Course Syllabus GE 2402 English for Business Communication Co- Coordinators: Instructors: Dr. Sky MARSEN & Dr.

Bertha DU-BABCOCK Dr. Sky MARSEN (T17); Dr. Bertha Du-Babcock (T14); Dr. Christopher JENKS (T15) , Ms. Carene KLINTWORTH (T03; T04) , Mr. CHAN Tsz Shun Patrick (T08; T11), Ms. HO Shiu Van Alice (T02; T09; T13) , Ms. LEUNG Wai Yin Wendy (T18) , Mr. Paul F-X PASKEWITZ (T01; T10; T16) , Mrs. Ann Sybil SOULLIER (T07; T12) , Ms. Conny YAU (T05; T06) First-and Second year students in the College of Business Three -hour tutorial making a total of 39 hours

Students: Scheduling:

1.

Course Aims

The course aims to: Provide students with opportunities to improve their Business English communication skills by explaining and simulating realistic professional situations. Give students opportunities to explore using English as a tool for inquiry, learning, thinking and communicating in professional contexts. Help students to master the general document conventions and rhetorical practices associated with Business English. Develop students critical thinking, and analytical reasoning within professional contexts. Enhance students knowledge of the use of new media and digital technologies in business contexts. Introduce students to the ways that professional identities are constructed through the use of discourse and communication styles. Develop students understanding of the ethical framework of business decision-making.

2.

Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs) At the successful competion of the course, students should:

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to: No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. CILOs Know the general rhetorical and genre conventions of business communication in English Understand the role of different media in business communication Understand the ethical framework of business communication Plan, draft and revise a formal report in English Plan and deliver an oral presentation in English Participate effectively in a business meeting in English

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3.

Assessment Tasks/Activities (designed to assess how well the students achieve the CILOs) The assessment in GE 2402 comprises five assignments: ILO No CILO 1, 2, 3, 4, &5 CILO 1, 2, 3, 4, &5 CILO 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 CILO 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 CILO 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 Type of assessment tasks/activities Writing and responding to email Meeting participation Writing a pesuasive message Oral presentation on report topic Week 5 9 10 12/13 27 April Length 200-250 words 5 member groups-25-30 minutes 250-300 words 3-4 member groups-25 minutes 3-4 member groups-2,0002,500 words Value 15% - individual 20% - group work, individual assessment 15% - individual 20% - group work, individual assessment 30% - group

Formal report

Student Conduct Guideline -- Guidelines on the late submission of assignments, absenteeism, late-drop and plagiarism [http://www.cityu.edu.hk/cityu/dpt-acad/chass-en.htm] Assignment submission Students are expected to complete all written assignments on time, and to hand in their work punctually. In this context, please note the following points: i. ii. iii. iv. v. Late assignments will be given a lower grade; Assignments more than 7 days late will be given an 'F' grade; Individual course coordinators will decide how the deduction of marks is calculated for assignments between 1 and 7 days late; Extensions will only be given if accompanied by written proof of the need for an extension, (e.g. a medical certificate). Other serious or unavoidable personal circumstances such as death of a family member are also acceptable; Students granted extensions may receive an overall 'I' = 'Incomplete' grade for the course. In this case the course coordinator will inform the student of the new deadline for submitting the assignment.

Absenteeism Full time undergraduate students are required to attend at least 9 out of 13 regular classes during the semester (or at least 70% of regular classes). Students who fail to meet this requirement without strong justification and supporting documents will be given an 'F' grade. There is no formal attendance requirement for postgraduate students and part-time undergraduate students who have full-time jobs during the day. However, students are expected to attend class unless there are strong grounds not to do so. Late-drop Requests for late-drop must be approved by the Associate Head and will only be considered when there is a strong justification (e.g. a medical emergency).

