Engage of a Generation with a Metro Placement - Assignment Example

Placement reflective report Engage a generation with a Metro placement reflective report Introduction Engage a generation with Metro is UK’s largest daily newspaper and has attained high brand recognition over the last thirteen years. Metro brand was launched in 1999 as a London only free newspaper and is designed as a concise read for the urbanites and provides local information to the commuters. Metro is the world’s largest newspaper and distributes approximately 1.5 million copies across the UK urban each weekday. In the UK, the newspaper has an estimated 3.3 million readers. The newspaper targets the urbanite audience that includes the busy bus dwellers who are always on the move and aims at enabling them engage in more conversation while getting more information on the city life. The organisation is committed to hunting digital and creative talent through placements and apprenticeships that targets the young students with the right attitude and mindset in the industry (Oliver, 2010). PESTLE analysis The newspaper is currently encountering a stable political environment since the UK government has implemented laws on data protection and freedom of expression of ideas through publication (Oliver, 2010). The company will definitely continue to attract large readership and positive corporate reputation due to the appreciation of the freedom of press and opinion across the UK. The economic environment is conducive for the success of the newspaper since the organisation has gained more readership and more advertising deals (Baines, Egan & Jefkins, 2007). In terms of the economic environment, Metro newspaper has remained resilient to the negative business cycle through minimising costs in its production and distribution activities and offering exciting news articles that keep the audience engaged in meaningful conversation. However, the advancements in information and communication technology has facilitated Metro activities through offering efficient digital platforms and applications for the distributorship of the newspaper to the targeted customers. The social environment in the industry is characterised by improved consumer purchasing power, shifts in attitudes towards print media and higher educational levels among the urbanite pollution (Gregory, 2010). Metro newspaper is a buzz with the intented readers due to its ability to meet consumer expectations and reflect the cultural attitudes of the UK population. However, there are numerous concerns surrounding the legal environment since the newspaper has faced several lawsuits for publishing defamatory stories. Accordingly, the ecological environment is challenging due to the need to conserve the environment and avoid pollution. In this case, the organisation encourages recycling of the old newspaper, and is committed to enhancing the use online channels that conserve the environment (Baines, Egan & Jefkins, 2007). The company encourages students to implement ideas that encourage their readers to read the paper in order to engage the next generation of readers. The newspaper is perfect for placement students studying in the fields of media, branding, marketing and journalism since it enables them to develop creative briefs from some of the leading companies in the UK. The content includes the information, screenshots, photographs, pictures, emails, messages and artwork that encourage the consumer to read the newspaper (Gregory, 2010). Engage a generation with Metro has the Ideas Foundation that nurtures the creativity of young people through providing them with the necessary skills and experience that is essential in gaining meaningful employment in the public relations industry. I was able to learn how to develop creative briefs that are imaginative and insightful that enables the audience to understand the purpose of the communication (Foster, 2008). The placement enabled me to undertake general administrative work and specialist tasks at the organisation. The management offered me adequate induction of the company mission, policies, objectives and strategic goals and provided me with brochures with the company historical milestones and accomplishments in publishing (Foster, 2008). I was introduced to all the staff of the public relations department and I found working with them very comfortable (Henslowe, 2003). In my future career, I will be capable of settling down easily to ability to comprehend the company policies and relate well with colleagues in department. Metro placement has enabled me understand how companies are capable of building and maintaining mutual and beneficial relationships with stakeholders through strategic communication (Oliver, 2010). In this case, I have gained practical skills on product public relations such as product branding idea generation, designing marketing communication messages, proper layout of advertising messages and selection of proper channels of communication. For instance, I participated in the team that was tasked with designing marketing communication information for British Airways and offered critical information on the importance of having the advertisement on the front cover of the newspaper in order to ensure higher viewership. Before the placement, I had no idea that public opinions influence the communication goals, but I have come to appreciate that public relations professionals anticipate, analyse and interpret the public opinion and attitudes towards certain social issues before issuing their communication (Botan & Hazleton, 2006). A critical aspect of the placement was building the public image of the company through different press releases and outreach events. In this case, I was involved in several charity events and volunteer activities that enhanced the welfare of the surrounding communities. I know appreciate the community relations is an important function of public relations since it enhance the corporate reputation (Green, 2010). The placement entailed finance relations such as issue of investor briefings, profit warning and financial performance result releases. I learned on to communicate with investors confidently and objectively so as to enhance the value of the firm and maintain close relationships with investors (Henslowe, 2003). Accordingly, the placement introduced me to political relations