Understanding Values

Values

Your values are the things that you believe are important in the way you live and work. Value are critical in a workplace to develop relationships and trust.

• Deliver Promises- This means to do what you say you will do. This is very important in work context and in personal life. This helps to build trust and reliability among other. Especially this will lead to building relationships. I believe that if you agree to do something, it is very important to do it as you promised in the corporate world. 

• Clear Communication- Good communication is a very important value at work place. Thus will help to understand instructions clearly, build good relationships and create a positive work environment overall. There are many situations in day to day life that we come across where communication plays a key role including client meeting, internal business meetings and informal meeting. So clear communication is important to prevent any misunderstandings and misinterpretations.

• Innovate- Continuous innovations are important for businesses to grow. Individuals who focus on innovative ideas and thinking out of a box are valued in the organisation. Continuous learning and trying innovate is especially important in the technology filed.

• Embrace change- Change continuous happens and is inevitable. Especially in the IT industry, technology change is continuously occurring. It is important to embrace change and adopt to these changes. This is seen as a critical value.

• Respect- Respecting each other in workplace is very important. Respecting and accepting differences among each other is critical. I have worked in workplaces where there are individuals with different backgrounds and cultures. so it is important to respect it and value each others ideas.

• Collaborate- Collaborate and team working is an important value too. Collaboration is "when a group of people come together and contribute their expertise for a benefit of a shared mission". Collaboration brings people together and learn from each other.

Importance of Transferable skills

Transferable skills (TS) are important in workplace. TS is an ability or expertise which may be used in a variety of roles or occupations. For example I have skills of communication, Analytical and Team working skills which are really important in the workplace. 

These skills especially Communication helps you to standout among others and helps you to share your knowledge and ideas. Also Team working skills help you to work collaboratively with others at workplace. Team working skills are very important in current context as at workplace most of the projects are done in cross functional teams. Having good team working skills helps you to adopt to any team environments and share your ideas. Also it helps you to understand and respect other's ideas. Analytical skills also plays a important role in workplace. Analysing requirements and situations and being able to provide relevant solutions is a helpful skill. 

Economic Implications for IT Industry

AU Dollar fluctuations:

Depreciation or Appreciation of AUD will directly impact the company in the IT industry. Especially any devaluation of currency will increase the cost of computer parts imported from other countries increasing the cost for the IT firms. Also any positive fluctuation of the currency will be advantageous for the company in terms of cost savings and procurement of IT inventory. Also appreciation of currency will provide higher incomes to the company in terms of providing IT services to other countries.

Economic growth: 

Higher economic growth  in Australia will increase investments to the IT industry resulting a boom within the industry. This will facilitate high revenues and investments in innovations, Research and development in the industry. The IT companies will have more funds to pump to new innovations resulting in growth of the industry. Indirectly it will result in high employment opportunities in the industry. 

Taxes and Tarif:

Favourable tax rates on IT equipment and parts will result in reduction in cost to the IT companies to source resources. Benefits can be obtained from suppliers on IT products such as chips, physical storage devices and computer parts. Tax reliefs on IT industry will encourage the companies to invest more and will promote more funds circulating in the industry. 

Agile vs Waterfall Methodologies

 

Video 1: Agile vs Waterfall

Agile Methodology

"Agile was developed as a flexible method that welcomes incorporating changes of direction even late in the process, as well as accounting for stakeholders’ feedback throughout the process" (Forbes.com).

Team works in phases in agile and deadlines are short. This is an incremental and iterative approach. Agile is done in sprints and allows requirements to change over time. This will help to incorporate feedback from the stakeholders. 

Benefits of Agile

• Flexible with the change
• Efficient communication and empower team to make decisions
• Customer focused approach
• Fast Software development life cycle

Waterfall Methodology

"Linear form of project management ideal for projects where the end result is clearly established from the beginning of the project. The expectations for the project and the deliverables of each stage are clear and are required in order to progress to the next phase" (Forbes.com). This method will provide you with clear plan from start to end. Each phase should have deliverable to start the next phase. 

Benefits of Waterfall

• Easy costing
• Progress can be measured clearly
• Team roles are defined well
• Scope of work is defined well

Comparison of Agile and Waterfall

Agile	Waterfall
Plan for sprints	Start to finish project plan
Teams of 3-9 people	Large teams
Change is accepted	Resist to change
Frequent customer involvement	Occasional customer involvement

These each method is different and can be utilised in different situations. If project outcomes are clear from the beginning, best fit would be waterfall methodology. whereas Agile is a suitable method for is project is conducted in fast changing circumstances and the final deliverable is not clear for the team. Currently agile methodology is widely used due its flexibility in many projects.  

