LCCM Research Digest (May-July 2011 ed.)

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LCCM Research Digest 1

“The smaller world is the stage and that thelarger stage is the world.” This is quoted fromGoldberg’s (n.d.) statement while talking about theworld as a stage (Schlenker & Leary, 1982; Leary& Kowalski, 1997). Some people might believe inthe world being the stage or life itself as the longplay. Human beings are characters of their ownstory.

According to Anxiety Disorders Association of

America [ADAA], 2009), people encounter differentroles in life – an employee, a friend, a student, a

parent, or even a good citizen. In playing such arole, people have to match the ‘roles’ inaccordance to their actions, way of carryingoneself, and style of living. Similar to stage acting,people also experience stage fright before andduring performances. Nervousness, uncertainty,and dread display apprehension. Peopleexperience anxiety in different social situations,whether group or small interactions. This feeling ofsocial anxiety is common to all, but the problemthat needs to be resolved is extreme self-consciousness.

Social Anxiety is defined as a strong fright ofbeing judged by other people and of beinguncomfortable in any social situation that hasbecome a major problem not only for teenagers butalso in adults (National Institute of Mental Health[NIMH], 2008). This phobia should not be ignored,for it can further display negative actions like:perturbed attitude in the office, school, or in doingany activities.

In a journal published by Akron Children’s

Hospital, Lyness (2005) mentioned that social

phobia or social anxiety and excessive shyness inyoung people is one of the serious problems thatteenagers encounter nowadays. Young adultstend to be timid in a number of ways, yetconsidered as a norm, but it turns to be alarming.The sudden and rapid physical changes thatadolescents experience typically lead this period ofdevelopment to be one of self-consciousness,sensitivity, and concern over one's own bodychanges, and excruciating comparisons betweenoneself and one's peers.

Holt, Heimberg, Hope and Liebowitz (1992, as

cited in Heimberg, 1999) suggested that the

situations that swift social anxiety can be classified

into four primary categories. Situational domains

are: (1) formal speaking and interaction, like

participating in small groups and acting;

(2) informal speaking and interaction, like giving a

party or calling someone you don’t know very well;

(3) assertive interaction, like talking to authority

figure or expressing disapproval of someone; and

(4) observation of behavior, examples are eating,

watching, or modeling clothes.

Specifically, the defining characteristic of socialanxiety is that, unlike other anxieties, it arises fromthe prospect or presence of interpersonalevaluation in real or imagined social settings(Schlenker & Leary, 1982, as cited in Leary &Kowalski, 1997).

Social Anxiety Is Not Just Stage Fright

Malecah T. Madrid

INSIDE:

• Menu Marketing Strategy

• Communication Competencein the Corporate World

• Developing a Universal Accen

ISSN 1656-8788

PAASCU and PACUCOA Accredited May - July 2011




Malecah T. Madrid Guidance Counselor

Faculty, School of Nursing and Allied Sciences

The Experience of Social Anxiety

Anxiety generally entails four distinct, thoughobviously interrelated, experiences reflectingcognitive, somatic, behavioral and affective aspects(Fremouw, Gross, Monroe, & Rapp, 1982; Lehrer &Woolfolk, 1982, as cited in Leary & Kowalski, 1997).

First, by definition, anxiety involves hesitant

thoughts or cognitions. This is when anxious peoplethink about the awful things they are currentlyexperiencing or in the future.

Second, anxiety is accompanied by somaticsymptoms – physical reactions such as sweatypalms and increased heart rate.

Third, behaviorally, anxiety is typicallyaccompanied by attempts to avoid or escape theanxiety producing situation. People withdrawthemselves from ongoing interactions orparticipations.

Lastly, anxiety is characterized by subjectivefeelings that are virtually always unpleasant. Oftenfeelings of subjective anxiety or nervousness areaccompanied by other negative emotions, such asanger, hopelessness, or depression (Kowalski &Leary, 1995).

