BUSINESS COMMUNICATION II: COMMUNICATING WITH CUSTOMERS - 2023/4
Module code: CMCM066
Module Overview
Businesses communicate with customers in a variety of ways (e.g traditional advertising, social media and other forms of technology-mediated communication) and for a variety of purposes. This includes advertising, but also customer relations. This module helps students develop knowledge of, and skills in using the analytical tools for describing how businesses communicate with customers through a variety of media. Students will also learn how to use theoretical concepts and empirical evidence to support the design of customer-facing campaigns.
Module provider
Literature & Languages
Module Leader
DIPPOLD Doris (Lit & Langs)
Number of Credits: 15
ECTS Credits: 7.5
Framework: FHEQ Level 7
Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A
Overall student workload
Independent Learning Hours: 90
Seminar Hours: 24
Guided Learning: 24
Captured Content: 12
Module Availability
Semester 2
Prerequisites / Co-requisites
None
Module content
Indicative module content:
* Introduction to written modes of business communication
* Communicating with customers through technology
* Social media and chatbots projecting emotional presence creating trust and alignment
* The language of advertising
* Linguistic resources moves and structure
* Rhetoric
* How words and images create meaning
Assessment pattern
| Assessment type | Unit of assessment | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Oral exam or presentation | Individual (15 minute) or group (20 minute) presentation | 40 |
| Coursework | Advertising or Public Information Campaign + Critical Commentary | 60 |
Alternative Assessment
If the original presentations were given as group presentations, students will submit give an individual recorded presentation.
Assessment Strategy
The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to apply theoretical concepts to the analysis of various forms of written communication in business settings and to make evidence-led recommendations to companies.
Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of two items:
- 15 Minute Individual or 20 Minute Group Presentation (addresses learning outcomes 1, 2, 3)
In this presentation, In assessment 1, students prepare (depending on group size) an individual or group presentation. Presenting to an imagined business customer, the group will present a theory-led analysis multiple adverts from the same product group and make recommendations for the customers’ own advertising campaign for a similar product. - Advertising or Public Information Campaign + 1000 Word Critical Commentary (addresses learning outcomes 2, 3, 4)
In this assessment, students will be asked to develop a customer / client facing advertising or public information campaign, using at least two communication channels, including one social media channel. These authentic assessments mirror the skills needed in employment post graduation. Students will also submit a 1000 word critical commentary in which they describe the theoretical foundations and decision-making processes relating to their campaigns.
Formative assessment / feedback
Students will receive verbal feedback on practical exercises throughout the class. They will be able to discuss their plans for the presentation and the written assignment with the module tutor and with peers. They will receive feedback on assignment 1 (see above), some of which can feed directly into assignment 2. Feedback and feed-forward on both assignments will also scaffold assessment in other modules; students will be made aware of these links whenever possible.
Module aims
- The module aims to: introduce students to the key analytical tools to describe techniques in written advertising and technologically mediated communication, including social media
- provide students with the ability to analyse these texts using these analytical tools
- equip students with the skills to develop their own customer-facing campaign and critically comment on them, using theory
Learning outcomes
| Attributes Developed | ||
| 001 | The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas: to explain, using theory, how businesses use language to sell products and build relationships with customers | KP |
| 002 | To apply linguistic terminology to the analysis of genres in written business communication, in particular advertising and technology-mediated genres, including social media | K |
| 003 | To create a customer-facing campaign and critically reflect on this campaign by drawing on theory and research evidence | KCP |
| 004 | To reflect critically on examples of written business communication in order to recommend changes to the strategies adopted by companies | CPT |
Attributes Developed
C - Cognitive/analytical
K - Subject knowledge
T - Transferable skills
P - Professional/Practical skills
Methods of Teaching / Learning
The learning and teaching strategy is designed to apply theoretical concepts in a practical manner and discuss their ideas with others. The module is taught primarily in seminar-style, with lecture-type input by the tutor which is followed by practical examples and exercises. Students will be encouraged to discuss self-generated or collected examples.
The learning and teaching methods include:
Weekly seminar sessions: The seminar sessions include a mixture of lecture-type and interactive elements.
In each session, theoretical concepts and analytical frameworks will be introduced by the tutor.
Captured content: Captured content provided for each weekly session include the Pdf slides for the sessions as well as the Panopto-recorded lecture-elements for each class. The captured content aims to develop understanding of key concepts and theories. Students are expected to engage with the captured content to deepen their engagement with the materials and complete the guided learning exercises.
Guided learning: Students’ in-class learning is supported by a structured programme of guided learning activities to do at home. Students do practical analysis exercises, read relevant literature and find examples of their own which can be further discussed in class.
The module also includes two additional one hour skills-based sessions, aimed at developing the skills necessary to engage in the assessments.
Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.
Reading list
https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: CMCM066
Other information
Surrey's Curriculum Framework is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in the following areas:
Global and Cultural Capabilities: Commercial, voluntary and public service organisations normally have a customer or client base which is not homogenous. This means that advertising strategies, and ways of creating relationships with customers and clients, have to be carefully adapted to navigate the cultural values of different groups. In this module, students learn to navigate these complexities through a unique combination of theory, reflection and practice. Students learn relevant theoretical concepts (e.g. ‘moves’, logos, ethos, pathos, etc.) and apply these to real-life examples, e.g. advertising, company apologies etc. The seminar also encourages them to consider and discuss how these strategies need to be adapted to other audiences. Whenever possible, examples not from an English centre will be used and students will be asked to contribute to the collection of such resources.
Employability: Together with Business Communication I (Semester 1), this module sits at the core of the programme’s strategy to enhance students’ employability. Not only does the module allow students to develop their written communication skills through development of theoretical knowledge and reflection on theory in light of examples, but students also engage with peers from a very diverse peer group in doing so. Moreover, the assessment is targeted at developing these skills. In assessment 1, students prepare (depending on group size) an individual or group presentation which includes the analysis of multiple adverts from the same product group and the development of recommendations to an imagined customer for their own advertising campaign. In assignment 2, students develop a customer / client facing campaign to promote a product or inform about a specific issue (e.g. Covid 19 information) of their choice, using at least two communication channels, including social media. These authentic assessments mirror the skills needed in employment post graduation.
Digital Capabilities: Whilst the development of digital capabilities in Semester 1 focused primarily on the core tools for academic study, in Semester 2 the Business Communication module develops students’ digital capabilities with a view to the tools required in an employment context. In order to successfully complete assignment 2 and create their product or information campaign, students will learn how to create flyers with Canva or a similar software. Moreover, students also learn how to skilfully manipulate key digital means of customer communication in particular social media such as Twitter, Linkedin or chatbots.
Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module further builds on and extends the skills acquired in Semester 1. Whilst the Semester I Business Communication module required students to give a presentation as voice over PowerPoint, this module asks students to present live to their peers. This may present a challenge to students’ resilience and resourcefulness, in particular if this style of learning engagement has, so far, been unfamiliar to them. The two additional skills sessions, which specifically target the skills required for the assessments, equip students with the practical resources to overcome barriers to the successful engagement in this module and in other modules, e.g. CMCM008 which also includes a live presentation.
Together with Business Communication I, this module forms one of the spine modules of the programme. It provides students with the core knowledge and skills in language and communication to enhance practice in Marketing and customer relationship building, with a focus here on written communication.
Programmes this module appears in
| Programme | Semester | Classification | Qualifying conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intercultural Business Communication and Marketing MA | 2 | Compulsory | A weighted aggregate mark of 50% is required to pass the module |
Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2023/4 academic year.