Intercultural Team Project, for Class on April 24, 2008

1)         Our Intercultural Team Project was due this day.  I worked with three other team members on introducing the business culture of Japan.  We had a great time working together.  All of us researched the topic and always came prepared to our meetings.  After the project was done, one of us had to sit and discuss it with others.  Miniru volunteered to discuss this project in front of the class.  There were other countries that were presented aside from Japan, i.e. Germany, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, India and France. I think all of the presenters did a great job in painting the business culture from these countries for all of us. 

 

2)         http://www.intercultural.org/

This is a private organization that teaches others how to effectively communicate with intercultural individuals.

 

            http://www.immi.se/intercultural/

            This is a journal of intercultural communication that talks about differences between cultures.

 

            http://www.global-intercultural-communication.com/index.htm

This is an online website that teaches the communication in Asian countries, which includes Japan.

 

3)         I have never had to do a presentation or write a paper on a different culture.  However, I do think that this was very beneficial to my job situation.  My responsibility is not only to work with Americans but also other nations when making decisions.  In my research process, I research companies throughout the world.  In order to suggest a good investment when researching, I have looking into companies that are headquartered in China, Japan, Germany, France, etc.  However, my interaction with different nations does not only come from researching companies, but also from talking to brokers.  Most of the brokers that we talk to are situated in New York or Chicago.  This is where a good part of the workforce is actually international.  I think this project will help me better understand the culture of the people, with whom I am working on a daily basis. 

 

Consensus, for Class on April 10, 2008

1)   During one of our last classes, we discussed what consensus means.  To have a consensus is to decide on issues without voting, but with expressing one’s opinion.  After we finished our discussion of what consensus is, we then had an exercise to fulfill.  We were given a scenario of an airplane crash in the Amazon rain forest.  After the crash we and another four people on our team had to decide what items to take with us.  We had to number the items according to importance, i.e. item number one was the most important one and item number fifteen was the least important one.  Our team had a very hard time negotiating and agreeing upon a consensus, due to strong opinions. 

 

2)   http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consensus

This is a website that gives a definition of what consensus is.

http://www.consensus.net/ 

This website teaches about the consensus.

 http://www.decisionlens.com/landing.php?ID=10

This is a software that helps with group decision making.

3)   In my observations, I have come to a conclusion that having a consensus is very hard.  There are too many people ready to give their opinion without consideration of the other opinions.  I have to admit, that I myself can come across that way.  When I received my MBTI scores, I was very surprised to find out that the profile fit me well.  My personality is called “Extraverted Thinking with Sensing.”  This means that I follow logic and facts, but am not willing to put my emotions into action.  I have my own believes on how things should be done, and am not concerned with other people’s opinions.  I would be lying if I didn’t admit to these accusations.  I really am more of a factual and very objective person.  However good that may sound, my inability to include feeling on certain issues is something that I strive to get away from.  I do work hard by letting others speak their minds.  The organized and factual based personality is also visible at work.  This is where it is asked of me to defend my opinion.  I do this without hesitation.  However, I also do admit when I don’t know certain answers.  I certainly do not think that I have an answer for everything.   

 

 

 

 

Crisis Communications, Chapter 10 for Class on April 3, 2008

  

1)         A crisis is when an unexpected event occurs.  Furthermore, a crisis can be caused by humans (oil spills, genetic engineering, etc.) or it can be caused by nature (Katrina, tsunami, etc.).  A crisis always comes as a shock.  We were able to read about crisis in Chapter 10 of our book.  The book provided a few examples on crisis such as Tylenol scare caused by cyanide, Pellegrino mineral water scare caused by pesticide, etc.  The last part of this chapter explained a crisis with which Coca Cola was faced in India.  Coke was accused by a non-government organization for using contaminated water in their products.  We have watched a few short movies on how Coke and NSG have each represented their point of view on this matter.  One thing is for sure, India is a country that suffers from shortage of water.  Coke’s usage of water in India contributed to disliking of Coke’s products by Indian population.

