RICS-SBE/01/R1/S001/R02

Revised on: 14-12-2020

2020 – 2021

COURSE GUIDE

Course Title: Business Communication for Built Environment- II

Course Code: BC 612
Semester: 2nd
Programme: MBA RE/ CPM/ MBA QS
Course Coordinators: Prof. Saumya Shirina

RICS School of Built Environment

Know Your Instructor(s):
Prof. Saumya Shirina has a Master’s degree in English and Postgraduate in Business Administration
with a specialization in Human Resources Management. She holds a Diploma in Training and
Development from the Indian Society of Training and Development. She has certifications like the
Teaching Knowledge Test from Cambridge and Teaching English as a Foreign Language from Oxford
TEFL. She is currently pursuing PhD in Management from Amity University, Uttar Pradesh. She has 08
years of industry experience in both hospitality and banking sector. She stared her teaching career in
the year 2008. In 22 years of her career in both corporate and academics she has acquired in-depth
knowledge of Customer Service, Relationship Management, Training & Development which she
incorporates in teaching and training graduate and undergraduate students.

At RICS SBE she has been teaching since the year 2014. She currently teaches General Management
subjects like Business Communication, Ethics & Leadership and facilitates the Employability skills
workshops. Prof Shirina can be reached at sshirina@ ricssbe.edu.in

1. Course Objective(s)
Students will learn to improve their writing skills for academic purposes, develop interpersonal and
negotiation skills, will become proficient in the usage of social media as a tool for networking & be
adept at answering virtual interviews. They will learn the importance of building & sustaining public
relations in communication in the industry space.

2. Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Hone written communication skills for the business environment befitting the built
environment sector.
2. Develop interpersonal skills & negotiation skills for work in built environment set up.
3. Compose & create different kinds of messages for social media & networking. Connect
with people with effective message writing.
4. Understand the important of public relations in the built environment sector.

3. Competencies Addressed

Competency Type Code

Communication and Negotiation Mandatory M003

4. Prerequisites:
Students should have a basic understanding of English language and familiarity with business
organization.

5. Detailed Subject Structure

Course Title Business Communication for Built Environment-II

Program MBA RE, CPM & CEQS Semester 02

Course Code BC 612
Credit Units L T P/S SW/FW Total credit units
 1 0 0 0/0 1

Weig
Course Content SLO Competencies
htage
Module I – Writing for Academic purpose

Writing a précis. Writing a blog. Writing for various other internet M003
sources. Persuasive messages: Writing a sales letter. Writing claims and SLO 1
adjustment letters. Writing positive and negative messages. 20%
Module II: Interpersonal Skills
Introduction to Negotiation, Goals and objectives of negotiation,
developing your own negotiation styles. Learning the negotiation M003
process, types of negotiation. Developing right attitude towards
negotiation: practicing business negotiations in different situations, 20% SLO 2
Giving and receiving feedback.
Module III- Technology in Communication
Networking professionally: using social media for networking: LinkedIn,
M003
Facebook, Career & Job web sites, Crafting messages for the electronic
30% SLO 3
media. Internet, intranet, fax, videoconferencing. Facing virtual
interviews.
Module IV – Public Relations
What is public relations; Definition, History, Tactics in PR: financial public
relations, consumer/lifestyle public relations, crisis communication,
M003
internal communications. Audience targeting, messaging, social media
marketing, other techniques. Maintaining goodwill of an organization’s
various publics: customers, employees, investors and suppliers. Boosting 30% SLO 4
business through public relations.

6. Teaching and Learning Strategy

A managed combination of the following methods will be used:
 Lectures
 eLearning
 Case studies
 Independent learning
 Professional Skill development (wherever suitable)
Lectures:
Lectures would present the key conceptual material in the form of convergent teaching strategy.
Lectures would be supported by readings. In order to prepare for lectures, the student must read
the readings set for the class, and should prepare short notes on them. The lecturers will bring the
important issues to your attention, and add other information that may not be gleaned from the
weekly readings. During the course, additional examples may be presented that are relevant to the
completion of this course.
Lecture slides and/or notes will be uploaded/emailed on LMS. These are not substitutes for the
lecture. Many students find it beneficial to take print-outs of the lecture slides and/or notes to the
lecture and to annotate them with comments, examples, etc. These will generally be available
before the lecture.
e-Content:
This aims at improving self-learning among the students, with an element of critical thinking and
problem solving. Use of online-learning content and virtual classroom facilities would be used. The
course delivery team would identify certain content from the syllabus to be delivered as eLearning.
Sessions would be organised for discussion and assessment of learning outcome. The following four
modes would be used wholly or partially while delivering eLearning.
 Online-Learning Content, Virtual Classroom
 Online-Tutoring, Online-Coaching, Online-Mentoring
 Collaborative Learning (Discussion Forum)
 Online Assessment

Case Studies:
Case studies would provide insights about the practical aspects related to this course and would be
referred time to time in lectures as well tutorials for enhanced learning experience. Discussions on
the case studies would be encouraged in the sessions.
Collaborative learning:
Use of LMS/MS Teams for collaborative learning, where inbuilt forums would be used to keep an
open discussion log for comments and keeping track of the progress of the PSDA component of each
group.

