ZURAB MAISURADZE | 2015-2020 | UPDATED 1 SEP 2020 | BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

ASSIGNMENTS

So how are the assignments organized?

‣ Students are allocated into 6 different groups by the lecturer via a random selection on the first
day of the studies.
‣ The groups will not change during the semester.
‣ Every week there is a new assignment that needs to be prepared by 3 groups as per schedule.
‣ Each group is working individually on an assignment and presents it to class on the lecture.
‣ There are total of 6 such assignment during the course - so every 3 weeks there will be
something to prepare by each group.

The weekly assignments consist of two parts:

PART 1 - GROUP PRESENTATION OF THE STUDY TOPIC OF THAT WEEK

PART 2 - PRACTICAL WORK ASSIGNMENT AS PER THE ASSIGNMENT GUIDE

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for Teams 1-2-3

PART 1

Prepare a presentation to explain to class the key concepts of the topic. It is NOT required to
grasp everything from the chapters. The idea is to SELECT ESSENTIAL PARTS and present to
class whatever your team finds as most interesting. Do NOT do text slides, instead search for
materials, videos, pictures, anything that will help you present. So present your own materials as
an example to illustrate points you found interesting. Each individual Each team member should
participate and present/give examples for circa 2 minutes. Total time for the group to present: 10
minutes. We will be very STRICT ON TIMING.

Week’s Topic:

MESSAGE

Bovee, Thill Ch 4 || Saylor Ch 4

PART 2

Dear Group Members,

I’m glad to have a chance to present this very interesting opportunity to you.

This is to inform you about Joe Stern - a well known businessman and an investor to frontier
markets like Georgia - who spent a week in Tbilisi and among other meetings and in pursuit of
some investment opportunities met with Caucasus University management as well.

His idea is to invest around US$50,000 per several projects run by students, - without any
preference to particular industry, as he is still unsure as to which industries he will prefer in the
future. Being a generous angel investor and after few nights of Georgian cuisine and wine tastings
he is eager to risk these “smaller” amounts to understand the country better and invest in various
businesses of students’ choice.

The business school had to hastily prepare the group lists without having a chance to discuss
group members and in fact the investor desire was to have a random selection rather than a
specialized group. He has left a proper PoA for the funds to be allocated to relevant groups
according to the initial business ideas submitted. I was entitled by the school to meet with the
pre-defined groups and take notes and allocate funds. Please kindly note though that according to
Mr. Stern’s instructions, I’d need the following to start:

- A Brief Presentation, - a brief presentation of 10 minutes maximum explaining the business

idea to the investor and requesting financing. Each team member is to speak about 1-2 minutes
and participate in this presentation.

As you will be preparing the documents, do not worry much of the details at this stage. You will
have the chance to refine later on, but please do make it clear and format adequately as that
indeed is important. And… Yes. This is a fiction, a case study only, but something like this may
happen in reality too…

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ZURAB MAISURADZE | 2015-2020 | UPDATED 1 SEP 2020 | BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

2
for Teams 4-5-6

PART 1

Prepare a presentation to explain to class the key concepts of the topic. It is NOT required to
grasp everything from the chapters. The idea is to SELECT ESSENTIAL PARTS and present to
class whatever your team finds as most interesting. Do NOT do text slides, instead search for
materials, videos, pictures, anything that will help you present. So present your own materials as
an example to illustrate points you found interesting. Each individual Each team member should
participate and present/give examples for circa 2 minutes. Total time for the group to present: 10
minutes. We will be very STRICT ON TIMING.

Week’s Topic:

WRITE ME

Bovee, Thill Ch 5 || Saylor Ch 4-5

PART 2

Dear Teams,

This is to inform you that despite some reservations on the materials that we have provided, Mr.
Stern has now decided to go ahead with the initial plan and provide the relevant funding that we
discussed previously. However he has revealed some quite disturbing facts about the groups as
well. Specifically, it seems like some members of your teams have expressed their discontent
about the team and the idea you are pursuing. And as it has reached Joe, some harsh statements
were made publicly as well. While he understands that you are still a new team, he just let us
know and it won’t affect your funding in any way. The school decided to understand the reasons
for such tensions arising though.

