Bachelor of Arts in Business Communication

New Student Orientation (NSO)

Through this orientation students come to understand their academic expectations, requirements, and rights and responsibilities at University Canada West. Students will learn how to access the university services and systems that they need to be successful in their studies. Orientation includes practices of information literacy, academic integrity, critical thinking, and academic writing.

ENGL 100 – Academic Writing

To succeed in academic environments, students must be able to communicate effectively in writing. Students apply principles of rhetoric and critical thinking to readings drawn from a variety of academic disciplines. They read closely and analyze different types of essays (e.g., narrative, expository, cause and effect, comparison and contrast, persuasive) in terms of how each best engages different types of audiences and contexts. They develop sound writing skills through a recursive approach that employs pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing and proofreading and practice essential research strategies.

CPSC 111 – Business Analytics

Excel is a powerful data analytic tool and businesses whether big or small use it. This introductory course in the use of Excel in business analytics is designed to provide a working knowledge of Excel with the aim of applying it in more advanced topics in business statistics. This hands-on course teaches operations such as reading data in Excel, using various data formats, organizing and manipulating data using Pivot tables, Charts, What-if Analysis, Formulas and Functions, Templates, Inspection, Macros and developing programs using VBA.

COMM 140 – Business Communications

Students are equipped to compose written documents and presentations that will help them succeed in the workplace. They analyze context and audience, determine purpose and message content, and integrate effective visual design and media in order to create written workplace communication. These include writing of correspondence, reports, proposals, project plans, social and digital media communications, and technical descriptions as well as the preparation and performance of oral presentations for use in the workplace as well as the classroom.

BUSI 100 – Business Fundamentals

Business is one of the fundamental units of society. Students examine different forms of business organization, primary organizational structures, operational divisions, business processes, business finance, risk, corporate responsibilities to shareholders and employee management. They also explore typical business functions and the role of managers in production, marketing, human resources, accounting and finance in a Canadian context including a consideration of Canadian business law and ethics.

COMM 105 – Conversational Writing Tools

This course takes a hands-on approach using a real time case scenario. Students acquire new conversational communications skills and apply them to real-world business projects. Classes will be a mix of lecture, demonstration, and classroom practice with lots of feedback.

ECON 105 – Economics for Business

Economics is a branch of social sciences that studies human behavior and how we respond to scarcity. This course covers the core principles of economics in relation to how individuals, firms, and societies make decisions under scarcity. Focusing on various market structures, students explore how markets work, when they work efficiently, and when governments need to intervene. Students investigate introductory UCW Academic Calendar 2021-2022 69 microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts, critically analyze current economic affairs, and employ their economic way of thinking in their professional careers.

COMM 102 – Mass Media & Society

Contemporary culture is developed and transmitted through mass communication. Students review mass communication’s vital role in society through discussion of media institutions, theories, practices, professional fields, and effects on society, groups and individuals. Students learn to observe and critique the impact of mass communications on society.

Electives

Tier 1 students must take three 100 or 200-level electives.

BUSI 201 – Business Environment

Businesses function in social contexts that include many interests. This course introduces students to the marketplace and the many forces and interest groups that influence the outcome of business or organizational activity. These include government policies, globalization, and ecological issues. Students will learn to assess stakeholder interests and identify ethical issues. Prerequisite: BUSI 100

PHIL 210 – Business Ethics

Students examine the role of organizations in the society and their impact on various stakeholders. The importance of ethics and social responsibility of business is discussed through course materials, additional readings and assignments. Students explore decision-making dilemmas that managers and professionals face and solutions to resolve these. This course aims to create awareness and understanding of ethical issues related to businesses and their stakeholders. The critical importance of ethical decision making in international business dealings, corporate social responsibility, environmental footprints of business, etc. is highlighted.

WORK 298 – Career Preparation

This course reinforces and advances the workplace skills learned in Tier One (i.e. COMM140) through integrated, cumulative learning modules, and milestones workshops designed towards the real business world. Students are expected to learn and demonstrate enhanced workplace and business understanding, analyses, teamwork, presentation, and communication skills as they engage in business scenarios and role-play activities. They advance to a combination of optional group business analyses and workplace problem solving (Innovation Fuel podcasts), and/or dialogues and discussions with business-persons’ experiences that high-light and conclude course sections.

