STUDY AND

COMMUNICATION
SKILLS FOR BUSINESS

Task 1
1.1 Take notes and summaries the information gathered from the article read

BBC news article about Tesco charity scheme

a) Specific information conveyed within the article
Tesco, represent the country biggest grocery, with a scheme of expansion which is giving
unsold food to charities from warehouses to include some local stores.(Tesco,plc)
Leftover food from 10 of its UK stores will now also be available to local charities
through the UK food redistribution charity Fare Share. Tesco said of the 55,400 tonnes of
food it threw away in the last year, 30,000 tonnes could have been eaten. Most of this is
currently used for animal feed. (Tesco,2015)
There was a task set to analyse the coverage of a business event from two independent
sources. The business event was analysed between a group of four and documented through
a presentation and a written report. It was decided that a big business event at the time was
the announcing of Tescos first half profits.
b) Key arguments

The

information

which

was

captured

in

The

Independent newspaper was very informative and used inset

graphics and charts to display ideas held within the main text body
of the article. It showed a large amount of quotes from the Tescos
CEO Sir Terry Leahy, using figures and facts in the commentary to
highlight any ideas which he had not fully explained. It only gave
the quotes of the CEO and shows no other viewpoints from any
other knowledgeable bodies. The main argument presented in the
Independent addresses the idea that its quest to be a global retail
giant helped it notch up interim profits before tax of 1.1bn. This
had more than one meaning. It could be suggestive of the fact that
the only reason the first half profits were that high is because the
money came from global markets or, the fact that globalisation is
the key to a successful business.
Information captured from the Times newspaper on
the 4th October 2006 was full of useful facts as it was presented to
the reader with a selection of charts and graphics inset. This
ensured that there was a variety of reading material. It discussed in

high detail the plans and suggested initiatives taken to carry out
plans to expand further into the global markets of the US and Asia.
Unlike the article in The Independent, The Times showed little or no
information from any reputable bodies/persons and appeared to
make use of past commentary from the Tescos CEO to address the
information the writer wished to present. This information formed
the basis of the argument laid down of By February Tesco, which
launched overseas ten years ago will have 60 per cent of its store
space abroad

The articles were chosen very carefully to highlight

the changes that can be made by a number of different parties to a
generic press release. The differences in viewpoints and writing
styles can be seen to be different from both sides and therefore
makes these two articles sufficiently similar, but at the same time
different in comparison.

c) Facts
In the article taken from The Independent figures and graphs were used to give a quick
and effective overview of the facts that the author wished to put across to the reader. On
close study of the document, facts that had been used all supported the cause of the article,
pointing out how big Tesco actually was and therefore supported the key argument that sales
caused the sudden increase in the profit levels.
The statistics that the author had used were very closely linked to the topic that she was

discussing throughout. The key figures showing employment levels, financial details and
providing an ever lasting reminder of how big Tesco actually is. As these figures were
sourced from audited accounts released by Tescos to both investors and general public
release (not forgetting submission to the mandatory agencies such as Companies House and
the Competition Commission) they can be verified and be shown valid and reliable
statistics.
Charts are often used to make it easier to understand large quantities of data and the

relationship between different parts of the data. (Wikipedia)

 And for this reason it could be seen that from the format and provision of the specific

evidence related to the article; the Independent was excellent in its use of evidence. It
allowed the main points to be projected to the readers attention and allowed easy
comparison of the key statistics which gave support to the written commentary.

Opinion presented within the article

The use of evidence in The Times was a little less satisfying than The Independent

in the fact that the majority of the text was commentary and there was little amount of raw
or processed figures provided apart from store square footage of the overseas stores,
expansion percentage showing rise in square footage of store floor space and capital
committed to future expansion overseas. The article then went on to provide limited
commentary on their plans and provide one quote. Evidence to support the authors cause
was therefore poor. On the other hand the graphs which were provided to the reader above
the article (provided to show support for two other articles also contained on the same
page) showed a range of data for existing stores but no financial projections for Asia and
the US (which this article is supposedly focusing on). The use of evidence by the author of
this article was seen to be poor and in comparison was shadowed by The Independents
evidence presence and structure.

1.2 Compare and contrast Facts and Opinion

No one article can be effective for everyone who reads it. As different ages, sexes and religions
all go about things in different ways; you can only make an article as effective as possible and
aim to cover as many different perspectives as possible. Through the use of direct visual
evidence, such as graphs and figures, an article can become anywhere from very effective to
being so effective it could change everything about someone. Quotes and citations within the
body of the text can ensure that points made are supported and ideas are conveyed with a certain
amount of persuasive power and perplex the reader making a pathway for other ideas and
thoughts to make a permanent journey to their mind.

