Techniques to Research Burngreave Messenger' Marketing Issues - Essay Example

?SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT AND ITS ACHIEVEMENTS By Being practical at the is the desire of every student during the study period. The inspiration obtained from some television programmes about entrepreneurship is very important in creation of the motivation to do the same (Belbin, 1985, p. 23). This would contribute to the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are to be used later on in life at the places of work. All the students in the final year are mandated by the curriculum to undertake a practical module in their respective areas of study. We chose group consultancy model and with prior difficulties experienced with international students, it looked such a daunting task. Having had created a clear decision on this issue, I had decided that issues to do with group dynamics would be handled with a high sense of caution. We however got a group that would work very well for me. Using Tuckman’s stages of developing a group, the activities of the group seemed to go along well from the time of the group coming together to the level of initiating all the projects (Belbin, 1993, p 33). Our group consisted of five students. Some ties were strong while others were not but for the sake of the group work, we got along. There was a preliminary discussion that put together all our strengths and weaknesses as well as the experiences that we all went through in year 2. The ‘forming' part of the theory did not therefore take time to establish because I found out everybody was flexible enough as stated by Cassidy (2007) The ‘storming’ part of the theory was also done quickly because after a suggestion on the Burngreave Messenger newspaper group. There was a quick move from ‘forming’ to ‘norming’ as after the storming stage; a meeting was organized (Furnham, Steele & Pendleton, 1993). The tasks were broken down into two; primary and secondary research tasks. The final part in Tuckman, which is about performing was more useful. All the group members were aware of their tasks and the expected deadlines. We were of trust to each other and believed in our ability to perform with the best level of flexibility. Arguments against Tuckman’s theory use arose and this was just a proof of Belbin (1993) would argue that in a group that had so many roles, just taking primary and secondary sectioning was wasting of human resources(Guardian, 2012, p. 03). That was however expected. Belbin insists of norming and forming extremely rapidly for a better result. The project was done based on the two methods we had decided on where three of us carried out a primary research about the Burngreave Messenger to ascertain its strength among the residents of this Sheffield region. This was done through primary research by use of a questionnaire. The issues of social media came up as well as trying to establish the effects of the social media on the Burngreave Messenger newspaper. This was done through both primary and secondary researches. If another project came up with a similar inclination, I would work with the same group again for several reasons. We successfully executed group presentation and put the report together very well. We reflection on our report and communication where we used Facebook, email, and face to face in which case there was little or no conflict. Belbin’s (1985) team role theory was completed and helped group members find out the kind of people that they are. This theory is useful in cases where there is a need to create and work on a project that required specific skills. Belbins ideas on what constitutes a good group would include all the values that are placed in practice to make sure that all the nine roles are executed per person. Since there were no nine people in the group but five, the roles had to be distributed effectively. The Client With the aim of establishing the strength of the newspaper in the area, we decided that there will be two divisions of research primary and secondary research. Two members of the group would do the primary while three would carry the secondary. Before venturing into the research, there were divisions that were still made in which the primary resources would find the information directly from the people associated with the company through a questionnaire. The second was done by three members and was to be done on secondary sources associated with the company. All the required information was obtained as the research company; Burngreave Messenger was willing to supply all the required data and aid in the primary information as well as being directive in our search for primary data. This is a company that deals with newspapers and supplies them free of charge to the people living in Sheffield. The Group Consultancy Module The group consultancy module was an independent work that was involved in the creation of work done amongst other works. It was possible to work when on holiday for those who came from Sheffield and during school days among other days. Working was based on personal initiative and the module encouraged personal discipline among the learners involved (Henry, 2006, p.8). Apart from attending lectures, going on journeys and holidays as well as attending the meetings, it was made in such a way that it developed personal initiative to work and create room for all other involved tasks. For a final year with all the work to do, the module was therefore a commendable effort by the administration of the institution. The opportunity to