Overview
The unit aims to develop your skills and abilities to communicate effectively in business environments. The unit recognises employer and graduate needs to improve communication in different contexts. You will be introduced to different communication concepts including, but not limited to, models, competence, culture, media choice, channels and climate. You will also be introduced to the elements of effective communication for participation in business meetings, presentations, interpersonal and group interaction.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2022
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student evaluations
Provide feedback earlier in the term.
The assessment items have been re-arranged (Term 2, 2022 on-wards) so that the students can receive feedback before the end of the term.
- Recognize advanced knowledge and skills required in written, oral, and interpersonal communication to address complex business problems
- Apply professional business writing and oral communication skills to effectively inform or persuade a target audience
- Deliver effective presentations to transmit knowledge, skills and ideas to both specialist and non-specialist audiences and achieve business objectives
- Critically analyse communication challenges faced by organisations by applying established theories to develop innovative strategies to address them
- Apply autonomous thinking to reflect on good practices in workplace communication in different organizational contexts
- Engage and collaborate with team members to demonstrate oral, written, and interpersonal communication.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - On-campus Activity - 45% | ||||||
| 2 - Group Work - 55% | ||||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | ||||||
| 2 - Communication | ||||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | ||||||
| 4 - Research | ||||||
| 5 - Self-management | ||||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | ||||||
| 7 - Leadership | ||||||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| 1 - On-campus Activity - 45% | ||||||||
| 2 - Group Work - 55% | ||||||||
Textbooks
Work Communication : Mediated and Face-to-Face Practices
(2014)
Authors: Guirdham , Oliver
Red Globe Press ( Bloomsbury )
London London , UK
Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
This book is available to read online through the Library website. If you would like your own copy, you can purchase either paper or eBook copies at the CQUni Bookshop here: http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au (search on the Unit code).
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
m.thompson@cqu.edu.au
c.j.white@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction to BUSN20017 Effective Business Communications and the Communication Process
Chapter
Assigned Textbook Chapter and Excerpted Textbook Chapter (eReading List):
Guirdham, M. (2015). Chapter 1 and Chapter 5 .
Hartley, P., & Chatterton, P. (2015).
Other articles that you need to read are on your Unit Moodle website.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The unit content is presented in a series of short videos. Please watch these videos in advance of the workshop. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your competence as an effective business communicator.
Module/Topic
Effective Non-verbal and Listening for the Business Context
Chapter
Excerpted Textbook Chapter (eReading List):
Dwyer, J. (2016). Chapter 3
Other articles that you need to read are on your Unit Moodle website.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The unit content is presented in a series of short videos. Please watch these videos in advance of the workshop. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your competence as an effective business communicator.
Module/Topic
Effective Internal Messages and Critical Thinking
Chapter
Assigned Textbook Chapter and Excerpted Textbook Chapters (eReading List):
Guirdham, M. (2015). Chapter 8
Cottrell, S. (2017).
Inch, E. S. & Tudor, K. H. (2018).
Other articles that you need to read are on your Unit Moodle website.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The unit content is presented in a series of short videos. Please watch these videos in advance of the workshop. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your competence as an effective business communicator.
This week you will be able to sign up for a group for Assessment One with two other people who are enrolled in your workshop.
Module/Topic
Effective Business Presentations
Chapter
Excerpted Textbook Chapter (eReading List):
Dwyer, J. (2012).
Other articles that you need to read are on your Unit Moodle website.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The unit content is presented in a series of short videos. Please watch these videos in advance of the workshop. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your competence as an effective business communicator.
Module/Topic
Effective Intercultural Communication within Business Contexts
Chapter
Excerpted Textbook Chapter (eReading List):
Tuleja, E. A. (2017).
Other articles that you need to read are on your Unit Moodle website.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The unit content is presented in a series of short videos. Please watch these videos in advance of the workshop. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your competence as an effective business communicator.
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Effective Team and Group Business Communication
Chapter
Assigned Textbook Chapter (eReading List):
Guirdham, M. (2015). Chapter 10.
Other articles that you need to read are on your Unit Moodle website.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Effective use of Communication Media within Business
Chapter
Assigned Textbook Chapters (eReading List):
Guirdham, M. (2015). Chapter 2, Chapter 6 (pp. 145-154), and Chapter 9 (pp. 227-229).
