Week 5 Blog Post #4 Chapter 11 Page 356

Phone Rage

The topic of phone rage is discussed in Chapter 11 and I found this topic very interesting because I can definitely relate to this topic on a day to day level. Phone rage is very unwanted and unnecessary in that you are affecting the person on the other end of the phone whether you mean to or not and possibly ruining their day. I know that I have to make numerous phone calls a day and sometimes the people I come across just seem to be flat out angry people. I don't understand how this could happen because this is your job and you are supposed to be professional so how can they treat me this way when first of all they don't even know me, and second, the reason for my call is business. When people are rude to me or angry with me on the phone I know I shouldn't take it personally but it can sometimes get to me and change my mood that day. Also personal issues discussed over the phone are never necessary. For example I once had a lady tell me that her husband had just passed unexpectedly and she went on for about five minutes explaining this to me and why she couldn't get something to me right away. It was very depressing and though I understand she probably needed someone to talk to, it made me feel uncomfortable and guilty for even asking something of her.

Week 5 Blog Post #3 Chapter 10 Page 312

Differentiation

Chapter 10 discusses how organizations use the strategy of differentiation to stand out among competition. A great example that is brought up is Nordstrom. Though there are other department stores that sell the same product as Nordstrom, for some reason this particular company stands out compared to its competitors. I know that people think that Nordstrom is higher end than its competitors and I know that people would rather shop at Nordstrom rather than the other stores even though they sell the same exact products. I feel much more comfortable shopping at Nordstrom than I would shopping at Macy's because I feel the surroundings are more organized and cleaner and the customer service is excellent. There is a huge difference in the atmosphere in these two stores even though if you compared the two the sell almost the same items and even the same brands, with only a few differences. And this is how Nordstrom has effectively used differentiation to separate itself from the others and come out as the number one department store.

Week 2 Blog Post #2 Chapter 9 Page 287

Openness

I enjoyed reading the topic of Openness in chapter nine which talks about communication leadership. I think in order to be a proper supervisor or role model; one must have the appropriate kind of openness with his or her employees. There are five key components that are discussed and I think all of them are equally important. It is very important that supervisors engage with their employees and talk to them during shifts, during meetings etc and are good at giving proper instructions. They must also be very good listeners, for instance when employees are having an issue and have questions that need to be answered or ask for help with a situation. Most importantly effective supervisors don't demand or tell employees what to do, but talk to them and ask them to do something. Supervisors must also be sensitive to the employees that work for them in that if they do something wrong or that needs improvement, they tell them in private rather than in front of other employees which could cause embarrassment. And lastly great supervisors keep employees informed of future changes that will occur or share important information with them. All of these concepts make up an ideal supervisor and these are all very important characteristics to look for in a supervisor or in someone who is being considered for the role of a supervisor.

Week 5 Blog Post #1 Web Lecture

Democracy and Dialogue

Out of the five types of democracy that are discussed in the web lecture, I like participatory democracy the most. This type of democracy requires people do not only vote but to get involved by participating in activities that will help the group achieve its goal. They must be knowledgeable about the opposing group’s ideas and opinions and have a broader view on topics and see through the others eyes. If someone shows great participation in all aspects of an election then I think that they are very much capable of fulfilling the role of a leader to the people of a community.

Week 4 Blog Post #4 Ch. 8 Pg. 248

Management of Conflict and Consensus

Chapter 8 discusses teaming in organizations and on page 248 the topic of conflict and consensus is brought up. I have much experience with this considering I work in a teaming environment every day. Everybody has their own ideas and opinions that won't exactly agree with everyone else's ideas and opinions which can create much conflict. Teams also need to learn that when conflict occurs they need to work together and come up with a consensus or something that can satisfy everyone's wants and needs so that everyone is happy. It is very important that everyone can agree upon something, I know this on a first hand basis because if not everyone can agree on one thing and someone is left unhappy this can affect their work performance. This could also show favoritism among people in a team if one person's wishes are granted and another person's aren't. There needs to be a balance among team members, fairness that way everyone feels they have an impact on the team and are making a difference.

Week 4 Blog Post #3 Ch 8 Page 237

Work Teams

Chapter 8 talks about team-based organizations and the types of teams that exist. I have much experience with work teams. My work has about 20 clients which are split up amongst five different teams. Each team is responsible for taking care of each of their client’s needs and making sure that we keep each client happy. Each team has goals to hit each month with incentives to keep the team focused on hitting the goals. And though each team member has their own tasks and responsibilities, if one team member makes a mistake, it reflects the whole team, not just them as an individual. We are taught that it is not about the work you do individually but how you come together as a team to accomplish what needs to be accomplished. If a team has too many people out for the day, then another team will step in and help this team with whatever needs to be done for the day.

