14.16 ENGLISH BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

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14.16 ENGLISH BUSINESS

COMMUNICATION

61A00100 Business Communication (6 cr)

Responsible teacher:

Lecturer, D.Sc., MBA Christa Uusi-Rauva

Status of the Course:

B.Sc. language and communication studies

Level of the Course:

Core course

Teaching period:

I, III

Workload:

Contact hours 42 h Assignments 118 h

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to

1. define effective business communication 2. understand the basic interactive and

contex-tual variables that strategic communication is based on

3. take a strategic approach to all business com-munication

4. produce effective informational and promo-tional messages

5. prepare and deliver persuasive business presentations

6. use key business and economic terminology

Content:

Business communication strategy, writing effec-tive informational and promotional messages, preparation and delivery of business presenta-tions, use of key business and economic terminol-ogy.

Assessment Methods and Criteria:

1. Mandatory class attendance (42 h); Lecturers Mike Baker, MA; Kristian Hursti, MA, MBA; Taija Townsend, MA; Christa Uusi-Rauva, DSc, MBA; Part-time teachers David Miller, MA; Alona Senishch, MA

2. Assignments 100%

Literature:

Munter, Mary (2006) Guide to Managerial Com-munication, 6th or later edition. ISBN 0-13-146704-2

Study Material:

Course materials provided by the lecturer

Course Homepage: https://noppa.aalto.fi/noppa/kurssi/61a00100/ CEFR Level: Starting level: B2 Evaluation: 0-5

Registration for Courses:

First year students automatically registered to groups.

Other students: ask for available places from course lecturers.

Language of Instruction:

English

Further Information:

Mandatory class attendance. Maximum 24 stu-dents per group. Participation must be confirmed at the beginning of the first session.

This course must be completed before taking any of the EBC electives.

61C00100 Managerial Communication (6 cr)

Taija Townsend, MA, Lecturer

B.Sc. language and communication studies. CEMS accredited English language course

EBC elective Teaching period: II, III, IV Workload: - classroom hours 42 h - class preparation 28 h - assignments 50 h - final exam 40 h Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to:

1. build on their knowledge of communication theories

2. study communication situations by using ana-lytical tools and frameworks

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3. apply communication frameworks to evaluate and construct oral and written managerial messages

4. produce appropriate messages aimed at rele-vant stakeholders

Content:

The course consolidates and builds on theories and skills dealt with in 61A00100 Business Com-munication. This course relates to management studies by providing students with theory-based management communication skills that they will need as corporate managers. Thus, the course provides important understanding of communica-tion theory that students require in the substance-based management studies.

Mandatory class attendance. 1. Assignments 75 % 2. Final exam 25 %

Study Material:

Provided by the lecturer

Course Homepage:

https://noppa.aalto.fi/noppa/kurssi/61c00100/

CEFR Level:

Starting level: B2

Prerequisites:

61A00100 Business Communication

Evaluation:

0-5

Registration via WebOodi. Check registration time in WebOodi.

English

Maximum 24 students. Participation must be confirmed at the beginning of the first session.

61C00200 Managerial Writing (6 cr)

Lecturer, D.Sc., MBA Christa Uusi-Rauva

EBC elective Teaching period: I-II, III-IV Workload: - Kick-off session 1 h - Independent study 39 h - Assignments 80 h

- Editing fellow participants‟ assignments 40 h

By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to

1. assess the effectiveness of written managerial messages by critically analyzing the different components that form any message

2. understand the importance of providing rele-vant support for any arguments that are made when communicating

3. produce effective business emails, memos, executive summaries and reports

4. concretely explain and demonstrate how their writing has improved based on the feedback received during the course

Content:

The course covers key business writing issues: reader-friendly document design, organizational strategies, and choice of style and tone. The writ-ten assignments will allow you to practice theories introduced during the course, and you will receive comprehensive feedback on your writing from other participants and the course tutor.

