School: Arts and Humanities

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Corporate Communication, Issues and Crises
  • Unit Code

    PRN3223
  • Year

    2024
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    2
  • Credit Points

    15
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Dr Catherine ARCHER

Description

Corporate Communications, Issues and Crises focuses on how organisations communicate and develop relationships with internal and external stakeholders to build positive reputations and create favourable operating environments. It examines why companies must embrace contemporary practices to amplify their brand values and how strategic, proactive communication needs to be embedded in the corporate DNA. This unit also examines the management challenges and opportunities that come with the issues and crises that every organisation invariably faces during its evolution.

Equivalent Rule

Unit is a combination of PRN3123 and PRN3124

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Identify the factors affecting communication in management/administration contexts via the application of public relations theory.
  2. Develop and evaluate campaign solutions through an issues and risk management perspective to issues and crises represented in the media.
  3. Analyse ways in which community interests in the environment and consumer areas manifest in and influence organisations.
  4. Apply relevant codes of ethics, as well as corporate and social responsibility to internal and external public relations strategies and processes.
  5. Develop and apply a range of strategies for strengthening relations with internal and external publics, both supportive and hostile, in managing issues and crises.

Unit Content

  1. Environmental scanning to identify issues, evaluate data sources and the reliability of information.
  2. Case studies of relevant public relations issues at the local, national and international levels will be analysed including the growth and spread of public issues.
  3. Issues management and its component steps.
  4. Managing external relationships to protect and improve corporate reputation.

Learning Experience

ON-CAMPUS

Students will attend on campus classes as well as engage in learning activities through ECU's LMS

JoondalupMount LawleySouth West (Bunbury)
Semester 1Not Offered13 x 1 hour lectureNot Offered
Semester 1Not Offered13 x 2 hour tutorialNot Offered

For more information see the Semester Timetable

ONLINE

Students will engage in learning experiences via ECU’s LMS as well as additional ECU learning technologies

Additional Learning Experience Information

Lectures. Tutorials.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
ReportIssues evaluation and report (individual)40%
ProjectIssues or crisis strategy (group) and peer reflection40%
PresentationGroup presentation of group report20%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
ReportIssues evaluation and report40%
ProjectIssues or crisis strategy (group) and peer reflection40%
PresentationGroup presentation online of issue or crisis strategy20%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

PRN3223|2|1

School: Arts and Humanities

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Corporate Communication, Issues and Crises
  • Unit Code

    PRN3223
  • Year

    2024
  • Enrolment Period

    2
  • Version

    2
  • Credit Points

    15
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Dr Catherine ARCHER

Description

Corporate Communications, Issues and Crises focuses on how organisations communicate and develop relationships with internal and external stakeholders to build positive reputations and create favourable operating environments. It examines why companies must embrace contemporary practices to amplify their brand values and how strategic, proactive communication needs to be embedded in the corporate DNA. This unit also examines the management challenges and opportunities that come with the issues and crises that every organisation invariably faces during its evolution.

Equivalent Rule

Unit is a combination of PRN3123 and PRN3124

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Identify the factors affecting communication in management/administration contexts via the application of public relations theory.
  2. Develop and evaluate campaign solutions through an issues and risk management perspective to issues and crises represented in the media.
  3. Analyse ways in which community interests in the environment and consumer areas manifest in and influence organisations.
  4. Apply relevant codes of ethics, as well as corporate and social responsibility to internal and external public relations strategies and processes.
  5. Develop and apply a range of strategies for strengthening relations with internal and external publics, both supportive and hostile, in managing issues and crises.

Unit Content

  1. Environmental scanning to identify issues, evaluate data sources and the reliability of information.
  2. Case studies of relevant public relations issues at the local, national and international levels will be analysed including the growth and spread of public issues.
  3. Issues management and its component steps.
  4. Managing external relationships to protect and improve corporate reputation.

Learning Experience

ON-CAMPUS

Students will attend on campus classes as well as engage in learning activities through ECU's LMS

JoondalupMount LawleySouth West (Bunbury)
Semester 1Not Offered13 x 1 hour lectureNot Offered
Semester 1Not Offered13 x 2 hour tutorialNot Offered

For more information see the Semester Timetable

ONLINE

Students will engage in learning experiences via ECU’s LMS as well as additional ECU learning technologies

Additional Learning Experience Information

Lectures. Tutorials.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
ReportIssues evaluation and report (individual)40%
ProjectIssues or crisis strategy (group) and peer reflection40%
PresentationGroup presentation of group report20%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
ReportIssues evaluation and report40%
ProjectIssues or crisis strategy (group) and peer reflection40%
PresentationGroup presentation online of issue or crisis strategy20%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

PRN3223|2|2