The Sun Chic: 11/30/08

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Two Additional Pieces: Part II

How is Bank of America involved with it's community? BOA has created a group called Team Bank of America (TBOA). "Team Bank of America is a worldwide organization through which Bank of America associates and retirees can work together to touch the lives of our customers and improve the communities around us. Within the corporation and in communities around the globe.(http://www.bankofamerica.com/teambank/)"
*TBOA does the following for it's community: TBOA(TeamBOA)

"-Encourages self-initiated professional development
-Provides networking opportunities
-Recognizes and develops leaders
-Promotes teamwork
-Helps associates learn more about Bank of America
-Engages associates and their families in enjoyable activities(http://www.bankofamerica.com/teambank/)."

Is your bank involved in its community? BOA is! For any additional information about being apart of TBOA, visit: http://www.bankofamerica.com/teambank/index.cfm?template=overview&state=IT#skipnav

Two Additional Pieces:Part I

*PERSONAL contact INFO> has been DELETED due to PRIVACY...

Resume:Reina Diana Heard

Objective:To obtain experience in a professional setting, manage others, assist in event planning / coordination and obtain new skills that can be used in my Public Relations career.

Education
• August of 2005- May of 2007 East Georgia College Statesboro, GA
Associate of Art Degree: Business Administration and focus in Economics
• May of 2007 – December of 2008 Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA
(December 12, 2008)
Bachelor of Science Degree: Public Relations
Awards received Received from East Georgia College: Who’s Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges and Dean’s List.
Received from Georgia Southern University: Dean’s List in 2007.
Interests and activities Being a, youth advocate, global citizen, and learning from new experiences.
Work experience
• January 2006 – End of July of 07 East Georgia College Statesboro, GA
Student Assistant/Secretary
• Assisted students with paperwork and campus related questions; aided professors in test preparation and preformed light secretarial duties. Extensive use of Word & Excel.
• August 2008- Present Abshire Public Relations Firm Savannah, GA (Intern) P.R Practioner
• Assists in writing press releases, community calendar for Savannah area, and working on the ACT program, event planning and coordination, media contact lists, PowerPoint presentations, and clerical filing and conducts research on clients.

Volunteer experience
Stash the trash, Keep Bulloch Beautiful, Statesboro’s Business and Convention Bureau.
Hobbies Learning the Spanish Language and Cultures, and running marathons for a good cause.

References Available Upon Request

Professional memberships
PTK(Phi Theta Kappa) of East Georgia College and President of TS (Tau Sigma) of Georgia Southern University

Cover Letter

December 1, 2008

To Whom It May Concern:

I, Reina Heard, write you in regards to the Public Relations/Communication full-time position. I have heard great things about working in a Public Relations/ Communication position at Bank of America and know it is a well banking corporation. I would love to have the opportunity to begin my professional career at Bank of America.

I am graduating from Georgia Southern University (GSU) this December 12, 2008. Through my academic career I have attained an A.A. Degree in Business Administration and focus in Economics from East Georgia College, where I have continued my studies at Georgia Southern University where I will be attaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations.

Throughout my previous employment I have acquired a firm understanding of how to deal with clients in a professional setting. I have been involved with extensive customer/clients relations, coordinating events, reporting on events in order to write press releases, which has broadened my professional skills. In addition, I am currently the president of Tau Sigma, an honor society at GSU, which involves me managing all members of the organization, keeping contact lists updated, and event planning/coordination. I have developed the technical, interpersonal communication skills, and organizational skills necessary in order to succeed in a public relations/communication position.

I am enclosing my resume in support of my application and references are available upon request. I am available at your convenience. I can be reached at (***) ***- **** or emailed at reina_d_heard@georgiasouthern.edu. Thank you for your time and consideration. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
Ms. Reina Heard

Reina D. Heard
**** ******** Road Apt. **
Statesboro, GA 30458
(***) ***-****

Should I consider BOA?

Based on my research with Bank of America, I would definietly consider working for Bank of America. Bank of America is a diverse, supporter of education, community involved, and has excellent customer service. I'm not basing this decision on just research. I am a current happy customer of Bank Of America and BOA not only talks the talk, they walk the walk. They make sure that their customers are taken care of when it comes to handling personal banking. Whether it's online, over the phone, or face to face.

Bank of America offers many jobs in communications and with BOA's outstanding rewards and recognitions, i can't resist wanting to work for such an amazing company. BOA also offers many great rewards to it's customers and it's employees. As I dugged further in the reasearch of BOA, I found that BOA offers staffing events and global careers. How many people do you think can say this about their banking company or any company? Not many, but you do have your handful of people that can, but one bank one can agree with is BOA. Does your employer have great benefits, health coverage, training programs to enhance your career? Those are just some questions one might want to consider, if interested in a career with BOA or any bank at that.

