Management Communication Online Course
Syllabus for a One-Semester, Hybrid Face-to-Face / Online Class
This sample syllabus suggests ways to assign the Management Communication Online Course as a complement to a face-to-face classroom course. The syllabus assumes a "flipped classroom" instructional design—students do pre-work and spend the class time applying pre-work learning. The Online Course is the pre-work.
The syllabus assumes a full semester course that covers both writing and presenting. It can be adapted to a writing-only or presenting-only course. For writing, an additional class can be added for some topics such as cognitive bias and entire classes can be devoted to critiques of student writing. For presenting, more than one class can be used to cover a topic and classes can be added to critique videos of student presentations.
The course can be shortened by dropping some of the topics in this syllabus. The Online Course is sufficiently flexible to allow this.
You can change the instructional design by taking class time to give lectures and eliminate or shorten class time for working with the concepts. As a lecture support, you can display the course on a screen in class and work through the appropriate screens.
The Teaching Note for the Management Communication Online Course includes suggested cases and instructions for assignments.
Class # / Class Topic / Online Course Content / Classroom Activities /1 / Introduction / Module 1: Introduction to Management Communication / Discuss importance of business communication and why it is becoming more important.
Discuss variation in cultural norms of business communication and the norms of business English.
Give course overview.
2 / Planning Communication: Why? Who? How? / Module 2: Planning Communication
Introduction
What Good Are Models?
Analyzing a Communication Situation / Explore Why? (purpose), Who? (audience), and How? (content) through examples of business or business-related communication.
Examples: Super Bowl commercials, PSAs, and statements by Richard S. Fuld, Jr., former chief executive of Lehman Brothers, and John J. Mack, then chair and CEO of Morgan Stanley, any recent Berkshire Hathaway annual report
3 / Cognitive Bias in Communication / Analyzing a Communication Situation: Cognitive Bias / Discuss examples or scenarios involving cognitive bias.
Using the examples and scenarios, have students plan, individually or in groups, ways of moderating or avoiding cognitive bias and present them to the class.
4 / Argument Building / Organizing a Message: Decision Arguments / Provide questions or scenarios and ask small groups of students to build decision arguments. Students can use Internet to research evidence in class.
Examples: Should I buy Apple stock?
Assignment / Submit outlines of arguments for or against buying Apple stock.
5 / Argument Building / Organizing a Message: Evaluation Arguments / Provide questions or scenarios and ask students to build evaluation arguments. Students can use Internet to research evidence in class.
Example: Diversity is essential for the success of a company.
Assignment / Submit outlines of arguments for or against diversity as a company success factor.
6 / Argument Building / Organizing a Message: Diagnosis Arguments / Provide questions or scenarios and ask students to build diagnostic arguments. Students can use Internet to research evidence in class.
Examples: Explain the causes of the US financial meltdown of 2007. Why has Microsoft's performance over the last 10 years been disappointing?
Assignment / Submit outlines of arguments explaining causes of meltdown or Microsoft performance.
Team Assignment / Introduce team assignment consisting of a persuasive report and presentation based on it.
Example: offer a new business idea and convince audience of investors that it is worth putting money into.
7 / Writing Process and Writing Style / Module 3: Writing in Business
The Writing Process
Writing Style / Give survey to students about the writing process they use. Discuss the survey results and ways to improve process.
Do sentence editing exercises in large and small groups.
8 / Team Report and Presentation / Have students work in teams on a business idea and what they will need to do to persuade audience.
Tell students they need to meet outside class to work on their ideas and the content of the pitch.
Assignment / Students read case, write a decision argument with evidence from case.
A class could be devoted to critiques of student essays on this assignment.
9 / Informative and Persuasive Writing / Informative Writing and Persuasive Writing / Review basics of informative and persuasive writing.
Students work in teams to build persuasive elements of their reports.
Share either in class or in writing the best ideas they have for persuasion.
10 / Action Plans / Writing Action Plans / Discuss the importance of action plans. Ask students for their experiences both as writers and users of action plans.
Provide a scenario or brief case and have students build an action plan as a large group.
Add to the team assignment: reports will include an action plan for their business idea--what they will do short and long-term if they receive investment.
11 / Assignment / Students read case, write an evaluation argument with evidence from case, and write an action plan.
A class could be devoted to critiques of student essays on this assignment.
12 / Email and Other Short-Form Communication / Short Form Communication / Show examples of emails and have class critique them.
Examples: Tim Cook's email to employees after Steve Jobs stepped down. Email from the CEO of Netflix apologizing for splitting of DVD business from streaming and rate increases.
