Branding and Consumption: Free Write

 There are many factors that are in play when considering the brand of a company. First, the logo they use may come to attract a specific clientele and can summarise what the company is about. For example, the image Polo uses (signified on their clothing and buildings) comes to symbolise the wealthiness of the brand. The theme surrounding the image has a deep past, where the game displayed was only used by rich people. The logo, in this case, partly reflects the quality and price of the products. The logo is not the only factor in the brand, however. The story of the company also plays a key role in branding. Its contents depict the company's history, who it is made for, and why you should buy the product. The story of the company is further reinforced through the use of social media, its website, and verbatim recommendations by customers. These two play the largest role in setting the stage for a company's brand.

Leadership Communication in the New Workplace: Meme

 

I think sometimes, people get the wrong image of management. The functional organizational structure of today is different from what is pictured in movies, tv shows, and other media. Our media portrays a significant importance gap between the status of the workers and the managers. Managers are depicted as authoritative and direct, while workers are merely slaves to their orders (a cause and effect relationship). The modern organisational structure does not work efficiently with this format, however, and requires workers to communicate information and questions to employees, and vice versa. The cartoon above depicts a worker and a boss. The worker questions why the manager is not up in his office giving orders, which causes the boss to reaffirm his position in the modern organisational workplace, stating that he is down here to have talks with his employees. In this way, bosses and workers have a two-way relationship, one that can only grow stronger through more proper communication.

Image link: Young Cartoon Kids Pointing and Looking Stock Vector - Illustration of friends, showing: 31919252 (dreamstime.com)

Taking the stress out of stressful conversations: Meme

The image above portrays an extreme, yet very relatable scenario of a stressful conversation in the workplace. The manager, Karen, said something which made the employee visibly mad, making him stand up and yell. The other employee has a look of defeat on his face, unsure of how to calm him down or solve the problem at hand. What might be Karen's response? One solution may have been anticipating that this was going to happen and giving the mad employee a clear, concise solution as to why Karen said what she said. Another way to resolve this issue may be to name the aggression tactic. In this way, she may go on to talk the employee down, and understand why he is expressing anger. Which tactic would you use in this situation?

Image reference: Employees benefit from standing up to hostile bosses - UPI.com
 

Visual Rhetoric: Pink Floyd

The cover of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon may appear to be very simple, but it has different meanings that can change, based on the perspective that the observer brings. It displays a beam of light passing through a triangle lens, which then diffracts the light into all colours of the rainbow in long, thin strips. This image is then imposed on a black background. It represents the science associated with light diffraction, but the meaning behind this can be much more. The meaning of it can change for people who are listeners of the band, for example, or based on their education in science and other topics. For me, this image represents our actions (represented by the beam of light) which are then seen or heard by others (represented by the triangle) and then impacted by the person with which we are interacting. We cannot see from the original beam of light the many hidden things that it conceals, but when we place it through a mirror or other refraction device, we can see beautiful colours. In the same way, we may not know the consequences of our actions, but it impacts others in a huge way. We must make sure to make these positive actions so that we can make beautiful colours in an otherwise dark world.

I thought that this submission would be interesting to include in my Final Portfolio Submission, as it breaks away from the people theme that I have replicated throughout the rest of my posts. While the modality (computer altered image) and the verisimilitude (computer altered image) are obvious, the input is rather abstract and is up for its viewers to decide. I chose this image initially because of my love for their music, and because of the uniqueness of the image. Afterwards, I realised that viewers' opinions on this vary significantly. Its implications in the business world may be that, by using an abstract image such as this for their brand theme, it allows customers to create their own interpretations. This technique is not employed much in businesses, opting for more, definitive, story-telling images, but it is an interesting approach.

 

Difference at Work 5 W's

 Who: Everyone should learn how to conduct and manage themselves during conversations with people of other nationalities. In an increasingly globalised society, we can expect people to be from different parts of the world and thus they will conduct business differently than people from a different culture. This is especially important for business leaders who travel outside of their home company, as they will be dealing with people from other cultures.

What: Learning about differences at work involves researching other nationalities and how their people conduct themselves in meetings and other business settings. This may range from eating etiquette to business cards to some knowledge of the language.

When: It is never too late to learn about differences in culture, and everyone should do it. However, it is especially important to learn the culture when there is an international meeting coming up, or when you plan to expand the product into the international market.