2)                  http://www.indiaresource.org/campaigns/coke/index.html

This is a website made by India Resource Center that talks about the Coca Cola Co.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2006/mar/19/business.india1

This is a website that gives some statistics on Coke’s usage of water in India and world wide.

 

 

http://www.indiaresource.org/campaigns/coke/images/quitindia.jpg

This is a protester of Coke in India. 

 

3)         I cannot say that I have been involved in any kind of corporate crisis situation.  However, I have read a few crisis situations in the Wall Street Journal.  The first crisis that comes to my mind is Enron.  Enron was a company that had worked together with Arthur Andersen accounting firm on covering up certain costs and profits.  This was probably one of the most publicized crisis after the one of World Com.  Another crisis that comes to my mind, and it happened only recently, would be the sub-prime catastrophe in our markets.  Due to banks lending money to individuals, who otherwise could not afford mortgages, some banks had to write off billions of dollars.  One of the banks was Citigroup.  Due to incredible amount of write-offs, Citigroup’s reputation reflected itself in its stock price as it went down in less than a year from $50 to below $20.  

 

 

 

Corporate Communication Relevance, January 14 – April 24, 2008

1)         Ever since the beginning of the spring semester, we have been instructed to look into the importance of     communication.  We have been given examples by listening to videos, watching 60 Minutes, reading the Wall Street Journal and engaging in discussions, of how important organizational communication really is.  The truth is, organizational communication is not only important, but it is necessary for a business to succeed.  Without communication employees and managers do not see the achievement of same goals.  It is without communication that businesses tend to suffer from weak employee retention and production. 

 2) http://www.communicationstrat.com/news.asp?id=65

            This is a webpage posted by Communication Strategy Consultants, who work with companies on building their communication skills.

 http://www.intranetjournal.com/articles/200510/ij_10_26_05a.html

This is an article posted by Intranet Journal on the Evolution of Corporate Communication.

This is a poster developed to encourage corporate communication.  “Communication That Stands Out Wins The Game” really speaks for itself.  The following is the website from which this picture came:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.corporate-writing.com/images/communication.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.corporate-writing.com/&h=43&w=141&sz=31&tbnid=rUnqmGjJsBsJ:&tbnh=43&tbnw=141&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcorporate%2Bcommunication%2Bpictures&hl=en&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=image&cd=3

3)         The idea behind this class was certainly to teach us the importance of corporate communication.  I am proud to say that I have learned a lot.  As someone who is employed full time, I fully agree that communication is of high importance.  I personally believe that the communication within my work environment is bad.  Our managers do not tend to verbalize goals on the corporate level as much as they should.  There is also animosity between different departments, due to the fact that people are not well informed of their responsibilities.  In the past, I thought that this kind of communication was everywhere the same.  But now I know that’s not the case.  I do believe that the managers for which I work would do better communicating if they would attend this class.

 

 

Communication Technologies, January 14 – April 24, 2008

 

1)             1)       Before I took this class, I was not sure what different communication technologies were available.  It took me a whole semester to understand and use different communication technologies.  In this class we have delivered written assignments, speeches, but after all we have used different venues of communication.  We have read our textbook, had discussions in class, had discussion groups online using the chat room, had discussions by posting our answers to questions in an email format, had used a blog to keep our information stored instead of a diary, and we have also worked in groups as well as individually.  The first presentation that was done in a group was very challenging, as we used power point slides with picture and no words. 

 

2)                  http://www.loa-cnr.it/Papers/EGOS-Cuel-Ferrario.pdf  

 This is a paper written by Roberta Cuel and Roberta Ferrario on technological changes in organizational communication.

 

http://wordpress.com/

This is another way to communicate with others.  This is a website for blog postings.  A great way to communicate and keep others updated!

 

http://www.physiciansnews.com/computers/1000.html

This is an article on how communication has changed due to technological advances.

