“Netiquette & the Electronic Era”

My assignment for the Research Project was to discover the lack of etiquette in the ever growing and changing electronic era – “netiquette”. The majority of faults that are relevant to the P.R. profession occur while corresponding through e-mail. It came as quite a shock to me that business professionals are not conducting themselves in a professional manner in their emails, voice mail, and while using handheld devices such as cell phones and Blackberries. In my opinion, this is a result of the lack of rules and seriousness that occurs in everyday communications. It is now quite rare for me to receive an email that looks professional, contains a structure, and is not full of emoticons or causal abbreviations, such as “LOL”(laugh out loud). If these practices carry over into the business world, communications will not be taken seriously. It is because of this Public Relations practitioners need to be aware of the risk involved in using the technology and electronics that are a necessity of their career.

Tips that I found useful for the P.R. professional include remaining proficient while using electronic communication devices, writing professional, formal emails, and obtaining all contact information. A rule to consider for the workplace is setting an e-mail blackout time that will reduce the stress workers feel when they are constantly bombarded by e-mail, and will limit the frequency of which they receive e-mails throughout the day. In addition to this, guidelines for the use of voicemail and cell phone use within the office should be regulated to ensure that all professionals are being courteous to those around them. 

These tips can be quite useful when interacting through electronics, and can save your professional image. In the growing world of electronic communication, professionals must remain aware that their expert image is constantly influenced by how well they use electronic etiquette, and misusing these media can severely hinder their career prospects.

Although there is an increasing use of electronic forms of communication, it must be remembered that this does not, and cannot replace the importance of face to face communication.

Here are a few websites that I have found useful for tips on netiquette:

http://www.emailreplies.com/

http://www.library.yale.edu/training/netiquette/

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/pw/p_emailett.html

 

Colleen D.

The Job Search – Tara Wood

It is never easy to look for a new job. It takes a lot of time, effort, hope and disappointment… and let’s not forget blood, sweat and tears! Just trying to find work is hard work in itself. As post-graduate students all hoping to get our hands on a job in PR we could all use some help starting the job search.

I did some research on what kinds of tools and techniques work best for those of us looking for careers in communications. The information I came across wasn’t all that shocking since there are some universal truths involved in job searching. I realized, however, that identifying what techniques to use and what tools are available helps make sure you’re job search is heading in an effective direction.

An important technique to use is self-assessment. This happens BEFORE you actually go out and start looking. The job search tools that help you conduct a self assessment include online / print surveys as well as career coaches or counsellors. This step narrows down your search for you by clarifying what your strengths and interests are so that you don’t waste time researching and applying for jobs you either don’t suit or just don’t want.

And speaking of research, gaining background information about an employer or a position is the next step in the job search. Using your self-assessment, you can now research different organizations to try and pair yourself to a suitable placement. This research also becomes an invaluable tool when you are preparing for an interview.

Once you’ve narrowed down your search and identified specificly the right placement for you, it is VERY important that you edit and edit and edit your resume and cover letter. In most cases this IS your link to a potential employer. Never underestimates its power! With one innocent little typo you can very easily be sifted out of the pile and never again considered for a position.

Now, once you’ve taken care of all that, you need to start looking for the right job. This step involves taking advantage of all the tools that are out there including:

- Classifieds

- Career Fairs / Events

- Staffing Agencies / Temp Firms

- Recruiters

- Government Employment Offices

- Internships

- Job Search Sites
(which are really where the jobs are coming up the fastest and I would suggest becoming intimately familiar with this job search tool)

- And most importantly… NETWORKING

I wish I could say that it all just flows from there, but as far as the job search process goes it never stops being a challenge. By making sure to use as many tools as you can it will make the search easier. There are many resources available and I could list them for days and days. The most important thing though (which was highlighted consistently throughout the material I read through) is to never give up. Persistence does pay off. Remember that the jobs are out there for you to find – So go get them!

• Make sure to check out the Career Resources section on the IABC website. It is very user friendly and it provides significant info for PR job seekers!

IABC Job Seekers

• Also take a look at the following links to help motivate you in your search and to keep you optimistic.

Advice from PR Leaders for the Class of 2006

Jobs Are Out There so Don’t Panic

Edited by: Rebecca Ford

Transnational Companies

When discussing transnational companies (TNCs) the most significant issue in my opinion is the fact that in most cases, these global companies are not governed by the same types of laws as national companies are. In order to save immense amounts of money TNCs re-locate in far off, lesser developed parts of the world. They do so in order to avoid the democratic laws which govern the western world.

 

Due to their great revenue and span, the concerns of host countries take second priority to TNCs unethical needs and requests. TNCs are now known to establish themselves in a country and proceed to destroy local ecosystems, take part in child labour, and avoid paying proper wages for labour. In summery, they take advantage of the fact that lesser developed countries have lower environmental and social standards, in order to attract business.

 

The behavior of TNCs will inevitably continue, because of the influence they have on international trade and economics. Organizations such the WTO and the U.N will therefore correspond their goals to the wishes of TNCs, since they can not survive as predominantly western lead organizations without the support of globally successful TNCs. TNCs are able to hold this influence because of the amount of global market share they have come to control. In fact, it is typical for a TNC of today to make more than numerous countries combined.

           

Included in the following are resources I found helpful in researching the topic of TNCs:

 

Foreign Direct Investment. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 12, 2006, from        

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_direct_investment.

 

Gnazzo, V.
Douglas. Transnational Corporations: The
New World Order. Retrieved October 11, 2006, from http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/gnazzo/2006/0209.html.

 

Infact (n.d.) Infact: Challenging Corporate Abuse, Building Grassroots Power, Since 1977. Retrieved October 13, 2006, from http://www.infact.org/homepg.html.

 

Library of
Alexandria. Transnational Corporations. Received October 13, 2006, from http://www.halexandria.org/dward318.htm.

 

Nisbet, T. Charles. (1970). Transferring Wealth from Underdeveloped to Developed Countries via Direct Foreign Investment: A Marxist Claim Reconsidered [Electronic version]. Southern Economic Journal, 37 (1), 93 – 96.

 

Raghavan, Chakravarthi. (1996). TNCs Control Two-Thirds of World Economy. Retrieved, October 13, 2006, from http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/25/007.html. 

Shah, Anap. (2002). Corporations and Human Rights. Retrieved October 12, 2006, from http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Corporations/HumanRights.asp.

 

Sierra Club. (n.d.). Transnational Corporations: Statement of the Problem. Retrieved October 11, 2006, from http://www.sierraclub.org/policy/conservation/transcorp.asp.

 

UN Committee on Trade and Development: Multinational Corporations (MNCS) in Least Developed Countries (LDCS). Retrieved October 11, 2006, from http://www.globalpolicy.org/reform/2002/modelun.pdf. 

University of
Minnesota. (2003). Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights, U.N. Doc.E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/12/Rev.2. Retrieved October 14, 2006, from http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/links/norms-Aug2003.html.

 

Emilie Sheff

Biotechnology

So what is biotechnology you ask?  If you were to have asked me a month ago I most likely would have thrown out something like “well, its biology joined with technology” or something of the sort.  Although university science classes weren’t that long ago I really had no idea what biotechnology was, nor did some fellow explain it to me while I was building boats a few years back (Darlene on nanotechnology, check out her blog).  Like most of you, my class mates, I am sure you typed your topic in Google and came across a million hits.  I did the same and came across a very informative, although promotional, eleven minute video clip on the world of biotechnology.  So before you go any further, link to the video clip “Biotechnology: Knowledge Serving Life” and get an aesthetically pleasing lesson of what biotechnology is and what it is capable of. 

 

So I am assuming you all checked out the clip but if you didn’t I guess I will give you a run down of what Biotechnology is.  Biotechnology is an evolutionary science with an objective of improving human condition.  Looking specifically into biotechnology there are three main sectors concentrated on by the majority of biotech. organizations: red, white, and green.  The Red sector is the main area of focus for biotechnology organizations and deals with heath and the research and development to improve it.  Herceptin, a breast cancer cell fighting drug is an example that shows how biotechnology has improved health dramatically in real life.  The White sector of biotechnology deals with the industrial processes and more specifically, the production of bio-fuels.  This procedure is biologically complex but is achieved to meet the demand of ever depleting non-renewable sources.  Finally, the Green sector of biotechnology deals with the agricultural processes.  Genetically Modified food is at the forefront of this research and has evolved to the point of making 75% of the food we eat being genetically modified. 

       

   So in respect we have all heard of biotechnology; and for us soon to be CC&PR experts, we could be doing the telling of what biotechnology is and has to offer.  This is the result of Canada housing nearly 500 biotechnology companies.  Our nation will face a tough challenge with several new countries introducing themselves into the advancement of biotechnology, but with continuing excellence in science and a great PR campaign, I have no doubt that Canada will continue to be a leader in biotechnology.

Dustin Luchka, CC&PR, 2006

 

          Check out these links for more information on Biotechnology:

1.   Government of Canada.  (2006). Bio Portal: Biotechnology @ the Government of
Canada.  Available at the Government of Canada Bio Portal site, http://www.bioportal.gc.ca/english/BioPortalHome.asp?x=1

    This is the official government of Canada site on biotechnology.  It has everything from what’s in the news to listings of companies and everything you possibly need to know about biotechnology.  This site is fantastic because is guaranteed credible as well as gives Canadian information.

 

2.    Priest, Lisa.  (2005, June 25).  Ontario fast-tracks approval of new drug.  St. John’s Telegram, pp. B7.

      This article in the St. John’sTelegram talks about the new breakthrough breast cancer drug Herceptin.  This article gives great insight as to what exactly biotechnology is a how it is effecting people in real life.  Although it is not very long, it gives a great deal of information.