ICM STUDENT MANUAL
Communication Consulting block B
Module: Integrated Communication Management
Course Code: JIC-COCON.3V-14
Study Year 4, Academic year 2014-2015
1. Course overview
Book: Course reader (to be ordered from the Xerox webshop) Articles: On Sharepoint
Test(s): Exam (50%)
Final Assignment (50%) Weight: 5 EC
Lecturer: Evgenia Starkova and Marjolein Koopmans (lecture and tutorial)
Learning objectives:
At the end of the course, you will be able:
1. To define communication consulting and its relevance from the business perspective.
2. To recognize and define the differences between internal and external consulting and define the relevant consulting approaches
3. To understand and identify the roles of a communication consultant within a business environment and recognize various approaches to creating value for an organization 4. To understand and differentiate between and analyze various consulting techniques 5. To identify possible approaches to creating and running a consulting business 6. To define and understand evaluation strategies for communication consulting 7. To recognize professional development paths for a communication consultant
Deadline(s):
• Exam: week 9
• Final assignment: hand in before Monday, 12.00 in week 9 by uploading on Ephorus and delivering a
hard-copy in pigeonhole of the teacher
Assessment criteria:
1. Define communication consulting and identify its general and specific role and separate approaches within the field of professional consulting
2. Recognize the benefits that communication consultants can deliver to an organization 3. Identify the strategic roles that they can play in its development.
4. Define needs assessment methods in an organizational consultation environment
5. Assess the quality of problem definition and communication advice provided in the case study 6. Recognize the advantages and pitfalls of a career of an independent consultant
7. Recognize the main strategies for the evaluation of communication consulting 8. Provide a critical analysis of the case in the view of above strategies
9. Offer a critical analysis of the main take-home messages from two guest lectures on the roles of an external and an internal consultant.
Table of content
1.
Course overview
1
2.
Course content
3
3.
Course structure and methods
3
4.
Assessment and evaluation
4
5.
Study load
5
6.
Competences
5
7.
How the course fits in the greater programme
5
2. Course content
An increasing number of organizations outsource their strategic communication function to external consultants, with the aim to acquire fresh unbiased perspectives on the challenges faced within.
The role of consultants is often a strategic one: they deliver solutions that are vital to the survival of a company. Their strength is in the ability to see what others don’t, get the agreements that others can’t and suggest solutions that the company’s decision-makers will buy into.
Communication consulting is an expansive field, with specializations running across the whole board of the communication profession. At the core of a consultant’s successful career are his or her analytical, organizational and people skills. Many of these concepts will be discussed and practiced throughout the course, which should ultimately give a strong foundation to those students who see themselves in consultant roles in the near future.
3. Course structure and methods
Contact hours: 2 hours lecture per week and 2 hours tutorial per week
Week Lecture Tutorial Literature Week 1:
Communication Consulting: Introduction
• Overview of the course • What are training and
consulting?
• Internal and external
consulting • Approaches to consulting • Communication consulting • Types of consulting agencies • Organizational culture – the essentials Course requirements,
assignments and expectations.
Class discussion of the case and group work on Assignment #1:
Analysing the relevant case study in the reader (Week 1), answer the following question: “How can organizational culture and identity of a consultancy influence its approaches to consulting. Reader: Week 1 Materials and case study Week 2: Identifying Communication Problems • Graduation assignment as a consultation • Conducting needs assessment (sampling and data collection methods)
• How do we know when a
problem exists?
• How do we know what we
have when we have it?
• How do we avoid analysis
errors
Several groups present the summary of their findings and conclusions for Assignment # 1.
Class discussion - introduction of a case: a graduation thesis.
Group work on Assignment #2: Analysis of data collection methods and problem definition used in the case.
Reader: Week 2 Materials and case study Week 3: The Value of Communication Consulting
• Guest lecture. Michael
Nord, Senior Consultant “Fifth Business”: From Communications Consultant to Trusted Partner
Each group presents their
Assignment # 2 results to another group of students (and vice versa), and receives feedback.
Discuss the main learning points from Guest Lecture #1.