Careers with Bank of America

What kind of careers does your bank offer?

Bank of America offers careers in local, regional and corporate industries. On the BOA careers webpage a user can navigate through the careers section based on if they are a college student wanting to be recruited by BOA as well as people who aren't in college. BOA is an equal opportunity employer. BOA even have the option to create a professional profile so individuals can be considered for possible hiring if BOA is interested.

Bank of America offers jobs in the following fields and locations in communications:According to BOA's website,"Market Manager-Chicago, IL-Chicago
Senior Market Information Consultant - ISG, NC-Charlotte PA-Horsham MA-Boston
Sr Market Development Mgr, CA-Los Angeles
Proposal Writer, NC-Charlotte
Proposal Writer, NC-Charlotte
Proposal Writer, NC-Charlotte(http://careers.bankofamerica.com/jobsearch.aspx?jobareas=3|-1&stateid=-1&keywords=) "

According to BOA, "the role of a communications expert is critical in proactively shaping a company's reputation through the eyes of its customers(http://careers.bankofamerica.com/overview/overview.asp)."

BOA also offers opportunities in "sales, risk management, administration, customer care, administration, and technology(www.bankofamerica.com)."

http://careers.bankofamerica.com/overview/overview.asp

Analysis of BOA Newsroom

How user friendly is your banks newsroom? Bank of America offers the most important information to their customers in the center of the screen, to the right of the online newroom one can find most recent press releases written about BOA., And to the very left of the webpage one can find hyperlinks to the different topics regarding Bank of America or even online banking sections.

The overall use of BOA's online newsroom is very helpful and keeps customers, potential customers, and businesses connected to their finances in a easy accessible way. BOA even asks, "if the webpage the search engine directed the customers to the correct page(https://www.bankofamerica.com/search/Search.do?questionbox=feedback&searchSourceSite=&searchSourceDir=&searchSourceReferer=&locale=en_US)." And a customer or user of the BOA website can answer if the website was: "How well did we answer your question/help you find what one was seeking(https://www.bankofamerica.com/search/Search.do?questionbox=feedback&searchSourceSite=&searchSourceDir=&searchSourceReferer=&locale=en_US)?"

-"Extremely well
-Very well
-Fairly well
-Not too well
-Not at all(https://www.bankofamerica.com/search/Search.do?questionbox=feedback&searchSourceSite=&searchSourceDir=&searchSourceReferer=&locale=en_US)"

Based on the newsroom website I truly find BOA's website as a user friendly internet site. Is your banks newsroom user friendly?, easy to access?, and navigate through?

Bank of America vs. the Groundswell

(http://www.forrester.com/groundswell/index.html)

How does Bank of America use the Groundswell? How do they benefit from using the groundswell?

Bank of America has been adopting the Groundswell, but they don't even know it! Lately, there has been much chaos due to the economic recession for the banking industry and many others, but Bank of America unlike some banks is still standing. Bank of America now has BOA alerts for customers with mobile internet access, so that they can take their finances wherever they go. BOA has also been seen on the new G3 mobil devices and is one of the only Banks recently to be availble to many of the customers on high end mobile devices. According to Kristen Nicoles article found on this site: http://mashable.com/2007/10/10/bank-of-america-socnet/, "BOA has launched a new kind of a social network," said Nicole. It can be found on the BOA main sign-in page of BOA. As technology advances and more people start to use and take advantage of the power of social media, one can find the usefulness of adopting the Groundswell. Even though BOA is using the Groundswell and they may not know it. It's important for any kind of business to learn and adopt the Groundswell, so that they can reach a larger audience and take advantage of other online forums. According to Nicoles article, another blogger suggested the following and recommended/commented the following: Mercedes-Benz, another old-economy company, is getting customers through online communities: http://www.designvsart.com/blog/?p=34. If BOA continues to really listen to their customers and continue using online media forums they could find really useful information from customers. One customer from this site:http://weblogs.redeyechicago.com/iphoneblog/2008/03/quick-thought-o.html, commented that, "BOA gave them a reality check and suggested that BOA get better credit card offers that are realistic and reasonable. Is your Bank really listening? Are they Talking to there customers? These are just a fe questions to consider when you think about how your Bank uses social media to reach you in your community(http://weblogs.redeyechicago.com/iphoneblog/2008/03/quick-thought-o.html,)."">a href="http://weblogs.redeyechicago.com/iphoneblog/2008/03/quick-thought-o.html">http://weblogs.redeyechicago.com/iphoneblog/2008/03/quick-thought-o.html,)."

