| Semester 1, 2021 Online | |
| Short Description: | Management Communication |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts |
| School or Department : | School of Humanities & Communication |
| Student contribution band : | 2021 Grandfather Funding Cl 1 |
| ASCED code : | 100799 - Communication and Media Studie |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
Staffing
Examiner:
Other requisites
Students will require access to e-mail and have internet access to UConnect for this course.
Rationale
From its early beginnings, public relations has evolved from a role requiring professionals to demonstrate prowess in publicity and press agentry, to its current form where practitioners undertake strategic organisational communication. In a high-information age, much of the organisation’s work revolves around effective communication. It is therefore important that today’s public relations professionals possess knowledge, skills and capabilities to effectively manage the communication programs of organisations. As communication managers, it is also essential that the public relations professionals provide strategic advice and effective counsel to organisational management to ensure communication central to the organisation’s functions, and to the managerial decision-making process, is highly effective.
Synopsis
This course is designed to enable students to make an effective transition from a technical role in public relations to a managerial role. It reviews the current place of public relations in organisational activity and helps students identify the obstacles they will encounter in their efforts to manage an effective organisational communication program. It covers interaction with the senior management team, leadership at both team and organisational levels, negotiation and other interpersonal skills, and the importance of internal communication and stakeholder relations to improved organisational reputation.
Objectives
On completion of this course students should be able to:
- understand the state of the profession internationally and where public relations management fits in business organisation;
- understand and be able to navigate the structural and political environments of organisations from a public relations perspective;
- implement sound leadership within their public relations team;
- implement sound leadership within the organisation, particular relating to strategic direction;
- be able to negotiate, persuade and undertake advocacy within the organisation and with external stakeholders;
- understand the place of internal communication in organisational public relations and to secure support and resources to plan and implement reputational internal communications;
- understand the place of external stakeholders in reputation management and to secure support and resources to measure and change stakeholder attitudes and behaviour.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | The state of the profession | 10.00 |
| 2. | Public relations and the business of organisations | 10.00 |
| 3. | Leadership in public relations | 20.00 |
| 4. | Negotiation, persuasion and advocacy | 20.00 |
| 5. | Internal communication – embedding PR across the organisation | 20.00 |
| 6. | Stakeholder engagement – the reputation master tool | 20.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2021&sem=01&subject1=PRL8005)
Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)
Reference materials
Student workload expectations
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Directed Study | 80.00 |
| Independent Study | 85.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRESENTATION | 100 | 40 | 23 Mar 2021 | |
| PRESENTATION AND/OR REPORT | 100 | 60 | 03 Jun 2021 |
Important assessment information
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Attendance requirements:
Students must attend and complete the requirements of the Workplace Health and Safety training program for this course where required.
External and Online:
There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students’ responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.
On-campus
It is the students’ responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks. -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4) -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course. -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course. -
Examination information:
There is no examination for this course. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
There is no examination in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations. -
University Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at .
Other requirements
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Students can expect that questions in assessment items in this course may draw upon knowledge and skills that they can reasonably be expected to have acquired before enrolling in the course. This includes knowledge contained in pre-requisite courses and appropriate communication, information literacy, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving or numeracy skills. Students who do not possess such knowledge and skills should not expect to achieve the same grades as those students who do possess them.