Professional Practicing and Communication

This study material covers various topics related to professional practicing and communication. It includes information about famous Australian sporting figures, strategies for sharing information, conflict resolution, and more.

Professional practicing and communication1
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICING AND COMMUNICATION
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Professional practicing and communication 2
Q1. Pick a famous Australian sporting figure. Research this figure, and explain why they are
famous. Mention what sport they play and any significant milestones they have achieved. (250-
350 words)
Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman famously known as “Cathy Freeman” was a former
Australian sprinter born on the 16th of February, 1973 in Mackay-Queensland, Australia. She
schooled at Kooralbyn International School and later joined Fairholme College. She was a runner
by occupation whereby she practised sprinting at the University of Melbourne team in Australia.
She joined sports at the age of five with the help of her stepfather, Bruce Barber. Freeman is the
first Aborigine ever to wave the Aboriginal Flag by completing a sporting event in the 2000
Olympics in Sydney (Adair and Stronach 2011). She won a gold medal in the 400 meters race at
the Olympic game. Besides gold medals, she also has won silver and bronze medal records in
other Olympic Games, world championships and commonwealth games. Cathy Freeman is a
hero because she was the first Aboriginal athlete who represented Australia at the 1992 Olympics
games (White 2013) and since she comes from a country that is deeply rooted with racism
against its own citizens, she broke these boundaries. One of her major accomplishments is
lighting the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney
(Maguire, Black and Darlington 2015). She was seen as the Heart of a Nation as this marked a
sign of reconciliation among the Aboriginals. In 1996 she set four Australian records in the 400
meters, silver medal and Atlanta Olympics. Cathy retired from professional sports competition in
2003. Thereafter she launched a non profit organization in 2007 by the name Catherine Freeman
Foundation which supports Indigenous Australian children in their education in Australia
(Hunter and Stephenson 2013). She has also been involved in a lot of charitable activities to
support communities.

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Q2. Which strategies for sharing information would be most appropriate in each of the following
circumstances? (150 - 200 words)

 Advising customers that that you have a new range of paper products in stock.
Use of social media (Tsimonis and Dimitriadis 2014).
Information in this case reaches the target group faster and easily through sharing the content on
their pages. Online chatting is also a great way to make sure first hand information about the
variety of products in stock, reaches the market. The company is able to get views and opinions
from their customers so that they can make the necessary improvements or changes if any.
Virtual trade shows also is the most effective and promotional way of reaching potential buyers.
It helps in creating sales leads hence easy entry of the new product in the market.
• Managing the role of consultant for the project efficient solid waste management – garbage
disposal and recycling for the local council.
This can be done by advertising and creation of awareness and sensitization on importance of
environmental conservation to the public. Also involves taking part in corporate social
responsibility of cleaning the community around them. Factories should also be trained on
making use of their waste products if possible through recycling.
• Introduction of an emergency preparedness plan for a small building society

Professional practicing and communication 4
Video conferencing would be most appropriate since anyone connected to the internet is able to
access information without necessarily having to travel (Backhaus et al. 2012). Its quick, time
and cost effective hence makes it perfect for emergencies.
From Workshop 3
Case study - Marco and Jim
1. Identify and discuss the level of conflict between Jim and Marco.
Marco and Jim have an individual level conflict (Deutsch 2011). Jim who is a Regional
Manager and Marco’s boss is concerned about Marco who is the Senior Accounts
Manager not hitting his set target of 1 Million sales per month for selling electrical
equipments and supplying electrical equipments to subcontractors who are working for
large building companies and that his sales are falling below the set budget for the past
months. He is also worried that Marco subcontracted some supplies worth 250,000 to
some subcontractor without invoicing them for the amount two months ago. Marcos on
the other side thinks that the products he is supposed to sale are not up to the commercial
standards to be sold to larger clients. He also thinks that he needs to be given time to
build up contacts with more clients. Marcos too hates Galcore which is one of the top
priority products for the company. To add on this Marco thinks Jim does not like him
because he doesn’t put up favors for him.

