Sunday, November 20, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Communications Miscues
This blog has addressed communication issues in many different ways. Professionally, my schoolwork in my latest class demonstrates some communications issues. Informally, I have written of such things as the lack of communication of patrons of Wal-Mart. Along the way, this site has gone from an all black background with white text and rarely updated blog, to something that might even attract readers one day. It’s the Last day of my class "COM480: Communications Capstone."
I consider this experience to be an upgrade on what I was doing pre-class. Or perhaps the “last day of turning in late work day" would be a better title. I hate that by the way, being late, but just like Mazlow’s Hierarchy of Needs, work comes before class unfortunately.
Just to clarify, I liked this class. I like writing and communicating. I work for a communications company, but I don't communicate there. How ironic is that? It makes me upset at times and embodies what I am seeking with this blog. But throughout my life and its experiences I encounter frustrating scenarios of communication gone wrong. I believe that a lot of the time people want to talk and wait their turn to talk, but don’t take any time to listen or be heard. But that’s half the communications process!
That’s the problem with a blog such as this one or a website such as Twitter. It’s everyone speaking out into the void, but does anyone listen? Does anyone read what I’m writing? If we take the time to listen, thoughtfully and with patience, it can only increase our ability to communicate and respond.
There will always be issues with communication for a lot of different reasons. We all share similar frustrations hearing and trying to be heard. Remember, listening is as important as talking.
“Wise men never ague with fools because from a distance people can’t tell who is who.”
But if we listen, that will never listen. This blog, if anything, I hope it makes you listen and see things in front of you, whether you are at Wal-Mart or just at work and on and on.
*School Assignment: Delivering Bad News Tactfully and Effectively*
Delivering Bad News Tactfully and Effectively
Review the case study below
1. Explain how you would approach this employee.
2. Anticipate the employee’s response.
3. Analyze which conflict resolution techniques you would use. Submit your response to your instructor through the online course and add it to your Blog.
“You are a department manager in a mid-sized company that provides technology support services. You have ten employees who are required to maintain a high level of technical expertise and deliver excellent customer service. One of your employees, who has been with the company for two years, is performing at a substandard level and you have received numerous complaints from customers and coworkers. In addition, this employee has displayed confrontational behavior which has created a hostile environment. You must now meet with this employee and deliver an ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.”
The way that I coach at my work for any conflict is the DIRECT coaching model. It is a coaching model I have learned about in the past and been specifically taught, and it is used for anything from introducing discipline to general coaching. In the scenario presented, the DIRECT coaching model will be used to address that scenario, to “deliver and ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.”
The first letter is D, for Develop Rapport. I would bring the employee in whom needs the direction and would start to build rapport with them, to make the message I am about to give them easier to receive. This can be by complimenting them on recent work, asking them about their personal lives and more in an attempt to connect to that person and disarm them about the potential volatile situation.
The second letter is I, for Indicate Focus. In this step I would inform the employee of the recent events and the need for immediate corrective behavior. Perhaps this employee is not aware of the gravity of the issue. The focus needs to be set on the agenda of this coaching session so the employee knows the seriousness of the issue in it’s entirety.
The third letter of this coaching model is R, for Reinforce and Recognize. In this step we reinforce the expectations we have for the employee and recognize what right is and what wrong is not. We can either speak specifically to the scenario or not, but the employee needs to know what the rules are and what our expectations are for that employee.
The fourth letter E is used to Engage in Self Discover. What does the employee think about their behavior? How about the scenario, how do they see it? When we coach an employee we want them to be able to recognize their behavior and any mistakes, and usually they know what the issue is and how to resolve it better than the person conducting the coaching session.
C is for Create a Plan. Set the gameplan down for the employee to follow. How will the behavior be set going forward is created here, and how will future issues be handled. Setting an action plan for the employee gives them direction to better go in the direction you are seeking or if not, leave the company.
Test Tweak Timeline is for the letter T. There needs to be some kind of follow up, some accountability. This step sets that expectation. Two weeks from now we will meet again and speak about your progress. That way the employee knows they are going to be watched and this issue isn’t being taken lightly. Also, it gives them a goal to work towards and not be without any sort of future direction for their plan.
Review the case study below
1. Explain how you would approach this employee.
2. Anticipate the employee’s response.
3. Analyze which conflict resolution techniques you would use. Submit your response to your instructor through the online course and add it to your Blog.
“You are a department manager in a mid-sized company that provides technology support services. You have ten employees who are required to maintain a high level of technical expertise and deliver excellent customer service. One of your employees, who has been with the company for two years, is performing at a substandard level and you have received numerous complaints from customers and coworkers. In addition, this employee has displayed confrontational behavior which has created a hostile environment. You must now meet with this employee and deliver an ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.”
The way that I coach at my work for any conflict is the DIRECT coaching model. It is a coaching model I have learned about in the past and been specifically taught, and it is used for anything from introducing discipline to general coaching. In the scenario presented, the DIRECT coaching model will be used to address that scenario, to “deliver and ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.”
The first letter is D, for Develop Rapport. I would bring the employee in whom needs the direction and would start to build rapport with them, to make the message I am about to give them easier to receive. This can be by complimenting them on recent work, asking them about their personal lives and more in an attempt to connect to that person and disarm them about the potential volatile situation.
The second letter is I, for Indicate Focus. In this step I would inform the employee of the recent events and the need for immediate corrective behavior. Perhaps this employee is not aware of the gravity of the issue. The focus needs to be set on the agenda of this coaching session so the employee knows the seriousness of the issue in it’s entirety.
The third letter of this coaching model is R, for Reinforce and Recognize. In this step we reinforce the expectations we have for the employee and recognize what right is and what wrong is not. We can either speak specifically to the scenario or not, but the employee needs to know what the rules are and what our expectations are for that employee.
The fourth letter E is used to Engage in Self Discover. What does the employee think about their behavior? How about the scenario, how do they see it? When we coach an employee we want them to be able to recognize their behavior and any mistakes, and usually they know what the issue is and how to resolve it better than the person conducting the coaching session.
