formal report

Business Communication – COMM 212 – Winter 2016 1

John Molson School of Business

Department of Marketing

Business Communication (COMM 212)

Winter 2016

Section Classroom Day and Time Start and End Dates

D MB 1.437 Th 8:45 - 11:30am

Jan 6 to Apr 12, 2016 DD MB S2.401 Mo 5:45 - 8:15pm

F MB 3.435 Th 2:45 - 5:30pm

Course instructor: Aela Salman, MSc

Office location: MB 14.280

Office hours: Thursday 1-2:30pm (or by appointment)

Telephone: (514) 848‐2424 ext. 2940 E-mail: [email protected] (please refer to Communication Outside Course Hours in

the course outline)

Mailbox: Room MB 13.145 Box 43

SUPPLEMENTARY COURSE OUTLINE ADDENDUM

Formal Report – Solo Writing (25%)

Each student will independently prepare a formal report – 6 to 10 pages (excluding the title page,

memorandum or transmittal letter, table of contents, executive summary, bibliography and

appendices). Grading will be based on the Formal Report Rubric which can be found on Moodle.

You are required to write a formal report on one of the following three scenarios:

Scenario 1: Nutella’s Social Media Strategy

You are the Social Media Manager for Nutella, owned by Ferrero. The President and CEO of

Ferrero Canada, Allan Cosman, has asked you to write a formal report on the top social media

platforms to use for the Nutella brand. Select and provide recommendations for three different

social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn,

Snapchat, Tumblr, etc.), and discuss the purpose for each one.

Scenario 2: Aldo Shoes’ Social Media Strategy

You are the Social Media Manager for Aldo Shoes. The CEO of Aldo Group, Patrik Frisk, has

asked you to write a formal report on the top social media platforms to use for the Aldo Shoes

brand. Select and provide recommendations for three different social media platforms (e.g.

Business Communication – COMM 212 – Winter 2016 2

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Tumblr, etc.), and discuss

the purpose for each one.

Scenario 3: Air Canada’s Social Media Strategy

You are the Social Media Manager for Air Canada. The President and CEO, Calin Rovinescu,

has asked you to write a formal report on the top social media platforms to use for the Air Canada

brand. Select and provide recommendations for three different social media platforms (e.g.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Tumblr, etc.), and discuss

the purpose for each one.

Requirements:

Your formal report should follow the elements below – please refer to Chapter 11 of the textbook.

 The title page should include your name and ID number as well as the course number and

section (in addition to other title page components explained in the textbook, e.g. title report).

 The body of the report (Introduction to Recommendations) must be 6-10 pages excluding

tables, figures and illustrations.

 Use at least five reliable and authoritative secondary sources (not Wikipedia!).

 Use a minimum of two visual aids – they should be properly referenced and discussed.

 The report should be professionally formatted: 1.5 line spacing, 12-pt font size, Times New

Roman font, 1-inch margins (all around) and correct pagination.

 The report should be grammatically correct and should not have spelling or typographical

errors. Spellchecking is often not enough; reports should be proofread before being handed

in.

FRONT MATTER:

 Cover

 Title Page

 Letter of Transmittal / Memorandum

 Table of Contents

 List of Tables / Figures / Illustrations

 Executive Summary

BODY OF THE REPORT

 Introduction

 Discussion of Findings

 Conclusions

 Recommendations

BACK MATTER

 Appendices

 References or Works Cited (APA or MLA referencing style)

Business Communication – COMM 212 – Winter 2016 3

Deliverables:

 Submit a hard copy of your formal report to the instructor at the beginning of Class 11.

 Submit an electronic copy of your report on Moodle before the beginning of Class 11. The file

name should be: Last Name_First Name_Report.

 Late formal reports will result in a 10% penalty on the report mark per day.

Group Presentation Project (30%)

Students will research and present a 30-minute group oral presentation using appropriate

electronic audiovisual support media. An additional 5-10 minute period will be allotted for a

question and answer session at the end of the group presentation. The group presentations will

be held during classes 9, 10, 11 and 12. Grading will be based on the Group Presentation Rubric

which can be found on Moodle. Group presentations are to be prepared during the workshop

sessions of the class and independent of class hours. Students must be prepared and willing to

invest a considerable amount of time working effectively, efficiently and diligently with teammates.

The content for the group presentation must be a business communication topic, prepared and

presented by you, a team of consultants. All group members must participate in the presentation.

PowerPoint slides are preferred, but Prezi is also accepted. Please refer to Chapter 12 of the

textbook as a guide in helping you build your presentation.

A group may propose its own topic, as long it is clearly related to Business Communication.

Here are a few topic ideas:

 Components of a killer business presentation

 Blogging for business

 Marketing yourself online

 Netiquette

 Workplace etiquette

Cover slide (topic, group name, course name, section and term)

Agenda (guide the audience)

Three-part presentation:

 Introduction: 1) arouse interest, 2) identify yourself and establish credibility, 3) make

your purpose clear, and 4) preview your main points

 Body: Three main points and supporting details

 Conclusion: Summary of main points, and closing slide

References or Works Cited: Include a minimum of five reliable and authoritative sources (not

Wikipedia!), and use either APA or MLA style (not both). All sources need to be referenced in-

text on each slide (i.e., Meyer, 2014), and include a list of references / works cited at the end of

the presentation.

Business Communication – COMM 212 – Winter 2016 4

 Teamwork communication

 Cross-cultural communication

 Public speaking

 Networking

 Use of technology in business communication

 Customer service

Be creative and interactive! You can include videos, role plays, questions for your peers, etc.

Please note that topics are awarded on a first come first served basis, and must be

submitted by Class 4.

Please refer to p. 440-444 of your textbook for tips on rehearsing and delivering a presentation,

handling questions and presenting as a team.

Grading: The group project is worth 30% of the final course grade where 20% will be based on

group performance and 10% on individual performance.

Peer Evaluation: Each group member is expected to equally contribute to the group project.

Each person must complete a Peer Evaluation Form (available on Moodle) by rating each team

member (except themselves) from a score of 0 to 10. The average score will be multiplied to the

group grade of the presentation. For example, if John’s group receives 85% on the group

presentation, and John’s average peer evaluation is 8/10, John will receive a grade of 85 x 0.8 =

68%.

Deliverables:

 In electronic format, submit a brief outline mentioning your i) team name, ii) team

members, iii) topic, and iv) three (3) main points, via e-mail by Class 4. Please send only

one e-mail per team (don’t forget to CC your team members).

 All groups, regardless of when you’re presenting, must submit the PowerPoint

presentation on Moodle before the beginning of Class 9. Failure to do so will result in a

10% penalty on your group presentation mark. The file name should be:

Presentation_Group Name.

 Please provide a hard copy of your slides to the instructor, along with the completed Peer

Evaluation Form, before presenting.

Enrollment in this class means that you are aware of, understand and accept the rules stated in

this document.