FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND LANGUAGE MAY 2013 OUMH2203

ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

NO. MATRIKULASI NO. KAD PENGNEALAN : NO. TELEFON E-MEL PUSAT PEMBELAJARAN : CENTRE

690217035513001 690217035513 : : 0136401342 -

KELANTAN LEARNING

REPORT OF THE ADVANTAGES OUTWEIGH THE DISADVANTAGES OF MOBILE PHONES

To : Director of Institute of Occupational Safety and Health A report on the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of mobile phones I recently conducted a survey among the workers of Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in Kota Baharu. The main objective of this survey is to know whether mobile phones as we know the most effective communicator to the people of the world has given good influence or vice versa. To make it easy and systematic, I gave a survey form for each of my candidate to answer it by their own choices.

The result of the survey show that among 200 workers, about 170 make a conclusion that mobile phone give them the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. That large number contribute 85 %of the candidate. This is really show that mobile phones have pro and contra towards people. The telephone has been described as interposed private communication. While it is not strictly a mass medium, it is a type of mediated communication that exists on a massive scale: a potent instrument of social change, as sociologist Sidney Aronson point out. Mobile phones has increased dramatically over the last few years, making this issue a little more complicated in the post smartphone world. There are many advantages and disadvantages to using the telephone as a method of communication and some of them are more or less pronounced depending on whether you are considering a land line or a cellular phone.

Among the reasons cited by 200 workers , 170 of them who believed mobile phones are the most efficient communicators among people. The other daily channel of communication to the outside world, of course the telephone. Most of us frequently use the telephone at work, either to respond to peoples enquiries or to obtain information from them. Very often it is the only point of contact we have with our customers. How you treat your callers will, just as with the letters you write, reflect upon your organisation. Most of us would agree that we want to create an image of ourselves and our organisations which embodies helpfulness, efficiency and friendliness. From the standpoint of business communication, telephone use has an enormous advantage: interlocutors dont see each other, and this may work for solving tricky or unfavourable situations. As interlocutors dont see each other, the arguments provided in a telephone conversation may be more solid and credible if we apply the proper techniques and procedures.

Another advantage of this type of communication is that we can do other things as we speak, such as taking notes, search for something on the computer, ask something to a work mate (always with discretion), and so on.Thus, we may say that applying the appropriate telephone techniques is essential to get the most out of this communication tool in business.Thanks to advances in technology, telephone communication devices have evolved genera- ting new services and expanding its capabilities.

Perhaps the most conspicuous of these effects has been the dramatic contraction in the time needed to establish communication, transmit orders and consummate business transactions, what for the sake of brevity, may be called transactions time. By bringing two or more persons, often separated by long distances, into direct and immediate communication, the telephone eliminated much of the time which otherwise would have been spent in traveling to meetings. Telephoning did not, of course replace face-to-face meetings; it rather supplemented them and altered somewhat their character. The telephone greatly speeded the pace and the responsiveness of business at the same time that it tended to change the relations among the businessmen from those whole personalities to those between differentiated that obtains when businessmen finally do come together face-to-face. This suggests that the increased efficiency of doing business may have been paid for, in part, by a decrease in the personal and emotional satisfactions of business activity.

Besides, it is very useful for job search with phones. Although the use of the phone is not a very common method for active job search, it can be very effective, particularly in SMEs, where it is relatively easy to contact the person responsible for recruitment (and it often coincides with the figure of the manager or owner). To use this method properly and effectively, we must follow a series of steps that we will study now. First of all, we must know the appropriate place to call. For this purpose, we have to select the companies that might be offering a job position that fits our training and expectations. Once the companies have been selected, we should collect information about them and about the sectors to which they belong (Fig. 6.6).If possible, we should also obtain the name of the person we want to contact: the head of HR, the head of the department, the manager of the company... Another useful technique is to find a possible contact within the company who can open doors when we call. We must prepare what we want to communicate, so that there is nothing left to mention after the call. To do this, it is advisable to have our professional and academic profile available, allowing us to answer any questions that we might be asked during the call. Finally, we must bear in mind the ultimate goal: to obtain an interview or to find out the name of the person we can send our written information (CV, cover letter...).

