Making the Connection: Applied Business Communication

Effective communication skills are recognized as the number one skill desired by employers (Job Outlook, NACE, 2012). This course focuses on the basics of business writing, starting with the fundamentals and understanding your audience before transitioning to two common, but very important business documents: the cover letter and the resume. This course combines discussion boards and exercises, as well as peer review, to focus on core skills in a collaborative and dynamic environment.

Instructor

Scott McLean

Associate Professor of Communication

Scott McLean was the 2007-2011 Shadle-EdgeCombe Endowed Faculty Chair at Arizona Western College. He serves as an Associate Professor of Communication, including Journalism and English, for a combined campus partnership with the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University-Yuma. Scott is the author of "The Basics of Communication Studies," “The Basics of Speech Communication” and “The Basics of Interpersonal Communication,” currently published by Pearson. He is also the author of “Business Communication for Success,” "Business English for Success," and "Writing for Success" with Flat World Knowledge. McLean has published in peer-review journals, classic car magazines, and newspapers. From his 18 years of experience working with students at the community college and undergraduate level, including English 95 (development), 100 (college prep), 101 (composition and argumentation), 102 (literature and analysis), and 350 (business communication), he has learned the importance of clear, concise learning resources with scaffolding, frequent opportunities for engagement and demonstration of skill mastery, and the importance of the first English course on overall academic success for many students. He has taught at AWC/San Luis on the U.S./Mexican Border, for Central Oregon Community College’s Branch Campus on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, and for Universidad San Sebastian in Concepcion, Chile. Scott studied at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, at Washington State University's Edward R. Murrow School of Communication, and at Northern Arizona University-Flagstaff’s Department of English in the area of Professional Writing.