Where: Learning of the culture can be done anywhere, however, sometimes it is best learned through experience (travelling to the country you are interested in). 

Why: If differences in cultures are not understood when talking with someone from a different culture, there may be detrimental consequences. For example, if a business slogan is translated into another language, and research was not done as to its translation, the resulting wording could have a different meaning than what was intended. There is the possibility to lose out on markets or potential business partners if consideration is not taken in learning aspects of the culture and language.

Motivation in the Workplace: Free Write

 The work that I do has to have some motivation to it. When we are the builders of something, we can’t see that others cannot see it our way. This makes me wonder if motivations can change depending on the people. For example, in the ted talk, we did not see in which ways they are motivated. While some people are motivated purely by money, others do not place as much value on money and more on their enjoyment of the task and the pride that they take in their work. The overall value of the task (which could be defined by how much they like doing it) might indicate the effort that they put into the task. Similarly, other motivations may include pleasing another person, such as their employer, or putting value into the world (through possibly volunteer efforts). In this way, the effort and the enjoyment of it may not be as closely correlated as in previous examples. The value of something can also be objective, based on people observing someone do something. This brings to question: would an observer like something more when they see that a person (the participant) has put more effort into it? (even if the quality isn’t good). For my work, I am sometimes in charge of training new employees. If I see that the new employee is trying their best, I like what they do more than someone who doesn't care about their work, even if the quality is the same.

The Five Messages Leaders must Manage

 Leaders within an organisation carry a huge responsibility: to know the answers to all the questions that can be asked from them (or point them to someone who can), manage employees in a responsible and conductive manner, and maintain positive relationships with consumers (amongst much more). If they do not do this, the damages can be detrimental. In my workplace, I have seen my share of good and bad managers. What separated the good managers from the bad was clear and concise communication. In a supermarket structure (the sector in which I work right now) poor communication with customers could lead to a loss in their future business; when dealing with a colleague, this poor communication could lead to a loss in profit due to poor planning and communication strategies amongst all levels of the organisation. My boss told me a story that demonstrates this. During the Christmas holidays last year, he was going to place the order for the next day's stock. He assumed that the other boss (who was just starting her holidays) placed the order for this specific item, and so he decided to not order it, nor did he ask her because he did not want to bug her on holidays. It turns out, however, she did not order this item, and it resulted in roughly $3000 in losses over the next two days. While this was a short-term problem, imagine the implication had there not been any communication between these two bosses at all in the long-term. They would be putting their department's financial situation at risk, while also lacking to demonstrate one of the most important aspects of being a manager: knowing your job and the responsibilities behind it. I think an unspoken responsibility of being a manager is effective communication, and a lack of understanding of this concept may be holding many companies and individuals back from success.

Communicating Gender: 5 W's

 Who: Concerns everyone, regardless of their gender or status within the workplace.

What: The topic concerns how different gender norms can be imposed on individuals at work in a condescending way. For example, companies might be less likely to hire young women for a leadership role, because they might be leaving for maternity leave (reference: James' presentation) or because they might not be able to lift as much as men in a labour-driven job. Yet again, there are norms that are set for women and men, because of the long history that can be associated between them. For example, the trades are a male-dominated field, with no women.

When: Gender differences and treatment have been going on since the beginning of work (especially with the rise of capitalism) and still occur to this day.

Where: Gender differences and their treatments can be found at many different jobs

Why: It is important to correct the gender norms that have controlled societies and workplaces for so long so that people of other genders that are not traditionally working in that field can feel comfortable doing the work that they enjoy. It should also help keep workers around longer, because they will feel like they are really appreciated in the workplace if they are not discriminated on the grounds of gender.

Business Pitch Video

Attached is the link to my business pitch: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dGU0SxmtpT9VgSt9fIefY8JEuEQo3XnR/view?usp=sharing

This pitch attempted to convince viewers why everyone should join a sport. This was a unique experience for me, as I have never spoken about this topic to a large group of people before. I decided to choose this passion of mine, as it speaks to who I am as a person (my brand of sorts), and because it is relatable to my audience (university students). I decided to tell my story and how I started off in sport, because it shows a level of vulnerability on my part, making me more believable to my audience. Then I told viewers where they can find out about sports in our province, giving them an incentive to go see for themselves (word-of-mouth advertising). Overall, I am very pleased with how my pitch turned out, and I would certainly do it again.