Once prepared, we should make sure if we are calling at an appropriate time; thus, we will avoid peak hours and the moments right before the departure time of the company.Then, we will make calls in the order that we have established, and will take note of each one of them to know where we have to call back and when we have agreed to do it, who we will talk to and other issues of interest that they have provided. Keep in mind that the call may be initially answered by an employee that will act as a filter, so we must be prepared to pass this filter and to insist. In the event that the person you want to talk to is not available, ask what time is good to locate and talk to him or her. If we have succeeded in contacting the right person, we must speak without a plaintive tone, and briefly and calmly explain who we are and what we believe we can provide to that particular company. In our communication we will use the following keys, creating a good impression over the phone:

Aspects of non-verbal communication Show a positive and optimistic attitude.

Aspects of verbal communication

Speak slowly and vocalize. Dont let nerves affect you.

When we are asked about the reason for our Use a strong and assertive tone. call to the company, we will clearly explain it, indicating the position or the responsible person we want to talk to.

Mobile phones have undoubtedly meant one of the great revolutions of the twentieth century, as it has provided communications and mobility as no device ever did before. It has been so successful that in some countries like Spain, recent studies indicate that the number of mobile phone devices far exceeds the number of inhabitants. Thus, in the other hand, mobile phones saves times, energy and money to human. Apart from making and receiving phone calls, there are many and varied functions that can be performed today through a mobile device: making payments and balancing inquiries from bank accounts, connecting to the Internet, sending and receiving emails, recording videos, taking quality pictures and running many other applications, depending on the phone we have 4

The mobile terminals are now grouped into two types of devices: PDAs and Smartphones: PDA. It is virtually a small computer. The acronym goes for Personal Digital Assistant. They allow us to browse the Internet and check our email at any time and anywhere. Smartphone. Imagine a mobile phone with further functions such as pictures and videos, radio, MP3 player or television: this is a Smartphone). The fundamental reason why these devices have arisen is to try to make it easier for business management over the phone.

The first so-called Smartphone was developed by the company IBM in 1992 and was called SIMON. Its features were very limited (send and receive calls, calendar, address book, and send and receive faxes), especially compared to current devices. The main services that a Smartphone may provide are: Internet, whatever our situation (work, home, etc.). E-mail. File transmission, mostly images. Videoconference. Digital camera (for video recording and photography). Audio and video quality player. Electronic personal agenda. GPS (geographical location maps of great accuracy). Own operating system.

So, with various type of application given to user, we can do : 1) Billing-related services Both fixed and mobile telephony have billing-related services. Depending on the service provider, they may be offered for free or involve extra costs. These services can be grouped into three types:

 Information on bills: it is the set of data that appears on your bill, such as the user, phone numbers that you call, duration and costs of every call, discount plans, and so on.

Consumption control: if requested, this service sends an alert to the user when a specific billing limit has been exceeded.

Flat fee: it means that we pay a fixed amount in the billing period, regardless of the amount and duration of calls. It is usually applied to fixed telephony users, but currently it is expanding to mobile telephony.

2) Business-related services

When talking about telephony services related to business (apart from what has been already discussed in previous sections), we must refer to the set of relationships with suppliers, employees and customers. Thus, in the corporate business world there are two important concepts:

M-Business (Mobile Business Development): it is the use of technology and applications that enables business processes using mobile devices. It includes a number of activities ranging from communications via e-mail to receiving product information via SMS or ordering through the phone. M-business includes the following business types:

B2B (Business to Business): applications oriented to the sale of goods and services. For example, it happens between a company and one of its customers (which, in turn, is another company).

B2C (Business to Consumer): the process that occurs between a company and a consumer. For example, it happens between a company and a person buying something through a mobile phone. 6

 B2E (Business to Employee): set of activities aimed at providing products or services to a companys own employees.

B2G (Business to Government): it is focused on business activities between business and governments (either locally, regionally or nationally and even internationally).

- M-Commerce (Mobile Commerce): this concept includes any transaction carried out through a telecommunications network (such as those made through a mobile phone or through PBXs). Buying a movie ticket using the mobile phone is an M-Commerce situation. In turn, there are three types of service within M-Commerce: Mobile-ticketing: a customer can order, pay for, obtain and confirm tickets from any- where and anytime with a mobile device.

Mobile-banking: it is the use of mobile devices for transactions, payments or any other kind of operation with a financial institution. It is performed via SMS or online.

