ACBE100 ePortfolio

By Patrick Hardman, Macquarie University Student studying Bachelor of Media.

BLOG POST 1: Critical analysis and sources.

Being able to critically analyse a variety of authors texts, and knowing how to demonstrate their ideas in an individuals own work is a vital part of studying that all university students will need to learn and apply. This extract demonstrates an overview of two texts, highlighting my ability to source and analyse various ideas to extend my knowledge on corporate social responsibility in the business environment:

“Opportunities of developing corporate social responsibility include improving on employee turnover, customer satisfaction and reputation. (Galbreath 2010 p. 414). Whilst developing happier, more efficient employees is vital in Galbreath’s article, it is customer satisfaction and reputation that is deemed most influential. This is largely due to the fact that positive business reputation and customer satisfaction lead to increased brand awareness, and more loyal consumers. The importance of these ideas is stressed in Caroll & Shabana’s article, stating “firms may strengthen their legitimacy and enhance their reputation by engaging in CSR activities.” (Caroll & Shabana 2010, p. 99)”

Galbreath, J 2010, ‘How does corporate social responsibility benefit firms? Evidence from Australia.’, European Business Review, vol. 22, no.4, pp. 411-431

Caroll, A & Shabana, K 2010, ‘The business case for corporate social responsibility: A review of concepts, research and practise.’, International Journal of Management Reviews, pp.  85-101

Here, I have used direct voice to convey the importance of the ideas raised in both Galbreath and Caroll & Shabana’s article. This allows a more impactful paragraph as these ideas on corporate social responsibility and improving on the factors quoted is demonstrated to help businesses, guiding my first paragraph. This allows me to use indirect voice and my own ideas later on to add to the key ideas raised in this paragraph.

BLOG POST 2: Bimodal texts, converting report to speech.

Another useful skill which can be used in the workplace, as well as the university environment, is translating written components into speech formats, or presentation formats. Hence, this is an excerpt from task 4 that represents my skill in converting a business report to a speech format:

Good morning everyone, today I would like to present to you my presentation of corporate social responsibility in Optus, with a focus on decent work and economic growth.

To begin with, I’d like to address some of the main issues concerned with Optus. Unemployment and offshore employees is a major issue in the Australian climate. I for one, have to ring Optus up for technical support a few times a year, and I’m sure we all know that the language barriers, time taken to get calls through, and communication problems are prevalent due to these call centres being in Dubai, Malaysia and Singapore as examples. Additionally, Optus has seen over 1000 jobs been cut since 2015, a staggering number which is putting many without work. Another issue is young employment and equal opportunity. Only 23% of workers are under 30, with 62% of staff male, and 38% of staff female.

In comparison to my business report, here I clearly address the audience and only provide a rough outline of the task to not drag, but keep them entertained. Additionally, I use the technique of an anecdote to give the audience a laugh, as well as provide a personal reflection on what the issues mean to me. I also use statistics taken from the Optus website to further relay my points, but I make sure they are only short and sweet, to again, not bore the audience but give them some facts to go on with. My inclusion of the “us” and “I” pronouns add a sense of community to the audience too, differing from the formal report structure.