Management Communication Online Course
Syllabus for a One-Semester, Hybrid Face-to-Face / Online Class
This sample syllabus suggests ways to assign the Management Communication Online Course as a
complement to a face-to-face classroom course. The syllabus assumes a "flipped classroom" instructional
design—students do pre-work and spend the class time applying pre-work learning. The Online Course is the
pre-work.
The syllabus assumes a full semester course that covers both writing and presenting. It can be adapted to a
writing-only or presenting-only course. For writing, an additional class can be added for some topics such as
cognitive bias and entire classes can be devoted to critiques of student writing. For presenting, more than
one class can be used to cover a topic and classes can be added to critique videos of student presentations.
The course can be shortened by dropping some of the topics in this syllabus. The Online Course is sufficiently
flexible to allow this.
You can change the instructional design by taking class time to give lectures and eliminate or shorten class
time for working with the concepts. As a lecture support, you can display the course on a screen in class and
work through the appropriate screens.
The Teaching Note for the Management Communication Online Course includes suggested cases and
instructions for assignments.
Class
#
1
Class Topic
Online Course Content
Classroom Activities
Introduction
Module 1: Introduction to
Management
Communication
Discuss importance of business
communication and why it is
becoming more important.
Discuss variation in cultural norms
of business communication and the
norms of business English.
Give course overview.
2
Planning
Communication:
Why? Who? How?
Module 2: Planning
Communication
Introduction
Explore Why? (purpose), Who?
(audience), and How? (content)
through examples of business or
business-related communication.
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Class Topic
Online Course Content
Classroom Activities
What Good Are Models?
Examples: Super Bowl commercials,
PSAs, and statements by Richard S.
Fuld, Jr., former chief executive of
Lehman Brothers, and John J. Mack,
then chair and CEO of Morgan
Stanley, any recent Berkshire
Hathaway annual report
Analyzing a
Communication Situation
3
Cognitive Bias in
Communication
Analyzing a
Communication Situation:
Cognitive Bias
Discuss examples or scenarios
involving cognitive bias.
Using the examples and scenarios,
have students plan, individually or
in groups, ways of moderating or
avoiding cognitive bias and present
them to the class.
4
Argument Building
Organizing a Message:
Decision Arguments
Provide questions or scenarios and
ask small groups of students to
build decision arguments. Students
can use Internet to research
evidence in class.
Examples: Should I buy Apple stock?
Assignment
5
Argument Building
Submit outlines of arguments for or
against buying Apple stock.
Organizing a Message:
Evaluation Arguments
Provide questions or scenarios and
ask students to build evaluation
arguments. Students can use
Internet to research evidence in
class.
Example: Diversity is essential for
the success of a company.
Assignment
Submit outlines of arguments for or
against diversity as a company
success factor.
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Class
#
6
Class Topic
Online Course Content
Classroom Activities
Argument Building
Organizing a Message:
Diagnosis Arguments
Provide questions or scenarios and
ask students to build diagnostic
arguments. Students can use
Internet to research evidence in
class.
Examples: Explain the causes of the
US financial meltdown of 2007. Why
has Microsoft's performance over
the last 10 years been
disappointing?
Assignment
Submit outlines of arguments
explaining causes of meltdown or
Microsoft performance.
Team Assignment
Introduce team assignment
consisting of a persuasive report
and presentation based on it.
Example: offer a new business idea
and convince audience of investors
that it is worth putting money into.
7
Writing Process
and Writing Style
Module 3: Writing in
Business
The Writing Process
Writing Style
Give survey to students about the
writing process they use. Discuss
the survey results and ways to
improve process.
Do sentence editing exercises in
large and small groups.
8
Team Report and
Presentation
Assignment
Have students work in teams on a
business idea and what they will
need to do to persuade audience.
Tell students they need to meet
outside class to work on their ideas
and the content of the pitch.
Students read case, write a decision
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Class Topic
Online Course Content
Classroom Activities
argument with evidence from case.
A class could be devoted to
critiques of student essays on this
assignment.
9
Informative and
Persuasive Writing
Informative Writing and
Persuasive Writing
Review basics of informative and
persuasive writing.
Students work in teams to build
persuasive elements of their
reports.
Share either in class or in writing
the best ideas they have for
persuasion.
10
Action Plans
Writing Action Plans
Discuss the importance of action
plans. Ask students for their
experiences both as writers and
users of action plans.
Provide a scenario or brief case and
have students build an action plan
as a large group.
Add to the team assignment:
reports will include an action plan
for their business idea--what they
will do short and long-term if they
receive investment.
11
Assignment
Students read case, write an
evaluation argument with evidence
from case, and write an action plan.
A class could be devoted to
critiques of student essays on this
assignment.
12
Email and Other
Short Form
Show examples of emails and have
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Class
#
Class Topic
Online Course Content
Classroom Activities
Short-Form
Communication
Communication
class critique them.
Examples: Tim Cook's email to
employees after Steve Jobs stepped
down. Email from the CEO of Netflix
apologizing for splitting of DVD
business from streaming and rate
increases.