COMM 260 – Content Creation

This course has an applied and experiential orientation. It builds on the foundation of knowledge acquired in COMM 105 – Conversational Writing Tools as students advance in their communications degree. Students apply conversational writing tools at a professional level for publication as online blog postings, business newsletters and social media promotions. Students further develop their Canadian Press style skills. All content created in this course culminates in a portfolio students can present to prospective employers. Students work in teams and independently. The course may also involve work with an outside organization.

CPSC 311 – Data Visualization & Storytelling 

The adoption of big data in enterprises has led to a growing need for data visualizations and storytelling across all industry sectors. This beginner-friendly course discusses the fundamentals of data visualization, exploratory data analysis and effective communication with data. Upon successful completion of the course, students will appreciate both the science and art of data visualization and will acquire hands-on experience working with popular visualization techniques and tools. Furthermore, this course will give students the skills they need to leverage data to discover patterns and trends and produce valuable insights from real-world datasets. Prerequisite: CPSC 111

MRKT 223 – Digital Marketing Strategy

The rapid evolution of digital technologies has complicated the customer journey and demand for digital marketing skills. Students are introduced to the concepts, channels and tactics involved in designing an integrated digital marketing strategy. Students apply these skills to the task of assisting an organization to acquire, engage and retain customers in the digital age. They learn how to develop an integrated digital marketing strategy from its formulation to implementation.

MRKT 201 – Marketing Management

Marketing is one of the fundamentals of all businesses. Students learn the fundamentals of marketing and explore the relationships between companies, their customers and their competition. They examine concepts integral to the field of marketing including marketing environment, customer behaviour, marketing research, product analysis, distribution, pricing and promotion strategies. Students apply these concepts to solve marketing problems.

ORGB 201 – Organizational Behaviour

Organizations have distinct characteristics based on their culture, composition and history. Students explore how the behaviour of individuals and groups in work environments affect organizational performance and the dynamics of organizational relationships. They are introduced to topics such as individual attributes, motivational theories and strategies, group dynamics, teamwork, organizational structure, job design, leadership, organizational culture and politics, communication, conflict, stress and change management. Diversity, cross-cultural issues and ethical conduct in organizations will be examined. Prerequisite: ENGL 100

COMM 205 – Writing for Media

Writing for communications and news media requires an understanding of audiences, format and structure, attribution and style. This course introduces the process and practice of writing for news media, and how that news writing style is also used in communications and public relations writing. Students create a variety of writing samples to apply their learning.

Electives

Students in Tier 2 must take one 100 or 200 level elective.

COMM 405 – Advanced Media & Communications Writing

Students explore advanced processes and practices of writing for multimedia that include print, audio-video, computer-assisted presentation, internet-intranet applications and explore the balance between word and image. Students develop materials related to real-world problems. Prerequisite: COMM 205

COMM 360 – Digital Storytelling

This course has an applied and experiential orientation. It builds on the foundation of practical communications knowledge acquired by students in previous communication courses. Expanding on their conversational writing and interviewing skills, students learn the technical production and storytelling processes necessary to create a podcast promoting an organisation’s brand or issue of public interest. Content created in this course culminates in a audio portfolio sample students can present to prospective employers. Students work in teams and independently. The course may also involve work with an outside organization.

COMM 312 – Professional Communications

Communication is a leadership skill with an emphasis on interpersonal relations, team-building and leadership, students learn to develop, manage and deliver complex communication products designed for diverse audiences and contexts. They become familiar with the theories, principles and practices for designing, developing and delivering both individual and collaborative projects. Students research and write correspondence, reports, proposals, project plans, social media communications and technical descriptions as well as prepare and perform oral presentations. Prerequisite: WORK 298.

MGMT 401 – Project Management

Increasingly, organizations use project teams as a core process of operation. Students investigate the role of project teams and how they can be managed effectively. They explore how project teams operate, as well as how to use the tools, techniques and processes that support effective project management and successful outcomes. Prerequisite: BUSI 100

PUBR 304 – Risk and Crisis Communication

Communication is a crucial component of organizational risk management and alleviation under conditions of crisis. Governments, non-profits, and businesses all apply communication strategies to manage crisis and conflict conditions. Students examine how communication strategies effectively manage risk. They develop skills related to writing, broadcasting and presenting crisis and conflict management communication. Prerequisite: COMM 205

Electives

Tier 3 students must take five 300 or 400-level electives.

