As I think back about this course as well as the other courses I have taken at Ashford, I realize just how much I have learned about the communication process. This blog, in particular, is a reflection of just how far outside my, otherwise normal, comfort zone I have gone to complete course requirements.
This assignment in particular was one that was not only terrifying but also exciting. Never before had I ever created a blog, much less tweeted on Twitter or ventured to post much information on either Facebook or MySpace.
While we, as part of the class assignments, were required to post about topics such as handling difficult employees or modern means of communication, we were also encouraged to divulge a little bit of information and insight to ourselves.
I see this particular blog as a great means of keeping in touch with fellow classmates as we continue on in our pursuits of further education or perhaps a new career. Maybe some of us will have the opportunity to meet face to face at an upcoming graduation ceremony. Or maybe we will have the opportunity to see our classmates' pictures of the commencement ceremony they have already attended.
Either way, thanks, Mr. Sexton, for getting each of us to reach outside our comfort zone and venture into a new form of communication. What a great learning tool this has been!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Colorado Happiness
To further explain my recently-posted picture, I have to give you a bit of background. Our oldest daughter got a job in Colorado for the summer. It's the first time she's ever been away from home for an extended period of time since she lives at home and goes to the local university in our hometown. She and Grace, five years her junior, are extremely close so this has been hard on her. (Pictured here from left to right are: Emily, Scott, and Grace.)
We left last Monday on our voyage to Colorado. Horribly hot weather here in Edwardsville; delightful weather awaiting us in Colorado! Emily had so much she wanted to share with us, and we had such a short time to visit. We drove up from Estes Park to Loveland on Wednesday evening, through these beautiful canyons on Highway 34. We arrived at a lake that Emily had discovered with her friends -- just in time for the sunset.
We regret that our son, who's currently stationed in Virginia with the US Navy, couldn't be there to join us, but he was there in our hearts. What a great backdrop to feature my favorite people in the world, sans one.
We left last Monday on our voyage to Colorado. Horribly hot weather here in Edwardsville; delightful weather awaiting us in Colorado! Emily had so much she wanted to share with us, and we had such a short time to visit. We drove up from Estes Park to Loveland on Wednesday evening, through these beautiful canyons on Highway 34. We arrived at a lake that Emily had discovered with her friends -- just in time for the sunset.
We regret that our son, who's currently stationed in Virginia with the US Navy, couldn't be there to join us, but he was there in our hearts. What a great backdrop to feature my favorite people in the world, sans one.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Difficult Employees
Dealing with difficult employees need not be as scary as it sounds. Rather, if you take a common sense, practical approach to the problems you are experiencing with a particular individual, together you can arrive at an amicable solution.
In the particular case study, we were asked to propose a plan of action to improve the employee’s behavior or, in the alternative, inform him or her of a pending dismissal if behaviors did not change.
As a manager, I would schedule a meeting with this particular employee to discuss the behavior(s) that are causing difficulty within the department (McMillan, 2010). Begin the meeting with an open, honest atmosphere where sharing between you, as the supervisor, and the employee can take place in a non-hostile environment. Explain that team building is a concept you are attempting to achieve, but stress that this is not something that can be done by just one or two employees—it is a whole or nothing effort (McMillan, 2010).
Setting expectations is also another critical element to resolving issues with difficult employees. In some business, this list of expectations is referred to as a performance improvement plan. By clearly delineating what you are hoping to achieve with the evaluation, and by listing out point by point what milestones the difficult employee must meet in order to retain his or her job, you are giving that employee a clear outline of your goals. With this performance improvement plan must come a defined deadline in which the employee will be expected to improve, as well as an understanding of the consequences should improvement not be met.
As the evaluation process takes place, it is critical to point out to the employee the right things he or she is doing. Often focusing on solely the negative behaviors will not likely make an individual willing to modify past behaviors (McMillan, 2010). If, however, you notice behaviors that have caused problems in the past, point out those behaviors right away so that aids the employee in recognizing behaviors that he or she may not have realized. For instance, due to cultural differences that may exist, it may not be readily apparent that the behavior is considered disrespectful.
“Clear expectations, as well as immediate praise and confrontation, help people work well with others (McMillan, 2010).” Completing all of these tasks will require a great deal of patience and dedication on the part of the manager. However, it is a necessary step in becoming not merely a good manager but a great manager.