Wells (2000) found that what individuals believeabout themselves has a profound effect on theirsocial interactions. People who have social anxiety

generally assert more negative thoughts than positivethoughts about themselves. These negative thoughtsmay cause one to avoid social interaction, thereforeturning oneself toward introversion, and positivethoughts may turn a person toward extraversion (Fiske,Gardner & Gilbert, 2007).

Virtually every social problem we have can betraced on people’s lack of self-love: alcohol and drugabuse, teenage pregnancy, crime, child abuse, chronic

welfare, dependency, and poor educationalperformance (Davis, 2000, as cited in Furedi, 2007).

Self-awareness is one of the best help one could try to himself. Accepting his strengths and overcoming hisfears could actually assist an individual to move on withhis life. There are psychosocial intervention programsapplied to help lessen certain feelings that are related tosocial anxiety. Mentioning the works or thesis ofstudents from La Consolacion College Manila, theyhave studied and developed the newest psychosocialintervention program not only in the community but alsoin the Philippines. The program consists of different

activities that could help the individual overcome hisproblems. Psychosocial intervention programs are aidon assisting people suffering from social anxiety.

References:

Anxiety Disorders Association of America (2009). More than just shy: Social anxiety disorder in teenagers.

Fiske, S. T., Gardner, L., & Gilbert, D. T. (2007).Handbook of social psychology (5th ed.). NewJersey:John Wiley & Sons, 2007.

Furedi, F. (2007). Therapy culture: Cultivatingvulnerability in an uncertain age. London:Routledge.Leary, M. R., & Kowalski, R. (1995).Social Anxiety. New York: Guilford.

Heimberg, R. (1999). Social phobia: Diagnosis,assessment, and treatment. New York: GuilfordPress.

Leary, M. R., & Kowalski, R. (1997). Social anxiety. NewYork: Guilford Press

Lyness, D. (2005). Social phobia and excessiveshyness in teens. Inside Children , 1, 1-8.

National Institute of Mental Health. (2008). Social anxiety disorder (SAD).

The Kinder Pupils of La Consolacion College Manila being comforted by their teacher.




Most food service corporate goals share acommon purpose. Growth and profitability,developing a menu marketing strategy (targets theright customers), and developing market resourceswhich will yield the set objectives of the menu. Allthree areas mentioned are equally important for thebusiness.

Menu marketing strategy usually follows theoperations overall corporate plan or strategy. Itidentifies resources needed to develop a new marketniche for the food and beverage area. A goodexample would be that of a sushi bar, as it wouldentail a strategy to source out resources needed toproduce, market and sell the new sushi menu.

Tactics are details of an overall strategic plan.These are very closely marched to the overallcorporate objectives. A set of differing tactics can beimplemented to develop a particular menu or foodconcept. For a sushi bar the following tactics can be

applied: begin market research and business datacollation; interpret and analyze the market researchfindings; investigate and assess sushi training; sizeup the supply market for fresh fish suitable for sushipreparation; and redevelopment proposals for foodand beverage facilities.

Market Surveys

In a market survey, selected members of thecommunity or target market are interviewed to

determine their wants and needs. Surveys areprobably the most widely used method for datacollection, and are usually undertaken in stages,from the initial food and beverage proposals, toreporting the findings. These developmentalstages are: (1) preparing and defining objectivesand the type of survey information needed forthe new menu proposal; (2) deciding on thesample and preparing samples as well as asample program, allocating resources, andassessing existing information; (3)

developing a survey sample, designing andtesting questionnaires, assessing how toprocess and interpret data; (4) undertaking themain field survey; (5) collating, processing andanalyzing the findings, preparing the report andrecommendations; and (6) undertakingbusiness activities based on the survey findings.

For a fast-food sushi-bar style operation, thetype of information we would like to have for thetarget area (population grid) would most probablybe:

The lifestyle preferences of people in agiven population grid;

The income, profession, and family lifecycle assessment in a given population

grid; The food preferences of people in a given

population grid;

The attitudes and preferences towards afast-food style of operation with sushi foodcomponents;

The attitudes and preferences towardssushi foods;

The attitudes, preferences, andsatisfactions with current product

(menu/operations) offerings on themarket;

The attitudes and satisfaction levetowards menu proposals.