7. List of Professional Skill Development Activities (PSDA):

Not applicable

8. Assessment Description
 Assignment 1 [Presentation and Viva] (20%)
Students will be assessed on the following paramters in the Assignment 1

 Presentation(10%)

1. Topic coverage and depth of knowledge ( 2 marks)

2. Quality of slides (2 marks)
3. Oral presentation skills( 2marks)
4. Timely submission( 2 marks)
5. Plagiarism (2 marks); if found greater than 15% will be reported to Disciplinary
Committee for strict action and the mark given will be zero directly.
 Viva (10%): Viva will be conducted on the all the topics covered in the class to assess the
subject knowledge of the student and ability to apply critical thinking.
 Mid Term Test (15%)
Written test has 15% weightage on overall marks. This test will be conducted after the
completion of Module 1 and part Module 2. The detailed instruction about the same will be
provided at least one week prior to the test. The tests will be conducted in the 8 th/9th week
of the semester. There will not be any repeat test. Re-test however may be taken based on
the policy

9. Assessment Schedule

Submission Assessment
S. No. Assessment Type
week Type
1. Mid Term Test Week 8 or 9 Convergent
 Guided
2. Project Assignment Presentation Week 10
Divergent
Guided
3. Viva Week 11
Divergent

10.Weekly Session Plan

Module Week Lecture topic related to Tutorial
s
M1 1 Recap of Semester 1; ground setting for Semester 2. N/A
Writing positive and negative messages
(16/12/20)
M1 2 Writing Précis & Blogging
M1 3 Persuasive messages: Sales letter, Claims and Adjustment
letters
M2 Week 4 Introduction to Negotiation, Goals and objectives of
negotiation, developing your own negotiation styles.
Learning the negotiation Process & Types
M2 Week 5 Developing right attitude towards negotiation: practicing
business negotiations in different situations.
M2 Week 6 Giving and receiving feedback.
M3 Week 7 Networking professionally: using social media for
networking; LinkedIn, Facebook, Career & Job web sites.
M4 Week 8 Public Relations; Definition, History, Tactics in PR
M4 Week 09 PR: financial public relations, consumer/lifestyle public
relations, crisis communication, internal communications.
M4 Week 10 Audience targeting, messaging, social media marketing,
other techniques.
M4 Week 11 Maintaining goodwill of an organization’s various publics:
customers, employees, investors and suppliers. Boosting
business through public relations.
Module 1-4 Week 12 Presentations & Viva
Module 1-4 Week 13 Presentations & Viva
Module 1-4 Week 14 Revision
RICS-SBE/01/R1/S001/R02
Revised on: 14-12-2020

Sr. Resource 25% Syllabus identified Content Development Approach

Course Module
Nr. person from the course
E-content E-Tutorial Discussion forum Assessment

1 Negotiation Saumya Introduction to 2 Video and NA Discussion forum Online LMS

Shirina Negotiation, Goals and exercises on LMS regarding formative
objectives of Negotation quiz would
negotiation, developing techniques and be conducted
your own negotiation how to make it a on E-Learning
styles. Learning the win-win sitatution content
negotiation process,
types of negotiation.
Module 3: Networking
professionally: using
social media for
networking: LinkedIn,
Facebook, Career & Job
web sites

Networking Videos related to Dicussion

Networking and its Make a
professionally: using professional
social media for networking, using NA importance for professional
2 networking: LinkedIn, 3 Linkedinfor employability skills Linkedin
Facebook, Career & Job professional of Built Environment profile and
web sites networking for jobs professionals resume
and careers
RICS-SBE/01/R1/S001/R02
Revised on: 14-12-2020

11.SLO Mapping

Bloom’s Level > Remembering Understandin Applying Analyzin Evaluating Creating

g g
Student SLO 1 SLO 1 SLO 2 SLO 2&3 SLO 2& 3 SLO 4
Learning
Outcomes

Assessment
type/PSDA
PSDA Assessment NA
Assignment 1

Mid-term Test

End-term
Examination

12.Assessment Scheme:
Theory Lecture / Tutorial (%) Lab / Practical / Studio (%)
100 0
Lab / Practical details, if applicable: NIL

Theory Assessment:
End Term
Continuous Assessment / Internal Assessment
Examination
Components Mid Term Test Presenation Viva Attendance
60
Weightage (%) 15 10 10 5
Lab / Practical / Studio Assessment: NA
Notional Hours:
Lecture Contact 15
Tutorial Contact 0
Self-Work 15
Field Work 0
Assessment 15
Total Hours 45