work as real consultants for a real organization was also a welcome idea to all of us since theory and practice tend to differ by great margins. However, this was a chance to integrate the two and create coherence in learning. It was easy getting in touch and consulting with the academic supervisor whenever there was need to. Self-motivation and independence was also inculcated into all of us so that we could classically get to learn the real work which we did (Honey & Mumford, 1992, p.33). The time given; which had no fixed deadlines allowed us to edit the work before the effective presentations. The skill that was needed most was negotiation, patience, team working, listening, problem solving and creative thinking. New things that broke the norm of class and book work was experienced which were good for all the group members. The experience required tackling of issues, high levels of visibility, generation of ideas as well as engrossing ourselves in many activities here and there were sound for the course. What was discovered after part presentation of our work was that I could take the role of an activist, an initiator and a starter. An activist in most cases is thrown at the end of a sea of problems and is able to influence all the other members of the group to venture into it successfully. This is because of the strength and endurance as well as enjoyment that are put in creation of the right code of operations for the work that is being done (Mumford, 1995, p.34). They are also able to mobilize other people to work even I n touch conditions. The questionnaire was also relevant, not only for the cause of the work but also for the sake of the interaction that was involved in the work done. The Project The project that was chosen was the best according to the objectives that were to be achieved (Burngreave Messenger). The project consisted of a briefing idea that was communicated to all the group members. These were divided accordingly and it was decided that the primary research would be conducted by Tarek A-Yafei, Rivi Narwani Lalwani and Nacho Reyes Garcia. The primary research would be conducted by Carlos Quevedo and Drazen Marrero. Other activities targeted the social media as it was noted that a high percentage of the residents were youth less than 45 years. All the members agreed on the Burngreave idea and soon all the plans were in place to undertake the process. From a personal perspective, it was a way of practicing the ethics that we were taught in class since we were to deal with people from different backgrounds directly. Some of the topics I had learned such as ‘business ethics’ were very important in translation to the cause that we were undertaking. We understood clearly that we were undertaking a volatile task and we were to maximize on the strengths that we had. For instance, in the primary research, the instructions were that if Rivi had a weakness for example on ethical issues, all ethical issues that would be encountered would be handled by Nacho and Terek. This was meant to compensate in areas that had weaknesses so that we all have a positive impact on the development of the group objectives as well as maintain the name of the company in the market (Parry & Bryman, 2006, p.21). Having arranged everything, there was a slight interaction with the company management whereby the aim was to create knowledge of our involvement with their company and products. Discussion of the Project Management There are times when such projects occur again in the study. If it comes my way again, I would definitely do it wholeheartedly. However, more insight would have been obtained if more primary research was used more. The secondary information keeps changing from time to time and therefore reliability of such information can be relayed only on an intensive primary research. The other area that would require improvement would be the meeting criteria (Ryan, Maguire, & Ryan, 1990, p.10). There was December holiday and all the group members had to go their way. A more pre-planned and workable group based on the much we could meet would have done better. This arrangement of time and our availability would be inculcated into my next programme if I am to do this project again. The strong motivation behind doing this project again is that marketing research is one of my favourite areas. From this project, I got to learn that one has to take personal and group discipline on projects especially when they have no end fixed time. I also learnt best practice in the wake of a responsibility that takes a personal initiative. As opposed to my initial idea of not working with international students, I would have no discrimination because the group I had was mixed and there was total diligence apart from where the situation was inevitable. The client (Burngreave Messenger) that was the subject of study also was not very useful at some point in time. This is because they were not willing to divulge some of the information that would have been very useful to the study. The client was also not very willing to bend their busy schedules to accommodate our time which forced us to have to change some points of referral in the work. However, we managed to get all the basic information that we wanted. The management of our project was based on a structured method of management. We made sure that we had meetings and structured a timeline that broke the tasks into groups for individual and group commitment. There was an assigned presentation date but even before the Easter holidays, there was time to finalize