Overview
This unit introduces you to professional communication concepts that are relevant to a career in information and communication technologies (ICT). Topics include academic referencing and library skills, oral and written communication, negotiation, teamwork and conflict management. The unit introduces awareness of cultural diversity and its management in a multicultural workforce. COMM11003 Communication in Professional Contexts is an anti-requisite for COIT11239.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
COMM11003 Communication in Professional Contexts is an anti-requisite for COIT11239.
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 1 - 2017
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 Undergraduate 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 feedback
Students found the unit well organised and helped them understand the ICT business world. Distance students appreciated the online sessions and news forum updates. Students indicated that they learned how to communicate in different ways, such as non-verbal. Students noted the individual presentations helped them increase their confidence.
Keep the related activities and assessment.
Feedback from Student feedback
Students found the group work hard, especially over long distance.
Redesign the group work assessment. Motivate the group work assessment better.
- Explain communication concepts and strategies.
- Show confidence and skills in oral communications and presentations.
- Work effectively as part of a team.
- Communicate effectively in a professional context.
- Define and demonstrate conflict management and resolution strategies.
- Core skill, Business Skills: Communication skills and teamwork
- Relationship management (RLMT)
- Information Management (IRMG)
- Research (RSCH)
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | |||||
| 2 - Practical and Written Assessment - 30% | |||||
| 3 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 50% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||||
| 5 - Team Work | |||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||||
| 10 - 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 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Practical and Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
Additional Textbook Information
This unit uses a freely available online textbook 'Business Communication for Success'.
Business Communication for Success 2015, University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing, Minneapolis.
It can be downloaded via the COIT11239 unit web site. Links for different devices are provided from the home page of the unit web site. You may be required to login to Moodle and have access to the unit web site before you can access the textbook via the link provided here.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Microsoft Office including Word, Powerpoint and Excel
- Webcam, microphone and speakers (or headset)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
j.shield@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Importance of Communication Skills in ICT
Chapter
- 1 Effective Business Communications
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 1 due.
Module/Topic
Arguments
Chapter
- 6.3 Making an Argument up to p179 Appealing to Emotions
- 6.4 Paraphrase and Summary versus Plagiarism
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 2 due.
Module/Topic
Research Skills and Writing Style
Chapter
- 5.4 Ethics, Plagiarism and Reliable Sources
- 6.1 Organisation
- 6.2 Writing Style
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 3 due.
Module/Topic
Presentations
Chapter
- 3 Understanding Your Audience
- 11 Nonverbal Delivery upto 11.4 Visual Aids
- 12.5 Organizing Principles for Your Speech
- 15.6 Introducing a Speaker
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 4 due.
Module/Topic
Drop-in for Assignment 1
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
No class
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Intrapersonal Communication
Chapter
- 15.3 Meetings
- 16.5 Rituals of Conversation and Interviews
- 16.6 Conflict in the Work Environment
Events and Submissions/Topic
Speaker introduction due.
Module/Topic
Group Communication, Teamwork, Leadership and Advanced Arguments
Chapter
- 6.3 Making an Argument
- 19 Group Communication, Teamwork, and Leadership
Events and Submissions/Topic
Simulated interview due.
Module/Topic
Intercultural Communication
Chapter
- 7.4 Evaluating the Work of Others
- 18 Intercultural and International Business Communication
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 5 due.
Module/Topic
Ethical Communication in ICT and Group Reviews
Chapter
- Unit readings
Events and Submissions/Topic
Quiz 6 due.
Ass 2 Presentations, Group review, and Quizzes Due: Week 9 Friday (12 May 2017) 11:45 pm AEST
Module/Topic
ICT Writing in Action
Chapter
- 7.2 Specific Revision Points to Consider
- 8.4 Qualitative and Quantitative Research
- 9 Business Writing in Action; upto 9.3 Business Proposal
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Individual Presentations
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Individual Presentation due.
Module/Topic
Drop-in for Assignment 3
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Complete unit feedback survey in Moodle - the red "Have your say" button.
Ass 3 Business Report and Presentation Due: Week 12 Friday (2 June 2017) 11:45 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Unit Coordinator: Jamie Shield, Cairns, j.shield@cqu.edu.au, 07 4037 4750
1 Written Assessment
For this assignment, you are to evaluate two professional ICT documents. Each evaluation should be a small essay, which includes an introduction, a summary, a critique, and a conclusion. Each evaluation should be 500-600 words.
Week 5 Friday (7 Apr 2017) 11:45 pm AEST
Within a fortnight of submission when the marking and moderation process is completed.
The assignment criteria includes aspects such as:
- Quality of your summaries and critiques,
- Structural Integrity and organisation of the evaluations,
- Quality of references, and
- Your writing mechanics, e.g., spelling, grammar and referencing.
The full assignment criteria are provided on the Moodle unit website.
- Explain communication concepts and strategies.
- Communicate effectively in a professional context.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Practical and Written Assessment
This assignment has three components: presentations, group review and quizzes.