Have students or small groups edit
or rewrite email examples either to
correct weaknesses or demonstrate
another approach. Present some in
class or post all for peer feedback.
13
In-class Writing
Assignment
Students read scenario, short case,
or other real-world material and
write an email relevant to the
situation. The instructor, adopting
the persona of one of the
characters in the situation, sends an
email during class that requires
them to write another message.
Another approach is to use case as
above but pair students and have
them write emails to each other and
then reply.
14
Written Reports
Long Form Communication
Assignment
15
Introduction to
Discuss long form writing in relation
to team papers. Have students work
in teams to create a working outline
of the report, major pieces of
evidence, and exhibits.
Teams submit one-page outline of
the report for peer and instructor
feedback.
Module 4: Presenting in
Discuss the factors that impede
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Class
#
Class Topic
Online Course Content
Classroom Activities
Presentations
Business
connection between speaker and
audience: first the audience side,
then the speaker side.
Obstacles to Persuasive
Presentations
Analyzing a
Communication Situation
Impromptu "ice breaker"
presentations: ask for volunteers or
select students who express fear of
speaking to speak to the class about
something they know well. Ask for
peer feedback.
Ask students doing impromptu
presentations to briefly practice one
improvement. Ask for volunteers to
demonstrate best practices such as
sustained eye contact.
Assignment
Students read case, write a
diagnosis argument with evidence
from case, and write an action plan.
A class could be devoted to
critiques of student essays on this
assignment.
16
Planning a
Presentation
The Message: Preparing
the Plan
The Message: Enriching the
Presentation
Team Presentations
Assignment
Discuss planning, enriching the
presentation, and the essentials of
team presentations. Go over the
special requirements of team
presentations.
Break into the report teams and
have them follow the seven-step
plan for creating a presentation
(handout provided in the online
program) and brainstorm ways to
enrich the presentation. Encourage
teams to think as creatively as
possible about enrichment.
Teams submit one-page outline of
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Class Topic
Online Course Content
Classroom Activities
presentation for peer and instructor
feedback.
17
Presentation
Visuals
The Message: Preparing
Slides and Other Media
First of two classes on presentation
visuals.
Discuss different functions of slides
and other media.
Students critique slide examples,
using the criteria from the online
course.
Students then suggest ways to
improve each of the slides that has
major weakness.
Assignment
18
Presentation
Visuals
Teams submit drafts of their written
reports for peer and instructor
feedback.
The Message: Preparing
Slides and Other Media
Teams work on slides, video, and
other media content of their
presentation.
Teams pair up and do critiques of
each other's media plans.
19
Making Team
Presentations
Team Presentations
Discuss the basics of team
presentations.
Break into teams and have them
work on the team aspects of the
presentation.
20
Presentation
Delivery
The Delivery:
Communicating the
Message
Communication
Apprehension
Discuss communication
apprehension, its root causes, and
steps to mitigate. Include potential
cultural inhibitions.
Discuss the attributes of voice in
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Class
#
21
Class Topic
Online Course Content
Classroom Activities
Voice
presentation, demonstrate them,
and have students practice proper
use of voice.
Two-Minute Drills
Students practice two-minute (or
less) presentations with special
attention to relaxation and voice.
(Content can be varied for each of
these sessions to avoid boredom.)
22
Presentation
Delivery
The Delivery:
Communicating the
Message
Discuss the various channels of
nonverbal communication and why
they are important.
Nonverbal communication
Model good nonverbals and have
students try them out.
Two-Minute Drills
23
Presentation
Delivery
Students practice presenting with
special attention to nonverbals.
The Delivery:
Communicating the
Message
Answering Questions:
Preparing for Questions
Rehearsing a Q&A
Conducting the Q&A
Maintaining Control
24
Discuss the importance of the Q&A
period.
Watch video of Q&A's and critique
(e.g., sports coaches, politicians,
businesspeople).
In teams have students practice
asking each other questions about
their part of the presentation.
Two-Minute Drills
Students practice presenting their
portions of the team presentation.
Assignment
Team reports are all due before the
presentations begin.
Each team member also submits
evaluation to instructor of the
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Class
#
Class Topic
Online Course Content
Classroom Activities
performance of other team
members.
25
Team
Presentations
Each team presents, followed by
Q&A with audience.
26
Team
Presentations
(Presentations should be
videotaped for feedback from peers
and instructor and grading.
Platforms such as YouSeeU can
provide feedback synched with the
video.)
Each team presents, followed by
Q&A with audience.
27
Team
Presentations
Each team presents, followed by
Q&A with audience.
28
Presentation
Debriefs
Students discuss what they learned
from doing the presentations—both
things they did well and things they
want to improve on.
Instructor notes presentation
strengths and weaknesses common
to the group.
The Management Communication Online Course provides students with the skills and guided practice
necessary to master fundamental concepts in business communication. Registered Premium Educators on
the Harvard Business Publishing for Educators web site can see full Free Trials of the course. Learn more.
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