Lesson 1. Communication Principles and Ethics

• The developers of this module adopted Fink’s (2003) Integrated Course Design (ICD) model to restructure your learning experience
• Integrated Course Design (ICD) model


  A model that focuses on learning-centered and learner-centered lessons and activities
• In the ICD model, several aspects were considered, founded on situational factors that affect teaching and learning activities
• Situational factors considered in the ICD model

  • Professors’ contexts
  • Students’ contexts
  • Level of internet connectivity
  • Familiarity with online learning platforms
  • Time required to cover the course
  • Nature of the course
• The developers determined what students needed to learn vis-à-vis the course’s intended learning outcomes
• Only essential topics were selected in the identification of learning goals
• The learning activities were designed to allow students to explore and achieve the intended learning outcomes
• The platform and manner of communication between students and professors shall be agreed upon at the beginning of the semester
• Submission of requirements and feedback would be given through electronic or digital means
• Constructive alignment


  The principle that shapes both the curriculum and the module so that inputs, teaching-learning activities, and assessment tasks align with intended learning outcomes
• Effective communication is a key interpersonal skill
• Effective communication is done only when information is transmitted without changing both the content and the context of the message
• Forms of communication

  • Verbal communication
  • Non-verbal communication
  • Written communication
  • Visual communication
• Audience analysis is a key element in effective communication
• Audience analysis

  Understanding the audience's level and how they need to receive the information
• Almost 91% of professionals from the world’s top 300 multinational companies said that communicating in English is important for work success
• Only 7% of professionals indicate that their current level of English is sufficient for their jobs
• Possible communication barriers

  • Physical noise
  • Physiological issues
  • Cultural differences
  • Varying levels of expectations
  • Differences in perspectives and communication styles
• Effective communication requires a certain level of connection between and among people
• Principles of Effective Communication

  • Clarity
  • Conciseness
  • Completeness
  • Organization
  • Empathy
  • Flexibility
• The world has shrunk into a global village due to globalization
• Globalization has increased economic, political, and cultural integration and interdependence of diverse cultures
• Effective communication and understanding cultural differences are skills that have become requisites for a successful professional career
• Digital technology has erased territorial boundaries among countries and among people with varying cultures
• There is a need to develop graduates and professionals who are multiculturalists
• In the Philippines, people from Southern Tagalog have a different culture from the Bicolanos
• McKinsey Global Institute conducted a research study on the globalization of English
• Effective communication is important in business organizations when products go global
• Business miscommunication in a global setting

  • Gerber's baby food packaging in Africa
  • Irish Mist whiskey name in Germany
  • Joni skin product name in Sanskrit
  • McDonald's ad in China
  • McDonald's Koran excerpt on bags
  • Stevadores misunderstanding fragile symbol
  • Hollywood Buddha film poster in Sri Lanka
  • Coors beer slogan translation
• Cultural misunderstandings often lead to misinterpretation and unnecessary tension between people
• Showing the sole of a shoe is perceived as insulting in Muslim cultures
• Ch is an act of clear degradation against something holy
• Coors (beer) once had its slogan “Turn it loose.” translated to Spanish, but it became to mean “Suffer from diarrhea.”
• All of these examples are predominantly business-related, where companies failed to regard cultural differences in packaging and communicating their product to the global market
• The cost of cultural insensitivity in global communication can be felt in everyday communication
• Cultural misunderstandings


  Often lead to misinterpretation and unnecessary tension between people
• Examples of cultural misunderstandings


  • Showing the sole of a shoe
  • Blinking rapidly while another person is talking
  • The Japanese view the business card as an extension of their body
• Showing the sole of a shoe


  Means nothing to observers in most Western and Asian countries but is perceived as insulting in Muslim cultures
• Crossing one’s legs while seated


  Customary for Westerners but a social faux pas in Korea
• Blinking rapidly while another person is talking

  Normal for most people but considered impolite for Taiwanese