A trend I have noticed in my business classes has been this idea of being effective and efficient at the same time in any business is pertinent to that business’s degree of success. I think a huge part of having an effective and efficient organizaion has a lot to do with exhibiting solid communication within the work environment. A perfect example of this would be workplace productivity going down due to team members not being able to communicate properly. So, what are the different ways we can communicate in the workplace and what type of work environments would each type of communication work best in. 

After doing a little research, I found that there are three different types of communication which include: interpersonal, nonverbal, and written communication. Study.com defines these three different types of communication in the following ways; interpersonal communication as communication between a small group of individuals, nonverbal communication as anything besides words such as facial expressions, and written communication as messages that are transferred to receivers in writing. Pavel Aramyan shows us that using one of these types of communication in a positive manner can cause less misunderstanding, empowerment, transparency, a healthy culture, and increased accountability.

In Sean’s blog, he discusses how the movie “Arrival” displays effective communication when a doctor must find a way to communicate with aliens that have landed on the planet. Sean states that the hardwork that goes into communication yields the greatest results and I think he is absolutely right when he says this. In this situation with the doctor and the aliens it seems that maybe a nonverbal communication would have been most effective at attempts to communicate with the alien since a language barrier clearly stood in the way. However, in other settings such as a kitchen, an interpersonal and verbal communication style would be the most effective since chefs do not have time to be writing down or using gestures when attempting to communicate with their staff. In addition, the type of work environment where written communication such as email would be most effective would be a realty office where the realtors need to be out in the field while also communicating with their staff.

Word Count: 368

Image Source:

“The Magic of Communication.” Voyage Control. N.p., 23 Feb. 2016. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.

Text Sources:

“5 Ways Workplace Communication Effectiveness Can Increase Productivity.” Easy Projects Project Management Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.

““Arrival” Offers Valuable Insight on Communication.” Sean Docherty. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.

“Types of Communication: Interpersonal, Non-Verbal, Written & Oral – Video & Lesson Transcript.” Study.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.

Tags: Comm292, blogproject

Many lectures and discussions we have had in this class have caused me to reflect on my decisions and experiences. One of the lectures that had this affect on me was our discussion about introverts versus extroverts. Following the lecture I remember my professor asking us to raise our hands if we considered ourselves to be an introvert and to my surprise many people that I would have categorized as extroverted considered themselves to be introverted. This made me wonder what characteristics would categorize someone as an introvert and what exactly it means to be an extroverted introvert? Would I, myself, be considered an introvert or an extrovert?

Joseph Castro from gizmodo.com attributes the characteristics of introverts as being quiet, reflective, and focused on the inner (mental) world. In this article introverts are mentioned as beings who shy away from high energy environments as it may cause them to feel overwhelmed. In addition, psychologytoday.com suggests that introverts maintain nine behavioral signs including: they enjoy having time to themselves, their best thinking occurs when they are alone, they lead best when others are self starters, they tend to be the last to raise their hand, they get asked for their opinion quite frequently, they often wear headphones in public, they prefer not to engage with people who seem angry or upset, they receive more calls and texts than they make, and they don’t typically initiate small talk with people they do not know well.

A fellow classmate of mine, Brandon, made a very good point in one of his blog posts which was that extroversion and introversion are not necessarily direct opposites. This is where the idea of an extroverted introvert comes from, also known as an ambivert. An ambivert is a mixture of the extrovert and the introvert maintaining characteristics such as they make friends easily, can talk for hours, but sometimes getting them out of the house can be impossible. According to unisoultheory.com, more than half of the world’s population is ambiverted. After sifting through all of the research I feel that I can now confidently describe myself as an ambivert due to my love for having my personal time but also my ability to be extremely social in the right environment.

Word Count: 373

Image Source:

Brutus, Wilkine, About Wilkine BrutusWilkine Brutus Is the Editor-in-chief of The Vanguard Element, a Website Featuring Social Commentary, Thought-provoking Content, and Short Films. He Is a Haitian-American Poet              Working on a Cross-genre Book Exploring the Human Condition, Richard P. Zemsky, and John McElhenney.”Shut Up Introverts: Ambiverts Deserve Attention, Too! -.” The Good Men Project. N.p., 21 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.

Text Sources:

Bennington-Castro, Joseph. “The Science of What Makes an Introvert and an Extrovert.”Io9. Io9.gizmodo.com, 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.

Lee, Brandon. “COMM 292: Blog 3 – 4 Types of Introversion? | Brandon Lee’s Blog.”Brandon Lees Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.

Reisch, Robyn, and About Robyn ReischRobyn Reisch Is a Penn State Graduate Who Lives in Colorado with Her Husband, Son, and Two Dogs. When She Is Not Writing, She Can Be Found Embracing the Shake at Pure Barre and Embracing Other Mommies at Her MOPS Group. “Extroverted Introverts: 10 Things to Know.” UST. N.p., 22 Mar. 2017. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.

