ES2002 Business Communication for Leaders

Module: ES2002 Business Communication for Leaders

Semester taken: AY 2018/19 Semester 1

Lecturer: No lecturer, module is sectional-based

Tutor: Ms Alethea Mun Kuen Lim-Ellingsen

Textbook: None

What it is about

This module teaches business students on crucial communication skills necessary for the 21st century. The topics taught in this module are pitching, negotiation and thinking on your feet. You will learn how to work in a team to meet tight deadlines to prove to your tutor that your idea is the best for the company that you have chosen.

Assessment components

• 50% - Job performance: Assessment of you and your team’s competency to persuade audiences in a written (Concept Proposal) and oral (team pitch and Q&A) format.

• 20% - Professional development: Assessment of your competency in engaging others in a negotiation.

• 15% - Job appraisal: Assessment of your ability to critically evaluate your own growth during the 13-week period.

• 15% - Community engagement: Basically class participation.

Comments

This module is famous for being the most difficult module in NUS and it is easy to see why. Even though my tutor said that the syllabus was reduced for this semester, it still felt like H1 Project Work on steroids. I was extremely lucky to get very good team mates for this module and our strengths really complemented one another very well, which made our tutor very happy with my group.

This is a 100% Continuous Assessment (CA) module, which means that there is no finals.

The first assessment was to write a concept proposal for a company that you have selected on the first day that you get your grouping and to pitch it to an audience of higher management executives, all to be done within 4-5 weeks (including recess week). This is essentially the Written Report and Oral Presentation component that you seen in H1 Project Work, but in a much shorter timeframe. My advice: Avoid creating new mobile apps as the tutors are rather sick of seeing them.

The second assessment was to negotiate effectively with another team so that you can achieve a win-win situation for both sides. I felt that this component was a waste of time and did not put in any effort for this assessment. Nonetheless, I faked it and apparently achieved some success in contributing deep insights into the discussion. Try to work with your team so that everyone takes turns to speak, as it really helps in come out as a very strong team.

The final assessment was to do a personal evaluation of how you have developed over the semester. I felt that this assessment was also another waste of time and was extremely cringy since you had to sing praises of yourself in front of your team. Luckily for myself, my team was very bonded and we supported one another well during this assessment. You can take this assessment as a way to fight for your grades.

Overall, this module value-added little to my communication skillsets, as they tried to cover a little of everything and nothing significant could be gained as a result. Teamwork is extremely crucial in this module, so make sure you pray your hardest that you get a good team with you, or prepare that S/U.

Other information

Assignment workload: There are some videos that you can watch before coming for the lesson on the module’s website, but it is entirely optional though can sometimes be helpful.

Project workload: Very heavy. Always be prepared for the worst.

Readings: None

Recommended if: A compulsory module for business students. You probably have your own version of a communication module in your degree requirements. If you are a double degree student with business, you will have to take this module in place of the equivalent that you have for your other degree. Not recommended for anyone else.

Rating: 2.5/5. While the module is bad, what really saved this rating was a group of awesome team mates which I cannot thank enough for.

Expected grade: B

Actual grade: S (Actual: B+)