Business English Assignments

Philip Nguyen – 22114033

Inhoud
Voluntary assignment – Unit 1: Money-free (listening)......................................................................................................
Interview with Mr. R......................................................................................................................................
Interview with Mr. H......................................................................................................................................
H: No, that’s gonna be it...............................................................................................................................
Voluntary assignment – Unit 2: Watch this space… (vocabulary).......................................................................................
Presentation of ditisABC...............................................................................................................................
Convincing points....................................................................................................................................
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................................
Mandatory assignment – Unit 8: Artistic licence................................................................................................................
Interview with Mr. R......................................................................................................................................
Interview with Mr. H......................................................................................................................................
Mandatory assignment – Unit 10: Fact or...........................................................................................................................
The influence of social media.......................................................................................................................
TED talks......................................................................................................................................................
BBC News.....................................................................................................................................................
Conclusion....................................................................................................................................................
Mandatory assignment – Unit 11: Music to my ears.....................................................................................
Bias and stereotyping within corporations....................................................................................................
Online articles...............................................................................................................................................
Article 1...................................................................................................................................................
Article 2...................................................................................................................................................
Article 3...................................................................................................................................................
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................................
Comparison to my intern company.........................................................................................................
Voluntary assignment – Unit 1: Money-free (listening)

The format used for this unit is an interview. I interviewed two people, so I can have a better view
and compare the answers to each other.

Interview with Mr. R.

Me: How close is the team currently?

R: We have a small team. I would say the team is pretty close and knows a lot of things about each
other, personal things too. We talk a lot during lunch and have been doing that for a while, so I
would say that the team is pretty close.

Me: What do you guys do within the team to become closer?

R: From time to time our colleague Harm organizes team outings. It brings us together and we spend
time outside of work. We also have a short coffee moment every first morning of the week. This also
brings us together to talk about our weekend and brings us closer.

Me: How do you get closer to clients?

R: We try to meet potential clients in person as much as we can. We also try to do evaluation
meetings when we can. I believe meeting clients in person creates a strong bond.

Me: Are there any other things you do to get closer?

R: Not really. Our boss tries to go to events a lot or meet clients in general.

Me: Would you like to add anything regarding relationships with colleagues or clients?

R: No, that should be it.

Interview with Mr. H
Me: How close is the team currently?

H: Since we have a small team I would say the team is pretty close. We know things about each
other’s personality and interests. Even random things that happen in our life we tell to each other.

Me: What do you guys do within the team to become closer?

H: We always have lunch together. I think that makes us closer, because we get to talk to each other
a lot. Sometimes we have business outings and we do things together. It creates a bond between us
on a more personal level.

Me: How do you get closer to clients?

H: I personally don’t have a lot of contact with clients, but I know other colleagues are always busy
communicating with clients. Sometimes they meet clients and our boss is out of the office a lot to
connect with people.

Me: Would you like to get closer to clients yourself?

H: I am not sure. I think I like being in the background a bit more. I rather do work than be in
meetings all the time.

Me: Would you like to add anything regarding relationships with colleagues or clients?

H: No, that’s gonna be it.

Voluntary assignment – Unit 2: Watch this space… (vocabulary)

The format I’ve used for this assignment is a blog.

Presentation of ditisABC
In the world of marketing, there are a lot of web agencies that aim to help other companies in their
growth. There are countless web agencies and I happen to do my internship at one. For this blog I
analyzed our website and give you three convincing points that showcase strength, as well as three
points that could benefit from improvement.

Convincing points
1. One aspect that stands out as soon as you visit the website is the availability of a
complimentary website scan. Offering something for free has a strong appeal to potential
clients. The blue button is easy to spot. By mentioning “free” twice presents an excellent
opportunity for the company to attract visitors. Even though the texts are short in this
aspect, it is very convincing.
2. Another aspect that stand out to me is the text on their contact page:

The text on the contact page gives me a warm and inviting feeling. The company comes
across as genuinely interested in someone’s business, rather than viewing them as a
potential client. The text ends with a clear call to action, encouraging potential clients to
reach out and make contact. If I was a potential client myself, I would feel welcomed and
inclined to take the next step by reaching out to them

3. The last point I would like to share is this text on their webdesign page. Most companies
desire an appealing website. The first paragraph immediately shows a sense of trust and
professionalism. Furthermore, the mention of creating a unique design from scratch makes
me more curious. The text ends with a compelling call to action, once again inviting you with
open arms. I can imagine that potential clients would feel welcomed and intrigued by the
content, motivating them to take the next step and reach out for further information.
Improvement points

1. One area that needs improvement is the text on the homepage, that you see right after you
visit their website. Although it is short, which is understandable given the limited space, the
content itself lacks character. It merely provides generic information about the company
without mentioning anything unique or convincing.