Awards or Honors of BOA

Do you know what kind of awards or honors your bank has received? What are the Benefits of knowing this information?
According to BOA, "Bank of America receives numerous national and regional awards and recognition as it relates to the effectiveness of the Supplier Relationship Development program. Bank of America continues to be an industry leader with a world-class supplier diversity program."(http://www.bankofamerica.com/supplierdiversity/index.cfm?template=sddi_awards_ov.cfm&state=IT#skipnav)

"Bank of America has received the following awards and recognitions:History of Awards Black Enterprise Magazine recognized Bank of America as one of the top 15 Companies for Supplier Diversity. (2006, 2005)(1)"

"DiversityInc Magazine recognized Bank of America’s supplier diversity program as one of the top 10 Companies for Supplier Diversity. (2006, 2005)(1)"

"DiversityInc.com recognized Bank of America as one of the "Top 50 Corporations for Diversity" (2004, 2003, 2002)(1)"

"DiversityBusiness.com recognized Joseph Hill, Executive Vice President, Global Operations & Supplier Relationship Development, as one of America's Top Diversity Advocates in May 2007. Individuals were recognized for demonstrating a commitment to finding solutions for diversity issues on a global and national level and having made a significant impact on diversity issues in employment, procurement, housing and education(1)."

"DiversityBusiness.com recognized Bank of America as one of the "Top 50 Companies for Diverse Business Opportunities" (2005, 2004, 2003(1)(1)"

"Hispanic Business Magazine ranked Bank of America as the # 1 company for Hispanics in its Top 50 Companies for Hispanics ranking, measuring the company's commitment to Hispanic hiring, promotion, marketing, philanthropy, and supplier diversity(1)."

"Hispanic Trends Magazine recognized Bank of America as one of its top 50 corporations for supplier diversity. The magazine acknowledges businesses for their work efforts in providing opportunities for the Hispanic community and organizations in such areas as recruitment, scholarships, and minority vendor programs. (2006, 2005)(1)"

"Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) recognized Bank of America as one of America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs). This is the fifth time Bank of America has received the award since its inception eight years ago and has helped us achieve a "World-Class" status in Supplier Diversity(1)."

"The 2006 award was presented March 2007 to Bank of America for its companywide programs offering equal access for WBEs in competing for, and winning, corporate contracts for goods and services.(2006, 2005, 2003, 2001, 2000)(1)"

All awards and honors in quotations are from the same source.Will be followed by(1)to indicate same source for citing here.WHEN U click on the number 1 it refers you to the website of awards and honors and more recognitions of BOA.

The benefits of knowing these awards about Bank of America can come in handy for customers and potential customers. Individuals knowing this vital information can possibly gain new customers for BOA, which is good for Bank of America.
Another benefit of knowing this information is that it gives customers a sense of pride and belonging to a successful company. Most people want to be like and or valued by their banking company.

Challenges for Bank Of America

Lately, everyone has been worried about whether or not their money is safe or even if they should bank with any financial company. Currently Bank of America faces the following challenges: The following remarks are taken from Liam McGee,posted on BOA's newroom website, regarding challenges one of the many different locations around the U.S.

"Currently there is a demographic shift that may challenge Bank of America and other banks too:
• Anglos now make up less than half the state's population, with
• Latino's nearly one-third, or about 11 million
• California's Latino population alone would make us the eighth largest state...bigger, as an example, than Michigan or New Jersey
• Asian & Pacific Islanders comprise about 13 percent, or 4.3 million, and
• African-Americans make up about 7.5 percent, or 2.5 million
• Together, these three groups represent $1.2 trillion in purchasing power per year
• Non-anglo groups will account for 80 percent of population growth over next 10 years."

As this particular BOA faces challenges, many other banks are as well. Currently, the cause right now is because of the economic recession we as America are faceing. But lets not rule out other countries that are facing similar problems.

According to BOA, "It is also important that we understand the extent to which these demographics impact the lifeblood of our state's economy - small business(Bank of America, 2008)."http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/index.php?s=speeches&item=73
According to BOA, "Bank of America believes that by becoming a part of the solution, we help to build a society where everyone can participate and make contributions. We help to build an economy that can continue to grow and flourish. We help to build a population base that can provide the new ideas and talent we're going to need in the banking industry(www.bankofamerica.com)."

Currently Bank of America financial situation is somewhat stable, but the thing to keep in mind is that Bank of America is one of the few banks left standing due to wise decisions made from within.

