Words to live by...

Thought of the Day…

“In the last analysis, what we are communicates

                 far more eloquently than anything

                                                we say or do.”

                                                                     ~Stephen Covey~

The Impact of Technology on Communications

Impact of Technology on Communications

Conflict Resolution

As a department manager I would have set customer service performance guidelines for my team, both individually and as a team.  Based on these guidelines I would have established a plan and part of our plan would include weekly team meetings to review team performance and quarterly meetings to review our metrics individually.  I would have explained that these meetings are in place to help guide our performance levels, identify individual employee performance; what they are doing well and if there are any needed improvements.  I would also emphasize that employee feedback is valued and valuable; I want employees to be communicate thoughts, ideas and issues, give feedback on the work environment, as well as the morale of the team. 

Conflict Management

Conflict management is a skill that everyone should learn to master.  By understanding the positive and negative effects of conflict management individuals can learn how to more effectively deal with conflict.  Learning to be aware of personal stress and anger behaviors and how they contribute to conflict management is the first step towards managing conflict.  Learning how these actions directly affect communications and lead to misunderstandings are key elements in dealing with conflict.  Communication techniques give guidance to skills that can be utilized in managing conflict and could alter the outcome of a conflict.  The main techniques being reviewed include the ABC approach and the S-TLC system.  Both of these approaches help individuals understand that taking responsibility for personal actions is essential; and then reviewing what role those actions played in the conflict further outline what changes should be made or corrective actions should be put in place.  Read More...Conflict Management

Sociological Theories and the Family

The impact that sociological theories has on the institution of family allows society and individuals to apply basic fundamentals that defines how society and individuals function.  These fundamentals help theorists spell out what impacts society by exploring information from the past, to what is happening today and how to project the future.   By looking at the family from different views the structural functionalist, conflict theorist and symbolic interactionism there are similarities and differences that are apparent across the theories.  In this review there criteria will be reviewed from the perspective of family and how each theory affects them; how social change is affected by applying each theory; and how the theory applied affects the society’s view of the family.  Each theory has its own structure, theme and value that helps to more clearly define and identify how the institution of family is to function and contribute to society.
Read more...Sociological Theories

The Perfect Memory

This night was the night of the swimming state championship.  I was familiar with the surroundings of the pool that we were swimming in and knew how the events of the night would take place and that made me feel more comfortable.   

The meet begins, I swim in a few of the smaller races and had taken first place and won two blue ribbons.  This gave me confidence.  However, the main event was yet to be swam.  I was going to be up against my biggest and fastest competitor, Amy Barnes.  She and I had shared the spotlight on and off for years and this was it, the big night we’d both been waiting for, the biggest event of the year, the State Championship.  We would be swimming head to head on the final individual race of the evening.   

Dusk had fallen upon us and I don’t know why but swimming at this time of night leaves a bit of a mystery behind it; it feels like there is a secret that is not to be told and is without discussion for the final outcome will be revealed when the first hand hits the wall in victory. 

The Mbuti

The Mbuti culture is a foraging society with bands that exist today.  The social organization is made up of the nuclear family and the gender roles are of the traditional hunter - gatherer.  Mbuti are also known as egalitarian in that they have gender specific roles but they also believe in equality and they share and help each other.  Marriage and family is the foundation of their heritage in kinship and in the structure of their society.  They follow the patrilineal descent.  The Mbuti beliefs and values are embedded deeply within the cultural mythology and they pay homage to their forest.  Mbuti believe the forest is their great protector and provider.  The cultural tradition that they maintain allows them to continue with the rituals performed by their culture.  The Mbuti have a cultural tradition and they are still living their cultural traditions today.

The Mbuti, also called pygmies, are short people that can measure up to four feet six inches tall; this stature allows them to move through the forest quickly and efficiently.  They live primarily in the Ituri Forest which is a rainforest in the northern Zaire of the Congo region of Africa.  It has been speculated that the Mbuti were the first inhabitants of Africa.  The Mbuti, also known as the BaMbuti, live together as a band and have anywhere from 10 – 50 members in a band.  They are a foraging society of hunters and gatherers.  The women and children are primarily the gatherers and gather fruits, nuts, melons and tubers from the land.  According to this text: “Women foragers provide 80% of the food consisting of nuts, fruits, berries and tubers and collect this in one day that will feed the family for a whole week” (Nowak, 2011). 

Ethics in Persuasion

Ethical behavior and its significance in persuasion are essential.  From defining what ethical behavior is to the review of its direct affects on persuasion will be identified.  Using the ethical theories of utilitarianism and deontology will be applied to persuasion and an exploration of universality will be included to help in determining the significance of ethics in persuasion.  Taking into consideration the professional environment and the many downfalls that “Corporate America” has experienced over the past decade this will also assist in walking through ethical behavior and further explain what an important role ethics plays in persuasion.  This review will show the unfortunate outcome of not practicing ethics in persuasion and will show how crucial ethics is in persuasion.

