GE2212

GE2212 Contemporary Business Communication

Part I

Course Duration: One semester
Area: Study of Societies, Social and Business Organizations
Credit Units: 3
Level: B2, A2
Medium of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: Nil
Precursors: Nil
Equivalent Courses: Nil
Exclusive Courses: Nil

Part II

Course Aims

This course aims to provide fundamental knowledge and skills in communication in any forms of organizations, such as business, government, and non-profit making ones. This course will focus on understanding and practices of frameworks and theories of (1) basic individual communication skills (written, spoken, and listening); (2) communicating in internal corporate environment (e.g. memo, email, proposals, report writing, meeting and presentations) and with external partners and public bodies (e.g. government, media and investor relations); (3) contemporary digital modes of communication (face-to-face, video-conferencing, emails, and shared databases); and (4) cross-cultural communication. This course is suitable for undergraduates from all disciplines.

This course will heavily employ an experiential learning pedagogy. Students will engage in dynamic discussion, simulation exercises, and working in a team setting with others who are from different academic intellectual background. The teamwork setting will resemble real life collaboration models, which provide first-hand experience for working with diverse groups.

Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs)

Please refer to the objectives of the Gateway Education Programme (see note 10)

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

No.
CILOs Weighting(if applicable)
1. Analyse and apply critically contemporary business communication skills (written, spoken and listening) in specific situations (internal corporate and external public environments.) 50%
2. Apply critically various contemporary digital modes of communication (face-to-face, video-conferencing, emails, and shared databases.) 20%
3. Analyse critically the effect of culture on and cultural variations in the business communication process and adjust their communication accordingly. 20%
4. Work effectively in culturally, academically and intellectually diverse teams. 10%

Teaching and Learning Activities (TLAs)
(Indicative of likely activities and tasks designed to facilitate students’ achievement of the CILOs. Final details will be provided to students in their first week of attendance in this course)

Total Hour (Group Size): Seminar 39 (40)

ILO No.
TLAs Hours/week(if applicable)
CILO 1, 2, 3, 4 Short lecture
CILO 1, 2, 3, 4 In-class simulation exercises
CILO 1, 2, 3 Video analysis
CILO 1, 2, 3 Reflection logbook
CILO 1, 2, 3, 4 Exam
CILO 1, 2, 3, 4 Class discussion
CILO 1, 2, 3 Internet exercises
CILO 1, 2, 3 Written report
CILO 1, 2, 3, 4 Team presentation
CILO 1, 2, 3, 4 Team project

Assessment Tasks/Activities
(Indicative of likely activities and tasks designed to assess how well the students achieve the CILOs. Final details will be provided to students in their first week of attendance in this course)

ILO No.
Type of Assessment Tasks/Activities Weighting(if applicable) Remarks
CILO 1 Exam/Quiz, written report, presentation, and class participation.
CILO 2 Reflection logbook, exam/quiz, report for case study, class participation, written report.
CILO 3 Exam/quiz, reflection logbook, class participation, and report for case study.
CILO 4 Presentation and written report for case study.

Components
Weighting
Final Exam (2 hours):
40%
Business communication presentation: 20%
Reflection logbook: 30%
Class participation: 10%
Total:
100%

1. Business communication topic presentation: 20%
            This project is designed to help you sharpen your skills of making a professional presentation on a topic that is not clearly defined nor covered in formal textbook materials. This assignment tries to simulate what you will experience in the real work setting, in which your tasks are not always well defined or structured. Select a business communication related topic that your team thinks is relevant in the work setting and meaningful to your class. Do as much library and information search on this topic as necessary and structure a presentation in class. If your team selects a topic outside the coverage of the course materials, please seek approval from your instructor before you proceed to start the project. In Week 13, each team will have 15 minutes for presentation and 3 minutes for question and answers.

