ICOM303 Unit Reader is available for purchase from the 2nd Floor Reception at Macquarie City Campus.

The timetable for this unit can be found at; 

https://student.mqc.edu.au/noticeboard/frameset_Timetable.htm

WEEKLY SCHEDULE:

Week 1            Introduction to writing for business and finance 

An important goal in writing for business is the ability to convey essential information in a way that gives a co-operative, motivated person a good chance of understanding the document at first reading, and in the same sense that the writer meant it to be understood. The first six weeks of tutorials will focus on writing about business from the inside.

Seminar activity: Tutor and student introductions, understanding the unit guide, getting the most from the unit, assessment and orientation. What are the different types of business documents? Examples of business plans, quarterly and annual reports, executive summaries, retail documents.

Week 2            The role of the professional writer working for a business

The ability to communicate ideas in writing is one of the most important skills for people working in business and other organizations. Business writing is specialised and requires understanding of the organisational context, communication styles and information handling practices.

Reader: Gelman, Howard, Chapter 1, ’Technique’, Everyone Can Write, (2014), Exisle, pp. 17—30.

 Petelin, Roslyn and Durham, Marsha, (2001) Chapter 1, The professional writing guide, Sydney: Business and Professional Publishing, pp. 1–13.   

Marsen, Skye, (2003), Professional Writing: The Complete guide for business, industry and IT, Hampshire: Palgrave, pp134–164.

Seminar activity: How writing works. Explanation of report writing techniques. An examination of the ten rules for business communications,  concentrating on writing clear, concise and effective documents.

Week 3           Business cultures: aims, objectives and structures

Every business and organisation has a particular culture that is shaped by its 0activities and the people it employs. These factors will shape the way that communication flows within the organisation and to its clients and the public.

Reader: Hartley, Peter and Brickman, Clive G., (2000) Business Communication, London, Routledge, pp.69-89.

Institute for Management Excellence, Understanding Corporate Culture, Copyright © 2001 All rights reserved, updated: June 07, 2008.    

Eunson, Baden, Communication in the Workplace, J. Wiley, 2007, pp 97–101.

Seminar activity: What is organisational culture? How does it differ from the wider culture? What factors shape culture in an organisation? Can organizations have multiple cultures? What might generate multiple cultures?

Week 4         Writing reports and proposals

in business you will be expected to turn out readable pieces of written communication. Report writing relies on getting facts from one place to another. Proposals are used to apply for funds, seek support and introduce new ideas.

Reader: Gelman, Howard, Chapter 3, ‘Report Writing’, Everyone Can Write, Exisle, pp. 53–64.

Forsyth, Patrick, (2006), Write Reports and Proposals, London: Times, pp. 79-96.

Seminar activity: Discuss and give examples of the basic elements of report writing. What difficulties could be expected in preparing a proposal to supply a service like public relations or advertising?

Week 5            Practical research

Statistics, reports and company information underpin business journalism.  Locating sources of information is crucial for the development of business and finance stories.

Reader:  Hazlett, Curt, Make Sense of Numbers in Writing About Business, www.BusinessJounalism.org.

Angwin, Julia, ‘How to Use Numbers and Statistics’, in Thompson, Terri (ed.), Writing About Business, New York, Columbia University Press, pp.191-197.

Barass, Robert (2002), Writing at Work:—Say it Without Words, London: Routledge, pp. 81-98

Seminar Activity: Bring a set of statistics to the tutorial sourced from a government or corporation.  How might they be used to write a business news story?   What are the challenges in presenting statistics?  How can they be used to distort information?

Week 6          Copywriting, promotion and brochures

Copywriting is the art of promoting a product or service in a short or long form. Short form writing is designed to communicate a message in an advertisement that might appear in a display ad. Long form copywriting includes articles, brochures and pamphlets.

Reader: Applegate, Ed. (2005), Strategic Copywriting. How to Create Effective Advertising, Rowman & Littlefield, Inc. pp. 55-66

Marra James L. (1993), Advertising Copywriting, NJ: Prentice Hall, pp. 231-261

Seminar activity: Bring a business and a general magazine to class. Compare and characterise the differences in advertisements in terms of length of text, type of product and presentation.  What do the advertisements say about the respective readers?

Week 7           International news agencies

The world economy and business relies on non-stop flows of financial, market and company information. The challenge is to provide timely, accurate and independent news reports to ensure the smooth and ordered operation of business.

Reader: Bartram, John (2003) ‘News Agency Wars: the battle between Reuters and Bloomberg’, Journalism Studies, 4 (3) August, pp. 387-399.