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Academic Integrity Plagiarism Avoiding plagiarism is a very important academic skill that you will need throughout your university study. The following information is taken from the universitys site on plagiarism, Academic Honesty. This can be accessed here, http://www.cityu.edu.hk/edge/ah/ Penalties for plagiarism are very severe and may result in failing the course. All assignments will go through Turnitin, the Departments official plagiarism detection tool. 4. Grading of Student Achievement Assignment One: E-mail Message

Grade range A+, A, A-

Aims, Content and Organization

An excellent email, requiring hardly any revision Completely achieves its aims Purpose of email is very clear; clearly states the action the reader has to take Contains only relevant facts; facts explained fully; entirely comprehensible Organization: effective transitions; sections arranged in a logical manner; each paragraph effectively develops one topic Includes all parts of the email format

Language
Hardly any mechanical errors Choice of language entirely appropriate for topic and situation Tone entirely appropriate for reader-writer relationship Highly readable and fluent style

B+, B, B-

Requires minor revision Largely achieves its aims Purpose of email is clear; states the action the reader has to take Contains relevant facts; facts explained quite well; some parts are not clear but the overall comprehensibility is not affected Organization: suitable transitions; sections arranged in a mostly logical manner; each paragraph develops one topic

Some noticeable mechanical errors Choice of language mostly appropriate for topic and situation Tone mostly appropriate for reader-writer relationship Mostly readable and fluent style

C+, C, C-

Few errors in email format Requires considerable revision Only achieves aims partially Purpose of the email is unclear; the action the reader has to take is not clearly stated Contains some relevant facts; facts not all explained adequately; some parts are unclear Organization: transitions in some parts lacking; arrangement of sections not always logical; not all paragraphs are well developed

Many mechanical errors Choice of language not always appropriate for topic and situation Tone not always appropriate for readerwriter relationship Style does not make for easy reading

Several errors in email format Requires a major overhaul

Does not achieve its aims Purpose of email is very unclear; the action the reader has to take is either not included

So many mechanical errors that it affects readers' comprehension of the message Choice of language often inappropriate for topic and situation Tone largely inappropriate for reader-writer

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or quite ineffectively stated Contains few relevant facts; facts explained inadequately; many parts are incomprehensible Organization: transitions in many parts lacking; arrangement of sections not logical; many paragraphs are inadequately developed Numerous errors in email or format

relationship Style makes it difficult to read

Requires complete rewriting Does not achieve aims in any way Purpose of email is not stated; the action the reader has to take is not included Does not contain relevant facts; the email is in general incomprehensible Organization: no transitions in many parts; arrangement of sections illogical; paragraphs are inadequately developed Email format conventions mostly ignored

So many mechanical errors that it is very difficult for readers to understand the message Choice of language inappropriate for topic and situation Tone inappropriate for reader-writer relationship

Assignment Two: Meeting Simulation Grade range Aims, content and organization Meeting objectives completely achieved A+, A, A Role as chair/participant very effective Contribution totally adequate and constructive Presentation of ideas very clear and effective Ethical issues fully addressed Interaction very effective and natural Body language and eye contact entirely appropriate Voice quality very good Agenda followed strictly Time management very effective

Language
Hardly any language errors Pronunciation very clear and accurate Very fluent Use of language for meetings highly appropriate

B+, B, B-

Meeting objectives largely achieved Role as chair/participant mostly effective Contribution mostly adequate and constructive Presentation of ideas largely clear and effective Ethical issues mostly addressed Interaction mostly effective and natural Body language and eye contact largely appropriate Voice quality mostly good Agenda mostly followed Time management largely effective

Some noticeable language errors Pronunciation mostly clear and accurate Mostly fluent Use of language for meetings mostly appropriate

C+, C, C-

Meeting objectives not all achieved Role as chair/participant not always effective

Many language errors

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 Contribution not always adequate or constructive Presentation of ideas not always clear or effective Ethical issues partly addressed Interaction not always effective or natural Body language and eye contact not always appropriate Voice quality not always good Agenda not always followed

Pronunciation not always clear Some problems with fluency Use of language for meetings not always appropriate

Time management not always effective Meeting objectives barely achieved Role as chair/participant mostly ineffective Contribution mostly inadequate or ineffective Presentation of ideas mostly unclear or ineffective Ethical issues barely addressed Interaction mostly ineffective or unnatural Body language and eye contact mostly inappropriate Voice quality impedes comprehension Agenda rarely followed Time management mostly ineffective

Use of language impedes comprehension Pronunciation largely unclear Considerable problems with fluency Use of language for meetings largely inappropriate

Meeting objectives not achieved Role as chair/participant totally ineffective Contribution completely inadequate or ineffective Presentation of ideas totally unclear or ineffective Ethical issues not addressed at all Interaction totally ineffective or unnatural Body language and eye contact totally inappropriate Voice quality totally impedes comprehension Agenda not followed Time management completely ineffective

Use of language totally impedes comprehension Pronunciation incomprehensible Not fluent at all Language for meetings either totally inappropriate or not used

