Sure, leadership, team skills, and functional integration are important. But if MBA programs continue to graduate students who can’t write and speak clearly, employers will stop paying the MBA wage premium. The WSJ’s Career Journal quotes Whirlpool’s director of global university relations Chris Aisenbrey:
“It is staggering the frequency of typos, grammatical errors and poorly constructed thoughts we see in emails that serve as letters of introduction,” says Mr. Aisenbrey. “We still see a tremendous amount of email from students who are writing to the recruiter like they are sending a message to a friend asking what they are doing that evening.” In the WSJ/Harris Interactive survey of corporate recruiters, the top complaint is inferior communication skills. Keeping the above in view, the course focuses on the basic skills required to be an effective communicator. Session-wise course outline Sessions1 to 5 Individual Presentations: Recording & Feedback. Basics of Presentations & Individual Practice sessions Session 6 Basics of Communication: Verbal & nonverbal communication, process of communication, patterns of communication Discussion & demonstration Sessions 7-12 Topic Presentations by faculty, and discussion of the topic by groups with the class. Topics include: 1. Listening & Feedback - Group I 2. Effective Presentation Skills – Group II 3. Assertion, Persuasion & Negotiation for Effective Communication – Group III 4. Effect of Culture on Communication – Group IV 5. Effect of Technology on Communication – Group V 6. Going Beyond Topics – Group VI Students are expected to read the relevant chapters, as & when they are covered in class, from the course material kept in the library. Sessions13-14 Report Writing: Planning, Preparation, Strategies & Skills Read the chapter from the book, Excellence in Business Communication: Thill & Bovee. Multiple photocopies have been kept in the library. Sessions15 – 20 Individual Presentations: for evaluation by the faculty. Project Presentations by Groups I to VI. Projects will be given by the faculty in one of the initial classes. Students will be expected to complete this assignment before presenting the project to the class for discussion and question–answer session. Each group will also have to submit a project report. Cases, exercises and, role-plays will be presented by the students, with the help of the faculty. The course will encourage active participation of the students - both as an individual and as a member of a group.