Photo cited

Bank of America's Target Market

Who does Bank of America target? Bank of America targets a wide range of different publics. For example, home owners, college students, business owners, and more. That was just to name a few of it's publics.

Bank of America target's college student's by offering many good benefits, such as, "free student checking for college student's as well as a student saving's account." Bank of America also has student credit cards to help college students. BOA refers any college student's or potential college student to visit the BOA student center.

Many of BOA's publics are college student's, small to major business owners, as well as it's own employees. It's important that college students know who their bank is targeting and how can BOA make your life a little less stressful.

As far as other publics, BOA says,"Our dedicated client teams serve the needs of growing companies with annual revenue over $2.5 million, middle-market and large corporations, institutional investors, financial institutions and government entities worldwide(http://www.bankofamerica.com/index.cfm?page=corp)."

www.bankofamerica.com
http://www.bankofamerica.com/studentbanking/

BOA is USING which MODEL of PR:Grunig & Hunt's Models of PR

According to Grunig and Hunt, there are 4 models of Public Relations. Which model does Bank of America currently use? It's important to understand the various methods a company uses. BOA uses the Two-Way Asymmetrical model coined by Grunig and Hunt.

"1. Press Agentry - publicity, celebrity PR etc. Accuracy and credibility not important.

2. Public Information - one way communication. Not a lot known about audience, but accuracy essential.

3. Two Way Asymmetric - receives feedback but aims to change attitudes not organizational practices.

4. Two Way Symmetric - gets feedback with view to changing practices; dialogue not monologue(http://www.prblogger.com/2005/10/grunig-hunts-4-models-of-pr/."

Based on research on how Bank of America operates, I came to the conclusion that Bank of America uses the Two-Way Asymmetric model. Again according to prblogger.com, "The two-way asymmetric model; receives feedback but aims to change attitudes not organizational practices.http://www.prblogger.com/2005/10/grunig-hunts-4-models-of-pr/.

Bank of Amercia has been commended in more than one way, especially on how they are involved with social media. BOA is accessible through myspace and through BOA's online community room which was recently added for customers to communicate with other BOA employees or customers. Bank of America is also mobile. If you have internet access on your cell phone you are connected to your finances anytime and anywhere.

By incorporating the Two-way Asymmetric model by Grunig and Hunt, it is safe to say that BOA intentions are to listen and learn from what their consumers are really saying.

Photo Cited

Monday, December 1, 2008

Bank of America: History,Overview,Brief

My fortune 500 company is on Bank of America and it will be referred to as (BOA) or Bank of America throughout the contents that follow:

Bank of America is more than a financial institution. According to BOA's frequently asked questions, "BOA provides economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income customers and communities through loans and investments, Bank of America does business in retail and commercial banking and offers a number of affordable mortgages(http://www.bankofamerica.com/community/index.cfm?template=cdb_faqs#top)."

According to www.didyouknow.com "Bank of America started as Bank of Italy. Additionally,"Bank of America Corporation was formed in the 1998 merger of NationsBank Corporation and BankAmerica Corporation(http://www.answers.com/topic/bank-of-america-corporation)." "Amedeo Giannini, son of Italian immigrants to the US, started the Bank of America in a converted saloon in San Francisco at 9 am on Monday, 17 October 1904. On the first day, 28 deposits totalled $8,780."(http://www.didyouknow.cd/banks.html) By the late 1920s, Amadeo Giannini was interested in expanding Bank of Italy and approached Orra E. Monnette, president and founder of the Los Angeles-based Bank of America, about a potential merger. By 1929 the organizations had merged taking the title Bank of America (Bank of America, 2006).(http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1126641/the_history_of_bank_of_america.html)

According to the associatedcontent.com website, "During World War II era, Bank of America became one of the largest banks in California due to the fact that many soldiers had their paychecks deposited directly into banks owned by the company. The traffic undertaken by the banks was so significant that the organization chose to develop a myriad of different technological innovations to improve processing in the organization." Furthermore,"the changes that occurred at the Bank of America during this time served as a basis to revolutionize the banking industry."(http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1126641/the_history_of_bank_of_america.html)

BOA like many other banks currently had some rough times,"Despite a rocky decade, by the 1990s stock in Bank of America had rebounded and Bank of America was again regaining ground."In 1992, Bank of America acquired its most significant competitor Security Pacific Corp. Throughout the course of the 1990s, Bank of America continued to expand, acquiring banks all over the United States (http://www.answers.com/topic/bank-of-america-corporation)."

Also, "Bank of America stepped up its international presence, becoming one of only four U.S. banks with significant impact on international lending(http://www.answers.com/topic/bank-of-america-corporation)."This is a good step that BOA took in order to improve their credibility.