Assignment Three: Persuasive Message Grade range Aims, Organization and Content An excellent document, requiring hardly any A+, A, Arevision Completely achieves its aims Purpose of document is very clear; clearly states the action the reader has to take Contains only relevant facts; facts explained fully; entirely comprehensible Organization: effective transitions; sections arranged in a logical manner; each paragraph effectively develops one topic

Language
Hardly any mechanical errors Choice of language entirely appropriate for topic and situation Tone entirely appropriate for reader-writer relationship Highly readable and fluent style

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B+, B, B-

Requires minor revision Largely achieves its aims Purpose of document is clear; states the action the reader has to take Contains relevant facts; facts explained quite well; some parts are not clear but the overall comprehensibility is not affected Organization: suitable transitions; sections arranged in a mostly logical manner; each paragraph develops one topic

Some noticeable mechanical errors Choice of language mostly appropriate for topic and situation Tone mostly appropriate for reader-writer relationship Mostly readable and fluent style

C+, C, C-

Requires considerable revision Only achieves aims partially Purpose of the letter/e-mail is unclear; the action the reader has to take is not clearly stated Contains some relevant facts; facts not all explained adequately; some parts are unclear Organization: transitions in some parts lacking; arrangement of sections not always logical; not all paragraphs are well developed

Many mechanical errors Choice of language not always appropriate for topic and situation Tone not always appropriate for readerwriter relationship Style does not make for easy reading

Requires a major overhaul Does not achieve its aims Purpose of letter/e-mail is very unclear; the action the reader has to take is either not included or quite ineffectively stated Contains few relevant facts; facts explained inadequately; many parts are incomprehensible Organization: transitions in many parts lacking; arrangement of sections not logical; many paragraphs are inadequately developed

So many mechanical errors that it affects readers' comprehension of the message Choice of language often inappropriate for topic and situation Tone largely inappropriate for reader-writer relationship Style makes it difficult to read

Requires complete rewriting Does not achieve aims in any way Purpose of letter/e-mail is not stated; the action the reader has to take is not included Does not contain relevant facts; the letter/email is in general incomprehensible Organization: no transitions in many parts; arrangement of sections illogical; paragraphs are inadequately developed

So many mechanical errors that it is very difficult for readers to understand the message Choice of language inappropriate for topic and situation Tone inappropriate for reader-writer relationship Style makes it unreadable

Assignment Four: Oral Presentation Grade range Aims, Content and Organization Presentation objectives completely achieved A+, A, A Introduction very effective All relevant information included and presented effectively Conclusion very effective

Language
Fluent Hardly any language errors Pronunciation very clear and accurate Tone highly appropriate

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 Information correctly structured Transitions very adequate and effective Visuals always appropriate and effective Team work managed very effectively Question-and-answer session very professionally and effectively handled Time management very effective

Delivery (pace, eye contact, posture, gestures, enthusiasm) excellent

B+, B, B-

Presentation objectives mostly achieved Introduction mostly effective Most relevant information included and presented effectively Conclusion largely effective Information correctly structured in most sections Transitions mostly adequate and effective Visuals largely appropriate and effective Team work mostly effective Most parts of question-and-answer session professionally and effectively handled

Mostly fluent Some noticeable language errors Pronunciation mostly clear and accurate Tone mostly appropriate Few problems with delivery (pace, eye contact, posture, gestures enthusiasm)

Time management mostly effective Some problems with fluency Many noticeable language errors Pronunciation often unclear or inaccurate Tone often inappropriate Some problems with delivery (pace, eye contact, posture, gestures enthusiasm)

C+, C, C-

Not all presentation objectives achieved Introduction only partly effective Some relevant information included and presented effectively Conclusion only partly effective Information correctly structured only in some sections Transitions often inadequate or ineffective Visuals often inappropriate or ineffective Team work often ineffectively managed Many parts of question-and-answer session ineffectively handled Time management often ineffective

Presentation objectives barely achieved Introduction barely effective Little relevant information included or presented effectively Conclusion barely effective Information correctly structured in very few sections Transitions mostly inadequate or ineffective Visuals mostly inappropriate or ineffective Team work mostly ineffective Most parts of question-and-answer session ineffectively handled Time management mostly ineffective