As we wish to resolve the tensions and make sure your teams, your companies run efficiently,
please kindly let all the criticism be spoken out loudly in front of the class.

One Half of Team - Destructive Critics (2 Slides - 2-3 minutes to speak)

You are free to be as destructive as possible. Tell us of your concerns - is it a particular decision in
the team? or an idea overall? Is it the way it was organized? Is it the role you were assigned? What
about other members? Tell us whatever you think is BAD. And Yes, today you can be destructive -
take from all of the time, energy and let the group spirit and morale be questioned. Do keep in
mind that you still need to keep the team running though, so there are some boundaries to your
destructiveness.

Another Half of Team - Constructive Critic:s (2 Slides - 2-3 minutes to speak)

You are all reasonable guys - please let us know in an efficient manner what can be changed,
improved, corrected - so that the issues are exposed and then solved, so that more ideas and
better ideas and solutions are generated. Your role is to try to be constructive and ensure the
criticism is not destructive.

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ZURAB MAISURADZE | 2015-2020 | UPDATED 1 SEP 2020 | BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

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for Teams 1-2-3

PART 1

Prepare a presentation to explain to class the key concepts of the topic. It is NOT required to
grasp everything from the chapters. The idea is to SELECT ESSENTIAL PARTS and present to
class whatever your team finds as most interesting. Do NOT do text slides, instead search for
materials, videos, pictures, anything that will help you present. So present your own materials as
an example to illustrate points you found interesting. Each individual Each team member should
participate and present/give examples for circa 2 minutes. Total time for the group to present: 10
minutes. We will be very STRICT ON TIMING.

Week’s Topic:

REVISER

Bovee, Thill Ch 10 || Saylor Ch 6-7

PART 2

Dear Teams,

Thank you very much for the extraordinary efforts to keep this project and your teams developing.

- It is time to understand you better now.

- Assume that your financing is approved.

- ACTION PLAN AND DELIVERABLES - Explain what your team is doing next, what are the next
steps and actions and what to expect in next 3 to 6 months from you as an investor.

You can prepare a brief presentation on the task at hand and your plans - 10 minutes total, each
team member to participate.

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ZURAB MAISURADZE | 2015-2020 | UPDATED 1 SEP 2020 | BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

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for Teams 4-5-6

PART 1

Prepare a presentation to explain to class the key concepts of the topic. It is NOT required to
grasp everything from the chapters. The idea is to SELECT ESSENTIAL PARTS and present to
class whatever your team finds as most interesting. Do NOT do text slides, instead search for
materials, videos, pictures, anything that will help you present. So present your own materials as
an example to illustrate points you found interesting. Each individual Each team member should
participate and present/give examples for circa 2 minutes. Total time for the group to present: 10
minutes. We will be very STRICT ON TIMING.

Week’s Topic:

MULTIMEDIA

Bovee, Thill Ch 12 || Saylor Ch 5, 12

PART 2

Dear Teams, congratulations on the successful start!

After the successful presentation and brief summary of your ideas during our previous meetings
we have now completed the company setups and are glad to have your first startups operational.

According to the terms of the investment agreement, Mr. Stern has been appointed as the
supervisory board member of all your companies. Also, according to the resolution of the
supervisory board, I’ve been appointed as the board secretary and will be facilitating effective
communication between you and the board from going forward.

While we process the first transaction to credit funds to the accounts of your newly set companies,
please kindly have a look at the first request from the board below.

Each member of the group is required to prepare a one pager - memo - addressed to Mr. Stern,
Chairman of the Supervisory Board, which is to describe the following:

- Your role and responsibilities in the company

- Your key business objectives (KBOs)

- Your vision of the key challenges you will face and how you will need to address those

Each memo should be then presented in class on screen as well.

- Each member of the team will have 1 minute to present/talk about his memo when meeting the
board secretary during the next class.

Good Luck to everyone!

