BE_PH_BE2 Business English and Global Communication Skills 2

NEWTON University
summer 2026
Extent and Intensity
0/2. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: graded credit.
Teacher(s)
BcA. Robert Michael Westbrook, LL.M., MBA, MSc (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
BcA. Robert Michael Westbrook, LL.M., MBA, MSc
Centre for International Programmes – International programmes – NEWTON University
Timetable of Seminar Groups
BE_PH_BE2/01: Thu 8:00–9:30 PH Učebna 05, except Thu 12. 2., except Thu 5. 3. ; and Thu 7. 5. 8:00–9:30 PH Učebna 05, Thu 14. 5. 8:00–9:30 PH Učebna 05, R. Westbrook
BE_PH_BE2/02: Thu 9:40–11:10 PH Učebna 05, except Thu 12. 2., except Thu 5. 3. ; and Thu 7. 5. 9:40–11:10 PH Učebna 05, Thu 14. 5. 9:40–11:10 PH Učebna 05, R. Westbrook
BE_PH_BE2/03: Fri 13:30–15:00 Zoom.Praha1, except Fri 13. 2., except Fri 6. 3. ; and Fri 15. 5. 11:20–12:50 Zoom.Praha1, 13:30–15:00 Zoom.Praha1, R. Westbrook
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives

The course aims to strengthen the student´s language self-confidence necessary for successful operation in a competitive international business environment. Based on user feedback, research into business English studies, and employers´ ever-evolving needs, the course focuses on "intangible" business skills - emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills. The student is prepared for business language and language skills, and a comprehensive and receptive approach to professional dealings with others. Specially formulated spoken assignments and case studies help students build their confidence in communicating and developing interpersonal skills. Case studies provide authentic situations and allow students to apply all acquired language skills to apply in a real business environment.

The course is complemented by independent student work within the Business eWorkbook, which provides everything that the classic Student's Book offers, but supplemented by other multimedia resources. Self-study supports and strengthens grammar, vocabulary, listening, pronunciation, reading, and writing. Students can use videos that illustrate communication and social skills in each lesson and the lesson key language. Exercises allow students to practice the functional language in the video. Students can test themselves during the course using the eWorkbook by setting the time or number of questions. All test scores are inserted directly into the grade book.


Syllabus

Course main topics (each topic for 2x 2 teaching hours):

  1. Cutting Costs

The topic highlights the key takeaways - cost cutting as a company´s measure to reduce its expenses and improve profitability, including laying off employees, closing facilities, downsizing offices, and streamlining the supply chain. In addition, the topic emphasizes the need for a strategy (classifying costs as bad costs, good costs, and best costs) when embarking on cost-cutting.

  1. International Franchising

The topic highlights the issues of a business allowing another entity to use its licensing procedures, processes, and business model to start its own copy of the existing business in another part of the world involving actually selling the franchise rights to a third party to operate as the master franchisee, giving them the rights to open company-owned outlets and sub-franchise in the country or region. The topic further discusses International Franchising, also known as Master Franchising or Master Licensing, as a method of expansion that new or established franchises can use to move into new geographical areas and markets. It points out the differences from franchising in the franchisor’s home country, where the franchisor grants the franchisee a license to use the marketing, branding, and operations of the franchisor.

  1. Corporate Social Responsibility

The topic highlights non-academic and academic approaches. The non-academic approach discusses the core values and beliefs, corporate ethics, rules of behaviour, and mission statement. The academic approach discusses organizational culture, „gurus“,e.g. Geert Hofstede etc.

  1. Social Media Marketing

The topic highlights influencer content as it significantly impacts buying decisions. Special focus is given to marketers across industries who drive the evolution of social media marketing (SMM) from a stand-alone tool to a multipronged source of marketing intelligence on an increasingly important and growing audience.

  1. Outsourcing

The topic highlights the issues of the business practice of hiring a party outside a company to perform services or create goods that were traditionally performed in-house by the company's own employees and staff. Outsourcing as a practice undertaken by companies as a cost-cutting measure. 

  1. Crisis Management

The topic highlights the issues of external or internal events causing a crisis, presents the strategy of anticipating crises at the corporate level, and plans how to deal with them effectively. The topic further discusses the issues of the unpredictability of global events influencing the attempt of many modern organizations to identify potential crises before they occur in order to sketch out plans to deal with them. The COVID-19 crisis is discussed as a textbook example of crisis management – sending millions of employees home, and essential services struggling to function. History will judge how effective the powers-that-be were in their crisis management skills. The topic deals with the crisis forms — an office fire, the death of a CEO, a terrorist attack, a data breach, or a natural disaster leading to tangible and intangible costs to a company in terms of lost sales, damage to its reputation, and a decrease in income.
Assessment methods
Graded credit: final written test
Language of instruction
English
The course is also listed under the following terms summer 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.newton.cz/course/nu/summer2026/BE_PH_BE2