Journal On Business Communication Breakdowns And Repair

Communication Categories

Discuss about the Journal On Business Communication Breakdowns And Repair.

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #___1_____

1. Public Relation:

The research on PR issues and importance continue. These include media analysts, policymakers and influencers, shareholders and customers as well.

1. Advertising:

Advertising is a vital part of business and a lot depends on the way the business advertises its products and services. Effective advertising influences sales and profit remarkably. The 2012 P&G ad campaign “Thank You Mom” on the London Olympic theme is a great example of successful advertising as found from the observation.

1. Promotion/Event:

A visit to a local football event organized for promoting a newly launched sportswear company helped understand the concept of promotion.

1. Social Media:

The significance of Facebook as a tool for business communication is further researched. Facebook groups used by employees of business organizations help reduce workload and consumes less time.

1. Internal Communication:

Two business companies – a bank and a supermarket – were visited for internal communication observation purpose. Indirect observation was chosen as the method for observation.

1. Communication Breakdowns:  

No activities

Lessons Learned:

The visit to the two companies was fruitful because practical observations helped clarify numerous concepts. 

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #___3_____

1. Public Relation:

No observations

1. Advertising:

Types of advertising like newspaper, magazine and television were observed. It was noticed that advertising for the same product differed in different places.

1. Promotion/Event:

No observations

1. Social Media:

Business executives could directly interact with customers through Twitter and Facebook. Many instances of such conversations were found on the net.

1. Internal Communication:

No observations

1. Communication Breakdowns:  

The case of communication failure of General Motors provides an insight into the communication breakdown concept. The company had failed to acknowledge the severity of the ignition switch issue due to poor choice of words by committees investigating the matter.

Lessons Learned:

It was learned that companies use advertisement after much research on popular choice, demands of the consumers in particular places, and then target them.

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #____4____

1. Public Relation:

PR could lead to amazing results for a company if used smartly. Many companies indulge in activities such as planting trees, donating to charities or promoting products through social messages. Google, one of the giants in business, created a website dedicated to raise funds for Ebola victims

1. Advertising:

No observations

1. Promotion/Event:

A recent news article on Beijing Olympic Park in China shows the effectiveness of events increasing promotion. At an event celebrating the 500 millionth visitors to the park, the organizers had stated that they aim to build a platform for enterprises where they could strengthen relationships by deepening communication.

1. Social Media:

Lessons Learned

Twitter has been observed as the most used social media platform by businesses to convey various ranges of messages. Customers as well as employees express their issues in the Twitter handle of the specific businesses.

1. Internal Communication:

A magazine article mentions Thomson Reuters’ excellent internal communication strategy. The article talks about the #daretodisrupt campaign by the company to re-energize innovation.

1. Communication Breakdowns:

The most interesting lesson learned on this day was the significance of internal communication and the methods used by companies to strengthen it. The observation also helped learn the fact that business communication need not always follow conventions.

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #___5_____

1. Public Relation:

The observations regarding PR was limited to observing business organizations using this tool in the media to hide the actual truth. Companies use lobbyists who work behind closed doors and influence government decisions on issues relating to PR.

1. Advertising:

Lack of knowledge regarding cultural and linguistic norms of other countries could cost companies heavily. An article about the failure of the ad campaign by Tesco in London in 2015 was read. The company displayed Smokey Bacon Flavor chips posters wishing Ramadan Mubarak to its Muslim customers not realizing that bacon is forbidden in their culture.

1. Promotion/Event:

Associating with big events like soccer World Cup or other sporting and other events is an effective way to promote brands. The recent FIFA World Cup 2018 saw gamut of brands promoting through team jerseys or through on-field digital ad banners.

1. Social Media:

No observations

1. Internal Communication:

An analysis on internal communication of the two companies visited during the early days was done. It was found that internal communication within the bank was poorer than that of the supermarket.

1. Communication Breakdowns:  

No observations

Lessons Learned:

It was clearly evident from the day’s observation that in the age of globalization, intercultural or cross-cultural communication is extremely important

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #_____6___

1. Public Relation:

In Australia, one of the biggest cases of PR disasters was of the fast-food giant McDonald’s during 2012-2013. It faced a huge PR crisis when its plan to set up a chain at the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria was met with huge protest. Studying this case helped in understanding the repercussions of poor PR campaigns.

1. Advertising:

No observations

1. Promotion/Event:

No observations

1. Social Media:

A recent human rights issue within Australia was researched in order to find out the responses by various business companies using social media platforms. Famous brands like Coca-Cola changed their cans and Facebook page to rainbow colors to celebrate marriage equality in Australia.

1. Internal Communication:

Observations were made on workplace communication and the role of the Australian government in ensuring smooth communication. The website covers broad areas of workplace communication within Australia.

1. Communication Breakdowns:  

News articles from earlier years specifically of 2013 were examined to understand communication breakdowns in the Australian context.