Mobile payments: it is the charge to customers through mobile devices. It is also easy to make a phone call with our friends in the subway, the countryside or even another countries. Moreover, we can send messages with beautiful photos or even high-quality video clips to share the exciting moment in our life. Besides, a mobile phone has become an important entertainment equipment. Using mobile, users can enjoy video games, listen to the music and even watch a movie smoothly.

Next, mobile phones gives life for thousands of telemarketers Telemarketing is a marketing action in which the telephone is used as the communication channel; it is directly aimed at contacting customers or potential customers for commercial purposes (for example, sales) or at improving corporate image (for example, technical support), among other things. 7

Telemarketing itself is not a comprehensive sales strategy, but a sales or supporting method for the company within its overall sales strategy, and it has specific characteristics. Thus, mobile phone companies, for example, often use telemarketing to increase sales, but they also use other complementary tools such as e-mail communication, conventional advertising campaigns, etc. as well as their conventional stores (Fig. 6.7).

The two functions performed by this tool are: firstly, as a means of communication, and secondly, as a marketing channel.

As a means of communication, it allows us to select and customize each contact, assisting every client or potential client individually. It also allows for interactivity, since we can obtain the recipients response at the same time that we issue the message.

As a marketing channel, it allows us to schedule a sales visit at once in order to make the sale of a product or service, and even to perform a direct sale (teleshopping), if that is the goal of the call..

Telemarketing applications are very diverse, but most of them are commercial and marketing applications.

Commercial applications. Their goal is to make a sale, either during the call itself or arranging an appointment to make that sale. Examples of such applications are:

Locating potential customers.

Arranging interviews for the sales team.

 Keeping track of previous contacts. For example, to confirm the interest shown in a pre- vious call, to sell or to confirm an order.

Teleshopping. That is to say, closing the sale of a product or service in the very act of the call.

Generating new sales of a product that has been previously purchased or sell another related product to the same customer.

Renewing subscriptions to services, publications, etc.

Communicating new offers and custom offers.

Attracting new customers or recover former ones.

Reactivating "silent" customers, that is to say, to work again on inactive user accounts.

Marketing applications. Their main objective is to gather information on actual or potential customers. Their needs, customs, traditions, ideologies... This type of telemarketing doesnt have a clear sales purpose. These applications are:

Conducting customer satisfaction surveys.

Like other advertising tools, telemarketing has certain advantages but also some disadvantages, which must be assessed to decide whether or not it is appropriate to apply this technique in our business strategy. Advantages There is a direct and immediate contact with the actual or poten- tial customer. By establishing a feedback channel we may know the customer questions and clarify any doubts on the spot, prevent- ing potential uncertainty in the purchase decision and encouraging the final purchase. The cost is lower than making personal visits, as these require more time and travel costs. It allows the task of finding potential customers quickly. We can keep in touch with customers even when we cannot visit them personally. If our company has no database of potential contacts, the acquisition or creation of a custom database is very expensive. If we buy an existing database, many contacts might not match our The sales territory may be expanded without creating branches or hiring representatives in other regions or countries. potential customers. And if our company already has one, we must consider the costs This tool is often regarded as an intrusion, of maintaining and updating it so that can and many companies dont make a proper be effective and useful. use of it; thus, this type of communication has become a nuisance to many phone users, who reject any telemarketing action as soon as they know the purpose of the call. There is no visual information, so that people who make or answer calls must be aware of all the recommendations we have mentioned above in the process of telephone communication. Disadvantages

In conclusion, it is inarguable that mobile phones have both good and bad influences on people's life However, I am convinced that Mobile phones are extremely beneficial to our daily lives, and their advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

(2698 words) 10

Reference

http://www.slideshare.net/fzhidris/writing-a-report-tips-and-sample-of-reports www.mcgraw-hill.es/bcv/guide/capitulo/8448180860.pdf http://www.kellyservices.co.nz/NZ/Careers/Career-Tips/Effective-Phone-Communication/

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Appendix
SURVEY FORM

Name: Department :

Please tick (

)answer the given question based on your choices.

1) Are you a mobile phone user?

Yes, I am.

No, Im not.

2) When do you used the mobile phone ?

Anytime

Leisure Time

Only when I need

3) Are the mobile phones important and helpful in your life?

Yes, it is

No, it isnt

4) Do you think mobile phone give you more benefit than harmful?

Yes, I do

No, I dont

~THANK YOU~

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