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for Teams 1-2-3

PART 1

Prepare a presentation to explain to class the key concepts of the topic. It is NOT required to
grasp everything from the chapters. The idea is to SELECT ESSENTIAL PARTS and present to
class whatever your team finds as most interesting. Do NOT do text slides, instead search for
materials, videos, pictures, anything that will help you present. So present your own materials as
an example to illustrate points you found interesting. Each individual Each team member should
participate and present/give examples for circa 2 minutes. Total time for the group to present: 10
minutes. We will be very STRICT ON TIMING. Week’s Topic:

REPORT IT

Bovee, Thill Ch 13 ||

PART 2

Dear Teams,
The time has come to summarize your progress so far into a Progress Report for Mr. Stern. He
has asked this as a Chairman of the supervisory board of your companies in order to summarize
the current work you have done. So, you are to come up with the Progress Report using the proper
report structure and using the materials you have so far:
- What your team is doing, how do you go about it and the description of the steps
- Your vision - as a team - of the key challenges for the company and how you will need to address
those
- Key roles and responsibilities in the company and the relevant KBOs
You will need to add meat to the skeleton though and add:
- Financial Projections
- Provide discussion /illustration / summary in the body of the report
- Provide projected financial statements (i.e. monthly, next 2 years) as an attachment. No
need for making those detailed at this stage but make sure they do provide a high level, a
bird’s eye view, as to where you are heading.
- Market Positioning Strategy
- Describe the market, competition and where your product / service stands
- Describe your goals and targets and how viable they are - link your marketing targets with
relevant financial projections
Keep in mind that this is an interim report that is to demonstrate your progress and it is aimed to
keeping your Chairman confident of the work you are doing and demonstrating good reporting
skills obviously. Simply copying the previously prepared documents into one file and calling it a
report simply does NOT work. Required format (Prepared in Word/Saved in PDF/Will need to
present it on screen):
- 12 Font Size / Unicode / 3 Cm margins / 1.5 spaced / Circa 700 Words of the Report Body.

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ZURAB MAISURADZE | 2015-2020 | UPDATED 1 SEP 2020 | BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

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for Teams 4-5-6

PART 1

Prepare a presentation to explain to class the key concepts of the topic. It is NOT required to
grasp everything from the chapters. The idea is to SELECT ESSENTIAL PARTS and present to
class whatever your team finds as most interesting. Do NOT do text slides, instead search for
materials, videos, pictures, anything that will help you present. So present your own materials as
an example to illustrate points you found interesting. Each individual Each team member should
participate and present/give examples for circa 2 minutes. Total time for the group to present: 10
minutes. We will be very STRICT ON TIMING.

Week’s Topic:

BAD NEWS

Bovee, Thill Ch 9 || Saylor Ch 17

PART 2

Dear Group Members,

I’m glad to have a chance to present this very interesting opportunity to you - You are requested
now to prepare your business banner. What you stand for? You business at a glance. Create a
powerful image for your business that depicts you and your idea.

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ZURAB MAISURADZE | 2015-2020 | UPDATED 1 SEP 2020 | BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

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for Teams 1-2-3

PART 1

Prepare a presentation to explain to class the key concepts of the topic. It is NOT required to
grasp everything from the chapters. The idea is to SELECT ESSENTIAL PARTS and present to
class whatever your team finds as most interesting. Do NOT do text slides, instead search for
materials, videos, pictures, anything that will help you present. So present your own materials as
an example to illustrate points you found interesting. Each individual Each team member should
participate and present/give examples for circa 2 minutes. Total time for the group to present: 10
minutes. We will be very STRICT ON TIMING.

Week’s Topic:

NETIQUETTE

Bovee, Thill Ch 7 || Saylor Ch 8-9

PART 2

Dear Team Members,

For this assignment we will not to do anything for the investor.

Each team member is required to simply look into his or her email inbox and identify and show to
the class the following:

- 1 Example of proper and efficient email communication

- 1 Example of poor and inefficient email communication

Each team will simply copy each member’s emails (or screenshots of emails) into one single
presentation to present to class. Each team member is to then explain why he or she thinks the
communication in the example was good or bad.

Looking Forward to Your Examples.