C is for Create a Plan. Set the gameplan down for the employee to follow. How will the behavior be set going forward is created here, and how will future issues be handled. Setting an action plan for the employee gives them direction to better go in the direction you are seeking or if not, leave the company.
Test Tweak Timeline is for the letter T. There needs to be some kind of follow up, some accountability. This step sets that expectation. Two weeks from now we will meet again and speak about your progress. That way the employee knows they are going to be watched and this issue isn’t being taken lightly. Also, it gives them a goal to work towards and not be without any sort of future direction for their plan.
*School Assignment: What Makes A Good Blog*
We live in a day and age where anyone can write anything and it can be read anywhere on the planet. No longer do we need a publishing deal, do we need to be a journalist or an author, do we need to be discovered…the advent of the internet has led to the age of the weblog, or blog, that allows any individual with thoughts to say and an internet connection to be heard. But with all the competition, what makes a good blog? The components and elements required to develop and design an effective and visually appealing blog are simplicity, good readability and content. In the terms of this class and the other students’ blogs, how does theirs just as important mine, stand up?
The three blogs I chose to evaluate were “Millzmommy” (http://brownskin-millzmommy.blogspot.com/2011/10/racism-within-race.html), ShaDonna Doughty (http://shadonnad.blogspot.com/2011/10/welcome-to-my-world.html), and “Dailey Thoughts” (http://daileythoughts1183.blogspot.com/). All three blogs have elements I enjoyed and have room in my opinion for improvement.
Simplicity is a big key towards making a visually appealing blog, as well as an effective one. Upon opening the first blog from Millzmommy, I am greeted with a nice layout with effective colors and background. There is not too much going on, so my eyes were drawn right to the text. Ben Hunt from Web Design from scratch states; “[n]ot all websites should be minimal, but that we should use as few features as are necessary to achieve what you need to achieve.” He goes on to say that if you leave things out, put them back in. Being minimalistic for the sake of being minimalistic is a mistake. Right away I notice on this blog, there is no pictures. I believe that pictures will set the tone for what I am going to read, and make the subject easier to prepare for and therefore read. I think this feature is stripped from the blog unnecessarily. Adding pictures here would definitely help. The other two blogs have no pictures at all, which are easy to add and increase the effectiveness and visual appeal drastically. Speaking for myself and my blog, I need a background picture. I always include a topic picture, but a background would be more effective than a blank background. However, I need to ensure to keep it simple, and not complicate the visual appeal of my blog and the readability.
So what is readability? E. Singh from Kronikmedia.com says; “Easy to read content…large font size, contrasting color against the background, sufficient line and paragraph spacing.” So speaking of the text itself, how easy is that to read? I know in my blog I put the white text on a black background to make it as easy as possible to read. Have you ever tried to read yellow font on a white background? Good luck. I think this is an area where ShaDonna’s blog really shines. She has black font on a yellow background, size 12 sizing and regular font. If anything, some double-spacing is my only suggestion here, along with some indents. No reader enjoys an extra-long paragraph and visually it is appealing and eye-catching to have indents in paragraphs. I need to do this more also, and I could probably stand to increase my font size as well. The Dailey Thoughts blog I think went backwards in this regard. His early submissions had a dark black font on white, but his newer submissions have more of a grey font. This makes it a lot harder to read. Perhaps if the size of the font was larger he could keep the color and remain effective, but I feel as it is now some effectiveness is lost with the different color font. Millzmommy goes a completely different direction and makes the font almost impossible to read. I know right away I don’t want to read it, just because the it’s a script that is small. I already know subconsciously I will have to invest extra effort to read this blog and it won’t be a casual read. Why make the reader work hard to read your message? There’s no readability in that, no matter the content.
Which leads me to my last and most important point in this paper: In order for a blog to be effective, the visual is important but the content must be of a substantial value. Interesting and succinct, funny or meaningful, whatever the reason if must be of substance to the reader. No one will read a blog that has no content. What is your message to your audience? In the blogs I chose to critique, there is some kind of theme running through all of them whether they are cohesive or even weakly executed. The company Sprtiz Web Solutions sells the expertise of making websites effective as a business. Regarding content, they say; “along with style, your site must have substance.” Millzmommy speaks about race on her blog from her perspective. That is great content, but there is only a single entry. ShaDonna writes about her experiences in her life, but again, there is just a single entry. DaileyThoughts writes about many topics without a single narrative, just the opinions and views of its author about a variety of topics. They tend to be media based with technology and are observations of the author. This is a nice theme to latch on to, as it brings in a specific audience and they know what to expect due to its multiple entries on the theme. My site has a united theme with many different topics. I try to make them humorous as to keep the content high and not just seem to be complaining the whole time. There is neither content nor audience in that. A point to take away from the blogs I am critiquing is to make sure I keep up with my entries as the audience won’t wait around for my new posts, no matter how good my content may be. It always needs more.
We live in a day and age where anyone can write anything and it can be read anywhere on the planet. In today’s world anyone can write a blog about anything they choose, but how can we make it effective and visually appealing? The components and elements required to develop and design an effective and visually appealing blog are simplicity, good readability and content. All three of the blogs I critiqued in my weekly posting and here make good use and poor use of those three components. I learned some lessons in reading theirs, and now I can apply those lessons to my blog as well.
References
Does Your Website Have What It Takes?
(http://www.spritzweb.com/good-website-characteristics.html)
Hunt, B. (2011) Web 2.0 Design – How to Design Web 2.0 Style
(http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/web-design/web-2-0-design-style-guide/)
Singh, K. (2011) 15 Elements of a Great Blog Design
(http://www.kronikmedia.co.uk/blog/15-elements-of-great-blog-design/2133/)
The three blogs I chose to evaluate were “Millzmommy” (http://brownskin-millzmommy.blogspot.com/2011/10/racism-within-race.html), ShaDonna Doughty (http://shadonnad.blogspot.com/2011/10/welcome-to-my-world.html), and “Dailey Thoughts” (http://daileythoughts1183.blogspot.com/). All three blogs have elements I enjoyed and have room in my opinion for improvement.
