Debs4web

April Is Workplace Conflict Awareness Month

2006-04-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2006/4/emw367192.htm
This news release discusses the fact that April is workplace conflict awareness month. It recognizes that conflict is normal in all environments and relationships and also that the best way to deal with conflict is to keep it creative. If you deal with conflict in a creative and positive manner then it can not become a destructive force to you or the people around you. This article also discusses that fact that many people try to avoid conflict to the point that they ignore that it is there until it gets to a dangerous boiling point where the effects of the conflict can become really devastating. I agree that the best way to deal with conflict in a workplace is keeping it creative because if you keep it creative and not personal then you have more a chance of brainstorming solutions together and coming up with a positive outcome in the end.

Conflict in Relationships

2006-04-26T13:51:00.000-07:00

http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/14430507.htm
This article discusses the fact that conflict does exist in all relationships. It exists due to different reasons many of which good communication skills will help you in dealing with and resolving the issue at hand. This article also states that those people with good communication skills will also tend to have less conflict then people who have poor communication skills. I agree that this is true because many trivial disagreements can be avoided if you understand the culture the other person is coming from and the basis of thought they may have on issues. This article also stressed the fact that good communication is a skill and therefore can be learned and improved upon.

Spouses Strengthen Relationship When They Swap Roles

2006-04-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

http://bostonworks.boston.com/globe/balance/archives/012906.shtml
This article discusses the dynamics of a marriage relationship and how through many different types of circumstances couples sometimes find themselves switching roles. With a good dose of empathy towards each other and open communication your marriage can come through the change in roles as a stronger relationship. It also points out that until you have to do tasks that your spouse is responsible for you will many times feel as they do nothing and that you are in fact carrying the bulk of responsibilities. I have experienced this first hand in my marriage when first I worked full time to put my husband through college and then after he graduated I stayed home full time and went from making nearly all the money to no money at all. It was quite a culture shock for our marriage although my husband was beyond ready to become the breadwinner and I was more then ready to become a stay at home mom. There were still tense times in our relationship when one of us felt we were pulling more weight then the other. I do think the ability to step back and analyze the situation and our relationship and understand what each other contributes to the relationship definitely helps deal with the normal changes in a relationship as does good positive communication skills.

E-mailing Cuts Down On Phone Tag

2006-04-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/article?id=225309
This article discusses once again the benefits of email as a great way to do business whether in the office or on the go. One point that I thought was rather good is that in the list of advantages of e-mail communication was the fact you no longer have to worry about playing phone tag with a co-worker, employer or client. Also that it helps cut down on idle chit chat and keeps people more focused to the task at hand without any added small talk. I do think that all these points are very true and that electronic communication through e-mail is a very effective way of communicating. The person you are trying to reach can read the email and respond to it whenever they are available and you do not have to worry about whether they are free to discuss something with you. However it also mentioned that one thing to remember is you lose all non verbal communication cues that you would be able to experience with face to face or even telephone conversations.

E-mail is Top Communication Form at Work

2006-04-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/13796980.htm
This article talks about e-mail being the most widely used form of communication used today in business offices. This form of communication has now far surpassed any other type by accounting for 71% of all office communication. Face to face communication and telephone calls were used far less of the time. I would agree that e-mail has made a great impact on the communication in our day and age and also that is an easy and effective way to communicate whether it be with one person or many people at one time also whether it is for social or business use.

Good Communication More Valuable Then Pay Raise

2006-04-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

http://www.domain-b.com/management/hrd/20060418_engaged.htm
This article expresses the opinion that companies are finding through studies that good communication in the workplace is valued more then a pay raise. They have found that employees who feel as if they are well informed will produce better work and have a better opinion about their job. This is compared to just simply giving raises out to boost morale. I feel that while it is always nice to receive pay raises, if you do feel connected to your workplace by good communication practices then yes you will be more likely to have loyalty to the company. Likewise you will put more effort into whatever it is your job requires of you.

My Experience with Yahoo Personals

2006-04-16T22:40:00.000-07:00

This was quite an out of my comfort zone assignment. I am not at all the type of person who would ever think of using an internet site to meet someone. I actually feel as if I am doing something almost morally wrong by doing this assignment (maybe because I'm married???). But here it goes anyway--- this is the link to the ad I am going to discuss in this weblog review http://personals.yahoo.com/us/preview/preview?search=1&resulttype=1&kws=0&searchinternal=1&position=1&total=41&adid=personals-1057045441-725242&affid=&searchview=1&searchsort=1&speed=2&advanced=1&primary=&searchname=&frmsrch=1
This seems to be an ad for someone who seems like they would be decent and although I kept adding or changing criteria in my search this always seemed to be in the top matches. One thing that struck me was I modified my search to put in such things as religion and wanting kids, among other things, yet the site kept matching this ad to me without the mention of religion or this person for sure wanting more children. Maybe it is just the skeptic in me but I do not feel I would have ever(pre-marriage of course) been able to establish a romantic relationship using such a site. If the site did not change results when I revised my criteria then how can it really match up compatible people? All in all I still feel that first impressions (in person) are valuable in the forming of any type of relationship.