with the government such as monitoring the impact of new legislation on the business activities and implementing corporate policies that will ensure compliance. Metro newspaper corporate relations team enlightened me on crisis management and communication. Some essential skills that I learned include how to communicate negative information such as fire disasters, prepare bad news reports such as murders within the city and management malpractices without offending a section of the population. Impact of the placement of my personal effectiveness I believe the placement has enabled me gain critical skills that are essential for my professional and personal life such as people skills, self-reliance skills, general skills and specialist skills. People skills The placement has helped me gained effective communication skills that are essential in my career in the public relations, journalism and media industry. I have gained good oral communication and writing skills that will enable me prepare public relations briefs and issue press releases in my future job. I am capable of listening attentively and incorporating different viewpoints in my communication approach since I have the capability of using communication in a constructive manner (Bowen & Rawlins, 2010). Accordingly, the placement has enabled me to meet different barriers of communication and learn how to handle such challenges such as ineffective media channels, wrong use of words, noise and interpersonal conflicts (Gregory, 2010). In this case, I believe my placement at Metro has prepared me to handle communication needs in challenging situations that may threaten the brand image and possible law suits. I am aware of the tactics of managing corporate information and releasing negative information to the stakeholders. Furthermore, my placement at Metro prepared me on effective use of body language while communicating such as use of gestures, handshakes and facial expressions. In this case, my supervisor taught me on the need to relax since nervousness may be misunderstood for lack of confidence or misleading information during press releases with journalists. The placement has exposed me to different cultures due to the culturally-diverse workforce at Metro. In this case, I have gained cultural awareness, sensitivity and appreciation thus I am capable of working effectively with teammates from different parts of the world. The placement enabled me challenge my previous cultural stereotypes on certain races and thus I am aware of the use cultural diversity in a constructive manner since I have understood that multi-cultural teams are more creative due to ability to utilise different perspectives in solving problems within the organisation (Bowen & Rawlins, 2010).. Another key personal skills that I gained from the placement is customer awareness and business acumen. I believe the customer is the most important stakeholder in any organisation and should be treated with respect and caring manner. I am capable of demonstrating confident while handling customer complaints on defective goods or when issuing product information during product launches (Gregory, 2010). In this case, I believe I am accommodating, tactful and tolerant to customers’ negative product reviews and rating since I am capable of handling negative criticism. The placement has enabled me gain effective interpersonal skills through interacting positive with colleagues and superiors in the company. In this case, I am now able to demonstrate empathy and compassion while relating with colleagues in order to foster positive relationships in the workplace. Accordingly, the placement has introduced me to teamwork in creative design of public relations briefs. I was tasked with working with creative teams in coming with relevant newspaper content, mails and bulletins. In this case, all team members were allocated different roles that are interdependent and we were supposed to work together in meeting the work expectations (Trought, 2011). Self-reliance skills The placement at Metro has enabled me gain crucial self-reliance skills that will enable me handle challenging life situations. The colleagues and supervisors guided me in developing positive attitudes towards work such as willingness to help other colleagues in different departments or working past the official working hours in a day. In this case, I am self-motivated and not driven by financial rewards since I consider work as self-fulfilling and enjoyable part of my life. I have developed a proactive attitude and setting personal work goals that are challenging and attainable with minimum resources in order to ensure personal growth. A key element of my placement and expected outcome was the ability to learn different skills and attitudes that are essential in public relations career fields (The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, 2007). I have gained the willingness to learn from past mistakes or criticisms from my peers. I this case, I believe I will remain geared towards self-learning of new skills such as statistical skills, computer skills and conflict resolution skills in order to enhance my professional capabilities and individual abilities. Furthermore, the placement has exposed me to personal development and evaluation. A critical ability learned from the placement is taking account of my learning or work progress and determine the necessary corrective action if the evaluation results differ from my personal expectations (Parsons, 2008). In this case, work planning is critical and I am now capable of preparing work schedules depending on the priority and deadlines of the different tasks. I am aware that public relations professionals are engaged in different work meetings and conferences with the executive management and thus I will be capable of maintaining a work registers and diary that will enable me attend all the meetings in the organisation. However, I am recognisant that problems such as employee go slows may happen in the organisation thus interrupting the work flow, but I can now anticipate such problems and put in place the necessary measures to ensure work is completed within the anticipated deadlines (Parsons, 2008). General skills The placement environment at Metro is fast-paced due to the requirement of keeping in tandem with the latest news or trends in the public