Simplicity is a big key towards making a visually appealing blog, as well as an effective one. Upon opening the first blog from Millzmommy, I am greeted with a nice layout with effective colors and background. There is not too much going on, so my eyes were drawn right to the text. Ben Hunt from Web Design from scratch states; “[n]ot all websites should be minimal, but that we should use as few features as are necessary to achieve what you need to achieve.” He goes on to say that if you leave things out, put them back in. Being minimalistic for the sake of being minimalistic is a mistake. Right away I notice on this blog, there is no pictures. I believe that pictures will set the tone for what I am going to read, and make the subject easier to prepare for and therefore read. I think this feature is stripped from the blog unnecessarily. Adding pictures here would definitely help. The other two blogs have no pictures at all, which are easy to add and increase the effectiveness and visual appeal drastically. Speaking for myself and my blog, I need a background picture. I always include a topic picture, but a background would be more effective than a blank background. However, I need to ensure to keep it simple, and not complicate the visual appeal of my blog and the readability.
So what is readability? E. Singh from Kronikmedia.com says; “Easy to read content…large font size, contrasting color against the background, sufficient line and paragraph spacing.” So speaking of the text itself, how easy is that to read? I know in my blog I put the white text on a black background to make it as easy as possible to read. Have you ever tried to read yellow font on a white background? Good luck. I think this is an area where ShaDonna’s blog really shines. She has black font on a yellow background, size 12 sizing and regular font. If anything, some double-spacing is my only suggestion here, along with some indents. No reader enjoys an extra-long paragraph and visually it is appealing and eye-catching to have indents in paragraphs. I need to do this more also, and I could probably stand to increase my font size as well. The Dailey Thoughts blog I think went backwards in this regard. His early submissions had a dark black font on white, but his newer submissions have more of a grey font. This makes it a lot harder to read. Perhaps if the size of the font was larger he could keep the color and remain effective, but I feel as it is now some effectiveness is lost with the different color font. Millzmommy goes a completely different direction and makes the font almost impossible to read. I know right away I don’t want to read it, just because the it’s a script that is small. I already know subconsciously I will have to invest extra effort to read this blog and it won’t be a casual read. Why make the reader work hard to read your message? There’s no readability in that, no matter the content.
Which leads me to my last and most important point in this paper: In order for a blog to be effective, the visual is important but the content must be of a substantial value. Interesting and succinct, funny or meaningful, whatever the reason if must be of substance to the reader. No one will read a blog that has no content. What is your message to your audience? In the blogs I chose to critique, there is some kind of theme running through all of them whether they are cohesive or even weakly executed. The company Sprtiz Web Solutions sells the expertise of making websites effective as a business. Regarding content, they say; “along with style, your site must have substance.” Millzmommy speaks about race on her blog from her perspective. That is great content, but there is only a single entry. ShaDonna writes about her experiences in her life, but again, there is just a single entry. DaileyThoughts writes about many topics without a single narrative, just the opinions and views of its author about a variety of topics. They tend to be media based with technology and are observations of the author. This is a nice theme to latch on to, as it brings in a specific audience and they know what to expect due to its multiple entries on the theme. My site has a united theme with many different topics. I try to make them humorous as to keep the content high and not just seem to be complaining the whole time. There is neither content nor audience in that. A point to take away from the blogs I am critiquing is to make sure I keep up with my entries as the audience won’t wait around for my new posts, no matter how good my content may be. It always needs more.
We live in a day and age where anyone can write anything and it can be read anywhere on the planet. In today’s world anyone can write a blog about anything they choose, but how can we make it effective and visually appealing? The components and elements required to develop and design an effective and visually appealing blog are simplicity, good readability and content. All three of the blogs I critiqued in my weekly posting and here make good use and poor use of those three components. I learned some lessons in reading theirs, and now I can apply those lessons to my blog as well.
References
Does Your Website Have What It Takes?
(http://www.spritzweb.com/good-website-characteristics.html)
Hunt, B. (2011) Web 2.0 Design – How to Design Web 2.0 Style
(http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/web-design/web-2-0-design-style-guide/)
Singh, K. (2011) 15 Elements of a Great Blog Design
(http://www.kronikmedia.co.uk/blog/15-elements-of-great-blog-design/2133/)
*School Assignment: Creating My Blog*
Here is my blog summary straight from the actual blog itself:
“THIS BLOG IS ABOUT...THINGS YOU SHOULD BE ANGRY ABOUT. RIDICULOUS, UNBELIEVABLE THINGS THAT YOU SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT. THINGS THAT SHOULDN'T HAPPEN. THINGS THAT NEED TO CHANGE OR SHOULD CHANGE. I UNDERSTAND I SHOULDN'T CUSS TO BE MORE OF A REAL WRITER, BUT DAMMIT CUSSING IS A GREAT EXCLAMATION OF EMOTION AND THAT'S WHAT I AM WRITING ABOUT SO IT WILL BE HERE FROM TIME TO TIME, SOMETIMES MORE AND SOMETIMES LESS.”
The purpose is to enlighten and make light of certain perspectives I have in life and is intended to be humorous. I want the blog to make you think a bit about how ridiculous things can be a times that we see every day and don’t even think twice about. It’s also an outlet for me, to vent my frustration at things I deem to be ridiculous as well as frustrating. I think everyone has had moments in their life like that. Maybe you’re in line at the DMV, walking around Wal-Mart, in your car or even watching the news and you see something that makes you want to scream. Being the civilized people that we are, that would be crazier than the things we see every day. But in absence of just complaining to friends about it, I want to shout it out into the endless void of the internet, even when and if no one ever reads it. Just writing it is enough for me. And maybe someone else somewhere sometime will agree, and that’s all that matters.
The design I tried to make as simple as possible; vertical script leading from newest articles at top to the oldest on the bottom. No sense in being a different format than your typical comic book or magazine, better to keep it simple when the content itself is pretty simple.