Having a clear plan, meeting with the difficult employee, and outlining your expectations of that employee will help to give a realistic, achievable goal to work toward in bettering his or her behavior. With the oversight of a manager who has demonstrated care and concern for all of his employees, positive results can be attained.
In the particular case study, we were asked to propose a plan of action to improve the employee’s behavior or, in the alternative, inform him or her of a pending dismissal if behaviors did not change.
As a manager, I would schedule a meeting with this particular employee to discuss the behavior(s) that are causing difficulty within the department (McMillan, 2010). Begin the meeting with an open, honest atmosphere where sharing between you, as the supervisor, and the employee can take place in a non-hostile environment. Explain that team building is a concept you are attempting to achieve, but stress that this is not something that can be done by just one or two employees—it is a whole or nothing effort (McMillan, 2010).
Setting expectations is also another critical element to resolving issues with difficult employees. In some business, this list of expectations is referred to as a performance improvement plan. By clearly delineating what you are hoping to achieve with the evaluation, and by listing out point by point what milestones the difficult employee must meet in order to retain his or her job, you are giving that employee a clear outline of your goals. With this performance improvement plan must come a defined deadline in which the employee will be expected to improve, as well as an understanding of the consequences should improvement not be met.
As the evaluation process takes place, it is critical to point out to the employee the right things he or she is doing. Often focusing on solely the negative behaviors will not likely make an individual willing to modify past behaviors (McMillan, 2010). If, however, you notice behaviors that have caused problems in the past, point out those behaviors right away so that aids the employee in recognizing behaviors that he or she may not have realized. For instance, due to cultural differences that may exist, it may not be readily apparent that the behavior is considered disrespectful.
“Clear expectations, as well as immediate praise and confrontation, help people work well with others (McMillan, 2010).” Completing all of these tasks will require a great deal of patience and dedication on the part of the manager. However, it is a necessary step in becoming not merely a good manager but a great manager.
Having a clear plan, meeting with the difficult employee, and outlining your expectations of that employee will help to give a realistic, achievable goal to work toward in bettering his or her behavior. With the oversight of a manager who has demonstrated care and concern for all of his employees, positive results can be attained.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Media Technologies Summary
Media Technologies
E-Mail: E-mail, short for electronic mail, is an advanced means of transmitting data, text files, digital photo files, and audio and video files from one computer to another over the Internet. It gained its popularity in 1990 and has become a major means of both business and personal communication. Most e-mail programs have programs which enable you to compose the message you wish to send to one or more recipients.
E-mails can be simple directives from an individual to subordinates, or they can be informative means of sharing information with multiple individuals. An e-mail can be circulated in-house within a corporate office, or it can be circulated to many offices worldwide.
Because of the ability to attach various types of documents to an initial e-mail, businesses can share information with the recipients, thereby saving on postage costs as well as other types of expenses like paper, toner, et cetera. Using e-mails is rapidly becoming a popular form of “greening” the corporate world with the conservation of the printed page.
E-mails also have extreme popularity outside of the corporate world application. Families are able to share pictures with loved ones in an instant, bringing their extended family up to the minute with the latest happenings.
When I first began scoping for court reporters, I was lucky enough to land a client in Michigan, even though I lived in Illinois. We were able to share documents through the use of e-mail, and I was able to edit her transcripts, thereby saving her an enormous amount of time outside of the courtroom.
Online (Web) Conferences.
With the launch of web conferencing, businesses were able to usher in a new type of communication productivity. Web conferencing offers features such as the ability to exchange documents, the ability to view PowerPoint presentations, the ability to share data, and even the ability to take real-time polls, among others. Even before the conception of the Internet, the idea of web conferencing had been conceived at the University of Illinois when the University of Illinois created a small, self-contained system that supported a single classroom of terminals known as PLATO (http://www.thehistoryof.net/ history-of-web-conferencing.html). Following the introduction of PLATO came Talkomatic, an instant messaging tool, developed by Doug Brown (http://www.thehistoryof.net/history-of-web-conferencing.html). Ray Ozzie and Tim Halvorsen designed Lotus Notes which was released in 1989. Lotus Notes offered document sharing and remote communication, creating a “relation-based” environment and its use exploded in the corporate world (http://www.thehistoryof.net/history-of-web-conferencing.html).
