BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SKILLS

ADM 2381 M, N | 2021

Professor Matt Archibald, MBA

E-mail marchibald@telfer.uottawa.ca

Wednesdays, 12:00 – 13:00 (via MS Teams). For other appointment

Virtual Office Hours
availability, please send me an email.

Introductory lecture to take place on January 16th starting at 9am (through

Class Hours
MS Teams)

Prerequisite(s) ADM1300, ENG1131 and at least 30 cr.

Program of study BCom mandatory course

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Course Deliverable Due Date Weight on Final Grade

Written memos See attached course schedule 30%

Oral presentations See attached course schedule 40%

Participation Measured throughout the semester 5%

Final Presentation March 17 to 27, 2021 25%

This course is designed to provide students with a fundamental understanding of effective

business communication. In an effort to help students improve their business communication
skills, the course will focus on the “how” of face-to-face communication skills in front of a
‘virtual’ audience and written business communication skills. Successful communication
involves high-level content effectively supported by proper use of technical tools such as
written memos, visual aids, and well-planned oral presentations. The basic premise used in this
course is that successful business presentations rely on one’s ability to use all available tools to
ensure a clearly understood message by the audience.
COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM LEARNING GOALS

LG3 Demonstrate Leadership, Interpersonal and Communications Skills

The content of the course helps students develop written, verbal and non-verbal
communication skills. It emphasizes the importance of communication context, audience and
purpose for effective communication. The course also fosters the development of
interpersonal skills such as interpersonal communication, feedback and active listening. It
provides students with practical strategies they can instantly apply to their work and studies.
This learning goal is assessed through weekly virtual face-to-face oral presentations and written
memos.

LG 4 Apply High Standards of Integrity, Ethics, and Social Responsibility

Through its strong focus on original content and delivery of material in both written and oral
form, the expectation is that students will provide deliverables using the highest levels of
academic ethics and integrity. Furthermore, each semester, one of the oral presentations or
written memos will focus on business ethics and social responsibility.

LG5 Unlock the Value of Globalization

Understanding the value of globalization and its role for business is an essential management
skill. This course will require students to understand global issues and the importance of cross-
cultural communication. Each presentation and written memo created by students should take
into consideration this aspect. In addition, one presentation or written memo will focus
specifically on addressing a global issue faced by organizations in today’s business environment.

LG 6 Pursue Self-Development and Exhibit a Commitment to Life-long Learning

This course focuses on building upon the development of both written and oral communication
skills. Business communication skills will continue to be mastered in future studies at the Telfer
School of Management and beyond. To this end, self-development of communication skills and
continued positive progression throughout the course is assessed.

COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the completion of the course, students should be able to:

1. Communicate in a clear, concise, and effective manner through written memos and virtual
oral presentations, according to the needs of various audiences.
2. Prepare clear, organized, informational and persuasive memos while following proper
business writing principles.
3. Identify, collect, analyze, organize and document the relevant information for a memo and
presentation by using various technologies.
4. Manage one’s time effectively in order to realize all deliverables.
TEXTBOOK/COURSE PACKAGE

There is no mandatory required textbook for this course. However, there is a great open source
textbook that is available at this website: https://openlibrary.ecampusontario.ca/. Once on the
website, students can look for the books entitled ‘Communication for Business Professionals’ or
‘Business Communication for Success’. Furthermore, other oral and written communication books
are good resources to seek out and use to help in this course and beyond. Readings and other
resources will also be provided and assigned by the Professor.

METHODS USED TO EVALUATE STUDENT PERFORMANCE

Written memos (4) 30%

Oral presentations
In class (5) 40%
Final presentation (1) 25%
Participation 5%
Total 100%

Written Memos 30%

During the semester, two-page memos will accompany three (3) of the oral presentations.
There will also be one (1) “live” virtual memo that students will undertake during the week of
February 22 that will last 165 minutes. The memos will be graded according to the following
scale: 5%, 5%, 10% and 10%, for a total of 30% of the final grade. Further details with regards
to the subject, style and expected content of the memos are provided on the Brightspace
portal.

