Communication

Management Division

Management Philosophy
(BSF 800)
 Communication Management Division 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WELCOME

1 FORMAT OF MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY (BSF 800)

2 FORMAT OF THE CONTACT SESSIONS

3 TOPICS TO BE ADDRESSED IN MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY (BSF 800)

4 ASSESSMENT IN MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY

5 THE CONTACT SESSIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS/EXAMINATION DATES

6 THE INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT: A CRITICAL QUESTION

7 THE EXAMINATION PRESENTATION

8 LECTURER DETAILS

Management philosophy (BSF 800) 2014

 Communication Management Division 2014

WELCOME

Dear student

The Greek philosopher Pericles remarked more than 2,000 years ago:
“He who has all the knowledge in the world and is unable to express that knowledge, is at
the level of him that has no knowledge at all”
The above quotation is indicative of all our communication….
The subject Management Philosophy (BSF 800) will provide you with knowledge
of the background and impact of management philosophy on management and
communication through the years. Management Philosophy focuses on the most
salient and current issues in the broader encompassing environment within which the
discipline of Communication Management is practiced. It is aimed at providing
students with a macro-perspective on some of the signifcant dynamic processes in
the strategic environment before you begin to focus and concentrate on the subject
specific topics within your respective fields of study.
In this subject you will be exposed to various topics. The learning experience
will consist of a variety of learning occasions such as doing individual assignments
and participating in group discussions during contact sessions. I (and on occasion
guest speakers), will share knowledge by means of presentations and in-depth
discussions to further enhance the learning experience. In all cases, the required
reading will be the basis for discussions and for doing your assignments and
examination projects.
A pragmatic and research approach will be followed in the course and
students will be encouraged to develop research skills that will equip them to do
basic and applied research.
I trust that you will enjoy your learning experience with us and that you will be
able to apply what you have learned in the classroom to your work environment.

Prof Ronél Rensburg

Lecturer

Management philosophy (BSF 800) 2014

 Communication Management Division 2014

1 FORMAT OF MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY (BSF 800)

The subject Management Philosophy (BSF 800) is structured into an individual

assignment (answering to critical questions) and an examination where there will be
an interpretation of the course material resulting in background for a conference
presentation, a business report and an article. The contact sessions will consist of a
wide range of events and engagements, and learning on the one level will take
place during the collective learning sessions, where the lecturer, the students, and
invited speakers can engage in high level academic and practical discourse on the
selected topics. Learning on the other level will be of an individual nature, where
students can apply content. Students should keep in mind that although
Communication Management is an applied science, study at the master’s level is
nevertheless advanced postgraduate work aimed at equipping students to better
understand and master their discipline at the highest level of international standards.

2 FORMAT OF THE CONTACT SESSIONS

To recap what has already been mentioned in the general studyguide for the
coursework master’s in Communicaiton Management: Each of the contact sessions
will consist of three elements:

 An introductory lecture/discussion by the lecturer and/or invited guest(s)

 Interactive and participative class discussion of the topic
 Application of the course content to the outcomes of the master’s coursework

 Introductory lecture/discussion

The introductory lecture/discussion will provide a macro-view of the topic. Any

related presentation material will be made available to learners at the end or after
the session or will be sent on to you via email. The purpose of the lecture/discussion is
to serve as a backdrop to subsequent interactive and participative class discussion
of the topic.
Lecturers and presentations by guests will form part of the contact sessions.

Management philosophy (BSF 800) 2014

 Communication Management Division 2014

 Topic discussion and application

The interactive and participative discussion of the topic will be fairly unstructured and
be determined and facilitated by the lecturer. Each student will be expected to
participate through critical debating of the topic and experience-sharing. Students
should be prepared to take initiative and introduce relevant topics for discussion or
critically address points introduced by fellow students.

3 TOPICS TO BE ADDRESSED IN MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY (BSF 800)

The overall aim of the subject Management Philosophy is to provide the

“management” perspective and background against which corporate
communication within organisations, business and society operates. We will glance
at management theories – old and new- and some of the lessons learnt from
captains of industry and corporate leaders throughout the years.
National and international research will be studied in this course. It is also the
student’s responsibility to find important research and to share it with others in the
contact sessions. As there is NO PRESCRIBED BOOK for this course, students are
encouraged to visit the library and other platforms (and read as wide as possible) to
obtain information for your research.
Although the course will have a strong theoretical foundation, pragmatic
applications will form an integral part of assignments. We will examine contemporary
theoretical approaches and novel “ways of seeing” to management philosophy
where communication management is concerned.
The topics selected for investigation during the first semester will include:

 Introductory perspectives and why Aristotle is still relevant

 Responsible leadership, sustainability and corporate citizenship
 The case for business continuity and innovation
 Stakeholders/audiences as corporate reputation ambassadors or demolishers

Management philosophy (BSF 800) 2014

 Communication Management Division 2014

 Social media and networks, virtual worlds and how new technology impacts
on corporate communication
 Communication as value-add and one of the “capitals”
 Reputation versus character – can there be a virtuous organisation?