Presentations: The first task for this assignment are two short, individual presentations. The first presentation is a speaker introduction of an ICT-related person. The second presentation will involve a simulated job interview. Internal students will present during class time. Distance students will present online during a group video conference. Distance students will require a web cam, microphone and speaker (or headset). The deadline for this component is before the final deadline of the assignment. Please refer to the schedule.
Group Review: This task involves recording a video-conferenced meeting in which you will review the work of others and they will review your work. All students will require a web cam, microphone and speaker (or headset).
Quizzes: This task involves providing written answers to tutorial questions. You will need to complete six quizzes that contain selected questions from the tutorials. The deadlines for this task are before the final deadline of the assignment. Please refer to the schedule.
Week 9 Friday (12 May 2017) 11:45 pm AEST
Many of the components of this assignment are due prior to this deadline. Please refer to the schedule.
Within two weeks of the component deadline.
The complete assignment criteria is provided on the Moodle unit website.
- Presentations (40%): The marking criteria includes stage presence and content.
- Group Review (20%): The marking criteria includes stage presence, content of the introduction of your work, and the quality of feedback you provide to others.
-
Quizzes (40%): Each tutorial question has its own marking criteria. These include aspects such as the completeness, correctness, spelling, punctuation, grammar, structure, and style. Each quiz will have the same weight in the marking scheme.
Marks may be deducted for aspects such as, but not limited to, incomplete submissions, plagiarism and inability of staff to access externally linked assessable material.
- Show confidence and skills in oral communications and presentations.
- Work effectively as part of a team.
- Communicate effectively in a professional context.
- Define and demonstrate conflict management and resolution strategies.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
3 Presentation and Written Assessment
For this assignment, you are to create a project proposal for an organisation that wishes to enhance its communications with technology. We would like you to present your proposal and support it with a business report.
The description of the organisation and their requirements will be provided on the unit website. You may choose another appropriate case study, e.g., related to your work. Approval for an alternative organisation must be obtained from your lecturer and reported to the unit coordinator at least two weeks prior to the assignment deadline.
Business Report
Please write a business report to report your findings.
Summary and Evaluation (400-800 words)
Summarise the organisation’s proposal, perhaps including aspects such as:
- Any relevant business requirements of the organisation,
- The context of the organisation, e.g., the existing flow of information within the organisation and the types of information that currently flow,
Evaluate the organisation’s idea based on how it will affect communication within their organisation. While your report may draw on the material covered in this unit, you are expected to find and use references beyond those provided by this unit. You could consider:
- How the communication model applies to the organisation, and
- How the organisation’s proposal would affect the communication in terms of the model’s application.
Ethical and Intercultural Implications (200-400 words)
Discuss the ethical and intercultural implications of using the systems within the organisation’s context. You could consider aspects such as:
- Employee, employer or customer privacy when using the technologies, and
- How the technologies, or the structure of the organisation and its information flows impact any intercultural communication.
Recommendations (200-400 words)
Please include three to six recommendations to the owner as to how they should proceed. Provide convincing, well-structured recommendations that are supported with evidence. Apply logos, ethos and pathos to persuade the reader. In particular, you should build a structured argument using Toulmin’s model for each of your recommendations.
Presentation
We would like you to present your findings to the client. Create a slide show, e.g., a PowerPoint, to support your presentation. Your presentation should last approximately ten minutes.
Internal students will present during class time. Distance students will present online during a group video conference. Distance students will require a web cam, microphone and speaker (or headset).
Groups
You may work alone or in groups of up to four. All group members will usually receive the same mark. The unit coordinator must be informed prior to submission if a group decides to split.
All members of the group are required to speak for at least two minutes each.
Submission
Include the names of your group members when you submit your assignment. Only one submission per group is necessary. Usually, all group members will receive the same mark.
Submit your Business Report as a Word document.
Week 12 Friday (2 June 2017) 11:45 pm AEST
At grade certification. (7 July, 2017)
Business Report (60%)
The assignment criteria includes aspects such as:
- Quality of summary and evaluation
- Quality of recommendations: quality of arguments and references,
- Business report structural integrity, organisation, writing style and framing,
- Ethical and intercultural/diversity communications context,
- Referencing: meticulous use of CQU Abridged Harvard Referencing Style; and
- Mechanics, grammar, and proofing: Your assignment is virtually free from mechanical, grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors.
Presentation (40%)
The assignment criteria includes aspects such as:
- Presentation structural integrity, organisation and framing,
- Presentation content quality,
- Presentation non-verbals,
- Mechanics, grammar, and proofing: Your assignment is virtually free from mechanical, grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors.
Additional information on these criteria will be provided with the assessment details.
Marks may be deducted for aspects such as, but not limited to, incomplete submissions, plagiarism and inability of staff to access any externally linked assessable material.
- Show confidence and skills in oral communications and presentations.
- Work effectively as part of a team.
- Communicate effectively in a professional context.
- Define and demonstrate conflict management and resolution strategies.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
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?