Oral Presentations 40% + 25%

Students must deliver five (5) virtual oral presentations during the DGD portion of the course
and one (1) final presentation at the end of the semester. The presentations given during the
DGDs will be graded according to the following scale: 0%, 5%, 7%, 10%, 15%, for a total of 37%
of the final grade. In addition, throughout the semester, each student will be required to
respond to questions at random intervals after their presentation. The answers to these
questions will have a value of 3%. These questions will come from a student, Teaching Assistant
or the Professor. The final presentation will be worth 25% of the final grade. It should be noted
that students cannot present on the same subject for more than one presentation.

Participation 5%

Over the duration of the semester, students will be required to participate actively in their DGDs
and on Brightspace. This active participation will be monitored for both quality and quantity.
Examples of quality participation include asking questions after presentations, providing
feedback during the DGD, and engaging with online content.
Distinctive characteristics of the evaluation of all oral presentations:

A presentation will receive a mark of zero if:

• A sexist, racist, vulgar, derogatory, offensive and/or otherwise inappropriate comment,
action or presentation is made by the presenter.
• The presenter’s mobile phone or any other gadget rings during the presentation.
• The student is absent for the class in which his/her presentation is to be made (please see
Attendance Rule). If the student is late to the virtual class, he/she will be allowed to present
if time permits. The grade will remain zero. Students should note that this will only be
done on an exceptional basis as needed for one time only.
• The accompanying written memo (if one is assigned) is completed on the wrong topic. It
should be noted that if a student does not submit a written memo when one is assigned,
this will result in an automatic withdrawal from the course.
• Proper professional attire is not worn.
• The student presents on the wrong topic.
• The presentation slides are not submitted electronically before the start of the DGD.
• The student presents the same subject matter for more than one presentation.

A presentation will face a 15-mark penalty (and up to a 30-mark penalty) if:

• The visual aids used in the presentation contain any grammar and/or spelling mistakes. If
one mistake is made, a 15-mark deduction will be incurred. If two or more mistakes are
made, then a 30-mark deduction will apply. Please note that for the final presentation
(value of 25%), students will have a 24-hour grace period to correct their grammar or
spelling error(s). Students only have one attempt to submit these corrected slides.
Students will send updated slides electronically to the TA and, if the errors are corrected
with no additional errors created, the student will only be subject to a 5-mark penalty. If
any mistake is not corrected, then the 15-mark or 30-mark deduction will apply.

Distinctive characteristics of the final boardroom presentation:

At the end of the semester, each student must deliver a five-minute oral presentation to the
professor and a panel of Teaching Assistants. A general theme for the presentation will be
assigned, but the choice of the presentation’s specific subject will be left to the student.
Further communications regarding the theme of the presentation and specific guidelines will
be done through Brightspace. Important items to keep in mind for the final presentation
include:

• In order to make the final oral presentation, the student must have completed all oral
presentations and all written memos.
• In order to pass the course, a student must receive a minimum grade of 50% on
his/her final oral presentation.
• If a student is late to the exact chosen time of his/her final presentation, he/she will
automatically be given a grade of zero. Lateness will not be tolerated.
 • There will be no retake of the final presentation. An exception to this rule will only
be made upon presentation of an appropriate medical certificate.

Please note that it is not possible to submit extra course work to improve your mark.

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

This course provides extensive opportunity for student involvement. Students are highly
responsible for meeting learning objectives. The major focus of the course is on the
development of individual abilities. To meet this objective, the course will be delivered through
a combination of techniques. Introductory lectures and videos will provide the knowledge
required to prepare students for active learning. These lectures and videos will be
complemented by weekly discussion groups (DGDs) conducted by Teaching Assistants (TAs), in
which students will be able to practice and enhance their written and oral communication skills.

The pedagogical approach for the Winter 2021 will be as follows:

