Deakin MPM731: Business Communication Management Report - T3 2019

This report, prepared for MPM731 at Deakin University, delves into key aspects of business communication for managers. Part 1 offers topic reflections on self-awareness, emotional intelligence, intercultural communication, negotiation, conflict management, and leadership. The student discusses the importance of self-awareness, cultural competency, and the interplay between negotiation and conflict management. Furthermore, the report explores various leadership styles and the significance of teamwork. Part 2 presents a press release for Amazon Prime Video targeting external stakeholders, highlighting the platform's launch amidst market competition and its strategic advantages. The report also discusses the difference in language used for external and internal communications. The student reflects on their learning and the practical applications of the concepts discussed, demonstrating an understanding of communication strategies within a business context.

Running head: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Contents
Part 1: Topic Reflection...................................................................................................................2
Topic 5 – Self awareness and emotional intelligence..................................................................2
Topic 6 – Intercultural Communication......................................................................................3
Topic 3 – Negotiation and Conflict Management.......................................................................4
Topic 8 - Leadership and Groups: roles, values, styles and stages..............................................5
Part 2................................................................................................................................................6
Introduction..................................................................................................................................6
Press Release for External Stakeholder:......................................................................................6
Reflection.....................................................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................10

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Part 1: Topic Reflection.
Topic 5 – Self awareness and emotional intelligence.
My key takeaway from this entire topic was that self - awareness and emotional
intelligence are not only crucial for personal development, especially in a business and
communication context, but are also interconnected with each other. As the topic discussion
showed, the development of emotional intelligence is underpinned by five specific elements, of
which self – awareness is one of them. In essence, it means how to connect to one’s inner self.
Therefore the personal thoughts and reflection on one’s own actions are important determiners of
how the aspect of self - awareness will develop.
I don’t think that I have made any significant contribution as far as material contributions
to the classroom discussions are concerned. However, I have gained major understanding of
what the topic is and what the key point is that the topic is trying to make. In doing so, looking
back, I find that I did make certain contributions to the class that I can consider important for
myself. Besides, in terms of personal learning, I was able to benefit greatly learning about self-
awareness and emotional intelligence. Afterwards, I started following some practices on my
own, including reflecting on my actions as well as thoughts and feelings. I also started looking at
potential impacts of my actions and they pointed out that not all my actions have positive impact.
This is where looking back on the managerial roles and responsibilities as pointed out under the
concept of emotional intelligence was so significant in helping me develop my emotional
quotient and competence.

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Topic 6 – Intercultural Communication
In my opinion, this is one of the most important topics that every aspiring manager
should wholeheartedly work towards. Indeed globalization has resulted in making the aspect of
business more international in nature. Therefore there has been an intermingling of multiple
cultures together. My key takeaway from this topic was the aspect of cultural competency that
promotes equality in terms of work roles as well as personal and professional communication
with people from diverse cultures, both within and outside of the business context. A lot of
definitions for culture has been given over time, but I personally find that the one provided by
Hofstede et al. (2010) captures the wholesomeness of the aspect of cultural nuances, especially
the part that mentions culture as the ‘collective programming of the mind’ which differentiates
between the two different individuals or groups from one another.
Looking back on the topic, I think that the aspect of high – context cultures and low –
context cultures is what intrigued me the most, the cultural nuances being a vital elements for
cross cultural communication and competency development. Equally important for me was
understanding the barriers to intercultural communication that existed within a working
environment, and I was enlightened, knowing that language and appearance are not the only
barriers, but the way cultures are perceived as well as the kinds of emotional elements in
connection are also equally crucial barriers. Finally, the activities that we did also helped to
reflect on my prior experiences of multicultural interaction, look at them in a new light and
rethink my approaches to cultural communication.

