APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2013/2014

FAK 2637 English for the Finance Market: Effective Business Communication

Responsible for the course
Kristian Trosdahl, Yanique Fletcher

Department
Department of Communication - Culture and Languages

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
7,5

Language of instruction
English

Introduction

This interactive course has been developed with the use of multimedia to offer practical language and communication training to people working in the insurance and/or banking sector of the financial market. The course is specially designed for business people who feel that they need to improve their writing and speaking skills in order to feel more confident when dealing with non-Norwegian speaking colleagues and customers. Through the use of blended learning the overall objective is to enable course participants to develop the English skills needed to communicate effectively in an international insurance or banking business environ­ment.

Learning outcome

Acquired knowledge
Students will be able to define and identify in proper and appropriate English:
· Key principles of insurance and banking
· Current trends in the financial industry with a focus on insurance and banking
· Writing skills needed for corresponding in business English
· Global cultural perspectives in business English
· Negotiation skills in an international business environment

Acquired skills
Through group work discussions and presentation practice, students will acquire increased cultural awareness and a more comprehensive business vocabulary. They will be able to apply key terminology in an appropriate and convincing manner in business meetings and negotiations. Students will also develop their written skills in relation to letters, reports and e-mails.
Reflection
Students will ideally develop diplomacy, improve presentation skills, and gain a better insight into communication approaches in insurance and banking matters in English.

Prerequisites

English from upper secondary school or equivalent.
General knowledge of key insurance or banking principles and products



Compulsory reading
Books:
Rejda,George E.. Last edition. Principles of risk management and insurance. Pearson. selected chapters

Articles:
Clark, Gordon L.; Monk, Ashby. Spring 2010. The Norwegian Government Pension Fund: Ethics over Efficiency. Rotman International Journal of Pension Management. Vol. 3 Issue 1. Artikkelsamling
Gillian Warner-Søderholm, Norwegian Business School, Oslo.. Culture Matters: Norwegian Cultural Identity Within a Scandinavian Context. Artikkelsamling
J.M. Brett. 2007. "Negotiation and Culture". (from Negotiating Globally). SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass. Artikkelsamling
Ling Deng and Paul Gibson, RMIT University, Melbourne.. Mapping and modeling the capacities that underlie effective cross-cultural leadership. An interpretive study with practical outcomes. Artikkelsamling
Mansour Javidan, Peter W. Dorfman, Mary Sully de Luque, and Robert J. House. In the Eye of the Beholder: Cross Cultural Lessons in Leadership from Project GLOBE. Artikkelsamling
Oct 2013. Positive and Negative Corporate Social Responsibility, Financial Leverage, and Idiosyncratic Risk.. Journal of Business Ethics. Vol. 117 Issue 2. Artikkelsamling
R.J. Lewicki, B. Barry, and D.M. Saunders. 2006. "Strategy and Tactics of Distributive Bargaining". from Essentials of Negotiation. Boston: McGraw Hill. Artikkelsamling
Summe 2013. Mobile payments changing the landscape of retail banking: Hype or reality?. Journal of Payments Strategy & Systems. Vol 7 Issue 2. Artikkelsamling
Trosdahl, Kristian, Norwegian Business School, Oslo. " Å fremme en sunn utvikling av forsikringsnæringen" - noen hovedtrekk i utviklingen av norsk forsikringslovgivning. Artikkelsamling
Volkema, Roger J.. Jan 2004. Demographic, cultural, and economic predictors of perceived ethicality of negotiation behavior: A nine-country analysis. Journal of Business Research. Vol. 57 issue 1. DOI: 10.1016/S0148-2963(02)00286-2. Artikkelsamling

Recommended reading

Course outline
Vocabulary development in:
· Fundamentals of financial industry with focus on banking and insurance
· Key insurance and banking products
· Bancassurance – history, products and future development
· Global cross cultural issues in negotiations and business communication
· Presentation skills

Computer-based tools
Students are expected to use Internet during the course

Learning process and workload

Part time

The course comprises the following:

· Classroom teaching: Four days (2 + 2) - a total of 28 hours.
In order to manage the requirements of the course it is essential that students attend the seminar sessions.
· E-learning: Articles, videos, discussion groups, conversation training with teacher (Skype), multiple choice-tests distributed at Its Learning.
· Test and assignment
A pre-course test (multiple choice) and one written assignment with individual feed-back.

During the four days of classroom teaching all students will work together. In the period between the two classroom sessions the students will be divided into insurance and banking groups – each working with specific training material and tasks related to each.