This article reports the results of a study examining the business communication offerings at the top 50 undergraduate business schools, as identified in the Bloomberg Businessweek rankings for 2011. The study focuses on communication course requirements, sequences, and programs, as well as what areas typically receive the most coverage within courses. The data are compared with information from similar studies dating back to 1999 in order to assess the current status of business communication courses and programs within business curricula and to make suggestions for future development.
Objectives: This study explored locations, programs, and content of graduate education in business communication to provide guidance for prospective graduate students interested in becoming business communication faculty. Methods: The researchers conducted a survey of business communication scholars, drawing on the backgrounds and knowledge of those who currently teach and research business communication. Results: Findings indicate that 93 universities offer programs supporting graduate business communication education. This number dwarfs the 12 previously documented programs. These 93 programs are rarely called "business communication. " More respondents received training in business communication practice in master's programs than in doctoral programs, while more respondents received training in pedagogy and methods during doctoral work than master's work. The majority of respondents reported being employed by business schools despite receiving their degrees from colleges of arts and sciences, communication, or education. Conclusions: Graduate students can use the list of 93 universities to investigate possible graduate programs in business communication. Students will likely need to pursue graduate education outside of business schools, because the majority of respondents did not receive their graduate degrees from business schools. Earning a doctorate will likely give students methodological knowledge that a master's program may not provide. To bolster their experience with the context of business communication, graduate students may need to gain some experience in the practice of business communication via internship or elective business school coursework.
By analyzing a case study of organizational decision making at a large research university, this article argues that the agency to make a difference within organizations-to effect organizational change-is not exclusive to those in positions of authority. This case study demonstrates how subordinate members of a university affected management's decision-making process through their use of rhetorical identification. Specifically, these organizational members gained this agency by reproducing certain values and identities through epideictic rhetoric in order to encourage collective action and effect organizational change from the bottom up.
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