Friday, September 4, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Blog 4 on Web Lecture- Participatory Democracy
Participatory democracy requires that people do more than vote, they must actually engage in cooperative activities that will help the group achieve its goals. This is important with the organization because it forces members to actually know more than just here say or what they may think. It forces them to do the research pertaining to the matter and become involved in the importance of the activities at hand. Participatory democracy is a way to stay involved I n the organization. For instance, in lecture it was used as an example to vote and participate in what is best for our school. I certainly would like to know that our school has a well trained security team. I can become informed and educated about this matter through participatory democracy.
Chapter 11 Blog 3- Integrity
Integrity is a mindful state of acting purposefully to fulfill the promises and commitments you make to others. This term is important both in the organizational world and in the personal lives of members. This is how individuals gain credibility, loyalty, trust, and respect from their peers or the consumers. Just like in the academic setting, integrity is very important in the rapport you create and maintain with your professors. At my organization, we address and stress the importance of integrity on a daily basis. Whether the customer is spending two dollars or two thousand dollars we make sure they are treated with the up most honesty and respect. Being courteous and honest with them is important as it helps our organization maintain a healthy and respectful reputation in the community. It also helps our employees stay true to themselves and become more connected with our organization. We strive to employ honest, hardworking and trustworthy employees. We think integrity helps in making the organization a more positive experience for whoever steps foot through our doors
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Chapter 10 Blog 2 - Training and development
The concept from chapter 10 that I found I most identified with is training and development. Training and development directly relates to formal and informal efforts to help develop employees skill. This is an important function of management and is necessary in helping to develop employees. When employees are well trained and knowledgeable about their product or service is seems like that is half the battle in obtaining organizational success. The more they know the more they can offer the clientele in terms of products or services. In my experience as part of a management team at a clothing store, the more my employees knew about the clothing lines we carry in terms of their history, manufacturing process and fit the more the customer trusted that they were buying a quality product. Basically the more we could tell the customer about the product the more interesting it seems and the customer feels like they are getting more for their money…and great service!
Chapter 9 Blog 1- Motivation
Chapter 9 Blog 1
For this chapter I chose to blog about motivation. Motivation is defined in the text as the degree to which an individual is personally committed to expending effort in the accomplishment of a specified activity or goal. Aside from communication, I think motivation plays a huge role of not only the success of an organization, but also the competitive advantage. It is vital for companies to stay on top of their game at all times and keep motivated to make themselves appealing to their designated market. In my experience as a manager I am always trying new ways to keep my employees motivated by offering sales incentives, talking about the importance and benefits of us making goal and praising employees when they accomplish something in the workplace. It seems like huge companies use bonuses and other perks to keep their employees motivated to continue working efficiently and hard. I think a huge part of being a leader of an organization is being able to motivate the employees in an effective way.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Chapter 8 Blog 4- Norms
Chapter 8 Blog 4
This is one of my favorite concepts- Norms! The reason I like this concept is because it is so important. I cannot count how many times I have ran around my organization re iterating the norms that I feel my subordinates need to follow. The text states that norms are the informal rules that designate the boundaries of acceptable behavior in the group. The main thing organizations are trying to do is maintain a solid and positive relationship with customers at all times. We want them to have positive experiences and memories while they are a part of our organization. At the same time, it is vital to maintain the level of professionalism required that keeps you within the designated “norms” of your organization. Treating customers like they are your close friends and family by talking about certain things is completely unacceptable. You must be cordial and professional while you conduct business and remain friendly and credible. I think that when someone is hired at an organization, they should be trained and educated on the individual norms that that company abides by.
Friday, June 26, 2009
chapter 8 Blog 3- Teams
The concept i chose for this chapter is the important role of teams. Teams are described in the text as groups of employees with representatation from a variety of functional areas within the organization. teams are great ways for the employees of the organization to come together to reach a certain goal or to continuously gather ideas for an ongoing goal such as success for the business. In my opinion, all members of an organization should active team players at all times. It seems important to get away from being competitive with one another and really understand that you are all supposed to work together to make something better. Teams are a great way to allow the organization to section istelf into clusters of communication networks that dedicate their energy to a certain area of work at the organization. In my experience at the clothing store i manage, the teams we establish have built strong communication relationships with one another and our clientele. In return we all have a solid work ethic and as a team that reflects each day when we are completing our daily tasks.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Chapter 7 Blog 2- Micropractices
The second concept for Chapter 2 that I chose to blog about is micropractices, which refer to the moment to moment behaviors, actions and communication messages that we use to being ourselves into being in everyday life. Micropractices seem like a fancy word for daily routine. Having a daily routine is a great way for us to keep organized and motivated. If you set mini goals for things you wish to accomplish on a day to day basis you are more likely to keep focused on your daily tasks. I am very systematic in the sense that I conduct my daily business in a certain way. This is thanks to my dad. Growing up, my father has always been known for saying “get a system”. He is made fun of for this phrase and his tone when he says it. Every time my siblings and I would forget to do something important he would look at us in the same way every time and say “get a system”. After learning about micropractices and thinking about how beneficial they are in being a success at organizational communication, I now realize that my dad was trying to teach us how to become more efficient as we got older. It certainly paid off now that I am 25 and on my own. I live by a certain set of micropractices that help be to be a better student, fiancé, professional and mom to my puppy! J
