Designing a Course to Teach Social Media Communication

McKinsey Global Institute analyzed 4,200 companies in 2012 and found that by adopting social technologies internally, communication and collaboration could be improved thus increasing the productivity of interaction workers by 20 to 25 percent. As a result, business schools are beginning to offer courses on the use of social media outside of marketing. But how can the use of social media for internal communication in an organization be effectively taught to business students? Amy Young and Mary D. Hinesly discuss in their article “Social Media Use to Enhance Internal Communication: Course Design for Business Students” from Business and Professional Communication Quarterly.

Organizations are increasingly using social media to improve their internal communication. When successfully implemented, such initiatives can have a dramatic impact on internal efficiency, team collaboration, innovation, organizational alignment, and cultural transformation. This article describes a course offered by the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, on the use of social media for internal business communication that can be modified for Bachelor of Business Administration or Master of Business Administration students. The authors describe the pedagogy behind the course design, provide a course description, and discuss social media/communication consulting projects conducted in the class.

Click here to read “Social Media Use to Enhance Internal Communication: Course Design for Business Students” from Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. Want to know about all the latest news and research from Business and Professional Communication Quarterly? Click here to sign up for e-alerts!