“THIS BLOG IS ABOUT...THINGS YOU SHOULD BE ANGRY ABOUT. RIDICULOUS, UNBELIEVABLE THINGS THAT YOU SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT. THINGS THAT SHOULDN'T HAPPEN. THINGS THAT NEED TO CHANGE OR SHOULD CHANGE. I UNDERSTAND I SHOULDN'T CUSS TO BE MORE OF A REAL WRITER, BUT DAMMIT CUSSING IS A GREAT EXCLAMATION OF EMOTION AND THAT'S WHAT I AM WRITING ABOUT SO IT WILL BE HERE FROM TIME TO TIME, SOMETIMES MORE AND SOMETIMES LESS.”
The purpose is to enlighten and make light of certain perspectives I have in life and is intended to be humorous. I want the blog to make you think a bit about how ridiculous things can be a times that we see every day and don’t even think twice about. It’s also an outlet for me, to vent my frustration at things I deem to be ridiculous as well as frustrating. I think everyone has had moments in their life like that. Maybe you’re in line at the DMV, walking around Wal-Mart, in your car or even watching the news and you see something that makes you want to scream. Being the civilized people that we are, that would be crazier than the things we see every day. But in absence of just complaining to friends about it, I want to shout it out into the endless void of the internet, even when and if no one ever reads it. Just writing it is enough for me. And maybe someone else somewhere sometime will agree, and that’s all that matters.
The design I tried to make as simple as possible; vertical script leading from newest articles at top to the oldest on the bottom. No sense in being a different format than your typical comic book or magazine, better to keep it simple when the content itself is pretty simple.
*School Assignment*
The Public Relations Society of America is an organization I have researched in the past for another Communications class. It is an organization that is focused on giving the ‘ground rules’ for what it means to be a Public Relations member, rules for ethics in that regard, it carries weight to be a member as someone in the Public Relations field, and provides opportunity for professional advancement through networking. As we learned earlier in this class about LinkedIn, imagine the same kind of organization but with other people only in your field of Public Relations. I believe this organization to be the most advantageous to be a member of, since the field of Public Relations can be a very broad field that any company needs some representation from. To be able to put that on a resume would go a long way to show your expertise in this field.
The National Association of Social Workers is an organization that gathers together all social workers to be a hub of their members. As I have researched in this class as a potential career avenue, social work covers many areas of opportunity and advancement. To be a general and non-specialized organization of all social work, to be a member here would be another opportunity to not only network but find other areas of social work people and organizations are looking for that may appear to any worker or organization.
The National Communication Organization is an organization that seems intentionally broad in its definition, as being a forum for advancement of all communication. The appeal of this organization is that everyone and every thing seemingly communicates, so to be a member here is to be in agreement that communications is a very important field. Although non-specialized, it is a great starting point for all forms of communication.
The Association for Women in Communications is an organization that seeks to promote women and their interests in the communications field. As a white male, there will never be an organization set up to just forward their interests, however until women make the same living wage as men an organization like this will be needed. This is a great jumping off point for women in communication who seeks to network and be promoted among their peers are leaders in communication.
The Professional Speakers Guild is an organization of all professional speakers to organize and be heard among their peers and other potential interested parties. I personally love public speaking and would consider this guild to be a great organization to be a part of if I did public speaking professionally. Whether a motivational speaker, guest speaker, or anyone who uses a public or private forum to speak to other people professionally, this is a great organization to be a apart of and to network within.
References:
www.prsa.org
www.socialworkers.org
http://www.natcom.org
www.womcom.org
http://professionalspeakersguild.com
The National Association of Social Workers is an organization that gathers together all social workers to be a hub of their members. As I have researched in this class as a potential career avenue, social work covers many areas of opportunity and advancement. To be a general and non-specialized organization of all social work, to be a member here would be another opportunity to not only network but find other areas of social work people and organizations are looking for that may appear to any worker or organization.
The National Communication Organization is an organization that seems intentionally broad in its definition, as being a forum for advancement of all communication. The appeal of this organization is that everyone and every thing seemingly communicates, so to be a member here is to be in agreement that communications is a very important field. Although non-specialized, it is a great starting point for all forms of communication.
The Association for Women in Communications is an organization that seeks to promote women and their interests in the communications field. As a white male, there will never be an organization set up to just forward their interests, however until women make the same living wage as men an organization like this will be needed. This is a great jumping off point for women in communication who seeks to network and be promoted among their peers are leaders in communication.
The Professional Speakers Guild is an organization of all professional speakers to organize and be heard among their peers and other potential interested parties. I personally love public speaking and would consider this guild to be a great organization to be a part of if I did public speaking professionally. Whether a motivational speaker, guest speaker, or anyone who uses a public or private forum to speak to other people professionally, this is a great organization to be a apart of and to network within.
References:
www.prsa.org
www.socialworkers.org
http://www.natcom.org
www.womcom.org
http://professionalspeakersguild.com
*School Assignment*
Social workers are workers who do anything from checking in on children to ensure their quality of life to adoption and more. It is quite a varied field of study that can even delve into other areas of sociology and clinical social work. Salary ranges from 37k to 61k. The growth in this field is quite high due to the numerous different types of job duties that fall under the category of “social work.” Also, once a Masters Degree is obtained it is possible to get into clinical work and therefore more opportunities arise.
Press Secretaries (Public Relations) are a form of public relations field whom deals primarily with the news media. They attempt to influence and directly deal with the news media outlets on a regular basis, whether through press releases all the way to speaking on behalf of an organization. Even the US President has a press secretary that directly speaks to reporters and answers questions on behalf of the administration. Salary ranges from 38k to 71k. Growth would seem to be somewhat limited however opportunities are not due to the need of any organization to have good relations with the news media.
Marketing Specialists are a field that has to do with marketing and promoting a product or service on behalf of a business. Think of a company that wants to sell a product or service to the public, they need a marketing specialist to help them find out and implement the most effective way to do this. Salary ranges from 33k to 110k. Growth seems to be especially high, and opportunities as open as any for the Communications field. This would be my preferred career path.
