MBA Management Communications
Management communication is the link between the core areas of our curriculum — ideas can only be successful if they are communicated well. From presentation skills to public speaking to written communications, both required and elective courses prepare Darden students for the complex dynamics of today's business world.
COURSES
Required Courses
• Management Communication
GBUS 721 MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION
This course gives students the guidance and hands-on experience that will allow them to communicate effectively as managers and leaders. Students will examine communication strategies essential for success in business, identify their personal strengths and goals, and practice activities that build upon proven competencies and offer practice in new approaches. Students will gain comfort and skill in a personal communication style that is authentic, credible, and authoritative. The course will improve students’ understanding of and ability to apply communication strategy, and will help them not only appreciate the power of personal and organizational narratives but also deliver successful written documents and oral presentations.
Electives
• Advanced Managerial Communication
GBUS 8414 ADVANCED MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATION
This course is designed to assist students in their transition from the academic to the corporate environment. It will provide an opportunity for students to explore in more depth the strategies of communication framed in First Year Management Communication. It will offer students more practice in written and oral presentation work that will include frequent, individual meetings with the instructor for personal assessment and evaluation. The course will ask students to examine their personal communication styles including both their nonverbal behavior as well as how they express themselves in writing and in public presentations to both large and small groups. Areas examined in the course will be communication networks and organization channels, common barriers that lead to communication disruptions, the challenges of dealing with troubled and troubling constituencies, and specific communication frameworks that contribute to a vibrant corporate culture. More topics covered will be message structure strategies, the presentation development process, proposals, reports and business plans, customer and client meetings, communication audits and needs assessments, and communicating change and strategies for dealing with conflict and creating consensus.