Public communication and institutional
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Bibliography
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
All the first year courses will provide students with a conceptual propedeutical heritage that is essential to address the issues that will be addressed.
The final exam is an oral exam that is intended only for those who enroll in the academic year 2017/18, while for the previous academic years (2015/2016 and 2016/2017) the written test of a press release is maintained. The oral examination is based on the knowledge of the material contained in the texts indicated in the program: Teorie e Tecniche della comunicazione from page 21 to page 169 (up to art.3); Appunti di Comunicazione Politica e Istituzionale, from page 17 to page 184, with the exception of pages 70/71 referred to in point 6; Appunti di Comunicazione Istituzionale, from page 7 to page 82 excluding pages 63 to 68.
During the lecture lessons, there will be written exercises that will be taken into account during the oral examination. The final grade will be determined by the degree of acquisition of the knowledge and skills expected: basic concepts of communication; ability to evaluate context; ability to organize communicative processes; observational and narrative articulation; properness of language; ability to synthesize; good skills in written and oral language.
Any voluntary participation in the editorial board of the online journal "Insubriapress" will be a factor in the attribution of training credits, excluding the final evaluation of the oral exam.
The course aims to address the communication dynamics of Public and Business Administration, together with internal and external social communication, both public and private.
In particular it aims to make known the meanings, languages, tools and organizational forms of Communication. Through this knowledge, students will be able to acquire the theory and operating techniques of Public and Business Communication that will facilitate the forms of interaction with citizens and customers, so as to make the satisfaction of social needs and wishes closer to expectations. The learning outcomes to be achieved will be the following:
• Acquisition of the fundamental concepts of Communication and its positioning in complex political, social and administrative systems. This positioning serves to develop the understanding of the contexts of macro systems the productive, institutional, political and inter-productive micro systems;
• In-depth knowledge of verbal and non-verbal communication techniques through which public and private companies can deploy their quantitative and qualitative productive needs by streamlining and improving the effectiveness, efficiency and utility of services and products perfecting, developing and stimulating productivity, competition, innovation and creativity;
• Developing observational, comparative, critical and synthesizing capacities in the framing and representation of phenomena related to production systems and relationship with markets, as well as forms of interpersonal interaction and between groups, social and business communities;
• Knowledge and use of oral and written forms of communication to facilitate the understanding of messages transmitted by every media type, enabling also the development of cognitive skills, exchange and confrontation, dialogue and contraposition, mediation and conflict.
• Knowledge of theories and techniques of media coverage, management of the various forms to collect data about the satisfaction of the services provided by the Public Administration and the products supplied by the companies.
• Development of subjective and collective potential in relation to the levels of cultural, social, political and economic awareness, which also includes the possible raising of the levels of consciousness and civil and democratic responsibility of individuals and communities.
The topics that will be addressed will allow the students to master both the theoretical knowledge of political and business communication and the operating communication tools by following the following training path:
• The concepts of communication in general and the ways in which it is initiated and developed in the interpersonal field, in the various forms of interaction between public administration and citizens, between business and consumers;
• The characteristics of socially emotional axes as a basis for understanding the contexts and personal characteristics of our interlocutors; understanding before communicating is axiomatic;
• Effective communication techniques and the four fronts of expression - speech, paper, spoken video and the web, together with the selection of goals, choice of targets, the nature of the language to be adopted and the means of conveying messages;
• Structure of verbal and nonverbal communication, with particular reference to oral and written exposure techniques and ability to evaluate direct and indirect feedback;
• Effectiveness and selection of communication tools in various relational contexts through the Communication Plan Tool;
• Structure of news (sources, processing and manipulation, positioning) and utilization techniques (press release, press conference, communication campaign, mass events, conferences, seminars, advertising materials);
• Horizontal communication and multi-positionallity in internal communication geared towards optimal society and the development of cooperation, creativity, innovation and productivity;
• The communicator's characteristics to improve personal and group performance (observational, analytical, critical, comparative, imaginative, intuitive, perceived atmospheres, intelligent use of rationalism and sentimentality, know how to tell between known or insignificant facts and the relevant or exemplary, knowing how to distinguish essence, banality and marginality, using the unexpected as a surprise and fascination weapon);
• Techniques for monitoring and evaluating communicative actions that define the success or failure of institutional or enterprise performance.
The course will utilize the following texts:
• Franz Foti, Appunti di Comunicazione politica e d’impresa – La società “a testa bassa” - Franco Angeli Editore, 2016;
• Franz Foti e Gennaro Scarpato, Teorie e Tecniche della Comunicazione Pubblica, nuova edizione aggiornata, Franco Angeli Editore, 2016;
• Mauro Carabelli e Gennaro Scarpato, Appunti di Comunicazione Istituzionale, Pietro Macchione Editore, 2014.
During the lessons, slides will be projected and will be made available to all students and delivered to individuals within a few days. Additional material presented in the classroom can be requested by email to the lecturer.
Didactic Methods
Lectures and exercises will take place according to an articulation of two classroom lessons per week where theoretical lessons and practical lessons will alternate.
Theoretical lessons will deepen the main arguments of the subject contained in the program, also referring to experiences from other countries to provide an international picture of the profession. Practical lessons will consist in writing press releases, simulating a press conference, writing a social research questionnaire with relative aggregation and data bundling, their evaluation and subsequent press conference that will be held by the students.
During the teaching activities, a visit to the Talent Garden in Milan and a meeting with the foreign press will take place. During some lessons, institutional and business subjects with hands-on learning experiences will be present.
Reception hours
Students will be received twice a week before and after each lesson, while online is allowed to continue interlocut for e-mail.
Calendar of didactic activities
Hyperlinks to the CdS timetable and locations page.
Examination appeals
The dates and places where the exams will be held, including the written test for academic years before 2017/2018, will be available on the website of the University of Insubria.