Scenario
Your tutor has asked you to support him with the induction of new students to the Business Studies programme. He is planning an Induction Day. He wants to ensure the students know about the programme of study and the level of commitment this requires. On the day students will be involved in business games, which will help them to understand how businesses work. In addition, the Induction Day will show the new students how they should behave and present themselves in the business world as work experience and/or visits to businesses are part of the programme of study. Your tutor has asked you to focus on effective business communication and you will need to produce materials for the Induction Day and demonstrate best practice.

Your tutor has given you 6 tasks.

Task 1
Produce an informative handbook to guide the business students. The title of the document is “How to communicate well at work”. You should ensure the document is professionally presented, with appropriate headings and subheadings so that the information is clear. Your tutor has asked you to provide examples to support the points you make in the handbook. She has sent you the following email:

(AC 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 2.1, 3.1, 3.2).
Task 2 – Problem solving
Communication is just one of the skills business students need. Another is problem solving. Sometimes detailed analysis of problems is needed. She has asked you to produce a handout which includes examples and explains:
a) the nature of common business problems
For a Merit grade your handout must also explain:
b) the six-step process of analysing a problem and finding the right solution

LO6, AC 6.1, 6M1

Task 3
When working in business, some people will be required to make telephone calls, run meetings, make presentations and produce documents. Your tutor was pleased with your work to date so she now wants you to produce appropriate guidance for each of these scenarios. Produce a series of ‘How to … ‘guides:
a) “How to make a telephone call effective”.
Make sure you:
o describe the key elements of effective listening
o describe the factors that make a telephone call effective

b) “How to run an effective Business meeting”.
Make sure you include information about the characteristics of a good meeting:
o Describe the factors that differentiate a productive meeting from an unproductive one. Explain how you can make a positive contribution to any meeting.
o Differentiate between a formal and an informal agenda.
o Describe the purpose and contents of the Minutes of a meeting.
o Describe the responsibilities of a Chairperson.

c) “How to make an effective Business presentation”.
Make sure you:
o Describe the different occasions which require information to be presented to others
o Explain the characteristics of an effective presentation, including the difference between an effective and ineffective visual aid.

(AC 1.2, 1.6, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3)
Additional extension activities for Merit and Distinction grades
Task 4 – Presentations
Your tutor is planning to run a series of workshops on the Induction Day and they will relate to the work you did in task 1. She would like students to give presentations to others in the group and has asked you to help prepare the materials.
You need to produce a variety of visual aids for two of the workshops which will be headed ‘Understanding the key principles and methods of verbal communication in business contexts’ and broken down into the 4 areas below. Use points 1 and 2 for presentation 1 and points 3 and 4 for presentation 2.
1. Importance of clear communications and the impact of unclear communications
2. Different communication styles
3. Use of communication skills to build rapport
4. The purpose of different types of questioning
You could include handouts, PowerPoint slides, posters etc.

a) Once you have done this, you can deliver the two presentations to make sure they are interesting and appropriate for your audience

b) After your presentations make sure you ask for questions so that you can demonstrate your own communication and listening skills. You must show you can:
o communicate clearly and assertively
o demonstrate effective listening and appropriate questioning skills
(AC 5M1, 5D1, 1D1 and1D2)

Task 5 – Effective written communication
You need to collate examples of effective business communications to show to the new students. Examples could include the handouts, reports from previous tasks PowerPoint slides, Minutes from a meeting; emails to employers,
(AC 2M1)

Task 6 – Running a meeting
Your tutor has provided the following scenario for further Induction material:
Your boss is working with a global project team to develop a new product. There are 5 members in his team: 2 in the USA, another in Tokyo and one from Japan who is new to the project. Your boss is UK based. The purpose of the meeting is for the team to get to know each other, agree a language for communication and establish whether interpreters are needed, decide how regularly they need to meet (either in person or virtually). If they are going to meet virtually they will also need to decide the type of technology to use. During part of the meeting they need to make decisions on 2 proposals that will be put forward.
a) He has asked you to work with others to plan the first virtual meeting so he can ‘meet’ his business partners. Produce an agenda and detailed notes for him as he will be chairing it.
b) How did the planning go? Use the task to
i. assess your own listening skills and
ii. describe the key elements of assertive communication and its impact on the planning process.

