INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Main Campus
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
MGT 211
Course Outline
Spring Semester 2017
Instructor: Kanwal Akhtar
Class Timings: Tuesdays and Thursdays
10.00am to 11.15am
Counseling Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays
9:00am to 10:00am
Teaching Assistant: Sajata Kumari
Course Description
This course focuses on techniques of successful communication in the business world. It
introduces strategies for various business situations including memos, letters, meetings,
presentations, reports, electronic correspondence, creative business writing, and the job
application process and negotiation skills. The course also examines methods of
organizing and presenting information and of developing a professional communication
style.
In this class, students will learn how to communicate clearly and persuasively, and to
connect with their audience, in a way that inspires action.
Course Objectives
Specifically, students will learn how to:
Inspire action through compelling written communications and high-impact
presentations
Generate insights, with meaningful conclusions and recommendations
Understand and apply the principles of logical reasoning to lead your audience to
action
Develop your unique leadership style and use it to authentically to connect with
your audience
Present information simply and clearly, in PowerPoint, full-text memos and
emails, and other formats
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Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:
1. Apply business communication strategies and principles to prepare effective
communication for domestic and international business situations.
2. Identify ethical, legal, cultural, and global issues affecting business
communication.
3. Utilize analytical and problem solving skills appropriate to business
communication.
4. Participate in team activities that lead to the development of collaborative work
skills.
5. Select appropriate organizational formats and channels used in developing and
presenting business messages.
6. Compose and revise accurate business documents using computer technology.
7. Communicate via electronic mail, Internet, and other technologies.
8. Deliver an effective oral business presentation.
Course Methodology
Class sessions will be highly interactive, since best practices in communications are most
effectively learned through practice rather than lecture. Therefore, we will:
Spend most of the time in each session working through hands-on, relevant
exercises
Practice presenting and writing
Draw on real life examples from a variety of industries and situations, including
your own work or academic experience
Use brief case studies from different industries as the basis for some in-class
exercises and projects
The course will be organized around the following key concepts:
Understanding your audience
Synthesizing and structuring communications
Writing killer charts and memos
Developing your leadership style
Presenting effectively
The class concludes with the Final Project, which will require researching, structuring,
writing, and delivering a presentation.
Course Structure
This course will involve a substantial amount of team work as part of the learning
process. Simulations and workshops will be conducted on various topics of the course
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content. There will be short lecture presentations on the key concepts of the various
types of business communication. These lectures will be followed by assignments which
you will need to complete before the next class when you will submit the assignment.
Course Content and Class Schedule
Session No. Topic
1-2 Effective Communications in Business
- Importance & Benefits of Effective Organizational Communication
- Components of Communication- Communication Model
(internal, external, vertical, horizontal and lateral communication)
- The Language of Business
3 The Seven Cs of Effective Communication in Business Writing
- Completeness, Conciseness, Consideration,
- Concreteness, Clarity, Courtesy, Correctness
- You-Attitude
- Exercises
4 Business Communication & the Global Context
- Background to Intercultural Communication
- National Cultural Variables
- Individual Cultural Variables
- Importance of cultural sensitive communication in todays world
- Conflict Resolution
5-6 Letter & Memo Writing
- Five Planning Steps
- Beginnings & Endings
- Composing the Message
- Business Letters, Memos, Special Timesaving
Message, Media etc.
7-8 Formal Report & Proposal Writing
- Prefatory Sections
- Supplemental Sections
- Presentation of the Report
9-10 Good-News & Neutral Messages
- Organizational Plan
- Favorable Replies
- Neutral Messages
11-12 Bad-News Messages
- The Right Attitude
- Plan for Bad-News Messages
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- Negative Replies to Requests
- Unfavorable Unsolicited Messages
13-14 Persuasive Written Messages
- Organization of Persuasive Messages
- Persuasive Requests
- Persuasive Sales Letters
15-16 Creative Business Writing
- Enliven marketing campaigns, reports, press releases, and emails
- How to overcome White Page Syndrome so your writing can flow and
you can stop procrastinating as deadlines approach.
