Modulübersicht B 25.01 International Competence: Business and Communication

Nr.	Workload	Credits	Studiensemester	Häufigkeit des Angebots	Dauer
B 25.01	210 Std.	7 CP	2. Semester	jedes Semester	1 Semester

Modulverantwortliche(r)	Lehrende(r) im Modul
Dr. Elmar-Laurent Borgmann	Dr. Elmar-Laurent Borgmann, Jens Andreas Faulstich, Sarah Krajewski

Art des Moduls	Veranstaltungsform(en)	Kontaktzeit	Selbststudium	geplante Gruppengröße	Lehrsprache
Wahlpflicht	Seminar mit integrierter Übung	128 Std.	82 Std.	20 Stud.	Englisch

Verwendung des Moduls

• Bachelor-Studiengang Gesundheits- und Sozialmanagement (Basismodul)
• Bachelor-Studiengang Logistik und E-Business (Basismodul)
• Bachelor-Studiengang Management, Führung, Innovation (Basismodul)
• Bachelor-Studiengang Sportmanagement (Basismodul)

This module caters for students who would like to prepare for real-life workplace challenges in international companies.

Lernergebnisse/Kompetenzen

Students will be setting up a simulated company to market a service internationally. This means that the various strands of business communication and intercultural communication are brought together and tried out in a realistic setting. The design of this “virtual company” aims to provide students with integrated business communication skills in multicultural company with more than 5 different nationalities involved. This will raise students’ awareness of international management tasks as well as enabling them to develop their cross-cultural awareness and communicative abilities. The simulation facilitates the development of the students’ logistics skills, IT skills, presentation skills and teamwork ability. The service that the company offers will cover disciplines such as international marketing or event management. The international simulation may also focus on how to help institutions organise events professionally. Building up on the linguistic and intercultural skills acquired in Module B14, students will expand their business vocabulary and the range of relevant standard phrases for typical business tasks and routines, especially in situations such as interacting with customers, sustaining negotiations and presenting their companies/products. They will familiarise themselves with international job search methods and application procedures in order to prepare for study abroad semesters, international internships and international academic projects. They will also develop their written skills in order to deal with typical academic assessment methods at our partner universities. In order to increase employability in modern cross-cultural work places and boost interpersonal skills, there will be an explicit focus on intercultural communication. Using interactive teaching methods and classroom situations with at least 5 different nationalities present, the module will give students the chance to learn about the theory of intercultural communication and put their newly acquired knowledge into practice in concrete simulations and case studies. The theory of intercultural incidents and lived practice-examples described by students will be interlaced – so that students can develop the relevant competencies for working, studying and living in a global business environment by through taking an active part in role-plays and discussions. Communication skills for international experience include the opportunity to prepare for and take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL®) in the context of the Institutional Testing Program. It aims to introduce students to the basic structure of the test and show them ways of preparing for this situation. Special emphasis will be placed on the grammar skills required for the successful completion of the "Structure and Written Expression" section of the test. Substantial practice for the listening and reading sections of the test will boost students’ academic vocabulary and their awareness of the skills required for a successful academic experience. As a result, students are able to assess their own ability to study in an English-speaking environment and to organise their successful study abroad semester or international internship. They are able to assess individual strengths and weaknesses accurately and they are able to select and utilise different types of resources in order to develop their language skills both in class and outside the classroom.

Kompetenzerwerb

Lernzielstufe	Kursbeitrag
Sozial- und Kommunikationskompetenz	Ability to * form departments and lead them to success * present collaborative results in groups * deal with conflict and challenges * prepare business meetings and press conferences * analyse and reflect on business skills * prepare a job interview reflecting on skills and qualities * write appealing essays to express own views and insights on topics related to own academic interests * use appropriate strategies for international job search and application procedures * sell ideas and win people over to one’s own project proposals * clarify misunderstandings * use critical incidents in order to extract and illustrate intercultural theories * look at own culture from a different perspective * embrace diversity in groups * analyse and describe intercultural differences for documentation (e.g. in a podcast) * explain, analyse and make recommendations for a situation where a student was the object of a cultural stereotype * create a positive atmosphere in intercultural encounters * clarify questions concerning grammar, lexis and problem-solving strategies in teams
Sprachkompetenz	Ability to use * appropriate signposting language for presentations * suitable linking language for essays and academic papers * business vocabulary for standard situations * international conventions governing citations and lucid documentation of sources * advanced grammatical structures of written English * lexical and grammatical relationships between the items and concepts expressed in standard written English * appropriate connecting words to express relationships * correct English word order * TOEFL test-taking skills, e.g. strategic listening for main ideas, listening for details explicitly stated, listening for implications, completing sentences, spotting mistakes, reading for detail, identifying signal words, etc.
Wissenserwerb	Knowledge of * hierarchies and structures of multinational companies and institutions * communication about goals and priorities * components of press releases and press conferences * graduate attributes and management skills regular questions in job interviews * selected grammar topics (identified on a need-to-know basis and linked to integrated practice)online resources for in-depth language study * relevant theories on communication and culture (e.g. monochronic vs. polychronic behavior) * models of intercultural dimensions (Hofstede)different leadership competences (e.g. consensual vs. adversarial) * the significance of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages * the meaning and usability of TOEFL test scores typical structures and contents of academic listening and reading materials * Redemittel zum Umgang mit Fragestellern, Abschlussdiskussion und follow-up
Wissensvertiefung	Knowledge of * strategies to move from virtual encounters to real encounters * strategies for effective and positive customer contacts * strategies for documenting progress of departments * online resources for in-depth language study * resources for individual research on the areas of language and intercultural communication * habits, customs and values in different cultural environments * the nature and influence of stereotypes on business * resources for individual language work * strategies for the preparation of documentation for international applications requiring proof of proficiency in the English language
Instrumentale Kompetenz	Application of the theoretical knowledge in case studies and group simulation exercises * authentic conversations in international settings / with international participants * case studies and role plays * blog posts, email communication, memos and invitations * real life case studies and group simulation exercises * authentic conversations in international settings / with international participants * new test materials (e.g. TOEFL)
Systemische Kompetenz	Evaluation of * real life company conflicts * Human Resources decisions on business success * business English situations and intercultural incidents * culturally coded behavior patterns * personal individual skills and abilities * personal potential for future development

Vermittelte Schlüsselqualifikationen

Team-building skills, entrepreneurial skills, motivation skills, ambition, allowing and admitting mistakes, courage and risk-taking, conflict management skills, resilience, “can-do”-attitude, analytical skills, international English and communication skills, distinction of different registers, social and intercultural competences, integrated listening skills, text production skills, reading skills, conflict management skills, job search and assessment center skills, analytical skills, presentation skills, teamwork skills, international communication skills, analytical skills, integrated listening skills, text production skills, reading skills, time management skills.

Inhalte

Students will set up a simulated company to market a real-life service (e.g. managing an event, creating a digital application or a marketing campaign) and carry out typical business transactions with internal partners, companies, partner institutions or individuals from at least five different cultures. The international business environment will enable the participants to learn about the linguistic and cultural challenges that managers of multinational companies have to master. They will learn how to communicate effectively in real life company conflicts and document the progress of their departments to the whole company. Under time constraints, they will practice dealing with international suppliers and customers in a near-realistic situation. Students will be introduced to successful office work in the English language: telephoning, relevant skills for business meetings and negotiations, written documents for decision support, international application documents (such as cover letter, resume, references), essay writing skills and virtual communication in blogs, online meetings and similar digital environments. On the basis of real-life “critical incidents” students train their analytical skills, develop awareness of cultural differences and act accordingly. The intercultural competence gained is both “culture-general” and “culture-specific”. Theoretical insights into different working and leadership styles, different perceptions of time, different religions, and different education styles are applied in exercises and in concrete simulations involving active interaction with participants from several other cultures. Students learn to embrace cultural diversity as a competitive advantage and acquire the ability to master difficult intercultural communications problems such as those that arise in international business. Students learn about the relevance and usability of the standardised TOEFL test and the learning is adjusted to the students’ individual needs. Integrated practice for the Listening and the Reading sections of the test is supplemented with skill-building exercises on specific problems tested in TOEFL tests – such as inversion, noun clauses, adjective clauses, prepositional phrases, tenses, conditional clauses, causatives, parallel structures, transitive and intransitive verbs, impersonal expressions of importance etc. Students discover a variety of resources for self-directed language improvement.

Lehrformen

Interactive talks and in-class discussions, guided pairwork and small-group assignments, Blended Learning formats, analysis of video case studies, exercises to enable self-reflection and understand stereotypes, simulation of business communication situations, text discussions, text production with individual feedback, listening and reading activities based on authentic materials.

Teilnahmevoraussetzungen

Formal: Full time B.A. students in the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences.

Academic: Skills developed in Module B 14. Students must be able to communicate in English.

Prüfungsformen

Prüfungsleistung in Form von Assignments (bestehend aus vier schriftlichen gleichgewichteten Einheiten).

Art	Datum der Leistungserbringung	Prüfungsanmeldung
(bitte Zeitangabe ...Min)		Ende 1. HS*	Ende 2. HS*	individuelles Datum
Klausur: 90 Min.	wird vom PA festgelegt*		X	bei Klausur nicht möglich
Test: ...Min.	tt.mm.jj			tt.mm.jj
Präsentation	tt.mm.jj			tt.mm.jj
Hausarbeit	tt.mm.jj			tt.mm.jj
Hausarbeit mit Präsentation	tt.mm.jj			tt.mm.jj
Andere (Assignments)	wird m Rahmen der Seminare festgelegt		X	X

* Prüfungsamt Termine

Bewertung

Voraussetzung für die Vergabe von ECTS-Punkten ist das Bestehen der Prüfungsleistung für das Modul. Diese wird aus den einzelnen Bestandteilen des Assignments generiert, welche gleichgewichtet in die Modulbewertung eingehen. Es gibt keine Bestehensgrenzen auf Basis der einzelnen Einheiten des Assignments. Das Modul geht mit 7 ECTS in die Gesamtzahl von 180 ECTS-Punkten ein.

Literaturhinweise

Johnson, Christine (2005). Intelligent Business Intermediate. Skills Book (With CD-Rom), Harlow: Pearson Longman. Pocklington, Jackie; Patrik Schulz; Erich Zettl (2007). Das professionelle 1 x 1: Bewerben auf Englisch: Leitfaden mit Tipps und Mustern für den erfolgreichen Eintritt in den internationalen Arbeitsmarkt mit CD-ROM. Berlin: Cornelsen. Gibson, Robert (2014). Intercultural Business Communication. Cornelsen & Oxford University Press, 2014. Emmerson, Paul (2013). Email English, Second Edition with a new social media section and a phrase bank of useful expressions. London: Macmillan. Hughes, John (2010). Telephone English: Includes phrase bank and role plays, London: Macmillan. Murphy, Raymond (2015). English Grammar in Use Book with Answers and Interactive eBook: A Self-study Reference and Practice Book for Intermediate Students of English. Fourth Edition. Powell, Mark (2014). In company 3.0. Intermediate Student’s Book Pack Premium. London: Macmillan. Ungerer, Friedrich. Gerhard E. H. Meier. Klaus Schäfer (2009). A Grammar of Present-Day English. Stuttgart: Klett.

TOEFL ITP: Gear, Jolene and Richard Gear (2002): Cambridge Preparation for the TOEFL Test, 3rd edition, Cambridge: CUP. TOEFL IBT: Rogers, Bruce (2007): The Complete Guide to the TOEFL Test. iBT Edition. Boston: Thomson. Vittorio, Pamela (2011). Testbuilder for TOEFL iBT(TM). Tests that Teach, Student's Book. London: Macmillan. DIGITAL RESOURCES: Business English: Meetings. Selbstlernkurs + Vokabeltrainer mit authentischen Gesprächssituationen und abwechslungsreiche Übungen für amerikanisches und britisches Englisch. München: digital publishing [Lernsoftware]. Eine Vielzahl weiterer digitaler Studienressourcen sind über unsere Lernplattform OpenOLAT zugänglich.

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Abstract: International Competence: Business and Communication

Code	Workload	Credits	Level	Frequency	Duration
B 25.01	210 hrs	7 CP	2nd semester	every semester	1 semester

Type	Teaching format	Contact hours	Independent study	Group size	Language of tuition
Elective	Seminar with Integrated Tutorial	128 hrs	82 hrs	ca. 20 students per group	English

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