Report on Business Skills: Article Analysis and Policy Response

This report critically analyzes two articles, "Refugee Welcome" and "The human tide moving this way," comparing their writing styles and assessing which aligns better with academic standards. It examines the target audiences and the effectiveness of each article's presentation of information, inclu...Read More

Business Skills

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Comparing the writing skills of article Refugee welcome and the human tide moving this way
and which one is in accordance with the academic writing style................................................1
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................4
Producing a response in relation to favor and disfavor of the article and Mr Hancock's position
.....................................................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Business skills refer to the knowledge and abilities which individual requires carrying out
their business operations and functioning in an effective manner. Interpersonal skills such
communication, writing and other skills provides assistance to individual in achieving success in
the dynamic business arena (Elton, 2010). In business, writing, communication and analytical
skills plays a vital role in achieving success in competitive business environment. By making use
of economic theory and quantitative methods, organization can easily assess the factors which
contribute in achievement of organizational goals and objectives (Business Economics, 2015).
The present report will examine or critically analyze the writing skills of two different articles.
Writing skills facilitates better understating as well as effective implementation of policies and
strategies of an organization. Besides this, it also depicts the response towards the article in
relation to those workers who are below the age of 25 and does not deserve any kind of living
wage.
TASK 1
Comparing the writing styles of the articles Refugee welcome and the human tide moving this
way and which one is in accordance with the academic writing style
Academic writing style places emphasis upon deeper understanding towards the topic.
Through this, author can write the article in the clear and precise manner. In addition to this,
better understanding towards the topic helps the author in representing the information in a
comprehensible form. Continuity, formal language, grammatical correctness, exact figures as
well as images are the main part of writing (Eisenbeis, 2013). By taking into consideration all
these aspects author can write the article in an effective manner. In addition to this, academic
writing style also places emphasis upon the writing in small paragraphs or sections.
First article is based on the refugee welcome which sheds light on the number of refugees
which are prone to attack. Whereas, title of the second article is ''The human tide moving this
way: Fury and fighting as rail station is closed to migrants. The writing style of the first article is
more appropriate as compared to the second article. Along with it, it is near and in accordance
with the writing styles which prevailed in academic literature. In the first article, target audiences
are the person of Syria which is prone to war. In accordance with the first article of welcome
refugee, more than 4 million refugees moved from Syria to European countries and Germany. In
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addition to this, large number of people approximately 1.8 million went to Turkey whereas more
than 60000 went to Jordan and 1 million to Lebanon. Thus, there are several refugees which are
highly interested in reading of the article which entails the story of them. In addition to this,
scholars who are interested in conducting the study on this topic or war are also considered as
target audience of such study. Such article provides assistance to the scholar in conducting
further study in an efficient manner (Parker and Benson, 2012).
The article of ''The human tide moving this way'' is based upon the rail station of
Hungary which is closed due to European migrant crisis. Due to this crisis thousands of the men,
women and children started protest in capital Budapest. It happened when officials banned from
getting on Austrian and German bound trains. During this crisis, all the persons are fighting with
each other. One of the main causes behind closing up of rail station for the migrants is death of
2500 who tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to this, 71 bodies were found in the
truck of Austria. Thus, family members whose loved one died during this period are the main
target audience of this article. Along with it, the scholars who want to conduct research study on
this topic are also the main audience of this article. Along with it, the political authorities of
European countries, Germany and Hungary are the main countries who read this article. . Such
article provides assistance to the political authorities to make appropriate decisions by taking into
consideration the happening of outcomes of previous events (Campbell and Pennebaker, 2003).
Writing styles closely affects the targeting audience which make use of this article. In the
article of ''Welcome refugee political authorities of the European and German countries as well
as Syria are the main audience. Writing skills of Luke, Philip and Nicholas is more appropriate.
Writing styles which are adopted by the writer have high level of influence upon the audience
which is targeted by them. In this article, writers included each and every aspect in the
comprehensible form. They have used facts and figures which provide deeper insight to the
political parties of respective countries about the actions taken by each country (Martin, 2001). It
helps other countries in making effective decisions in relation to the asylum seekers.
Appropriateness of the fact enables political parties to make appropriate decisions which ensure
high economic growth of the respective country. Luke, Philip and Nicholas included each and
every figure along with the date and month. Through this, political parties are able to make cross
verification of the figures.