The decade of the 1990s ushered in various types of software, including PlaceWare, which was developed by Xerox. This program offered full web conferencing features. Another type of software introduced was Groupware, which was a more complex program than PLATO. It offered document sharing as well as scheduling capabilities (http://www.thehistoryof.net/history-of-web-conferencing.html).
Technologies in use today include voice over IP (VoIP) that offers quality digital audio sound. This rather inexpensive means of communicating offers businesses means by which savings from unnecessary travel is realized. Finally, with the introduction of WaveThree’s “Session,” the longstanding incompatibility between Macs and PCs was resolved, thereby resulting in more open communication between businesses which previously had not been able to take advantage of web conferencing (http://www.thehistoryof.net/history-of-web-conferencing.html) if they had varied computer systems.
Teleconferencing
American Telephone and Telegraph, better known as AT&T, started the revolution of teleconferencing in the 1960s with its Picturephone device (http://www.accuconference.com/blog/ TheHistoryOfTeleconferencing.aspx). During the time of its introduction, business travel was a lot less expensive than it is now, and executives failed to see the potential benefits of the Picturephone. Now, though, after millions and millions of dollars spent both in finessing the features of the Picturephone and in travel costs, many companies worldwide have come to use teleconferencing as a means of communication.
The three basic types of teleconferencing devices include: 1) audio, or verbal, communication using the telephone; 2) videoconferencing, using telephones for both voice and video feed, operating through the use of a computer; and 3) computer conferencing which allows printed media conferencing via a computer terminal (http://www.accuconference.com/blog/ TheHistoryOfTeleconferencing.aspx).
Participants in teleconferencing can be as near as the next office and as far as various offices spread around the globe. Meeting with teleconferencing in a virtual office space allows for the exchange of ideas anytime the participants wish. Benefits to teleconferencing include reduction in business-related travel expenses, the ability of individuals unable to attend the teleconference to have a transcript of the session, and the ability to schedule a meeting in a relatively short period of time.
On a more personal note, I am particularly fond of Skype as it enables me to communicate with my son (who is in the Navy and currently stationed in Virginia) and talk with him over the computer. Not only are we able to talk through the use of VOIP (voice over Internet protocol), but we are also able to see each other “face to face.” It’s amazing technology that I would have appreciated when my husband and I were stationed overseas 25 years ago.
Cell Phones/Smart Phones
Motorola unveiled what was considered to be the first truly portable cellular phone in 1983. It was known as the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X (http://www.topbits.com/history-of-cell-phones.html). Motorola spent over 100 million dollars in research and countless years developing the technology before unveiling this particular phone. At the time it was considered to be lightweight, a whopping 28 ounces, and measured 13 inches x 1.75 inches x 3.5 inches (http://www.topbits.com/history-of-cell-phones.html).
Second Generation Cellular Phones
Cellular phones introduced during the early 1990s are considered to be second generation (2G) phones. These particular phones used digital circuit switched transmissions which enabled faster network signaling, lowered the number of dropped calls, and also increased the quality of the calls placed (http://www.topbits.com/history-of-cell-phones.html). These phones were smaller in size than first generation phones, ranging in weight from 3.5 ounces to 7.0 ounces. Battery technology was much improved, and computer technology was more advanced, thereby leading to an increase in cell phone usage.
Third General Cellular Phones
Most cellular phones in use today are referred to as 3G, or third generation, phones. Very recently Sprint introduced what has been billed as the iPhone breaker, a 4G phone known as the HTC EVO. The 3G phones have advanced technology and offer a variety of services such as SMS text messaging, e-mail access, Internet access—even innovations as advanced as streaming radio and TV http://www.topbits.com/history-of-cell-phones.html.
With each generation of cell phone, the technology has advanced giving individuals greater capacity and usable features in their phones. It is commonplace today for many people to have completely replaced their land line home phones with a cellular unit. Our household still holds on to the landline, mostly out of a sense of safety, knowing that in the event of a natural emergency (let’s just say we were once without power for 6 days), we are still likely to be able to utilize our home phone because we did not need to worry about the phone losing its battery charge.