When I first started at this organization, there were only 3 teams. But the company has grown so much already that they have hired enough employees and taken on enough clients to have 5 teams. Lately there has been talk of finding a different and bigger location for our office because we will be expanding even more, by hiring more people, taking on more clients and creating more teams, which is very exciting.

Week 4 Blog Post #2 Ch 7 Page 203

Work/Life conflict

In chapter 7, they talk about work/life conflict and how feminist have adopted different approaches to this idea. Work/life conflict talks about how work can affect one's life, away from work and also vice versa, personal life can affect how one performs at work the next day. Because people think that women are more sensitive they think it is harder for women to balance situations that can cause work/life conflict.

I know from my own experience it is hard to act normal at work if something is wrong in my personal life. Though I shouldn't bring outside work related issues to work with me, it is hard to ignore when something is one your mind. And this goes for work as well. If something stressful is going on at work of if you feel as though you performed bad at work, then it is possible that you will bring these feelings home with you and take it out on the people outside of work that had no part in making you feel this way.

Week 4 Blog Post #1 Web Lecture

Technology & Teams

Facebook is a huge online organization that is brought up at the beginning of this week's web lecture. I am a member of Facebook as well as its competitor MySpace. Both of these web organizations have accomplished great success. These two online organizations have allowed me to keep in touch with people that I would never have kept in touch with after high school. It also keeps me connected with people I have met and helps me network. I would estimate that about 95% of people I know have a Facebook or MySpace page, if not both.

The web lecture also talks about how far we have come with technology for example how you can access the internet on your cell phone, and how some people these days can't go a day without their cell phone. This is so true! I have a Blackberry, and I can access the internet almost anywhere I go and it is so useful. If I need directions somewhere, or want to call a business I can use the Google website on my phone and find any of this information out, and of course I can also access my Facebook and MySpace accounts at any time of the day to keep me updated with information on what the people around me are doing. There have been times when I have lost my phone, and I seriously feel lost without it. It is a sad thing to admit but it is so true. I can't go a day without my Blackberry.

Week 3 Blog Post #2 Chapter 5

Socialization

I think socialization is a very important characteristic that one needs to accomplish when becoming a part of any sort of organization. The book defines socialization as a process by which people learn the rules, norms, and expectations of a culture over time and thereby become members of that culture (p. 146). I am a very social person. I find it very easy to socialize with people on a daily basis, whether they are new acquaintances or people that I deal with everyday. I am very friendly, outgoing and easy to have a conversation with. Because of all these traits I think is a good reason why I am majoring in Public Relations and like the communications field.

There are three stages in the learning process of socialization: anticipatory socialization, organizational assimilation and organizational turning points or exits. The first stage has to do with learning about work through communication. Vocational and organizational are two stages of anticipatory socialization, with vocational beginning at childhood learning about careers and work and organizational which is learning about a specific job. The second stage involves surprise and sense. A new employee is always trying to fit into a new job by attempting to make sense of the new job. The last stage involves the turning points for example, when a student starts college with no clue of what major they would like to study, they take their G.E. courses and usually from there figure out where they belong and in what department.

After completing my G.E. at West Valley College I discovered I enjoyed communications courses and would like to join the Journalism and Mass Communications department at SJSU.

Week 3 Blog Post #1 Web Lecture

Metaphors and Culture

The lecture for the week summarizes Workplace surveillance. Workplace surveillance is a very important way for employers and organizations to make sure that employees are properly using their time at work and properly using the technologies and accessories given to them to complete their job functions. From monitoring the internet websites that are visited, to listening to recorded phone conversations and monitoring emails can all be considered workplace surveillance. This is important because though it is nice to be able and socialize with your fellow employees, sometimes side conversations can get a little off topic and carry on, which is poor use for time that the employee is getting paid for by the organization.

Week 2 Blog Post #4 Chapter 4 p. 108

Chapter four discusses the idea of "Loosely Coupled" systems and the authors' use of a university as an example is great. I find this example to be very defining towards the term in that I definitely see how such an organization falls in the category. I am a part of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications department at SJSU for Public Relations. After three semesters at the school, I definitely recognize familiar faces and students with the same interests as me that end up being in many similar classes as me each semester. I also have come to know the professors and advisors well and have even taken certain professors numerous times for different classes that our needed to complete my major.

