Soft skills

2022/2023

Type: Optional course (faculty)

Delivered by: International College of Economics and Finance

When: 3, 4 module

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Elena Dimova

Language: English

ECTS credits: 3

Contact hours: 32

Full Syllabus

Abstract

The blend of social, communication and interpersonal skills, attitudes, social and emotional intelligence, career attributes and character traits, Soft skills are what make the person get well with others and performs his duties efficiently. This uniquely designed course aims at thorough understanding of the fundamental soft skills and their practical social and workplace usage. It helps participants to communicate effectively and to carry themselves confidently and in harmony with the surroundings. Students will learn how to identify and overcome the barriers in interpersonal relationships, develop the ability to resist the contagion of negative attitudes, leverage on the power of self-awareness and positive attitude, gain best results through teamwork, leadership, and applying the problem-solving and decision-making skills. Students will find this course immensely useful for landing a great job and building a successful career. Interactive teaching methods are used to engage the students, ensure high levels of motivation, and on-going progress in acquiring new soft skills. The audience is constantly involved in the discussion process, group work, individual tasks and self-reflection exercises. Course Pre-requisites: Knowledge of basic psychological principles (gained from general and social psychology courses) will be a plus but is not a formal requirement to take this course. The course implements the interactive learning approaches extensively, therefore, students are expected to be fully engaged through active participation and collaboration with peers and the tutor. Key role in soft skills development is devoted to the personal motivation for self-awareness, personal development and growth through self-reflection and building effective communications with others. An open-mind, positive attitude and wiliness to collaborate are required from all the Soft skills course participants. Upper-intermediate English level or higher is required.

Learning Objectives

The students will taught how to feel more empowered, manage personal effectiveness, get more results in less time, work with and influence others, understand their own strengths and develop the unique leadership style.
This course will help become more capable and confident in the workplace by connecting core strengths and skills to future employment opportunities

Expected Learning Outcomes

Define and evaluate personal strengths, weaknesses, and skills for possible job fit.
Develop personal leadership style and understand the specifics of managing digital transformation projects.
Develop the skills and techniques of a successful negotiator, be able to resist manipulation and psychological press in negotiations.
Develop the strategies for improving personal effectiveness and communications skills at work or in learning environment.
Identify the ways to improve personal soft skills.
Implement the successful strategies for managing diverse teams in cross-cultural environment to achieve high levels of performance.

Course Contents

Personal Effectiveness at Work
Creating and Managing a Personal Brand for Success
Communication and Business Negotiation Skills
Project Management Skills
Leadership 4.0 - Managing and Leading in the Digital Age
Team Management. Developing high performing teams

Assessment Elements

Attendance, individual contribution to class discussions and interaction
Class activity
Group project
A group (3-5 people in a team) should address a real-life situation which requires urgent attention, management and finally, positive resolution. The case will be provided by the tutor on one of the topics of the course. Among the issues that may be addressed are: managing negative team dynamic and toxic relationships; overcoming the resistance to implementing digital innovations; resolving interpersonal conflicts; improve the performance of a team which work in the virtual environment; preparing for the second round of negotiations with a difficult and aggressive prospective customer. Each team should present its finding and recommendations (a 7-minute presentation, 5-6 slides).
Final Test
The final test will take place at the end of the course. It shall consist of a set of 15-20 multiple-choice quiz questions that cover all the topics conceptually and reflect a student's personal level of learning. The final test also includes 1-2 “discussion questions” when a student should express his/her opinion with regard to a specific situation. A student is expected to incorporate some of the basic learning and knowledge gained during the soft skills course.

Interim Assessment

2022/2023 4th module
0.1 * Attendance, individual contribution to class discussions and interaction + 0.2 * Group project + 0.3 * Class activity + 0.4 * Final Test

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Berkun, S. (2008). Making Things Happen : Mastering Project Management: Vol. 1st ed. O’Reilly Media.
Coyle, D. (2018). The Culture Code : The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups: Vol. First edition. Bantam.
Frankel, L. P. (2014). Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office : Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers. Business Plus.
Loehr, J., & Schwartz, T. (2005). The Power of Full Engagement : Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. Free Press.
Meyer, E. (2014). The Culture Map : Decoding How People Think, Lead, and Get Things Done Across Cultures. PublicAffairs.
Owen, J. (2015). The Mindset of Success : From Good Management to Great Leadership: Vol. 1st Edition. Kogan Page.

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Ahmed Bounfour. (2016). Digital Futures, Digital Transformation. Springer.
Drucker, P. F. (2017). The Effective Executive. Routledge.
Ibarra, H., Ely, R. J., & Kolb, D. M. (2016). Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers. KDA Today, 68(3), 8–12.

Course Syllabus