13.Indicative performance threshold for course work

Qualitative
Performance description
Value
  Clearly demonstrates a highly creative, critical and thought- provoking
understanding of the topic.
 Novel and complex problems are solved with reference to theory and
practice.
 Provides clear evidence of originality and independence of thought and
80% and with an exceptional ability to develop highly systematic and logical or
Above insightful argument, solution or evaluation.
(Outstanding)  Demonstrates exceptional ability in the appropriate use of the relevant
literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools, techniques etc., to
analyze and synthesize the given problem.
 Shows an exceptionally high level of clarity, focus and strength in
communication.
 The writing perfectly accomplishes the objectives of the assignment.
 Clearly demonstrates a persuasive, critical and thorough understanding
of the topic.
 Some evidence of novel and complex problems solved with reference
to theory and practice.
 Provides evidence of independence of thought and clearly
75 – 79% demonstrates the ability to develop a highly systematic and logical or
(Excellent) Insightful argument, solution or evaluation of the problem.
 Demonstrates excellence in the appropriate use of the relevant
literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools, techniques etc., to
analyze and synthesize the given problem.
 Shows a high level of clarity, focus and strength in communication.
 The writing perfectly accomplishes the objectives of the assignment.
 Clearly demonstrates a well-developed, critical and comprehensive
understanding of the topic.
 Provides some evidence of independence of thought and clearly
demonstrates the ability to develop a systematic and logical or insightful
argument, solution or evaluation of the given problem.
68 – 74%
 Demonstrates a high degree of competence in the appropriate use of
(Good)
the relevant literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools,
techniques, etc., to analyze and synthesize the given problem.
 Shows clarity, focus and strength in communication
 Accomplishes the goals of the assignment with an overall effective
approach.
 Demonstrates a systematic and substantial understanding of the topic.
 Demonstrates the ability to develop a systematic argument or solution
to the given problem.
60 – 67%
 Demonstrates a significant degree of competence in the appropriate
(Above
use of the relevant literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools,
Average)
techniques etc., to analyze and synthesize the given problem.
 Provides evidence of clarity and focus in communication.
 Minimally accomplishes the goals of the assignment.
  Provides evidence of a systematic understanding of the key aspects of
the topic.
 Demonstrates the ability to present a sufficiently structured argument
or solution to the given problem.
52 – 59%
 Demonstrates an acceptable degree of competence in the appropriate
(Average)
use of the relevant literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools,
techniques etc., to analyze and synthesize the given problem
 Provides evidence of effective communication.
 Minimally accomplishes the majority of the goals of the assignment.
 Provides evidence of some understanding of key aspects of the topic
and some ability to present an appropriate argument or solution to the
given problem.
45 -51%  Demonstrates some competence in the appropriate use of the relevant
(Satisfactory) literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools, techniques, etc. to
analyze and synthesize the given problem.
 Provides some evidence of effective communication.
 Minimally accomplishes the majority of the goals of the assignment
 Demonstrates limited competence in the appropriate use of the
relevant literature, theory, methodologies, practices, tools, techniques,
40 – 44%
etc. to analyze and synthesize the given problem.
(Border Line)
 Provides limited evidence of effective communication.
 Fails to accomplish the majority of the goals of the assignment
Less than
Work that is unacceptable. Erroneous/wrong, missing, extremely
40% (Fail)

14. Course Material

Lecture slides will be made available to the student’s post the lecture has been delivered and will be
uploaded on LMS. Also, specific reading material for Lecture components would be uploaded on
LMS.

Text Book:
1. Robbins, S.P., Coulter, M. and Fernandez, A. (2019), Management. Pearson Education.

References:

1. Daft, R.L., (2013), Understanding the Theory and Design of Organizations. South-Western
CENGAGE Learning.
2. Weihrich, H., Cannice, M. and Koontz, H., (2013), Management: A Global, Innovative and
Entrepreneurial Perspective. McGraw-Hill Education.

Any other Study Material:

 Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), (6th Ed.), Published by Project
Management Institute, USA, 2017 (Chapter 13 only)
 Relevant readings and case studies shall be provided from time to time.

15.What is expected from students?

 Attend the class regularly on time.
 Be respectful, respect their faculty and respect each other.
 Switch off mobile phones or keep it in a silent mode during the class time.
 Come to class each day ready to learn, prepared, focused and motivated.
  Take notes in class, be active learners and participants and enjoy the learning process.
 Do homework /assignments and submit it on time as per the specified date.
 Refer to the text books for more information.
 Read the course guide carefully.
 Check the LMS and notice board regularly for information/announcement.

