This version of the course guide is provisional until the period for editing the new course guides ends.

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Communication in Organisations

Code: 103163 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Advertising and Public Relations OB 3

Contact

Name:
Ana Maria Ullod Pujol
Email:
ana.ullod@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

The students who take this course must have a coneixements previs de comunicació. Encara that l'asignatura s'imparteix en castellà, the students that vulguin cursar have to have a minimum coneixements of the Catalan language per a millor seguiment i participation of the interventions and diàlegs generats in the sessions docents.


Objectives and Contextualisation

This subject is part of the subject Strategy in Advertising and Public Relations, whose main objective is to provide students with the tools to have the ability to design effective communication strategies.

Through it, the student will be informed about forms of business communication that are alternatives to commercial communication and whose main objective is to create a positive image that globally benefits an organization, both externally and internally.

We will also see different typologies of crises and how these can affect the reputation of a company or institution, as well as how to manage them communicatively.

The students of this subject will have previously studied the subject of Contemporary Advertising Systems, where communication techniques aimed at achieving commercial objectives are analyzed, having basically seen that dimension of the organizations. However, in the subject at hand, students will work a much more global dimension of companies, noting that the institutional and commercial scope can act as communicating vessels.

It is about analyzing all those elements that make up the identity of an organization, its values, its culture, its philosophy and its objectives in society, handling concepts such as corporate social responsibility as one of the fundamental elements of any organization that wants to have an good reputation in its environment.


Learning Outcomes

  1. CM26 (Competence) Plan events in appropriate formats to reinforce the intangible value of organisations.
  2. CM27 (Competence) Design the internal and external communication of an organisation with a focus on stakeholders.
  3. CM29 (Competence) Create the right synergies with institutions and the media to reinforce the intangible value of organisations.
  4. KM30 (Knowledge) Recognise the intangible value of organisations and their audiences as strategic linchpins for the design and planning of public relations initiatives.
  5. KM31 (Knowledge) Recognise the value of corporate identity, social responsibility, and the reputation of organisations for the correct management of their internal and external communication.
  6. SM24 (Skill) Determine the communication objectives for the design of the most appropriate public relations actions according to the needs of organisations and the public.
  7. SM26 (Skill) Analyse the target to determine the most suitable insights for the design of the PR strategies.

Content

Topic 1.- CREATION AND TRANSMISSION OF CORPORATE IDENTITY. The creation of identity in organizations: physical features and cultural features. The corporate identity program. The communication of the brand identity. The creation and adaptation of values as a way to transmit identity.

Topic 2.- CORPORATE COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATIONS. Typology of most used techniques, ways, tools Dimension identity / dimension communication / dimension image. The importance of the stakeholders and the approach of values.

Topic 3.- COMMUNICATION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN ORGANIZATIONS. Business ethics, responsibility and reputation. Corporate social responsibility, a fashion, a need or an obligation on the part of organizations?

Trends and social motivations that affect the behavior of organizations. Approaches to CSR from the organization based on the areas of action and interest groups.

Topic 4.- INTERNAL BRAND BUILDING IN ORGANIZATIONS. Communication as a way of internal transmission of the culture of the organization.

Internal communication channels most used and their directionality depending on the objectives. How companies relate to their employees. Its role as transmitter of the identity of the organization.

Topic 5.- MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION OF CRISIS IN ORGANIZATIONS. Typologies of crisis. Features. Beginning. Morphology. The crisis plan. Management of crisis communication. Analysis of practical cases.


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Theory sessions, seminars and practices 52.5 2.1
Type: Supervised      
Tutorials 7.5 0.3
Type: Autonomous      
Student work, readings, team work 82.5 3.3 

The teaching methodology is adapted to the typology of the teaching sessions marked according to the characteristics of the subject: 
- Face-to-face theoretical sessions, in which the communication possibilities of the organizations will be transmitted to the student from an institutional perspective. 
- Seminars, with an important participation on the part of the student and for prior work on their part. 
Through them the students will apply the knowledge they acquire in the subject. It will try to help the student to enhance their presentation skills, an essential requirement for any professional in the field of communication.

 

The calendar will be available on the first day of class. Students will find all information on the Virtual Campus: the description of the activities, teaching materials, and any necessary information for the proper follow-up of the subject.

In case of a change of teaching modality for health reasons, teachers will make readjustments in the schedule and methodologies.

 

Note: The course content will be sensitive to issues related to gender perspective and the use of inclusive language

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Exam 50% 2 0.08 CM26, CM27, CM29, KM30, KM31, SM24, SM26
Seminars Assistence 10% 3.5 0.14 CM26, CM27, CM29, KM30, KM31, SM24, SM26
Work 40% 2 0.08 CM26, CM27, CM29, KM30, KM31, SM24, SM26

The evaluation system that must be applied to the subject is the following, depending on whether it is continuous evaluation or single evaluation.
 
Continuous assessment
 
. carrying out group work (40%) on the final grade.
 
. attendance seminars (10%) on the final grade.
 
. test type exam (50%) on the final grade.
 
Attendance to the seminars is mandatory (minimum 80%), and their realization or attendance is not recoverable. Only duly justified and documented absences of assistance will be taken into account.
 
To pass the subject it is necessary to pass both the works and the exam, otherwise it will have to go to the recovery.
 
Recovery of continuous assessment
 
Students will have the right to retake the subject if they have been evaluated of the set of activities, the weight of which is a minimum of 2/3 parts of the total grade of the subject.
 
Students can recover the subject through an exam. 
 
Single assessment
 
Requirements:
 
- Completion of a course project (40%) on the final grade. To be delivered on the day of the exam.
- Case resolution test (10%) based on several readings on the subject. This test will be face-to-face and will take place on the same day of the exam.
- Exam (50%) on the final grade.
 
To pass the subject, it is necessary to pass the three items of the single assessment foreseen. Otherwise, students will have to go to recovery.
 
Recovery of single assessment
 
Students can recover the subject through an exam. 
 
 
AI

In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted as an integral

part of assignment development, provided that the final outcome demonstrates a

significant contribution from the student in terms of analysis and personal reflection.

Students must clearly identify any content generated using AI, specify the tools employed,

and include a critical reflection on how these technologies have influenced both the

process and the final result of the assignment. Failure to disclose the use of AI in this

assessed activity will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a

partial or total penalty to the assignment grade, or more serious sanctions in severe cases.

 
Plagiarism
 
Students who do any irregularity (copy, plagiarism, identity theft...) that may lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment activity, will be graded with this assessment act. In the event of several irregularities, the final grade of the subject will be 0.

Bibliography

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Reading dossiers will be provided at the beginning of the course. These are required reading and exam material.

 


Software

The subject doesn't need a specific program


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 51 Spanish first semester afternoon
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 52 Spanish first semester afternoon
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 53 Spanish first semester afternoon
(TE) Theory 5 Spanish first semester afternoon