“Nine Signs You’re Really an Introvert.” Psychology Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.

Tags: Comm292, blogproject

A lesson from our OB (organizational behaviour) class that has really stood out to me has been the idea of organizational culture. In order to understand an organization’s culture one would have to drill into that organization’s values, beliefs, attitudes, and ideas. Well, a huge part of an organization’s culture is formed by the key leaders and tends to typically take on a trickle down effect. These effects can be seen when the individuals at the top of the organization effect the ways in which everyone within the institution from the top to the bottom tend to dress, act, and perform their jobs. This type of effect can be a positive or negative one depending on what the expectations are.

Recently, my personal life took a sudden interest in the specific topic of organizational culture. I had begun working at a supposed marketing firm that was very successful and had many campaigns. However, soon after my first few days I was able to see the pyramid scheme that had been well established within this company. Many of the ideas they discussed in our morning meetings were about making money and being deceitful through the sales of merchant systems. After my third official day I had gained enough knowledge about the company’s culture that I decided to resign. I did not feel comfortable with the way the leaders within the company asked us to lie to small business owners in order to make a quick profit. In this situation, the organization’s values stemmed almost completely from money and it seemed to me that any ethics had been tossed to the side.  (image citation, 1)

A blog known as Office Vibe commented that greed is the ultimate culture killer, and the businesses that milk their employees without providing a decent atmosphere are not built for sustainability in today’s society (2).These comments made me wonder how company’s can effectively transform or create a more ethical culture. I found from our textbook that this type of change can be made by the manager(s) of the organization by the implementation of a few principles including: being a visible role model, communicating ethical expectations, providing ethics training, visibly rewarding ethical acts and punishing unethical ones, and providing protective mechanisms (3). I believe that over time these principles could transform the business world from being one of disception and greediness to one of modesty and integrity.

Word Count: 388

Image Source:

(1) Rick, Torben. “Corporate Culture Comics and Cartoons – Organizational Culture.” Torben Rick. N.p., 06 Feb.2017. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.

Text Sources:

(2) Fermin, Jeff. “What A Good Company Culture Does For Human Resources.” Office Vibe. N.p., 25 May 2015. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.

(3) Langton, Nancy, Stephen P. Robbins, Tim Judge, and Katherine Breward.Organizational Behaviour: Concepts. Controversies, Applications. Toronto: Pearson, 2016. Print.

Tags: Comm292, blogproject

One of the largest controversial topics that has been up for debate in the last few months has been the election of Mr. Donald Trump. I mean how could you not talk about a narcissistic psychopath? Well as I’m sure everyone knows; recently, as per vox news, Trump has signed an executive order that bans all immigrants and visa holders from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US for the next 90 days. The countries on the list includes: Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, and Libya.

I feel that everyone has the right to their own opinion, hence my very straight-forward description of Donald in my first paragraph. As per our textbook, a narcissist is what we call an arrogant person that requires excessive admiration and has a sense of entitlement. A psychopath is an individual that lacks concern for others and also has a lack of guilt or remorse when their own actions cause harm. I feel that Donald Trump shows no remorse for his actions and expects people to praise him even when he is causing thousands of people pain.

That being said, I wanted to bring up a story about some native people in the Los Angeles area. According to warrior publications, indigenous activists have started a social media campaign that has caught traction on both sides of the border using the slogan “no ban on stolen land.” The native americans joined the protests at American airports this past weekend, standing in solidarity with Muslim people and their allies against Trump’s travel ban. The picture above speaks a thousand words about how the aboriginal people whose ancestors originally inhabited what is now US soil feel about such a cruel act being passed. I would invite students from our class to speak out and make comments in regards to the action that the US has taken. As a United States citizen I can say that it truly saddens me to see my own country turning its back on innocent people.

Word Count: 330

Image Source:

Zag, Z. (2017, February 03). ‘No ban on stolen land,’ say Indigenous activists in U.S. Retrieved February 06, 2017, from https://warriorpublications.wordpress.com/2017/02/03/no-ban-on-stolen-land-say-indigenous-activists-in-u-s/#more-14690

Text Sources:

Langton, N. (2015). Organizational Behaviour: Concepts, Controversies, Applications, Seventh Canadian Edition Plus NEW MyManagementLab with Pearson EText — Access Card Package (7th ed.). Pearson Education Canada.

Lind, D. (2017, January 27). Trump’s executive order on refugees closes America to those who need it most. Retrieved February 06, 2017, from http://www.vox.com/2017/1/27/14370854/trump-refugee-ban-order-muslim

Zag, Z. (2017, February 03). ‘No ban on stolen land,’ say Indigenous activists in U.S. Retrieved February 06, 2017, from https://warriorpublications.wordpress.com/2017/02/03/no-ban-on-stolen-land-say-indigenous-activists-in-u-s/#more-14690

Tags: Comm292, blogproject

This week I decided that I wanted to write about the hot drama that went down on the popular US reality show, The Bachelor. The show is currently airing its 21st season which is filled with some wild characters. The women that were in the spotlight this week were Taylor, the wellness counselor, and Corinne, who runs a multi-million dollar company. The two women were deep in a quarrel when Taylor explains that Corinne lacks “emotional intelligence.” However, Corinne does not know what this means and takes it simply as Taylor calling her stupid. 