c) Working individually, you should also include a further guide for your ‘boss’:
i. an analysis of the characteristics of an effective meeting
(AC 1M1, 1M2, 4M1 4D1)
Guidelines for assessors
The assignments submitted by learners must achieve the learning outcomes and meet the standards specified by the assessment criteria for the unit. To achieve a merit or distinction grade, the learners must demonstrate that they have achieved all the criteria set for these grades. Where work for the pass standard is marginal, assessors can take account of any extension work completed by the learners. The suggested evidence listed below is how learners can demonstrate that they have met the required standards.
Task ACs Suggested evidence
1 AC 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 2M1 part, 6.1 To meet the PASS criteria:
Learners must demonstrate they have a good understanding of workplace communication and the importance of clarity and appropriate use of style. The material must demonstrate learners’ understanding of the role and importance of written, verbal and nonverbal communication within the business environment, how it can be used to solve problems, build rapport; as well as the impact of different questioning techniques and listening skills.
Materials prepared by the learner must be detailed with appropriate format, style and content for the identified audience. Examples should be provided wherever possible.
The written work should be structured in a formal way with clear layout and appropriate presentation suitable for a business organisation.
2 LO6,AC 6.1, 6M1
To meet the PASS criteria:
The nature of and reasons for common business problems must be clearly articulated. Explained and exemplified.
To meet the MERIT criteria, learners will also explain each of the six steps of the problem solving process and provide examples
3 AC 1.6, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 To meet the PASS criteria:
The three ‘How to …’ guides should be structured in a formal way with clear layout and appropriate presentation.
The factors to make a telephone call effective need to include clarity of voice, clarity of message, listening skills, open and closed questioning.
The guide on effective business meetings must demonstrate the importance of positive contributions, and an understanding of informal agendas and how they may operate. The role of the chair and importance of minutes must be clearly understood.
The guide on good written communications focuses on the importance to organisations of clear, concise and complete written communication. Explanations of why this is important and the impact of it not being are clear
The handouts should be comprehensive and appropriate for the demands of Level 3 work. Each handout will need to address all ACs to reach a Pass standard.
4 AC 5M1.

AC 5D1. 1 D2 To achieve a merit, the learner must provide a selection of clear, appropriate and business like presentation visual aids to support a minimum of two presentations
A Distinction student will deliver the presentation, ensuring the communication is interesting and appropriate. They will ask and answer questions of their audience and in doing so demonstrate effective listening and questioning as well as clear and assertive communication skills
5 AC 2M1 To meet the MERIT criteria:
The evidence required for task 5 is flexible. The student should however present a minimum of 5 pieces of effective written communication of a minimum of 3 types. This evidence could be generated through this or other units. Examples might include: handouts, reports PowerPoint slides, Minutes form a meeting; emails, webpages, PR bulletins, marketing materials, etc.
6 AC1M1, 1M2, 4M1 4D1 To achieve a MERIT, each learner must working with others to plan a virtual meeting. All learners must formally be involved and contribute actively to the planning of a virtual business meeting. Suitable evidence would include an agenda with notes relating to type of technology to be used and a background to those attending. They will use this process of working with others to assess their own listening skills and describe the elements of assertive behaviour and its impact. This could be discussed as a group in a post planning review or could be written notes
Learners also provide an analysis of the characteristics of an effective meeting. This could be done orally or in writing
Self-knowledge of their own communication skills must be demonstrated and appropriate to Level 3 work.
Optional/alternative: learners could patriciate in the meeting they have planned. (This is not a criterion but is a tool for assessing other distinction criteria in a realistic way.) A virtual meeting is recommended (the one they have planned) using appropriate web based technologies such as Skype, Hangouts or FaceTime. Learners need to be able to demonstrate they can communicate clearly and assertively. After the meeting, all learners could analyse the meeting, considering the characteristics of an effective meeting, their listening skills assertive behaviour that was demonstrated and its impact

Suggested Resources
Resources – web based
An introduction to assertiveness:
http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/assertiveness.html

Good telephone techniques:
http://samsudinwahab.tripod.com/notaofad5.htm

Making meetings work:

Presentation skills:
http://www.skillsyouneed.com/present/presentation-tips.html
http://www.businessballs.com/presentation.htm
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCS_96.htm

Resources – written
Amos, J (2002) Making Meetings Work, How to Books

Brake, David (2003) Dealing with E-mail, Dorling Kindersley

Brounstein, Marty (2008) Communicating Effectively for Dummies, John Wiley & Sons Inc

Gallo, C. (2010) The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience, McGraw Hill

Heller, R (2005) Communicating Clearly, Dorling Kindersley

Khan-Panni, Phillip (2001) 2-4-6-8 How do you Communicate?, How to Books

McConnon, S (2002) Presenting with Power, How to Books

Seely, J. (2005) Oxford Guide to Effective Writing and Speaking, Oxford University press