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Professional Concentration in Business Communication
Effective communication is an essential component of successful organizations. As the current economic climate continues to challenge the business environment, it has become critical for professionals to communicate not just effectively, but strategically. The Professional Concentration in Business Communication addresses this important need.
Become a more valuable, more influential part of your organization by improving your ability to converse strategically, write concisely and facilitate more seamlessly. Acquire a comprehensive understanding of how to communicate within the framework of any organization—whether it is a small company or complex corporation, public or private business, profit or nonprofit institution.
Gain practical knowledge that matters
- Improve your understanding of interpersonal, team and organizational business communication.
- Learn to work more collaboratively.
- Increase your negotiation skills.
- Handle difficult situations and people strategically and effectively.
- Learn to incorporate social media into your business communications.
Designed for professionals like you
This program is designed for a broad audience of business professionals—leaders, managers and staff in both the public and private sectors—who want to improve their business communication skills and interact more effectively and strategically.
Advisory board
This program was developed by an advisory board comprised of leaders in the field of communication.
- John Goldberg, training officer, State of California
- Jeanie Hagen-Greene, principal, HG Training Group
- Karen Hull, Associate Vice Chancellor, UC Davis Human Resources
- Karen Terrill, principal, Media Survival Group
Professional Concentration requirements
Courses may be taken individually or as part of the Professional Concentration in Business Communication. Participants will be awarded a certificate in Business Communication upon the successful completion of 8.5 required units and 1 elective unit of designated coursework. Tuition for the entire Professional Concentration in Business Communication is $3,850 to $4,025, depending on when you enroll. The program application fee, textbooks and parking are not included in the tuition fee.
Students wishing to earn a Professional Concentration in Business Communication certificate will be subject to paying the $45 application fee and completing the necessary forms (certificate application and notice of completion). Only one course from another institution will be allowed as substitution if appropriate proof of grade and description compares to the program course.
| UNITS | F | W | SP | SU | ||
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| REQUIRED COURSES | Interpersonal, Team and Organizational Business Communication | 2.5 | 
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| Business Writing | 1.5 |
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| Difficult Conversations | 1 |
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| Facilitating Group Dynamics | 1 |
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| Ethics in the Workplace | 1 |
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| Social Media | 1.5 |
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| ELECTIVE COURSES | Collaborative Problem-Solving | 1.5 |
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| Effective Negotiation Strategies | 3 |
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| How to Work With Difficult People | 0.5 |
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| Managing Workplace Conflict | 0.5 |
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F=Fall W=Winter SP=Spring SU=Summer;
Schedules subject to change
Classroom format |
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Required Courses
Interpersonal, Team and Organizational Business Communication
2.5 quarter units academic credit, X410.5. 25 HRCI Hours
Improve your ability to communicate interpersonally and within your team and organization. Communication is the life’s blood of any organization or relationship, and leaders must be able to clearly articulate the organization’s mission and values. Learn to set clear expectations, give coherent and consistent directions, develop communication skills among team members, and pull together to meet organizational goals.
This course is not currently scheduled.
Business Writing
1.5 quarter units academic credit, X402.26.
Learn to write so concisely that overwhelmed decision makers will actually read what you've written, and so persuasively and clearly, that formerly resistant readers will gladly do what you ask. Discover creative ways to add punch and polish to your business letters and proposals so you won't need to follow-up with emails or phone call.
You begin with an assessment of your writing, then develop and practice advanced techniques to significantly improve your credibility and your company's image.
Sections of this course open for enrollment:
- Business Writing starts April 16
Difficult Conversations
1 quarter units academic credit, X414.20.
Discover strategies for reducing the need to have “difficult” conversations. Increase your understanding of how the brain works and how what happens in our minds affects our conversations. Many conversations, even those that begin well, end in frustration for both parties. Examine how and why conversations become unfocused, and learn to put them back on track.
This course is not currently scheduled.
Facilitating Group Dynamics
1 quarter units academic credit, X414.8. 10 MCLE Hours
Learn and practice the essential facilitation skills and techniques required for successful group and team meetings and other interactions. Become a vital resource, and gain the ability to create an environment where people can do their best thinking and work. Through discussions, group activities and self-assessments, learn the methods for creating a safe, productive environment and keep groups on track and focused on their goals. Acquire the skills to encourage productive working relationships. Establish principles of ethical facilitation, discuss characteristics of effective teams, and discover how people learn and integrate information and how that affects your facilitation.