• This course will be delivered in an online ‘virtual’ format, for which students will not attend
class on campus.
• There will be a series of required videos to watch that will be posted to the online platform
Brightspace before the start of the course and during the course that students will be
responsible for viewing. Students will be required to watch these videos before the class
or DGD for a given week.
• Students will then be required to attend a virtual lecture (presentation) on January 16th,
2021. This mandatory lecture will take place starting at 9 a.m. and will take place using
Microsoft Teams (MS Teams). You will receive an ‘invite’ to this virtual lecture through
Brightspace.
• DGDs will start the week of January 18th . Each DGD will take place at the time to which
you have been registered. The introductory DGD will be undertaken by the Teaching
Assistant (TA) and will include participation from students. Thereafter, students will be
required to come prepared to participate and complete deliverables in each subsequent
DGD. All DGDs take place in MS Teams. Deliverables requested in advance of the DGD are
required to be submitted through Brightspace.
• Since each DGD will be undertaken in a ‘synchronous’ format (meaning the Professor, TA,
and students will interact with each other in real time) with active participation and virtual
presentations, students enrolled in this class will need to have access to a computer (or
tablet) and a webcam. It will not be possible to complete this course without these items,
as students will be allowing webcam access so the presentation can be completed.
• To accomplish these outcomes, we will be using MS Teams. Details on how to access this
platform will be presented on Brightspace. Please see the section on “Technical
Requirements and Support” below.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND SUPPORT

The course requires that you to have a laptop or desktop computer with a reliable, high-speed
Internet connection that allows you to watch videos, participate in discussion forums, upload
images, and use a webcam when needed.

For all questions related to Brightspace, call the support line between 8 AM and 8 PM (Eastern)
at 1-866-811-3201 OR submit an online request using this form 24 hours a day.

For any other IT related issues, please contact IT services. They have a helpdesk that you can call,
or you can submit a service ticket with a specific request 24 hours a day.

For problems connecting to the library services, you can also contact the Morisset Help Desk.

EXPECTATIONS FOR COMMUNICATIONS

Students are asked to monitor their uOttawa.ca e-mail accounts regularly and carefully (not your
personal email accounts such as Yahoo, Gmail or Hotmail) as this is the conduit through which
the professor will communicate matters that concern the entire class.

Please ensure that you have set up your Brightspace account to receive notification of
announcements to your uOttawa.ca email address.

The professor will only respond to email message from registered students using their
uOttawa.ca email account.

ATTENDANCE

Due to the nature of this course, presence to all lectures and discussion groups is mandatory.
Attendance will be taken!

Since attendance is mandatory for all lectures and DGDs, any absence will result in a withdrawal
from the course.

If a student is more than five minutes late or leaves more than five minutes before the end of
his/her DGD or the lectures, he/she is considered absent. Thus, students must remain engaged
for the entirety of the DGD in the MS Teams platform.

Students are not permitted to leave the DGD for an extended period. An appropriate
opportunity will be provided for a break at the mid-point of the DGD. Students leaving the DGD
for an extended period of time will be subject to a zero on the presentation.

An exception to the attendance rule will only be made upon presentation of a medical
certificate, which must be submitted as soon as possible or at most 24 hours after the date of
illness. The medical certificate must be submitted directly to the Professor. This exception can
only be made one time throughout the duration of the course.
OTHER INFORMATION

Due Dates

All due dates must be followed. All memo and presentation documents must be submitted
electronically through Brightspace prior to the beginning of the DGD. Any document submitted
late will be refused and necessary deductions to the deliverables will be made.

Re-Grading

From time to time, students have legitimate concerns about marks they have received on a
particular deliverable. It is important to understand that students do have recourse if they feel
that any deliverable has not been marked appropriately for the work submitted.

If students ever feel this way during this course, they must embark upon the following procedure
within one week of the deliverable being assessed:

1. Indicate in writing specifically the concern(s). This does not mean that simply saying “I
think I deserve more marks.” Students must clearly indicate where there was a mistake in
his/her marking of the deliverable. In this regard, students must refer to the class notes,
excerpt in the textbook, etc., supporting the claim.
2. After completing step one above, students must submit the deliverable with comments
back to the Professor within one week of the paper being assessed.
3. If a deliverable is not re-submitted following the above guidelines, the Professor will
regard the mark as originally assigned to be final. NO MARKS WILL BE CHANGED AT A
LATER DATE.