Lessons Learned:

An important lesson learned on the day was about the importance of including social media communication as part of company strategy.

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #____7____

1. Public Relation:

No observations

1. Advertising:

No observation

1. Promotion/Event:

A visit was made to a recent event organized by a renowned hotel in the locality. The event was done to raise funds for the education of 15 children from Aboriginal community. 

1. Social Media:

The observation on the day in this field was done to find whether social media use for business communication has any negatives or not. It was found that communicating on social media platforms could prove disastrous for companies. An Australian government site dedicated to business reveals several cons of using social media for communication.

1. Internal Communication:

An observation regarding the awareness of leaders about internal communication was studied. It was found that leaders with a strong sense of management are aware of the significance of internal communications.

1. Communication Breakdowns:  

An article on LinkedIn, a popular social media platform talked about the ways to avoid communication breakdown within organizations. The article states that mere pleasantries cannot be regarded as good communication and that communication breakdowns can be avoided using proper communication methods.

Lessons Learned:

The key lesson learnt on the day were the pros and cons associated with social media use and the ways to avoid communication breakdowns. Communication breakdowns could be avoided if a leader realizes that each employee has different way to understand.

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #___8_____

1. Public Relation:

A role-play was organized on this day with the theme of PR communication within business organizations in Australia. The role-play demonstrated the difference between good and bad PR.

1. Advertising:

A task was undertaken to understand the basics of advertising. The task involved the designing an ad campaign for a small business within the locality.

1. Promotion/Event:

No observations

1. Social Media:

The company, for which the ad campaign was being designed, also asked for creating a Facebook and an Instagram page. The task was undertaken alongside the ad campaign design as the campaign also involved social media platform.

1. Internal Communication:

This day was dedicated towards researching about the ways to develop effective internal communication systems within organizations. It was revealed that a strong internal communication system puts the said company on top over other rival companies.

1. Communication Breakdowns:  

No observations

Lessons Learned:

A very important lesson learnt from this day was the importance of constructing a strong internal communication system within an organization to ensure an edge over other companies.

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #____9____

1. Public Relation:

This day was mostly focused on identifying the various PR organizations within Australia in order to understand the roles played by PR professionals and firms. The Public Relations Institute of Australia is the national body of PR.

1. Advertising:

The different elements of advertising were researched and it was found that each element is essential in ensuring a visually graphic advertisement. The copy of the ad, the visual, the placement, the use of colors – all these elements have to be looked into carefully before designing an ad campaign.

1. Promotion/Event:

A further research into promotion and events revealed that promotion is one of the most important elements of the marketing mix. A news article while mentioning the promotion strategy of Saatchi & Saatchi, a renowned fashion brand, states that hiring strong promoting firms could be a good idea in improving sales figures.

1. Social Media:

Notes were taken while attending a seminar on the effectiveness of social media in business communication.

1. Internal Communication:

No observations

1. Communication Breakdowns:  

No observations

Lessons Learned:

The day brought many new learning especially about the PR community in Australia

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #____10____

1. Public Relation:

The role-play rehearsals were organized. Background research on PR community was complete and the roles were assigned to each member.

1. Advertising:

No activities

1. Promotion/Event:

No activities

1. Social Media:

Facebook and Instagram page was created for the chosen company and a trial was done. The pages in both platforms received minimum response. Analyzing the limitations brought forth several important points about social media use.

1. Internal Communication:

Close observations on internal communication could be done through observing communication within the team assigned to do the different tasks.

1. Communication Breakdowns:  

It was also observed that weak internal communication often lead to communication breakdowns.

Lessons Learned

By observing the limitations in the initiation of the Facebook and Instagram pages for promoting the company, it was learned that there is need for deeper analysis of target market

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #____11____

1. Public Relation:

The play was enacted after completing background research. Feedback from audiences was positive.

1. Advertising:

No activities

1. Promotion/Event:

No activities

1. Social Media:

The different social media platforms especially Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn were scrutinized separately. LinkedIn was found very useful for business executives especially for hiring purposes. The communication is quite formal.

1. Internal Communication:

A good leader knows how to communicate with his or her employees.

1. Communication Breakdowns:  

This day’s research was focused on repair strategies for communication breakdowns.  A study by Price et al. (2018) showed that communication breakdown within organizations could be repaired by following the strategy mothers use with children with down syndrome.

Lessons Learned:

The day’s most important lesson was realizing the vitality of feedbacks. It not only helps in improving communication but also helps in achieving positive results.

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #____12____

1. Public Relation:

The feedback given by audiences and teachers was analyzed on the day in order to understand the causes of failures and success in PR.

1. Advertising:

Ad campaign for the company that involved creating social media pages was restarted. This time the focus was on segmentation of the market rather than visual appeal of the page.

