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.