Writer is one of the most obvious career paths for a Communications major. Writing is one of the main communications method, and the most open if difficult to get into. Writing can cover anything from a book writer to a technical writer, and being paid for my blog! I recently went to a convention and a panel of writers remarked that writing is difficult to get into at the moment, due to the new virtual distribution model among other things, however is it and will always be an attractive medium to a communications major.
Television broadcasting is the most attractive of all choices that I could find. Who wouldn’t want to be on television talking for a living? Of course, there is a lot more that goes on behind the scenes than the actual reporters/commentators, but that’s not as interesting. It is however as vital if not more so. Camera and microphone operators, editors, producers and more all are involved with this field. Salary ranges reportedly from 29k to 41k. I believe there is a great amount of growth in this field available if not a lot of opportunity.
Press Secretaries (Public Relations) are a form of public relations field whom deals primarily with the news media. They attempt to influence and directly deal with the news media outlets on a regular basis, whether through press releases all the way to speaking on behalf of an organization. Even the US President has a press secretary that directly speaks to reporters and answers questions on behalf of the administration. Salary ranges from 38k to 71k. Growth would seem to be somewhat limited however opportunities are not due to the need of any organization to have good relations with the news media.
Marketing Specialists are a field that has to do with marketing and promoting a product or service on behalf of a business. Think of a company that wants to sell a product or service to the public, they need a marketing specialist to help them find out and implement the most effective way to do this. Salary ranges from 33k to 110k. Growth seems to be especially high, and opportunities as open as any for the Communications field. This would be my preferred career path.
Writer is one of the most obvious career paths for a Communications major. Writing is one of the main communications method, and the most open if difficult to get into. Writing can cover anything from a book writer to a technical writer, and being paid for my blog! I recently went to a convention and a panel of writers remarked that writing is difficult to get into at the moment, due to the new virtual distribution model among other things, however is it and will always be an attractive medium to a communications major.
Television broadcasting is the most attractive of all choices that I could find. Who wouldn’t want to be on television talking for a living? Of course, there is a lot more that goes on behind the scenes than the actual reporters/commentators, but that’s not as interesting. It is however as vital if not more so. Camera and microphone operators, editors, producers and more all are involved with this field. Salary ranges reportedly from 29k to 41k. I believe there is a great amount of growth in this field available if not a lot of opportunity.
*School Assignment*
My blog: http://thingsyoushouldbeangryabout.blogspot.com/
http://brownskin-millzmommy.blogspot.com/2011/10/racism-within-race.html
This first blog opens its first and only entry with an apology. I think this is nice in some ways, as it prepares the reader to anticipate that there is not a professional writing here, but I always feel like it’s a bad idea to apologize before you do anything, as confidence says a lot. The purpose of the blog is to inform the reader of the author’s experiences with her brown skin, and specifically race. The design is actually pleasing to the eye, although I wish there was more pictures posted. Even if they weren’t of her (the author). The content is great because it’s a powerful issue written in a narrative that I can relate to, even if my actual skin color is different, which gives me an interesting perspective. The audience is anyone, with dark skin or light and everything in between. All in all, I would like to be able to read more about her experiences with this topic in the future.
http://shadonnad.blogspot.com/2011/10/welcome-to-my-world.html
First of all I love the design of this blog. It’s very catchy to the eye and feels warm and inviting. The purpose is to sort of diary to the world ShaDonna’s life and what happens daily in her ‘world.’ The content is just that, what she had to go through on a particular morning and how involved it was. Thinking of my mornings, a lot goes on, but to me it is so routine that I don’t even think about. Thankfully I don’t have to use a relaxer, so I have one less step than ShaDonna! The audience is really anyone. I would imagine with some more focus a good audience might be any mother of a large family, but the blog is designed in such a way that I can try to picture the morning of a mother of 8!
http://daileythoughts1183.blogspot.com/
The post I read for this blog was the second one. It was shorter, but also seemed more interesting to me to read as it was less professional. Plus, I like to read more opinion rather than case study, so it seemed like the logical choice for me. Right away I can say I like the design, but it’s a bit bland. I know, this coming from the guy with the all black blog, but it was bland enough for me to actually notice the font size and type change from entry to entry. The purpose of the blog is to give the audience an insight into the ‘dailey’ thoughts of the writer. The particular entry I read was about smartphones. I loved the last line of the entry as satire on the genre, but otherwise was confused as to the point. Was it just an observation on the industry? Or was the whole point to satire smartphone use? In any case, the content is interesting because it can vary wildly depending on the author’s topic, and the audience can be just about anyone as it can tackle just about any subject. Someone like myself can just read the opinions and observations, and someone else can read the case studies.
http://brownskin-millzmommy.blogspot.com/2011/10/racism-within-race.html
This first blog opens its first and only entry with an apology. I think this is nice in some ways, as it prepares the reader to anticipate that there is not a professional writing here, but I always feel like it’s a bad idea to apologize before you do anything, as confidence says a lot. The purpose of the blog is to inform the reader of the author’s experiences with her brown skin, and specifically race. The design is actually pleasing to the eye, although I wish there was more pictures posted. Even if they weren’t of her (the author). The content is great because it’s a powerful issue written in a narrative that I can relate to, even if my actual skin color is different, which gives me an interesting perspective. The audience is anyone, with dark skin or light and everything in between. All in all, I would like to be able to read more about her experiences with this topic in the future.
http://shadonnad.blogspot.com/2011/10/welcome-to-my-world.html
First of all I love the design of this blog. It’s very catchy to the eye and feels warm and inviting. The purpose is to sort of diary to the world ShaDonna’s life and what happens daily in her ‘world.’ The content is just that, what she had to go through on a particular morning and how involved it was. Thinking of my mornings, a lot goes on, but to me it is so routine that I don’t even think about. Thankfully I don’t have to use a relaxer, so I have one less step than ShaDonna! The audience is really anyone. I would imagine with some more focus a good audience might be any mother of a large family, but the blog is designed in such a way that I can try to picture the morning of a mother of 8!
http://daileythoughts1183.blogspot.com/
The post I read for this blog was the second one. It was shorter, but also seemed more interesting to me to read as it was less professional. Plus, I like to read more opinion rather than case study, so it seemed like the logical choice for me. Right away I can say I like the design, but it’s a bit bland. I know, this coming from the guy with the all black blog, but it was bland enough for me to actually notice the font size and type change from entry to entry. The purpose of the blog is to give the audience an insight into the ‘dailey’ thoughts of the writer. The particular entry I read was about smartphones. I loved the last line of the entry as satire on the genre, but otherwise was confused as to the point. Was it just an observation on the industry? Or was the whole point to satire smartphone use? In any case, the content is interesting because it can vary wildly depending on the author’s topic, and the audience can be just about anyone as it can tackle just about any subject. Someone like myself can just read the opinions and observations, and someone else can read the case studies.
