HC1021 Interpersonal and E-Communication T3 2024 Assessment
Group Assignment
| Assessment Details and Submission Guidelines | |
| Trimester | T3 2024 |
| Unit Code | HC1021 |
| Unit Title | Interpersonal and E-Communication |
| Assessment Type | Group Assignment |
| Due Date + time: | January 29, 2025 11.59 pm (Melb/ Sydney time) |
| Purpose of the assessment (with ULO Mapping) | This assignment aims at ensuring that students are able to apply various models used in the strategic management process to relevant business cases. The following Unit Learning Outcomes apply to this assignment: Examine the key challenges faced by companies and contextualise the major approaches companies apply as they formulate strategy. Analyse complex strategy environments and develop confidence in working with others to develop and apply strategic alternatives. Critically analyse the relationship between an organisation’s strategy and its structure. Synthesis theoretical and practical knowledge of strategy in the diagnosis of strategy issues and the formulation of strategies. |
| Weight | 40 % |
| Total Marks | Assignment (40 marks) |
| Word limit | Maximum 3000 words |
| Submission Guidelines |
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| AcademicIntegrity Information | Holmes Institute is committed to ensuring and upholding academic integrity. All assessments must comply with academic integrity guidelines. Please learn about academic integrity and consult your teachers with anyquestions. Violating academic integrity is serious and punishable by penalties thatrange from deduction of marks, failure of the assessment task or unit involved, suspension of courseenrolment, or cancellation of course enrolment. |
| Penalties |
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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:
- One international company – USA HQ (a company that also operates in multiple countries).
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- How they market their products and services (advertisements, social media, websites, etc.).
- Write the Group Report:
- Your report should be well-organized and include the following sections:
- Introduction:
- Briefly introduce both companies.
- Explain why you have chosen them and what you will compare.
- Methodology:
- Explain how you researched the companies (where you found your information).
- 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.
- 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:
- 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:
- 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?
- Report Quality:
- Was your report clear and well-organized?
- Did you compare the two companies effectively and provide strong recommendations?
- Presentation Skills:
- Did you present your ideas clearly and confidently?
- Did you use visuals (like slides) well in your presentation?
- 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:
- 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)).”
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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:
- 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:
- For students who submit assignments that do not comply with all aspects of the rules, a 10% penalty will be applied.
- If citations are ‘fake’, students will be reported for academic misconduct.
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Marking criteria
| Marking criteria | Weighting |
| Overall Structure, formatand presentation (Business Report Style) | 5 marks |
| Overview of bothcompanies’ communication strategies | 10 marks |
| Comparison of bothcompanies’ communication strategies | 10 marks |
| Summary of findings and Recommendations | 7.5 marks |
| Evidence of quality research | 7.5 marks |
| TOTAL Weight | 40% |
Marking Rubric Guide
| Excellent | Very Good | Good | Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory | |
| Overall | Report is excellently | Report is verywell- | Report is well- | Report is sufficiently | No or little logical |
| Structure, format | structured, with sub- | structured, withsub- | structured, with | structured, with | structure of report. |
| and presentation | sections and logical | sections andlogical | sub-sections and | sub-sections and | Many direct quotes |
| paragraphing. Correct | paragraphing. Correct | logical paragraphing | logical paragraphing | and/or verylittle | |
| layout including Arial, | layout including Arial, | Correct layout | Some elements of | paraphrasing. Some | |
| font size 12, about the | font size 12, aboutthe | including Arial, font | layout or length | elements of layout | |
| right length. | right length. | size 12, aboutthe | incorrect. | or length incorrect. | |
| right length. | |||||
| Overview of both | Very detailed | Detailed discussion on | Sufficient discussion | Barely adequate | Insufficient |
| companies’ | discussion on key | key communication | on key | discussion on key | discussion on key |
| communication | communication | strategies with | communication | communication | communication |
| strategies | strategies with | examples | strategies with | strategies | strategies |
| examples | examples | ||||
| Comparison of both | Excellent comparisons | Very good comparisons | Good comparisons | Satisfactory | Little or no |
| companies’ | drawn | drawn on both | drawn on both | comparisons drawn | comparisons drawn |
| communication | on both companies’ | companies’ | companies’ | on both companies’ | on both companies’ |
| strategies | communication | communication | communication | communication | communication |
| strategies | strategies | strategies | strategies | strategies | |
| Summary of Findings and Recommendation | An interesting, well written summary of the main points. An excellent final comment on thetopic, based on the information provided. | A very good summary of the main points. A good finalcomment on the topic, basedon the information | Good summary of the mainpoints. A final comment on the topic based on the information provided. | Satisfactory summary of the main points. A final comment on the topic, but introduced new material | Poor/no summary of the main points. A poor final comment on the topicand/or new material introduced |
| provided. | |||||
| Evidence of quality | Correctly set out | Correctly set out | Correctly set out | Some problems with | So many problems |
| research | reference list and in- | reference listand in- | reference list and in- | the reference list | with the reference |
| and Referencing | text citations included. | text citations included. | text citations | and/or in-text | list and/or intext |
| (May | Cited sources are all | Cited sources are | included. Cited | citations. Cited | citations. Irrelevant |
| result in | current and relevant | mostly currentand | sources are | sources are | or poorly-selected |
| a mark | relevant | somewhat current | marginally current | sources | |
| penalty) | and relevant | and relevant |
