the interpersonal aspects of communication - communicating to persuade and influencing others (key points for practicing the art of persuasion);

MNG81001Assignment4Review11.pptx

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MNG81001

Review Assignment 4

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Three parts

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

60% (21/35) + 20% (7/35) + 20% (7/35) = 35%

You do not need to pass all three sections, however you must complete all three

Individual section write on one of four topics

Individual three minute presentation

Assignment 4

Group activities compiling the report

1. Individual section

Effective communication throughout a workplace is an essential ingredient to align people’s efforts towards achieving organisational goals. Yet it seems that ‘communication problems’ are continually mentioned as one of the main difficulties for most organisations. Your boss, the CEO of ABC Company, has asked you to investigate the question:

'why managers should make effective communication a priority'?

In so doing she expects you to examine four issues:

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

1. the interpersonal aspects of communication - communicating to persuade and influencing others (key points for practicing the art of persuasion);

2. the organisation as a whole and formal communication channels - establishing and maintaining formal and informal channels of communication downward, upward and horizontally;

3. personal communication channels - including personal networks, the grapevine and written communication; and finally

4. aspects of communication that relate to sustainability: communication of sustainability activities and achievements (the corporate social responsibility report), and the sustainability of an organisation's communications activities themselves.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Topic 1

the interpersonal aspects of communication - communicating to persuade and influencing others (key points for practicing the art of persuasion).

What is interpersonal communication

Why is it important

The effects of interpersonal communication in the workplace

What do we mean by persuasion

The importance of persuasion

How can we practise the art or persuasion?

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Topic 2

2. the organisation as a whole and formal communication channels - establishing and maintaining formal and informal channels of communication downward, upward and horizontally.

What is organisational communicaiton?

Formal communication channels

Informal communication channels

Strategies/tactics for communicating:

Downward

Upward

horizontally

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Topic 3

3. personal communication channels - including personal networks, the grapevine and written communication.

What are personal communication channels?

Individual communication styles and preferences.

What do we mean by the grapevine?

Different types of grapevines

What is its role in an organisation?

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Topic 4

What do we mean by communication of sustainability

CSR (corporate social responsibility)

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Planning a report

Define the problem and purpose

Consider the reader

Determine which ideas to include

Collect the information

Sort and evaluate the information – what strategy are you using: informal written outline; tree diagram; or mind map?

Organise the information

Prepare the outline

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Choose your topic

Identify key words

Search for sources

NB: 8 – 10 sources. Four must be peer reviewed journal articles.

Evaluate your sources

Consider your word count

Map out a skeleton of your draft

How many paragraphs

Sub themes/headings

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Confirming peer reviewed journals: using Ulrichsweb

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

2. The group

The group is responsible for:

Cover sheet (list all group names)

Title

Content page

Abstract (executive summary) 200 words

Main introduction 150 words

Main conclusion: 150 words

Headings

Style and consistency (e.g. page numbers, font)

One (merged reference list)

We are not so much concerned with the exact number of words, but with getting the structure of the abstract, introduction and conclusion right.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

In the reference list you need to highlight the peer reviewed references:

Smith, FC, Jones, M & Wilson, J 2016, ‘Communication in the workplace’, Journal of Communication, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 155-75.

Wilson, A & Smith, J 2000, 'Managing the Communication Process, Journal of Strategic Communication , vol. 81, no. 8, pp. 40-5.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

The most important thing to remember is that:

You will be rewarded for linking ideas together to draw conclusions, and discussing the implications of what you have described.

You will be rewarded for questioning the material that you have researched for preparing your assignment.

You will not be rewarded for simply the number of words you write.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Report structure

Is everyone clear about:

Structure: The assignment is a business style report. Please follow the structure we have discussed.

Although there is NO methodology section you need to mention in the introduction where your information has come from. This can just be one sentence something like this:

The information in this report is based on a review of secondary sources and investigations others have previously conducted in the area of communication in the workplace.

(Remember these are my words !!) .

