Graduate Certificate in Communication and Customer Strategy

THIS PROGRAM IS NOT TAKING ADMISSIONS IN 2016.

The Graduate Certificate in Communication and Customer Strategy is designed especially for students from any disciplinary background who wish to develop their abilities around communications and consumer strategies or who are working in the marketing field but have not completed any formal study in the area. The course is based on consumer behaviour and communication theories and is designed around highly practical course content. The expected outcome is to make students of the course proficient in communicating effectively business, brand and product messages to potential target markets and segments, and in developing strategies to improve buying behaviour, customer loyalty and customer satisfaction.

Learning Goal

Graduates of this degree will develop individual capacity to develop communications for organisations and devise strategies to influence consumer behaviour.

Learning objectives to achieve this goal

On successful completion of this degree students will be able to:

• Identify key issues related to consumer behaviour from social, cultural, economic ethical, legal and political perspectives;
• Explain how communication strategies used by organisations affect customer buying behaviour; and
• Understand and moderate the impact of behaviour-changing strategies on customer attitudes in a business environment.

Students enrolled in the Graduate Certificate in Communication and Customer Strategy will need to successfully complete four 12.5 point subjects, comprised of 1 core and 3 elective subjects, over a maximum of two-years (or four semesters) part-time.

One core subject (to be completed in the first semester of enrolment):

Three elective subjects selected from:

1. The Selection Committee will evaluate the applicant’s ability to pursue successfully the course using the following criteria:

• An undergraduate degree in any discipline or equivalent; and
• The applicant's submitted statement of intent in seeking entry.

2. The Selection Committee may conduct interviews and tests and call for referee reports and employer references to elucidate any of the matters referred to above.

The Faculty of Business and Economics welcomes applications from students with disabilities. It is University and Faculty policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student’s participation in the Faculty’s programs.

The BCom and Masters degrees of the Faculty of Business and Economics equip graduates with the knowledge and technical skills necessary to understand and participate in the modern business world. The degrees include the following academic requirements for study:

(1) The ability to explain and evaluate concepts, theories, institutional arrangements and operations of modern mixed economies;
(2) The ability to critically evaluate the economy, commerce and business in the broader social and political context;
(3) The ability to explain and apply concepts across a range of commerce and business disciplines in solving business and policy problems; and
(4) The ability to contribute positively to the development of organisations and society in relation to business, government and the commercial professions.

All students of the Faculty’s courses must possess intellectual, ethical, and emotional capabilities required to participate in the full curriculum and to achieve the levels of competence required by the Faculty. Candidates for the BCom degree and for FBE Masters degrees must have abilities and skills in communication; in conceptual, integrative, and quantitative dimensions; and in behavioural and social dimensions.

I. Communication: The student must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in oral and/or written form. A student must have the ability to clearly and independently communicate knowledge and application of a discipline, principles or practices during assessment tasks, and in some discipline streams.

II. Intellectual‐Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities: The student is expected to have the ability to develop problem‐solving skills and demonstrate the ability to establish study plans and priorities. These abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, and synthesis. Problem solving requires all of these intellectual abilities. Students should also have the ability to comprehend complex disciplinary and cross disciplinary information related to the BCom and Masters degrees.

III. Behavioural and Social Attributes: A student must possess behavioural and social attributes that enable them to participate in a complex learning environment and the emotional health required for full utilisation of his/her intellectual abilities. Students are required to take responsibility for their own participation and learning. They also contribute to the learning of other students in collaborative learning environments, demonstrating interpersonal skills and an understanding of the needs of other students. Assessment may include the outcomes of tasks completed in collaboration with other students. Integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest, and motivation are all personal qualities that are deemed necessary for students enrolled in FBE courses.

Students who feel their disability will prevent them from participating in tasks involving the inherent academic requirements of the BCom and FBE Masters courses are encouraged to contact the Disability Liaison Unit. Adjustments can be provided to minimise the impact of a disability, but students should participate in the course in an independent manner.

On successful completion of this course, students will be:

• Able to critically evaluate evidence in support of an argument or proposition;
• Problem solvers with customer management capacity through the application of appropriate communication and customer theories, principles and data;
• Effective communicators of communication and customer-management ideas, theories and solutions to peers and the wider community;
• Able to synthesize ideas, theories and data in developing solutions to communication and customer-management problems;
• Adept at retrieval of relevant information from a variety of sources; and
• Effective team members through participation in collaborative exercises in class room discussion and written assessment.

On successful completion of this program, students should have enhanced their skills in:

• Critically evaluating evidence in support of an argument or proposition;
• Problem solving in relation to managing customers in business environments through the application of appropriate marketing theories, principles and data;
• Communicating ideas on managing customers to peers and the wider community;
• Synthesizing ideas, theories and data when developing solutions to problems related to communication and customer management;
• Ethical practices in communications and customer management;
• Retrieving relevant information from a variety of sources; and
• Teamwork through collaborative exercises in class room discussion.

This program is no longer available for entry from 2014.