Other articles that you need to read are on your Unit Moodle website.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The unit content is presented in a series of short videos. Please watch these videos in advance of the workshop. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your competence as an effective business communicator.
Module/Topic
Effective Internal Organisational Communication
Chapter
Assigned Textbook Chapter Except and Excerpted Textbook Chapter (eReading List):
Guirdham, M. (2015). Chapter 12 (pp. 312-316).
Eunson, B. (2007).
Other articles that you need to read are on your Unit Moodle website.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The unit content is presented in a series of short videos. Please watch these videos in advance of the workshop. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your competence as an effective business communicator.
Assessment One - Part II The Sentence Level-Speaking-Outline and Individually Written Annotated Bibliography is due on Friday, September 9th, 11:59 PM AEST
Module/Topic
Effective Professional Genres of Written Communication
Chapter
Excerpted Textbook Chapters (eReading List):
Cenere, P., Gill, R., Lawson, C., & Lewis, M. (2015).
Judith, D., & Hopwood, N. (2016). Chapters 16-19.
Other articles that you need to read are on your Unit Moodle website.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The unit content is presented in a series of short videos. Please watch these videos in advance of the workshop. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your competence as an effective business communicator.
Assessment One - Part III The Group Presentation Video is due on Friday, September 16th, 11:59 PM AEST
Module/Topic
Effective Interpersonal Business Communication
Chapter
Assigned Textbook Chapters and Excerpted Textbook Chapter (eReading List):
Guirdham, M. (2015). Chapter 3 and Chapter 4.
Dunn, D. M., & Goodnight, L. J. (2014).
Other articles that you need to read are on your Unit Moodle website.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The unit content is presented in a series of short videos. Please watch these videos in advance of the workshop. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your competence as an effective business communicator.
Module/Topic
Effective Academic Writing
Chapter
Excerpted Textbook Chapters (eReading List):
Grellier, J., & Goerke, V. (2014).
Summers, J., & Smith, B. (2014). Chapters 3-5
Other articles that you need to read are on your Unit Moodle website.
Events and Submissions/Topic
The unit content is presented in a series of short videos. Please watch these videos in advance of the workshop. The workshop contains a range of interactive activities, which are aimed at enhancing your competence as an effective academic communicator.
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
On-line Assessment Activity Due: Week 12 Monday (3 Oct 2022) 12:00 am AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Group Work
Format: There are three parts to this assessment.
Part I: The Team Charter
Part II: The Sentence-Level-Speaking-Outline (SLSO) and the Individually Written Annotated Bibliography
Part III: The Group Presentation Video
Weighting: This assessment accounts for 55% of your final grade.
Part I: The Team Charter is worth 5 marks
Part II: The SLSO is worth 10 marks and the Annotated Bibliography is worth 23 marks
Part III: The Group Presentation Video (Group Component is worth 8 marks and Individual Component is worth 9 marks)
Due dates: Please make sure you are aware of these dates, as they are not the same
Part I: Team Charter - One member of the group will upload your Team Charter in Moodle on Friday, August 26th, 11:59 PM AEST (Week 6)
Part II: The SLSO and the Annotated Bibliography – One member of your group will upload the SLSO. You will individually upload your Annotated Bibliography. Both documents are due September 9th, 11:59 PM AEST (Week 8)
Part III: The Group Presentation Video - One member of the group will upload the Group Presentation Video in Moodle on Friday, September 16th , 11:59 PM AEST (Week 9)
- Please do not upload your PowerPoint slides. There is a late deduction of 2.75 points per day after the due date.
The Case: YLIME is a multi-national organisation that manufactures and distributes automated nut-picking equipment to clients all over the world. The head office is in Brisbane, Australia and there are ‘regional’ offices located in India, Brazil, and London. In total the organisation has 500 employees in four countries and more than 100,000 customers worldwide. However, the organisation is facing several internal intercultural communication challenges. They include:
- Ineffective intercultural communication between the Australian head office and the ‘regional’ offices (e.g., sharing ideas and knowledge bases, and task process management).
