Reflective learning log

From the look of things, it is quite true that English has become a global language when it comes to the world of business. The reason is that a common language is needed among the business stakeholders so that a common ground is developed. Tsedal’s idea on global business speaking English can be supported in totality since people across the world have been brought together by globalization with business being the key driver of this global socialization (Neeley, 2012, p.467).

In such a case it may be very challenging to socialize and make transactions when differences in language complicate the process. That is why companies should use English as a global language so that they can reduce the challenges of doing business with people from all walks of life and there upon create a competitive advantage (Burns, 2009, p.34).

The business should be able to identify itself with its customers regardless of their geographical area and this can only happen when a common language is reached. Many people can communicate in the language and this should be the basis of achieving the common language. From the views of the businesses that have incorporated the English language in their business culture, it is evident that success has been noted significantly since increased customer base is the idea of doing business (Quirk, 2010, p.12).

However, the move towards making English as key business language disturbs people of different languages the business needs to come up with ways to encourage stakeholders to embrace the idea of using English by offering to train them for free or using motivational strategies for the best speakers (Herrell, and Jordan, 2011, p.37).

Early years

My parents are born in different cities so they speak have some different in accent. My father is born at Gyung Sangdo and people who come from this area have their accent quit strong.  My mother was born in Gang Wando which is a city by the north of Korea so her accent is similar with North Koreans (McDonough, J. and McDonough, S., 2014, p.12). I was born in Seoul but I live in Gangwondo and sometimes in Gyungsangdo so I can speak the three languages comfortably including Seoul Gyungaangdo and Gangwondo. I have stayed in Gangwondo much longer than the other areas so my accent has the effect of the Gangwondo culture. In this case my friend’s accent is quite similar to that of North Koreans. My parents come from different cities and have different language accents. That explains why I can speak in both accents.

Application activities

School

When I was in elementary school the student I was in Gyungsangdo so the teachers and my friends were all from Gyungsangdo. They all spoke Gyungsangdo idiolect and thus I was supposed to speak in the Gyungsangdo idiolect.  During my education process I found out that all the Korean schools have English classes for all the students. When I was in my elementary school, I started learning Basic English while in the middle school I learned grammar and complex vocabulary. After I graduated from the middle school I moved to China and I studied for 1 year there.

The Chinese and English languages are quite similar because when I was learning the Chinese there was the aspect of Pingying. The pingying is done using English so I can read much easier and could learn easily. Idiolect .When I met my Gyungsangdo friends I normally spoke using the Gyungsangdo idiolect and when I met my Gangwondo friends I spoke using the Gangwondo idiolect. So I can comfortably speak using the three idiolects i.e. Gyungsangdo, Gangwondo and Seoul.  However I usually use Seoul as the main idiolect. The learning policy was that normal people should learn using English as the key or common language (Carlo et al. 2009, p.61).
Personal development plan

Job

I would like to work as a businessman and strategize on how I would succeed in this area. In this case, I will look for ways of starting my own business after I develop the necessary skills that any business wants. My plan is to start and run a small shop that I will work towards making it a retail and then to something bigger. Since I do not have enough capital to start a shop right now, I will have to work as an employee in s retail shop where I will get enough experience on how to operate.

Job needs

The needs of the job require one to have some capital for buying the most necessary inputs of the business. These include such assets as furniture, the items to sell which in most cases will be food stuffs (Ehrenreich, 2010, p.421). I will need a small shop where to start the business. I will have to look for a suitable location with enough customers, security and accessibility.

Language ability

So far I can say that my English language is not badly off. However I will need to put much effort to ensure that I become a fluent speaker of the language. Since I will not be serving the people of my tribe, I will have to ensure that the English language I learn helps me communicate well enough with the customers (Ferraro, and Briody, 2013, p.56). I also consider doing business in different places and with different people and thus a common language will be helpful. I normally use personal language development books to learn and perfect my English. From the learning test I scored higher marks in the auditory section meaning that I learn better by listening. I will use more audial tutorials to learn the language.

The Role of English in Global Business

Smart plan                

S- I want to speak English fluently like a native speaker so that I can interact and communicate well with customers and other people.

M- I will do online tests that I will use to measure the level I have gone and no the strategies I will apply to make improvement (Crystal, 2013, p.71).

A- I will have a personal teacher online who we will interact through Skype so that we interact once weekly and know the far I have gone as far as pronunciation I concerned.

R- I will set two hours for my English language development two days a week so that I also have enough time to focus on other issues.

T- I will have two sessions for vocabulary, one for pronunciation and another one for making jokes orally so that I may end up being a good English speaker by the end of one year timeline.  

Reflection on two articles

The aspect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has many advantages to businesses when it comes to how they operate and manage their tasks. In this case, it is something that needs to be encouraged in all matters regarding business. Just as Adrienne Fox puts it that CSR pays off, the payment comes in different ways and this has been witnessed by various businessmen. The idea aims to confirm that organizations conduct their operations in the most responsible and ethical manner. It means being able to take into account the social, environmental and economic impact while putting into consideration, human rights (McWilliams, 2015, p.4). CSR can also include quite a range of different activities that include having SRI or social responsible investment, working in partnership to the local people or communities, developing their relationships with customers and the employees and conducting environmental sustainability and protection (Tai, and Chuang, 2014, p.117).

All the businesses should have the fulfillment of environmental and social goals as their critical purpose of operation. These are known as social enterprises. However other organizations try to achieve their financial objectives as they minimize any impact on the environment or society, that is negative (Lindgreen, and Swaen, 2010, p.5). The aspect of CSR in organizations should be considered an important issue since it helps increase the openness about the activities while reaching the people, customers, employees and the government bodies. Thus businesses are able to maintain and operate under the acceptable standards in their practices that involve their business (Friedman, 2011, p.57).  

Job application

Reflection of presentation process

Though the presentation process was quite involving, I gained a lot of experience from presenting right from the topic to the final stage. The topic about English language was not that challenging though the aspect of coming up with the content to present and how to present it. This was my first time to find myself in front of such a big panel. This number of audience can make one nervous especially when it is their first time to stand before a panel and present something in such an environment.

The preparation process is also involving since one need to know how to prepare the PowerPoint slides, connect to the projector and then navigate through the presentation slide by slide. The other challenge was found in the group meetings since many of the members were not hundred percent committed to the group operations. In such a case, some members were being followed here and there so that they could get serious with what we were doing.

There were some aspects of absenteeism though in the end we managed to come up with everything that we presented. Regardless of the various challenges one can say the experience from the whole process is worthy it. During the process, we managed to get assistance from our teachers from whom we made constant consultation. The teacher in charge of our group was quite cooperative, encouraging and ready to help us navigate through the process.  In this case, it would not be possible without this form of assistance.                

Part B

Job application: Job advert

Wal-Mart Inc. wishes to advertise for the position of a salesperson in one of its many outlets situated in the Australian city of Sydney.

I am able to offer a wide experience in the field of a salesman. I am a candidate who seeks to come across a business role that is financially rewarding and at the same time fulfilling my professional aspirations. I have a drive towards success besides being quite knowledgeable with the sales tactics that are most effective over the years. These tactics are backed up by sound educational background including the most pertinent professional qualifications. I hope to find a firm that can give me the chance to make an improvement to my repertoire in a team of professionals. I also have the desire to develop professional growth in the same company and thus be part of a closely knit professional family.

Personal language history

Key qualifications

• IMSM (institute of marketing and sales management)-level 4 diploma in 2006.
• IMSM (institute of marketing and sales management)-level 5 degree in 2010.     

Working experience

1. 2011-to present: Senior executive manager in the sales department  where I have been playing the following roles;

• Liaising with different corporate clients
• Supervising a team of 45 to 55 sales managers
• Responsible for innovative business branding and mission statement
• Promotion of on-going in-house seminars and training  

1. 2008-2006: active field sales-group member in Birmingham where I played the following roles;       

• Responsible for managing a committed field sales-team
• Product presentation and brand development
• Face to face meetings on sales
• Communication link between executives on the upper level and the company staff

1. 2005-2004: leader in field sales in greater London with the following roles;

• Presenting of products at seminars in the region
• Acted as client relations officer for individuals and business
• Supervising sales in the field for individuals and businesses

1. 2003-2002: a junior executive in sales department with these responsibilities

• Basic communication skills and client relations
• Responding to general telephone and email customer enquiries
• Face to face customer meetings during product presentations

Education background

• Marketing and sales, BA (Hons) in the university of Seychelles from 1989-2002
• Level 5 degree (ongoing) from the institute of marketing and sales management in Birmingham

Hobbies

• Playing football and lawn tennis
• Dancing
• Reading   

Referees

These will be readily provided on request

I write to inform you of the recent plans that are happening in our company. There is a scheduled intercultural staff training program among the workers of our company. Our company management has decided that all the staff will undergo training about culture that is aimed at developing business relations among workers and the customers in general. The program is a one week event that will be hosted at our company.

We will be attending the training during our free times usually in the evenings (Cherapanukorn, and Focken, 2014, p. 198). At the same time there are plans to have some of us moved to another branch in another town where a new business was started up just the other day. Plans are underway to have the branch launched officially before going into full operation. I have been selected as one of those to be relocating to the new branch. I will be informing you of any progress just expect to hear more from me. See you soon.

Our school has tried so much to go green and this move is not a solitary pursuit. The management has developed the initiative in the students to have them focus towards the protection of the environment. The school has the following admirable objectives;  

1. Housing

Our college has hostels that have a dedication to green living and sustainability. It has complete solar panels, reclaimed wood, rain barrels and passive lighting (Dempsey, Bramley, Power, and Brown, 2011, p.297).

1. Environmental degrees

Being a steward for the environment, the school tries to teach the students to practice the same after they graduate by having courses and degrees related to environment (Baumgartner, 2009, p.107.        

1. Sustainable curricula

The school is committed towards the fight of climate change and has individual course offering and electives that have an environmental focus (Cuthill, 2010, p. 293).  

1. Green practices and buildings

The school is focused towards having solar panels, gray water systems and initiatives led by various faculties to cut down the usage of electricity and water.

1. Alternative transport means

The school encourages the use of alternative means of transport such as walking, biking, carpooling or the use of public vehicles thus making students to live healthy.

1. Shuttle buses

The school operates shuttle buses to take students living outside the school home and use biodiesel and fuels that are friendly to the environment.  

1. Energy supply

The school supplements it source of electricity with wind, solar and water power.

Personal plan for language development

Conclusion

From the analysis it can be noted that the college applies and tries to implement sustainable development goals that enable the school to be an environmentally and eco-friendly. In this case it ensures that the presence does not waste the environment. It also implements climate change mitigation strategies.      

Minutes and agenda for meeting

The provided minutes and agendas have been confirmed and have in line with the meeting scheduled concerning the two companies. The minutes involve the partnership that has been signed between the MPH or the Mandai Park Holdings and the Banyan tree resort. The agenda for the minutes include;

• The planned partnership between the companies
• The area of situating the new branch of resort
• The services that the resort will offer that are eco-friendly
• The reasons for the partnership  
• The management of the new venture
• Contribution rates of capital and profit

I am writing to you regarding the consultancy services of Banyan tree resort in Singapore. Based on the recent partnership of the MPH or the Mandai Park Holdings and the Banyan tree resort we are grateful that the partnership has already been signed. I therefore wish to inform you that we are ready to partner with you and come up with a joint branch in Singapore.   

The Banyan tree resort can provide services such as easy access to over five parks with wildlife. The resort has also themed indoor attraction to guests. There are guided walks of nature, tours involving spotting tours with wildlife, educational movie screenings and recycling workshops.  The partnership between the hotels will help offer authentic accommodation to all the guests just like the Banyan resort has been doing (Schwartz, 2017, p.107). The venture will provide eco-tourism services that are original, create wildlife education and conservation services. The sustainable resort has natural settings that we seek to make use including the experience and ethos. We request to make use of the 23 years of experience to come up with a resort in Mandai forest in Singapore. In this case, I wish to urge you that the plan is about to be implemented and thus need you to assure us of your readiness.

References

Baumgartner, R.J., 2009. Organizational culture and leadership: Preconditions for the development of a sustainable corporation: Sustainable development, 17(2), pp.102-113.

Burns, A., 2009. Doing action research in English language teaching: A guide for practitioners. Routledge.

Carlo, M.S., August, D., McLaughlin, B., Snow, C., Dressler, C., Lippman, D., Lively, T.J. and White, C.E., 2009. Closing the gap: Addressing the vocabulary needs of English-language learners in bilingual and mainstream classrooms. Journal of Education, 189(1-2), pp.57-76.

Cherapanukorn, V. and Focken, K., 2014. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability in Asian luxury hotels: Policies, practices and standards. Asian Social Science, 10(8), p.198.

Crystal, D., 2013. A global language. In English in the World(pp. 163-208). Routledge.

Cuthill, M., 2010. Strengthening the ‘social’in sustainable development: Developing a conceptual framework for social sustainability in a rapid urban growth region in Australia. Sustainable Development, 18(6), pp.362-373.

Dempsey, N., Bramley, G., Power, S. and Brown, C., 2011. The social dimension of sustainable development: Defining urban social sustainability. Sustainable development, 19(5), pp.289-300.

Ehrenreich, S., 2010. English as a business lingua franca in a German multinational corporation: Meeting the challenge. The Journal of Business Communication (1973), 47(4), pp.408-431.

Ferraro, G.P. and Briody, E.K., 2013. The cultural dimension of global business. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.

Fox, A., 2009. Corporate Social Responsibility and Development: In quest of an agenda. Development, 47(3), pp.29-36.

Friedman, M., 2011. Does business have a social responsibility. Bank Administration, 47(4), pp.13-14.

Herrell, A.L. and Jordan, M.L., 2011. Fifty Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners (Teaching Strategies Series). Pearson.

Lindgreen, A. and Swaen, V., 2010. Corporate social responsibility. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), pp.1-7.

McDonough, J. and McDonough, S., 2014. Research methods for English language teachers. Routledge.

McWilliams, A., 2015. Corporate social responsibility. Wiley encyclopedia of management, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 10, no. 7.,  pp.1-4.

Neeley, T., 2012. Global business speaks English: Why you need a language strategy now., “A model of the antecedents of perceived ease of use: Development and test.” Decision sciences 27, no. 3 (1996): 451-481.

Quirk, R., 2010. A comprehensive grammar of the English language. Pearson Education India.

Schwartz, M.S., 2017. Corporate social responsibility,. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 28(1), pp.105-112.

Tai, F.M. and Chuang, S.H., 2014. Corporate social responsibility. Ibusiness, 6(03), p.117.