1. 1. hour kick-off session, followed by 12 weeks online (Optima platform)

2. preparation of assignments 75 %

3. editing fellow participants‟ assignments 25% Lecturers: Michael Baker, MA; Kristian Hursti, MA, MBA; Christa Uusi-Rauva, D.Sc., MBA; Part-time teachers: William Baber, MA; William King, MA; Alona Senishch, MA; Steven White, MA

Study Material:

Course materials provided by the lecturer

https://noppa.aalto.fi/noppa/kurssi/61c00200/

CEFR Level:

Starting level: B2

Prerequisites:

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Evaluation:

0-5

English

Maximum 20 students per group. Participation must be confirmed at the beginning of the kick-off session. Students who have completed 61C380 Business Writing in English: Strategy and Tactics (course from the old degree program) are not eli-gible for this course.

61C00400 Academic Writing (6 cr)

Taija Townsend, MA, Lecturer

EBC elective

I, II, IV

Workload:

- Kick-off session 1 hour

- Self-study and assignments 159 hours

By the end of the course, students are expected to: 1. comprehend the fundamental aspects of

aca-demic writing

2. develop argumentation, summarizing and critical evaluation skills

3. produce specific types of academic writing

Content:

61C00400 Academic Writing is an elective course offering students the opportunity to build on their academic writing skills in English. The course deals with the basic elements of the writing pro-cess, i.e. organizing and documenting infor-mation, introducing and developing ideas, and identifying the essential aspects of style and grammar.

1. One mandatory kick-off session at the begin-ning of the course

2. Online course work including reading

and written assignments, revising

your individual documents and peer

reviewing fellow students’ written

work.

3. Course work 100%

Study Material:

All course materials are provided on the Optima online platform. Course Homepage: https://noppa.aalto.fi/noppa/kurssi/61C00400/ CEFR Level: Starting level: B2 Prerequisites:

Evaluation:

0-5

English

- Maximum 20 students/ group

- Please note: this course is not meant for first-year students.

- At the beginning of the course, please contact Taija Townsend for all issues regarding course participation.

61C00500 Financial Communication (6 cr)

Kristian Hursti, MBA, MA, Lecturer

B.Sc.language and communication studies and elective in the IBC Minor at BSc or MSc level

EBC elective

II, III, IV

Workload:

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- Participation in individual exercises and as-signments 24 hours

- Preparation for the lectures 42 hours - Preparation for guided individual written

exercises and assignments 20 hours

- Preparation for the 2 exams, mid-course and final exam 28 hours

- Exams 4 hours

The purpose of the course is to provide the partic-ipants with the skills and terminology they need when reporting in writing on a company‟s finan-cial performance (through stock exchange state-ments, annual report narratives, and other disclo-sures). A contrastive analysis between Finnish and English is an integral part of the course, requiring that participants be fluent in both languages. The course is targeted to students specializing in fi-nance and accounting.

At the end of the course, the students are expected to be able to:

- discuss company performance in writing, e.g. in a chairman‟s statement

- draw up near professional-level, forward-looking disclosure narratives on several top-ics, including share issuances, acquisitions, and share buy-back programs.

- understand how the various accompanying narratives relate to and support the specific line items in financial statements

- analyze and compare financial statements prepared according to IFRS and US GAAP practices, as well as be aware of some basic aspects of UK GAAP

Content:

The topics covered in the course include: equity & debt financing ( e.g. stock exchange listing, share issues, loan agreements, issues of debt securities); financial reporting (e.g. preparation of consolidat-ed financial statements in accordance with IFRS and US practices )

1. Lectures and class exercises 42 hours, lecturer Kristian Hursti II, III, IV

2. Assignments and class contribution 20 % 3. Exams 80 %

Study Material

Höckerstedt Ulla. Financial communication: Ter-minology and Exercises

https://noppa.aalto.fi/noppa/kurssi/61C00500/

CEFR Level:

Starting level: B2

Prerequisites:

Evaluation:

0-5

Registration via WebOodi. Check registration times from WebOodi.