Serious problems with fluency Language errors impede comprehension Pronunciation largely unclear or inaccurate Tone mostly inappropriate Many problems with delivery (pace, eye contact, posture, gestures, enthusiasm)

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Presentation objectives not achieved Introduction totally ineffective Very little relevant information included or presented effectively Conclusion totally ineffective or missing Information poorly structured throughout Transitions totally inadequate or ineffective Visuals totally inappropriate or ineffective Team work totally ineffective Question-and-answer session totally ineffective Time management totally ineffective

Not fluent at all Use of language totally impedes comprehension Pronunciation incomprehensible Tone is totally inappropriate Problems with delivery (pace, eye contact, posture, gestures, enthusiasm) render presentation incomprehensible

Assignment Five: Business Report Grade range Aims, Content and Organization An excellent business report requiring little A+, A, Arevision Aims of report completely achieved Purpose and scope clearly identified All relevant information included for analysis Synthesis of ideas very effective Sections organized in a completely logical and effective manner Transitions very effectively achieved Business report format followed throughout All components of business report included Use of graphics totally effective Reference and citation conventions followed throughout

Language
Hardly any mechanical errors Choice of language entirely appropriate for topic and situation Tone entirely appropriate for reader-writer relationship Highly readable and fluent style

B+, B, B-

A good business report requiring some revision Aims of report mostly achieved Purpose and scope largely clear Most relevant information included for analysis Synthesis of ideas mostly effective Most sections organized in a logical and effective manner Transitions mostly effective Business report format mostly followed Most components of business report included Use of graphics mostly effective Reference and citation conventions mostly followed Report requires considerable revision Aims of report partially achieved

Some noticeable mechanical errors Choice of language mostly appropriate for topic and situation Tone mostly appropriate for reader-writer relationship Mostly readable and fluent style

C+, C, C-

Many mechanical errors Choice of language not always appropriate

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 Purpose and scope not clear Insufficient relevant information included for analysis Synthesis of ideas often ineffective Many sections organized in an illogical or ineffective manner Transitions in many parts ineffective Business report format only followed occasionally Some components of business report not included Use of graphics often ineffective

for topic and situation Tone not always appropriate for readerwriter relationship Style does not make for easy reading

Reference and citation conventions not often followed

Report requires substantial rewriting Aims of report barely achieved Purpose and scope mostly unclear Little relevant information included for analysis Synthesis of ideas mostly ineffective Most sections organized in an illogical or ineffective manner Transitions in most parts ineffective Business report format rarely followed Few components of business report included Use of graphics mostly ineffective Reference and citation conventions rarely followed

So many mechanical errors that it affects readers' comprehension of the message Choice of language often inappropriate for topic and situation Tone largely inappropriate for reader-writer relationship Style makes it difficult to read So many mechanical errors that it is very difficult for readers to understand the message Choice of language inappropriate for topic and situation Tone inappropriate for reader-writer relationship Style makes it unreadable

Report requires complete rewriting Aims of report not achieved Purpose and scope totally unclear Very little relevant information included for analysis Synthesis of ideas totally ineffective Nearly all sections organized in an illogical or ineffective manner Transitions ineffective throughout Business report format not followed at all Very few components of business report included Use of graphics totally ineffective Reference and citation conventions not followed

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5. Reading Textbooks All students are required to purchase a textbook (Guffey & Du-Babcock, Essentials of Business Communication, Asia 2nd Edition; ISBN# 10: 981-4319-17-1) and the supplementary material (Wang, ISBN-1-: 981-4314-87-0) from the campus bookstore. Additional Reading Adler, R.B. and Elmhorst, J.M. (2008). Communicating at work: Principles and practices for business and the professions. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Angell, P. (2007). Business communication design: Creativity, strategies, and solutions. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Krizan, A.C., Merrier, P. and Larson Jones, C. (2005). Business communication. Mason, Ohio: South Western/Thomson. Kuiper, S. (2009). Contemporary business report writing. (4th ed.). Singapore: Cengage Learning SouthWestern. Lehman, C.M. and DuFrene, D.D. (2005). Business communication. Mason, Ohio: South-Western. Locker, K.O. (2008). Business and administrative communication. New York: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Marsen, S. (2007). Professional writing: the complete guide for business, industry and IT, 2nd edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Mascull, B. (2004). Business vocabulary in use (Advanced). Cambridge: University Press. Netzley, M., & Snow, C. (2002). Guide to report writing. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Thill, J.V. and Bovee, C.L. (2008). Excellence in business communication. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Thill, J.V. and Bovee, C.L. (2008). Business communication today. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 6. Instructional Schedule -- GE2402 comprises eight study units, covered over one semester of 13 weeks. See below for weekly instructional schedule and study units. Week 1 Jan 9 13 2 Jan 16 27* Study Unit Study Unit One: communication Principles of Corresponding Chapter(s) business Chapter 1: Facing Todays Communication Challenges (pp. 2 ~ 25) Chapter 2: Writing for Business Audiences (pp. 28 ~ 53) Chapter 3: Improving Writing Techniques (pp. 54 ~ 79) Chapter 4: Revising and Proofreading Business messages (pp. 80 ~ 98) 3 Jan 30 Feb 3 Study Unit Three: Writing short business documents Chapter 5: Email and Memorandums (pp. 100 ~ 131)

