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Reflective Journal
Introduction:
The following reflective essay would be aimed at accomplishing an interpretation of the elements of marketing and public relations as well as risk management in events. Primary information sources for the report have been derived from observations of group activity outcomes in the University’s in-house industrial freelancing programs. It is essential to notice the prominent references to theory as viable inputs for critical reflection on the dynamics of the group behaviour as well as the problems faced by the group. The information sources comprised of research journals that depicted risk management theories as well as concepts pertaining to public relations and event marketing (Solent.ac.uk, 2017).
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The report also emphasizes a description of the situation in which the group was involved alongside the complicated situations associated with the situation. The discussion on the problems is complemented with the presentation of a critical perspective of the scenario thereby helping in ascertaining the underlying elements responsible for the issues. As per Cutli, One of the profound elements of the report is also observed in the discussion of literature pertaining to events and risk management such as the theory of planned behaviour and stakeholder approach (Cutlip, 1962). This enables the reader to understand the approach utilized for the identification of risks in the group activity. The critical reflection could assist in providing viable insights into solutions that could address the complexities faced by the group in event management. The observation of the problems in the context of marketing and public relations for the event as well as the risk management concerns for ensuring safety could also be assumed as potential inputs for determining credible solutions to the observed pitfalls.
Situation:
The situation in the context of this report is the Postgraduate mixer event of the Southampton Solent University. The event’s organization is one of the major priorities of the university in terms of attracting students for postgraduate study courses. The work assigned to our group was associated with its promotion of the event and thereby requiring the involvement of marketing and public relations activities. According to Mix, It is necessary to acquire an impression of the objectives laid out for the activity as well as the strategic approach that could be applied for accomplishing the same. The promotion activities would include marketing initiatives online as well as in the local community (Mix, 2017). The mixer event is also considered as an open event that could be accessed by the public alongside the staff and students of the university. Therefore the necessity of ensuring risk management at the event could be highlighted as a significant priority for the organizers. The dedicated approach followed by Solent University for training in event and festival management is viable support that can be obtained for conducting the event. As per Klimczak, the postgraduate mixer event would be conducted in the Sir James Matthews Building of the university campus and would be open for three hours where potential applicants for postgraduate courses can obtain the required information regarding the courses available for them as well as the details of student life at the campus, funding and accommodation (Klimczak, 2007). Therefore, the event poses substantial significance for the university in terms of accessibility to a wider pool of aspiring postgraduate students thereby obtaining higher student admissions.
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Problem:
The organization of the event poses substantial opportunities as well as pitfalls that must be analyzed comprehensively in order to ensure the realization of effective event management. The problems that could be observed in event management refer to the consequences of limited marketing channels and the risks pertaining to the safety and security of the event participants. The limited target base of the event creates setbacks for designing appropriate marketing instruments to appeal to the attendees. As per McNeil, Frey & Embrechts, the complexities that could be associated with this problem reflect on the lack of integrated marketing communication thereby implying a minimal emphasis on the use of online media for reaching international students.
The risk management implications for the group activity refer to the prominent insufficiencies in the sequential execution of the process (McNeil, Frey & Embrechts, 2015). The team dynamics are completely disoriented with respect to the varying aspects of risk identification since the objectives are not clearly ascertained for the working of the group. Some of the team members have pointed out the lack of perception of the objectives of the event which creates pitfalls for accomplishing precise strategic approaches that could be utilized for addressing specific event objectives.
On one hand, the practical experience of engaging in event management works with the in-house creative agencies of the university enables students to accomplish a formidable impression of the generic aspects of event risk management. However, the concern for marketing and public relations as well as risk management in the mixer event has also been associated with the consequences of ambiguities in the risk management process that can be perceived in the aberrations of alignment of the steps e.g. excluding the prioritization of risks associated with the event (Research-repository.griffith.edu.au, 2017).
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From a practical perspective, the confined space of the Sir Matthews Building could be assumed as a notable highlight of risks in the event. The limitations of space create issues for logistics management that are potential indicators of the complicated implications associated with the management of mixer events. The specific disadvantages that could be noticed in the context of the event are derived from the uncertainties over the target market and the specific approaches needed to approach the target market. Another complicacy that can be perceived in the execution of the event refers to the ambiguity over the depiction of the measures to protect values or enhance values (Versluis, 2011).
The alignment of processes, people, actions and controls is also a major insufficiency that can be noticed in the group activity. Furthermore, the group performance was subject to aberrations in terms of the identity of different team members and their contributions in resolving the event management issues. Since the primary emphasis of this report is vested in critical reflection, an analysis of the problems and the complicated implications suggests the consequential nature of the lack of precise goal-setting frameworks in an event management project (McNeil, Frey & Embrechts, 2015). The lack of specific details pertaining to the tasks as well as the expected roles and responsibilities of individual team members are responsible for imposing a dominant impact on the effectiveness of the event outcomes.
Solution:
The first solution that could be presented for the problem faced in event management of the postgraduate mixer event at Southampton Solent University is to implement effective goal setting tools. The understanding of event management from the perspective of stakeholder theory suggests the significance of interests held by individual stakeholders. The effectiveness of a group in the context of an event management initiative could be improved through the use of the SMART goal setting approach. This would enable the group members to apprehend the event objectives specifically and present their perceptions of the most suitable course of action to be followed in the event process (Klimczak, 2007).