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Topic 3 – Negotiation and Conflict Management.
From a managerial perspective, negotiation and conflict management are two very
distinct, yet interconnected and vital elements. The topic rightfully identified negotiation as a
social skill, because it does involve two people, or two parties interacting with each other. The
topic also pointed out that negotiation include empathy, something which I believed to possess,
but I was always confused between sympathy and empathy. What I understood is that, as
effective empathy can be, sympathy can be equally destructive when it comes to managing
interpersonal relationships. We have to understand our positions as well as provide equal status
to those of the others. From a leadership perspective, negotiation and conflict management
becomes a matter that all should be significantly adept at. Finding common ground is also a
significant aspect in this regard as it allows the managers and leaders to evaluate a particular
point where both parties can be equally satisfied.
One more thing that the topic highlights quite significantly is the aspect of conflict, more
specifically, organizational conflict. Similarly, I was also benefitted from the knowledge about
active listening that I gained. The four R method that Donohue and Kolt highlighted acted as a
crucial framework for me to be able to modify and amend my communication styles, something
that I struggled with. In terms of personal understanding, I believe that this topic has proven to
be quite significant in helping me understand how as an efficient leader and manager, I can use
negotiation and conflict management, not only for the benefit of the organization, but also for
strengthening my own personal skills.

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Topic 8 - Leadership and Groups: roles, values, styles and stages.
I had some prior knowledge of the aspect of leadership, but this topic has enlightened me
and made me more competent in terms of understanding how leadership worked in a managerial
and business context. In that aspect, the topic also highlighted the relevance and importance of
teamwork. Without a team the leadership falls apart. Therefore a team and the leader must be
complementary to one another, because the efficient functioning of both depend on the other
(Chou 2012). What I was able to understand after this topic was that this topic had the elements
from the previous four topics as well. Especially from topic 7. Effective leadership requires a lot
of negotiating and conflict management. Especially when it comes to group based works, it is
vital that the groups that are working differently, are not in conflict with other groups. Managing
these conflicts become important for the development of both the team members as well as the
leaders.
The importance of a group has been significantly highlighted in this topic. That is
something I found very important for myself as well as any prospective future endeavours that I
would be undertaking. At the same time, I also found the idea that there are different leadership
styles (e.g. Authoritarian, Participative and Laissez-faire to name a few) (Flynn 2015), to be very
important to consider. However, I would say that the social psychological factors that have been
highlighted in this topic is something that I not only found to be new, but also to be quite
correlated to aspects of leadership and group based actions. The in class activities too, were
important in helping me gain deep insights about the practicality of leadership in a business and
management context.

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Part 2
Introduction.
In an organization, the role of stakeholders is a crucial one. The success of a project is
dependent on the deliverables and how they are accepted amongst the stakeholders involved.
Therefore, it is key that the major stakeholders, both internal and external, be identified and their
preferences, needs and goals be recognized. Engaging stakeholders during and in the beginning
of a project is highly beneficial as it sheds light and reduces unforeseen risks and also increases
‘buy-in’. The stakeholders could share their valuable insights on the prospects of a project,
thereby making it easy for the organization in context to provide effective service to the
customers. This report highlights a press release for Amazon’s streaming platform titled Amazon
Prime Video. This press release is directed towards the external stakeholders and will be
followed by a presentation that is directed towards the internal stakeholders. The situation, the
introduction of the new streaming platform, happens in a context where there are already
streaming platforms existing in the market, like Netflix and Hulu. The release therefore
highlights how amazon plans to compete in the market alongside the pre existing platforms as
well as the strategies that Amazon plans to undertake in order to make the new platform a
success.
Press Release for External Stakeholder:
Stakes run high as Amazon unveils new Streaming platform amidst market giants.
Melbourne Victoria, May 16, 2016.
As the new week draws close, Amazon is gearing up to introduce its new streaming
platform to the public. Available initially with a small collection of films, TV shows,

