English   Danish

2014/2015  KAN-CIBCOU1006  Expert Communication, ENGLISH ONLY

English Title
Expert Communication, ENGLISH ONLY

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 15 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Course period Spring
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for MA in International Business Communication
Course coordinator
  • Barbara Dragsted - Department of International Business Communication (IBC)
Main academic disciplines
  • Communication
  • Organization
  • Language and Intercultural Studies
Last updated on 10-07-2014
Learning objectives
The aim of the course is for students to acquire knowledge about selected professional domains, primarily within law, economics and finance, and develop skills to communicate knowledge in professional English across occupational sub-cultures and between experts and non-experts. Additionally, students will acquire theoretical linguistic knowledge required for successful LSP communication, including knowledge about register and genre conventions.
By the end of the course, it is expected that students can:
  • Access, process and communicate professionally expert knowledge within the domains of law, economics and finance;
  • Plan and implement the concrete communication based on the strategic choices made in a given situational context and direct the communication at a range of diverse stakeholders;
  • Identify and distinguish between characteristic features in terms of linguistic structures and genre conventions that govern texts (oral or written) within a given professional domain;
  • Select the linguistic and communicative strategies that match the given situational context and genre conventions and explain these choices.
Examination
Expert Communication:
Exam ECTS 15
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance.
Individual or group exam Individual
Size of written product Max. 5 pages
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
20 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and external examiner
Exam period Summer Term
Make-up exam/re-exam
Another examination form
The make-up and re-examination is an individual 72-hour home assignment of max. 10 standard pages. No second examiner.
Description of the exam procedure

Written, individual 72-hour take-home exam with oral defense based on text material within a legal/economic/financial domain. Students will produce one or more texts in English (max. 6 standard pages) communicating knowledge to a specified audience and in a specified context.

Exam requirements
Students will be given a case scenario description that involves economic/financial as well as legal LSP for which the students are required to develop a communication strategy aimed at one or more stakeholder groups within the organization. Students should (1) formulate the text(s) in question (in English) that they would propose to direct at the audience specified and (2) apply the theoretical background knowledge required for their strategic choices. The two elements should be given approx. the same weight in the max. 6 pages of the exam paper (e.g. approx. 2-3 pages of text production supplemented by 3-4 pages of discussion of strategic choices).

At the oral exam, both the appropriateness of terminology, grammatical structures, genre and level of formality of (1) as well as the discussion of (2) will be evaluated. Students must: 

  • demonstrate a high level of knowledge within the economic, financial and legal domains which are relevant for the communication situation
  • account for their strategic and linguistic choices in relation to the text and communication situation

Language: English

 

Assessment
Students must demonstrate their ability to:
• understand complex fields of knowledge within law, economics and finance
• transfer and communicate knowledge with consideration for context and 
target group, adapting the content and message of the text to the frame of understanding of the audience
• produce texts in correct English with a high degree of precision and with consideration for relevant genre and text type conventions
Course content and structure
Course content: The themes of the course will be studied in the context of a case which integrates Expert Communication with course 3, Knowledge work within and between organizations: Barriers and brokers. The focus will be on acquiring and managing knowledge within specific legal, economic and financial areas, and reproducing knowledge in a new context and for a different audience. As an introduction to the case, lectures and seminars will equip students with a basic understanding of the relevant professional domains, and provide them with theoretical knowledge to support the communication and knowledge management process. In parallel with the case work, tutorials and facilitated group discussions will provide interaction between students and teacher. A shared electronic platform will be used.
Thematic clusters: The course contains a number of thematically arranged clusters for the international organization, highlighting e.g.
• Management information
• Expert communication in mergers & acquisitions (M&A)
• Expert communication in outsourcing/joint ventures
• Financial reporting (annual reports, financial statements)
Theoretical basis: Students will read a range of theoretical materials that will enable them to reflect on how to select the most appropriate strategies to understand and address expert communication challenges that can arise in organizations in terms of linguistic and genre-related choices.
Development of practical competencies: Each cluster will contain an assignment where a piece of written work is produced that answers a particular need; the group that produced it will also produce the theory-based reasoning behind the selection of material, style etc.
Teaching methods
The course will consist of seminars, lectures (with guests) and input from student work groups, facilitated by an interactive platform. There will be one individual, obligatory assignment.
Student workload
Lectures, preparation, assignments, exam 412 hours
Expected literature
Selection:
Atrill, Peter and McLaney, Eddie (2011). Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists. FT Prentice Hall. (eller lignende afhængig af hvad der er relevant i casen)
Ditlevsen, Marianne Grove (2010). The Diversity of the Annual Report in an International Context. In Fachsprache 3 (4) (afhængig af case)
Mattila, H. S. (2006). Comparative legal linguistics. Aldershot: Ashgate
Textbook in Business Law (afhængig af case)
Eppler, M. J. (2007) Knowledge Communication Problems between Experts and Decision Makers: an Overview and Classification. The Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management 5 (3)
Bathia, Vijay K. (1998). Analysing Genre: Language in Professional Settings/ Dudley- Evans, T. (2000). Genre analysis: A key to a theory of ESP? Iberica, 2, 3-11.
Argenti, Paul A. (2009). Investor Relations. In: Corporate Communication (McGraw-Hill International Edition, pp. 203-228.
Last updated on 10-07-2014