Once the goals and objectives are clear, the nextstage is to develop and design a sampling programfor the menu survey.

This is the most difficult and lengthy task in theoverall process. The success of a market survey isdirectly related to the design of the sampling

program. We have to know: (1) what is the targetmarket; (2) the size the sample; (3) the possibility ofgathering all the necessary information from thetarget market; and (4) who should be answering ourquestions.

These stages are further detailed, as they wouapply to the sushi bar proposal.

1. The first stage involves setting downpreliminary goals and objectives whichneeds to be achieved.

Group questionnaires – where thesample as a whole or in part is given thequestionnaire with instructions forcompletion;

Self-administered questionnaires – thesample is personally given theuestionnaire and roduct information;




2. At this stage questionnaires are designed,tested, to filter out potential problems ordeficiencies and later amended. Thequestionnaires should include:

Personal questions which will establishwhether the sample fits a particularcharacteristic or quota control;

Questions which deal with realistic factsabout the sample;

Questions which assess the attitudetowards the menu being offered;

Rapport questions which will break-the-iceand set the tone for the exercise.

Questionnaires in the hospitality industryusually contain a predetermined scale-the-samplewhich expresses an opinion that is calibratedaccording to a set scale.

3. The survey questionnaire and methodology isthen subjected to a full survey sample afterpiloting and making various adjustments.

4. The survey samples are collated, and the rawdata is tabulated and processed. Thepreliminary market report, final report andrecommendations are prepared.

5. Having read the market survey reports, themanagement will decide whether to

implement all of the recommendations or edita few. The action taken after the marketreport, if favorable, is to assess the feasibilityof the project.

Menu Item Life Cycle

Concept: Menu items are developed to highlightand complement the operational concept and theme.A proposed menu will determine the kind ofestablishment – the image will be defined by themenu. The menu influences the operations décor and

ambience, as well as the food, beverage, andsurroundings.

Growth

As the establishment grows, more menu items areintroduced. This involves a gradual introduction ofnew items; monitoring the new items to determine ifthey need improvement; testing the item prices;advertising and merchandising new items; andestablishin control standards.

Successful food service operations reflectcurrent eating habits and trends. They do this byconstantly updating their menus. However, manyfood service operations, once established,becomes too complacent, which explainssubsequent decline on customers.

Maintenance

This is the stage of continually building up astrong market for the menu items and at the sametime refining production methods and maintainingmenu item costs. Continual sales monitoring ofindividual menu items is important to the successof any operation. Detailed menu sales analysiscan quickly and effectively indicate problem areas.Appropriate measures should be taken like addingmenu items that will help increase sales and profit,and eliminate those that are not selling well or areno longer profitable.

Maturity

At this stage menu item sales remain stable.There is neither a significant increase nordecrease in volume which is usually a sign ofmarket saturation. It may be that the customershave become accustomed to the menu.

A food-styled chocolate cake. Source: Almosa, D.

(2008). Pastry. http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/

102576426/Flickr




Decline

Demand is steadily declining, which is reflectedin the volume of sales. Change is necessary, eitherby re-evaluating the price system or examining thesize and makeup of the market. The menu is an all-important consideration – there may be a need toreplace non-selling items with new (more popular)ones, or to offer different items as daily specials,emphasizing popularity and profitability. In addition,the physical menu may require changes in layout,design, color, and style.

Transition

The transition of an existing food serviceoperation from one style to another is often difficultand is usually brought about by a change inownership or a need to change the operation’s styleand ambience (usually because the old one is in

decline) in response to new demographics andchanges in customer expectations. The transitionalperiod usually involves changing operatingobjectives. The first objective is to increase sales,and the second is to increase profits. The focus onthe menu to perform is obvious.