- Misunderstandings amongst the employees based upon the different intercultural communication contexts (e.g., different intercultural styles of communication; interpersonal communication; use of organisational communication channels).
- Ineffective intercultural team communication (members of a team are from distinct cultures) (e.g., decision making, managing meetings, team/group processes).
Part I: Part I of this assessment is the Team Charter. The Team charter sets out the goals, objectives, and processes that the team will follow as they work together. All members will contribute equally to the team charter. You must use the designated proforma (please see the Assessment Tile in Moodle). A group grade will be awarded for Part I of this assessment.
Part II: Part II of this assessment is the SLSO and the Annotated Bibliography. The first component of Part II is the SLSO. The SLSO will help the group think about and organize the information to be presented. The SLSO has both group and individual components. The group must work together on the introduction and the conclusion. Each person will work on and contribute his/her main point. The group will coalesce both the group and individual components into the final sentence-level speaking outline document. A group grade will be awarded for the SLSO.
The Annotated Bibliography will help you find the evidence for your presentation. You must use five articles from journals listed on the Required Journal Article List (Please see the Assessment Tile in Moodle). For each article in your Annotated Bibliography, you must include:
- An overview of the main focus or purpose or aim of the article (This article focuses on . . . . )
- A summary of the theory, definitions of the main variables or concepts, research methods (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods), and findings or results and
- An explanation of how this article will fit into your presentation (This article will fit in to the presentation. . . )
An individual grade will be awarded for Annotated Bibliography.
Length: Each entry should be 150-200 words in length.
References: You must include a reference list (APA 7th Edition).
Part III: Part III is the group video presentation. Use your group’s sentence-level speaking outline as a guide (Do not read directly from the SLSO). You will present and record a group presentation, using PowerPoint, with two other individuals who are enrolled within your allocated workshop. The video must include both the PowerPoint Slides and an image of the person who is speaking. The group presentation must be 15 minutes in length. This part of the assessment will be delivered as a group and evaluated based on both group efforts and individual contributions as specified in the marking rubric.
As this is a group presentation one person will present the introduction, each person will present his/her main point, and another person will provide the conclusion.
The introduction must include the following components:
- Attention-getting statement
- Statement of exigency
- Statement of ethos
- Preview of the three main points
- Thesis statement
- Transitional statement (linking the introduction to the body of the presentation)
Within the body of the presentation each person will present one main point each (three main points in total). Each main point will need to include the following information (this information is based upon Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Format):
- Step One: State that there is a problem, and that there is a solution to this problem
- Step Two: Discuss the problem (your internal intercultural communication challenge). Here you will need to talk about the problem and explain how this problem directly affects the audience. You may also wish to talk about the implications or the consequences of this problem for the organization.
- Step Three: Discuss the solution to the problem (your internal intercultural communication challenge). Here you should clearly state what the solution is and explain why your solution will be effective. Also, you may need to identify any counter arguments or objections to your solution and refute them.
- Step Four: Discuss the benefits of this solution to the organization (this point has a future orientation). What will the future look like for the audience and the organisation if your solution is adopted?
- Step Five: Identify what the audience and the organisation should do to actualize this solution (DO NOT JUST SAY THAT THE ORGANISATTION NEEDS TO RUN TRAINING SESSIONS).
- A transitional statement that links your main point to the next main point (which would be the conclusion if you are the last speaker).
The conclusion should include the following components:
- Restatement of the main points
- Restatement of the thesis
- Articulation of a capstone statement
References: The presentation must include a total of 15 academic references (5 references for each speaker). Within your presentation you must orally cite your references and include a reference list at the end of you PowerPoint Slides (APA 7th Edition). These references are the same ones that were included in The Annotated Bibliography.
Length: The presentation must be 15 minutes in length. The Introduction should be two minutes in length. The total time for the Body of the presentation is 12 minutes—this means that each speaker should speak for four minutes. It is important that each speaker keeps to time—so, do not go over. Individually presented information that extends beyond the four minutes will not be evaluated for grading purposes. The Conclusion will last for one minute. Please practice your presentation in advance so that you know it is 15 minutes in length.
The Group: During the Week Three workshop you will be able to sign up to be one member of a group of three. Failure to sign up for a group in Week Three will result in you being assigned to a group based upon your enrolment in the workshop. Once these groups have been set up you may not change.
