HC1021 Interpersonal and E-Communication T3 2024 Assessment

Group Assignment

Group Assignment Guidelines and Specifications

Analysing Business Communication Strategies in International and Domestic Contexts

Objective:

In this assignment, you will learn how companies communicate with their employees, customers, and the public, both within their own country and internationally. You will apply what you have learned about communication to analyse the strategies of two companies — one from your home country and one from another country. You will then compare these strategies to see how each company uses communication to achieve its goals.

What You Need to Do:

You will work in groups of Maximum of 4 students. Each group will analyse two companies:

1. One international company – USA HQ (a company that also operates in multiple countries).
2. One Australian company (a company that primarily operates only in Australia).

Important:

• The two companies you choose must well know, and on Dow Jones and Australia stock markets.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Choose Your Companies:

• Your group should brainstorm this process. Briefly record how you selected both companies. Try to pick 2 companies that are involved in the same industry.

1. Research the Communication Strategies of Each Company:

• You will need to gather information about how each company communicates with its employees, customers, and the public. Look for information on:
  • How they market their products and services (advertisements, social media, websites, etc.).
    • How they communicate with employees (internal emails, meetings, company news).
    • How they handle public relations (how they deal with the public, respond to problems or crises).
    • How they communicate internationally (for the international company, how they communicate with customers and employees in other countries).
  • Use academic sources (like articles, books, and research papers) to support your research. If you find company websites or news articles, you can use them as well.

1. Write the Group Report:

• Your report should be well-organized and include the following sections:

1. Introduction:
   • Briefly introduce both companies.
   • Explain why you have chosen them and what you will compare.
2. Methodology:
   • Explain how you researched the companies (where you found your information).
3. Analysis:

• Compare and contrast the communication strategies of the two companies.
  • Discuss how each company communicates with employees, customers, and the public.
  • Look at the communication methods (social media, advertising, internal communications, etc.) and whether they are effective.
• Findings:
  • What did you learn about each company's communication?
  • Which company has the most effective communication strategy and why?
• Conclusion:
  • Summarize the key points from your analysis.
• Recommendations:
  • Based on your analysis, give suggestions for each company on how they could improve their communication.
• Your report should be clear, well-written, and properly cited (referencing rules is included below)
• Make sure you write in your own words — do not copy and paste information from sources.

1. Extra Information for Report:

• Include Appropriate pictures, graphs, and charts to make your group report very dynamic and interesting to the reader. Make sure they are relevant to the topic etc.
• Ensure to use the Holmes Adapted Harvard referencing style.

What You Will Submit:

1. Written Report:
   • Submit your report through the online platform (i.e. Blackboard) by 29 January 2025.
   • The report should be well-organized, properly cited, and have a clear structure.

Assessment Criteria:

Your assignment will be graded on the following:

1. Research and Analysis:
   • Did you do thorough research and analyse the communication strategies effectively?
   • Did you use academic sources and examples to support your points?
2. Report Quality:
   • Was your report clear and well-organized?
   • Did you compare the two companies effectively and provide strong recommendations?
3. Presentation Skills:
   • Did you present your ideas clearly and confidently?
   • Did you use visuals (like slides) well in your presentation?
4. Collaboration:
   • Did all group members contribute equally to the work and the presentation?

Additional Tips:

• Start early to allow enough time for research, writing, and preparing the presentation.
• Check your work for grammar and spelling errors before submitting it.

Assignment Structure Guide Only:

• Title Page
• Executive Summary
• Brief Introduction and Background
• Section 1: Synopsis of the key non-electronic communication methods and practices that the companies use to engage customers, suppliers, staff members and the public.
• Section 2: Overview of the key electronic media and communication strategies used by the companies, including websites, social media and electronic platforms.
• Section 3: Assess and compare the communication practices of both companies.
• Recommendations: Provide suggestions and recommendations on how your chosen companies can improve their business communication
• Conclusion

Citation and Referencing Rules

Holmes has implemented a revised Harvard approach to referencing. The following rules apply:

1. Reference sources in assignments are limited to sources that provide full-text access for lecturers and markers.

2. In-text Citations

All assignments must include in-text citations to the listed references. These must include the surname of the author/s or name of the authoring body, year of publication, page

number of the content, and paragraph where the content can be found. For example, “The company decided to implement an enterprise-wide data warehouse business intelligence strategy (Hawking et al., 2004, p3(4)).”

The reference list must be located on the last page of your submission

The reference list must include the details of all the in-text citations, arranged A-Z alphabetically by author surname with each reference numbered (1 to 10, etc.) and each reference MUST include a hyperlink to the full text of the cited reference url.

For example:

1. Hawking, P., McCarthy, B. & Stein, A. 2004. Second Wave ERP Education, Journal of Information Systems Education, Vol … Issue No. … , pages … to … http://jise.org/Volume15/n3/JISEv15n3p327.pdf

4. Non-Adherence to Referencing Rules

If students do not follow the above rules, penalties apply:

1. For students who submit assignments that do not comply with all aspects of the rules, a 10% penalty will be applied.
2. If citations are ‘fake’, students will be reported for academic misconduct.

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Marking criteria

Marking Rubric Guide