Critical Reflection Sample Assignment

Critical Reflection

Crisis Management

I recently attended a class discussion where our professor briefed us about a concept named

“crisis management”. As per definition, crisis refers to the phenomenon that might pose a serious threat to the reputation or brand equity of the organization. Moreover, it can also involve something that jeopardizes operations of the company, or interrupts the stakeholder engagement program or can also lead to severe consequences for the employees and activities of the company (Drennan et al., 2014). Post attending the lecture, I realized the dynamicity of the changing business environment and the ways it affected the operations of the companies. After the class, I found myself to be so engrossed in the topic that I went ahead and did an external search to gain more insights on crisis management and methods to manage it.

The prime reason I chose this topic for my specialism is due to its relevance to the present business world. With a wave of globalization sweeping the economies of the country and technology creeping into organizational activities, I opine that crisis is inevitable. Every company has to face a certain crisis during their tenure of operations (Sohn and Lariscy, 2014). From my research, I found out that crisis can occur due to various reasons – political distress, economic slump, labour market issues, internal politics and others. The lecture helped me to identify the reasons and its applicability in various businesses.

Another aspect that I learnt from the class lecture and academic literature was to judge the impact of the crisis on the company and understand the various ways in reducing the negative influence of the crisis being faced. My professor made the lecture informative my divulging into details of crisis management and the methods used by organizations combat it. He spoke about the convene team, a team that dedicatedly manages crisis situation and seeks ways out of it, which got me intrigued.

One of the most insightful knowledge was the role of media during the crisis. I realized the true power of media as they report every crisis situation openly making the public aware of the problem occurring in the society so that the society’s interest is not at stake or sacrificed. This was what prompted me to give this a food for thought and take this as a specialism area. As I plan to make a mark in the media industry, I think that knowledge about crisis management and methods of covering it for the public would certainly help me become a secured professional.

With prior knowledge of the coverage methods, I would be well equipped to cover similar situations and procure information for the public.

Moreover, it would give me a sense of a responsible citizen, as I would be revealing truths for the public by ensuring that they are aware of the important developments of the country and not fooled by anyone. Knowledge on crisis management would help me to hone my employability skills and become an able professional in the media industry. I realize that deep understanding of this subject would not bear implications on my career but would help me to forge ahead professionally and succeed.

Business to Business

Business is the mantra of success in the present economic conditions. Every person is involved in some kind of business be it for proprietorship or employment purpose. Through the course of the lecture and research done by me, I realized that every business not only deals with customers but also with other business houses through whom they procure goods and raw materials, which are then modified to make them the final product. Therefore, it is important for every organization to maintain good business to business (B2B) relationship so that they can have smooth operations in the market (Lawrence and Weber, 2014). Our professor briefed us about market dominance of the B2B sector by SMEs and the motive behind business houses trying to continuously mend and better their relationships with other companies or suppliers.

What prompted me to choosing this as my area of specialism was the integrated nature of the topic and its relevance to every business or industry irrespective of the domain. As we know, it is essential for every business to procure raw materials or any good from other companies; therefore; my knowledge would not be limited to any specific domain but is multi-faceted in nature. As I aspire to be a successful professional, the knowledge of B2B would help me, as I would also be expected to deal with other business houses to get business or procure goods.

Currently, as I am educating myself towards earning a degree in the field of public relations, I want to be a thorough professional in that field. As a public relation officer, my employer would expect me to build a reputation for my company, generate a sales lead, sort out financial support, spread awareness in the market regarding company products, and build a strong network. Among all these activities, one of the major responsibilities that would be on my shoulders would be to build a strong supplier network and possess industry knowledge. As told by my teacher and to the best of my understanding and comprehension skills, I inferred that the role of the public relation personnel is to have good communication skills and strong network so that they can bring new suppliers and customers on board (Pearson, 2017). Therefore, knowledge about business to business proceedings would make me a knowledgeable professional. During my term of employment, I would be able to bring about remarkable results on bridging the gap between the outside world and specialist expert by putting to use my communication and interpersonal skills.

Another thing that intrigued me to this concept was the power to contribute to the decisionmaking process of the company. As a public relation professional, I would be expected to having industry information, and so my seniors would want to seek my opinion too on company decisions. If I perform well in my job role, I might be able to take crucial decisions like a new product launch or company strategy and others. Hence, I feel that knowledge about this concept would help me to climb the ladder of success faster.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship is defined as the loan or donation of resources like money, people, materials and others by private or public organizations and/or individuals with the motive of enhancement of quality or association. It is also regarded as the provision of financial or commercial assistance extended for the purpose of attaining commercial goals (Woisetschläge and Michaelis, 2012). Being a student of public relation, having knowledge about sponsorship is certain. As the concept of marketing has evolved and become broader, it entails the concept of sponsorship, wherein the marketers gather external support for making the event or the project a bigger success. As per the class lecture, I imbibed the fact that we stay in an era of integration communication and entertainment and reality involving strategic communication have become the key to survival in the competitive markets.

As per my capability of understanding, I comprehended that sponsorship entails the benefit of both the parties involved. For instance, the individual or organization sponsoring the event looks out of attainment of several commercial objectives like – entering a new market, innovation, increase in sales and market share, loyalty, sales promotion and others. Another interesting thing that I got to know from the class lecture was the extent of sponsorship. It is rampant in every field, ranging from sports, art and culture, personality development, broadcast, environment and education (Abreu Novais and Arcodia, 2013). Hence, the vast expanse of the field makes it mandatory for a public relation student like me to have knowledge of it.

The factor that motivated me to choose this as my area of specialism was its reach in various sectors and the way it influences my domain of interest. I possess a keen interest in public relations and want to make a career out of it. Hence, it is significant for a student like me to know about the power of sponsorship and the ways it can help my company to grow stronger and successful. After learning about the concept of sponsorship, I started viewing the events in a different manner. Earlier, for me the events were just a mode of leisure; however, postdeveloping understanding of sponsorship, I started noticing the sponsors associated with various events. For instance, I realized that the event managers constantly extended their gratitude to the sponsors as they had an interest in it. Therefore, knowledge on this made me a keen observer and I started having an eye for details.

I feel that knowledge of sponsorship would certainly help in during my tenure of employment. Even if I venture out to start something of my own, I would have an idea regarding the methods of obtaining sponsors and finding aids to make my business a success. As public relation personnel, I would be expected to go out and about in the industry and find sponsors for the event. Therefore, having prior knowledge about the idea and the main companies or industries that generally are into giving sponsorship would make my work easier. I would be able to fulfil my duties properly by delivering positive results.

Reference List

Abreu Novais, M. and Arcodia, C., 2013. Measuring the effects of event sponsorship: Theoretical frameworks and image transfer models. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 30(4), pp.308-334.

Drennan, L.T., McConnell, A. and Stark, A., 2014. Risk and crisis management in the public sector. Routledge.

Lawrence, A.T. and Weber, J., 2014. Business and society: Stakeholders, ethics, public policy. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.

Pearson, R., 2017. Business ethics as communication ethics: Public relations practice and the idea of dialogue. In Public relations theory (pp. 111-131). Routledge.

Sohn, Y.J. and Lariscy, R.W., 2014. Understanding reputational crisis: Definition, properties, and consequences. Journal of Public Relations Research, 26(1), pp.23-43.

Woisetschläger, D.M. and Michaelis, M., 2012. Sponsorship congruence and brand image: A pre-post event analysis. European Journal of Marketing, 46(3/4), pp.509-523.