2. Reflection log: 30%
            The purpose of this assignment is to give you an experience of practicing one of the business communication skills outside the classroom setting and to encourage you to review, learn from and build on the experience. It is up to you to decide which skill to practice. You should choose ONE skill covered in the course (e.g. listening, writing a report, professional presentation); but if you wish to select a skill that is not covered both in out syllabus, you can check with and seek approval from the instructor before beginning the project. Most important is that your choice of skill is derived from a genuine learning need: a skill in which you feel you would benefit from making some improvement. The log should describe your goal, what you have done to improve the skills and which specific skill you have applied. In addition, it should provide an analysis of the degree to which your use of the skill was effective. Reflect on the whole experience in terms of concept(s) you have learnt from class and experiences outside of the classroom. Your reflection log should contain no more than 800 words. The log should be submitted (one soft copy submitted to Blackboard and one hard copy to me) in class in Week 9. Every single day of late submission will result in a deduction of one sub-grade (e.g., from B+ to B).

3. Class participation: 10%
            All students are expected to participate actively in class discussion. This includes evidence of thorough prior preparation of course materials, engaging in class exercises, and class discussion. Class participation will be evaluated solely based on the quality of the comments you raise in class acknowledged by the instructor. When raising comments in class, comments that apply theoretical concepts are valuable. Comments that tie together previous points and move the discussion forward are appreciated. When you make your comments, speak to the whole class, not just to me. Please note that mere class attendance does not necessarily warrant you any class participation marks. That means, you could potentially get a zero mark for class participation even though you have attended all seminars.
             You should be prepared before coming to class because one of the most important things about interactive learning is preparation. If you do not read your assigned chapters AND do the assigned exercises before coming, you will lose your learning opportunity. There is no time for us to go through each and every single concept in class. The seminar is a platform to facilitate your learning through participation, clarification and application of what you have read from the textbook, and other references. Please read the assigned chapter(s) AND do the assigned exercises (if any) before coming.

4. Final Exam (40%)
            There will be a final exam to test you on all concepts learnt in class and the required textbook. The first session of the question paper will be in multi-choice question format and the second session will be essay-type questions. There will be NO MCQ make-up exam. Those who cannot attend the exam due to medical reasons (medical certificate provided) and other legitimate reasons will be tested with all essay questions instead.

Grading of Student Achievement: Refer to Grading of Courses in the Academic Regulations (Attachment) and to the Explanatory Notes.

Grading for quiz and test

Excellent A+ A A-	GoodB+ B B	AdequateC+ C C-	MarginalD
Able to excellently present answers to quiz and test in comparison to lecturer’s provided answers as well as other students’ answers.	Able to often present above average answers and occasional excellent answers to quiz and test in comparison to lecturer’s provided answers as well as other students’ answers.	On average able to present reasonable answers to quiz and test in comparison to lecturer’s provided answers as well as other students’ answers.	Occasionally able to present reasonable answers to quiz and test but fail to demonstrate such in other occasions.

Class discussion, role play and live practice

Excellent A+ A A-	GoodB+ B B	AdequateC+ C C-	MarginalD
Able to always present and communicate ideas in class discussions and live practice that stimulate students’ deep insights and detailed analysis on topical issues in business communication practices.	Able to often present sensible ideas and comments that create room for further consideration of topical issues in business communication practices.	Able to occasionally present reasonable ideas and comments that contribute to the class discussion topics and during live practice.	Able to follow ideas and comments made by other students during class discussions and live practice but barely make contributions to other students’ insights of the topical issues.

Major project report

Excellent A+ A A-	GoodB+ B B	AdequateC+ C C-	MarginalD
Strong evidence of mastering the knowledge and practices of business communication and the problems and issues uncovered in the case and project data. Able to provide valid and practical solutions to solve these problems.	Evidence of applying the knowledge of business communication practice in analyzing data contained in the case and major project, and providing reasonable solutions thereto.	Some evidence of knowing the knowledge of business communication practice in analyzing data contained in the case and major project, and occasionally providing reasonable solutions thereto.	Limited evidence of knowing the knowledge of business communication practice in analyzing data contained in the case and major project.