Costs must be controlled in such a way thatexpected standards remain high while profitsincrease. Just adding new menu items withoutcustomer research during the transitional period canhave adverse effects. A foodservice operation

cannot service all people. Established foodserviceoperations should be careful to continue to do whatthey do best and not follow all food and eatingtrends, especially if the menu already offers somepopular and profitable items.

Reference:

Kotchover, L. (2000). Management by menu . USA:MC John Willey and Sons.

Communication in Organizations

Communication takes place all the time andall around the workplace; hence, it can beconsidered as the bloodstream of any social unitIt has five functions in the corporate worldnamely to inform, direct, regulate, socialize, andpersuade.

First, communication functions to inform the

people in an organization. It is used to impart thegoals, mission, vision, policies, and proceduresthat exist in an organization. Communicationallows new employees to learn about theibenefits, salaries, and job descriptions as iallows old employees to be familiar withorganizational changes, new equipmentsmethods, and expectations.

Second, communication functions to direct thepeople in an organization. Communication isused when assigning tasks, grouping tasks into

departments, and designating managers todepartments so that every part of theorganization is still directed towards one directionor to one goal.

Third, communication functions to regulatethe people, finances/resources, and proceduresin an organization. Communication is used inmonitoring employees’ activities, in keeping theorganization on track towards its goals, and inmaking corrections as needed.

Fourth, communication functions to fostesocialization in an organization. Managers usethis communication function to establish anappropriate organizational culture and climateThis is also used by the management to articulateand reinforce values and to align individual goalswith organizational goals. Communication plays avital role during team building, parties, andoutings. Managers and employees are able tofoster more meaningful or professional

Edilberto M. Tawagon

Faculty, School of International Hospitality Management

Communication Competencein the Corporate World

Maria Andrea Fojas




relationships through socialization. Thiscommunication function is instrumental inimplanting a sense of belonging among employeesacross all levels.

Lastly, communication functions as aninstrument of persuasion by the management in anorganization. Persuading is a communicationfunction that involves the use of influence tomotivate employees to achieve the organization’sgoals. In an era of uncertainty of competition and ofgrowing diversity in the workforce, thecommunication competence to motivate employeesand to make employees believe what themanagement believes in is critical to businesssuccess.

Communication in the Corporate World

Communication is an indispensible tool in thecorporate world. It is used across all hierarchallevels and across all transactions andorganizational processes. By virtue,Communication is defined as a process by whichwe assign and convey meaning in an attempt tocreate shared understanding. It can be inferredfrom this definition that the term understanding isthe result or product of communication. Hence, justfor mental stimulation, we can ask ourselves this,“how important is understanding in the corporateworld?”

Any organization, whether profit or non-profit,

will always have a goal, and all the processesbeing done in and out of the organizationalenvironment makes use of communication to attainthat goal. If understanding is absent in anorganization, it will result to a suspended orunfeasible attainment of a goal. Misunderstandingcan be in various areas such as in perceptions,behaviours, procedures, information, andexpectations.

On the other hand, communication is asignificant tool for individuals in a corporate world

too. Since globalization has become a trend in ourmodern world, businesses have become morecompetitive in nature. As a result, communicationcompetence has become a solid requirement inemployee recruitment and even in promotions. Anaspiring manager has to be ready to take on threeroles such as informational, interpersonal, anddecisional. All of which require communicationcompetence to be effective as a manager.

Lastly, communication is not just a tool but powerful tool in the making or breaking of anunit in a corporate world. An organization caachieve high performance if communication wibe used suitably, but an organization can bbattered by issues and crises, and may eventualllead to the closure, if the importance of effectivcommunication is neglected by the managemen

and by its stakeholders.

Communication Techniques andCompetence

There are a lot of ways to improve oucommunication techniques. To name a fewhere are five things we must observe in oudaily affairs.