17-18 Strategies for Business & Group Meetings
- Background Information on Groups
- Purposes & Kinds of Meetings
- Writing Agendas and Minutes of Meetings
- Solving Problems in Meetings or Groups
- Leadership Responsibilities in Meetings
- Participant Responsibilities in Meetings
- Meeting Conducted in a Group of 4-5 Students
on Any Business Related Topic
19-20 Job Application Process - Written Job Presentation
- Self Assessment
- Market Assessment
- Writing the Resume & Cover Letter
21-23Job Application Process - Interviews & Follow-Ups
- Successful Preparation for Employment Interview
- Conducting Yourself during the Interview
- Successful Follow-Up Messages after the Interview
- Successful Negotiating
- Volunteer Demo Interviews (2-3)
24 Negotiation Skills
-'Hard' Negotiation, such as Negotiating Business Contracts, Debt, or a
Salary
- 'Soft' Negotiations such as deciding who's going to do what in your team
- Handling Staff Conflict
- Workshop and simulation on negotiation
25-27 Presentations
28 Review Session
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Textbooks
Course Book
Business Communication Today by Bovee, Thill & Schatzman; Eleventh Edition
The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing, Thinking, and Problem-Solving:
Minto, Barbara
Reference Books:
Guffey, Mary Ellen. Essentials of Business Communication. 8th ed. Thomson
Southwestern.
Business & Administrative Communication by Locker/ Kienzler; International
Edition
Effective Business Communications by Herta A. Murphy, Herbet W. Hildebrandt
& Jane P. Thomas; 7th International Edition
Course Work
A. Weekly Assignments
There will be a number of weekly assignments. Some of these will be graded but most
will only be recorded. However, if you do not submit an ungraded assignment on
time, there will be an automatic point deduction for that assignment.
B. Portfolio
Submit a portfolio at the end of the course containing corrected examples of all
assignments done during the course. While it should include the following items, include
any materials that are relevant to showing your skills in business communication.
E-mail messages
Business Letters
Requests
Adjustment
Recommendation
Goodwill
Persuasive Sales Letter
Routine Denial
Bad News Customer and Employee
Informal Reports such as:
-Progress Report
-Minutes
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Formal Business Report
Job Search Letter
Resume and Resume Cover Letter
The Portfolio should be formatted chronologically, with each assignment following the
appropriate structure and content.
C. Formal Business Report
Prepare a formal business report using one of the recommended topics (See attached list).
Choice of topics will be on a first come, first serve basis.
Submit the formal business report to the instructor in printed form. The formal paper
must be 8 to 10 pages in length (2000-2500 words) and must include a one-page
executive summary and a reference page). The report should be spiral bound and NOT
stapled. No late submissions will be allowed
D. Field Interview and Presentation: Warm Welcome to the Real World!
The objective is to place the students not in simulations of the real world, but into an
actual real world work environment. The focus is to help students learn concepts in
context and teach the written, verbal, and non-verbal business communication skills
needed to execute those concepts.
This project will challenge students to venture into the real world; and it forces them to
make some commitment to a career choice and then do research, conduct an interview
and present on an issue or a topic concerning their chosen field. They are forced to think
and act professionally and to be pro-active in finding and linking to a practicing
professional in the employment field of their choice. Part of the focus is also to assist
students to begin the process of business networking while they are still assigned to the
classroom and show what a difference the real world can make in attitude.
An assignment guide and a brief will be provided to the students. This will contain the
instructional methods for the Field Project and will function as a handout.
E. Group Book Presentation
Form a group of four and choose a book.
Conduct a training presentation (20-25 minutes) in which your group uses appropriate
communication techniques to teach the significant concepts of the book along with the
business applications of this work.
This presentation should be considered as a corporate training session in which your
group becomes experts who use good communication skills to present the concepts of
the book to others in a way that they will find interesting and memorable. This
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presentation will be evaluated for the use of correct speaking mechanics as well as the
persuasive technique.
F. Exams:
There will be two Midterms and Final.
Grading Plan
Term Exams 30 ( 15 marks each)
Quizzes (n-1) 05
Class Presentation - Book 05
Class Presentation Field Interview 05
Assignments (Portfolio) 05
Term Report 10
Final Exam 40
Total Marks 100
Regulations
A. Late Work
Late work will not be accepted
B. Plagiarism / Academic Dishonesty
All work submitted must be a student's own. Please understand the difference between
plagiarism and quotations. For all research work and reference material, please include
the accurate source with name and year of publication.
C. Attendance
IBA policy requires regular class attendance. Late comers will be marked absent.
D. E-mail
Please use the email facility to get approvals of topics and proposals and any other issues
that you are facing in class. In order to schedule a meeting for counseling purposes,
please inform a day before through email.
E. Dress Code
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Please ensure that you are dressed in smart casuals ( girls and boys) as per the IBA policy
Impression Management is part of communicating yourself and you start with appearance
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