Palmer Michael, Boyd-Barrett, Oliver and Tehri Rantanen, ‘Global Financial News’, iBoyd-Barrett, Oliver and Tehri Rantanen (eds.) (1998). The Globalisation of News, Sage Pub, London, pp. 61-78.

Seminar Activity: Locate a specialist media report directed to a particular industry or finance sector. What information does it provide? What are the sources? How does it differ from general business news?

Week 8          Covering businesses

Finding and researching the Big End of Town provides insight to the businesses and people who control and influence trade, commerce and industry in a city, nation or international industry. Understanding economic terminology is the first step to business journalism. This week is the start of writing about business from the outside — as a business journalist or business analyst.

Reader: Murdoch, Rupert, The Future of Newspapers, 2008 Boyer Lecture, ABC.Varian, Hal, The economics of the newspaper business, Google, 2013, pp. –3.Whannell, Gary, Information and Authenticity: Financial information and the media in the age of replication, University of Bedfordshire, UK, 2009.

Seminar Activity: Group presentation of business publications: Australian Financial Review, The Economist, Nikkei Weekly Wall Street Journal, Financial Review. Discuss the readership, geography and main focus of each business newspaper. Try to convince the class that their publication should be the choice for business news.

Week 9                 Elements of economic systems

Inflation is down, growth is up, monetary policy is tight, unemployment is down and productivity is improving. Business writing requires the ability to gather information from a variety of sources, determine its relevance and present it in effective and meaningful ways to readers who are often short of time, interest and specialist knowledge

Reader: Levin, Doron, (2003) ‘Everything we write is rooted in money; learn to follow the buck,’ Detroit Free Press.

Gordon L. Clark, Nigel Thrift, Adam Tickell (2004) ‘Performing finance: the industry, the media and its image’, Review of International Political Economy 11 (2) May pp.165-178

Seminar Activity: Bring a media report on a business or important financial issue to the tutorial and discuss what is covered in the report, who might read it and why it is significant.

Week 10            The international business environment

Since the late 1980s, the world has become almost a single trading system. This has encouraged businesses to expand their markets and operations across national jurisdictions and to develop truly international structures and operations.

Reader: Jones, Geoffrey, Summit Report 2008, Harvard University, 2009.

 Radic, Hugo, ‘Globalisation and the convergence of National Business Systems,’ in Burton, Fred, Chapman, Malcolm and Cross, Alan, (1999) International business organisation: Hampshire: Macmillan Press, pp. 220–238.

Bennett, Roger (1999), International Business 2nd ed, London: Financial Times Management, pp.1-25.

Seminar activity: How might the interest of an international business differ from the national interests of the host country? What factors does a business writer need to be aware of when writing for an organisation that features people from many cultures?

Week 11                    New and challenging workplaces

The nature of work has undergone radical change in the last 20 years. Secure, full-time and long-term employment has given way to assignments, labour hire, out-sourcing and portfolio based occupations. Employees or consultants are constantly evaluated and their positions reviewed by organizations seeking to compete in the global economy. What strategies can be applied to securing interesting, lucrative and engaging employment?

Reader: The Way We’ll Work in Time Magazine, 25 May 2009.

Erickson, Tammy, Five upcoming changes in the way we work, Harvard Business Review, January 8, 2010.

Seminar activity: Search the want ads on the Internet and in newspapers for new job categories or descriptions of innovative employment. How will current employment trends affect your own pursuit of a career?

There will be a short quiz covering the first six weeks of readings.

Week 12               Business ethics 

Professional writers always face the challenge of preparing credible and accurate descriptions in documents, promotional material and reports. Writers have an obligation to recognise that readers might make important decisions based on the information they provide.

Reader: Grace, Damian and Cohen, Stephen (2005) Business Ethics — Problems and Cases, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, pp 70-86.

Wilson, Ian (2000), The new rules of corporate conduct, Quorum, pp. 137-152.

Hills, Ben, (2005), ‘The James Hardie Story’, International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, pp. 212–214.

Seminar activity: Businesses must often present difficult or unpalatable information. What are the dilemmas for writers producing promotion and information documents? Are there any recent cases in Australia that illustrate ethical problems?

Week 13             Review: How to get a job

An explanation of the 3-step method to gain employment. 

Seminar activity: Writing a cover letter for employment. How to set out realistic goals. What to say and what not to say.

Students may request consultation with the unit convener on issues, skills and concepts relevant to writing for international business and finance. There will be a short quiz on unit readings week 7–12.