In the article from The Independent the whole structure and layout contributes to the overall
effectiveness and ensures the readers concentration is kept. The inset graphs continue to
persuade the reader and the facts and figures are effective in bringing the argument together and
giving the general theme the much needed flow and grasp the attention of the reader. The article
starts off by introducing the main argument. This is then followed by a selection of quotes and
commentary which mix together to form a basis and justification for the creation of the
argument. The argument is effective throughout and the use of the precise and hard hitting
figures to show how high profit levels are and the matching of low percentages with high capital
gains perplexes the reader with the power to persuade. In summary, it can be seen that this article
is effective in many ways, through attention capture, persuasion power and ease of idea
consumption. This article shows a weird twist in the formation of the headline. The headline
appears to be anti-Tesco in the way they say world dominance and World dominance is usually
associated with criminal superpowers. Over the full article, there appears to be more support for
Tescos behaviour than against leaving the reader unsure as to whether Tesco is infact trying to
rule the world
In comparison, the article from The Times had little or no figures to support the ideas contained
in the body of the text. As a result it significantly adulterated the arguments effectiveness. The
use of the one quote in the whole article showed a lack of thought for the readers and didnt help
with the already insipid format. The graphs and diagrams which were presented with the article
were placed alongside the article and not referenced to / discussed in the text. The article seemed
very one sided and the main point which could have influenced the overall structure and
supported the argument by making it appear more balanced. This main point was delivered in the
first sentence of the article and highlighted the problems in Thailand, Hungary and Japan with
expansion but was quashed instantly by the phrase brushed aside. The lexis used within the
article ensured that the one sided argument was conscripted to the reader and the view that the
author had taken was also printed onto the readers viewpoints. The argument for this article
appeared to have been formed from information only taken from Tescos sources such as Sir
Terry Leahy and press releases and published accounts. There had been no analysis of the data
and it had all been used to push across the idea that Tesco were playing all their cards right.

1.3 Evaluate the key arguments

In summary, The Independent used the quotations and the key figures to ensure the argument
was effective and through the use of visual aids such as graphs and tables, ensured the reader
showed a keen interest in the article. The use of powerful words and phrases such as dominance
and strategic lexis such as foothills of our international development made the article much
more effective than the article from the times as it used phrases which made the reader feel like
whoever wrote the commentary knew what they were talking about and understood the theory
well enough to form a justified decision. The lack of statistical data and relevant visual
representations within the Times article ensured that the argument was ineffective. The fact that
the article was so obviously one sided would have made the reader bored and the authors
viewpoint/opion will have been accepted as a measure of free speech

Task 2
2.1 Analyze the content of the business vide link
This summer BuzzSumo teamed up with Moz to analyze the shares and links of over
1m articles. We wanted to look at the correlation of shares and links, to understand
the content that gets both shares and links, and to identify the formats that get
relatively more shares or links.
What we found is that the majority of content published on the internet is simply
ignored when it comes to shares and links. The data suggests most content is
simply not worthy of sharing or linking, and also that people are very poor at
amplifying content. It may sound harsh but it seems most people are wasting their
time either producing poor content or failing to amplify it.
On a more positive note we also found some great examples of content that people
love to both share and link to. It was not a surprise to find content gets far more
shares than links. Shares are much easier to acquire. Everyone can share content

easily and it is almost frictionless in some cases. Content has to work much harder
to acquire links. Our research uncovered:
The sweet spot content that achieves both shares and links
The content that achieves higher than average referring domain links
The impact of content formats and content length on shares and links

2.2 Notes of the video

The majority of posts receive few shares and even fewer links. In a randomly
selected sample of 100,000 posts over 50% had 2 or less Facebook interactions
(shares, likes or comments) and over 75% had zero external links. This suggests
there is a lot of very poor content out there and also that people are very poor at

amplifying their content.

When we looked at a bigger sample of 750,000 well shared posts we found over
50% of these posts still had zero external links. Thus suggests while many posts
acquire shares, and in some cases large numbers of shares, they find it far

harder to acquire links.

Shares and links are not normally distributed around an average. There are high
performing outlier posts that get a lot of shares and links but most content is
grouped at the low end, with close to zero shares and links. For example, over
75% of articles from our random sample of 100,000 posts had zero external links

and just 1 or less referring domain link.