Reader: Week 3 Materials and slides from the Guest Lecture 1 on SharePoint Week 4: • Organizational development and intervention
Discussion of any questions, issues regarding home
Reader: Week 4
Consulting
Interventions •• Diagnostic intervention Process interventions
• Problem-solving interventions • Decision-making interventions • Directing a consultation intervention
assignments, course material etc so far.
Group work during tutorial: Assignment #3: “Analysis of graduation thesis recommendations” Materials and case study Week 5: Internal Consulting
• Guest lecture. Keiron
Lynch, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility “LeasePlan”: The challenges of internal consulting – building a case for CSR
Each group presents their
Assignment # 3 results to another group of students (and vice versa), and receives feedback.
Group work: Discuss and summarize the main learning points from Guest Lecture #2.
Reader: Week 5 Materials slides from Guest Lecture 2 on SharePoint Week 6: The Business of Consulting • Starting out as a consultant • Entrepreneurship • Marketing Assignment #4: Create a business plan for your own consultancy. Reader: Week 6 Materials Week 7: Strategies for Evaluating Consulting and Professional Development • Termination of a consulting process • Consultant’s effectiveness • Consultant’s satisfaction • Client’s satisfaction • Project Outcome
• The Ethics of Consulting
Each group presents their
Assignment # 4 results to another group of students (and vice versa), and receives feedback.
Group work on Assignment #5: Apply evaluation techniques from the lecture to case study “Wieden & Kennedy: Off-On - How
planning turned off apathy and turned on a Kenyan orphanage”
Reader: Week 7 Materials and case study
Week 8 Self-study week
Week 9 Examination week Hand in Final Assignment
4. Assessment and evaluation
I: Examination: knowledge and understanding test
Exam: 30 Multiple choice questions
Weight: 50% of final mark for Integrated Communication Management Aids during exam: None
Minimal passing mark: 5,5
Resit: examination during week 9 of next period.
In this examination will be tested on the degree of your conceptual knowledge in the subject matter discussed during lectures and tutorials
II: Final Assignment:
Exam Weight:
50% of final mark for Integrated Communication Management
Minimal passing mark: Deadline:
5,5
In this final assignment you will be tested on the application of the conceptual knowledge that you have learned during the lectures and tutorials.
Resit: if your average mark for the final assignments is below 5,5, you must redo the final assignment in the following period. Preferably in a (same or other) team, if needed on your own.
The final assignment consists of a portfolio of weekly group assignments. The specifics and instruction for each weekly assignment as well as all the relevant case studies can be found in the course reader.
5. Study load
Activity Hours
Class hours (7 x 2 + 2) 28
Studying literature 60
Doing 5 week assignments 35 Doing final assignment
Preparing test 8 8 Taking test 2 Total 140
6. Competences
The Communication Consulting course will help you to develop the following competencies from the ICM competencies list:
1. Advising and planning
During the majority of assignments, the students will work on their planning and advisory skills striving towards standards expected of a communication consulting function, including research, data
assessment and problem analysis.
2. Developing and designing
Students will practice developing a business plan for their consultancy working in groups.
3. Evaluating
Students will acquire knowledge of evaluation strategies and learn how to measure a consulting activity.
7. How the course fits in the greater programme
The fourth year curriculum has been redeveloped to accommodate developments and changes in the contemporary Communication and Media environment. The focus of the Programme is twofold, firstly, to empower students with the required body of knowledge to successfully enter professional practice and secondly, to provide a pathway for students to continue their tertiary studies, should they wish to do so. To achieve the stated objectives, students are offered three possible specialisation routes to select from; Media, Communication and Marketing. For each route, in block A and B a knowledge, skills and project line are offered.
The overall aim of the Communication Route is to equip students with a body of theoretical knowledge, a range of integrated communication skills and the experience of working as a team member on a project in an International context. The combination of knowledge, skills and working as a professional on a project, will prepare the student for a career in the highly competitive and exciting communication field globally. The following offers an overview of the modules offered for the Media Route for block A and B:
Block A
Conceptual: Integrated Communication Management Skills: Communication Management Skills Project: Integrated Communication Plan
Block B
Conceptual: Communication Consulting Skills: Applied Communication Research Project: Communication Consulting Agency