*School Assignment*
One of my greatest failings in life is my temper. I have worked my whole life to control it. It is still there, under the surface, but the demeanor you see on my face is just like the ocean. Calm and placid. Underneath, there are many currents. This fuels me, but I always have to be aware of it coming out at the wrong time.
Months ago, I was disciplining an employee who broke the rules where I work. There was a moderated discussion, and this employee was using every excuse and hypothetical scenario to try and undermine what I was doing. The moderator and the other manager in the room allowed this behavior to go on, so I felt compelled to respond to it. At one point the conversation got heated, because the employee was calling me a liar and stating that he was never told certain things by me.
It was my mistake. I had made the mistake of telling the employee certain things, but not documenting those discussions. I had assumed he would not lie when confronted. I believed that this employee would respond with integrity and character. He did not.
I went from being professional to upset because being called a liar was a personal, not a professional attack. I made a mistake, and although I calmed down and the discussion ended with the result I was seeking, I was disappointed that I had let this employee get to me in that regard. He had reduced my character and professionalism and all my hard work had failed me, if only got an instant.
I learned that day, that when it comes to conflict, there will always be emotion involved. It is a fallacy to think emotions will be removed from any conflict. However, if you are prepared you will have a better chance at success than the person who is unprepared. Since that day, I document as much as I can with any coaching of an employee. The Manager’s Guide to Workplace Coaching says; “”Keep a written record. Keep a record…for your employee. It gives you a clear record for any corrective actions at a later date.” (Feldman, 2001). In subsequent conversations, things have gone more smoothly because of the written record I can produce, which preemptively defuses conversations early. Instead of sensing an attack, the employee sees how many times I have spoken to them for trying to help.
In the future, I will use this tactic and encourage everyone to do the same. There can be no avoiding conflict at times, but you can prepare for it always.
References
Feldman, D. (2001). The Manager’s Guide to Workplace Coaching
HRD Press; January 1, 2001
(http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book/-/9780874256345)
Months ago, I was disciplining an employee who broke the rules where I work. There was a moderated discussion, and this employee was using every excuse and hypothetical scenario to try and undermine what I was doing. The moderator and the other manager in the room allowed this behavior to go on, so I felt compelled to respond to it. At one point the conversation got heated, because the employee was calling me a liar and stating that he was never told certain things by me.
It was my mistake. I had made the mistake of telling the employee certain things, but not documenting those discussions. I had assumed he would not lie when confronted. I believed that this employee would respond with integrity and character. He did not.
I went from being professional to upset because being called a liar was a personal, not a professional attack. I made a mistake, and although I calmed down and the discussion ended with the result I was seeking, I was disappointed that I had let this employee get to me in that regard. He had reduced my character and professionalism and all my hard work had failed me, if only got an instant.
I learned that day, that when it comes to conflict, there will always be emotion involved. It is a fallacy to think emotions will be removed from any conflict. However, if you are prepared you will have a better chance at success than the person who is unprepared. Since that day, I document as much as I can with any coaching of an employee. The Manager’s Guide to Workplace Coaching says; “”Keep a written record. Keep a record…for your employee. It gives you a clear record for any corrective actions at a later date.” (Feldman, 2001). In subsequent conversations, things have gone more smoothly because of the written record I can produce, which preemptively defuses conversations early. Instead of sensing an attack, the employee sees how many times I have spoken to them for trying to help.
In the future, I will use this tactic and encourage everyone to do the same. There can be no avoiding conflict at times, but you can prepare for it always.
References
Feldman, D. (2001). The Manager’s Guide to Workplace Coaching
HRD Press; January 1, 2001
(http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book/-/9780874256345)
*School Assignment*
Linked-In is a website that according to their own self description is a place to re-connect with past and present colleagues and classmates, discover connections when looking for a new job or business opportunity and network with experts who share advice. From a purely observational standpoint, it seems to be a social networking site that has a business focus. Whereas Facebook and Myspace are social networking site for friends and recreation, Linked-In is for professionals to network with other professionals.
This site can in theory be used for the goal of more effective networking, which is a very important business practice. We’ve all heard the term ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ and networking in business is all about ‘who you know.’ Since in the normal course of your career you can only be exposed to a certain amount of limited individuals, a site like Linked-In opens you up to networking without any geographical limitations. It can be possible to network with someone in New York, even if you work in Los Angeles. That means more effective and a more broad networking schematic, instead of being limited to the individuals you would meet only in your normal duties. The virtual potential is very exciting when your real-world prospects are limited.
I believe this site to be effective, if from nothing else but an empirical standpoint. I have heard about this site for years, and I know it is a publicly traded company. When I think of other websites that I have heard of for professionals, none other come to mind. And in business, professionals know that every opportunity should be explored, it does not make good business sense to close any opportunity before it has been explored. I plan to join Linked-In as of this writing, and fully explore it’s potential for myself. I know from experience networking can be quite difficult, and with any luck and some effort perhaps this site can be used to advance my own career.
This site can in theory be used for the goal of more effective networking, which is a very important business practice. We’ve all heard the term ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ and networking in business is all about ‘who you know.’ Since in the normal course of your career you can only be exposed to a certain amount of limited individuals, a site like Linked-In opens you up to networking without any geographical limitations. It can be possible to network with someone in New York, even if you work in Los Angeles. That means more effective and a more broad networking schematic, instead of being limited to the individuals you would meet only in your normal duties. The virtual potential is very exciting when your real-world prospects are limited.