 

3)         I have enjoyed learning about new ways to communicate.  I have never used a blog as a ways of communicating.  But I do think that it was very helpful instead of a journal.  Furthermore, I do use email when communicating with others, but I do not tend to use chat rooms.  I do believe that chat rooms are also a good way of communicating with others.  In conclusion, because of this class I have bee able to learn new ways of communication as well as build my confidence using them. 

 

 

 

Tactical to Strategic Communications, March 27 – April 2, 2008

1)      On March 27th, our regular class was held online.  We were asked to watch a video “From Tactical to Strategic: Refocusing the Internal Communication Function.”  This video presented the idea of communication professionals and what they mean now compared to what they meant in the past.  After watching the video, we were asked to answer three questions.  All of our answers had to be posted by March 31^st.  The last part of our online activity involved answering an additional six questions by April 2^nd.  This exercise helped us develop another way of communicating aside from sitting in class and answering questions.

2)      http://www.verbaljudo.org/

This is a website for a company that is involved in tactical communication

http://www.stratcomminc.com/

This is a company that is involved in strategic communication.

http://www.quintcareers.com/online_networking-dos-donts.html

This is a website to online discussion etiquettes.  What one should or should not do while conversing online.

 3)         I have to be honest and say that I have not had much online experience.  Most of my job related work is dealt in the office or on the road.  The only exposure to online activities that I had was during my undergraduate degree at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  There were two courses that had an online assignment.  One of them was political science and the other one was biology.  However, none of these classes were involved online as much as the organizational communication course which I am currently taking.  In the past, most of the courses had either exams or quizzes online.  However, none of them had an extensive online discussion platform.  I really enjoyed learning about communication and changes throughout decades.  I have learned how communication has evolved from a simple form to a more complicated form.  Furthermore, I now understand that every company has to decide for themselves if they would like to use a tactical or strategic form of communication, or both.

Media Relations, Chapter 6, March 20, 2008

 1)      On Thursday March 20^th we presented our 30 second Speech.  This time the goal of our speech was to sell ourselves to potential employees.  It felt very interesting, to a point where I couldn’t help it but feel uncomfortable.  I couldn’t sound too cocky yet I had to be convincing in order to “sell myself.”  Then we discussed the Coors Co. and their battle on the television program 60 Minutes.  We have concluded, by reading the chapter of our book on Media Relations as well as by discussing the issue, media relations department is a detrimental part of a company.  At the end of our class, we had an exercise to finish that involved the Coors Co. 20 years later.  We had to discuss if the Coors Co.  had changed their approach when dealing with employees.

2)      http://www.ccfbest.org/communications/30secondelevator.htm

This is a website on how to prepare for 30 second speech.

 http://jobstar.org/hidden/asher2.php

This is a website that gives examples on 30 second speeches.

 www.coors.com

This is the website for Coors company.

3)  In my current job, I have to always be prepared to speak fast and think on my feet.  During our client calls as well as management discussions, we are asked to think on our feet and make compelling arguments.  Sometimes it is hard to come up with a good point.  However, it is very essential in this business to know how to conduct oneself and to think fast.  In addition to us thinking on our feet, our media relations department promotes any kind of market reviews that we do.  This of course includes writing updates on the economy as well as television appearances.  I personally have not had a chance to go on TV, but I have been asked to give presentations to a group of people. 

   

 

 

 

Media Relations, Chapter 6, February 28, 2008

 

1)        In our class last Thursday, we started talking about media relations and what they mean for companies.  We went over our homework on Coors and decided that the best thing for Coors was to “face the music” and come out to the media.  We also had a public speaker, Michelle Fryling from IUP who was kind enough to explain to us how she communicates with the media.  The general conclusion of the class was, the best way to approach media is to have a central person who is responsible for interviews.  This is what Michelle Fryling does for IUP.  She is the contact person for any IUP media relations.  Michelle explained to us that it is much easier to have one person, because they are comfortable with the media and are well educated to answer any kinds of questions.

 

http://www.managementhelp.org/pblc_rel/pblc_rel.htm

This is a company that works with you on media relations and image building.

 

http://www.fcc.gov/omr/

This is another media relations page and it is from the perspective of Federal Communications Commission.

