MECO6927: Semester 2, 2020

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Units MECO6927 Semester 2 2020 [Normal day]

Unit outline_

MECO6927: Organisational Communication

Semester 2, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

This unit of study introduces key concepts in organisational communication. Students will explore various structures of organisations and how those structures affect the flow of communication within workplaces. Upon the completion of the unit, students will develop their understanding of key concepts in organisational communication and apply them to analyse communication problems in organisations. Students will also be able to offer well-grounded criticism on selected organisational issues.

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	Mitchell Hobbs, mitchell.hobbs@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Rebecca Johnson, rebecca.johnson@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Presentation	Discussion facilitation Students lead a brief discussion on the weekly topic	10%	-	500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay 1 Students individually address the essay questions	20%	Week 05 Due date: 25 Sep 2020 at 22:00	1250 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Essay 2 Students individually address the essay questions	20%	Week 10 Due date: 06 Nov 2020 at 22:00	1250 words
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Project presentation Students present their project to the class	10%	Week 12	500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Research report Student group submits a report on their research project	40%	Week 13 Due date: 23 Nov 2020 at 21:00	2500 words
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

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.

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 the course	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 02	Organisational communication in action	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 03	Classical/HR approaches	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 04	Systems and cultural approaches	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 05	Constitutive and critical approaches	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 06	Socialisation and DM processes	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 07	Organisational conflict and change	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 08	Emotions in the workplace	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 09	Dealing with diversity	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 10	Influence of technology	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 11	Globalisation, wrap-up	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 12	Group project presentations	Seminar (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

e-Textbook: Miller, K. (2014). Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes (7th Ed), Wadsworth Publishing: Belmont, CA.

Any additional recommended readings for this unit can be accessed on the Library eReserve link available on 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. identify and analyse the types, forms, features and functions of organisational communication
LO2. demonstrate how the key concepts of organisational communication and organisational theory provide insights into organisational functioning
LO3. develop an understanding of the role of organisational communication in an organisation
LO4. apply the skills of business communication
LO5. produce an organisational communication analysis and strategy brief for a client.

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.

Thank you for your feedback on the Unit of Study Survey (USS) for MECO6927. The unit was overall quite well evaluated, especially in terms of enthusiasm of the teacher and hence innovative classroom environment, and a hands-on approach to make theories come alive with examples and activities. There were only very few things mentioned for improvement that we will attempt to work on following from your comments. Some of you had mentioned that this was a lot of material to digest and study. While this clashes a bit with other comments and general expectations for postgraduate coursework, we will try to adjust to a different arrangement for the content. Aside from that, I was very satisfied that the unit found your endorsement, In fact, a majority of you (around 95%) were satisfied with this course and found it intellectually rewarding.

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 Olaf Werder's Website

Work, health and safety

There are no specific WHS requirements for this unit.

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

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

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