E-Mail: E-mail, short for electronic mail, is an advanced means of transmitting data, text files, digital photo files, and audio and video files from one computer to another over the Internet. It gained its popularity in 1990 and has become a major means of both business and personal communication. Most e-mail programs have programs which enable you to compose the message you wish to send to one or more recipients.
E-mails can be simple directives from an individual to subordinates, or they can be informative means of sharing information with multiple individuals. An e-mail can be circulated in-house within a corporate office, or it can be circulated to many offices worldwide.
Because of the ability to attach various types of documents to an initial e-mail, businesses can share information with the recipients, thereby saving on postage costs as well as other types of expenses like paper, toner, et cetera. Using e-mails is rapidly becoming a popular form of “greening” the corporate world with the conservation of the printed page.
E-mails also have extreme popularity outside of the corporate world application. Families are able to share pictures with loved ones in an instant, bringing their extended family up to the minute with the latest happenings.
When I first began scoping for court reporters, I was lucky enough to land a client in Michigan, even though I lived in Illinois. We were able to share documents through the use of e-mail, and I was able to edit her transcripts, thereby saving her an enormous amount of time outside of the courtroom.
Online (Web) Conferences.
With the launch of web conferencing, businesses were able to usher in a new type of communication productivity. Web conferencing offers features such as the ability to exchange documents, the ability to view PowerPoint presentations, the ability to share data, and even the ability to take real-time polls, among others. Even before the conception of the Internet, the idea of web conferencing had been conceived at the University of Illinois when the University of Illinois created a small, self-contained system that supported a single classroom of terminals known as PLATO (http://www.thehistoryof.net/ history-of-web-conferencing.html). Following the introduction of PLATO came Talkomatic, an instant messaging tool, developed by Doug Brown (http://www.thehistoryof.net/history-of-web-conferencing.html). Ray Ozzie and Tim Halvorsen designed Lotus Notes which was released in 1989. Lotus Notes offered document sharing and remote communication, creating a “relation-based” environment and its use exploded in the corporate world (http://www.thehistoryof.net/history-of-web-conferencing.html).
The decade of the 1990s ushered in various types of software, including PlaceWare, which was developed by Xerox. This program offered full web conferencing features. Another type of software introduced was Groupware, which was a more complex program than PLATO. It offered document sharing as well as scheduling capabilities (http://www.thehistoryof.net/history-of-web-conferencing.html).
Technologies in use today include voice over IP (VoIP) that offers quality digital audio sound. This rather inexpensive means of communicating offers businesses means by which savings from unnecessary travel is realized. Finally, with the introduction of WaveThree’s “Session,” the longstanding incompatibility between Macs and PCs was resolved, thereby resulting in more open communication between businesses which previously had not been able to take advantage of web conferencing (http://www.thehistoryof.net/history-of-web-conferencing.html) if they had varied computer systems.
Teleconferencing
American Telephone and Telegraph, better known as AT&T, started the revolution of teleconferencing in the 1960s with its Picturephone device (http://www.accuconference.com/blog/ TheHistoryOfTeleconferencing.aspx). During the time of its introduction, business travel was a lot less expensive than it is now, and executives failed to see the potential benefits of the Picturephone. Now, though, after millions and millions of dollars spent both in finessing the features of the Picturephone and in travel costs, many companies worldwide have come to use teleconferencing as a means of communication.
The three basic types of teleconferencing devices include: 1) audio, or verbal, communication using the telephone; 2) videoconferencing, using telephones for both voice and video feed, operating through the use of a computer; and 3) computer conferencing which allows printed media conferencing via a computer terminal (http://www.accuconference.com/blog/ TheHistoryOfTeleconferencing.aspx).
Participants in teleconferencing can be as near as the next office and as far as various offices spread around the globe. Meeting with teleconferencing in a virtual office space allows for the exchange of ideas anytime the participants wish. Benefits to teleconferencing include reduction in business-related travel expenses, the ability of individuals unable to attend the teleconference to have a transcript of the session, and the ability to schedule a meeting in a relatively short period of time.
