My Way of Communication (COM 321 Final)

     

           There is not a day that goes by where I do not communicate with a single person.  I wake up with my wife and am instantly communicating; my kids soon thereafter.  I go to work where, I serve as a Communications Systems Operator (CSO) for the United States Air Force.  My world revolves around creating and building cohesive interpersonal and group relationships and solid communication.  Through my daily interaction with family, friends, workmates, and college classes I develop and refine my capacity for articulate colloquy and cunning parley.

Professional Organizations

It never really occurred to me to branch out and look for an organization of professionals who share the same education as me.  Now that we are on the cusp of graduation, I feel it might behoove me to branch out and try new things.  Below are the five I selected, placed in my particular order of interest.

The Color Line (HIS 204 Assignment)

            After the Civil War had ended, millions of ethnic minorities had expected racial equality on par with their white counterparts.  Much to their chagrin, the racial issues that had plagued them before the war continued right on and into the new century.  Even the men of color who fought and whose fellow brothers in arms died for the Union Army were thrust back into pre-war prejudices that they had sacrificed so much to be rid of.  The millions of immigrants who entered America over the course of a few decades were also subject to this way of life.  How could a country, founded on the basis of equality, be so unjust?

Ethical Behavior in Persuasion

Persuading the many different types of people we encounter can be a very difficult task.  People are hard-headed, set in their ways, or aren’t interested in what we might want them to believe.  This difficulty might inspire some take an unethical approach to their attempt at persuasion.  Here we will examine the importance of ethical behavior as well as the impact it has on persuasion.

 There are different situations in which the ethics of persuasion can come into question.  Public relations scholars Benton Danner and Spiro Kiousis provide us with a “taxonomy of means and ends” that charts the possibilities in four categories:

My Mom (ENG 325 Assignment)

           There was never a moment in my life where I wasn't a momma's boy.  I am proud to admit it and I welcome nay-sayers to go ahead and say nay.  My mother was simply the best.  A waitress by trade at the Pine Tavern Restaurant in Bend, Oregon, she was so much more than that word defines; more than whatever words I might conjure up.  If ever someone I knew met her, they went out of their way to mention just how crazy lucky I was to have a mom like her.  After a five year battle with Multiple Myeloma, my mother passed away in May 2012.  She was 55.

Disney World!

Living in Tampa, we are one hour from Disney World.  Thankfully, season passes were given to us as Christmas presents by my mother/father-in-law.  It's great to take a break from work and school and close down the Magic Kingdom!  We will be back soon!

What Makes a Good Blog? / Classmate Blog Reviews

            

           There are approximately 152 million blogs on the internet as of November 2013 (Gaille, 2013).  Making a blog stand out can be extraordinarily difficult, especially if there are already millions of blogs dedicated to your blog's subject matter.  In an attempt to make an effective and visually appealing blog, there are three main areas to focus on: Content, Design, and Functionality.  After we discuss these areas, I will shortly evaluate three of my fellow COM 480 classmate's blogs.

COM 360 Assignment - A Look Into Videogame Communication

Communicating in Fake Life

            Communicating in the real world certainly has its challenges.  Maintaining eye contact, avoiding social faux pas, telephone etiquette - it can get to be a little difficult.  Now picture initiating an intellectual conversation while simultaneously firing off magic spells or locking on an enemy aircraft with a heat-seeking missile.  Sounds slightly ridiculous, right?

Email Etiquette (COM 425 Assignment)

Composing and sending an email is one of the easiest activities that a person can accomplish on the internet.  It is also one of the activities that most people do incorrectly every time.   Yes, email can get information to the recipient instantly, but it can also cause many problems for the sender in the same amount of time.  Spelling and grammar errors could make an employee look like a dolt to the boss.  Sending the wrong email to the wrong person could prove very embarrassing, especially if said email contains personal information.  The best rule of thumb to follow when sending emails is to slow down.

Communications Major Career Choices

The following is a list of five possible career choices for a Communications major:

Humor in Persuasion (COM 323 Assignment)

A Rabbi, a Priest, and a Minister walk into a bar…

            To some degree, everyone likes humor.  It can serve to break the ice or ease a tense situation.  Humor can bring people together and even help build the relationship. Is it always appropriate? Perhaps not; like the saying goes, “There is a time and place for everything.” In persuasion, humor can have a place and it cannot.

Delivering Bad News Tactfully and Effectively (Week 3 Assignment)

The following is a hypothetical situation (in bold) and how I would deal with it:

You are a department manager in a mid-sized company that provides technology support services.  You have ten employees who are required to maintain a high level of technical expertise and deliver excellent customer service.  One of your employees, who has been with the company for two years, is performing at a substandard level and you have received numerous complaints from customers and coworkers.  In addition, this employee has displayed confrontational behavior which has created a hostile environment.  You must now meet with this employee and deliver an ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.         

            Dealing with multiple employees requires a manager to take special care that he or she addresses each person's individual needs.  Some managers only care about the numbers and will come down hard on their employees and some will try too hard to be friends which will lead to their employees walking all over them.  The key is to find a balance between hardness and fairness.

Silly Faces Time!

It's Disney World week again.  Since the in-laws got us annual passes, we have gone so many times I lost count!  My boys have no idea how spoiled they are! Back to Magic Kingdom tomorrow...

Thoughts on Intercultural Communication

Being a member in the Air Force allows me the privilege of being able to work in a very multicultural and multiethnic work environment.  However I feel working with fellow Americans, regardless of background, is quite easy.  The major experiences with intercultural communications I have had were when I was stationed in Okinawa (for 4 ½ years) and in Germany (for 3 years).  Being able to intermingle with people from dramatically different cultures has been a very educational experience for me, to say the least.

A Story of Conflict

I do not normally find myself in verbal conflict with my friends, family, or coworkers.  I am one of those people that seem to be able to get along with others.  Sometimes, however, you just can’t avoid conflict.  This is a very true situation in the military – especially with people of like ranks.  When you are the same rank as someone else there is no, “do this now, that’s an order.”  They are considered your peer and you must either treat them that way or find yourself in a conflict.