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Besides this, scholars are also the audience who wishes to conduct the study on the same
topic. Writers had presented their study in more appropriate manner. They presented their
findings in the small paragraphs without breaking the continuity (Adams and Neumark, 2005). In
addition to this, Luke, Philip and Nicholas explained each and every aspect with the appropriate
heading. For instance: Writers had included the headings such as political conversation, private
engagement, media and football. It helps the scholars in understanding each and every aspect in
an efficient manner. Thus, another researcher can use this article and its findings in their study.
All these aspects help the researcher in conducting the study in an efficient manner. In the
second article, family members who are died in European migrant crisis are the main audience of
the article. They clearly present the fact in the court in the form of evidence (Hyland, 2004).
Nevertheless, there are several deficiencies are present in the writing styles which restrain the
scholar to make use of this article. One of the main loopholes is that, Craig framed short
sentences without making use of the bullet points. In addition to this, they did not use facts and
figures which are the main part of such kind of articles. On the basis of this aspect it can be
stated that the first article is in accordance with the academic literature rather than the second
article.
Along with it, writer is also required to use images and quotations to make the article
more attractive and understandable. It is usual that images in terms of graph, chart and picture
facilitate better understanding toward the topic or subject area. In the article of ''Welcome
refugee’’ Luke, Philip and Nicholas did not use any kind of chart and graphs. They presented the
facts and figures in paragraphs rather than in table or graph. By making use of the table and
graph, writers are able to represent the information in an appropriate manner. Thus, it is one of
the major aspects which impact the effectiveness of the writing style. Chart and graphs make
study more attractive and there by facilitates better understanding towards the article. Luke,
Philip and Nicholas have included huge numerical data in the form of paragraph which looks like
so messy. Thus, it is the only aspect which is not in accordance with the academic literature.
In the second article, Craig had supported his findings with the pictures. He stated in the article
that travelers from Syria, Eritrea and Afghanistan had camped on the platform of the Eastern
Railway Terminus. Thus he supported his finding with the picture which is given in the article.
Through this, targeted audience can easily understand the happenings which occurred in
Hungary. Nevertheless, he did not make use of graph to represent the persons who died due to
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the European migrant crisis. Thus, by making use of the graphs and charts Craig facilitate better
understanding towards the facts and findings (Divan, Bowman and Seabourne, 2015).
Besides this, quotations are also the main part of the article which develops and maintains
the interest of the reader to the large extent. In the article of ''Welcome refugee'' Luke, Philip and
Nicholas has used phrases such as swarm of people to communicate the situation when refugees
camped out in grim conditions. Beside this, Anna Musgrave said that ''We have tradition of
protecting refugees. We’re not living up to it. It’s extremely disappointing. What’s needed in
this?
Country is real leadership on this.” Thus, these quotations supported the findings of the
article and make made it more attractive. In the article of the human tide moving this way did not
make use of any quotation and phrases to make the study more understandable and interested. It
is also the main factor which affected the suitability and appropriateness of the article (Alméciga
and Evans, 2014).
Thus, on the basis of the above mentioned aspects article 1 is more appropriate as
compared to the second article. In the article of ''Welcome refugee'' Luke, Philip and Nicholas
made use appropriate headings, paragraphs, facts and findings. The main deficiency which is
present in the article 1 is that they did not make use of chart, graphs and pictures to supports their
findings and arguments. On the other hand, in the article of ''The human tide moving this way''
Craig used very short and large sentences. They did not make use of any kind of paragraph and
bullet points. In addition this, there is the less involvement of the figures to support statements or
findings which are presented by him (Knudsen, 2014). Further, they did not make use of any
charts and graphs to represent the people who died in the European migrant crisis. They only
used pictures but they did not state the line which facilitates understanding towards the picture.