On a more personal note, I am particularly fond of Skype as it enables me to communicate with my son (who is in the Navy and currently stationed in Virginia) and talk with him over the computer. Not only are we able to talk through the use of VOIP (voice over Internet protocol), but we are also able to see each other “face to face.” It’s amazing technology that I would have appreciated when my husband and I were stationed overseas 25 years ago.
Cell Phones/Smart Phones
Motorola unveiled what was considered to be the first truly portable cellular phone in 1983. It was known as the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X (http://www.topbits.com/history-of-cell-phones.html). Motorola spent over 100 million dollars in research and countless years developing the technology before unveiling this particular phone. At the time it was considered to be lightweight, a whopping 28 ounces, and measured 13 inches x 1.75 inches x 3.5 inches (http://www.topbits.com/history-of-cell-phones.html).
Second Generation Cellular Phones
Cellular phones introduced during the early 1990s are considered to be second generation (2G) phones. These particular phones used digital circuit switched transmissions which enabled faster network signaling, lowered the number of dropped calls, and also increased the quality of the calls placed (http://www.topbits.com/history-of-cell-phones.html). These phones were smaller in size than first generation phones, ranging in weight from 3.5 ounces to 7.0 ounces. Battery technology was much improved, and computer technology was more advanced, thereby leading to an increase in cell phone usage.
Third General Cellular Phones
Most cellular phones in use today are referred to as 3G, or third generation, phones. Very recently Sprint introduced what has been billed as the iPhone breaker, a 4G phone known as the HTC EVO. The 3G phones have advanced technology and offer a variety of services such as SMS text messaging, e-mail access, Internet access—even innovations as advanced as streaming radio and TV http://www.topbits.com/history-of-cell-phones.html.
With each generation of cell phone, the technology has advanced giving individuals greater capacity and usable features in their phones. It is commonplace today for many people to have completely replaced their land line home phones with a cellular unit. Our household still holds on to the landline, mostly out of a sense of safety, knowing that in the event of a natural emergency (let’s just say we were once without power for 6 days), we are still likely to be able to utilize our home phone because we did not need to worry about the phone losing its battery charge.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Monday, May 31
This has been a whirlwind weekend. It started off Friday night, the last day of school for my daughter, Grace, and she was excited! A local church was having its annual festival, and a number of her friends were going to be there. Of course, she had to go.
Saturday brought yard work. Did I mention I'm an avid gardener? After having neglected the garden for a few days, there was much watering weeding to do. I'm always so excited to see the progression of the plants in our garden. We have strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, peach trees, a cherry tree, grape vines--not to mention the vegetable garden and herb garden. Everything is doing so well! In fact, I think in a few weeks we may even have some fresh tomatoes.
Sunday included church and then a barbecue at my sister-in-law's home. Family was all gathered (as much as we could be with our son and also our nephew in the Navy and far away from home). Still, it was great to get together and spend some time catching up with the nieces and nephews. It's hard for me to conceive that they're all growing up so fast!
Today was a little more calm. We decided to start the painting project we had been putting off for a couple of weeks. Of course, we waited until mid-afternoon to start. We're repainting our living room in the colors of eggplant and clay. The eggplant wall is finished, and Grace will start on the contrast walls while Scott and I are at work tomorrow. Thank goodness she loves to paint.
I'll keep you posted on the progress as the week goes by ...
Saturday brought yard work. Did I mention I'm an avid gardener? After having neglected the garden for a few days, there was much watering weeding to do. I'm always so excited to see the progression of the plants in our garden. We have strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, peach trees, a cherry tree, grape vines--not to mention the vegetable garden and herb garden. Everything is doing so well! In fact, I think in a few weeks we may even have some fresh tomatoes.
Sunday included church and then a barbecue at my sister-in-law's home. Family was all gathered (as much as we could be with our son and also our nephew in the Navy and far away from home). Still, it was great to get together and spend some time catching up with the nieces and nephews. It's hard for me to conceive that they're all growing up so fast!
Today was a little more calm. We decided to start the painting project we had been putting off for a couple of weeks. Of course, we waited until mid-afternoon to start. We're repainting our living room in the colors of eggplant and clay. The eggplant wall is finished, and Grace will start on the contrast walls while Scott and I are at work tomorrow. Thank goodness she loves to paint.
I'll keep you posted on the progress as the week goes by ...
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