It is important to note that the Professor reserves the right to remark the entire
deliverable in question, and to either leave the mark as is, or to change it positively or
negatively as warranted.
COURSE SCHEDULE

Date Activity Location

01/ 16 -Introduction to the Course Online videos and

presentations
9 a.m. – 12 - How to Deliver an Effective Oral Presentation
p.m.
- How to Deliver an Effective Written Memo

Week of: Activity

01/ 18 -Introduction to Discussion Groups DGD

- Students will be required to introduce

themselves formally to their colleagues

01/ 25 -Presentation 1 & Memo DGD

02/ 01 - Presentation 2 DGD

02/ 08 -Presentation 3 & Memo DGD

02/ 22 - ‘Live’ virtual memo DGD

• Students will get the topic at the start of

their DGD this week and will have 165
minutes to create and submit a memo

03/ 01 - Presentation 4 DGD

03/ 08 -Presentation 5 & Memo DGD

March 17 to Final Exam Virtual through Microsoft

27 Teams
COURSE POLICIES

Prevention of Sexual Violence

The University of Ottawa is committed to a safe and healthy campus for work, for study and for
campus community life for all members of the University community. The University, as well as
various employee and student groups, offer a variety of services and resources to ensure that all
uOttawa community members have access to confidential support and information, and to
procedures for reporting an incident or filing a complaint. For more information, please visit
uOttawa Sexual violence: support and prevention.

Intellectual property
All forms (printed, digital, etc.) of course materials prepared by the instructor (including e-mailed
or Brightspace content) are protected by copyright. This covers all files, assessments, solutions,
cases, and other materials. Copying, scanning, photographing, posting in any way, or sharing by
any means is a violation of copyright and will be subject to appropriate penalty as prescribed by
University of Ottawa regulation. There are no exceptions to this requirement.

Academic Integrity
Academic Regulation 14 defines academic fraud as “any act by a student that may result in a
distorted academic evaluation for that student or another student. Academic fraud includes but
is not limited to activities such as:

a) Plagiarism or cheating in any way;

b) Submitting work not partially or fully the student’s own, excluding properly cited
quotations and references. Such work includes assignments, essays, tests, exams,
research reports and theses, regardless of whether the work is written, oral or another
form;
c) Presenting research data that are forged, falsified or fabricated;
d) Attributing a statement of fact or reference to a fabricated source;
e) Submitting the same work or a large part of the same piece of work in more than one
course, or a thesis or any other piece of work submitted elsewhere without the prior
approval of the appropriate professors or academic units;
f) Falsifying or misrepresenting an academic evaluation, using a forged or altered
supporting document or facilitating the use of such a document;
g) Taking any action aimed at falsifying an academic evaluation.”1

The Telfer School of Management does not tolerate academic fraud. Please familiarize yourself
with this guidance.

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STATEMENT OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY REQUIREMENT
Individual Assignment:

By signing this Statement, I am attesting to the fact that I have reviewed the entirety of my
attached work and that I have applied all the appropriate rules of quotation and referencing in use
at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, as well as adhered to the fraud
policies outlined in the Academic Regulations in the University’s Undergraduate Studies Calendar
Academic Fraud Webpage.

______________________________ __________________________

Signature Date

______________________________ __________________________

Last Name (print), First Name (print) Student Number

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

Academic Accommodations for students who need adaptive measures

Students who have a disability or functional limitation and who need adaptive measures
(changes to the physical setting, arrangements for exams, learning strategies, etc.) to progress or
participate fully in university life should contact Academic Accommodations Service as early as
possible:

• By filling out the online registration form

• By calling 613-562-5976

The Academic Accommodations service works collaboratively with our university community and
stakeholders to facilitate the academic accommodation process. To consult the policy, visit
the Academic Regulation I-16 - Academic Accommodations.

The academic accommodation process is a collaborative process and a shared responsibility

among all parties involved. Our role in the academic accommodation process is to assess,
establish, and implement appropriate academic accommodations for students who have a
temporary or permanent disability.

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Writing Resources
When working on any of your written assignments, please keep in mind that all written submissions are
expected to be grammatically sound (see Writing Quality expectations under Appendix 3: U Ottawa
Course Policies) and make appropriate use of research where applicable on how to avoid Academic
Fraud. Regarding writing quality, see the information on University of Ottawa Writing/Learning resources
below for further assistance:

• The Academic Writing Help Centre, University of Ottawa.

• The Elements of Style (Strunk & White). Also available through the library.
• APA style. (Also see the Quick APA guide posted on our Brightspace page)

Other U Ottawa Services that you might find useful

• Career Services:
o Telfer Career Centre
o U Ottawa Career Services

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