 

http://old.www.iup.edu/publicrelations/

 

Media Relations webpage for IUP.

  3)         I have never had the experience to talk to media and personally would not feel comfortable doing it.  Currently, my superiors are interested on putting some of us on TV for media coverage.  They are hoping that we would be able to answer questions, in short interviews, on market situation.  In another example, I am always speaking to some of the reporters and relaying their message onto my supervisor.  Most of the reporters that I speak with call from CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, Pittsburgh Gazette, etc.  Our media coverage improved when we hired consultants who helped us build our image.  After a year of working with consultants, our company is now working on their own.  I think we have done a good job keeping up with market updates on our own. 

 

 

 

21 Century Organizational Trends, and Chapter 5, February 21, 2008

 1)           Last class we had presentations on 21^st Century Organizational Trends.  The presentation topics were on globalization, diversity, flexible, flat, and networked.  These topics had to answer on how they have affected communication in the 21^st century.  Throughout the past century our communication has changed, not only due to different channels used, but also through the way we define what communication is.  There are different forms of communication.  There is the physical communication in which we can use our hands, mouth, etc. to express ourselves but there is also the possibility of non-physical and non-verbal communication.  In this instance different signs, logos, pictures would be another way of communicating.  As Chapter 5 points out, for different companies, communicating is not just what one says, it’s also one’s logo and what one does that makes one different and more competitive than others.  In Chapter 6, we will face the subject of Media Relations.  This part of the company brings investors, employees, etc. closer to the entity.

2) 

 

 

http://www.ncrel.org/engauge/skills/effcomm5.htm

 This website refers to what it means to communicate in the 21^st century and what are different channels of communication for 21^st century.

 http://www.iec.org/events/2006/21/conference/

This is a website for a communication conference, or a world forum.

 http://www.storiaolivetti.telecomitalia.it/uk/cgi-bin/societa/design_olivetti.asp

 This is a website for Olivetti company that develops different logos.

 3)         I have personally witnessed a change in communication even during my lifetime.  The best example is the ability to send messages via internet.  As I grew up in the 80’s, messaging was not a norm when communicating with friends or even teachers.  In today’s world, I think I spend more time typing messages than talking over the phone.  Even though the flow of information is definitely faster in today’s world, the “face to face” or “phone to phone” conversations are getting fewer.  Another example is the work we do in school or on a job.  We don’t hand write summaries anymore, but use computer for writing and calculating.  Typing takes up less time for me, than writing, therefore my communication with others is faster.   

On-Line Activity, Recruiting, February 14, 2008

1)  On February 14, 2008, we were assigned an on-line activity, which included a discussion about recruiting.  We were first assigned to watch a video, which discussed what it means to recruit and retain the new generation of employees.  After watching this video, I collected information about today’s workforce and what it means to be either senior employee or a new generation employees.  I came to understand that regardless of being a senior or new generation employee there are always upsides or downsides.  After reading literature on this subject, we had to discuss five questions on how to recruit and retain employees.  Our discussion was rather good, as we were able to come up with different scenarios that could help managers recruit and retain employees.  We had concluded that employee empowerment, rewards, training, etc. all help with retaining employees.

2) http://www.profilesinternational.com/SOL_Recruitment_and_Staffing.aspx

This is an agency that offers employee recruiting services.

http://www.doleta.gov/

This is a government webpage that offers training.

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0WTbx8oirdHA2cB1ROJzbkF?p=training+employees&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-501&x=wrt&js=1&ni=20

This is a picture of an employee being trained.

3)  So far I have worked for two banks.  The first bank I have worked for really did not bother to empower employees in any way shape or form.  The job was rather mundane, and bosses were not concerned about employee motivation. This is when I realized that I should look for a different job.  Starting at the second bank, I hoped for more support, empowerment, direction, learning, motivation, etc.  I am saddened to say that even the second job did not offer any of the above mentioned scenarios.  I am not sure if it is the banking industry, or just current lack of management communication.