The cascading model of emotional intelligence contains the categories of conscientiousness, cognitive, and emotional stability. In this situation, with Taylor and Corinne, it is clear that Taylor has a somewhat elevated level of conscientiousness due to her ability to perceive the emotions and actions that Corinne is portraying. It seems that both women have a grasp on the cognitive category because they each understand why the other is feeling the way they are feeling, probably because they are fighting over a boy. However, it seems that the women let emotional stability escape them in this case because neither woman is able to control what she says or does in this situation.

According to today.com, Taylor’s definition of emotional intelligence in simple terms is that it speaks to “self-awareness.” Now the definition that we students have come to learn is that emotional intelligence is the ability to detect and to manage emotional cues and information. I felt that this example of organizational behavior in the real world is something that helps me personally better grasp how important it is to understand how people interact not only in business but also in all other aspects of everyday life. After watching this week’s episode I am able to apprehend how concepts from our book, such as: “People who know their own emotions and are good at reading others’ emotions may be more effective in their jobs,” may apply outside of the classroom.

Word Count: 333

Image Source:

H. (2017, January 30). Corinne Olympios or Taylor Nolan: Who Does ‘The Bachelor’ Choose Tonight? Retrieved February 05, 2017, from http://heavy.com/entertainment/2017/01/corinne-olympios-taylor-nolan-bachelor-the-who-does-nick-viall-choose-eliminate-send-home-pick/

Text Source:

H. (2017, January 30). Corinne Olympios or Taylor Nolan: Who Does ‘The Bachelor’ Choose Tonight? Retrieved February 05, 2017, from http://heavy.com/entertainment/2017/01/corinne-olympios-taylor-nolan-bachelor-the-who-does-nick-viall-choose-eliminate-send-home-pick/

Holohan, M. (2017, February 02). Bachelor contestant discusses emotional IQ: Is she right? Retrieved February 05, 2017, from http://www.today.com/health/bachelor-contestant-discusses-emotional-iq-she-right-t107718

Langton, N. (2015). Organizational Behaviour: Concepts, Controversies, Applications, Seventh Canadian Edition Plus NEW MyManagementLab with Pearson EText — Access Card Package (7th ed.). Pearson Education Canada.

Tags: Comm292, blogproject

Recently I have questioned the study of homeopathic cures, specifically the very well-known oil of oregano. In the past few days I had a friend that came down with this terrible flu that has been going around. He swears by oil of oregano and has been taking it for the last 4 days. He swears that it is helping significantly but every time I have seen him in these past few days he seems to be the same and is only slowly getting better due to his immune system fighting off the sickness. This made me wonder why people are so attracted to homeopathic medications and the results of such cures.

After doing a little reading I came across a story about a woman named Tamara Lovett. According to cbcnews she was recently found guilty of negligence and failure to provide necessaries of life to her seven year old son who passed away in March of 2013. The Calgary mother had been treating her son’s strep infection with dandelion tea and oil of oregano. According to the huffingtonpost though, oil of oregano is known as a means to fight colds and flus.

The entire case built around Tamara’s guilt is based on the attribution theory. The judge and the jury must have had the perception that this mother truly was neglecting her child, but was this the truth she saw? Maybe the truth she saw was what she had been told about homeopathic cures and the past experiences she had with using such medicine. Clearly the distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency of the situation all ranked on the high end of the scale. The big question is whether or not the fundamental attribution error played a key role in this case. Did the judge and/or jury underestimate external factors or overestimate internal factors when making judgements about the behavior of Tamara Lovett?

Word Count: 309

Image Source:

Grant, M. (2017, January 23). Calgary mom found guilty in death of sick son after giving him herbal remedies. Retrieved January 23, 2017, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/tamara-lovett-ryan-failing-provide-necessaries-trial-decision-1.3947694

Text Sources:

Coles, T. (2016, January 07). Why Oil Of Oregano Is Your New Best Friend. Retrieved January 23, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/11/14/oil-of-oregano-benefits_n_4274795.html

Grant, M. (2017, January 23). Calgary mom found guilty in death of sick son after giving him herbal remedies. Retrieved January 23, 2017, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/tamara-lovett-ryan-failing-provide-necessaries-trial-decision-1.3947694

Graveland, B. (2017, January). Calgary mother criminally negligent in son’s death. Retrieved January 23, 2017, from http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/calgary-mother-criminally-negligent-in-son-s-death-1.3252637

Tags: Comm292, blogproject