Week 9, Reflection

A reflection paper or presentation is often used in colleges to identify how well students are able to apply course concepts. For this posting (which should be more in depth and longer than previous postings) tell us the following:
1) Explain what you learned and the insights you had from completing the blog assignments. Be specific.
2) Include what you learned from reading the comments posted by your classmates.
3) Identify which blog assignment you felt contributed the most to your professional communications skills.
This is your final blogging assignment and is worth 20 points.

Week 8: The workplace of the future

Read the article titled, “When Gen X Runs the Show,” at http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1898024_1898023_1898086,00.html What is your reaction? What special skill do you have (or need to develop) that will help you in the workplace described in the article?

Week 7: Communication competence

Describe someone you know (a mentor, family member, boss, co-worker, teacher, friend) who is a good communicator. Explain what you think this person does that makes him or her a good communicator. Be specific. For example, my father was a good communicator. He listened carefully, he thought before he spoke, and he did not digress from the main topic.

Week 6: Interpersonal communications isn’t just in the workplace

Read the following article titled, “Words Don’t Mean What They Mean” by Steve Pinker at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1659772,00.html Describe your reaction to the article, and how what you’ve learned from it can be applied to the workplace. Be specific.

Week 5: Take the week off from blogging

To give you some extra time to prepare for your presentations, there is no blog assignment this week. Be sure to check back next week.

Week 4, Chapter 5: Presentations

Describe an effective presentation that you attended in person. This can be a meeting, a workshop, a training session, or anything where one person presented information to a group of three or more people in a business setting. In your opinion, was it effective? Why or why not? Did the speaker use visual aids such as slides, handouts, or other objects? If so, were they effective? What would you have done differently?

Week 3, Chapter 3: Communication across cultures

Give an example from your own life, either personal or professional, where you interacted with someone from another culture. Was the interaction effective, i.e. did the message result in appropriate action or response? If no, how could the communication have been improved? If yes, what made the communication work?

Week 2, Chapter 2: Developing Team, Listening and Etiquette Skills

A team is defined as a group of three or more people who interact over time to achieve a goal or a purpose (Guffey). You probably have participated in a number of teams throughout your life. Examples include Boy and Girl Scout troops, sports teams, school clubs, theater groups, music groups, and dozens of others, including workplace committees.

Select one of the teams you have participated in and describe it to us. Be sure to tell us how many were in the team, what the team’s goal was, and whether the goal was accomplished. Be specific.

Week 1: Introduction to blogging

We will be studying how communication is an important part of your success not only in getting the job, but in succeeding at it. Each week, there will be an assignment related to the textbook reading and lecture. Read the postings by your classmates as well as posting your own response.

Between now and 5 p.m. Friday, April 10, enter a comment on this post. Your comment can be as simple as "hello everyone" or as detailed as you wish. See the instructions on the right side of the screen if you are new to blogging. For this week only, you will receive five points for participation. The goal is to be sure you are registered and able to participate on this blog before the formal blogging assignments begin in Week 2 (April 13 through April 17). Once the formal assignments begin, you will be able to earn up to 10 points depending on the quality of your response. Feel free to scroll down and click on "archives" to see what other students in previous classes have written.

Week 6, Presentations (final blog assignment)

Describe an effective presentation that you attended in person. This can be a meeting, a workshop, a training session, or anything where one person presented information to a group of three or more people in a business setting. In your opinion, was it effective? Why or why not? Did the speaker use visual aids such as slides, handouts, or other objects? If so, were they effective? What would you have done differently?

Week 5, Chapter 5: Communicating in person, in meetings, by telephone and digitally

Read the following article titled, “Words Don’t Mean What They Mean” by Steve Pinker at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1659772,00.html Describe your reaction to the article, and how what you’ve learned from it can be applied to the workplace. Be specific.

Week 4, Chapter 4: Routine Email Messages and Memos

Should companies have the right to monitor employees’ email and instant messages? Explain why or why not. Also, are there some factors you think would change your opinion, such as if the company had a clearly written policy that all employees had to sign? Any other factors that might affect the issue?

Week 3, Chapter 3: Communicating Across Cultures

Give an example from your own life, either personal or professional, where you interacted with someone from another culture. Was the interaction effective, i.e. did the message result in appropriate action or response? If no, how could the communication have been improved? If yes, what made the communication work?

Note that this week’s assignment as well as those to follow will be worth a maximum of ten points: up to five points for appropriate and respectful responses that fully address the issue and up to five for grammatical and error-free writing.

Week 2, Introduction to blogging

We will be studying how communication is an important part of your success not only in getting the job, but in succeeding at it. Each week, there will be an assignment related to the textbook reading and lecture. Read the postings by your classmates as well as posting your own response.

Between now and 5 p.m. Friday, January 16, enter a comment on this post. Your comment can be as simple as "hello everyone" or as detailed as you wish. See the instructions on the right side of the screen if you are new to blogging. For this week only, you will receive five points for participation. The goal is to be sure you are registered and able to participate on this blog before the formal blogging assignments begin in Week 3 (January 19 through January 23). Once the formal assignments begin, you will be able to earn up to 10 points depending on the quality of your response. Feel free to scroll down and click on "archives" to see what other students in previous classes have written.