SPÅ 2901 Business Communication - Culture and Ethics
SPÅ 2901 Business Communication - Culture and Ethics
This course is relevant for people who plan to do business internationally and who would like more insight into the ethics of business.
- Intercultural awareness. Students will acquire knowledge of a portfolio of theoretical ideas within the field of intercultural awareness. They are supplied from the work of Gesteland, Hall, Hofstede, Trompenaars and the GLOBE project and are presented in detail in the required reading list (see below). In addition, students are expected to acquire a rudimentary knowledge of the characteristics of the national business cultures of Norway and six important trading partners of Norway: USA, Germany, France, UK, Japan and China.
- Ethical awareness. Students will acquire knowledge of a small number of ethical ideas such as consequentialism and deontology which provide alternative approaches to making decisions on ethical as opposed to self-interested grounds. These ideas are also presented in detail in the required reading list (see below).
- Intercultural awareness. Students will be able to apply intercultural theories to specific communicative situations. By identifying evidence in the communicative situation that supports the relevance of a particular theoretical idea and then combining evidence with theory, they will make plausible interpretations of what, they believe participants may be thinking. In doing so, they will create a better understanding of the situation.
- Ethical awareness. Students will apply ethical theory to everyday business situations and challenges which require more complicated decision-making criteria than that of simple self-interest.
- Writing business English. Students will be able to use various electronic tools to aid them in the task of producing English text of a sufficient quality of accuracy and formality that it communicates meaning effectively to a reader. Students will practice writing in the following formats: (1) essays (2) a short business report, (3) a business letter and (4) a formal business email. For further information about the level of skill in writing English, students are referred to the SPÅ 2901 examination grading guidelines.
Students will be able to demonstrate an ability to work scientifically, distinguishing between categories of knowledge such as theory, empirical knowledge, taxonomies of (cultural) behaviour, culture as patterns of thinking, and interpretation. Consistent with the limitations of this branch of science, students should be able to demonstrate a reflective, critical attitude to their own interpretive processes both in the application of intercultural theories and also ethical theories.
1. Intercultural Communication
The syllabus materials (details below) will present students with a portfolio of theoretical ideas within the field of intercultural awareness. They are supplied from the work of Gesteland, Hall, Hofstede, Trompenaars and the GLOBE project and are presented in detail in the required reading list (see below). In addition, students are expected to acquire a rudimentary knowledge of the characteristics of the national business cultures of Norway and six important trading partners of Norway: USA, Germany, France, UK, Japan and China.T
2. Ethical Dilemmas
The syllabus materials (details below) will present students with a selection of ethical decision-making tools. Students are expected to learn these ideas and to then practise using them in business situations in which simple economic models of utility maximization are not sufficient.
The course has no formal requirements in order to take the exam.
The course provides a variety of different learning opportunities to help students make progress in their particular learning journey. Students should acquire an overview of the learning opportunities available at their campus at the start of the semester. They will then be able to plan which of these resources they wish to make most use of:
- The course is designed to provide 25 hours of physical contact between faculty and students. How these hours are organized, in practice, may vary from campus to campus as local faculty and BI administration seek to maximize the learning opportunities of students. There may, for example, be a mixture of auditorium-based lectures, classroom teaching with student-centred activities and also seminars with experienced student tutors in attendance to support learning. Webinars are also provided for students nationally.
- One of the most important factors in supporting student learning is being able to give students timely feedback on their attempts to learn. The course has regular writing assignments and it allocates considerable faculty resources to providing students with written feedback on assignments. The chance to practise writing business English and to improve over the course of the semester is a learning opportunity of which students should take advantage. One of the assignments is a trial exam which is offered during the latter stages of the course. Students do this assignment individually and receive a grade on their script to give them an impression of how they are doing.
When the course is delivered online, the lecturer, in cooperation with the Academic Services Network, will organize an appropriate combination of digital teaching and lectures. Online students are also offered a study guide to contribute to progression and overview. The total recommended time spent for completing the course also applies here.
Software tools
The exam (see details below) is a digital, home exam and students submit their written, English examination script in pdf format through the BI Digi-ex portal. Reflecting their future working situation, students are expected to learn how to take advantage of software tools that can help them improve the accuracy and quality of their written English. Tools such as Google translate and the functions in Microsoft Word are able to help students to choose vocabulary and remove mistakes from their texts. Examiners will expect students to make use of these tools and will, for example, be critical of simple spelling mistakes.
E-Learning
In course delivery as online courses, lecturer will, in collaboration with the student administration, organize an appropriate course implementation, combining different learning activities and digital elements on the learning platform. Online students are also offered a study guide that will contribute to progression and overview. Total recommended time spent for completing the course also applies here.
The examiners have a set of general grading guidelines for the exam. These will be made available for the students when the course starts.
Higher Education Entrance Qualification.
English from upper secondary school or equivalent.
| Mandatory coursework | Courseworks given | Courseworks required | Comment coursework |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voluntary | Written assignments |
| Exam category | Weight | Invigilation | Duration | Grouping | Comment exam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Exam code: SPÅ 29011 Grading scale: ECTS Grading rules: Internal and external examiner Resit: Examination every semester | 100 | No | 8 Hour(s) | Individual | The exam takes place on a single day at the end of the teaching semester. Students are free to take the exam from anywhere they wish to be on that day. At a pre-arranged time decided by the BI exam office, the exam paper is made available to all students electronically through BI’s Digi-ex system. Students write their answers on a PC. Students must prepare their scripts according to the standard BI guidelines for digital submission. These can be found at: https://at.bi.no/NO/atbi/eksamen/digital-eksamen/digital-innlevering/eksamensbesvarelsen. Students must limit the number of words in their scripts to the amount stipulated by the examiners in the question. Students are required to submit their written exam script in pdf format within the 8-hour deadline set by the BI exam office. |
| Activity | Duration | Comment |
|---|---|---|
Teaching on Campus | 25 Hour(s) | |
Prepare for teaching | 40 Hour(s) | |
Group work / Assignments | 35 Hour(s) | Writing assignments & checklist assessment |
Webinar | 20 Hour(s) | |
Student's own work with learning resources | 40 Hour(s) | |
Student's own work with learning resources | 10 Hour(s) | Contextualization of feedback |
Student's own work with learning resources | 22 Hour(s) | Examination preparation |
Examination | 8 Hour(s) |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 7,5 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 200 hours.