Student access:  My Canvas page links to the specific readings and chapters for students to review the course materials; all of the above are available in the OER Commons repository through Pressbooks. 

Cost Savings:  Students pay nothing for these texts—all texts are free. Also, I get to use a variety of texts that allows for a more customized and dynamic course experience. Typical traditional textbook costs range from approximately $75-150 dollars each. If I were to use a traditional textbook for the course, I would use: Business Communication Today--$75

License:

• Fundamentals of Business—Canadian Edition: CC By-NC-SA 4.0
• Communication for Business Success: CC By-NC-SA 3.0
• Technical Writing Essentials: CC By 4.0 
• Fundamentals of Business—3rd Edition: CC By-NC-SA 4.0
• Business Ethics: CC By 4.0
• Organizational Communication: CC By-SA 4.0
• Technical and Professional Writing Genres: CC By-NC-SA 4.0