relations field, thus multitasking is a critical requirement for the success in the field. In this case, I am capable of working at different projects simultaneously without losing focus on any other projects and deliver the required results (Parsons, 2008). For instance, I was capable of designing several PR briefs at the same time and preparing news bulletins on several topics due to multitasking abilities. All public relations communications require the professional to remain attentive to minor details in order to ensure quality scripts that are error-free. In the future, I will prepare proofread work for lexical errors or grammatical mistake that may lead to misunderstanding on the purpose of the communication (Cottrell, 2010). The placement was critical in enabling me acquire business etiquette and respond to different environmental situations and adhere with the legal and ethical framework of communication and journalism. In this case, I believe I am reliable, punctual and trustworthy. I am able to respond to media questions and criticism with confidence and maturity without displaying any negative emotions. In my future career, I will be able to issue factual business information that is factual and use different sources of information in order to ensure the communication briefs are factual and right for the audience. Specialist skills The placement was critical in enabling me gain analytical and conceptual thinking skills that will enable me synthesise observations, experience and company information in order to identify patterns in the company, the wider industry and future possibilities in the public relations communication (Parsons, 2008). Metro newspaper placement has offered me specialist public relations skills such as preparing press releases and contacting numerous influential people in the society for news interviews. I believe I am capable of maintaining close contact between my organisation and the general public through continuously engaging the audience using numerous channels of communication. Metro supervisors in the digital department enabled me to gain practical skills on use of digital platforms while communicating with stakeholders. I can confirm that I have been able to gain excellent digital presentation skills that include design of appealing templates, proper use of colour, and arrangement of slides and screenshots in order to again the intended impression. Metro newspaper digital content is appealing to the readers due to the ability to use simple language that is eye-catching and topical messages that represent the lifestyles and expectations of the city urbanite consumers (Parsons, 2008). The news information is also interactive since it offers numerous perspectives and view points and keeps the readers engaged in meaningful conservations and dialogues. I believe I will b capable of conveying company information using digital platforms such as company blogs, social networking sites and news feeds in order to widen the readership coverage and ensure quick feedback from the stakeholders (Moon, 2004). Another important aspect of my placement at Metro newspaper was preparation and updating databases and mailing lists. I demonstrated courtesy and respect while handling the incoming phone calls since I had learned critical listening and communication skills from my supervisors. Accordingly, attentiveness to details enabled me prepare accurate databases that reflected the customer and gust demographic information and their preferred news topics (Parsons, 2008). In the future, I will be capable of preparing accurate databases and ensuring all information is current. I understand that public relations entails researching, collating and distributing media coverage thus I learned how to write creative articles and periodic reports for the management of the organisation (Parsons, 2008).. I was introduced to preparation and production of public brochures, handouts and leaflets for promotional purposes. From the placement, I have appreciate the use of numerous print communication channels and I will be able to combine several channels in order to reach a wider audience. At the organisation, I was tasked with representing the company at different community projects and highlighting the mission of the company (Parsons, 2008). For instance, I was delegated the role of reading the chairman’s speech at a town clean up day and tree planting occasion. In this case, I prepared a good speech that highlighted the initiatives that the organisation has undertaken in conserving the environment. I believe the personal and professional skills acquired during the learning enabled me maintain confidence and proper body language during the speech as evidenced by the applause that I received from the audience during the occasion (Parsons, 2008). Conclusion My placement at Engage a generation with Metro has been a huge success for my future career due to the practical skills gained while interacting with leading professionals at the company. I have appreciated the role of public relations communication in the organisation especially in building corporate image, maintaining relationships with stakeholders and crisis management. The skills gained will be an asset in my career since I can communicate with confidence, listen effectively and ensure honesty n my work. I have gained a positive attitude towards work and I will be a self-starter in my future roles and I am confident of meeting all the deadlines due the multitasking skills I developed at Metro. I am capable of appreciating cultural diversity and displaying good interpersonal skills since I can handle negative feedback and criticism from peers. Bibliography: Baines, P., Egan, J & Jefkins, F. (2007). Public relations. New York: Routledge. Botan, C & Hazleton, V. (2006). 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Ethics in public relations: a guide to best practice. London: Kogan Page. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (2007) Code of Practice for the Assurance of Academic Quality and Standards in Higher Education, Section 9: Work-Based and Placement Learning [Online] Quality Assurance Agency Available: http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Pages/Code-of-practice- Section-9.aspx - Accessed 26/01/2013.. Trought F (2011). Brilliant employability skills.Prentice Hall, Harlow. Read More