COMMUNICATION SKILLS GUIDE

LifeImpactTheUniversityofAdelaideCOMMUNICATIONSKILLSGUIDEPOSTGRADUATEPROGRAMSComms_Guide_2009_Cover.indd3Comms_Guide_2009_Cover.indd318/12/0911:54:53AM18/12/0911:54:53AM1COMMUNICATIONSKILLSGUIDEPREFACETheabilitytocommunicatewellisacriticalmanagerialskill.Beingabletoputyourideasacrossinaconcise,meaningful,interestingandinfluentialwayisfundamentaltoyoursuccessinorganisationallife.Inourpostgraduateprogramsweexpectyoutodemonstratethatyoucanthink,write,andspeakeffectively.Buthowdoyouwriteassignments,analysecasestudies,provideexecutivesummaries,referenceappropriatelyandavoidplagiarismineachcourse?Howdoyougiveconcise,interestingandvalu-ableoralpresentations?TheCommunicationSkillsGuideshowsyouhow.Itisakeyresourceforcommunicatingeffectively,bothinwritingandinspeaking.Youshouldrefertoitwheneveryoubegintoprepareanassignmentorapresentation.TheGuideistailor-madeforthepostgraduatestudentsatTheUniversityofAdelaideBusinessSchool.TheGuidetellsyouwhatourlecturersexpectandhowyoucanmeettheirstandards.TheGuideisforyou.Wetrustyouwillfindituseful.2COMMUNICATIONSKILLSGUIDEACKNOWLEDGMENTSTheCommunicationSkillsGuideforPostgraduatestudentsisbasedontheCommunicationSkillsGuideforCommerceStudents(IBSN0-9751892-0-4).AdaptedJanuary2005(RevisedJanuary2009)Publisher:TheUniversityofAdelaideBusinessSchoolTheUniversityofAdelaide,Australia,5005Copyright20043COMMUNICATIONSKILLSGUIDECONTENTSPAGETHEUNIVERSITYOFADELAIDEANDTHEBUSINESSSCHOOL4UNIVERSITYLEARNING5LEARNINGSUPPORT6PART1ASSIGNMENTTASKS/TYPESOFTEXT71.1SHORTANSWERS81.2RESEARCHESSAYS101.3PROFESSIONALREPORTS121.4EXECUTIVESUMMARIES151.5CASESTUDYREPORTS171.6SUMMARYWRITING211.7ORALPRESENTATIONS221.8FORMALLETTERS241.9FORMALEMAILS26PART2COMPONENTSKILLS282.1CULTURALDIFFERENCESINLEARNINGSTYLES302.2ACADEMICEXPECTATIONS312.3INDEPENDENTLEARNING322.4AIMINGHIGHFORASSIGNMENTS332.5INSTRUCTIONALWORDS342.6ACADEMICARGUMENT352.7ANALYTICALANDCRITICALTHINKING372.8GOODSTYLE392.9STYLE412.10PLAGIARISMANDUSINGYOUROWNWORDS422.11REFERENCING:THEHARVARDSYSTEM452.12PROJECTMANAGEMENT514COMMUNICATIONSKILLSGUIDETHEUNIVERSITYOFADELAIDEANDTHEBUSINESSSCHOOLEstablishedin1874,TheUniversityofAdelaideisoneofAustralia’soldestandmostprestigiousuniversities.Asamodern,leadingedgeuniversity,itmaintainsitslongandproudtraditionofexcellenceineducationandliberalvaluesofenquiry–qualitiesthatcharacterisegreatinstitutesoflearning.ItiswidelyrecognisedasaleaderinresearchandteachinginSouthAustraliaandhasastronginternationalreputation.Deliveringworld-class,relevantprogramsintheundergraduate,postgraduate,andpost-experiencearenas,TheUniversityofAdelaideBusinessSchoolisthepremierprovideroftertiarybusinessprogramsinSouthAustralia.Formedin2008asamergerbetweentheformerSchoolofCommerceandtheAdelaideGraduateSchoolofBusiness,thenewBusinessSchoolhasbroughttogether‘thebestofbothworlds’.Theschoolbringstogetherapowerfulteamofover70talentedacademicswithawealthofexperienceinteaching,researching,consultingandbusinesspractise.Theyareattheforefrontofglobalbusinessresearchandhavetrulyinternationalperspectives.TheUniversitybelievesthebestteachingisconductedwithinanenvironmentofactive,world-classresearch.CoursesatTheUniversityofAdelaideBusinessSchoolareconstantlyrevisedtokeeppaceintherapidlychangingworldoftechnologyandbusinesspractice.TheSchool’steachingstaffincludeshighlyqualifiedacademicsandpractitionerswhoprovideacrosssectionofareasofexpertiseandabalancedperspectiveonthebusinesseducationissueswithinourprograms.Computerlaboratoriesandseminarroomscontainmoderncomputingequipmentandinternationaldatanetworks.Anoutstandingteachingandresearchlibraryofover1.7millionvolumesandextensiveCD-ROMdatabasescomplementthesefacilities.TheUniversityofAdelaidegraduatespossessqualificationsrecognisedaroundtheworldandachievestimulating,soughtafterpositionsinorganisationsallaroundtheglobe.5COMMUNICATIONSKILLSGUIDEUNIVERSITYLEARNINGAnyeducationalsituationhasparticularexpectationsandwaysofdoingthings.Atuniversity,studentsareexpectedtobeindependentlearners.Itisuptoyoutofindoutwhatyouneedtoknow,andtoorganiseyourtimeforclasses,forreadingoutsideofclassesandforpassingupassignmentsontime.Section2.4inthisGuidelistssomestrategiesforbecomingmoreindependentinyourlearning.Thisdoesn’tmeanyouareonyourown.Yourlecturers,administrativestaffandvariousresourcesavailableintheUniversityaretheretosupportyou.However,itisuptoyoutousetheseresourceseffectively.YourlecturerswillprovideyouwithawrittenCourseOutlineandspecificexpectationsaboutthecourseassignments,aswellasinformationaboutthecontentofthecourse.Theyareyourfirstpointofcallifyouarenotclearaboutthecontentorthecourseexpectations.Usethediscussioncomponentofyourlecturestoclarifyanyaspectsthatareconfusing.ThemostusefulresourcesavailableforyouincludeyourProgramHandbook,yourCourseOutlineandothercoursehandouts,thisCommunicationSkillsGuide,andthePLCLearningSupportofferedintheformofcoursespecificworkshopsandindividualassistance.WhatthePLCoffersandhowtocontactstaffarelistedonthenextpage..YourProgramHandbookincludesimportantdatesfortrimesters/terms,enrolment,withdrawal