4 ASSESSMENT IN MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY

ASSESSMENT OPPORTUNITIES % OF MARK

SEMESTER MARK:

 INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT: CRITICAL 50%

QUESTIONS ON MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY
FOR THE ARTICLE

EXAMINATION MARK:

 INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT: INTERPRETATION OF 50%

MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY FOR THE ARTICLE

TOTAL: 100%

5 THE CONTACT SESSIONS AND ASSIGNMENT/EXAMINATION DATES

 24 March: Contact session – Management Philosophy (BSF 800): 09:00 – 11:00;

Library Auditorium

 14 April: Submit assignment electronically to lecturer (guidelines for assignment

to be discussed in contact session and in tutorial letter via email. The
assignment will be in the form of a critical question.

 22 May: Contact session – Management Philosophy (BSF 800): Morning (time to

be determined) - Present individual interpretation of literature
review/management philosophy as the macro-environment for your selected
topic.

Management philosophy (BSF 800) 2014

 Communication Management Division 2014

6 THE INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT: A CRITICAL QUESTION

For the individual assignments (the critical questions), each student will be expected
to:
6.1 Select one of the following themes for BSF 800:

 Introductory perspectives and why Aristotle is still relevant

 Responsible leadership, sustainability and corporate citizenship
 The case for business continuity and innovation
 Stakeholders/audiences as corporate reputation ambassadors or demolishers
 Social media and networks, virtual worlds and how new technology impacts
on corporate communication
 Communication as value-add and one of the “capitals”
 Reputation versus character – can there be a virtuous organisation?

6.2 Pose a critical question about this selected topic

6.3 Answer your critical question

FORMAT OF THE CRITICAL QUESTION ASSIGNMENT

The format of the assignment:

Title page containing the following:

 Your name, student number

 The general topic in BSF 800 that you have selected
 Your specific critical question: what do you want to investigate and answer?
 Name of lecturer

Executive summary
Introduction
Body of the assignment (no more than 10 points – headings)

Management philosophy (BSF 800) 2014

 Communication Management Division 2014

Management and communication implications

Conclusion
References

The assignment should not exceed 30 typed A4 pages, Arial (12 point) and 1.5 line
spacing – references, graphs and addenda excluded.

The assignment should be forwarded via email to the lecturer.

7 THE EXAMINATION PRESENTATION

The examination session will take the form of an individual presentation (and written
documentation) on how you will incorporate Management Philosophy into your
business report, article and conference presentation. Presentation times for this
purpose will be finalised during the course of the first semester, but will take place in
the May contact session. The broad outline of the presentation and discussion is to
be submitted to the lecturer on the day of the examination presentation.

Requirements with regards to the presentation session are the following:

 Prepare a 30 minute presentation. The presentation should consist of the

following main points containing the following:

TITLE SLIDE: TOPIC OF CONFERENCE PAPER, BUSINESS REPORT AND ARTICLE

INTRODUCTION
TOPIC OUTLINE
PROBLEM STATEMENT
THE “BUSINESS IN SOCIETY” BACKGROUND (MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY)
APPLICATION TO CONFERENCE PAPER, BUSINESS REPORT AND ARTICLE
COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
CONCLUSION

Management philosophy (BSF 800) 2014

 Communication Management Division 2014

MAIN LITERATURE REFERENCES

 A written document which will eventually form part of the conference paper,
the business report and the article.

More detail and a mark allocation will be forwarded during the course of the first
semester. Examples will also be forwarded.

8 LECTURER DETAILS

Prof Ronel Rensburg

Professor (D Litt et Phil; CPRP)
Communication Management Division
Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
University of Pretoria
South Africa
Tel: +27 12 420 3395
Cell: + 27 83 632 5332
email: ronel.rensburg@up.ac.za
Skype: ronel.rensburg11
Twitter: @rensbu

BIO OF RONÉL RENSBURG

Ronél Rensburg is the former Head of the Department of Marketing and

Communication Management in the Faculty of Economic and Management
Sciences at the University of Pretoria (2000-2008). She was Deputy-Dean and Acting
Dean (2002-2005) as well as Chairperson of the School of Management Sciences
(2002-2008) in the same faculty. Ronél is currently full professor and head of the

Management philosophy (BSF 800) 2014

 Communication Management Division 2014

Communication Management Division. She is a past President of PRISA (the Public

Relations Institute of Southern Africa), a past board member of the Global Alliance
for Public Relations and Communication Management (GA), a member of the
European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA), a
member of the Eurasian Communication Association (ECA) and the International
Communication Association (ICA). She has coordinated international exchange
activities and collaboration initiatives in the Faculty of Economic and Management
Sciences (2006-2011). She has been President of the South African Institute of
Management Scientists (SAIMS) between 2001 – 2008. Prof Rensburg is a founding
member of the recently-established Centre for Communication and Reputation
Management (CCRM) at the University of Pretoria. She is a speechwriter and -trainer
for politicians and captains of industry. Ronél writes a regular column for Business24,
dealing with communication and reputation management issues. She holds a B-
rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF) – currently the highest in
Communication Management in South Africa.
Her areas of specialisation are communication and reputation management,
strategic communication in corporate governance, government communication
and international/ global communication. Ronél intends to re-establish and grow -
with the cooperation of the staff members in the Communication Management
Division - the discipline of Communication Management locally and internationally.
She will coordinate – inter alia - the development of a Professional Masters in
Communication and Reputation Management through the CCRM. She is on the 2013
CEO list of South Africa’s 100 most influential women in business and government.

Management philosophy (BSF 800) 2014