Post-Graduate Diploma in Management

Area: Business Communication

Course: Business Communication II

(Term II)

Academic Year: 2021-22

Credit Value: 1.5 Credits

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Effective managerial personality is measured with a balance in oral communication skills and
the written communication skills. With the advent of various media tools, internet and print
resources, the ability to write effectively is critical for success in today’s business environment.
An effective manager is required to be able to communicate his/her ideas to a diverse audience
while maintaining a high level of professionalism. This means that the writing needs to be free
of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, word usage and style.

The course “Business Communication II” provides an in-depth understanding of writing

strategies and ensures that the budding managers have the necessary tools to develop
professional written communication skills. The students would gain proficiency in using
words, sentences and paragraphs effectively and their application while drafting various types
of business correspondence with specific reference to contexts.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

a. To learn the principles of effective writing. (1.2)

b. To plan written communication by paying special attention to the needs and
expectations of readers.
c. To understand the characteristics of written communication, purpose of writing and
types of written business messages.

PEDAGOGY

 Case study analysis

 Business correspondence analysis
 Working and Writing in Teams
 Experience sharing
 Information Analysis
 PPT overview

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

a. Students are required to submit written assignments on various types of business

messages.
b. Regular practice of writing and taking feedback would help the students in better
expression. Therefore, students should actively seek inputs from faculty and peer
group on their writing skills.
c. Students would be required to actively participate in class discussions to share their
experiences regarding written communication failures that normally occur at
workplace and how to avoid them.
 EVALUATION

Specific Assessment Methods / %

a (1.2) b c d
Tasks Weightage
Continuous Assessment 100%
Group: 30
Written Case Assignment 30
Individual: 70
Quiz 30
End Term 40 √*
Total 100

*This component of assessment will be used for AACSB Assurance of Learning (Learning
objective -1.2)

WRITTEN CASE ASSIGNMENT

The group project will be an important learning tool of the course. It is essentially an
application of the classroom learning. The project will require students to read on
contemporary business issues and develop one case study per group dealing with an
organizational communication challenge and presenting an analysis of how it was handled.

RECOMMENDED TEXT BOOK

 Meyer, C., & Dev, N. B. (2021). Communicating for Results (4th ed.). New Delhi:
Oxford University Press.

OTHER REFERENCE BOOKS

 Bell, Smith. (2011). Management Communication. Wiley (Third Edition)

 Ober, S.( 2011). Effective Business Communication. Cengage Learning.
 Murphy, Herta, Hildenbrandt, Herbert and Thomas, Jane. (2008).Effective Business
Communication. Tata McGraw-Hill Companies.
 Bovee, C L; Thill, J V; Chaturvedi, M. (2009). Business Communication Today.
Pearson Education.

RECOMMENDED ACADEMIC JOURNALS

 Bulletin of the Association for Business Communication

 Business Communication Quarterly Journal of Business Communication
 Communication World
 Strategic Communication Management
 Journal of Business and Technical Communication; Thousand Oaks
 Journal of Communication Management; London
 Journal of Organizational Culture, Communication and Conflict; Cullowhee
 Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly; Columbia
  Management Communication Quarterly : MCQ; Thousand Oaks
 Strategic Communication Management; Chicago
 Technical Communication Quarterly; St. Paul

COURSE OUTLINE: SESSION/MODULE/READING MATERIAL

Sessions  Topics  Reference/ Readings 

1-2 Fundamentals of Business Writing - Effective  Textbook Chapters 3 and

use of words, paragraphs and sentences, You 4
Approach and AIDA Plan  Don’t Anesthetize your
Readers, HBR Guide
 Business
Communications: A
Practical Guide for
Drafting Effective and
Unchallengeable
Communications,
Employment Practice
Solutions
3  Online Communication: Professional E-mailing  Textbook Chapter 5
 Does Bill Gates Know
from E-Mail, Harvard
Management
Communication Letter
 Case: Cerner Corporation:
Eugene D. Fanning
Center for Business
Communication
4‐5  Social Media and the Changing Nature  Textbook Chapter 13
of Business Communication (LinkedIn,  How to Separate the
Facebook, Twitter)  Personal and Professional
on Social Media, Harvard
Business Review
 Case: Facebook (A), (B),
Darden Business
Publishing
 

6‐8  Empathetic Messaging Techniques: Drafting  Textbook Chapters 6, 7

Business Messages with Positive, Neutral, and 8
Negative, and Persuasive tones  Drafting Business
Messages: Positive,
 Neutral, Negative, and
Persuasive.  

9‐10  Employment-Related Communication  Chapter 9 

 Impact of your online identity on job search

process,
 Resume Writing, Employment Letters