Institute of Human Recourse Advancement

University of Colombo
Title of the Programme: Masters in Business Management Course No. 07
Semester: 2nd Semester
Title of the Course: MBM 07 Business Communication
Name(s) of Lecturer(s): with the title(s) Mrs. Anitha Munasinghe, LLB, MPH, MBA
Course Status: Starting 11th June 2016
No. of Credits: 36hrs
Contact Hours: 3 hours
Rationale & scope
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the course students will be able to:

Develop academic and business writing skills expected from a MBM student and
professional manager.
Enhance individual knowledge and skills in becoming a confident presenter.
Provide opportunities for individual and group presentations, case study analysis and
table top exercises.

Pedagogical Methods: (lectures, online videos, group activities, table top exercises, individual
report, group presentations)
Content of the Course:
Session

Topic

Leaning materials/
Activity

Understanding the
Foundations of Business
Communication
Achieving Success through
Effective Business
Communication

Hand-outs
Group Formation

Mastering Team and

Interpersonal
Communication
Communicating in a World
of Diversity

Hand-outs
Group Activity
Case Analysis

MBM-07 Business Communication Course Outline

Due dates for Assignment,

Mid-term test,
presentations etc.
Compulsory reading and
pre- preparation

Compulsory reading and

pre- preparation

Developing Oral
Presentation Skills
Identifying your Audience
Enhancing Presentations
with Slides and Other
Visuals

Hand-outs
Video
GroupActivity

Compulsory reading and

pre- preparation

Business Etiquette and

Body Language
Appropriate use of gestures,
postures, body language and
cultural sensitivity

Hand-outs
GroupActivity Role Play

Presentations by Group 1-3

Developing Listening Skills

Enhance Listening skills

Hand-outs
Listening Exercise
in pairs

Presentations by Group 4-6

Introduction to
Academic/Business Writing
Skills
Discussion on formatting,
paraphrasing, summarising,
referencing, APA

Handouts
Table top- exercises

Presentations by Group 7-9

Communicating
Assertiveness and Self
Motivation
Assertiveness at work and
enhancing Productivity

Hand-outs
Video
Exercise in pairs

Presentations by Group
10-12

Exploring Negotiation
Skills
Conducting Negotiations at
work

Hand-outs
GroupActivity
Case Study

Compulsory reading and

pre- preparation

Customer Relationship
Management (CRM)
Communication issues and
the future of CRM

Hand-outs
GroupActivity

Individual Assignment due

10

Social Media &

Communication
Exploring the use of Social
Media to communicate with
internal and external
customers and Ethical
Communication Practices

Hand-outs
GroupActivity

Compulsory reading and

pre- preparation

MBM-07 Business Communication Course Outline

11

Keys to Delegation through

Clear Communication
Learning the art and skill of
delegation

Hand-outs
Group Activity

Compulsory reading and

pre- preparation

12

Communicating
Leadership
The art of leadership through
effective communication

Hand-outs
Group Activity
Exam Review

Compulsory reading and

pre- preparation

Evaluation:

Participation of classroom lectures

Assignment/Group Presentation
Written test

10%
30%
60%

End-of-Semester Examination: Examination would count for 60% of the grade. Exam would
consist of 6 questions out of which 4 should be answered. Three hours paper.
Continuous Assessment: This course consists of two assessments that would count for 30% of
the grade; Individual Assignment 15% and Group Presentation 15%. The late submission policy
is provided below and would be strictly adhered.
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
A professional manager is expected to have good negotiation skills. Provide a minimum of eight
references to text books, journals and online resources, and describe the keys to effective negotiation
skills. Give specific examples relevant to your own work environment and recommend ways to develop
negotiation skills.
Your report should be 10 -12 pages in length, 2000 words excluding the cover page and references.
Indicate the word count in your paper. Please follow IHRA.UOC assignment guidelines. The individual
assignment due date would be informed.
Individual Assignment Write- Up - (15 Marks)
1. Introduction (brief overview of the topic - negotiation skills, and an introduction about the
authors background; e.g. work, education, etc).

MBM-07 Business Communication Course Outline

2. Literature Review (what do different authors say about the importance of negotiation skills in
relation to the business environment, education, family life and society in general).
https://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/help.html
3. Analysis of your current negotiation skills. At work do you have to regularly interact with internal
and external customers; if so who are they? What is the level or percentage of interaction on a
typical day? What are the distractions or barriers to effective communication/negotiation at
work?
4. Give a specific communication example from your work environment that emphasizes the
challenges or issues you face at work. (This could be a positive or negative experience).
5. Based on your self-analysis and findings what are your suggestions for developing your
negotiation skills? (Suggestions and Recommendations).
6. Conclusion
7. References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Overall Presentation Preparedness as a Group

Attention to detail in all Slides
Appropriate Gestures and Postures
Engaging the Audience
Completion within allocated time (15 minutes)

GROUP PRESENTATION

Form a team of five members.

In your team, select a multinational organization of your
choice. Then analyze the advertising, promotions or marketing strategy of this selected organization and
explain how it has won the hearts and minds of Sri Lankans over other national brands.
The focus should be on how the product or service is being communicated to the Sri Lankan general
public. Are ethical advertising norms and standards being used? If your team is given a chance to improve
the product or service in terms of its communications strategy, what would you do differently?
Based on the above make a 15 minutes group presentation. Kindly use a maximum of 12 power-point
slides. All group members should present. Please provide the instructor; black and white print-outs of the
slide presentation, on two A4 pages (six slides per page) prior to the presentation. The Group
presentations would be carried out as indicated by the instructor.
Group Presentation (15 Marks)
First handover the 2 page presentation printout to the lecturer. Your group would be evaluated on the
following criteria.

MBM-07 Business Communication Course Outline

Late submission policy:

Students are permitted to submit their assignments maximum up to five (05) working days after
the due date with the penalty of reduced marks. Penalty of late submission may be one (01) mark
for each working day with the maximum of five (05) marks. No assignment submitted after this
late submission period should be accepted by the lecturer for marking. If any student requires
more than five working days to submit the assignment for a reason acceptable to the Faculty he
or she should make that request well in advance. From the Programme Coordinator.
Academic misconduct, cheating and plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the presentation of anothers academic work without acknowledging
appropriately. Whether one presents anothers academic work as ones own intentionally or
unintentionally, it is taken as academic misconduct. Not only direct quotation but also
paraphrasing should be acknowledge appropriately i.e. in text citation and referencing following
the APA Manual. Even with proper acknowledgement, inclusion presentation of anothers
academic work in a given assignment should be limited and the limit may vary from one
assignment to another.
Often reported forms of cheating may include copying of another students work completely or
partly, getting another to do the assignment completely or partly, inclusion of the name(s) of
student(s) who has/have not contribute to the assignment appropriately and reporting fieldwork
which the student(s) has/have not carried out.
Recommended Text(s): Please note that the following E-books would be provided by the
instructor.
1. Fundamentals of Communication, P.R. and Leadership by Georgios P. Piperopoulos
2. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) by Baran; Christopher Zerres, MichealZerres
3. Be a Better Writer by Suzanne Lieurance
Additional Readings:
Business Communication Today, Bovee/Thill/Chatterjee, 10thedition, 2011 or newer edition.
Business Communication Making Connections in a Digital World, Lesikar/Flatley/Rentz/Pande,
eleventh edition, 2013.

MBM-07 Business Communication Course Outline

MBM-07 Business Communication Course Outline