Across our total sample of 1m posts there was NO overall correlation of shares
and links, implying people share and link for different reasons. The correlation of

total shares and referring domain links across 750,000 articles was just 0.021.
There are, however, specific content types that do have a strong positive
correlation of shares and links. This includes research backed content and
opinion forming journalism. We found these content formats achieve both higher

shares and significantly more links.

85% of content published (excluding videos and quizzes) is less than 1,000
words long. However, long form content of over 1,000 words consistently
receives more shares and links than shorter form content. Either people ignore
the data or it is simply too hard for them to write quality long form content.

Content formats matter. Formats such as entertainment videos and quizzes are
far more likely to be shared than linked to. Some quizzes and videos get

hundreds of thousands of shares but no links.

List posts and videos achieve much higher shares on average than other content
formats. However, in terms of achieving links, list posts and why posts achieve a
higher number of referring domain links than other content formats on average.
While we may love to hate them, list posts remain a powerful content format.

Task 3
3.1 Meaning of genre and business analysis
This case study represents a study of marketing because is presenting the elements of the
marketing mix of the Aldi Company.
The key arguments in the case study:
In increasingly competitive markets, consumers have a greater
choice over where they buy their goods and services. For an
organisation to meet its business objectives, it has to find out
what consumers require and then identify the best way in which it
can satisfy these needs and wants. Creating a competitive
advantage can be difficult. A unique marketing strategy with clear
objectives is vital to ensure effective promotional activity.
Since opening its first store in 1913, Aldi has established itself as
one of the most reputable retailers in the global business market by
providing great value and quality. Aldis goal is simple; To provide
our customers with the products they buy regularly and ensure that
those products are of the highest possible quality at guaranteed
low prices. Aldis products are sourced from hand-picked suppliers
whose products are sold under Aldis own brand labels.
Aldis main marketing objective is to grow its market share within
the UK grocery market. With the economic crisis came an
increased demand for value for money. Market research identified

that 80% of Aldis customer base also shopped at other

supermarkets. These customers spent around 20 billion per year
in the other stores. Aldis marketing strategies therefore focus on
generating customer loyalty. Aldi focuses its marketing efforts on
encouraging customers that are already familiar with the brand to
shop at Aldi more often.
Another key focus of Aldis marketing strategy is on demonstrating
that Aldi brands are of equal quality to well known brands such as
Heinz and Fairy Liquid. To do this Aldi ran blind taste tests
amongst a cross section of shoppers. These confirmed that the
majority of consumers that liked the famous brands also liked
Aldis brands. These findings formed the basis to Aldis Like
Brands marketing campaign. This provided Aldi with a platform to
communicate its quality and value messages effectively.

3.2 Written argument

Organisations need a balanced marketing mix to meet the needs
of its customers. Aldis focus is on offering the best possible
quality products at the lowest possible prices. Every buyer for Aldi,
from fresh fruit and vegetables to meats and electronics, is an
expert in their field. They look for products from around the world.
This enables them to get the finest quality products that Aldi then
sells under its own brand labels.
Selecting the prices is one of the most difficult considerations
when developing a marketing mix. Different pricing strategies that
are commonly used include:
Market penetration charging lower prices for new products to
help them enter the market and gain market share quickly.
Competitive pricing pricing at a slightly lower prices than
competitors.
Strategic pricing emphasising the quality or brand positioning

of a product to allow a higher price to be charged.

Competitive pricing is a key strategy for Aldi. Aldi is able to offer
quality products at low prices as it buys in great volume. The fact
that Aldi buys such large quantities of these products allows great
leverage for negotiating the best possible prices with its suppliers.
This is called economies of scale. Buying large quantities of each
product allows Aldi to pass these savings to its customers.
3.3 Cause and effect relationships
The cause: Because there is a competitive market which is constantly increasing Aldi focus its
attention on creating a strategy of marketing for increasing its market share and encouraging
loyal customers.
Effects: The effective public helped the company into creating positive press ensure.
By effectively presenting clear and using a communication media which is understood by
people the company was able to gain a large share within their customers market.
3.4 Academic hedging and cautions
It is often believed that academic writing, particularly scientific writing, is factual, simply to
convey facts and information. However it is now recognised that an important feature of
academic writing is the concept of cautious language, often called "hedging" or "vague
language". In other words, it is necessary to make decisions about your stance on a particular
subject, or the strength of the claims you are making. Different subjects prefer to do this in
different ways.
http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/hedge.htm
Language used in hedging:
1 Introductory verbs:
.

e.g. seem, tend, look like, appear to be, think, believe,

7 That clauses
.

e.g. It could be the case that .

doubt, be sure, indicate, suggest

e.g. It might be suggested that .

e.g. There is every hope that .