16.What the students can expect from Faculty?

 Provide a mutually respectful environment
 Present the materials clearly and systematically
 Prepare and present an intellectual lecture notes and slides
 Adopt a positive and professional approach towards teaching process
 Creative use of teaching and learning methods / aids
 Be more supportive and understand the students’ difficulties
 Motivate the students to participate actively in the class
 Encourage the students to refer to the text/reference books for more information
 Inspire the students to thinks independently, creatively and critically
 Supporting topics with real life examples and useful classroom exercises.

17.Plagiarism
“Plagiarism is defined as presenting another person’s work as one’s own work. Presentation includes
copying or reproducing it without the acknowledgement of the source.”
Plagiarism involves copying of phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs or longer extracts from
published or unpublished work (including from the Internet) that exceeds the boundaries of the
legitimate cooperation without acknowledgement of the source. Plagiarism could be intentional
(dishonest plagiarism) or non-intentional (negligent plagiarism). This definition also applies for
figures and figure legends and for tables and table legends which you copy into your text.
It is mandatory that each course work shall be checked for plagiarism through Turnitin or similar
software before submission. The content which is based on existing published work must come from
properly quoted material and from the references cited section. After checking the accuracy of the
citations and references of such content the plagiarism report should not return similarity index of
more than 15% in any circumstance. However, if the matching text is one continuous block, the
index of 15% could shall be considered plagiarism. Any report with higher than this percentage
matching must be explained by the student. The details of copy rights, professional ethics are given
in Plagiarism Prevention Policy of the University.

Referencing Guidelines
Referencing helps to acknowledge other peoples’ ideas and helps the reader/instructor to locate the
cited references easily, also to evaluate the interpretation of our ideas. It reduces risk of plagiarism
(i.e. taking other peoples’ thoughts, ideas or writings and using them as though they are your own).
Direct quotations, paraphrases, facts and figures, ideas and theories both from published and
unpublished sources must be referenced. The sources for written (text) and graphic material may
include books, journal or magazine articles, newspapers, company, government or institutional
reports, websites or personal communication. Please note improper or no referencing will be
penalized in terms of marks awarded.

Referencing style at RICS School of Built Environment – In-text referencing

The Harvard style is an example of an in-text referencing style. In this system within the text, the
author’s name is given first followed by the publication date and usually the page number/s for the
source (Citation). The list of references or bibliography at the end of the document contains the full
details listed in alphabetical order for all the in-text citations.
Citation
Although Handy (1994) has argued that education is the key to economic success for individuals,
organizations and nations, a majority of adults in the UK have yet to be convinced or persuaded of
this argument. Of these, a significant majority was from social class groups A, B and C. Only a
quarter of adults from semi-skilled or unskilled work backgrounds had involved themselves in
List References in Full at the End of an Assignment
Start with the last name(s), followed by initials of the author(s), contributor, editor, producer or
speaker. If you don’t have the name of an author, start with the name of the originator. This can be
an organization name, e.g. BBC, or name of a website, e.g. Bized.
This is followed by the year of publication; put this in brackets. In this event date is missing, put (no
date), or (n/d). With Internet sources, look for a year the item was placed on the site, or in the
absence of this, when the site was last updated (the year in question), or if unsuccessful with either
of these two, the year you looked at the information.
This is followed by the title of the source. The main source is usually emphasized in some way, e.g.
underlined or italics. The main source would be, for example, the title of a book, name of the
magazine, journal or newspaper, broadcast production source, video or CD-ROM etc. Whichever
mode of emphasis you choose- underlining or italics - keep it consistent throughout. The pattern in
this booklet is to emphasize main sources by the use of italics.
In most printed items you would give details of the publisher. You first give the name of the town or
city where the source was published, followed by the name of the publisher.
In the case of a journal article, you finish with the reference details of volume, edition/issue number
(if shown) of the journal and the page numbers of where the article can be found.
Example: Hagen, J. (2002). Basic Skills for Adults. Birmingham: The Guidance Council.
Tuckett, A. (1999) ‘Who’s Learning What?’ The Guardian 18/5/1999, p. 13.

Citation: (Introna et al 2003)

Reference: Introna, L., Hayes, N., Blair, L., and Wood, E. (2003). Cultural Attitudes Towards
Plagiarism. http://www.jiscpas.ac.uk/apppage.cgi?USERPAGE=7508 [Accessed 13/12/2005].

18.Attendance policy
5 marks are allocated for 100% attendance and 75% is required for appearing for examinations (as
per Amity University guidelines). Record of the student’s attendance will be taken at the beginning
of each class. All absences/ late entries to class will be considered unexcused absences, and no
changes will be allowed. Please refer to the student Handbook for further information.

19.Academic Policies
Refer Amity University Guidelines for the academic policies and procedures