Study Unit Two: The writing process *23 - 25 Lunar New Year Holidays 23 - 28 Lunar New Year Break

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Week 4 Feb 6 - 10 5 Feb 13 17

Study Unit Study Unit Four: Writing business reports -- Part One

Corresponding Chapter(s)

Chapter 9: Informal Reports (pp.226 ~ 252) Chapter 10: Proposals and Formal Reports (pp.253 ~ 294) Study Unit Four: Writing business reports -- Part Chapter 9: Informal Reports Two (pp.226 ~ 252) Chapter 10: Proposals and Formal Reports (pp.253 ~ 294) Assignment One: Writing and responding to email Deadline of Submission: Friday 17 February, noon Study Unit Six: Analyzing ethical situations in business communication Study Unit Seven: Constructing persuasive and bad news messages Chapter 15: Ethics in Business Communication (pp. 418 ~ 434) Chapter 7: Persuasive Messages (pp. 170 ~ 197) Chapter 8: Negative Messages (pp. 198 ~ 224) Chapter 11: Communicating in Person and in meetings (pp.296 ~ 321

6 Feb 20 24 7 Feb 27 - Mar 2

8 Mar 5 9 9 Mar 12 16

Study Unit Five: Conducting effective business meetings

Meeting Simulations (see assignment description) Assignment Two: Business meeting group simulation, individual assignment

10 Consultations Mar 19 23 Assignment Three: Writing a pesuasive message Deadline of Submission: Friday 23 March, noon 11 Mar 26 30 12 Apr 2 13 13 Presentations continued Apr 16 20 Assignment Four: Oral presentation on report topic Assignment Five: Formal report Deadline of Submission: Friday 27 April, noon Presentations 4 - 10 Easter Break (4 Ching Ming Festival; 6 Good Friday; 9 Easter Monday) Consultations continued

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*For class(es) falling on the public holiday(s), make-up class(es) will be arranged.

Assignment One: E-mail message- individual assignment

Due Date: Week Five Value: 15% Length: 200-250 words Instructions Read the instructions for Assignment Five (report) and choose a topic. Then select a company that you could use in your report and write an e-mail message to the appropriate person requesting some information. If you choose report topic one, your request should be for information on the main policies and initiatives that the company is taking in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). If you choose report topic two, your request should be for information on differences between the companys headquarters and its branches in other countries. Make sure that your e-mail meets these requirements: It is addressed to an appropriate person It is clear and concise, so that the reader is likely to understand immediately what you are requesting The content is organized appropriately for an e-mail message The tone is polite and formal without being too indirect or evasive

Assignment Two: Business meeting group simulation, individual assignment

Due Date: Week Nine Value: 20% Length: about 25 minutes for the meeting, about 5 minutes input for each participant Instructions will be given separately.

Assignment Three: Persuasive message individual assignment

Due Date: Week Ten Value: 15% Length: 250-300 words Instructions Read the following scenario and write a message in response to it. Assume that this message could be delivered in either e-mail or letter format. Scenario Your company is a very aggressive distributor specializing in high quality audio equipment, such as stereo speakers and amplifiers. You have 12 branches. In order to further expand, your company has decided to approach ABC, a world-famous British speaker manufacturer, about the possibility of your company