Learn and practice the essential facilitation skills and techniques required for successful group and team meetings and other interactions. Become a vital resource, and gain the ability to create an environment where people can do their best thinking and work. Through discussions, group activities and self-assessments, learn the methods of creating a safe, productive environment and keep groups on track and focused on their goals. Acquire the skills to encourage productive working relationships. Establish principles of ethical facilitation, discuss characteristics of effective teams, and discover how people learn and integrate information and how that affects your facilitation.
Sections of this course open for enrollment:
- Facilitating Group Dynamics starts June 1
Ethics in the Workplace
1 quarter units academic credit, X424.40. 10 HRCI Hours
Heighten your awareness and understanding of ethical issues in the workplace. Learn to avoid the slippery slope of an unethical work environment and gain a conceptual framework and practical strategies for making ethical and effective business decisions. You will learn when and where ethical issues are most likely to surface and how to maintain your integrity. You will also gain an understanding of the impact of cultural and organizational pressures to conform, and explore a variety of ethical decision-making models. Business experience and case studies form the core of this highly interactive course in which you will evaluate possible courses of action and respond to challenging situations.
This course is not currently scheduled.
Social Media
1.5 quarter units academic credit, X423.25.
Business organizations are incorporating social media into their marketing strategies more rapidly than ever. According to an August 2011 report of the eMarketing Association there are currently:
- 695 million Facebook users
- More than 148 million LinkedIn users
- 140 million Tweets created each day
- 2.5 billion Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn visits each month
- 164 million blogs
And bestselling newspaper circulation is down 8.7 percent from
last
year. Examine how marketers are using the new social
medium to create brand awareness and buzz, and learn how these
communication
tools affect your firm’s communication strategies. Businesses must embrace this technology—much of
which is completely
free in terms of upfront costs—strategically and tactically to extend
their
message.
This course is not currently scheduled.
Elective Courses
Collaborative Problem-Solving
1.5 quarter units academic credit, X414.13. 20 AICP Hours, 20 MCLE Hours
Discover
collaborative methods and techniques for problem solving and
conflict resolution. Learn to find mutually agreeable solutions to
challenging situations
between individuals and/or organizations so projects and programs
can move
forward. Examine the differences among interests, issues, options and
proposals, and the ways in which effective groups, facilitators and/or
mediators structure and guide problem-solving processes to create
acceptable
results for all parties involved.
This course is not currently scheduled.
Effective Negotiation Strategies
3 quarter units academic credit, X422.10.
Anyone
negotiating with others who have
strong opinions knows how difficult it can be to reach a
mutually
beneficial resolution. Through the use of skill-building
exercises, case
studies and simulations, examine the interest-based negotiation model
through
practical and theoretical perspectives. Focus on the interest-based
process to address
the different values, priorities and goals of each party.
Discover how to
create effective strategies and achieve win-win
solutions.
Examine the
principles that won
President Jimmy Carter his Nobel Prize for Peace with the Camp
David
Accords and that create successful labor/management
negotiations and
enable complex multi-party, decision-making situations to be
successful.
Sections of this course open for enrollment:
- Effective Negotiation Strategies starts February 25
How to Work With Difficult People
0.5 quarter units academic credit, X414.17.
Don’t let a difficult customer, co-worker or stranger ruin your day. Practice setting limits and saying “no” to protect yourself from problem people. Learn how to manage conflict with difficult people and move toward constructive problem-solving. Receive practical, positive approaches for dealing with conflict in your daily interactions with this interactive workshop.
Develop skills in:
- Learning how difficult people think, feel and act
- Creating realistic expectations to avoid conflict
- Responding to difficult people
- Defusing emotion and creating rapport
- Handling complaints, saying “no” and delivering bad news
- Setting limits, influencing others and resolving conflicts
- Staying calm and confident under fire
This course is not currently scheduled.
Managing Workplace Conflict
0.5 quarter units academic credit, X414.2. 5 MCLE Hours
Differences and disagreements between individuals can intensify and negatively impact entire work groups within an organization. Human resource managers spend up to 60 percent of their time dealing with employee disputes, according to a recent article on careerbuilder.com.
Develop
the skills to
effectively and efficiently resolve
these kinds of disputes by understanding the underlying causes of
workplace
conflict. Learn to distinguish between functional and dysfunctional
workplace
conflicts, and determine how to effectively manage them. Become skilled
at
recognizing the stages of conflict, identifying effective methods of
intervention and successfully accomplishing the interventions.
Sections of this course open for enrollment:
- Managing Workplace Conflict starts May 9
(2.3 MB)
