370-374

Blog Post 370-374

The three ways to disseminate information is to either quote, paraphrase, or summarize.  All of these methods may prove to be more useful than others depending on the situation.  These are something that all college students learn during their college careers in lower level English courses.  Quoting information is like copying and pasting someone else’s work but putting it in quotation marks and giving full credit to the creator.  Paraphrasing is taking someone else’s information but transforming the way it is expressed or conveyed.  The final way is to summarize the information by basically condensing the original information into a shortened version.  When using all of these methods, it is important to give proper credit to the owner to avoid plagiarism.

Examples:

Original Work:

Usually entities that are considered to have high levels of systemic rick coin the name of “too big to fail” or “too interconnected to fail.”  This means that an entity in an industry would cause major negative economic impacts on others across the economy.  It does not necessarily have to pertain to the same industry.  Some have proposed to regulate this aspect of banks in hopes of preventing economic collapse in case of large-scale financial failure.  Regulating this risk would mean to either limit banks from becoming too influential and owning large portions of the market at the same time establish limits on the total amount of risk each individual bank can take on.  Some believe that systemic risk should even be taxed in order to downsize risky behaviors by banks.

Quotation:

“Usually entities that are considered to have high levels of systemic rick coin the name of “too big to fail” or “too interconnected to fail.”  This means that an entity in an industry would cause major negative economic impacts on others across the economy.  It does not necessarily have to pertain to the same industry.  Some have proposed to regulate this aspect of banks in hopes of preventing economic collapse in case of large-scale financial failure.  Regulating this risk would mean to either limit banks from becoming too influential and owning large portions of the market at the same time establish limits on the total amount of risk each individual bank can take on.  Some believe that systemic risk should even be taxed in order to downsize risky behaviors by banks” (Palacio, 2015).

Paraphrase:

Financial institutions that are considered “to big to fail” or “too interconnected to fail” can potentially pose a huge risk for the entire economy.  This is because the more risky investments that these institutions take on, the more systemic risk is added to the industry.  When these investments go bad and cause the institution to inevitably fail, the entire economy will suffer and fall into recession.  Some suggest that systemic risk is regulated in order to prevent major economic crisis.  This could mean capping the amount of risk any one institution can have and even taxing the risk in the event that it presents a threat to the economy (Palacio, 2015).

Summary:

Large financial institutions that would cause major negative economic impacts in the case that they would fail are usually considered “too big to fail” or “too interconnected to fail.”  These entities usually tend to have high levels of systemic risk.  Many propose to regulate and mitigate this aspect of financial institutions in order to prevent recession (Palacio, 2015).

With my experience, I have found it more affective to paraphrase information rather than to quote or summarize.  This is because paraphrasing includes much more detail and a level of originality to work.  It may also increase the credibility of the work as well.  Quotations may seem like copy and pasting to fill space and summarizing may be too short or lack important details.

Question:

Which of these methods would be best when writing a secondary research project?

References:

Bovée, Courtland L., and John V. Thill. "Achieving Success Through Effective Business Communication." Business Communication Today. 12th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 2014. Print.

Digital Resume and Job Posting Links for Career Packet

Digital Resume:

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/public-profile-settings?trk=prof-edit-edit-public_profile

Job Posting:

https://www.linkedin.com/jobs2/view/39047757?trk=vsrp_jobs_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A3677744601427140221155%2CVSRPtargetId%3A39047757%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary

Zerply

Zerply is an online program specifically geared toward creating resumes for artists in fields such as filming, animation, graphic design, and video game production.  If you specialize in any of these industries, Zerply is a quick and easy way to get noticed by companies/employers who are looking for individuals in these areas. 

The format for Zerply’s resumes is untraditional compared to what most people consider to be a regular or normal resume.  Since it is a visual type of company, resumes in Zerply are more like a timeline of pictures and videos of the artist’s work rather than words on paper.  There are not many words written on these resumes other than the artist’s name, years of work experience, location, a brief description, and education.  The way to get noticed by employers is to have visually appealing pictures and videos on the resume.  However this website has its limitations. 

To become a member of the program, you must be invited by either a current member or by presenting your past work on a profile.  This website would also not be useful to anyone who is not in these industries, but it does seem to bring success to those who do get invited to be a member.

Blog Post 330-341

Blog Post 330-341

Learning how to construct a persuasive message is one of the most important skills that is needed in business.  It is also important to know how to create one that has just the right balance of emotional and logical appeals.  To make a persuasive argument effective, the writer must be able to know the audience’s needs, getting attention and interest, and motivate action.  An example of a scenario that would require persuasive notes would be from the company that my mother works for.

The company motivates employees to do their own thinking to help the company in some way by giving away a brand new iPad every quarter to the most insightful employee.  Therefore, it is important for employees who want to help the company to construct well thought out persuasive letters.  My mother submitted two proposals of her own already.  The first one did not win the iPad because someone with the same idea submitted the proposal before her.  This time, my mother proposed an idea that suggests for the company to look into regaining unclaimed property accumulated in different states over the years.  My mother did the research, and just one state alone could save the company thousands of dollars.  This problem does not just occur in this company.  It is a problem that all companies encounter, and it usually goes unchecked.

In this example, it would probably be wiser to use more logic versus emotion.  Using statistics would probably prove more persuasive than trying to evoke someone’s feelings.  With the AIDA process, my mother would probably start off trying to grab attention by saying something like “unclaimed property could save the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.” Then interest could be sparked by emphasizing the issue at hand where the company is losing money in property that needs to be reclaimed.  To get the desire of the audience, my mother can show that the saved money can benefit them by getting bigger bonuses or more allocated vacation days.  To end the message, my mother could call to action a plan that would reclaim the property and also maybe prevent the company from losing the property in the first place.