But did you know, "BOA is one of the three largest banks in the US by assets (along with Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase), Bank of America boasts the country's most extensive branch network, with more than 6,100 locations covering some 30 states from coast to coast. Its core services include consumer and small business banking, credit cards, and asset management. Recently,"In 2008 Bank of America arranged to pay some $50 billion in stock for Merrill Lynch, which has been crippled by the ongoing credit crisis"(www.answers.com).

As one can see, BOA has had a long journey to becoming a widely recognized institution. It amazes me the history that a company can have. I too bank with BOA and when I researched this information it took me by surprise in many ways. I learned the true history of the fortune 500 company as well as, the college student section, which has helped me tremendously in financial decision making.

Photo cited: Photo

Bank of America :Table of Contents

My Social Media Policy:Blog #4

Social media is still a fairly new concept that is being used more and more today by people all over the world. Some people might argue it's because technology is forever changing and others might say because people see it as something new, fun, and fresh.

Whatever ones reasonings maybe, I believe that having ones own social media policy can encourage others to take social media into consideration when deciding to explore the different kinds of social media out there.

MY SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

1. Connecting: Introduce yourself and tell me why you want to connect
My name is Reina. I am a graduating Public relations major and being connected to others through different social media forums is a great way to network and gain credibility. It's important that I am connect to social media so I can be aware of the many different aspects of communcation through a different form.
As far as introductions go in social media I believe that it is an effective way for one to express who they are, their interests, expectations, and or any other necessary information that maybe useful to others, so that they can get to communicate and connect to individuals on different levels.

2. Follow, add, friend: Being attentive to details of others Profiles:USE CAUTION

If you have absolutly no clue who is requesting you as a friend on the different social media forums, use extra caution in order to keep yourself protected from internet criminals. Knowing who you are dealing with through different social media forums is a safety issue and should not be taken lightly, especially due to the rise in criminal activity through the Net. Also, it is important that whomever you decide to friend has something educational or inspirational to help you grow intellectually in mind, body, and spirit.

3. Privacy, boundaries and safety: Keep work at work and personal issues at home

Friends and Family I must say can go in the same category because friends can be considered your family too. But it's important to keep a BOLD boundary between private home life and work life. Neither of the two should be shared unless it's in an appropriate manner,time, or place. What one does outside of work can affect how one's work views individuals that represent a company/s.

4. Signal to noise: If it's ignorance, unintelligent or offensive:DELETE!Why waste time?

I always make clear that if i see a repeated display of pure ignorance I will delete you with NO problems. Being able to have a discussion or debate about any topic with others should not be a game of who can scream the loudest to get heard better inorder to make a better point. When usres of social media forums constantly rant about issues or problems going on and are doing nothing to change it; why even waste your time on nonsense? All that energy can be used for something positive and life changing in a good manner.

5. Personal data and sharing: How close are we?

It's important to connect with people on many different levels, but only if it's appropriate. I'm not saying be paranoid about who you tell information to, but it's wise to let certain individuals be knowledgeable about you only on the things of interest based on the relationship between one another.For example, if it's a professional working level, stick to being professional and disclosing only information in the interest of the professional services or products.

6. My networking needs and uses: Staying connected to different and/or similar worlds

I joined facebook so that I could keep up with all my college friends, aquaintances, and work related or school related activitied, but since facebook has changed so much due to the consumer demand for different applications, facebook is has turned into a bit of a crazy, useful social media forum between more than just college students. I continue to use facebook to stay in touch with my college buddies. I use twitter as more of a professional way to keep up with things going on with business oriented or Public relation oriented people. My Myspace is more of a personal forum for myself to stay in touch with friends that have gone their separate ways and I feel like it's important to keep up with people you come in contact with and who have helped shape who you are today.

7. Must be CREDIBLE: Where's the proof

It's always good to have people who can pull some strings for you or yuor friends if in need, but can they really walk thet walk and not just talk the talk? Having credible sources and credentials is essential to being seen as credible.

8. Communication LEVEL: Are you easy to talk to? Understand? Clear

Can you communicate with others outside your levels of comfort and still be understood and not seen as an uneasy commumicator? This is important because you never know who might be testing your ability to effectively communicate messages.

DUCKIE

Corporate PR: Duckie

BUBBA

B- Business Oriented
U- Unique
B- Blogging
B- Back up your sources
A- Always be credible

Watching Social Media Expand

So has anyone seen all the new different kinds of new social media websites...They are all pretty different and should be researched to see why more and more people are joining them...Just a thought =)