Introduction: You have a main introduction that brings together all the different sections/themes. Each section also has an introduction. This need only be two or three sentences. You are basically introducing your section.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

The report format: The front

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

The abstract

An abstract must be fully self-contained and make sense by itself, without further reference to outside sources or to the actual paper. It highlights key content areas, your report purpose, the relevance or importance of your work, and the main conclusions.

It is a well-developed single paragraph of approximately 200 words in length.

The function of the abstract is to outline briefly all parts of the paper.

Although it is placed at the beginning of your paper, immediately following the title page, the abstract should be the last thing that you write, once you are sure of the conclusions you will reach.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

The body (individual sections)

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Introductory section

The middle section

The final section

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Recommendations

The recommendations are the direction or actions that you think must be taken or additional work that is needed to expand the knowledge obtained in your report.

At this point you are asking the reader to think or do something about the information you have presented. In order to achieve your purposes and have your reader do what you want, consider how they will react to your recommendations and phrase your words in a way to best achieve your purposes.

Please note: When you sum up the conclusions that you have give ONE recommendation for the whole group.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

The difference between a conclusion and recommendations

Assume that you were walking down the street, staring at the treetops, and stepped in a deep puddle while wearing expensive new shoes. What conclusions, and recommendations might you draw from this situation?

Conclusions: These shoes were not waterproof and not meant to be worn when walking in water. In addition, the high price of the shoes is not closely linked with durability.

Recommendations: In the future, the wearer of this type of shoe should watch out for puddles, not just treetops. When buying shoes, the wearer should determine the extent of the shoes’ waterproofing and/or any warranties on durability.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Working on a group report

Successful team performance depends on personal individual accountability. In a team environment, individuals are usually effectively motivated to maximise their own rewards and minimise their own costs.

However, conflicts can arise when individualistic motives or behaviours disrupt team-oriented goals. For example, conflict can stem from an unequal division of resources. When team members believe they are receiving too little for what they are giving, they sometimes reduce their effort and turn in work of lower quality. Such ‘free riding’ occurs most frequently when individual contributions are combined into a single product or performance, and individual effort is perceived as unequal.

At this point, some individual team members may take on extra responsibilities while other team members may reduce their own efforts or withdraw from the team completely.

Result: anger, frustration, or isolation—resulting in a dysfunctional team and poor quality of work.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Exchange contact information

Decide who will do what

Prepare a team contract:

Commitments

Team meeting ground rules: Participation

Team meeting ground rules: Communication

Team meeting ground rules: Problem solving

Team meeting ground rules: Decision making

Team meeting ground rules: Handling conflict

Meeting guidelines

Meeting procedures

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
14 Planning	15	16	17	18	19	20
21 Drafting	22	23	24	25	26	27
28 Editing INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATONS START	29	30	31	1st June	2	3
4 Putting it all together – the Group	5	6	7	8TH June Assignment 4 due

Writing a report

Create an outline. Include major headings and subheadings.

Write the purpose and introduction.

Write the main text (body).

Draw conclusions from the information gathered. As you write, relate these to the report’s original purpose.

Prepare the abstract after the facts and findings have been analysed and discussed.

Construct your list of reference.

Construct the table of contents.

Prepare the title page to compete the report writing package.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Editing a report

The key issue for the team is consistency.

What to look for:

Structure

Check the style of all your headings for consistency. What heading level are you using? Are you using capitalised headings (e.g., either ‘This Heading Style’or ‘This heading style). The convention tends to be: Initial capitals are used sparingly.

Balance your headings

Ensure that the font size and style is consistent throughout the report

Vague or ambiguous language

Replace vague words with more powerful and specific words. Brainstorming or searching a thesaurus can lead to the word best suited for a specific instance.

Interrogate every word in a sentence - check every word to make sure that it is providing something important and unique to a sentence. If words are dead weight, they can be deleted or replaced.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Citation format

SCU Harvard

Punctuation

What is the difference between a colon [:] and a semi colon [;]?

Abbreviations and acronyms

Abbreviations and acronyms are usually defined the first time they are used within the abstract (if they appear in the abstract) and again in the main introduction; they are then used exclusively throughout the remainder of the document.

Numbers, units, and figures

Conventions (according to the Style Manual 6th edition):

Numbers can be expressed in figures or words.