8 To-clause + adjective
.

e.g. It may be possible to obtain .

e.g. It is important to develop .
e.g. It is useful to study .

3.5 End- Text referencing

The Harvard referencing system is having two components regarding its style: references intext and the referencing list which can be found of the end of the paper.
The in-text reference:
All the information sources must be acknowledged in the text of the paper;
In the Harvard author/date' style an in-text reference consists of family name of the
author/authors or name of the authoring body and year of publication.
http://guides.library.vu.edu.au/harvard
In-text reference is consisting of:
If people are quoting directly form the author or is being cited a specific idea or certain
information from the sources; people need to include the page number for the quote in theri intext reference.
The reference list:
All in-text references should be listed in the reference list at the end of your document.

3.6 Proofread the first paragraph

In the increasing competitive market, customers are having a great choice over where they are
buying their products and services. In order for the organization to meet its business objectives,
must find out what customers are requiring and after identify the appropriate way in which they
are able to satisfy these needs and wants.

Task 4
4.1 Skills needed for participating in working groups
To function successfully in a small group, students need to be able to communicate
clearly on intellectual and emotional levels. Effective communicators:

can explain their own ideas

express their feelings in an open but non-threatening way

listen carefully to others

ask questions to clarify others ideas and emotions

can sense how others feel based on their nonverbal communication

will initiate conversations about group climate or process if they sense

tensions brewing

reflect on the activities and interactions of their group and encourage

other group members to do so as well

Regular open communication, in which group members share their thoughts, ideas,
and feelings, is a must for successful group work. Unspoken assumptions and issues
can be very destructive to productive group functioning. When students are willing
to communicate openly with one another, a healthy climate will emerge and an
effective process can be followed.

4.2 describe how you are giving other members of the group the opportunity to contribute
their ideas and opinions during your group debate

When we refer to formal roles, we are describing essentially who is responsible for what.
Formal roles are absolutely essential for the success of the team. Obviously, if individual team
members do not know what they are expected to do, it is highly unlikely that anything will get
done. Again, a lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities is one of the primary reasons that
teams fail to produce results. In addition, it is unlikely that members will continue to be
interested or invested in a project if they do not know why they are involved or what is expected
of them or the other members.
Unlike formal roles, informal roles are not assigned. Instead, they are assumed by
individuals because of their personalities, motivations, individual styles and
attitudes, or the ways that they like to approach situations or tasks. Just as it is
important to understand or recognize the formal roles people have on a team, it is
also critical to identify the informal roles played by individuals, because informal
roles can have a significant impact on a team. Certain types of informal roles can
enhance the overall productivity of the team, but the impact of other types of
informal rolesif not addressedcan be negative and may detract from the teams
ability to function effectively. The following are examples of some of the informal
roles that members play on teams.
Teams might have a caretaker. This is the person who makes sure that there is
harmony, that everyone is getting along, and everyones needs are being met.

Sometimes teams have an informal spokesperson. This is the person who takes responsibility for
hearing everyones voice, synthesizing different opinions, and then speaking out on behalf of the
group.
The role of the comedian is played by the person who wants to assume responsibility for making
sure everyone is having a good time. Comedians break tension and conflict with humor. They
make sure teams do not take themselves too seriously.
There is the catalyst. This is the person who is like the cheerleader, who contains the energy for
the project, gets people excited, and forces people to move forward.

The optimist is someone who is always looking at the positive side of issues, who brings an
upbeat perspective.
There is the pessimist, who brings the negative perspective. Pessimists often will call themselves
realists because their view of reality is negative. But the true realist is not necessarily negative.
The realist is the person who conducts the reality checks for the team, who wants to see the team
succeed and not get blindsided by events that are unanticipated.
These are just some examples of the kinds of informal roles that individuals play. The important
thing to note here is that informal roles do have a significant impactboth positive and negative
on the work of teams, and it is important to identify and address those effects when necessary.