TASK 3
Producing a response in relation to favor and disfavor of the article and Mr Hancock's position
Cabinet office minister Matthew Hancock made a policy that excluded all the persons
that comes under the age of 25. The reason behind such exclusion is that young and
inexperienced employees are not as productive as older persons who are comparatively
experienced. Therefore, they are highly productive comparatively young peoples. Under the
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policy, Mr. George Osborne announced that in the next April the hourly wages rate 7.20£
increased to 9£ in the year 2020. However, the hourly wages rate for employers that comes under
25 age will still remain same as 6.70£. Under the age of 21 years the rate will be 5.30£ while
under the age of 18 years the rate will be 3.87£. Further, the minster says that the rise in hourly
wages rate will compensate the tax credits which are charged from all the workers of the
organization. Mr. Hancock said that this is an active policy that is designed for reducing youth
unemployment rate over the age of 25 years. The present scenario depicts that workers which are
operating from many years are more knowledgeable than the younger one. They are not as
productive as the older workers.
As per the cited scenario, the older employees are more skilled, efficient and experienced
than the fresher’s. Moreover, everyone knows that initially all the fresher or new joined
employees are not as productive as older employees in their first jobs. This is because the old
employees are already trained and have knowledge regarding the work which is required to be
done to achieve the organization goals (Bakhtiyari and et.al. 2014). However, new joiners at an
initial level and provide proper training in order to provide a deep understanding of associated
work and how it will be done. In addition to it, the workers who are under the age of 25 years are
also very productive.
`Thus, it is clear that the policy assumes that employees under the age of 25 years are less
productive or unproductive for the business hence, their hourly wages rate should not be
inclined. . Further, according to the present scenario the policy says that in UK, the workers that
are paid at lower wages rate should work as hard as Chinese. On contrary, the policy says that
through working hard the employees can avail more tax benefits. At the announcement in the
Tory party conference in Manchester, Mr. Hunt said that ''My wife is Chinese and we want this
to be one of the most successful countries in the world in 20, 30, 40 years' time''. It is because
the Asian countries economies are prepared to work hard. For instance, American is working
very hard in order to achieve the leading position and becoming most successful country. The
countries assume that work is the key of our success. Therefore, the policy helps in creating a
good working culture assist in increasing employee’s performance (Pérez-Llantada, 2014).
Hence, the countries will be able to have more efficient and able workforce.
As per the given article I do not agree with the statement of the Tory minister that
workers who are under the 25 do not deserve the living wage. They stated that workers who are
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below the age of 25 are not highly productive as compared to the old workers. In addition to this,
Mr. Hancock has stated that the new living wage policy is not applied to all the employees.
Moreover, they have stated that the individual who are appointed on the job are not able to give
the desired outcome as compared to the older one. In addition to this, Mr. Hancock also stated
that new employee or the personnel who are below the age of 25 gives average performance.
Thus, it is one of the major factor due to which I totally disagree with the new living wage
policy. Age is not the factor which represents the intelligence and efficiency of the individual. It
is inappropriate to compare the efficiency aspect with the age factor. Moreover, individual have
expertise in their chosen field or area.
In the dynamic business environment, individual make efforts to given their best which
helps the organization in achieving the success. In addition to this, young employees are more
passionate towards their work (Crossley, Roscoe and McNamara, 2014). They make every
possible effort to contribute in organizational growth and development. In addition to this, they
also possess high level of stamina to perform their work. Thus, Matthew Hancock cannot
undertake the age as a parameter against which the performance of the young employees are
measured. For instance: Organization have announced that employees who are above the age of
25 needs to meet the target. Person who is the age of 30 fails to meet the predetermined level of
the performance or target. Employee who is 22 years old has met the target. In this case, new
employees have exhibited their efficiency level as compared to the older one. This aspect clearly
reflects that age is not the parameter which shows efficiency level of the employees. In the
present era, individual or employees have the desire to build bright and future career. This aspect
compels to perform their best to the large extent.
In addition to this, George Osborne's have announced in his summer budget that wages of
the employees raised by £7.20 an hour in the next April. Along with it, their wages increased to
£9 in the year of 2020. The rises in the wage policy which are made by Mr. Hancock in the living
wage indirectly compensate the working tax credit which is applied on all the workers.
Nevertheless, this policy is not applied to all the workers which also places negative impact upon
the employees who are under the age of 25. Moreover, they have also made efforts to achieve
organizational goals and objectives. Thus, Mr. Hancock is required to make changes in their
existing policies and strategies which encourage employees to the great extent.