all that was remaining. The structure as has been levelled was to go in line with the curriculum modules that we were handling in that term which had five modules. We met with the company client we had booked for a fortnight span and also organised to meet in our groups weekly. Reference was even made easier where the voice was recorded in our phones during the times we called to book appointments for the purposes of reference. What kept us going on with more vigour was that the content we would get would be very useful to the company as well as the people in Sheffield area. During presentation, all the areas in the reflective brief were covered. All the areas of organization, professionalism and approach were good since all the work was done on the basis of the concept of ‘group thinking’ (Have, Ten, & Stevens, 2003, p. 43). All the stakeholders that aided in the success of the project; the project supervisor and our client made the project all successful on presentation. Methodology Employed & Assessment of Any Analytical Methods Used This was a marketing issue and therefore there were many tools that were used to create a completed project. There were marketing techniques, frameworks as well as theories that were used to make sure that all the concepts were covered in the project. These included; Pestle analysis of the communications industry in Sheffield, Porter’s five forces analysis, the company SWOT analysis, the stakeholders map, The Ansoff matrix, the 4’ps of marketing, market segmentation and the competitor analysis in the area. Five forces analysis were used to create an objective understanding of the five marketing dynamics. Pestle analysis was useful in trying to understand the broad picture of the Burngreave Messenger operating environment. SWOT analysis was used to understand the internal ability and the external competitive forces of the company. The stakeholder map is useful in creation of an analytical view of the environment that may be affected by the business of the company (Welch, 2002, p. 05). The competitor analysis is useful in identification of the gap that competitors may have left in the market. Ansoff matrix on the other hand helps understand and suggest a strategy for growth of the business as well as market share. All these theories were divided among the group members as they were tools that were used to help understand what the objective of the whole study was. According to Angelopoulos (2006:138), these theories have stood the test of time as they aid in understanding. The indicated that the company Burngreave Messenger is doing well and its products have a high level of publicity in the area. For the purposes of analysis and approach, all the tools used were very relevant both for the purposes of academics and for presentation. Consultancy Choices Made, Reflection on Lessons Learned and Individual Learning Consultancy is educative (Barker & Angelopulo, 2006, p. 34). That is why I would repeat consultancy projects over and over again. I loved it because there were no strictly specified restrictions that were to be followed. In matters to do with changing after undertaking the tasks, I could say that I could undertake similar tasks with new students over time and these need not be natives only but international students as well. Time management was one area that was problematic and this could be seen by the way we planned and ended up missing the discussions and touch during the December holidays. After working on this project, the management was rectified and I can meet a deadline very effectively just in case it is given. Another understanding has come in terms of the subject area content. There is therefore a feeling that I could take to continue working on my career confidently in this field. There were a lot of ethical practices that were involved in the planning of the project. Therefore, this has offered me an open eye when applying for graduate jobs after the study. Moreover, this project has helped me develop a positive attitude towards working with people directly. I am therefore able to handle conflicting ethical issues relating to any matter competently. During this period, there was a development of high levels of analytical and reflective ability in me. This has highly influenced my career opportunities and created a highly valuable set of skills in me. The skills are planning, teamwork, organizing, time management as well as flexibility that are very relevant in the creation of a fully developed career candidate. According to the guardian (2012), there is a listed 10 top employee skills and the named are just some of the skills. The employability prospects are now higher and valuable as well as them being well enhance to be achieved. References Barker, R., & Angelopulo, G. (2006). Integrated Organisational Communication. Cyprus: Juta and Company Ltd. Belbin, M., 1985. Management teams: why they succeed or fail. 1st ed. London: Heinemann. Belbin, M., 1993. Team roles at work. 1st ed. Oxford: Butterworth-Honeymoon. Cassidy, K., 2007. Tuckman revisited: proposing a new model of development for practitioners. Journal of experimental education, 29(3), p. 413. Furnham, A., Steele, A. & Pendleton, D., 1993. A Psychometric assessment of the belbin Team-role Self-Perception Inventory. Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology, Volume 66, p. 245. Guardian, T., 2012. The Guardian. [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/advertising/guardianuk300 [Accessed 30 March 2012]. 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