Discussion question:  In what other way can the persuasive essay in this situation be started off to grab attention?

Blog Post 288-311

Termination of Employment:

Johnny is the southeastern regional controller of the Toys “R” Us company.  Due to several consecutive quarterly losses, the company is forced to close down one of the store locations.  The closing of this store will cost many workers to lose their jobs as a result, which includes managers, clerks, maintenance workers, and security guards.  Johnny needs to deliver the hard news to all of the workers who will soon be laid off in the best manner possible.  While constructing this message, there are several things that Johnny must keep in mind before sending out the bad to prevent the least amount of harm, damage, outrage, and shock from all of the workers.

Solution:

Johnny should deliver the news with a message that begins with a buffer to start off sounding somewhat positive and to convey appreciation.  Then start easing into the bad news to not be blunt and harsh.  After telling the workers the bad news, Johnny should clearly lay out the reasons for termination, which would be the unprofitability of the store, which is causing huge losses for the company.  The best medium for this message would have to be in person.

Rejection of Job Applicant:

BB&T recently just opened a new major branch in Charlotte’s uptown area.  This new branch attracted hundreds of applicants for the bank teller positions that are now currently available.  However, there are only a limited number of positions that can be given out.  The vast majority of the applicants will have to be turned down even though they may have many appealing qualities and qualifications.  The newly appointed managers of the BB&T branch will have to come up with a way to appropriately turn down these applicants.

Solution:

BB&T should send the applicants a message that conveys appreciation for expressing interest in the company.  BB&T should not give exact reasons for not being chosen and they should not say that they will review the applicant again in the future.  BB&T should also end the message with wishes for success in the future for the applicant and be as polite as possible.

- In what other ways could the situations mentioned above be handled? Which one would prove to be the most effective?

Blog Post In Class 2/12/15

Chic Fil A

As the new Corporate Executive Officers of Chic Fil A, Taylor Westmoreland, Muz Syed, and James Palacio, we would like to announce the resignation of the previous CEO, Dan T. Cathy.  We will no longer make charitable contributions to anti-gay organizational groups.  We would like to formally address the recent accusations against our company, and as of now, we are making it clear that we are indifferent toward same-sex marriage.

We still consider this company a Christian organization to preserve the founder’s original goals and mission.  However, we will not discriminate or challenge any other person’s opinions, beliefs, or views.  We do not believe that the comments of the previous CEO reflect on the true nature of Chic Fil A.

From this point on, we also uphold the Supreme Court’s decision to recognize same-sex marriage.  We know that not everyone may agree on this outcome, however, we would like to maintain a neutral position to accommodate the needs of all of our customers.

Blog Post 123-136

Writing effectively within the workplace is one of the most important factors to any kind of businessperson.  Without proper writing techniques, a job seeker may not be able to get a job, and at the same time, others may not be able to maintain employment.  This is a skillset that cannot be emphasized enough.  Many college graduates go through their years without having proficiency in writing.  Through my personal experiences, I found that there are certain areas of writing that need more focus than others.

Grammar and punctuation are probably two of the biggest challenges that writers struggle with the most.  When participating in peer-review activities in prior English courses, it astounded me how so many students were lacking knowledge of basic knowledge and punctuation.  I could not believe how any student could be accepted into the university with such poor writing skills.  Subject-verb agreement and comma placement are usually the most common errors found in writing.

            One thing that helped me become a better writer was knowing my audience or having a conversation.  Everyone knows how to talk to certain people such as elders, professors, employers, and children.  Some writers cannot identify who they would be communicating with in their works so much of the writing may seem inappropriate for particular contexts.  A good idea to keep in mind is identifying who will be receiving the message, and writing in a manner (style or tone) that would be best suited for that situation.  In other words, make sure it sounds good to the recipient of the message.  For example, managers are not friends so they should not be treated as one.

            Another factor to be aware of in writing is to keep sentences and paragraphs not overly complex.  Long, unnecessary words and phrases do not need to be included to sound professional.  Also ideas must flow smoothly and transition well into different topics.  A well-organized and coherent written work will not be jumping around unrelated topics.  This is where paragraphs become useful because they are usually how ideas are separated.  Keeping writing simple and organized is never a bad way to go. 

Being conscious of these tips could be more than half the battle for many novice writers.  Carrying on these simple skills into the real world can really make a big impact when it comes to business.  In the end, it could make a difference when trying to get promotion or maintaining a good client relationship.

In your opinion, what is the most important factor to be aware of when writing to any kind of audience?

The website for UNC Charlotte provides a good example of persuasive style and tone to attract potential students.  While reading, I became interested in finding more information about the campus life and offerings.

" The Campus Events website is your resource for hundreds of activities and events held at UNC Charlotte throughout the year. Search this online calendar by date or event categories such as speakers, arts, entertainment, recreation, career, and more. Promote your own campus department or student organization's activities by submitting your campus events online."

This blurb makes the campus sound lively and exciting by using words such as hundreds, recreation, and entertainment.  A prospective student or parent may read this and become influenced into choosing this school.  The school uses thumbnails that make the campus look packed with students who are all excited to be there.

http://www.uncc.edu/landing/campus-life

Bovée, Courtland L., and John V. Thill. "Achieving Success Through Effective Business Communication." Business Communication Today. 12th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 2014. Print.