But there has been the few random classes that our needed for my major that fall outside of the department I am used to in a complete different building on an almost foreign part of campus. In these classes, such as business classes which are much larger in size than my communications classes, I know one person if I am lucky, but usually I recognize no one. All the professors are new to me and the whole feel of even being in this strange building is uncomfortable compared to the feel of being in my own department.

This is a great example of my experience with "Loose Coupling" because I am so disconnected and so focused and at ease in my own department that I have no clue of what else is out there and all the other people that in reality I attend college with.

Week 2 Blog Post #3 Chapter 4 p. 118

I like Weick's theory of partial inclusion which talks about strategies for motivating employees that aren't effective. When at work you only see some of your coworker’s behaviors. How they act and work in a job environment can be completely different than how they act outside of work, at home or in a place where they spend their free time. This theory talks about how someone that performs poorly at work could be an outstanding member of an organization outside of work, possibly even a leader. In fact, these types of people could feel so passionately for what they do in their free time that by the time they are at work they have already given their all to other activities, leaving them with just a mediocre job performance in their day job.

This could also work in the opposite way as well. Someone who has a stellar performance on the job might have few or no outside activities in their free time. They could possibly put so much effort in their daily duties at work that they have no desire to be a part of something else outside of work or engage in another sort of socializing besides their career.

Week 2 Blog Post #2 Chapter 3 p. 89-90

McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y Management

I find McGregor's view on the controlling bureaucratic style of management very true in that it summarizes an employee who dislikes going to work. He explains this kind of employee through is "Theory X" which says the average human doesn't like their work and will avoid it, and because of this dislike these people must be threatened, punished or controlled in order to get some effort out of them and also that this average human has little ambition and responsibility but still wants security from a job even though they dislike it.

McGregor's "Theory Y" has the tone of a happy employee in a healthy and positive atmosphere. This employee is described as one that's physical and mental effort is very much noticeable, they never need be punished or threatened to make this effort show, they are committed, they show responsibility, they can think outside of the box when necessary and come up with ideas and creativity to better already formed processes, and they always show a want to learn more.

"Theory Y" almost seems like a perfect employee. In fact anyone who can work like a Theory Y employee will get farther in the work place and make much more of a name for themselves than someone that gives half the effort and is more of a Theory X employee. Theory Y employees are ready to express themselves and be heard and have the urge to be on top rather than settle for the bare minimum and be a follower for their entire career. These employees want to contribute to the success of an organization and make a change.

Week 2 Blog Post #1 Chapter 3

I found the three P's of historical writing - partial, partisan and problematic - very interesting as well as completely true. When the authors' talk about how it is impossible to say anything and everything there is to say about something, this is a fact, because new possibilities and ideas can always occur. There is no complete history or story of anything, and with this they talk about how their theories and all stories are in fact only partial as well.

The second P - partisanship - talks about how when one tells stories or talks about events it comes from their own personal take of the event shown through their eyes. Though someone else could describe the same event but completely different because that was how they viewed it through their own eyes. People have different takes on everything and build their own opinions and rarely do people view and see things exactly alike. It is vital that people hear other perspectives of stories rather than only their own.

The third P - problematic - is about how we tend to come up with more questions than answers and the answers that are formed come from what is known currently not what can be completely known over time. I really like how the author's talk about how asking questions strike up conversation and invites everyone's opinion to be heard rather than just assuming the whole truth about an issue is known. This could help with widening people's perspectives rather than being limited to your views you are invited to see things how others see it

My Work Story...

I have always had to work while attending school, actually I have always had a job since I was 14 years old! Right now I work at a restaurant that I have been at since 2004. I started as a host and was moved up to a server almost right away. I have been serving for almost five years now and am starting to think that it is almost time to give it up, especially since I have a good steady other job as well. But while in college I think I will continue to be a server for a restaurant since the hours or so flexible and it is nice to have that extra money.
My other job is a financial firm that is responsible for finding and recovering money for fortune 500 companies. It is Monday - Friday at 6 am in the morning which I know sounds pretty crazy, but I have been there 7 months already and am pretty used to it by now. They are also flexible when it comes to school, so this works out great for me. I am very much looking forward to the day when I am graduated from college and can have one good steady job that reflects what I studied in college and is something I enjoy doing!

Introduction

Hi! My name is Kimberly and I am a 22 year old student at SJSU. I work two jobs as well as going to school which can get very tiresome. I attended West Valley College for three years and completed my G.E. before finally transferring into SJSU. I am now majoring in Public Relations and hope to graduate in the next 2 or 3 semesters. I live with my boyfriend and one of our friends and we are expecting a puppy in September, which is very exciting and something to look forward to. I hope to learn a lot in this short five week summer course and hope to have a good summer before the start of the fall 2009 semester.