Part III

Keyword Syllabus: (Sample)

	Week	Topics	Readings
Part 1: Communication Model Part 2: Intrapersonal Communication	1	Course IntroductionBusiness Communication Model	Barrett Ch. 1de Janasz Ch. 7
	2	Self in communication: Self Understanding, Disclosure, and Goal Setting	de Janasz Ch. 1 & 2, 3
	3	Communication Purpose, Strategy and Structure	Barrett Ch. 2
Part 3: Interpersonal Communication	4	Assertion and Non-Verbal Communication	de Janasz Ch. 6 & 7
	5	Persuasive Communication	de Janasz Ch. 8
	6	Public Speaking, Oral Reporting and Presentation	Barrett Ch. 5 & 6
	7	Written communication	Barrett Ch. 4
Part 4: Intergroup Communication	8	Foundation of Intergroup and Team Communication	de Janasz Ch. 10
	9	Conflict Management and Networking	de Janasz Ch. 11 & 16
Part 5: Intra & Extra-Organizational Communication	10	Strategic Internal Communication	Barrett Ch. 11
	11	Effective External Relations and Crisis Communication	Barrett Ch. 12
	12	Cross-Cultural Communication	de Janasz Ch. 5
	13	Technological Mediated Communication	Hynes Ch. 3

Annex

A. Please specify which Gateway Education Programme Intended Learning Outcome(s) – PILO(s) - this course is going to achieve and how it/they relate(s) to your CILOs:

GE PILO (Pls refer to explanatory note 10.)	Please tick if this PILO is related to the CILOs	*How the PILO is related to the CILOs(Pls use separate pages if necessary.)***
PILO 1a. Develop written and oral communication skills	ü	This PILO is related to CILO 1 & 2. This course aims to teach communication skills and knowledge, thus matches entirely to this PILO.
PILO 1b. Develop team work skills	ü	This PILO is related to CILO 4. This course will put students into team to create a natural environment for work interaction, in which interpersonal communication is trained and experienced. Students will develop also develop interpersonal skills needed to work effectively in a team.
PILO 1c. Develop analytical skills	ü	These three sub-PILOs are related to CILO 1 & 2 and the assessment methods of this course. This course will impart theoretical knowledge to students on analysing the communication context and hence apply critically the appropriate communication tools and methods accordingly. For instance, having to work with someone in a different time zone poses a problem in effective communication. Students would learn the pros and cons of various digital communication methods vis-à-vis face-to-face ones and the associated restrictions. Hence, they critically analyse which means would be most suitable.
PILO 1d. Develop problem solving skills	ü
PILO 1e. Develop critical thinking skills	ü
PILO 2 Relate knowledge of diverse people and cultures	ü	This PILO is related to CILO 3. This course includes two topics on working with people from diverse cultures. The two topics are working in multicultural teams and intercultural communication.
PILO 3 Apply a broader knowledge of the natural and physical world	N/A
PILO 4 Generate the capacity for assuming individual and social responsibilities	N/A
PILO 5 Generate the capacity for lifelong learning	ü	This PILO is related to all CILO. Communication in an organizational setting is crucial to all of the undergraduates because they will eventually work in an organization upon graduation. This course equips them with not only skills needed upon graduation but also theoretical knowledge to analyse the communication situations so that they could apply the right kind of communication tools. Students would also see the dynamic and ever-changing nature of the communication context, thus they learn that it is essential to keep up-to-date knowledge in communication technology, hence this course train them to continue lifelong learning.

B. Please outline the course content and pedagogy to be used to achieve CILOs.

This course aims to provide fundamental knowledge and skills in communication in any forms of organizations, such as business, government, and non-profit making ones. This course will focus on understanding and practices of frameworks and theories of (1) basic individual communication skills (written, spoken, and listening); (2) communicating in internal corporate environment (e.g. memo, email, proposals, report writing, meeting and presentations) and with external partners and public bodies (e.g. government, media and investor relations); (3) contemporary digital modes of communication (face-to-face, video-conferencing, emails, and shared databases); and (4) cross-cultural communication.