Professional Communication Skills (5 cr)

Learning outcomes

The student is able to
- communicate as a professional in field-specific tasks and intercultural contexts
- produce effective spoken and written texts using an appropriate style and register
- demonstrate knowledge of essential terminology needed in working life
- apply principles of interpersonal and organizational communication

Materials

Learning materials in Canvas. See also:
Bovée, C. & Thill, J. 2011. Excellence in business communication. 9th edition. London: Pearson.
Hartley, P. & Chatterton, P. 2015. Business communication: rethinking your professional practice for the post-digital age. 2nd edition. London: Routledge.
Mclean, S. 2015. Business communication for success. Washington, D.C.: Flat World Knowledge.
Munter, M. 2014. Guide to managerial communication: effective business writing and speaking. 10th edition. Boston: Prentice Hall.

Teaching methods

The course is delivered online via the Canvas virtual learning environment.
Online meetings are intended for discussion and review of the materials presented.
Breakout rooms are utilised for small group discussion and students are strongly encouraged to enable their video during these discussions.
Online classes are generally not recorded, but material delivered during these sessions is made available in video format in the workspace.
Students receive feedback from the teacher and peer feedback may also be utilised.
Task are done individually or in groups.

Exam schedules

Canvas will be opened on a week before the first meeting.
The last meeting will be held by the end of April.
Some additional dates may be scheduled for small group meetings.

International connections

Development of intercultural competences is integrated into the study unit.

Completion alternatives

According to Laurea UAS's degree regulations, "All students are entitled to demonstrate their competence. The recognition and accreditation of prior competence is initiated by the students themselves. The competence is recognised and accredited by the teacher responsible for the studies or another person designated to the position.

The assessment is carried out according to the same assessment criteria and, as a rule, the same grading scale as that adopted for the corresponding study unit or module.

The student is entitled to apply for accreditation of prior competence regardless of where, how and when the competence has been acquired. The student may also seek accreditation of competence to be acquired on the job as part of their degree (work-based learning). The competence to be accredited must be in line with the learning outcomes of the degree programme’s curriculum. The student is responsible for demonstrating and verifying their competence and for providing sufficient information.

Students should apply for the accreditation of prior competence at the beginning of their studies, so they can progress in their studies without interruption. However, students are entitled to apply for accreditation of prior competence throughout their studies."

Student workload

5 ECTS is approximately 135 hours of work.

Content scheduling

A detailed schedule will be given in Canvas.

The study unit contains work on the following themes:
• communication models, applying a communication strategy
• communication skills requirements in the ICT sector
• intercultural communication and communication styles
• business writing: genre and style, the writing process, macro and micro features
• persuasive communication in presentations, pitches and debates
• building rapport and interpersonal communication in meetings and negotiations
• revision of common business terms & professional vocabulary

Evaluation scale

H-5