Scientific – figures

Description – words

Normally, figures should be used for all numbers over 10.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Reviewing Organisation

1. If you have not already done so, divide your document into sections and subsections by inserting headings and subheadings into your document.

2. Read over the headings and subheadings of your document. (Review the table of contents.)

3. Are all the elements of the report present and in the appropriate order? If not, are there good reasons for omitting or rearranging some sections?

4. Does each section and subsection follow logically from the preceding one?

5. Is there a clear blueprint/road map of the entire document in the main introduction? Does the report follow that road map?

6. Are you using any graphics? If so, review the graphics in the order presented in your document. Do they present the key information to the reader in a logical order?

7. Read aloud the topic sentence of each paragraph of your document. Do ideas flow smoothly from paragraph to paragraph? Will the relationship between one idea and the next be clear to your reader?

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Strategies for Revising Organisation

1. If appropriate, add sections, subsections, and section headings, and subheadings to make your report conform to its standard type.

2. If appropriate, add sections and subsections to improve the logical structure and coherence of your report.

3. If appropriate, rewrite the main blueprint.

4. If appropriate, add new graphics and revise and rearrange old ones to provide the reader with a visual summary of the document's central ideas.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Revising Content

When you are satisfied with the organisation of your report, review to ensure that all information is accurate, complete, and comprehensible.

Because revising content may significantly alter parts of a document, experienced writers review and revise the content thoroughly before they begin to edit for style, usage, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Questions About Content

Read through your draft slowly, stopping at the end of each section, and ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is the information accurate?

2. Are all sources documented? Is all information from sources either paraphrased or quoted exactly and enclosed in quotation marks?

3. Are any graphics misleading?

4. Is the information complete? Have you omitted any facts or concepts necessary for the report's aim and for the audience type and the audience's purpose?

5. Is any irrelevant information included in the report?

6. Is the information comprehensible to your audience?

7. Are all technical terms that need to be defined for your audience clearly defined?

8. Are all technical terms used correctly?

9. Are all technical terms used consistently?

10. Do you always use the same term to refer to something?

11. Are all acronyms explained when first used?

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Editing for Grammar and Style

When you have dealt with the more basic matters included in the revision stage, it is time to review the document carefully for correctness. As you edit your document, however, continue to do whatever you can to improve accuracy, clarity, conciseness, coherence, and appropriateness.

For example, could any sentences be made more effective by restructuring?

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

No matter how sound your document may be technically, your credibility will be undermined by errors in sentence construction or grammar, word choice, usage, punctuation, mechanics, or spelling.

If you need more information about grammatical elements, refer to parts of sentences and parts of speech. If English is not your native language, check the list of common ESL writing problems.

Three good sources of help:

Purdue OWL https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

Grammarly https://www.grammarly.com /

Perelman et. al, The Mayfield Handbook on Technical Writing, ‘Revising Documents’ on-line at: https://web.mit.edu/21.guide/www/

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Ways to tighten up your writing:

1. Make your paragraphs coherent. If necessary, rearrange sentences for better paragraph flow and logic.

2. Use the active voice whenever the passive voice is not clearly more appropriate.

3. Eliminate unnecessary words and phrases.

4. Simplify your sentences. Break long sentences into manageable units.

5. Condense repetitious or closely related material. Look for ways to combine or delete words and sentences that repeat information.

6. Be specific. Replace vague phrases and words with more descriptive ones.

7. Use words accurately. Look for phrases and words that don't stand up to scrutiny.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

Finally, have you used the language of your sources appropriately and give them proper credit?

You must follow the SCU Harvard style for citing sources and creating a reference list.

Have you followed the SCU Harvard style correctly and consistently?

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4

3. Presentation

Three-minute presentation:

Topic: Review your section

One PowerPoint slide

Your tutor will advise presentation arrangements

A good presentation has a number of features that can be classified as content-related or delivery-related (content + process).

Your presentation needs to be relevant and interesting, have a clear purpose and message to communicate, be well organised with a clear structure and be easy to understand with clear visual(s) to support it.

MNG81001 Special Review Assignment 4