As has been emphasized, clear roles and responsibilities are critical to the ultimate success of
teams. However, such clarity is not always present within collaborative teamsparticularly
when teams are first established, and especially if there are individuals on the team who have not
worked together previously. Regardless of whether a team is newly formed or longstanding, each
of the team members will have desires and beliefs about what the other members of the team
could or should be doing. These beliefs are referred to as role expectations, and it is very
important for members to discuss them so that there are no misunderstandings between what
team members expect of one another or one anothers agencies, and what individual members
perceive their own roles to be.
4.3 Identify what you learned from contributions of other group members
Understand the end goal. Since a project has a defined ending, it is important that
each contributor to the effort knows the desired end result. Stephen Covey teaches
to "begin with the end in mind." This is clearly important to project team members.
By understanding the desired result, you can make better individual decisions and
reduce confusion and re-work.
Identify clear roles. Each person is an important piece in the overall project puzzle.
Know your role and the roles of others. If you are a project leader, take the time to

clarify these roles for everyone. If you aren't a leader, ask until you really
understand how you can best contribute.
Collaborate. Project work is often fluid and free flowing. Once you understand your
role and the roles of others you are in a position to collaborate with them more
successfully. This collaboration isn't just a nice thing for you to do. It is imperative to
the ultimate success of the project. Look for ways and be willing to collaborate.
Recognise interdependencies. The bigger the project, the more linked and
interdependent are the people and the tasks. Certain steps need to be done before
others can be completed. If you see only your small piece of the project, you may
not realise how you finishing two days sooner might have a huge impact on several
other things staying on track. Conversely if you fall two days behind on one of your
tasks, the effects on the end results could be much longer delays. You aren't an
island. Your work products, decisions and efforts affect many others. Recognise and
work with the interdependencies between you and the others involved in the
project.
Ask questions. Projects can be complex. Don't be afraid to ask questions to know
more about any of the things mentioned above.
Communicate. Asking questions is communicating, but so is giving updates.
Checking in with others. Co-ordinating schedules. If you are a project leader the
importance of communication can't be overstated. If you are any team member
other than the leader, communication is just as important. You can't leave it to the
leader. Check in with others. Get their input. Find out when the pieces you will need
will be completed. Update people on your progress. Communicate!
Break it down. Take the big project steps and break them down into definable tasks
that you can get your hands around. By breaking the tasks down the work won't feel
so daunting, you will find the interdependencies and you will be able to stay on
track much more successfully. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
Break down the overall project, and your individual steps into bite sized pieces.
Look at the past. If a version of this project has been done in the past, look for the
lessons learned to improve your results this time. Think too about other projects you

have been involved in. Even if the project was smaller or larger and the goals were
very different, there are likely lessons you learned that you can apply - things you
did well that you would want to repeat, and things you could have done better that
you can correct on this project.
Look to the future. Take a little time to document the best practices and ideas that
work for you during the project. Whether this is a formal task for everyone on the
project, or just your own notes to help you to continuously improve, investing a little
time now will make your contributions to all future projects more valuable and
efficient.

4.4 Identify the different presentation skills and non-verbal communication skills
Interpersonal communication is much more than the explicit meaning of words, the
information or message conveyed. It also includes implicit messages, whether intentional or not,
which are expressed through non-verbal behaviours.
Non-verbal communications include facial expressions, the tone and pitch of the voice, gestures
displayed through body language (kinesics) and the physical distance between the
communicators (proxemics).
These non-verbal signals can give clues and additional information and meaning over and above
spoken (verbal) communication.

4.5 Did you act as a moderator during your debate?

Yes, I did. My key duty was to watch the debate clock. If a debate goes over his time limit, the
moderator must interrupt and give the floor to the other side. The moderator must firmly ask each
debater to respect time limitations if it is a recurring problem.
4.6 Reflect on your personal performance

Increase Revenue various people are starting with revenue increase because represent the basic
goal. While the reason is the want to increasing revenue which is quite obvious, the making act is
an explicit goal which is encouraging people behavior.
Have Happy customers- We all want happy customers, so a great example goal is Have Happy
Customers. When customers are happy, that typically means your business is operating
effectively across all departments. Happy customers also help defend the business from
competitive threats and customer fatigue.(Aldi,2015)
Support the Community- Social initiatives focus a business on providing services and support to
the local, national, and global communities a business aims to serve. A goal like Support the
Community will have the entire team considerate of their obligation to be good corporate
citizen. (Aldi,2015)

REFERENCES
McKay, M., Davis, M., & Fanning, P. (2003). Communication skills (2nd ed.). New Delhi:
Kuldeep Jain.
Nwalo, K.I.N. (2003). Reference sources and services. Ibadan: Centre for External Studies,
Univesity of Ibadan
Odini, C. (1999). Training and development of skills in changing information environment.
Library Management. 1 (2), 100-104
Defleur, M.L. & Dennis, E.E. (2005). Understanding mass communication: A liberal perspective
(7th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Katz, W.A. (2002). Introduction to reference work: Basic information services (8th ed.). New
York: McGraw-Hill
Kemoni, H.N. (2004). Melvin DeFleurs information communication model: Its application to
archives administration. African Journal of Library, Archives & Information Science, 14(2), 167175