Outline

Overview

The unit will examine how organisations use public relations (PR) to deal with crisis situations. Throughout the unit we will use case studies to explore frameworks, risk prioritisation, issues management, planning, response and evaluation strategies for diverse organisations and topics from environmental and corporate to health and social.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Media and Communications
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Olaf Werder, olaf.werder@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Tiffanny Junee, tiffanny.junee@sydney.edu.au
	Elissa Lewis, elissa.lewis@sydney.edu.au
	Jodie Wrigley, jodie.wrigley@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Research project Long Answer/Essay/Report	40%	- Due date: 12 Jun 2021 at 22:00	3000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Project presentation Presentation/Performance	10%	Multiple weeks Due date: 03 Jun 2021 at 21:00 Closing date: 03 Jun 2021	500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay 1 Short-answer essay	20%	Week 06 Due date: 02 Apr 2021 at 22:00	1000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay 2 Short-answer essay	20%	Week 10 Due date: 14 May 2021 at 22:00	1000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Weekly comments Online Submission (Canvas)	10%	Weekly	500 words
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Assessment	Word Count	Weight
Weekly Comments	500	10%
Essay 1	1000	20%
Essay 2	1000	20%
Presentation (Group)	500	10%
Report (Group)	3000	40%

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

For every calendar day up to and including ten calendar days after the due date, a penalty of 5% of the maximum awardable marks will be applied to late work. For work submitted more than ten calendar days after the due date a mark of zero will be awarded (USYD Assessment Procedures, 2011)

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction to Crisis Communication	Individual study (2 hr)
Week 02	Foundational Theories	Online class (2 hr)
Week 03	Conflict Resolution Models	Online class (2 hr)
Week 04	Content Analysis Method	Online class (2 hr)
Week 05	Conflict Resolution in Practice	Online class (2 hr)
Week 06	Crisis Strategy Models	Online class (2 hr)
Week 07	Practising Crisis Communication	Online class (2 hr)
Week 08	Responding to Activists & Interest Groups	Online class (2 hr)
Week 09	Recalls & Boycotts	Online class (2 hr)
Week 10	Handling External Crises	Online class (2 hr)
Week 11	Working with Media	Online class (2 hr)
Week 12	Group project presentations	Online class (2 hr)
Week 13	Group project presentations	Online class (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
Lecture recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library Leganto system, available via Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. obtain a critical and practical understanding of ethical PR management through a survey of foundational theories and case studies
LO2. become equipped for roles as a communication strategist across a variety of sectors
LO3. scientifically analyse and evaluate conflict resolution strategies implemented in a PR conflict scenario
LO4. become comfortable in presenting your findings/ideas and engage audiences in an issues debate.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Hello everyone, Thank you for your feedback on the Unit of Study Survey (USS) for MECO6909. We are borderline satisfied with the response rate of 63% but having only 2/3 of the students respond makes it less representative. We will reflect on the ratings you gave, and the comments you made, and will use them to make improvements in the unit next year: 1) Some students would have liked to see more participation during meeting times. This speaks to the heart of application of material to real-life scenarios but as those students have commented themselves, it is not easy to get everyone to share their thoughts. Nonetheless, we will continue to try to implement new ideas to increase teamwork and participation in the next year. 2) Some commented on the PPT slides being not detailed enough and/or other material was provided to summarise the key learning to assist with more complex readings. While we do not really lecture in this course, we will take this on-board and see how we can provide such material in a useful fashion for all. 3) There was some criticisms about assignments not catering to PG student skills. We see the value in those comments but felt reminded that other students, coming to this unit with less experience, actually enjoyed this structure. We will try to make adjustments in a manner that all skill levels are catered to. 4) I also realised that despite preparatory training and supervision, the levels of interaction and feedback from instructors varied. I will monitor and supervise class proeceedings even more carefully as it is done already and make sure everyone is delivering the same feedback in the same timeframe. Aside from that, we were satisfied that the unit found your endorsement, In fact, a majority of you (over 90%) were satisfied with the course and found it intellectually rewarding. As I said in the beginning, while the response rate has increased over the past year, it was still a bit low at 67% so we don't think everyone's ideas were adequately reflected. So, if you would like to give us any further feedback about the unit, we'll be happy to get your additional comments

Additional information

As per School policy, students must complete all assignments in the unit to obtain a grade and avoid an automatic Absent Fail (AF) mark
Note that assessment weighting has been adjusted from the one displayed in the faculty handbook. The latter is currently adjusted and will display the correct assessment weights by Academic Year 2021. That is, the percentages per assignment in this outline and Canvas are the correct ones.
Contact your seminar teacher for course-specific questions (e.g., group issues, etc.), contact the unit coordinator for larger issues (simple extensions, special consideration, seminar switches/course clashes, etc.)
Apply for extensions (where applicable) sufficiently ahead of the due date, not the day before or day of (exceptions are emergencies). Note that there are no individual extensions for group efforts.
If you drop a class after being assigned to a group, please contact both the coordinator and your group mates immediately.
If you are unsure about whether this unit is right for you (in case it is an elective), please make an appointment with the coordinator and discuss it instead of disrupting class proceedings by enrolling/disenrolling within a week or two.
More information can be found on Canvas after enrolment

Dr Werder Website

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

MECO6909: Crisis Communication

Semester 1, 2021 [Online] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect