The purpose of this research is to examine virtual team members' use and perceptions of information technology (IT) support mechanisms. The study identifies the IT support mechanisms currently in use and focuses on differences between virtual and non-virtual teams in control and coordination, IT acceptance, and IT adoption.

El siguiente plan de negocios contempla la creación de DIVERSITAS CONSULTORAS: Consultora estratégica DirCom para la adecuada gestión de la comunicación organizacional en temas de Diversidad e Inclusión, basada en 3 campos de acción: equidad de género, comunidad LGBTIQ+ y discapacidad y habilidades distintas. La consultora pretende diagnosticar el estado de las organizaciones, identificar oportunidades, planificar las estrategias de comunicación y darle acompañamiento a la implementación de las mismas; monitoreando los resultados de manera continua, por medio de información en tiempo real. El plan contempla un benchmark y análisis del mercado de consultoría en el Perú, donde hemos explorado el entorno, la competencia, las necesidades de las organizaciones y los retos frente al nuevo contexto de la emergencia sanitaria que estamos viviendo; descubriendo que existen nichos de mercado desatendidos y deseosos de implementar estrategias comunicacionales de Diversidad e Inclusión. Nuestra propuesta de valor resalta la creación de la plataforma “Diversitas Digital”, una herramienta 100% online que permitirá transformar la forma en cómo las organizaciones vienen trabajando, democratizando los contenidos y obteniendo indicadores de medición en tiempo real; más ahora que la digitalización en las organizaciones ha tomado un rol importante a causa de la pandemia mundial del COVID-19. Finalmente, el análisis financiero nos muestra la viabilidad del negocio, con una proyección de crecimiento sostenible y una utilidad neta del 14% en el segundo año, donde el Valor Actual Neto (VAN) es de S/ 10, 569,709 soles y la Tasa Interna de Retorno (TIR) es de 83%. / The following business plan contemplates the creation of DIVERSITAS CONSULTANTS: DirCom strategic consultant for the proper management of organizational communication on Diversity and Inclusion issues, based on 3 lines of action: gender equality, LGBTIQ + community and disability and different skills. The consulting firm aims to diagnose the state of organizations, identify opportunities, plan communication strategies and provide support for their implementation; monitoring the results continuously through information in real time. The plan includes a benchmark and analysis of the consulting market in Peru, where we have explored the environment, the competition, the needs of the organizations and the challenges facing the new context of the health emergency that we are experiencing; discovering that there are neglected market niches willing to implement Inclusion and Diversity communication strategies. Our value proposition highlights the creation of the “Diversitas Digital” platform, a 100% online tool that will allow us to transform the way organizations are working, democratizing content and obtaining measurement indicators in real time; more so now that digitalization in organizations has taken an important role, especially taking into account scenarios such as the current pandemic caused by COVID-19. Finally, the financial analysis shows us the viability of the business, with a projection of sustainable growth and a net profit of 14% in the second year, where the Net Present Value (NPV) is S/ 10, 569,709 soles and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is 83%. / Trabajo de investigación

Las organizaciones políticas en el Perú se encuentran en un momento crítico. El 93% de los electores, según la Corporación Latinobarómetro (2018), ha perdido confianza en ellas. Su imagen y reputación están generalmente asociadas con la corrupción. Y no es para menos. Los cuatro partidos políticos más influyentes de los últimos quince años han sido catalogados como organizaciones criminales por el Ministerio Público y enfrentan denuncias por el delito de lavado de activos. Sin embargo, la percepción negativa que tienen los públicos sobre los partidos políticos es en realidad resultado de las crisis, entendidas como situaciones adversas que afectan negativamente su imagen y reputación y, en consecuencia, dañan su relación con sus militantes y la confianza de sus electores, restándoles legitimidad, poder y participación en los asuntos públicos del país. Actualmente, en una época donde las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación están cada vez mejor desarrolladas, las agrupaciones políticas son particularmente vulnerables a las crisis, pues existe muy poca información o teoría sobre cómo deben gestionarse en este tipo de organizaciones. En ese sentido, el autor del presente trabajo de investigación asumió el desafío de diseñar un modelo de gestión comunicacional de crisis para organizaciones políticas. Para lograrlo fue necesario, en primer lugar, analizar cuatro casos: Partido Aprista Peruano, Partido Nacionalista Peruano, Peruanos Por el Kambio y Fuerza Popular. Comprender la naturaleza de estas agrupaciones y los tipos de crisis que enfrentaron, fue fundamental para elaborar la propuesta final. / Political organizations in Peru are at a critical moment. 93% of voters, according to Latinobarómetro Corporation (2018), have lost confidence in them. Their image and reputation are generally associated with corruption. It is not for less. The four most influential political parties of the last fifteen years have been classified as criminal organizations by the Public Ministry and face complaints for the crime of money laundering. However, the negative perception that the public has about political parties is actually the result of crises, understood as adverse situations that negatively affect their image and reputation and, consequently, damage their relationship with their militants and the trust of their voters, subtracting legitimacy, power and participation in the public affairs of the country. Currently, at a time when information and communication technologies are increasingly well developed, political groups are particularly vulnerable to crises, as there is very little information or theory on how they should be managed in these types of organizations. Therefore, the author of this research took on the challenge of designing a crisis communication management model for Peruvian political organizations. To achieve this, it was necessary, first of all, to analyze four cases: Partido Aprista Peruano, Partido Nacionalista Peruano, Peruanos Por el Kambio and Fuerza Popular. Understanding the nature of these groupings, and the types of crises they faced, was critical in crafting the final proposal. / Trabajo de investigación

Работа посвящена изучению прагмастилистических особенностей деловых писем, в частности писем-рекламаций на английском и французском языках, их принципам составления и функционально-прагматической специфики. Материалом исследования выступают 50 писем-рекламаций на английском языке и 40 писем-рекламаций на французском языке. Аутентичные письма-рекламации привлекаются из документооборота компании «Белл'Ю», образцы оригинальных писем-рекламаций от физических лиц привлекаются из интернет-источников, также отобраны образцы писем специализированных сайтов. Результаты исследования и собранная коллекция писем-рекламаций могут быть использованы в преподавании ряда курсов и дисциплин по деловому английскому и французскому языкам: «Стилистика английского языка», «Стилистика французского языка», «Прагмалингвистика», «Практикум по культуре речевого общения (западный иностранный язык)», «Язык бизнеса», «Основы бизнес-коммуникации в полиязычной среде», «Межкультурная коммуникация» и др. в процессе подготовки будущих лингвистов, филологов, специалистов по ВЭД. Также результаты анализа могут быть использованы в исследовательской и переводческой практике при написании образцов писем-рекламаций. / The research is devoted to study of pragmatic features of business letters, in particular letters of complaint in English and French, their principles of composition and functional and pragmatic features. The material of the research includes 50 complaint letters in English and 40 complaint letters in French. Authentic letters of complaint are extracted from the document flow of the "Белл'Ю" company, samples of original letters of complaint from individuals are extracted from Internet sources, and samples of letters from specialized websites are also selected. The research results and the assembled collection of letters of complaint can be used in teaching courses and disciplines in business English and French: "The stylistics of the English language", "The stylistics of French language", "Pragmalinguistics", "Practical training on the culture of speech communication (Western foreign language)”, “Language of business”, “Fundamentals of business communication in a multilingual society”, “Intercultural communication”, etc. in training of future linguists, philologists, specialists in foreign economic activity. Also, the research results can be used in research and translation practice in writing sample letters of complaint.

This thesis examines public relations (PR) communications that use English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) from leading Finnish companies. It analyses a corpus of 90 press releases from 15 export-active companies for linguistic usage, drawing on elements of linguistic theory. In addition, a limited narrative is based on personal interviews to determine typical procedures that are involved in PR content creation. It should have relevance to all who use ELF in a business context, but be of special interest to those involved with PR and marketing. It may also have some relevance to internal international business communications and linguistics.The study was motivated by three factors: how English is a dominant global language that is being used by companies in other countries as an intermediary language, prior research of how Finnish companies use PR and communications within their export activities, and extensive observation obtained whilst working as a journalist, dealing with companies from all around the world.It is believed that many companies may not be communicating efficiently and effectively when using ELF. Even when they do communicate and content may appear to be grammatically correct, its efficacy may be muted, inhibiting audience comprehension and other consequential actions. The research noted that certain linguistic elements were over-represented, which could potentially inhibit communication and comprehension. The resolution is not necessarily drastic and could only deliver wider benefits where implemented.Recommendations include closer attention is made concerning linguistic construction, broader additional research is conducted into the global phenomena and the possible creation of an operational framework to assist deployment of ELF-friendly textual communications, especially within the PR/marketing field.

During the 21st century, colleges have increasingly leveraged online-based courses as a means of instruction, and although public speaking ability is among employers’ most in-demand skills for college graduates, there exists a scarcity of research measuring students’ public speaking skill development in online courses. Even fewer studies measure public speaking skill development in online courses compared to the same skill development in classroom-based versions of the same courses taught by the same instructors. Given this background, the current study used analysis of variance with repeated measures to determine whether face-to-face Business Communication students’ presentation skills improved more than, less than, or the same as those of online Business Communication students. This design enabled measurement of the dependent variable of presentation skill improvement, in groups of students separated by the independent variable of course delivery format—classroom or online—over time. This design also allowed the researcher to control for the variable of instructor; instructor bias was controlled for by only comparing students enrolled with, and therefore taught and evaluated by, the same instructor in both modalities. Furthermore, to uncover additional findings related to student choice of and success in online courses, two more sets of analyses were conducted. The first computed change scores between the repeated-measures tests for each of the eight assessment criteria, as well as the total across the eight criteria, and correlated these change scores with other student data where this analysis was appropriate (for example, with SAT/ACT scores). The second set of analyses added blocking variables—sex, race, and other background data—to the analysis of variance with repeated measures. Evident from these analyses was that the rate at which public speaking sub-skills developed over the ten-week period between repeated-measures assessments was not uniform. Changes in performance varied by assessment criterion, course modality, and student background. Online student performance tended to improve at a marginally greater rate in assessments of Body Language and tended to diminish at a marginally lesser rate in assessments of Quality & Quantity of Information, whereas face-to-face student performance improved at a significantly greater rate in assessments of Audience & Team Engagement. In this latter criterion, the performance of online male students decreased somewhat, whereas the other subgroups—per sex and course modality—showed essentially no difference in the rate of improvement from pre-test to post-test. Additional findings suggested that online students tended to work more employment hours than classroom-based students and that, regardless of course modality, the higher the education level a student’s parents have attained, the more likely the student was to make learning gains in the course. / Educational Administration

As social media platforms are increasingly becoming more popular and a part of everyday life, Business-to-Business (B2B) marketers from different industries are realizing social media’s potential for achieving marketing purposes. However, scientific literature regarding social media usage in B2B contexts is still filled with gaps in knowledge; especially when compared to literature about social media usage in Business-to-Customer (B2C) contexts. One of these research gaps is the lack of niched information about each effect of using social media. This paper aims at contributing to filling this research gap by presenting an extensive literature review about social media marketing in B2B; followed by an analysis of empirical data gathered from 11 different cases of B2B companies engaged in social media marketing. Moreover, this is to answer the research questions; how are B2B companies using social media to increase brand awareness? Which types of content inspire the most customer engagement? And how can B2B companies amplify their chances of succeeding in increasing brand awareness through social media? This paper will further contribute to this research topic, by identifying further research gaps and present suggestions for future research.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how a group of Chinese business students understood the nature and the purpose of the instruction techniques they were exposed to in Britain, and the attitudes the students, Chinese lecturers in China and British lecturers in Britain held towards seminar discussions. The study also investigated how and to what extent students’ prior learning experiences predisposed them to certain attitudes towards seminar discussions. The student participants in this study undertook Part I of their degree programme at a Chinese university for two years before transferring to Britain to study for one year, graduating with a British Bachelors Degree in International Business. Data was gathered from classroom observations, follow-up and exploratory interviews, and a questionnaire survey to discover more about the students’ learning experiences in Part I in China, and from classroom observations, audio-recordings, and follow-up and exploratory interviews to investigate the same group of students’ learning experiences in Part II in Britain. A ranking task and interviews were used to identify the preferences of Chinese students, British lecturers, and Chinese lecturers from China in terms of specific group discussion methods. The study identified three discussion methods used by students in British seminars: these have been termed ‘spiral’, ‘exploratory’ and ‘individual’ methods. The Chinese students tended to use the ‘spiral’ method, repeatedly bringing the discussion back to the question provided by the seminar tutor, whereas the non-Chinese students tended to use the ‘exploratory’ method, reformulating each other’s opinions and building on them by bringing in new information. When discussing within Chinese-only groups, the Chinese students used the ‘individual’ method whereby a group leader took responsibility for the outcomes of the discussion and the other members did not build upon each other’s contributions. Chinese and non-Chinese students sometimes misunderstood each others’ intentions, but were not likely to notice that miscommunication had occurred. The ranking task and the follow-up interviews revealed that the British lecturers preferred the ‘exploratory’ discussion method, whereas Chinese lecturers from China and Chinese students preferred the ‘spiral’ method. The British lecturers were found to adopt a constructivist approach to group discussion tasks, seeing them as a means by which students could obtain professional experience. They treated Business and Management knowledge as divergent and ‘soft’. Chinese lecturers and students, on the other hand, were found to perceive group discussion as a kind of assessment and were keen to find ‘correct’ answers to case study problems, treating Business and Management as convergent and hard disciplines which offered judgements on good practice. The Chinese lecturers in Part I of the programme organised group discussion so that students could exchange answers and check their accuracy, and, perhaps because of this, in Part I the students learnt in an exam-oriented way, strategically dividing up their tasks and working individually on their own task portions in order to find an acceptable answer as quickly as possible. These students were found to continue to employ these strategies during group work after they had transferred to the British component of their degree programme. The study has made a theoretical contribution to knowledge concerning the cultural influences on students’ classroom interactional practices. The findings from the study have implications for the teaching of intercultural business communication, and the enhancement of students’ learning experiences in international business programmes, in business English programmes in China, and whilst learning within groups.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this study the focus is on the yearbooks of the Stellenbosch University with spesific reference to the consumer friendliness thereof. The researcher focused on the General Yearbook as well as an extract from the Humanities Yearbook of the Stellenbosch University. The goals of this study is to firstly determine (a) what is the present image that prospective students have of the Stellenbosch University, (b) if the SU Yearbooks have any impact on the image formation of these prospective students and (c) if so, what is the exact impact of the yearbooks on the image formation process of these students and how can it be improved. There are five important factors that measure the consumer friendliness of a document. These factors refer to the physical access to a document, the external structure, the ergonomy of a document, the style of writing and the cognitive access (understanding) of the text. These factors are closely tied to each other, but for the sake of this study, the researcher decided to focus only on the factors that directly influence the consumer friendliness of a document. The researcher decided on four stylistic aspects that influence the consumer friendliness of a document. These refer, firstly, to the external structure of a document with specific reference to the margins, headings and paragraphs in the chosen document. Secondly, the focus is on the information distribution of the document, i.e. the organisation and representation of information. The third aspect refers to forms of address in the document including both references to the writer as well as to the reader. The last aspect that is researched in this study is the style concept of formality. The researcher primarily focuses on difficult words and phrases in the text as well as the use of passive and active sentence constructions. The researcher also tests the concept of consumer-friendliness with a usability test based on an extract taken out of the Yearbook of Humanities. The researcher’s hypothesis claimes that the yearbooks of the Stellenbosch University are not consumer-friendly and that this can have a negative influence on the image that the prospective student forms of the SU. By determining this perception under the prospective students in the study, the researcher could find a suitable solution from the results to improve the image that the current documentation reflects and also to help the yearbooks of the SU fulfill its purpose which is to serve as an accessible information guide that is consumer-friendly. The Integrated Model for Formation and Projection, the IFP-model, on which this study is based, determines that different messages in a document can have an effect on the image of an institution. These messages can however be manipulated in order to determine or adjust the image of an institution. 123 respondents from the Paarl Gymnasium High School and Luckhoff High took part in this study. Gender and race were incorporated as independent variables in the study. These respondents’ attitudes were measured by means of questionnaires as the primary methodology. Statistical methods were used in order to determine the results from the questionnaires and to identify certain tendencies from the research. The results show that prospective students show a preference for yearbooks that are more consumer-friendly. As the hypothesis predicted, prospective students have a very positive image of the Stellenbosch University. After the introduction to the yearbooks, these images changed to a more neutral, and even in some cases to a more negative image of the University. By means of testing the different style aspects in this study, the researcher also concluede that the respondents preferred a more people-oriented and consumer-friendly yearbook. The respondents in this study had a definite preference for a yearbook which is more consumer-friendly en that therefore have a more positive influence on the image of the University. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie studie word daar gefokus op die jaarboeke van die Universiteit Stellenbosch met spesifieke verwysing na die gebruikersvriendelikheid daarvan. Die navorser het gefokus op die Algemene Jaarboek en ’n uittreksel uit die Jaarboek Lettere en Wysbegeerte van die Universiteit Stellenbosch. Die doelwitte van hierdie studie is om te bepaal wat is (a) voornemende studente se huidige beeld van die Universiteit Stellenbosch, (b) of die US-jaarboeke enige invloed het op die beeldvormingsproses (van die US) van hierdie voornemende studente en (c) indien wel, wat is die uitwerking van die jaarboeke op die beeldvormingsprosesse en hoe kan dit verbeter word? Daar is vyf belangrike faktore waaraan die gebruikersvriendelikheid van ‘n teks gemeet kan word. Hierdie faktore verwys na die fisiese toegang tot die dokument, die uiterlike struktuur, die ergonomie van die dokument, die skryfstyl en laastens die kognitiewe toegang (verstaanbaarheid) van die teks. Die faktore hou sterk verband met mekaar, maar vir die doeleindes van hierdie studie het die navorser haar studie beperk tot slegs die faktore wat die gebruikersvriendelikheid van die teks beïnvloed, sowel as die faktore wat ‘n invloed het op die beeldvormingswaarde van ‘n teks. Die navorser het vier stilistiese aspekte gekies wat met die gebruikersvriendelikheid van ’n dokument verband hou. Hierdie vier aspekte verwys eerstens na die uiterlike struktuur van ’n teks met spesifieke verwysing na die kantlyne, opskrifte en paragrawe van die betrokke dokument. Die tweede aspek verwys na die inligtingsverspreiding van die dokument en dit behels die organisering en voorstelling van inligting in die betrokke dokument. Die derde aspek verwys na die aanspreekvorme in die dokument met spesiale fokus op die aanspreekvorme wat verwys na die leser asook dié wat verwys na die skrywer. Laastens, word die stylaspek formaliteit ook in hierdie studie bespreek deur te fokus op moeilike woorde en frases asook passief- en aktiefkonstruksies in die dokument. Die aspek gebruikersvriendelikheid word in geheel getoets deur die respondente bloot te stel aan ’n tipe begripstoets en sodoende te bepaal of die dokument gebruikersvriendelik is vir voornemende studente. Die navorser se hipotese in die studie was dat die jaarboeke van die US nie so gebruikersvriendelik is nie en dat dit ‘n negatiewe impak kan hê op die beeld wat die voornemende student van die US vorm. Deur hierdie persepsie te kon vasstel onder voornemende studente, kon die navorser uit die resultate ‘n werkbare oplossing kry om die beeld wat die dokumentasie tans skep te verbeter en ook om die US-jaarboek in sy doel te laat slaag – om ‘n toeganklike inligtingsgids te wees wat gebruikersvriendelik is. Die studie word gegrond op die Geïntegreerde Kommunikasiemodel vir Beeldvorming en -projeksie (Integrated Model for Formation and Projection, kortweg die IFP-model genoem). Hierdie model beweer dat verskillende deelboodskappe in ’n dokument ’n effek het op die beeld van die instansie. Hierdie boodskappe kan egter deur middel van dokumentontwerp-aspekte gemanipuleer word ten einde die beeld van die instansie te bepaal of te verstel. 123 respondente uit twee skole, naamlik Hoërskool Paarl Gimnasium en Hoërskool Luckhoff, het in hierdie studie deelgeneem. Geslag en ras is as onafhanklike veranderlikes in die studie in berekening gebring. Respondente se houdings is getoets met vraelyste as die primêre metodologie. Statistiese metodes is aangewend om die resultate van die vraelyste te verwerk en op grond daarvan is sekere tendense geïdentifiseer. Die resultate toon dat voornemende studente ’n voorkeur het vir ’n Jaarboek wat meer gebruikersvriendelik is. Soos die hipotese bepaal het, was voornemende studente se houdings teenoor die US baie positief. Na kennismaking met die US Jaarboeke, het hierdie beeld meer neutraal en in somminge gevalle meer negatief geword. Deur die verskillende stylaspekte te toets, kon die navorser ook bepaal dat die respondente ’n meer mensgerigte en gebruikersvriendelike Jaarboek verkies. Die respondente wat aan hierdie studie deelgeneem het verkies dus ’n Jaarboek wat meer gebruikersvriendelik is en wat sodoende ’n meer positiewe invloed sal hê op die beeld van die Universiteit Stellenbosch.

Thesis (MPhil (Afrikaans and Dutch. Document Analysis))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / In this study, research has been done on the institutional image of the Stellenbosch University (SU). The impact of the true and desired image on the written communication of the SU has been researched to determine how much influence the US can have on the forming of the institutional image and how it can be improved to correlate more with the desired image of the SU. The focus was, more specifically, on the written communication of the Registrar’s division of the SU and their institutional documents. The institutional image was tested by means of questionnaires filled in by the students of the SU. The groups have been selected in accordance with the population profile of the SU to be statistically representitave of the true population studying at the SU.