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2. Use the Resolution of Conflict Map to identify each of Marco’s and Jim’s needs and
concerns.
The map below represents the conflict graphically showing the parties related to the
problem.
Key:
Job positions conflict issues direction of issue direction of authority
Needs more time
Says products do not meet standards
Needs Jim to at least favour him
State Manager
Relationship Manager
(Jim)
Senior Account
Manager (Marco)
Stakeholders
Failure to hit set targets
Did not write an invoice to a client
Not selling company top priority
product(galcore)

Professional practicing and communication 6
3. What constructive responses could Jim make to Marco in the meeting at 3.00 p.m.
tomorrow?
In the next day’s meeting at 3.00 pm Jim should try and explain to Marco that by him
being a Regional Manager he is also required by the State Manager to meet budgets in his
region and is also expected to give a top priority to galcore sales. That he is answerable to
any sign of poor performance and failure to meet set targets in the region. He should also
explain to Marco that other Senior Account Managers in the region who have the same
role as him are managing to hit the set sales target and are not complaining on the quality
of the products as he does. Jim should also advise Marco to put his preferences aside by
stopping to hate on the company’s top priority product galcore and focus on treating all
the products the same. He should also emphasize on the sense that he doesn’t hate him
and that also he does not favor other employees.
4. What could Marco do now, before the meeting tomorrow that will help him respond
positively as he tries to resolve the conflict with Jim?
Since Marco’s contract needs to be reviewed in two months, he needs to apologize to Jim
and ask him to be given more time so that he can improve on his sales and hit the set
target of 1 million per month. He should also focus on building contacts with his clients
and consulting with fellow senior account managers on the secret of having high sales
volume. He should promise Jim that he will put into consideration the top priority
product in the company by putting his likes aside. He should also make sure that he does
the pending supplier invoice for the products he supplied to a subcontractor before their
meeting and promise Jim that he will be doing all invoices right in time.

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Case study - Patrick and Danielle
1. Explain how Danielle demonstrates a high level of communication skills by using above
listed skills
Danielle demonstrates a high level of communication skills by introducing herself to
Patrick and also allowing Patrick to introduce himself too. In the introduction bit he
should ask open ended questions to be able to understand Patrick better. In her
statements, she should mention Patrick’s name and use appropriate feedback to
acknowledge his responses. She should also use common non verbal clauses to elaborate
on the statements she is making to Patrick. She should question Patrick in a way that he
won’t feel humiliated by her statements so that he can provide appropriate answers. The
questions should be relevant and when asking she should match verbal and non verbal
communication techniques. Danielle should express concern on Patrick’s accommodation
needs by asking him where he stays and if he would mind relocating if he is considered
for the job. Lastly she should seek clarification from Patrick where necessary and allow
him time to ask his questions for his better understanding so that they can agree
appropriately.
2. Explain how Danielle demonstrates few communication skills, and performs poorly in
terms of interpersonal effectiveness.

Professional practicing and communication 8
Danielle in this case does not practice emotional intelligence by controlling Patrick’s
emotions and navigating his social situations with composure. She should also focus on
making eye contact, offer a handshake and smile at Patrick. She should also make sure
that she has set aside some few minutes to answer questions from Patrick. To add on this,
she should be patient with Patrick and avoid rushing him through the interview and
practice good communication skills.
From Workshop – 4
Case study - Ethics and Code of Conducts
Q. Identify legal and ethics issues raised in this case study. What should they do? Write
your views?
A legal issue arises when there are questions to be answered regarding a particular set of
facts. An ethical issue on the other hand is a situation that needs someone to choose
between a right or a wrong (Slade and Prinsloo 2013). The ethical issue that arises in this
case is that Jean failed to acknowledge the work of her colleague who is also a
programmer; she should have done it even through word of mouth. She should have
mentioned the complexity of the project to her manager rather than downplaying it. In
addition, she stole part of the programme from a company that had earlier developed it
hence used someone else’s work without their permission. Jean also chose to keep quiet
about her work and didn’t tell her manager about the where she obtained her source codes
in completing the project. Legal issues that arise in this case are infringement of
copyrights (Yip, Han and Sng 2016). Jean and her company could face an infringement
lawsuit by the other company whose software was used by jean without their permission

