Business Communication Theory and Practice: Retrospective Reflection
I enrolled in MGMT 3210 in order to fill a degree requirement but was interested in learning proper business communication techniques. When looking at the course description, I was initially worried about the course as it requires a lot of writing, and I wouldn’t consider myself a very strong academic writer. However, over the course of MGMT 3210, I felt like I was able to better understand how to write with creativity, while still being professional.
With this course being taken both online and in the spring, I was unsure of what to expect workload wise, and I was worried that I would not be able to keep up with assignments and due dates. While the spring workload did shorten due dates substantially, Kris made it so that I felt like I was equipped with all the knowledge required to complete each assignment whether it was the independent participation assignments, or the group project.
At what point in the course did you feel most engaged?
The part of the course where I felt most engaged was conducting research for the group report, working with my group members, and doing the in class exercises in breakout rooms. When I was working on the group project, I was able to use the tools and research methods that Geoff Owens taught us in his workshop class, using the subject guides made for this class. With our group project revolving around communications during layoffs, it was difficult to find internal information related to Suncor, which forced me to be creative in the ways I would find my information. Working with my group members allowed each of us to work on areas of the project we felt the most confident in, and gave me people to bounce ideas off of and to give me feedback on my parts. When we were doing the exercises in class, I felt like I could voice my ideas, and could absorb the ideas of the other students. This made me more confident when doing the workshop activities and exercises after class, as I felt I had more experience and knowledge related to them.
Which assignment did you most enjoy completing?
The assignment I enjoyed completing the most was the Group Business Report, as well as the presentation related to it. This is because of the time required to complete it, as well as the research required for the report. My group wrote our report about Suncor, and how they should communicate layoffs to their employees, and we needed to have information about Suncor’s layoffs in 2023. This proved to be a challenge, as we were not able to find any internal documents or information from Suncor. I spent hours looking for any information I could find, listening to conference and earnings calls, looking through financial reports for any snippet that could be useful. While I wasn’t able to find anything from Suncor themselves, I found other credible sources I could use to create a framework for our report. I felt a great sense of relief after submitting these assignments, as I knew I had put a great deal of effort into them, and felt happy with how they turned out.
The What? So What? Now What? Reflective Model
Using this reflective model (Kenny, 2023), I will reflect on the lessons and learning points I gained from this class.
What?
This course provided me with strategies and principles to follow during business communication. Through the in-class and after class exercises, the group project, and the writing test, I have a better understanding of the proper practices to use when writing a memo, creating a presentation, breaking bad news to someone, or any other business communication.
So What?
With my future career hopefully relating to the world of business, I will need to know how to communicate with co-workers, bosses, other companies etc. This course provided me with more knowledge relating to this communication, and I feel much more confident in my ability to create informative presentations and documents.
Now What?
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With this newly learned information, I will use it to guide my writing in future work, especially the PAIBOC analysis. Using this analysis will help me to better understand the audience I am writing to and guide me on which information I should include and exclude.
What will you still remember 5 years from now that you learned in this course?
I feel like I will remember the PAIBOC analysis for 5 years, and potentially even more time. I feel that this analysis makes it easy for me to figure out what information I need to include in my emails or presentations, how to address objections before they arise from viewers, and any context that I need to include so my audience is prepared for my work.
What advice would you give a friend about how to learn the most in this course?
The main piece of advice I would give to a friend about how to learn the most in this course is to continue engaging with your groupmates, and to participate as much as you can during class. Engaging with your group will make the course easier, as you can work together to find information for your assignments, and more enjoyable as you will have peers to talk to and get feedback from.
Participating in class will help you gain a better understanding of course material, and Kris is always ready to answer any questions students may have. It will also help your grade out, as participation matters, and I felt I did better on assignments that I was actively engaged with during our class time.
Final thoughts
Even with this class being required for me to graduate, I am grateful that I completed it because I feel like I gained knowledge I will be able to use and apply for the rest of my life. Even though my degree won’t be related to business communication, taking this class has helped to prepare me for the communication aspect of the business world, and I am more confident in my writing skills than before I took the class.
REFERENCES
Kenny, N. (2023, February 16). The what? so what? and now what? of critical reflection. Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning. https://taylorinstitute.ucalgary.ca/resources/the-what-so-what-and-now-what-of-critical-reflection
Meilleur, C. (2018). 8 types of memory… to remember!. KnowledgeOne. https://knowledgeone.ca/8-types-of-memory-to-remember/
Reflective tasks. University of Technology Sydney. (2023, February 1). https://www.uts.edu.au/current-students/support/helps/self-help-resources/types-assignments/reflective-tasks
The 10 best pieces of life advice most people ignore. The Journal That Talks BackTM. (n.d.). https://www.thejournalthattalksback.com/blog/the-10-best-pieces-of-life-advice-most-people-ignore
Top Hat Staff. (2023, July 6). 31 student engagement strategies for any college course. Top Hat. https://tophat.com/blog/student-engagement-strategies/
Wooll, M. (2021, October 25). The importance of teamwork for agility at work. BetterUp. https://www.betterup.com/blog/importance-of-teamwork
