Certificate in Internal Communication and Information Management

Topics

In any organization getting through is key.

The instruction will begin with key tools and then move on to key issues and conclude with application in key skills areas. During the 10 weeks of online learning, students will have some flexibility as to the day/time at which they complete online activities. However, there will be a week-by-week schedule so that students can interact with faculty and other students about a given topic during a specified time frame.

Key Tools – Beginning to Understand Communication and Information

The first modules focus on basic tools required to efficiently and effectively manage communication and information.

  • Using Blackboard as an Effective Educational Tool. Upon enrolling in the certificate program, participants will be assigned to a Blackboard account that allows them access to their class website pages. During this onsite, hands-on training session participants will be taught basic procedures that will assist them in completing assignments.
  • Writing to be Read. Provides participants with a framework for developing written messages crafted specifically for key audiences. Participants will review the sender-receiver communication model and its applicability to written documents. They will learn about key components for developing clear informational and persuasive messages.
  • IT for non-IT Managers. Provides non-IT managers with an overview and understanding of information technologies that drive many organizations. After completing the module participants will be able to identify IT that is key to their organization, have vocabulary that allows them to communicate with IT professionals, and know about resources that will help them keep pace with technological change.
  • Workplace Interpersonal Communication. Focuses on the interplay between relational uncertainty and interpersonal communication as well as the relationship between social power and compliance-gaining. The first focus is relevant because levels of relational uncertainty are directly related to the quality of interpersonal communication that is achievable. The second focus is important because many of our interpersonal interactions have compliance-gaining goals, especially in the workplace.

Key Issues – Managing Communication and Information

The second group of modules focuses on key issues in communication and information that are of particular importance to managers.

  • Knowledge Management. Knowledge management (KM) provides the tools, systems and strategies for identifying, processing and sharing the intellectual capital of organizations. This module introduces the basic concepts of KM, provides strategies for capturing tacit knowledge and an organization’s intellectual capital, and discusses strategic and technological options for the organization’s assessment, management, storage and retrieval of knowledge resources.
  • Conflict Management. This experience is designed to give participants tools they can use to understand how they are perceived by their employees, and how they can manage conflict within the workplace. Participants will be introduced to the Thomas-Killman conflict mode instrument as a means of understanding their personal conflict style.
  • Stress Management through Effective Manager-Employee Communication. It is all too easy to communicate stress in an already stressful work environment. This module will introduce ways that a manager can communicate to employees without inflicting additional stress. Participants will examine how they currently present their messages, and they will learn how to communicate the same message in a less stressful manner.

Key Skills –Communication and Information Know-How

The final set of modules provides training in specific communication and information skills that are critical for managers in any organization.

  • Negotiation. Negotiation is a vital component of successful businesses and critical to developing effective work relationships. Whether organization members are confronted with challenges such as resource allocation, personnel reviews or advancing new initiatives, negotiation is central to bringing about successful outcomes. The module on negotiation prepares participants through the development of a knowledge base and skill sets necessary at each stage of the negotiation process.
  • Information Architecture. Information Architecture (IA) provides the tools for assessing, creating and organizing online communication by fusing functionality and content so people are able to intuitively navigate a site that models the organization’s information structure. This module will introduce participants to the basic concepts of IA, provide assessment tools for preliminary review of their unit’s site, and build an IA plan for their unit.
  • Systems Analysis. Systems Analysis is a powerful tool for identifying and solving problems within departments or organizations. It provides a framework for assessing circumstances and the tools to design practical solutions to identified problems. This module will introduce participants to the basic concepts of systems analysis, and provide them with the “roadmap” for using systems analysis in their organization.
  • Business Presentations. This module will focus on the speaking and listening skills managers need to possess in order to deliver impactful presentations. Participants will learn how to present well organized, well supported ideas with conviction and poise. Moreover, participants will learn how to manage their fear of delivering presentations.
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