          Ethical behavior in persuasion is defined as “an attempt through communication to influence knowledge, attitude or behaviour of an audience through presentation of a view that addresses and allows the audience to make voluntary, informed, rational and reflective judgements” (Messina, 2007, pg. 33).  In essence, all human beings should have the

Green Technology

Green Technology also called “Go Green,” it is an important technology that is bringing greater awareness of what can be done to preserve our environment and save our planet.  The definition of green technology is necessary in helping to understand what “go green” represent; it includes terms such as clean technology and environmental technology.  Green technology has different types of energy resources that are referred to as renewable energy, which is infinite; and non-renewable energy which is finite.   The various types of “go green” projects main focus is on being eco-friendly or ways that promote green technology; which include green lights, go green at work, go paperless, go green vehicles, composting, as well as solar energy and wind energy.  The benefits from these projects are numerous but the most important benefit of “going green” is being able to dispose of waste that helps promote a clean earth.  Communities can do their part by setting good habits and instituting the “Three Re’s;” which stands for reduce, reuse, recycle.  If individuals, families and nations would utilize these standards and set goals to “go green” we would all be able to live in a healthier environment, have a better quality of life and in turn create an ecological balance for all living things.  To become friendlier to the environment and the planet and by becoming aware of what steps can be taken to “go green,” we will be able to pass along the gift of a clean environment to future generations.  

Read More...Let's Go Green

Personal Communications Review

             The communications review of my personal life including interpersonal, group and organizational communications skills.  I will review in more detail my abilities, my inabilities, what has inspired me and who has inspired me.  I will look into what I have learned during this course through applying theories and approaches and I will cite examples of thoughts and interactions to further show my communications pattern.  Throughout the paper I will also share personal experiences from my family's value and how that influenced my organizational and group communications; I will also talk about how these have affected my dream of earning my degree.

My communications classes began with Aristotle and the rhetoricians.  It has been described that it is important for communications to have a pattern.  The pattern should include ethos, logos and pathos; in essence the persons character, logic and emotion.  I read an article about Aristotle and it said:  “He believed it was an art that could and should be studied and that good rhetoric was not only persuasive, but also ethical. He stated that all public presentations are some balance of three rhetorical proofs: ethos (ethical), pathos (emotional), and logos (logical).  (Fournier, 2011). 

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

I believe that language affects thought and behavior and I believe the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is very true.  The following video further outlines the validity of this hypothesis.

The iPad - a modern media technology

The iPad is a revolutionary technology and in an article called “Arts Organizations and Digital Technology” a study was performed that showed: “Many cultural organizations say that digital technology gives them powerful new ways to promote events, engage with audiences, reach new patrons, and extend the life and scope of their work” (Thomson, 2013).  The “always on” ability of the iPad allows for instant access by the user who has access to many different types of information and can be reached at any time via the iPad. 

The Internet - changed our future

The internet has broadened our horizons in most aspects of our lives including giving us the ability to communicate instantaneously with anyone and just about anywhere.  The internet has allowed us to bridge the divide that has existed by bringing us closer together globally and allowing us to collaborate among diverse cultures.  The internet is summed up in this statement by stating that: “The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic location (Leiner, 2012). 

The Radio

Radio is another technology that has been around for a very long time.  The radio and newer technology known as podcasts can reach people when that are busy driving, cooking dinner or even at the gym working out but as this statement outlines: “Keeping the program short and maintaining a focus on benefits can keep listeners engaged even as they’re distracted by other parts of their environment” (Marsh, 2009, pg. 113). 

The Television

The television was presented at the 1939 World’s Fair but did not become fully realized until after World War II and according to this article called “The Technology of Television” it goes on to say that:  “The early conceptions of television were that it would be a way for someone to see the person they were talking to on the phone” (2003); another reason inventors looked at inventing the television was so that people could watch what they were hearing.  After World War II the television became popular and the growth of televisions per household grew exponentially from: “6,000 in 1946 to some 12 million by 1951” (Stevens).

Principle's taught by Aristotle

Let's being our discussion with what we know.  Essential principles of communication according to the teachings of Aristotle that were taught is stated: “knowing the most frequently encountered types of speaking situations, rules for effective reasoning, the part that human emotions play in persuasion, the necessity for audience analysis, ways of improving style and delivery, and the place of rhetoric in maintaining and discovering truth” (Trenholm, 2011, pg. 3).

It is important to become aware of the principles of communications to better manage the outcome of a customers experience.

Reference:
Trenholm, S. (2011). Thinking Through Communication (6^th Ed.).  Boston: Allyn & Bacon.  http://online.vitalsource.com/#/books