First, we should develop a corporateattitude. We must always bear in mind that weare part of a whole; hence, we should bewilling to embody the whole of thorganization. When at work, we must learn anadjust to the corporate culture. It is clear thawe spend most of our time in interrelating witpeople of diverse traits and mores; thus, thereis a need to adapt to this variety and to wortogether as efficiently as possible. Indeed

developing a corporate attitude is challengingby accepting that diversity it is not how wdiffer, but is about how we embrace onanother’s uniqueness, it can be achieved andcan be used in polishing our communicatioskills.

Second, we should develop an objectiveattitude. Objectivity is the quality of beinaccurate, unbiased, and independent oindividual perceptions. In short, we must lear

how to be impartial and accurate in oudecisions, actions, and communicationObjectivity is obviously hard to achieve sincemotions are basic to every individual, but can be attained by sticking to facts and blearning to view a situation from different sidesBy being objective, we can be looked upon bothers as credible, professional, and a gooddecision-maker.




Ma. Andrea Fojas Faculty, Department of

Communication Arts School of ITCS and Multi-Media Arts

Developing a UniversaAccentDavid Stockwell

Fourth, we must always verify the correctness ofinformation. As abovementioned, objectivity is vital,and it can be achieved by sticking to facts.However, there are times wherein people areperplexed by the distinction of opinions/assumptionsand facts. Since this is the case, we must alwayspresume that an information is always in need ofverification. This is important in effectivecommunication since a wrong information can createa breach in one’s credibility and relationships and inan organization’s image and profitability.

Lastly, we must develop an attitude of calmnessto improve our communication techniques. Angershould be managed, and reactions should beproactive. Learning the art of knowing what to sayand when to say it can be the best way to avoidgraver arguments and preserve relationships. It maybe hard to resist impulsiveness, but byunderstanding the consequences, we can gradually

develop a composed attitude which is critical toevery good communicator. Whether a disagreementor a crisis, personal or organizational, it is imperativeto be in control of our emotions and to not let ouremotions be in control of us.

Communication competence in the corporateworld is a growing concern among industries.Indeed, everyone should identify his/herinefficiencies and areas of improvement, so he/shecan start to embark on a journey of self-improvementand all-around success both in businesses and in

work and personal relationships. It is never too late;after all, competence CAN be learned.

References:

Baker, Kathryn A. (n.d.). Organizational communication . Retrieved December 10, 2010from from http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ doe/benchmark/ch13.pdf

Daft, R. L. (2008). Management . 8th

Edition. Asia:South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning.

Just as English has many accents and levels

around the globe, the Philippines also presents

its own spectrum of the language from region to

region. In the seventies and eighties groups oprofessionals across the Philippines spoke a

form that in articulation and accuracy surpassed

the general American English Accent, which is

now in demand across schools and businesses

Vivid stories of World War II (WWII) ranging from

the historical to apocryphal or most likel

apocrical along with complex linguistic based

humor that would consider apocrical to be child’

play accompanied social events from a child’s

first birthday party to the final despedida.

Such a rich heritage is a natural resource tha

can enable learners of Philippine English to

reach their unique role within the English

language. There is no need to imitate eithe

American or British intonation since there truly is

no royal accent in English just an accent o

Royals speaking English, revered by some

reviled by others. Unlike the Iron Chef, no form

reigns supreme and as with all internationa

dishes and in this case accents, they have thei

strengths and weaknesses.

However, to reach and maintain an

international level in which an educated o

neutral Philippine accent is understood, specific

standards and expectations must be: diagnosed

practiced, and mastered. Without these

standards, accents become “harsh” or so

colloquial that they have no practicality beyond

their immediate region.

Regarding the “harsh” or “colloquial” aspectsof Philippine English, vowel clarity and

distinctiveness are the most common factor

leading to confusion or even the complete

inability of a non-Filipino to understand any par

of a spoken sentence.

The majority of Philippine languages and

particularly the major languages have

significantly fewer vowel sounds than English



Documents

LCCM Research Digest (May-July 2011 ed.)