Have students or small groups edit or rewrite email examples either to correct weaknesses or demonstrate another approach. Present some in class or post all for peer feedback.
13 / In-class Writing Assignment / Students read scenario, short case, or other real-world material and write an email relevant to the situation. The instructor, adopting the persona of one of the characters in the situation, sends an email during class that requires them to write another message.
Another approach is to use case as above but pair students and have them write emails to each other and then reply.
14 / Written Reports / Long Form Communication / Discuss long form writing in relation to team papers. Have students work in teams to create a working outline of the report, major pieces of evidence, and exhibits.
Assignment / Teams submit one-page outline of the report for peer and instructor feedback.
15 / Introduction to Presentations / Module 4: Presenting in Business
Obstacles to Persuasive Presentations
Analyzing a Communication Situation / Discuss the factors that impede connection between speaker and audience: first the audience side, then the speaker side.
Impromptu "ice breaker" presentations: ask for volunteers or select students who express fear of speaking to speak to the class about something they know well. Ask for peer feedback.
Ask students doing impromptu presentations to briefly practice one improvement. Ask for volunteers to demonstrate best practices such as sustained eye contact.
Assignment / Students read case, write a diagnosis argument with evidence from case, and write an action plan.
A class could be devoted to critiques of student essays on this assignment.
16 / Planning a Presentation / The Message: Preparing the Plan
The Message: Enriching the Presentation
Team Presentations / Discuss planning, enriching the presentation, and the essentials of team presentations. Go over the special requirements of team presentations.
Break into the report teams and have them follow the seven-step plan for creating a presentation (handout provided in the online program) and brainstorm ways to enrich the presentation. Encourage teams to think as creatively as possible about enrichment.
Assignment / Teams submit one-page outline of presentation for peer and instructor feedback.
17 / Presentation Visuals / The Message: Preparing Slides and Other Media / First of two classes on presentation visuals.
Discuss different functions of slides and other media.
Students critique slide examples, using the criteria from the online course.
Students then suggest ways to improve each of the slides that has major weakness.
Assignment / Teams submit drafts of their written reports for peer and instructor feedback.
18 / Presentation Visuals / The Message: Preparing Slides and Other Media / Teams work on slides, video, and other media content of their presentation.
Teams pair up and do critiques of each other's media plans.
19 / Making Team Presentations / Team Presentations / Discuss the basics of team presentations.
Break into teams and have them work on the team aspects of the presentation.
20 / Presentation Delivery / The Delivery: Communicating the Message
Communication Apprehension
Voice / Discuss communication apprehension, its root causes, and steps to mitigate. Include potential cultural inhibitions.
Discuss the attributes of voice in presentation, demonstrate them, and have students practice proper use of voice.
21 / Two-Minute Drills / Students practice two-minute (or less) presentations with special attention to relaxation and voice.
(Content can be varied for each of these sessions to avoid boredom.)
22 / Presentation Delivery / The Delivery: Communicating the Message
Nonverbal communication / Discuss the various channels of nonverbal communication and why they are important.
Model good nonverbals and have students try them out.
Two-Minute Drills / Students practice presenting with special attention to nonverbals.
23 / Presentation Delivery / The Delivery: Communicating the Message
Answering Questions:
Preparing for Questions
Rehearsing a Q&A
Conducting the Q&A
Maintaining Control / Discuss the importance of the Q&A period.
Watch video of Q&A's and critique (e.g., sports coaches, politicians, businesspeople).
In teams have students practice asking each other questions about their part of the presentation.
24 / Two-Minute Drills / Students practice presenting their portions of the team presentation.
Assignment / Team reports are all due before the presentations begin.
Each team member also submits evaluation to instructor of the performance of other team members.
25 / Team Presentations / Each team presents, followed by Q&A with audience.
(Presentations should be videotaped for feedback from peers and instructor and grading. Platforms such as YouSeeU can provide feedback synched with the video.)
26 / Team Presentations / Each team presents, followed by Q&A with audience.
27 / Team Presentations / Each team presents, followed by Q&A with audience.
28 / Presentation Debriefs / Students discuss what they learned from doing the presentations—both things they did well and things they want to improve on.
Instructor notes presentation strengths and weaknesses common to the group.
The Management Communication Online Course provides students with the skills and guided practice necessary to master fundamental concepts in business communication. Registered Premium Educators on the Harvard Business Publishing for Educators web site can see full Free Trials of the course. Learn more.
800.545.7685 (Outside the U.S. and Canada 617.783.7600) | | hbsp.harvard.edu