I believe this site to be effective, if from nothing else but an empirical standpoint. I have heard about this site for years, and I know it is a publicly traded company. When I think of other websites that I have heard of for professionals, none other come to mind. And in business, professionals know that every opportunity should be explored, it does not make good business sense to close any opportunity before it has been explored. I plan to join Linked-In as of this writing, and fully explore it’s potential for myself. I know from experience networking can be quite difficult, and with any luck and some effort perhaps this site can be used to advance my own career.
*School Assignment*
Four different media technologies and their uses I chose for this assignment are internet magazines & newspapers, social media, radio and television.
Internet magazines & newspapers are just like they sound, magazines located on the internet. Thanks to the prevalence of things such as the iPad, internet subscriptions to magazines and newspapers are on the rise. The New York Times paywall is working. Wherein a few years ago many newspapers were staring down a outdated pay model and facing spiraling revenues, the internet has proven for some to be the revenue stream greatly needed. The target here is anyone who likes to read, be it news or entertainment or more.
Social Media has been booming for years. In it, more and more people and companies are communication via social media. Almost any company you can think of has a presence in Facebook and Twitter. It’s the fastest and most direct form of communication a company has towards it’s target audience. Personally, I get almost all of my news through Twitter. I follow media outlets that post links to their articles on their timeline, and I read them that way. It’s a way for myself to get personalized news as fast as possible. The audience here is over 500 million people who have a Facebook profile alone, not to mention anyone on the internet.
Radio has been big for over 50 years, and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon. ‘Radio’ in the sense of this assignment really means audio without visual. A person can listen to the ‘radio’ without a radio. I listen to music in my car through a satellite feed, not an actual radio. Streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify use the internet, not the radio. But these are all means of audio without visual. And for my satellite subscription and Pandora, ads are played (yes even on satellite) as a revenue stream. A entertainment service that still has serious implications for advertising will not go away anytime soon. Anyone that listens to music or more while looking elsewhere (literally) is a target.
Television will rule the world for as long as I will be alive. I personally don’t watch much tv, but it’s everywhere and it’s prevalent. Satellite tv gets a zillion channels to the masses full of movies, news and more. Ads have their own shows, and commercials play on the ad shows. The tv has shows about what happened on the internet. It’s crazy, but it’s pumped right into almost every home in America. Anything you want at the push of a button. The audience is really everyone since there is almost anything you could want to watch on it.
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/08/new-york-times-paywall/
Internet magazines & newspapers are just like they sound, magazines located on the internet. Thanks to the prevalence of things such as the iPad, internet subscriptions to magazines and newspapers are on the rise. The New York Times paywall is working. Wherein a few years ago many newspapers were staring down a outdated pay model and facing spiraling revenues, the internet has proven for some to be the revenue stream greatly needed. The target here is anyone who likes to read, be it news or entertainment or more.
Social Media has been booming for years. In it, more and more people and companies are communication via social media. Almost any company you can think of has a presence in Facebook and Twitter. It’s the fastest and most direct form of communication a company has towards it’s target audience. Personally, I get almost all of my news through Twitter. I follow media outlets that post links to their articles on their timeline, and I read them that way. It’s a way for myself to get personalized news as fast as possible. The audience here is over 500 million people who have a Facebook profile alone, not to mention anyone on the internet.
Radio has been big for over 50 years, and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon. ‘Radio’ in the sense of this assignment really means audio without visual. A person can listen to the ‘radio’ without a radio. I listen to music in my car through a satellite feed, not an actual radio. Streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify use the internet, not the radio. But these are all means of audio without visual. And for my satellite subscription and Pandora, ads are played (yes even on satellite) as a revenue stream. A entertainment service that still has serious implications for advertising will not go away anytime soon. Anyone that listens to music or more while looking elsewhere (literally) is a target.
Television will rule the world for as long as I will be alive. I personally don’t watch much tv, but it’s everywhere and it’s prevalent. Satellite tv gets a zillion channels to the masses full of movies, news and more. Ads have their own shows, and commercials play on the ad shows. The tv has shows about what happened on the internet. It’s crazy, but it’s pumped right into almost every home in America. Anything you want at the push of a button. The audience is really everyone since there is almost anything you could want to watch on it.
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/08/new-york-times-paywall/
*School Assignment*
I tried to make a blog once. It had a theme, and I was trying to be funny and update it every now and again. I eventually let it to rot as my time for selfish pleasures such as writing are not in abundance with my new school and work regimen. Once I get started writing, I love and can usually write for some time. However, there is always something else I need to be doing that deals with things that I am responsible for, and work is a majority of that in my life. With that being said, this is that blog and since I took so much care and time creating it before, perhaps now I can use it to begin anew. This assignment, and this class, can be the concrete schoolwork that is always more important, but perhaps blended with the all too fleeting creative aspect for my non-existent free time. Understandably, if this is unsuitable I will create a new blog. But I feel at this point in time it can be new again, since it is so old to me now.
My number one tip for creating a blog is to make it visually appealing. If people can’t read the words or are too distracted, they won’t bother reading it. Also, keep the content short. If someone looks at a news story, or a blog entry, and it’s thousands of words long odds are immediately the reader will decide they will not have the luxury of time to read it and therefore never start. However if it looks short enough to finish in one sitting, they will invest the time to start reading and therefore finish reading.
Also, since I already mentioned it, keep up with it. You can have many fans if they are looking for new content. People will not wait too long unless they are already a fan. I am not a visual arts major, and therefore I kept it white on black, with a picture per entry to draw the eye. I tried to make it funny, and not take myself or the content too seriously. I’m also looking forward to adding fresh content for this class.
My number one tip for creating a blog is to make it visually appealing. If people can’t read the words or are too distracted, they won’t bother reading it. Also, keep the content short. If someone looks at a news story, or a blog entry, and it’s thousands of words long odds are immediately the reader will decide they will not have the luxury of time to read it and therefore never start. However if it looks short enough to finish in one sitting, they will invest the time to start reading and therefore finish reading.