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In the present era, hard work is the key of success which helps organization in building
and sustaining competitive position in the world. In Asian countries, minimum wage is set by the
law and each organization is responsible to follow the rules and standards which are imposed by
the legislation. In addition to this, they outsource the labor at very low cost and thereby offer the
product at the very cost effective rates (Divan, Bowman and Seabourne, 2015). It is one of the
main features which assist the organization in fulfilling their goals and objectives. American
economy places emphasizes upon the motivational aspect. They frame competent strategies and
policies to encourage their workforce. This aspect helps in increasing the productivity and
profitability of an organization (McCabe and Snyder, 2015). As per the cited article, Mr. Hunt
said that my wife is Chinese and we want to become the top most successful countries in the
world. Thus, by creating the effective work culture Mr. Hunt can motivate their workforce to
make their best efforts. Through this, employees are able to contribute in growth and
development of the country (Topping and et.al. 2000).
CONCLUSION
From this project report it has been concluded that writing styles plays a vital role in
facilitating better understanding towards the topic. It can be seen in the report that writing styles
of the article ''Welcome refugees'' fulfill all the requirements which are found in academic
literature. Besides this, it can be inferred that Craig is required to make improvement in his
writing skills. In addition to this, he is also required to learn the appropriate formatting skills
which help him in presenting the study in an effective manner. Further, it can be concluded that I
do not agree with the decision of Mr Matthew Hancock. It can be articulated that age is not the
parameter or factor against which the performance and efficiency level is compared.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Adams, S. and Neumark, D., 2005. The effects of living wage laws: Evidence from failed and
derailed living wage campaigns. Journal of Urban Economics. 58(2). pp.177-202.
Alméciga, W.Y.E. and Evans, R., 2014. Mentor texts and the coding of academic writing
structures: A functional approach. HOW Journal. 21(2). pp.94-111.
Bakhtiyari, K. and et.al., 2014. Ethical and unethical methods of plagiarism prevention in
academic writing. International Education Studies. 7(7). pp.52-62.
Campbell, R.S. and Pennebaker, J.W., 2003. The secret life of pronouns flexibility in writing
style and physical health. Psychological science. 14(1). pp.60-65.
Crossley, S.A., Roscoe, R. and McNamara, D.S., 2014. What is successful writing? An
investigation into the multiple ways writers can write successful essays. Written
Communication. 31(2). pp.184-214.
Divan, A., Bowman, M. and Seabourne, A., 2015. Reducing unintentional plagiarism amongst
international students in the biological sciences: An embedded academic writing
development programme. Journal of Further and Higher Education. 39(3). pp.358-378.
Divan, A., Bowman, M. and Seabourne, A., 2015. Reducing unintentional plagiarism amongst
international students in the biological sciences: An embedded academic writing
development programme. Journal of Further and Higher Education. 39(3). pp.358-378.
Eisenbeis, R.A., 2013. Pitfalls in the application of discriminant analysis in business, finance,
and economics. The Journal of Finance. 32(3). pp.875-900.
Elton, L., 2010. Academic writing and tacit knowledge. Teaching in Higher Education. 15(2).
pp.151-160.
Hyland, K., 2004. Disciplinary discourses: Social interactions in academic writing. University
of Michigan Press.
Knudsen, S., 2014. Students are doing it for themselves–‘the problem-oriented problem’in
academic writing in the humanities. Studies in Higher Education. 39(10). pp.1838-1859.
Martin, I., 2001. Dawn of the Living Wage The Diffusion of a Redistributive Municipal Policy.
Urban Affairs Review. 36(4). pp.470-496.
McCabe, M.J. and Snyder, C.M., 2015. Does online availability increase citations? Theory and
evidence from a panel of economics and business journals. Review of Economics and
Statistics. 97(1). pp.144-165.
Parker, M.M. and Benson, R.J., 2012. Information economics: linking business performance to
information technology. Prentice-Hall.
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Pérez-Llantada, C., 2014. Formulaic language in L1 and L2 expert academic writing:
Convergent and divergent usage. Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 14. pp.84-
94.
Topping and et.al., 2000. Formative peer assessment of academic writing between postgraduate
students. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 25(2). pp.149-169.
Online
Business Economics. 2015. Online. Available through:
<http://study.com/directory/category/Business/Business_Economics.html>. [Accessed on
28th December 2015].
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