WORK 498 – Capstone Project

The capstone project is designed to provide students with an opportunity to integrate and apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired throughout the program. Through real-world project analysis, students identify client’s needs, challenges and opportunities. They analyze, evaluate, and develop a strategic plan of action to effectively address the identified issue. Prerequisites: WORK 298 and Completion of 90 credits

WORK 490 – Communication Capstone Project

This capstone course guides students through the process of delivering a consulting project for a real organization (the client). After identifying a challenge or an opportunity for the client, students will work in groups to research, analyze and provide recommendations which culminate in a strategic communications plan. Students will document updates through progress reports and presentations. This course is best taken in the last term so students can synthesize the program learning outcomes. Prerequisites: WORK 298 and COMM 410

COMM 410 – Communication Strategy

Communications is a key part of social, organizational and personal change. Students choose a target of collective change such as environment issues, governmental laws, community action, or business operations and use semiotic theory to develop a communications plan for managing social or organizational change in the context of issues of stakeholders and social responsibility. Prerequisite: COMM 405.

COMM 496 – Contemporary Issues

Communications professionals are trained to outline, research and plan their work through relevant contemporary issues. This work is important to inform decisions and strategies related to different organizations’ efforts, such as advertising, public relations and social media campaigns, so they can identify key themes and patterns in how people perceive and respond to different forms of communication. In this course, students will elaborate a report with data-driven insights to help them create effective communication strategies for organizations. In teams, they will produce and present a Communications Plan targeting internal and/or external audiences of an organization, focusing on at least one contemporary topic (e .g . Human Rights; Sustainability; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Mental Health). This course is typically completed in a student’s second last term. Prerequisite: COMM 405

WORK 499 – Practicum

Course under development and will be available starting Winter 2023.

Electives

Students in Tier 4 must take seven 300 or 400 level electives.

One of the fastest growing fields in communication is communication management. By taking selected advanced business courses and applying them to communications projects this elective area provides the training for those who hope to manage complex communications projects and departments in industry. To complete the Communications Management elective area students must, in addition to the required core courses, take:

MGMT 403 (3)—Strategic Management

Students examine the governance, corporate social responsibility and strategy of an organization including the development, formulation and implementation of business level and corporate strategy. Students explore tools used in the development and formulation of strategy and that ensure effective and efficient management of performance. They develop concrete plans for organizational transformation based on case studies using environmental scanning and industry analysis tools. Prerequisite: Completion of 60 credits. Non-Course Prerequisite/ Corequisite: Highly recommended in Tier 4

BUSI 323 — E-Business 

The Internet is growing as a basis of commerce. Issues of website design, transaction effectiveness and financial security are evaluated within the context of the business models used by corporations. The so-called “brick and click” value proposition is compared with pure Internet plays. Legal and intellectual property questions are also discussed. Students learn to match e-business techniques to organizational strategies.

MRKT 302 — Integrated Marketing Communications 

Marketing communication is a key part of business and society. Students examine how the various forms of marketing communications are used to help fulfill the overall strategy of the enterprise. The role of integrated marketing communications in marketing is explored in a practical way and the relationship among the planning process, creative strategies and media selection are examined. Students analyze the social and economic roles that integrated marketing communications play in profit and non-profit organizations. Prerequisite: MRKT 201

OPMT 301 — Operations Management 

This course investigates the development and administration of activities that are involved in transforming financial, human, physical and natural resources into products and services. Quality and productivity are critical outcomes of logistical operating systems. Students explore system-wide methods of integrating efficient processes, both technical and human. Prerequisite: BUSI 100

MGMT 401 — Project Management

In the contemporary business environment, project teams serve as a fundamental component of organizational operations. This course provides a comprehensive examination of project management, focusing on the effective management of project teams and the achievement of successful project outcomes. Upon completion, students will possess the necessary skills to lead and manage project teams, ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, and in alignment with strategic objectives. Prerequisite: BUSI 100 and Completion of 60 credits.