As a result, it fails to create a strong impression that this is the company I would choose to
work with if I had my own company. Instead, it leaves me with a neutral feeling. While I
might still explore the rest of the website, I would not feel a sense of excitement.

2. Another area that needs improvement is this short text on the homepage:

Instead of focusing on being persuasive, I believe it would be more beneficial to

include a section about the company itself. This portion of text should not be placed
so high up. As a potential client, I would appreciate learning more about the
company before they start selling themselves. I would prefer to understand why they
are the ideal partner for achieving online success or what efforts the company makes
to help you as a client. Providing this would help establish more credibility and make
me feel more confident in considering their services.

3. The last point I that needs improvement is this text at the bottom of their homepage:
 It doesn’t make sense to me that they focus on highlighting their location and the fact they
have helped other companies in their area. In a paragraph specifically titled “need a web
agency in Hillegom?'' I would expect to see reasons as to why I should choose them over
other agencies throughout the entire country, like USP’s. Instead of solely discussing their
company and local successes, I would appreciate learning more about their unique expertise,
unique sellings points and specific advantages that set them apart from competitors.

Conclusion
There are a lot of good things about the website. It was hard for me to find texts that were not
convincing or needed improvement. The texts that do need improvement are small parts of the
website. Pretty much all of it has good contents and ends with good call to actions. In my eyes,
ditisABC is getting close to getting a nearly perfect website for their company.
Mandatory assignment – Unit 8: Artistic licence

The format I’ve used for this assignment is an interview. I interviewed the same two people I
interviewed for the first assignment.

Interview with Mr. R.

Me: what does curiosity mean to you?

R: I think curiosity makes us able to learn more. If we are not interested it means we are not
motivated to do things either. I think curiosity means a lot to me, because it makes me able to
improve and stay motivated.

Me: How important is curiosity within the company?

R: Curiosity makes us improve and stay motivated. If we keep improving and learning new things,
our work will improve as well. We will get faster and better at things and we can make clients even
happier.

Me: Should we get more curious towards other colleagues?

R: I think we can learn a lot from each other. People have different skills and we can learn from each
other's strong points. We can also be curious for feedback, because having an extra set of eyes is nice
to have. Feedback is very important to me, so I think we should ask for each other's feedback more.

Me: What about clients?

R: I think we are pretty curious to clients already. We are always interested in their company as a
whole and what they stand for so we can deliver better work. I think that this department won’t
need improvement and we should start focussing on improvement at the office.

Me: Would you like to add anything regarding relationships with colleagues or clients?

R: I would like to mention again how important feedback is. I think feedback is a gift and should not
be seen as bad criticism.
Interview with Mr. H
Me: what does curiosity mean to you?

H: Curiosity comes and goes for me. Personally I get bored of things easily, so it is hard for me to stay
curious, especially when I learn a lot about a certain subject or know about it already.

Me: How important is curiosity within the company?

H: I think feedback wise it makes a lot of sense. I am always curious to know what others think of the
work that I did. I don’t really understand how it could help us otherwise though.

Me: Should we get more curious towards each other?

H: I think feedback wise yes. I notice that we live in our own bubble a lot when we work, so it would
be nice to ask for each other's feedback more often. I am not really interested in the jobs others do,
because I know my qualities and theirs.

Me: What about clients?

H: Not really. We are pretty curious to clients. We could try to get to know them on a deeper level.
That is a part of curiosity.

Me: Would you like to add anything regarding relationships with colleagues or clients?

H: There is nothing I would like to add.C

Mandatory assignment – Unit 10: Fact or

The format I’ve used to this assignment is an essay. The subject is:

The influence of social media

Social media has become a big part of our daily lives. It influences the way we communicate, think
and it even influences people’s opinions.

In this essay, I will evaluate three different sources that provide information on social media
influencers, where their credibility will play a big part. The sources chosen include both formal and
informal platforms.

