Final Post (Reflection)

This unit has taught me a lot about how important communication really is. With my area of study being film making, this was definitely a ‘need to know’ subject which already has aided me in how to successfully take on this type of career.

Room for Improvement?

Looking back in this subject there are improvements I have made over the course of the 10 weeks. One would include most obviously my knowledge about the importance of communication. Then there are the subtler ones, like how I am able to write an essay and report much better than what I could in the beginning of the term. Furthermore, I now send emails with more thought and effort put behind it, whether it is to a lecturer, friend or work partner.

There are improvements however that I would like to make in the future and do differently next time. This mainly being time management and organisation. At times, it felt like there was stress when really not necessary, so with teaching myself how to plan out work with personal and study times would surely improve how I tackle assignments and projects in the future.

Obstacles and Challenges

There were definitely some challenges in this unit, for example how to structure an essay or report with hardly no previous experience, however there was one big challenge I seemed to struggle with. This was all the research involved along with the APA referencing. Since these two are so important when it comes to proving a point or talking about anything in an essay, making sure all references were reliable and trustworthy proved to be a challenge. Moreover, the APA reference list has many rules, therefore if something as simple as a full stop or comma was misplaced or missing, this could impact the overall grade when unnecessary.

I enjoyed expanding my knowledge on the importance of communication and how much it spans over many careers. Although creating my first blog was definitely a highlight, since this was something that has been brought up previously as an idea but never actually fully committed to. Additionally, being able to communicate with an audience weekly about certain topics makes it feel less like an assignment and more like a fulfilling conversation with strangers. Overall, I enjoyed the unit and would most certainly recommend it to anyone starting off a new career.

Jargon Language. Good or Bad?

Jargon is common throughout many different cultures. This can be more so noticeable when individuals from different countries refer to something as different names. An example would be that Australians refer to someone without any class as a “Bogan.” However, for Americans they would refer to them as “Trailer Trash” or even a “Redneck.” There are many different examples though in today’s blog post the main focus will be based in my field of study. At the moment that consists of four different subjects.

Digital Video & Audio

Each one has its own sense of jargon language depending on what the subject covers. Firstly, Digital Video and Audio is a class that covers film making. Majority of the time jargon in this subject will be noticed when talking about tools. For example, a ‘Boom’ is a large fuzzy microphone at the end of a stick that picks up dialogue from the actor/s. Another common example is a dolly, which is best described as a small platform that holds a camera. It rolls along a track to give a nice and smooth stabilized movement without causing the camera to shake.

Figure 1 – Jargon Buster

Web Design

The next subject is web design which consists of many examples of this kind of language. This subject consists a lot with coding which turns out to be another language in itself. Terms like ‘CSS’ and ‘HTML’ (which both stand for Cascading Style Sheets and Hypertext Mark-up Language) are the most common by far. These two are the core tools when it comes to building web pages which is why they are mentioned many times (W3C).

Communication in Professional Context

Lastly there is the Communication in Professional Context subject, which is the most formal out of all. When talking to each other in this class, it is recommended to speak as if in a business environment. In other words, there is no sayings mentioned such as ‘G’day Mate’, or ‘What’s up?’ However, this subject still has its own sense of jargon language. This includes a lecturer, which is a university teacher or staff member. A ‘Q&A’ which in other words is Question and Answer for short, is a small test or a group to discuss certain issues.

Jargon is common and has its place in almost every field of study, however it is important to understand when to use professional communication. It is not just about steering away from slang and such however, but also trying to speak intelligently and correctly depending on the situation (Berger, 2007).

References:

W3C. (n.d.) Extensible markup language. Retrieved from https://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/htmlcs

Berger, J., (2007). Watch your language at work (importance of workplace jargon and soft skills). Ward’s dealer business, Feb 1, 2007, Vol.41(2)

Figure 1. Calvium. (2015) What does it all mean – jargon buster. Retrieved from https://calvium.com/mean-jargon-buster/

Advantages & Disadvantages of a Report

Why Reports?

Reports are very important as far as research and valid information goes. The main purpose of these are to investigate and gather a better understanding of a certain problem/situation (Cenere, Gill, Lawson and Lewis, 2014). They can provide deeper insight to how the business is effective or not, any issues that may need attendance and more. Certain reports stand out over others for certain reasons, however in today’s blog we will be looking at one in particular and discuss the advantages and disadvantages shown.

The following 2017 report is from Coca Cola (which can be found at the following directory: https://www.ccamatil.com/-/media/Cca/Corporate/Files/Annual-Reports/2018/Annual-Report-2017.ashx)  that starts of discussing the people high in charge such as the board of directors, chairmen, group leadership team and so on. Then leads into the information of what they have done throughout the year and how they have been financially. There are some advantages and disadvantages to this  report though.

The Advantages

First off, the advantages are all the information is split into its relative sections. Nothing is spoken about more than once unnecessarily and seems to deliver all the pivotal points correctly. It even goes as far to show diagrams, tables and etc. This aids in the reader understanding the information while also backing it up. Furthermore, it is aesthetically pleasing, with graphics and images being displayed without taking over the report and being to interruptive.

