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.

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.

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

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.

BANK of AMERICA: Groundswell Blog entry #3

Is Bank of America adopting 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. What they really are doing is adopting the Groundswell and they may not be aware of it! Are you aware of the Groundswell? If not visit: http://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/book.html

Cited:http://www.bankofamerica.com/index.cfm?page=corp
- http://jobs.myspace.com/a/ms-jobs/list/q-Bank+of+America
- http://mashable.com/2007/10/10/bank-of-america-socnet/

Peer Review Article

Heard, Reina
Peer Review Assignment(Revised)
October 23, 2008

Article Review on Blogs and Business Conversations By: Srividya Raghavan

When you think of blogging what comes to mind? Does social media come to mind?When I first thought of blogging I thought it was a way for people to vent publicly or privately about products,personal life, and or just to rant. Quickly, I learned that it's not about just about ranting. It's about listening. And through listening you find out what your customers want,needs,satisfactions, or dissatisfactions are. According to this article, Srividya Raghavan (2006) said,"The Internet has moved human interaction to a virtual dimension."

I learned that blogging has been a big part of many businesses and those companies all over the world listen to rational and logical customers on their blog sites. Many people ask why businesses choose to blog. Well, I find it quite simple to answer. It’s because companies pay big bucks to hear what their customers have to say and what their wants and needs are. According to Raghavan (2006),"The World Wide Web has helped create online communities that link to one another and form a complicated web of interactions."

"Corporations that operate in these environs have begun to listen to the ‘voice’ of their communities and participate in their ‘conversations’. Blogs are quickly emerging as a useful media of participating in consumer conversations(Raghavan,2006)."I was actually surprised by how many blogs are being counted as being more credible and how useful most of the blogs about companies are being major influencers in consumer’s lives.

This article stresses how technology's role is affecting social media and how company's and people's role in communicating with the consumers are vastly changing. Recently, I have learned much about what social media is and how it can be applied to everyday life.With social media forums such as Twitter.com, facebook.com, and myspace.com a person can learn alot about how companies and or consumers feel about a product or service.


I would personally like to know more about if the companies find it worth reading or is it only to make the consumers feel like they have a so in the products? This could be relevant to my fortune 500 company Bank of America in the fact that Bank of America has lots of customer’s with ideas and if there is some type of blog site that listened to the consumers ideas or thoughts then the too could benefit from using blogs as a source of staying connected to their service/product provider.

I believe that by allowing various focus groups and or consumers to experience the social media networks about their company allows for the company to know what kind of relationship/s they have with various consumers or potential consumers based on others reviews to products or services.

REFERENCES

Raghavan, S. (2006). Blogs and Business Conversations.


Article Title: Blogs and Business Conversations
Srividya Raghavan
Srividya Raghavan is Doctoral Fellow, ICFAI Institute for Management Teachers, Hyderabad. E-mail: srividya_rags@yahoo.com .