Forbes
Forbes is an American business magazine and website that publishes articles about several topics,
such as finance, industry, investing, and marketing.

John Brandon wrote and published an article called “Is Social Media Changing How We Think?” on
Forbes. It is a formal source of information.

1. Author: John Brandon’s expertise is not specifically mentioned in the article. However, he has
been around for a while, because he has published over 15,000 articles on social media,
technology, etc, but the does not change the face he has no expertise regarding this subject.
2. Publisher: Forbes is a well-known and reputable business magazine. Forbes has a long history
of providing credible content. They say they have high editorial standards to ensure the
quality and credibility of the content. Even with that, Forbes is still look down on a lot. It is
seen an generally unreliable, even called “a platform for scams, grift and bad journalism” bu
Harvard University’s Nieman Lab.
3. Date: The article was published on March 16th, 2024. It is a recent article, so the information
is most likely up to date.
4. Sources used: There are some outbound links, that link to news articles written by the US
congress.

Conclusion: John Brandon is an experienced journalist who uses credible sources, like the news
article written by the US congress. This, combined with the fact Forbes is a very reputable business
magazine with high quality and credible articles prove the source is very credible.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnbbrandon/2024/03/16/is-social-media-changing-how-we-think/
TED talks
YouTube is a huge platform, with a lot of different types of content. This YouTube video is about the
impact of social media on youth. TEDx covers a wide range of topics, from science and technology to
social media and personal development. They aim to spread ideas and spark meaningful
conversations by featuring speakers, such as experts and innovators. TED Talks are an informal
source of information. They also use informal language to talk “to us” and not “at us”.

1. Speaker: Katanu is a student at Brookhouse School doing BTEC. Throughout her BTEC course
she has developed a strong passion to study marketing.
2. Publisher: TED strives to present information in a way that is both compelling and 100%
credible. They are a huge company and given the chance to do a TED Talk is seen as highly
prestigious.
3. Date: The video was published on January 14th 2020. Social Media has changed a lot since
then, so some of the points that Katanu has given, could be outdated. This does not mean
she was wrong, but there could be different of bigger issues now, that didn’t exist around the
time of publishment.
4. Source used: In the video, there are no sources accessible, though I believe she used some.
There is no hard proof, so I can not say she used any credible sources herself.

Conclusion: TED Talks can be a good source of information, if given by an expert. The person in the
video was a student and even though this does not necessarily mean anything, information given by
an expert is way more credible. The goal of this TED Talk is also not to provide information, but to
encourage people. This is why I think it is a credible source of information in some way, but not
much, especially because it’s older and has a different goal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soHn6t_jjIw

BBC News
BBC News is a global news organization that operates under BBC (British Broadcast Corporation). It
has become one of the most widely recognized new providers in the world. It delivers news across
radio, television and other online channels. The news article used for this assignment is called:
“Teenage social media use linked to less life-satisfaction for some”. This is a formal source.

1. Writer: Although the identity of the writer is anonymous, it is a news article. It could be
written by a very experienced journalist, but also an unexperienced one. This is because a big
part of the news article are statements made by a researcher.
2. Publisher: BBC news is one of the big global news organization that are hard to disbelieve.
The chance BBC spreads misinformation is very slim. It is a trusted source.
3. Date: The news article was published March 28th, 2022. It is only 2 years old. Even though
there is a good chance Dr Amy Orben continued the research, the only reason it could be
outdated is because there are new results. However, it does not change the results she has
gotten from the research in 2022.
4. Source used: The journalist writing the article does not have any expertise, but the
researcher that was mentioned was actively doing research around that time.

Conclusion: The article is written based on research. The publisher is one of the most widely known
and trusted sources. The article is not too old. These points together make this article the most
credible source of information. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-60875884
Conclusion
Out of the 3 articles, the article published by BBC is the most credible source. Second place has to be
the article published by Forbes, because it has a bit less expertise, but is still published on a decent
platform. The author is experienced and I don’t think he could make a living by spreading
misinformation every day.

The least credible source is the TEDx Talk video. The speaker is not an expert and does not seem to
have any background towards the subject. It is also more of an encouraging speech, rather than an
informative video, even though she gives a lot of information.
Mandatory assignment – Unit 11: Music to my ears
The format I’ve used for this assignment is an essay.

Bias and stereotyping within corporations

In the landscape of modern corporations, effective communication and decision-making are big parts
of a company’s success. However, hidden beneath the surface lies a force: (un)conscious bias and
stereotyping. These deeply ingrained processes have a big impact on corporate communication and
decision-making. Whether acknowledged or not, biases can shape how information is interpreted,
affecting businesses and stakeholders.

This essay explores the interplay between (un)conscious bias, stereotyping, corporate
communication, and decision-making. Through research and practical insights, I aim to select three
articles from the internet and compare their viewpoints and findings.

I will also observe my internship’s company, to understand the way people communicate, and where
in those communications I can detect any form of (un)conscious bias and stereotyping.

Online articles
In the modern day, online articles play a big role as informational sources. For this assignment, I
collected three different articles about this subject. Per article I will give a short summary, so the
viewpoints and findings are clear.

Article 1
The article discusses the issue of unconscious bias and stereotypes within organizations, particularly
in the context of gender inclusion. Despite organizations’ claims of understanding and effectively
addressing these biases, the article argues organizations remain these biases across all levels,
whether they know or not.

The article defines unconscious bias as judgments either in favor of or against certain people,
resulting in benefits for some people, while others get penalized.

To solve this issue, companies need to learn how to recognize these biases and stereotypes.
Decisions are often made in groups, but unconscious biases can make people act similar to the
people around them, regardless of their personal beliefs.

sourcelink: https://www.peoplematters.in/site/interstitial?return_to=%2Farticle%2Femployee-
engagement%2Fstereotyping-unconscious-bias-in-organizations-31050
Article 2
In this article, the writer talks about how unconscious bias affects workplaces and why it’s a problem.
They mention different types of unconscious biases and how they can affect things like hiring and
promotions, leading to the exclusion of qualified candidates or overlooking of valuable employees.

The writer also suggests some ways to reduce unconscious bias, like training and having different
hiring staff. They also mention the importance of creating a team dynamic where people feel valued
and can speak up about bias. In conclusion, the article says it’s really important to actively challenge
unconscious bias to make workplaces fairer and more productive.

sourcelink: https://www.easyllama.com/blog/challenging-unconscious-bias-workplace/

Article 3
This article, the writer focuses on specifics of how unconscious bias affects the workplace. They focus
on areas like hiring, promotions, but also on the specific types or biases. Examples of this are sexual,
racial and sexuality bias.

They also mention the negative outcomes of unconscious bias, such as reduced diversity, higher
turnover rates. This includes training programs, diverse hiring practices and implementing policies
that are free from bias.

It emphasizes the importance of building an inclusive culture where individuals feel valued and
respected. Overall, the article emphasizes the need for organizations to actively combat unconscious
bias in order to create a fair and productive work environment.

Sourcelink: https://www.knowledgecity.com/blog/how-does-unconscious-bias-affect-the-workplace/

Conclusion
All three articles highlight the influence unconscious bias has in the workplace and how it negatively
affects organizational dynamics, diversity and overall performance. Each article explains the different
types of unconscious biases, like gender, racial and affinity biases. They emphasize their impact on
important areas within companies like hiring, promotions, and decision-making.

They also note the importance of recognizing and addressing unconscious bias through awareness
training, diverse hiring, and creating inclusive organizational cultures where employees and even
candidates for jobs feel valued and empowered to challenge bias.

While the articles have varying detail, they all agree that organizations must actively combat
unconscious bias to create a more fair and better environment.
Comparison to my intern company
I have noticed that within the company there are light forms of bias. Sexuality biases are the most
common. There is only one woman employed currently. The way other employees view and talk
about her is degrading in some ways. The reason it’s only slightly, is probably because she has a
higher role within the company and is valued.

There is always going to be some form of affinity bias within a company. In my intern company that is
also the case. I notice some people favor other people a lot more than others. If it’s work-related it
makes more sense to work with someone who is a good fit for the type of job you do. As an intern I
notice I get jobs that are seen as “annoying but important” types of jobs. Sometimes that’s the case
when another employee is short on time, but it also happens when the employee does not feel like
doing it.

Within the company there are a few slight appearances of biases, but I would not say it’s a huge
problem for them. Some of these things boost the employees morale, which is a good thing. It seems
to be a double edged sword.