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The impact of stakeholders on the team decisions is considered as a plausible reason for assuming stakeholder theory to resolve the problems encountered by the university in the execution of the event. The reflection on stakeholder theory, in this case, refers to considering the interests of the individual team members and their innovative ideas that could assist in reducing the prospects of additional costs. Another critical insight that can be drawn in the context of the use of stakeholder analysis for the event would involve the illustration of the anticipated returns that could be gained by the individual stakeholders for their contributions to the group activity.
The postgraduate mixer event is also subject to risks, especially in terms of marketing and public relations that can be addressed through an effective social media strategy. This aspect could be addressed in unison with the media relations aspect of event management. The use of social media has improvised in the 21st century with individuals becoming highly inclined towards changes in the approach to communication. Presently the reforms introduced by social media in the identification, consumption and sharing of information by customers are being capitalized on by business organizations to acquire revenue (Mix, 2017).
Therefore, the group needs to devise a content-based strategy that could help them in basing their marketing relations framework according to the major precedents of the postgraduate courses. The association of significance between marketing and event management could be validated on the grounds of opportunities that are garnered from the latter by marketers to establish thriving relationships and goodwill with prospective buyers alongside being able to acquire their trust. Events are perceived to have a memorable impact and the use of social media tactics to interact with an untapped audience base of billions could be helpful in drawing a reasonable amount of traffic to the event.
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The social media strategy for the event must be characterized with the unison among different elements of the story communicated to the event participants displayed in symphony. The strategy should also comprise notable references to the acquisition of opinions from supporters as well as participants. For example, interview of prospective attendees regarding the facilities they wish for in the event could help the organizing group in presenting viable modifications, especially in terms of the help desks and the availability of consultants to communicate with the attendees alongside resolving their queries pertaining to the postgraduate courses available at the University. Social media strategy also provides an underlying benefit of verifying the authenticity of the outcomes in order to apply for other event organization initiatives that may be undertaken in the future.
Evaluation:
The solution of social media strategies for the marketing communication of the event could be perceived as a cognizable and interactive resource for addressing the event and risk management insufficiencies faced by the group. However, the goal-setting strategy has to be emphasized in order to ensure a value protecting behaviour.
The social media strategy is aligned towards the creation or enhancing the value of the process of the organization i.e. the university since it has to implement associative relations with the users on social media in order to acquire their attention for the mixer event. The requirement of costs in the social media strategy as well the feasibility of ensuring the design of social media campaigns for every event creates potential setbacks for the group (Cutlip, 1962). Furthermore, the application of a social media strategy requires the competencies of the team members to monitor the social media presence of the event’s details alongside the observed response of users to the event.
On the other hand, the group could consider the feasibility of goal setting as a possible solution to the observed complicated implications in the event situation. The effectiveness of goal setting can be a viable predictor for inputs in contingency plans since the stakeholders are aware of their position within the framework of the event organization. One of the reasonable advantages that can be presented in favour of this solution is its significant involvement in addressing the requirements of forward planning and a critical perspective for understanding the project dimensions.
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The solution could also be improvised further with the concerns for observing the external influences that can affect the goal-setting approach for the event. The profound focus on political policy changes, novel opportunities and pitfalls for staff and students, fluctuations in costs of equipment, environmental impact and the facets pertaining to scrutiny could also prove to be credible determinants of the risk management approaches that should be adopted by the group in future (Versluis, 2011). The outcomes of goal setting in risk management could also be observed in the coordination of functions of individual team members due to the precedents established by the SMART objectives.
Conclusion:
The report provided a detailed and ordered explanation of inferences related to event and risk management in the case of group activity at the Southampton Solent University. The group activity assumed for analysis in this reflective report was the Postgraduate mixer event organized by the university.
The report presented a description of the situation followed by the anticipation of the problems and the potential negative implications that are observed in the underlying aspects of the problems. The reflection of the problems as highlighted in the report from a critical perspective was complemented with the support from literature review excerpts of risk management in events. Thereafter the report illustrated two distinct solutions for the event and risk management issues pertaining to the postgraduate mixer event in terms of goal setting and social media strategies which were related to the distinct areas of risk management and event marketing.
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References
Solent.ac.uk. (2017). BA (Hons) Festival and Event Management. Retrieved from https://www.solent.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/festival-and-event-management-ba
Cutlip, S. M. (1962). Effective public relations. Pearson Education India.
Mix, Y. M (2017). The Definitive Guide to Event Marketing.
Postgraduate mixer event. (2017). Solent.ac.uk. Retrieved from https://www.solent.ac.uk/events/2017/post-graduate-mixer-event-july
Klimczak, K. M. (2007). Risk Management Theory: A comprehensive empirical assessment.
McNeil, A. J., Frey, R., & Embrechts, P. (2015). Quantitative risk management: Concepts, techniques and tools. Princeton university press.
Research-repository.griffith.edu.au (2017). Public Relations. Retrieved from https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/42679/71469_1.pdf?sequence=1
Versluis, V. (2011). Risk Management and Decision Theory—A Promising Marriage between Two Wholly Remarkable Characters of Mind-boggling Lineage (Doctoral dissertation, Ph. D. dissertation, Department of Business Economics, Rotterdam University, Rotterdam).
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