References

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/agile-vs-waterfall-methodology/

https://project-management.com/agile-vs-waterfall/

Hungry Jack's Marketing- "Hungry Jack's makes it better”

 

How does the company create awareness of its product?

Hungry Jacks (HJ) mainly focus on advertising as mean of creating awareness among customers. Also they use billboards, social media as  marketing tools.  They also provide training for their staff on the products available to ensure that customers are provided with required information. Hungry Jacks also has huge popularity in Australia owing to its association with West Coast Eagle, Perth’s first Australian Football League team. Hungry Jacks are also conscious about sustainability and have a great association with good causes.

How does the company get consumers to try its product?

" Shake and Win" campaign is a good tool used by Hungry Jacks to make people try their food items. Also they provide vouchers and deals for in app purchases to promote different food items. 

According to Joe O'Keefe (Hungry Jacks Digital Marketing Manager), Hungry Jacks has launched Australia's most interactive, fast mobile app and is one of the most savvy in Australia! Created in 2012, the Hungry Jack’s Makes It Better App (or simply the "Hungry Jacks App") has been reaping in its social media promotion success.

How does the company give information about the product to its customer?

Company gives information to its customers through leaflets and advertising campaigns. Also product information is available on their website and the App. 

How does the company retain loyal customers? 

HJ never forgets to celebrate birthdays of their loyal customers. They have launched a  campaign called "Free whooper for your birthday" to retain its loyal customers and provides ongoing discounts and bundle deals for their loyal customers.  

How does the company entice the customer to buy more and use their product frequently? 

Very popular campaign was the ‘Shake and Win’ campaign wherein free food items or food items at discounted prices were given away to customers from a Hungry Jacks outlet when they would shake their iOS device.  

What promotions does the company use to identify more customers?
HJ launched" Keep it real" campaign emphasising on high quality ingredients, ethically sourced. Hungry Jacks staff is trained to cross sell products wherein they let the customer know of possible meal options that he could opt for along with the item as desired by him. 

References

https://www.mbaskool.com/marketing-mix/services/17456-hungry-jacks.html

https://www.foodnews.cc/news/hungry-jacks-marketing-strategy

How to create a Post in Canva

Team Members-  Sachithra, Akansha, Nisansala, Sanduni, Soukini, Pankaj

1. Setting up a Canva Account

Sign up to Canva from here. To sign up either use sign up with Google account or Signup with google.

If you do not have a google account create one from here.

Once you have sign up with Canva, you are directed to the canva Home page.

 

2. To create a post

• Click on create design in right hand top of the home page.
• You can select different options such as posters, Infographics, Instagram posts, etc.

• Select Infographics to create one
• Creating an Infographic
• You will several samples of designs in the left hand side of the page.

• You can search for applicable designs in the search section.
•  Select a infographic and make changes to the draft. 

3. Downloading the post

• To download the completed infographic,
• Go to Share in the right hand top of the page.
• Select Download as PDF.

4. Posting to Blogger

• To post to the blogger,
• Select Insert image icon on the tool bar of the blogger account.
• Select the option from where the picture is uploaded (in this instance upload from computer)
• Go to the destination where image is saved and select the picture.
• Click Open and click select.
• Image will be posted to the blog post. 

Identifying, preventing and managing stress at work

 Managing stress

"Work-related stress describes the physical, mental and emotional reactions of workers who perceive that their work demands exceed their abilities and/or their resources (such as time, help/support) to do the work"

                                                                                                                - SafeworkSA

Risk Factors for work related stress

Work demands- Exceeding the person's capacity for work will lead to stress. 

Poor support- This is when employees are not supported by their supervisors, this will lead to stress. Employees need support and feedback regarding the work and issues they encounter. 

Low control- This refers to how much control person has regarding the work. unnecessary levels of supervision may lead to stress.

Poor relationships- Colleagues can be important sources of support but they can also be potential sources of stress.  Relationships with bosses, peers and subordinates can positively or negatively affect the way a worker feels.

Undefined roles- When employees are unclear about their roles and responsibilities, it will result in stress. Role conflicts may also lead to this. 

Low recognition and reward- Appraisal and recognition can be achieved through tangible rewards or through feedback on task performance and providing opportunities for the development of skills. Employees expect recognition on the work they do. If there is lack of recognition, will lead to reducing performance and ultimately stress.

These factors result in work related stress. This will lead to psychological illnesses and Physical illnesses. 

How to identify stress at work

Preventing and managing stress

Implementing work stress risk management process at workplace is important. 

Refer below links for more details: 

https://www.safework.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/140669/Mental_health_work_related_stress.pdf

https://www.safework.sa.gov.au/workers/health-and-wellbeing/psychological-hazards

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress