🗣️ Professional Communication & Ethics BCA 105 | Semester I/I
📘 Credit Hours: 3
🎓 Teaching Hours: 48
⚖️ Ethics in IT & Workplace
🎤 Oral & Digital Communication
📖 Course Description
This course develops professional communication competencies and ethical understanding required in modern digital and organizational landscapes. It emphasizes communication strategies, formats, and tools used in professional settings, with a strong foundation in workplace ethics and social responsibility. The course bridges communication theory with practical business, technical, and interpersonal communication skills, integrating ethical decision-making frameworks relevant to IT and business contexts in Nepal and beyond.
🎯 Course Objectives
- Understand principles of effective professional communication (oral, written, digital)
- Develop professional communication skills for workplace success
- Understand ethical dilemmas in business and IT contexts
- Apply persuasion, negotiation, and conflict resolution ethically
- Analyze ethical issues in professional and technological environments
- Collaborate effectively in team-based communication projects
📌 Learning Outcomes
- Communicate clearly and persuasively in professional settings
- Compose professional documents: resumes, cover letters, emails, reports
- Deliver effective oral presentations with visual/tech support
- Identify and resolve ethical dilemmas in IT-related contexts
- Work collaboratively and ethically within teams and multicultural environments
- Evaluate impact of communication and ethics on professional growth & social change
| 📚 Core Unit Focus | Key Components |
|---|---|
| Foundations of Professional Communication | Language fundamentals, communication process, barriers, grammar, readings (Amy Tan, Dhumketu) |
| Oral Communication | Telephone etiquette, public speaking, meetings & minutes, elevator pitches, interviewing, reported speech, professional idioms |
| Professional Writing | Emails, memos, notices, formal/informal letters, résumés & cover letters, active/passive voice |
| Interpersonal & Group Communication | Workplace listening, intercultural communication, teamwork, leadership, conditional sentences, polite expressions |
| Digital Communication | Netiquette, online professionalism, social media & collaborative tools, plagiarism, visual communication (charts, infographics) |
| Professional Ethics in Computing | Codes of ethics, IT professional responsibilities, ethical decision-making, whistle-blowing, workplace challenges, subject-verb agreement |
📚 Detailed Syllabus Units
Unit 1: Foundation of Professional Communication8 LH
- Fundamentals of Language & brief history of professional communication
- Principles of Professional Communication & The Communication Process
- Nonverbal Communication in the Workplace
- Barriers to Effective Communication
- Vocabulary & Grammar: Commonly confusing words, use of tenses
- Readings: “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, “The Letter” by Dhumketu
Unit 2: Oral Communication8 LH
- Telephone Conversation & Professional Dialogue
- Public Speaking and Presentation Skills
- Meetings, Agendas and Minutes
- Elevator Pitches & Interviewing Techniques
- Vocabulary & Grammar: Professional Idioms, Reported Speech
- Readings: “Death by PowerPoint” (Angela R. Garber), “Our world on fire needs you” (Maria Ressa)
Unit 3: Writing Professionally8 LH
- Rules of Professional Writing
- Text Messages, Emails, Memos, Notice Writing
- Informal and Formal Letters
- Résumés and Cover Letters
- Vocabulary & Grammar: Business Vocabulary, Active and Passive Voice
- Readings: “Gateman’s Gift” by R.K. Narayan, “My School” by Rabindranath Tagore
Unit 4: Interpersonal and Group Communication8 LH
- Interpersonal Communication in the Workplace & Listening Environment
- Intercultural Communication, Effective Communication in Teams
- Leadership and Communication, Adapting Styles for Diverse Audiences
- Vocabulary & Grammar: Polite words, making requests/offers, conditional sentences
- Readings: “Computer and the Pursuit of Happiness” (David Gelemper), “The Collapse of the Family and the Community” (Yuval Noah Harari)
Unit 5: Digital Communication8 LH
- Virtual Etiquette / Netiquette & Online Professionalism
- Communicating via Social Media and Collaborative Tools
- Plagiarism and Online Plagiarism
- Visuals in Communication: Maps, Tables, Charts, Infographics, Icons, Photographs, Diagrams
- Vocabulary & Grammar: Social Media Vocabulary, Prepositions of Time, Place & Direction
- Readings: “Cat Pictures Please” (Naomi Kritzer), “ChatGPT May Be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills” (Andrew R. Chow)
Unit 6: Professional Ethics8 LH
- Introduction to Professional Ethics in Computing
- Professional Codes of Ethics (ACM/IEEE, etc.)
- Responsibilities of IT Professionals
- Ethical Decision-Making in IT & Whistle-Blowing and Professional Integrity
- Workplace Ethical Challenges in IT
- Vocabulary & Grammar: Ethical Vocabulary, Concord (Subject-Verb Agreement)
- Readings: “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, “The Digital Citizen” by Luigi Ceccarini
🧠 Teaching Methodologies
- Interactive Lectures and Discussions
- Role Plays and Simulations
- Group Presentations and Peer Reviews
- Written Assignments and Reflective Journals
📊 Evaluation Scheme (Indicative)
- Class Participation & Attendance: 5%
- Assignments and Written Tasks: 10%
- Mid-term Exam: 15%
- Group Presentation/Project: 10%
- Final Examination: 60%
📚 Required Readings & References
- Adhikari, B. & Subedi, S. (2024) – New Modern Grammar, Heritage Books
- Adler, R. B., & Elmhorst, J. M. (2019) – Communicating at Work (11th ed.), McGraw-Hill
- Quinn, M. J. (2014) – Ethics for the Information Age (6th ed.), Pearson
- Spinello, Richard A. (2020) – CyberEthics: Morality and Law in Cyberspace, Jones & Bartlett
🔍 Additional materials: Case studies on IT ethics, business communication manuals, and contemporary digital communication articles.