democracy and dialogue

For the final blog in the lecture democracy and dialogue, the concept that I found most meaningful was deliberative democracy because once again it had to deal with being a great listener and supportive amongst your co-workers. Deliberative democracy gives people a chance to say whats on their mind or give feedback to how they feel about a certain topic or discussion that they make as a team. It gives people a chance to voice their opinions and participate in the discussions. It's about making decisions as a group and not by what one person decides. It's about being open to considerate to other peoples thoughts or suggestions. Deliberative democracy is a great concept period. How it relates to my experiences at my particular job is that when we have a staff meeting, and our supervisors have a particular problem that they address, we are able to provide feedback to help determine if that would work well or not, or how to fix the problem. To me, I find it important because if the supervisors make rash decisions without being open to what we have to say, it might not work well to our customers; considering the fact that myself and others are the ones dealing with the customers in the first place. The supervisors are mainly in their offices.

Chapter 11

In chapter 11, the concept that I had found to be the most meaningful to me was mindful because it dealt with having to have an open mind and consideration to others and how to deal with certain issues that come up. There are a few things that the author explains about on ways people become more mindful during different situations. Each of the conditions describes is very much true on how people become more mindful, and it's very important that people take these conditions very seriously. Without having an open mind at a certain job, it will be hard to get around and understand the way people think and feel. During certain situations that occur at work or when someone is having problems with another co-worker, it's important to take into consideration how the other person feels and how you should handle. Most people become more aware of these conditions as it occurs. When there's a problem, that person automatically thinks about how they6 should react or how to handle that particular situation. Like the book has said, " we naturally become more mindful when we sense danger, are confused, or perceive a negative outcome( pg. 345)." It reflects to my own experiences because when there is a situation with a costumer and they are unhappy about something, I automatically take into consideration about what is the best way to handle it. The first thing for me is to listen to their problem.

Chapter 9

In chapter 9, the concept from that reading that had a lot of meaning to me was open communication. This is actually a great concept in general because in any sort of job or even relationship, you need to be open and honest with one another. In terms of a job, however, having open communication with your supervisor or another employee is important and meaningful because without communication, things in the work environment could go bad. People would misinterpret what the other person is trying to say without open communication. It's very easy and appreciative when you're a great listener and approachable to talk to. It makes your job as well as others more complex and at ease. It relates to myself because at my job, communication tends to lack with one particular manager which makes it difficult to complete a task a certain way.

Chapter 7

For my chapter 7 blog, the concept I chose to write about was Rapport talk because in the book it talks about how women use conversations to build relationships using rapport talk. It describes the 5 main topics on what rapport talk emphasizes on which are: demonstrating equality through matching experiences, providing support and responsiveness, conversational maintenance, and personal, concrete details. This concept is very meaningful to me because in my own experiences I do find myself do exactly what each of these main points are describing. When I'm at work working with my fellow coworkers; its funny to believe that I am very responsive and very nurturing to my coworkers. I take the time to listen to what they have to say or about any problems that they might be having, I provide support and tentativeness when they talk. When I talk to other coworkers who are girls, we are very detailed in our conversations and learn to become open and personal with one another. I think that it's very important to have these concepts because it not only makes you a very good listener, but it also makes you a better person to talk to and also very approachable later in life if you ever become a supervisor.

lecture blog

For my final blog entry in week 2, I decided to write about metaphors. In the lecture it describes how "we have different metaphors for the same word, highlighting different interpretations of that word." To me this is very true and is very meaningful to me. Everyone has their own interpretation on what a single word can mean. Take the word love for example. People can say that they love a certain food or smell and that's what love means to them at that very moment. Other people use the term love as a symbolic thing. By showing someone that they love them, they show it by bringing them flowers or writing them poetry. Others show that they love someone by an engagement ring. There are so many words out there that have many interpretations of them., and that's what makes this society so special and different. It reflects to my own experiences in organizations because when I'm at work and I tell a friend that it was a busy day , it could mean different things. There are times when i'm busy helping customers or answering a lot of phone calls. Other examples of me being busy would be making copies for special events that we hold at our center or working on the staff schedule. There are many different metaphors for busy and this are just a few that I use when I say that I'm busy at work

Chapter 5

For chapter 5 the concept that I chose is values. Values are very meaningful to me because it's important to stick to the beliefs and values that you believe in. It's hard in certain organizations to follow what you believe in because you're getting paid to do whatever the organization requires you to do or what they believe in. But in other organizations, it's good and important to have value. The book had mentioned that value can be powerful in boosting employee loyalty and satisfication and it's true. Without the right values in an organization; people wouldn't want to stay with that exact job. They would want to find something better. It relates to me because at the job that I work at there isn't any real meaningful or employee satisfaction compared to other jobs that are out there. It's not a bad job; it could be better. They aren't that loyal to their employees at times and thats why people leave for better jobs that are more valuable.

Chapter 4

For chapter 4 I chose Peter Senge's learning organization because the 5 features that he discusses is very much important to have in an organization. This is a meaningful concept because we would apply what he said for each feature and apply it to our daily working habits. 1) system thinking: its important because people have to realize that when working in groups, all must succeed or fail together. 2) personal mastery: everyone has their own goals to meet and commit to learning how to achieve those goals and reflect upon them. 3) Flexible mental models: this is a great one because in organizations, its always good to change things up a bit. If you stick to the same way things are run, people get bored. 4) Shared vision: this is important because people have to realize that every task that they accomplish whether it's big or small counts and makes a difference in the organization. 5) Team learning: this one is most effective because people learn from other people its important, for groups working together; to make decisions together and apply feedback to what's being decided.

goofys blog #1

The first concept that I have chosen to write about is partisan because I really do believe that knowledge is shaped by theories and interpretations that people use to make sense of the world. I found this concept very meaningful because we get our interpretation and the way we define how our world is and going to be through something; and that something is knowledge. By having knowledge as a guideline to help define what we see and think about the world, we are starting from the mind of a person. The mind is what makes us believe, see, think, and act; and by being able to do all those things, one has to begin by challenging the mind through knowledge. When we develop our thoughts, that is partisan. We develop our thoughts throughout our daily lives and interpret them, we are creating a story. We develop images about what the world is like or things that go iin a work environment. Whatever our interpretation is, its developed by knowledge. It relates to my own experiences because at my job for example; there are times when sometimes my boss would say or do things because another employee (who is on the same level as myself and others) asked him to do so and he would because he doesn't like confrontation. So some employees including myself; have our own partisan views on our manager that we interpret.