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importing their products into Hong Kong. If your company could import the ABC products, you could easily double or even triple your sales turnover in a year. However, there is a problem. ABC has a sole and exclusive distributor in Hong Kong, which means that your company is not able to sell ABC products. If your company wants to sell ABC products, you will have to persuade ABC to change its policy of selling through an exclusive distributor. This means that ABC would replace its present distributor with your company or discontinue the exclusive distributor policy by adding your company as an additional distributor. The present sole and exclusive distributor, Fortune Audio Co., Ltd. is an old, reputable, and family-owned company. The company is not as active as before. The company president, Mr. Wong, is advancing in age and several employees including their top salesperson have recently left the company. You know that there is a close personal relationship between Mr. Wong and the CEO of ABC. Your company was established in 2005. Your major shareholders include one of the top five trading companies in Hong Kong, two leading local investment banks, and a dozen local big business companies. Your sales turnovers in the past five years have been HK$ 1.0 billion, HK$ 1.8 billion, HK$ 3.5 billion, HK$ 5.0 billion, and HK$ 9.0 billion. Your company presently is the sole and exclusive distributor for several major high quality, famous, and expensive brands of home stereo products. Your task: Assume that you are Peter Pang, Manager of the Corporate Communications Department. With the above data write a message to Mr. Alvin Brown, Executive Director, International Sales Division, ABC Corporation. You have met him at a reception of ABCs new product exhibition six months ago at the Island Shangri-La hotel. Notes: Your answer will be judged on how persuasive it is, including the organization, content, and use of language. You should paraphrase the information if needed. For those who copy sentences extensively from the original text, the marks on the use of language will be affected.

Assignment Four: Oral presentation group assignment

Due Date: Weeks Twelve and Thirteen Value: 20% Length: 20 minutes for group presentation, 5 minutes for question-answer session Instructions You will present your topic for assignment 5 (business report) to the Corporate Annual Meeting of your company. Your presentation should include Powerpoint or Keynote, and should highlight your findings and recommendations. You audience will be internal, consisting of participants who may not know much about your topic, but who have an interest in your project being successful.

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Assignment Five: Business report group assignment

Due Date: Week Fourteen Value: 30% Length: 2,000-2,500 words Instructions Choose one of the following topics and write a formal business report in response to it. Topic One Scenario You are the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a startup company in your choice of industry, and you are considering the organization and policies of your company, which are still in the process of being developed. You have been hearing a lot about the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as part of effective business practice. The CSR Network defines CSR as being about how businesses align their values and behaviour with the expectations and needs of stakeholders - not just customers and investors, but also employees, suppliers, communities, regulators, special interest groups and society as a whole. CSR describes a company's commitment to be accountable to its stakeholders. You want to find out more about this in relation to your business, because you want your company to be cutting edge and up-to-date with the current business scene. You also want to get some ideas from other companies who have used CSR successfully or unsuccessfully and learn from their successes or failures. You then want to make a plan on incorporating CSR policies in your company organization. Task: Find out about CSR and discuss its possible applications with your team members. Consider the advantages and problems involved in CSR projects and policies. Also, research two companies of your choice, in a similar industry to your companys, and find out what their position is as regards CSR. For this, you can use the information you gathered from your e-mail assignment. Write a report to your Executive Committee that considers the importance of CSR in the international business world and recommends way in which it can be incorporated in your company. In your report, give a short description of your company, discuss the ways in which the two other companies encompass CSR, and consider the effects of CSR for those companies. Lead to a set of recommendations on how CSR can be used in your company. You can get more information on CSR from these sources: CSR Asia, http://www.csr-asia.com/weekly.php Mallen Bakers (business consultant) website, http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr/definition.php Harvard Business School Working Knowledge article, http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6484.html Topic Two Scenario You are the Public Relations Officer in a company of your choice. Your company is opening a branch in another country (the country is also your choice). The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has asked you to review

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and analyze what other similar companies have done to modify and adapt their public relations documents, such as web sites, for new overseas branches, and to provide recommendations on some steps that the company should take to prepare for this. Task Research two companies that have international branches, and analyze some of their PR documents (for example, web sites and newsletters), to find similarities and differences between different countries. For this, you can also use the information that you gathered in your e-mal assignment. Possible companies include Disneyland, HSBC and franchises such as Starbucks, which have international outlets. Then write a report that discusses these findings and leads to a set of recommendations on actions that your company should take for the new branch. In your report, include a brief description of your company and its products to make the discussion relevant. For more information on company internationalization and relocation, consult these sources: Global HR News: http://www.globalhrnews.com/story.asp?sid=158 Harvard Business School Working Knowledge article: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6804.html

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