Business Writing Fall 2017 Blogs

Let’s talk about my first impressions of English 209. I was a bit anxious knowing that it’s an intensive writing class. The first day of class was just the basics, going over the syllabus and doing a group activity to work on communicating with people we don’t know. But I’m sure it’s going to get more intense throughout the rest of the semester. I’m willing to put my time in to learn the knowledge of Business Writing with the rest of you!

The first day of class was very interesting, it began just like every other class does on the first day. That is everyone introduces themselves to each other to somewhat get an idea for their new classmates. What I did not expect was to put our communication skills to test the very first day in the tower building activity. All of the groups were given twenty pieces of raw spaghetti noodles, a specific length of tape and one marsh mellow and the goal was to build the highest standing tower with the marsh mellow at the top of the tower. The tower had to stay standing for at least ten seconds. The activity itself was fun, but not knowing anyone in the class and trying to find a group was difficult for myself and some others. Once I found a group and we started on the activity it was a huge relief. Being a competitor, it made me forget about the stress and awkwardness I had before we began the activity. In the end, the first day of class was interesting, but a win/win for myself. My group won the activity and I got to know 3 others a little more than the rest of the class while working on communication skills.

I chose this exercise to do because I thought it would identify whether I have excellent or deficient listening skills. Because I purchased a used book from Chegg.com, I was not able to do the quiz without the access code. The task was to identify two listening behaviors that I need to work on the most.

I  been told that I have selective hearing, but, I disagree. My hearing is excellent and I can multi-listen as well as multi-task. The definition of hearing is the ability to perceive sound and listening means hearing with attention to sound. Two behaviors I need to work on are: 1) interpreting what was communicated correctly and 2) being able to relay the information verbatim.

What’s up guys? I see most of you have this down so bare with me for I do not. I am not sure what to write about either, so comments and pointers would be appreciated.

So far I like the direction this class is headed, the teacher and the students seem friendly and eager to teach and learn from one another. I am looking forward to our group projects we have this semester. After the first two days of class I can see there will be a lot of group work and collaboration between students to accomplish our set goals. The teacher seems down to earth and invested in his students and I am excited to see what I can absorb from him this semester.

A little about me, my name is Corey Weaver Im 27 and in college to work towards my way to med school. After this semester I will have obtained my associated in biology, then I will attend Mano for my bachelors.

Summertime is great when you live in Hawaii.

Like the anal retentive guy in the power point I had difficulty remembering how to create a blog. Voila! I finally figured it out, so here I am for the fifth time because the power point would not save.

 

 

Just want to know if anyone realized that Chapter 1 ESSENTIALS of BUSINESS COMMUNICATION download was supposed to be 9e was really 8e instead.

Welcome everyone,

I suppose for starters, I wanted to briefly talk about my first impressions of our Business Writing class. Initially, I was quite nervous of the fact that it’s 1) Writing Intensive and 2) Business Writing. However, I am sure I will acquire useful and valuable skills throughout this class. I have taken Interpersonal Speech last semester and I’ve noticed similarities as far as being an effective communicator goes. I also will have the occasional guidance of my mother who has a degree in Secretarial Science The class does seem laid back and the pace is manageable… so far anyway. I am looking forward to becoming comfortable and confident in Business Writing this semester!

Given the scenario, the possible communication challenges that I see are the following:

1. The opinions of the staff will most likely differ as to what type of food they would like, thus causing time-constraint issues
2. Management does not want to participate in the decision process, the owner only wants the final product (menu, cost, etc.)
3. Communication to multiple staff members regarding the possible choices may create a mass amount of emails for myself
4. In order to receive the cheaper rates, a decision needs to be made within the next few days

The issues are a combination of low-context and high-context communication options, but the majority of the issues seem to be high-context. The low-context issue is that the manager wants the final selections and costs, not the evolutionary process of the menu picking. However, the high-context issues are that the staff wants to be involved in the decision-making process and they want their input to be heard and considered. All of these problems need to be overcome in a timely manner and under budget in order for management to give the approval.

My solution would be to first, give a firm commitment to the caterer in order to receive the discounted rates, thus assuring that I will come under budget for the management. Next, I would send an e-mail to all the staff, the gist of which would say: I’m placing an order with such-and-such catering business for the upcoming company-sponsored celebration. The menu items are as follows: lechon, diniguan, pancit, lumpia, etc. If anyone has any dietary restrictions that would prevent them from enjoying the food, please let me know by such-and-such a date, and we will accommodate you by providing two different plate lunch options to choose from. Thank you”. Going this route eliminates the back and forth between the staff and me regarding menu items and restaurants, thus ensuring that I will be on schedule. By noting that accommodations can be made in certain instances, I leave the possibility open that other menu items (e.g. the two different plate lunches) can be chosen. By selecting a limited number of plate lunch options in advance, I will eliminate the madness of having to order and keep track of multiple different plate combinations while, at the same time, giving the staff members the impression that they have the freedom to choose their own food. Hopefully, this will accomplish my goals of placating managements desire to come in under budget and on schedule, helping my friend grow his/her new business and giving the staff the impression that they have the freedom of choice. 

Effective Group Communication

1.) When was the last time you had a communication problem?    

    The most current situation was last semester in my Hawaiian studies class. The final paper was a group collaboration on various subjects impacting Hawaii and its residents. Total page count for the paper was, if I remember correctly, 25 pages which were to be divided evenly between the 5 members of my group, thus making each individuals contribution a minimum of 5 pages. Initially, we set up a shared Google document so that each member of the group could contribute accordingly as their free time allowed and we could all view the progress of the paper as the days went by. Per usual, however, there were a few members that waited until the last week to start their portions of the paper, and one, in particular, waited until 2 days before the paper was due to send out a mass e-mail to all the members of the group stating that he was “too busy” to do his portion, and he was wondering if someone could do it for him. Personally, I was also very busy during the final week of school, so I did not readily volunteer, but someone did and she finished his portion for him. This basically came down to a lack of commitment on the slacker’s side as well as some basic respect for the members of his group. 

2.) What are a few general aspects of communication problems your group can identify?

• lack of dedication and commitment
• differing interpretations of what was said
• general laziness
• someone not understanding the importance of what information needs to be relayed

 

General Aspects of Communication Problems

– lack of communication eg: no updates about changes, communication system is complicated, people don’t relay information

– misinterpretations eg: offense taken/given unintentionally

-cultural differences: direct

-lack of caring: indirect