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ZURAB MAISURADZE | 2015-2020 | UPDATED 1 SEP 2020 | BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

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for Teams 4-5-6

PART 1

Prepare a presentation to explain to class the key concepts of the topic. It is NOT required to
grasp everything from the chapters. The idea is to SELECT ESSENTIAL PARTS and present to
class whatever your team finds as most interesting. Do NOT do text slides, instead search for
materials, videos, pictures, anything that will help you present. So present your own materials as
an example to illustrate points you found interesting. Each individual Each team member should
participate and present/give examples for circa 2 minutes. Total time for the group to present: 10
minutes. We will be very STRICT ON TIMING.

Week’s Topic:

CULTURE

Bovee, Thill Ch 3 || Saylor Ch 18

PART 2

Dear Teams,

You have now been requested by the Investor to help him identify week points in the other
projects.

For this assignment you will need to study the materials, presentations, reports prepared by
another team and prepare a presentation, - your vision what has been wrong in their direction,
and what needs to be done to improve situation. CHOOSE ANY ONE OTHER GROUP FROM
THE SAME WEEK.

The teams will share to each other the materials that they have on projects. And each team will
then prepare a 10 minute presentation and the issues that they identified in another team’s works
and the ways they could be addressed.

Good Luck!

PLAGIARISM IS A PLAGUE. UNAUTHORISED DISTRIBUTION OR SHARING OF THESE MATERIALS AND/OR THE ASSIGNMENTS PREPARED ARE NOT ALLOWED AND MAY IMPLY CHARGES & PENALTIES FOR YOU. 9
ZURAB MAISURADZE | 2015-2020 | UPDATED 1 SEP 2020 | BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

9
for Teams 1-2-3

PART 1

Prepare a presentation to explain to class the key concepts of the topic. It is NOT required to
grasp everything from the chapters. The idea is to SELECT ESSENTIAL PARTS and present to
class whatever your team finds as most interesting. Do NOT do text slides, instead search for
materials, videos, pictures, anything that will help you present. So present your own materials as
an example to illustrate points you found interesting. Each individual Each team member should
participate and present/give examples for circa 2 minutes. Total time for the group to present: 10
minutes. We will be very STRICT ON TIMING.

Week’s Topic:

CAREERS

Bovee, Thill Ch 15

PART 2

Dear Team

It is time to think of your target customers and analyze them in accordance with Hofstede’s
cultural dimensions.

‣ Think of the segment of customers your business aims at.

‣ Prepare a brief presentation/slides describing how you think that specific segment falls into
relevant categories as per Hofstede.

‣ You do not need to conduct any research - only to identify and present your opinions (for
example, “our potential customers have High Power Distance Index”, etc)

‣ Please be prepared to answer the questions how you decided so as well.

PLAGIARISM IS A PLAGUE. UNAUTHORISED DISTRIBUTION OR SHARING OF THESE MATERIALS AND/OR THE ASSIGNMENTS PREPARED ARE NOT ALLOWED AND MAY IMPLY CHARGES & PENALTIES FOR YOU. 10
ZURAB MAISURADZE | 2015-2020 | UPDATED 1 SEP 2020 | BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

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for Teams 4-5-6

PART 1

Prepare a presentation to explain to class the key concepts of the topic. It is NOT required to
grasp everything from the chapters. The idea is to SELECT ESSENTIAL PARTS and present to
class whatever your team finds as most interesting. Do NOT do text slides, instead search for
materials, videos, pictures, anything that will help you present. So present your own materials as
an example to illustrate points you found interesting. Each individual Each team member should
participate and present/give examples for circa 2 minutes. Total time for the group to present: 10
minutes. We will be very STRICT ON TIMING.

Week’s Topic:

PRESENTING

Bovee, Thill Ch 14 || Saylor Ch 10, 13-15

PART 2

Dear Team Members

For this assignment, you will need to reflect on the course and prepare one brief presentation with
key points that you learned on this course.

Each team member is to present 1 slide and describe what were they key points he or she learned
in the course.

PLAGIARISM IS A PLAGUE. UNAUTHORISED DISTRIBUTION OR SHARING OF THESE MATERIALS AND/OR THE ASSIGNMENTS PREPARED ARE NOT ALLOWED AND MAY IMPLY CHARGES & PENALTIES FOR YOU. 11