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Chapter 7 Blog 1- Authenticity
The concept I chose to discuss for this chapter is authenticity. According to the text, authenticity means being real and honest in how we live and work with others. The text supports a motto closely related to this concept which is commonly expressed as “Do what you love”. In my opinion, you can only be truly successful if you are doing what you love. Passion is a vital aspect of giving you the competitive edge necessary in making organizational communication a success. If you do not like what you are doing, it can be difficult to do it day in and day out and furthermore be s success as it. Authenticity may be a form of self fulfillment. In my experience at my organization, being true to myself and being honest and real gives me a sense of calmness in the professional environment I am immersed in. I feel that as long as I know what I am doing and why I am doing I can trust my own intuition and remain my own valid sense of authenticity.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Chapter 5 Blog 2- High reliability Organizations
The Second concept I chose to examine was high reliability organizations. This concept is in the socialization portion of the chapter. High reliability organizations are professions, which are very dangerous and important. One simple mistake can lead to complete chaos. These types of professions require highly skilled and confident individuals. It is supported in the text that these people are usually extremely socialized individuals. This is just one more aspect of socialization and its importance. In these circumstances, high reliability organizations do not have room for mistakes. It can be the difference between life and death. I can identify with this concept through a family friend. He is an air traffic controller. When he discusses his job with us he expresses the importance of clear and confident communication. He needs to be able to communicate in many different environments and remain calm and collected at all times. In my opinion, a highly socialized person is more adaptable in these situations and can react in a professional under control manner.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Chapter 5- Blog 1- Socialization
In Chapter 5, I chose to blog about the concept of socialization. According to the text, socialization is a process by which people learn the rules, norms, and expectations of a culture over time and thereby become members of that culture. Socialization is important in my opinion in every situation. Whether it is interpersonally or professionally. Proper ways of socializing remain a very important aspect of organizational communication. In my place of work, we make it a point to socialize new employees as soon as they are hired. We do this by walking them around the store while informing them of the different lines we carry. We also let them interact with our customers to give them a feel for a real life encounter that may happen within the store. This method of socialization is effective because the employees are not just reading the rules and norms. They are submerged in the environment first hand.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Chapter 4 Blog 4- Feedback
Chapter 4 Blog 4
The concept I chose to examine from chapter 4 is the importance of feedback. Feedback is a system of loops that connects communication and action. When conducting business at an organization the main goal is pleasing your customers and making a profit. You want them to come back to the organization time after time. When customers express their ideas to the organization about what they expect to get out of their product or service it gives the organization a chance to better serve the customers. Feedback allows this to happen by giving the public or customers a chance to communicate with the organization. In my personal experience, the customers I dealt with provided feedback by asking us if we were going to carry certain labels of clothing. They would contact the owner and ask if she could order various items. As a result the owner would order the things and take the requests as a form of feedback the customers were offering because they were letting us know what they want.
Chapter 4 Blog 1- Goals
Chapter 4 Blog 1
In Chapter 4 the concept I chose to discuss is goals. The text supports that when looking at goals from a scientific management perspective, goals remain central. Individuals create personal goals, while organizations create goals that are shared by everyone involved in the organization. Organizations tend to direct their business plans and activities around the goals. For instance, say March has a heavy goal for an organization, at my place of work we would plan a party for our valued customers with incentives if they show up and spend money. This way, we are meeting the expectations of our clientele while meeting our organizations shared goal. In my opinion, goals are great ways to motivate us and our team of employees. Goals as a whole give the employee and the organization some sort of guideline to work off of and something to work for too. Goals provide organization as well. If you are looking at personal goals- they can help you to shape your habits and actions to meet a certain requirement you have set for your self. From an organization perspective, goals can help the management team make sure all employees are on the same page in terms of their plan of action to help attain the goal and make the organization a success.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Chapter 3 Blog 2 - Scientific Management
Chapter 3 Blog 2
In Chapter 3 I chose Frederick Taylor’s scientific management development. This concept is discussed in the text, as a concept, which deals with the assumption that management, is a true science resting on clearly defined laws, rules and principles. In my opinion, scientific management is an important aspect of any organization. While we can all appreciate a relaxed work environment we know that the success lies in the amount of organization that takes place. Scientific management is required to maintain the professionalism and organization necessary to provide the best product or services to the consumer. In my experiences managing a clothing store where all of the employees were close friends, we knew that while we were conducting business at work our friendship was set aside and different roles of scientific management were delegated to those who best fit the position. Taylor’s motive behind scientific management was to simply improve the over all nature of any work environment. Scientific is capable of doing just that and can become a huge part of an organizations success.
Chapter 3 concept: Principle of supportive relationships.
The first concept out of Chapter 3 that I chose to discuss is Rensis Likert’s principle of supportive relationships. The text defines the meaning of this as a principle, which believes that all interactions within an organization should support individual self worth, and importance, with emphasis on the supportive relationships within work groups and open communication among them. In my opinion this concept is especially important to consider in the workplace because the more positive communication that takes place will result in more success in the organization. Positive communication acts as a motivator to the employees. In my personal experience managing a high end clothing boutique, the more positive feedback we were provided with by the owner, the more we were motivated to go above and beyond. In return, this concept will give organizations the competitive advantage necessary in separating themselves from other similar organizations.