Professional practicing and communication 9
to complete her project. The intellectual property law has been infringed here since Jean
used another company’s intellect work without permission (Richard 2014). In this case,
Jean is required to go tell her manager about the complexity of the project she just
submitted, where she obtained the source codes and also how she went about the whole
project. The manager should in turn ask her to acknowledge other peoples work, both the
other company and the colleague. The manager should also go to the other company and
properly ask for permission to use part of their work. By doing this, he would have
obtained legal rights to copyright and also to access intellectual property of the other
company. Jean on the other hand should be encouraged to be truthful and transparent
about any difficulties she encounters in the project.

Professional practicing and communication 10
References
Adair, D. and Stronach, M., 2011. Natural-born athletes? Australian Aboriginal people and the
double-edged lure of professional sport. In Sport and challenges to racism (pp. 117-134).
Palgrave Macmillan, London. Retrieved on March 28, 2019
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230305892_8
Backhaus, A., Agha, Z., Maglione, M.L., Repp, A., Ross, B., Zuest, D., Rice-Thorp, N.M., Lohr,
J. and Thorp, S.R., 2012. Videoconferencing psychotherapy: A systematic review. Psychological
services, 9(2), p.111. Retrieved on March 29, 2019 https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2012-14616-
001.htmlhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13527258.2012.670127
Deutsch, M., Coleman, P.T. and Marcus, E.C. eds., 2011. The handbook of conflict resolution:
Theory and practice. John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved on March 29, 2019
https://books.google.com/books?
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&sig=PrZTHC17JH-Z3g2Oj-KGLIjkSQM
Hunter, B. and Stephenson, N.I.K.K.I., 2013. Less is more: Reflections on the Overcoming
Indigenous Disadvantage reports. Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research Topical
Issue,(1). Retrieved on March 28, 2019
http://www.academia.edu/download/35915934/TI2013_01_Hunter_Stephenson_OID.pdf
Maguire, J., Black, J. and Darlington, B., 2015. ‘The Day the Flame Came to Town’: The
Olympic flame, symbol, community and commodification. Sociology of Sport Journal, 32(2),

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pp.117-139. Retrieved on March 28, 2019
https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/ssj.2014-0093
Richard, M.A., 2014. Employee assistance programs: Wellness/enhancement programming.
Charles C Thomas Publisher. Retrieved on March 29, 2019 https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=p8gScvl9lucC&oi=fnd&pg=PR15&dq=ethical+and+legal+issues+in+programmi
ng&ots=9O0CFPNNbD&sig=p4rM0AWM7BwweC4MnLZlK5BBVME
Slade, S. and Prinsloo, P., 2013. Learning analytics: Ethical issues and dilemmas. American
Behavioral Scientist, 57(10), pp.1510-1529. Retrieved on March 29, 2019
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0002764213479366
Tsimonis, G. and Dimitriadis, S., 2014. Brand strategies in social media. Marketing Intelligence
& Planning, 32(3), pp.328-344. Retrieved on March 29, 2019
https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/MIP-04-2013-0056
White, L., 2013. Cathy Freeman and Australia’s indigenous heritage: A new beginning for an old
nation at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 19(2),
pp.153-170. Revised on March 28, 2019
Yip, C., Han, N.L.R. and Sng, B.L., 2016. Legal and ethical issues in research. Indian journal of
anaesthesia, 60(9), p.684. Retrieved on March 28, 2019
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5037952/

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