The Disadvantages

The main disadvantage in this report however would be that there is no executive summary. The purpose of an executive summary is to explain the main features covered in the report and give an overview the entire plan (Chron, 2017, para 2). There will be times when people don’t have time to read a full report, especially if it is the length of the Coca Cola one here. So therefore, this is where it would come into use so it makes it easier for the readers like us to just have an idea of what is being talked about.

References:

Cenere, P., Gill, R., Lawson, C., & Lewis, M. (2015). Communication skills for business professionals. Cambridge Port Melbourne, Vic.: Cambridge University Press.

Chron. (2017). What is an executive summary business plan. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/executive-summary-business-plan-2587.html

What makes Advertising work?

Advertising is an important way to send across information to others. There are many different ways to do so, which include; Newspapers, Billboards, Radio, Television, Posters and more. This TV advertisement is an example which promotes the well-known snacks known as M&Ms. Knowing your target audience is a must in this area, since different groups of age, gender, personal views and such call for different interests. In this ad, the creators intend for the audience to be aimed at people across all ages, however mostly the younger generation.

The basic message conveyed in this ad is that M&Ms are a perfect snack idea when hungry. The way the message is sent to the viewer is by adding comedy into the story. Furthermore, a lot of colour can be seen in the advertisement which when added with the comedy, gives out a joyful and uplifting theme. If they were all black and white or even shaped as basic as a square, this could not pull in the audience as much and sell as well. Creative ads tend to be perceived as being more interesting and has the power to influence cognitions and attitudes, which is what we see a lot of in this one particular (Smith, 2008).

“You get in the bowl!”

Something that stands out in this ad is the fact that they don’t take themselves seriously while trying to sell their product. As mentioned before there definitely is humour involved, however they also make sure that the product is not shoved into the audience’s faces forcing them to buy it. Instead they create a fun and calm situation which the characters are placed in.

Tv advertisement is arguably one of the most effective ways to publicise a product in this day and age. With television having the properties of sight, sound and motion, it really does separate itself from other marketing ways including radio, newspapers, posters and etc (Bizfluent, 2018, Medium Properties, para 1). With only under a minute of time to get the message across, it is important to know the audience, message, and context of the situation while avoiding the common issues.

References:

Smith, R., (2008). The impact of advertising creativity on the hierarchy of effects, Journal of Advertising, 37(4), 47-61, doi:10.2753/JOA0091-3367370404.

Bizfluent. (2018). Importance of TV in advertising. Retrieved from https://bizfluent.com/about-5349433-importance-tv-advertising.html

Mars Incorporated. (2010). M&M’s Cupboard [Video File] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEiFIKBPUq8&feature=youtu.be

Why Research and Referencing is so Important?

When constructing an essay or any piece of information, it is most important to research and reference properly. Researching is a skill that needs to be learned and practiced overtime. The more it is done, the more accurate the information turns out to be when placing it into a report, essay, etc. Another important point with research is to make sure that the source is credible. Checking the author, URL, labels and such will help find out if they are or not. Taking information from just any source can lead to providing false information in your own work.

Now with all the research done, it needs to be shown and referenced at some point in your work. Now what exactly is referencing to begin with? Well it is a way to give credit to the writers of the source material and ideas you have borrowed (UNSW, 2017). Moreover, it helps demonstrate your knowledge while also providing evidence of a topic and most crucial of all avoid plagiarism. It is important to remember that using other people’s ideas as an aid to your work to either prove a point or get information across is completely fine, however without the proper acknowledgment it is seen as a form of intellectual dishonesty (CQ University, 2018). Noting that it can also lead to legality issues which can be simply avoided if referencing is done correctly.

There are many ways to reference, including Vancouver, APA and Harvard style. However, one that is most common is the APA system, which stands for ‘American Psychological Association’. When referencing in an essay for example, keeping to the one system is crucial. Using more than one will be considered incorrect and fail in regard to the requirements of the referencing conditions and guidelines. Below are three examples of APA referencing that cover information about professional emails and communication.

 

References:

Smit, M., Bond-Bernard, T., Steyn, H., & Fahis-Rotelli, I., (2017). Email communication in project management: bane or blessing, South African Journal of Information Management, 19(1), 1-10. 10.4102/sajim.v19i1.826

Dwyer, J. (2013). Communication for business and the professions: Strategies and skills (5^thed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia.

Net Manners. (2017). Five essential elements of ever email. Retrieved from https://www.netmanners.com/368/5-essential-elements-of-every-email/

References (Blog):

CQ University. (2018). Why is referencing important?. Retrieved from https://www.cqu.edu.au/student-life/services-and-facilities/referencing/why-is-referencing-important

UNSW. (2013). Why is referencing important?. Retrieved from https://student.unsw.edu.au/why-referencing-important