Language of instruction: English and Finnish: a contrastive analysis is an integral part of the course

Course group size is 24

61C00600 Readings in Business and Intercultural Communication (6 cr)

Kristian Hursti, MBA, MA, Lecturer

EBC elective

Exams in autumn 2011 and spring 2012

Workload:

Self-study + exam

The aim of the course is to deepen the students‟ knowledge of topics and current research in the versatile and changing field of business and inter-cultural communication.

Content:

Indicated on the course homepage

1. Self-study 2. Exam 100%

Study Material:

Indicated on the course homepage: https://cie.hkkk.fi/61C00600

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CEFR Level:

Starting level: B2

Evaluation:

0-5

English

61C00700 Business Negotiations (3 cr)

Responsible teacher

Geoffrey Hilton, MA, Lecturer

MSc skills option („Maisterin taitosalkku‟)

I,II,III,IV

Workload:

- classroom hours 28 h

- assignments 36 h- final exam 16 h

1. be aware of negotiation theories and of factors that drive negotiation processes

2. be familiar with, and able to use, commonly-used negotiation tactics and strategies 3. develop a negotiation strategy, conduct a

ne-gotiation, and recognize the causes of negotia-tion success and failure

Content:

Negotiating tactics and strategies, approaches to negotiating, the structure of a negotiation, negoti-ation cases and exercises.

Mandatory class attendance. 1. Assignments 70% 2. Examination 30%

Study Material:

Provided by the lecturer.

Evaluation:

0-5

English

61C00900 Business Presentations (3 cr)

Geoffrey Hilton, MA, Lecturer

I, II, III, IV

Workload:

- classroom hours 28 h

- assignments 36 h- class preparation 16 h

1. understand how communication objectives and audience considerations drive presenta-tion planning and delivery

2. be able to apply analytical tools to evaluate the effectiveness of presentations

3. be able to plan and deliver effective objective-driven informative, persuasive, transforma-tional and relatransforma-tional business presentations

Content:

Strategies and techniques for creating a coherent, focused and engaging presentation, targeting the audience, credibility-building devices, selecting and organizing content, creating high impact in-troductions and conclusions, gaining and main-taining audience interest.

Mandatory class attendance. Assignments 100%

Study Material:

Provided by the lecturer

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Evaluation:

0-5

English

61C230 Thesis Writing Workshop (3 op)

Responsible Teacher:

Senior Lecturer, PhD, Anne Kankaanranta

Teaching Period: II,III Workload: 1. Classroom hours 12 h 2. Assignments (1-5) 68 h 3. Learning diary

4. Introduction chapter of thesis

5. Evaluation of fellow student‟s Introduction 6. Thesis extract

7. Evaluation of fellow student‟s extract

Knowledge: Students are expected to demonstrate knowledge of Anglo-American academic writing conventions in general and the genre require-ments of a Master‟s thesis in particular.

Skills: Students are expected to be able to produce unambiguous and explicit academic discourse, which readily conveys meaning. More specifically, students are expected to be able to produce coher-ent discourse with appropriately structured chap-ters, sections, paragraphs, and sentences; use metatext and headings effectively; acknowledge sources following the Anglo-American conven-tions; use academic writing style; and draft Intro-duction and Conclusion sections observing the relevant genre rules.

Content:

The course focuses on academic discourse that

forms a coherent whole with consistent and ex-plicit internal linkages, has a logical flow of argu-mentation with neat headings and clearly struc-tured paragraphs and sections.

Assessment, Methods and Criteria:

Mandatory attendance. Assignments (1-5) 1. Learning diary 30%

2. Introduction chapter of thesis 15%

3. Evaluation of fellow student‟s Introduction 20%

4. Thesis extract 15%

5. Evaluation of fellow student‟s extract 20%

Study Material:

Handed out by the instructor.

Evaluation:

0-5

Registration of the Course:

English

It is essential that students are actually writing their Master‟s thesis at the time they take the course since all the assignments are based on the thesis. Mandatory attendance. Max. 30 students.