Other: Please note:
- CQUniversity has several group work activities as part of authentic learning and assessment. The university expects all students involved in group work activities to behave professionally and ethically in all group interactions. The University therefore requires that students not only understand their rights and obligations through the Foundation of Academic Integrity module but that all students engaged in scholarly and other activities are aware of the ethical implications of such activities and are committed to discharging their responsibilities to the group in an ethical manner.
- There are resources within the Assessment Tile in Moodle that will assist you with the required structure and format of the presentation, SLSO, Annotated Bibliography, and Team Charter. You must follow all required formats as illustrated in Moodle and/or discussed in the workshops.
- We will work on this assessment during the workshops. Therefore, it is essential that you attend the workshops.
Please see the information provided above for the due dates of each part of this assessment.
Marks will be released two weeks after submission
The group contribution is evaluated based on the following assessment criteria:
1. Introduction-5 marks
This criterion evaluates the attention-getting statement, statements of the ethos and exigency, the preview of main points, the articulation of a thesis statement, and the transitional statement from the introduction to the 1st main point.
2. Conclusion-3 marks
This criterion evaluates the re-articulation of the main points and thesis statement; in addition to the final capstone statement.
3. Sentence-level speaking outline (including references) -10 marks
This criterion evaluates the application of the required format and the quality of the written presentation (please see example in Moodle) and the correct use of of the APA (7th edition) referencing style and the use of the required number of articles from the required Journal list (RJL).
5. Team Charter- 5 marks
This criterion evaluates the quality of the team's responses to the stipulated questions.
The Presentation individual contribution is evaluated based on the following assessment criteria:
1. Main point-6 marks
The criterion evaluates the main points in terms of the required 5 steps of the body points (step 1 – – problem/solution, step 2 – – the problem, step 3 – – the solution, step 4 – – the benefits, step 5 – – the actualisation) and the use of transitional statements.
2. Delivery-3 marks
This criterion evaluates the eye contact, vocal variety and expression, conveyance of confidence and knowledge through paralinguistic cues, tone of speech, and rate of delivery.
The Individually written annotated bibliography is evaluated based on the following assessment criteria:
1. Bibliographic entry-- 4 marks each--20 marks in total.
This criterion evaluates the quality of the provision of an overview of the main focus or purpose or aim of the article; the quality of description of the theory, definitions of the main variables or concepts, research methods (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods) and findings and results; and the quality of the explanation of how the article will fit into the group presentation.
2. References-3 marks
This criterion evaluates the application of the APA (7th edition) referencing style and the use of the required number of of articles from the required Journal list (RJL).
The full marking criteria are available to you on Moodle (Assessment Tile).
- Recognize advanced knowledge and skills required in written, oral, and interpersonal communication to address complex business problems
- Apply professional business writing and oral communication skills to effectively inform or persuade a target audience
- Deliver effective presentations to transmit knowledge, skills and ideas to both specialist and non-specialist audiences and achieve business objectives
- Critically analyse communication challenges faced by organisations by applying established theories to develop innovative strategies to address them
- Apply autonomous thinking to reflect on good practices in workplace communication in different organizational contexts
- Engage and collaborate with team members to demonstrate oral, written, and interpersonal communication.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
- Leadership
2 On-campus Activity
Assessment Type: On-line Assessment Activity.
This assessment will be administered in Week 12 during your allocated workshop time via a link in Moodle. After 90 minutes, your responses will be automatically submitted. This means that if your workshop runs from 12.00 PM-2.00 PM and you start the assessment at 1.00 PM, you only have one hour to complete the assessment because the link closes at 2.00 PM.
Content: The on-line assessment activity is based upon the content of Weeks 1-11.
Format: The on-line assessment activity consists of Forty-Five (45) multiple-choice questions.
Weighting: This assessment total weighting is 45% of your overall grade. Each multiple-choice question has one right answer and is worth one point a piece.
Week 12 Monday (3 Oct 2022) 12:00 am AEST
The Marks will be available on certification date and will be uploaded in Moodle.
- Apply autonomous thinking to reflect on good practices in workplace communication in different organizational contexts
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