Also, since I already mentioned it, keep up with it. You can have many fans if they are looking for new content. People will not wait too long unless they are already a fan. I am not a visual arts major, and therefore I kept it white on black, with a picture per entry to draw the eye. I tried to make it funny, and not take myself or the content too seriously. I’m also looking forward to adding fresh content for this class.
*School Assignment*
“No society has existed, or ever could exist, without a well-ordered system of communication.” (Trenholm, 2009). The essential principles of communication can be broken down into two basic fundamentals, encoding and decoding messages. In those two principles is where things get complex, from listening and perception to non-verbal and verbal communication and so on. The benefits are, if you can ever say basically, to understand and be understood. The forms are endless, spanning written and spoken language to body language to art and more. The purpose is usually to understand and be understood, but can also be used for persuasion among other uses imaginable.
At my work, communication is done in many different ways. There are all kinds of collateral tacked to the walls that are there for people to read and communicate and understand. We have conference calls, where spoken language occurs. We have emails where written communication occurs. With all of these methods of communication, a better understanding of expectations and intent is conveyed from the originator to the designee.
“Communication either makes or breaks most relationships.” (Grohol). Communication is how everything is and will be are demonstrated with intent, consciously or unconsciously. Without it we would all be in the dark in a figurative sense. Communication is what sets us free, what makes us learn and what makes us express ourselves and be heard. Communication is all around us and happens constantly. It is everything that we do and see and hear and even think about. Essentially, it has endless benefits, forms, and purposes.
Grohol, J. (2010). 9 Steps To Better Communication Today
Psych Central, http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/04/14/9-steps-to-better-communication-today/
Trenholm, S. (2009). Thinking Through Communication: An Introduction to the Study of Human Communication, Boston: Pearson Education
At my work, communication is done in many different ways. There are all kinds of collateral tacked to the walls that are there for people to read and communicate and understand. We have conference calls, where spoken language occurs. We have emails where written communication occurs. With all of these methods of communication, a better understanding of expectations and intent is conveyed from the originator to the designee.
“Communication either makes or breaks most relationships.” (Grohol). Communication is how everything is and will be are demonstrated with intent, consciously or unconsciously. Without it we would all be in the dark in a figurative sense. Communication is what sets us free, what makes us learn and what makes us express ourselves and be heard. Communication is all around us and happens constantly. It is everything that we do and see and hear and even think about. Essentially, it has endless benefits, forms, and purposes.
Grohol, J. (2010). 9 Steps To Better Communication Today
Psych Central, http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/04/14/9-steps-to-better-communication-today/
Trenholm, S. (2009). Thinking Through Communication: An Introduction to the Study of Human Communication, Boston: Pearson Education
Friday, October 28, 2011
Walmart
Every time I go to Walmart I die a little inside. So I go there for my lunch break today to buy a few things, of course. It’s in the same shopping center as where I work, and I thought I’d pick up a few ‘healthy’ snacks for when I work (mmm candybars), as well as return a few items I purchased for my now over-with Halloween party. Yes, Mrs. Cashier they are dirty and no (lie), I don’t know how that happened. Anyway, what happened to me in there is what always happens to me in there. Here are the facts:
FACT: People are rude, but even more rude in Walmart. I was cut off at every turn by other customers in there and never once received an apology, sincere or not. I didn’t even get eye contact. How can you be in a confined space with 1,000 other people and no one ever makes eye contact with you, not even people who work there? People would run their shopping cart in front of where I was walking at every turn, forcing me to stand still, avoid eye contact and pretend I wanted to stop and take a breather from my destination. Yes folks, I need a break from walking around Walmart. Either that or you and your screaming kids cut me off. It’s ok, you and everyone else in there aren’t looking at anyone else so these things happen.
FACT: The people that shop at Walmart are from another planet. This HAS to be true (see the picture...of COURSE I'm Kirk!), otherwise there would not be a website titled peopleofwalmart.com (look it up, it’s actually funny). Does everyone here wear sweats when they go out? No, I don’t speak Spanish. Is this every dirty kid from the area? Just because I wear a tie in here does not mean I’m the manager people. A pink shirt and black tie, it’s not even the store colors! Sorry, I don’t know where the Sour Cream is.
FACT: The prices here are cheap, but the pricing is horrible. I wish I took a picture of it, but the gum I bought today was $266.32 per item. So every piece of gum in my 60 piece Eclipse gum costs that much? Where am I, Target? How do you move items from where they are supposed to be to an endcap, but not have any of that item where it is supposed to be? I get the same 5 things here every week, stop moving the Vitamin Water to the aisle stacked next to boxer shorts and marshmallow fluff but not leave anything on the shelf where it is the other 6 days of the week, ok?
FACT: Everyone in Walmart at any given time has a tattoo. I promise you this. Yes, I have one too but mine aren’t on my neck and I don’t work the counter. Really dude, a hand grenade tattoo on your neck? Classy, and by the way YOU’RE HIRED! Forearm tats when you wear a stained, short-sleeve polo? HIRED. Can’t speak English and stock the shelves? HIRED. You are the greeter and you never say a word to anyone and I’ve been coming here for 7 months? HIRED!
By the way, did I mention I almost get run over every time I walk in there? Everyone wants to drive by the entrance but no one wants to stop for pedestrians. This isn’t Myrtle Beach and why would you cruse by the Walmart entrance? You know a billion people walk in and out of there a day right? Circle around everywhere but the entrance like everyone else people!
Beam me up Scotty, there is no intelligent life down here. Amazing savings, but otherwise it’s all people who flash you dirty looks when all you’re doing is shopping and people who return dirty clothes they just wore to their Halloween party the night prior.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Site Upgrades!
So I added some new design elements and am going to update this blog for a class I am in. It's an awesome, amazing class! Yes, be angry about my shameless plug, lest my blog lose it's main theme and therefore the reason you come and check it (lol no one checks it). I like the new background and fonts, but the fish may have to go sooner rather than later...
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