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documentary and a string of Amazon originals, it claims that the new streaming platform allows
for more flexibility in terms of subscriptions, and in the coming days, is expected to feature a
range of originals that are currently in development.
To be named Amazon Prime Video, this streaming platform will work in tandem with all
Amazon prime subscribers for a significant drop in price when the platform is being released
alongside already existing streaming giants like Netflix and Hulu. The question remains as to
how Amazon is planning to execute the service by obtaining content for streaming, given that
Amazon’s root user base is already so huge.
Set to launch at the end of this year, this new platform has already reeled in multiple beta
build testers from countries that they will be launching it in. There have been predominantly
positive responses on the part of the testers, giving Prime Video a much needed boost if they are
to survive in the present streaming market. They are also looking at the service from a price point
perspective, where they claim it to be friendlier towards the general public. Keeping in
perspective, Netflix offers monthly subscriptions whereas Amazon Prime is expected to launch
with primarily a yearly subscription. There are added benefits as well. A prime video
subscription comes in a package of overall prime subscription, thus providing significant benefits
to the users around the world.
There are a several other features that are expected to give the platform significant boost.
Amazon is also planning to release the platform for multiple devices, including Android, iOS,
Amazon’s Fire TV, Chromecast and many other smart television services as well. This
multipurpose platform support already is proving to be beneficial for the other platforms around
the world. Netflix and Hulu, the current leads in the streaming market has already proven that
smartphone users around the world contribute to a large percentage of their users. Amazon Prime

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Video is therefore also expected to benefit from adapting this multi platform support, given that
their user base is already using smartphones a lot for their online shopping.
In terms of subscriptions, the new platform is claimed to provide free content for six
months for existing Prime users and a whole year for new Prime subscribers. Subscriptions for
prime covers the entirety of the new platform, however, for only using this platform after the free
period, the yearly subscription is said to be significantly less than that of prime. For a primary
price of $119 which is brought down to $59 for student registrations, this yearly price is lucrative
for all users. Besides, there is a provision for monthly subscription using $13.
About Amazon: Started in 1995, Amazon.com has become one of the world’s leading platforms
for online shopping and multimedia content. Currently, amazon also leads the market for ebooks
with its kindle services and the online cloud based computing system Amazon Web Services
(AWS).
Reflection.
The primary thing that I learned while developing the press release and the power point
presentation for the external and internal stakeholders respectively, is the difference in language
that I have employed. While writing the press release for the external stakeholders, it was
important for me to make sure that the headline I use is catchy enough to grab the attention at a
first go. Similarly, I also had to develop the content of the press release accordingly, making sure
that the transition from one element of the situation to another is smooth, individual in every
paragraph and highlights the key concepts that are the overall highlights of the situation.
Furthermore, I also had to make sure that the targeted external stakeholders get the primary
message about the introduction of a new streaming service instead of ambiguous and
unsupported statements. However in the case of the internal stakeholders, it was important for

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me to consider that the language is more or less consistent in terms of what is being said. It was
also important for me to remember that the content is being presented in an audio - visual format,
therefore there needs to be a lot of explanation that needs to be done. The language therefore
needs to be more in line with a spoken context than a formal written one.
This assignment has helped me identify and grow my understanding better in terms of
management and leadership, as well as highlighted several key skills that I am supposed to
possess. It has also helped me develop my abilities in business communication. In my field,
business communication is a vital element and should not be taken lightly. In order to ensure that
effective business is in place, the communication needs to follow certain standards. This is what
I have been able to polish through the task.

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References.
amazon.com (2020). Prime Video. [online] Amazon.com. Available at:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/splash/device_linking [Accessed 19 Jan. 2020].
Chou, S.Y., 2012. Millennials in the workplace: A conceptual analysis of millennials' leadership
and followership styles. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 2(2).
Flynn, S.I., 2015. Authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire leadership. Research Starters:
Sociology.
Hofstede, G., Garibaldi de Hilal, A.V., Malvezzi, S., Tanure, B. and Vinken, H., 2010.
Comparing regional cultures within a country: Lessons from Brazil. Journal of Cross-Cultural
Psychology, 41(3), pp.336-352.
Noe, R.A., Hollenbeck, J.R., Gerhart, B. and Wright, P.M., 2017. Human resource management:
Gaining a competitive advantage. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Shams, S.R., 2018. The Evolution of Marketing as an Innovative Knowledge Stream: The
Evolving Role of Stakeholder Causal Scope. In Innovation and Capacity Building (pp. 151-166).
Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

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