1. Promotion/Event:

It was found through extensive research that promotional events are different in different places within the same country. The reason was due to the variations in culture and traditions especially in a country like Australia.

1. Social Media:

The recent cases of data leaks on Facebook were analyzed on the day. The observation was done by conducting direct interviews of businesspersons and customers who use social media.

1. Internal Communication:

No activities

1. Communication Breakdowns:  

No activities

Lessons Learned:

The day was very productive as many things could be learnt including the risks associated with social media communication. The interview revealed that most people are not even aware of their data being sold without their knowledge.

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #____13____

1. Public Relation:

No activities

1. Advertising:

No activities

1. Promotion/Event:

1. Social Media:

The study examining data leaks continued as it involved the security and safety of every individual. The question of ethics came to the surface while researching on the issue.

1. Internal Communication:

The imortance of internal communication was further examined by observing communication in small places like cafes and so on.

1. Communication Breakdowns:  

An observation on the causes of communication breakdown at the workplace was done. First, some working individuals were asked and then the result was compared to the studies online.

Lessons Learned:

It was learned that around 43% think that poor leadership was the main cause of communication breakdown while 30% found vague goals to be the reason. The online study showed close to 34% opting for poor leadership to be the main reason for communication breakdown.

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #__14______

1. Public Relation:

An article on Forbes titled “The Five Biggest Public Relations Disasters of 2017 and What You Can Learn From Them” was noted (Forbes.com, 2018).

1. Advertising:

The focus of this day was to analyze the observations of the previous days. The analysis revealed that the observations were mostly on the surface and deeper evaluation was required.

1. Promotion/Event:

No activities

1. Social Media:

In this area as well, the main aim was to examine the activities that were undertaken in the previous days. In addition, the Facebook and Instagram pages for promoting the company was rectified and relaunched.

1. Internal Communication:

No activities

1. Communication Breakdowns:  

Lessons Learned:

The activities undertaken on this day mostly reflected the observations and activities performed in the last few days. An interesting revelation was made in the sense that all the six categories of communication are connected and success in one category depends on the success of other category.

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #____15____

1. Public Relation:

Films based on or depicting  journalism, business and public relations were watched in order to further understand the concept. Wolf of Wall Street, Hancock and Phone Booth were the three films that were viewed.

1. Advertising:

Visits to local ad agencies were made to observe the process and stages of advertising.

1. Promotion/Event:

1. Social Media:

Chatting on Facebook and conversation on Twitter was done on a current issue to observe the reactions of people.

1. Internal Communication:

Students who had prepared PowerPoint presentations on the topic of internal communication held communication session in class

1. Communication Breakdowns:  

Lesson was learned on how people use Facebook and Twitter platforms to communicate their views.

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #____16____

1. Public Relation:

Important scenes from the three films watched were noted down where PR issues and aspects were shown.

1. Advertising:

The visit to the ad agencies was repeated but this time it was to interview the employers and employees.

1. Promotion/Event:

Promotional event organized by the local tribe was attended. It was observed that the tribe followed traditional ways of promotion.

1. Social Media:

Researchers working on social media topics were interviewed. They provided better insights into how the platform is utilized for manipulation by some.

1. Internal Communication:

1. Communication Breakdowns:  

The tribal community still uses traditional folk dances and songs to promote the culture along with using modern technology. It was also learned that many businesses manipulate information to lure customers through social media.

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #____17____

1. Public Relation:

1. Advertising:

Ad campaigns by younger students were exhibited and judged.

1. Promotion/Event:

A cultural event was visited, which was held by a newly opened fast food chain that provided free food to everyone and had artists from Aboriginal community that performed.

1. Social Media:

The movie titled The Social Network was watched.

1. Internal Communication:

Observations done and notes taken during the initial days of, the journal was analyzed on internal communication.

1. Communication Breakdowns:  

The movie had many information regarding the inception of Facebook, which is important in understanding how social media functions.

Name__________________________________________Date______Day #___18_____

1. Public Relation:

Overall analysis of the last 18 days was done.

1. Advertising:

1. Promotion/Event:

1. Social Media:

A page was created on Facebook with a fake company name to check the response of users.

Importance of internal communication was realized through a seminar visited on the last day.

Communication breakdown was directly observed in a mall where a wrong information was conveyed through announcement.

There was not much to learn but the observation made at the mall helped understand communication breakdown clearly. It also helped learn how to tackle such situations.

References:

Forbes.com (2018). The Five Biggest Public Relations Disasters Of 2017 (And What You Can Learn From Them). [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/12/19/the-five-biggest-public-relations-disasters-of-2017-and-what-you-can-learn-from-them/#6e0eee973a5b [Accessed 30 Jul. 2018]. 

Price, J.R., Vizoso, A., Ellerbee, T., Roberts, J.E. and Sideris, J., 2018. Communication breakdowns and repair strategies of children with Down syndrome. Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 2(1), pp.16-24.