Good Relationships Can Bring Out the Best In You

2006-04-16T21:54:00.000-07:00

http://www.lovetripper.com/ARTICLES/newlyweds.html
This advice column is written by a newlywed and as I read the column it brought up a few good points about relationships and our communication styles. I can easily relate to the author because I am like her in the way that I tend to stand by and let my husband do the talking when we are at social events. This advice column discusses the importance of people in the relationship trying to strive to help each other improve themselves and also the fact that when you are in a good relationship with someone you trust, you are going to be more apapt to see that they sometimes do know best and therefore you will be more willing to change some details about yourself. In this case it was her confidence level and the amount of effort she put forth to go out of her comfort zone and better her communication with others.

My visit to Dear Mrs. Web

2006-04-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

I visited this website as part of my relationships at work and play assignment. It really threw me off guard at first. Some of the things people write in about for advice seem quite odd, as if it is hard to know the obvious signs of a bad relationship. Yet the responses given were usually good answers however harsh they may have been written. The important aspects of communication in an intimate relationship were always stressed such as honesty and trust. Still I found it very strange as I was reading that people had to write in and ask a stranger for advice on these subjects. Maybe that comes from eleven years of marriage, but really I don't remember ever being so totally oblivious to the need of honesty and the so very obvious signs of a bad relationship. If you would like to see a sampling of what I looked at the link is http://www.dearmrsweb.com/DatingColumn.htm

Communication and Lottery Advertising

2006-03-22T21:57:00.000-08:00

http://www.dailynebraskan.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/01/25/43d708e02eb8b
This article discusses the new type of advertisement that the Nebraska Lottery is planning to put into use. They will be using interpersonal communication in the form of word of mouth advertising. This article was quite interesting to read and before reading it I had never thought of word of mouth communication as being an actual advertising tool, yet the lottery is planning on hiring people for the sole purpose of spreading information about the lottery by word of mouth. The article states that sometimes people view information that is given to them by word of mouth as being more reliable then information they may have gotten from an ad on television or in a newspaper. I do agree that a lot of times if someone tells you about a certain product or service you are more apt to believe the information is true then if it obviously came from the company trying to sell you something such as in the traditional advertising techniques.

The Internet's Effect on Social Communication

2006-03-22T21:40:00.000-08:00

http://www.teleclick.ca/2006/01/how-the-internet-strengthens-social-interaction/
This article states that internet and the ability to e-mail has not harmed social interaction but has in fact improved it. While it is easy to e-mail a large number of people at once I tend to feel that if you are sending the same message to several people then how personal can that information really be? I would have to definitely disagree with this article and take the stand that e-mailing may not hurt social communication but I do not see that it helps it any. To have a personal social interaction with someone it would have to be one on one whether a personal e-mail or a phone call. Therefore how has this new form of communication really helped strengthen any relationship?

The Importance of an Internal Communication Program

2006-03-22T21:20:00.000-08:00

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/Careers/02/03/cb.gossip.tips/
This article discusses the importance of a company having an internal communication program to get the correct information out to their employees. In this way they down play the rumor mill that is always present in the workplace environment. This article also gave some helpful tips to use if your place of employment doesn't have a communication program. Using the tips provided will help you decide if what you have heard is fact or just the latest gossip. I agree with this article that having an internal communication program in place would go far in preventing rumors growing into a large problem at work. With a program in place it would leave employees knowing what the facts are and therefore make it easier for them to decide fact from the latest rumor.

The Importance of Nonverbal Communication to our Military

2006-03-07T22:12:00.000-08:00

http://www.theeagle.com/stories/021906/world_20060219035.php
This article discusses the importance of nonverbal communication and more particularly nonverbal communication amongst our military overseas. This stresses the importance they are placing on learning the common gestures and other nonverbal cues to help the military communicate with the citizens of the countries they are serving in. I do feel that this is an important thing for our military to spend time training on. If we do not understand the cultural differences in nonverbal communication then we may never gain the citizens trust. By having the training it paves the way for good communication in the middle east.

My Online Research Exploration

2006-02-21T22:11:00.000-08:00

The Purpose of this blog is to discuss my findings from my online research exploration. I tried the NebraskaAccess and really did not have as much success as I did withhttp://www.google.com/. When I used NebraskaAccess I either did not get any matches to my search or else I got an extremely large number of matches. I did however have a little more luck with the First Search database then what I did when I tried the other databases on NebraskaAccess. My success was much better with Google. The thing that caught my attention at Google News was an article on the Olympics which you can read athttp://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=olymp/news/bon4005887.htm. While I am not the best at sports myself I have always loved watching the figure skaters on the winter Olympics since I was a little girl. Perhaps even more interesting to me was when I did a search of images. I typed in Central City Nebraska (where I live) and was very amazed to get a result of over 300 pictures. For such a small town I did not expect so much and there were pictures on there of people that I know! I guess this search has definitely taught me that there is more out there on the internet then we are probably ever going to be aware of. It was a real eye opener for me. Another thing I explored was the maps. My family is planning a trip to my husband' s mom in West Virginia this summer for the first time and when I entered the information the computer brought up a map with total miles and expected time frame, over 22 hours--could be a long trip with four kids! This assignment was somewhat frustrating for me on the NebraskaAccess site but actually quite enjoyable when I tried out all that Google had to offer.

Self-Inventory Assignment

2006-02-21T07:50:00.000-08:00

The point of this blog entry is to discuss my findings after completing the self-inventory worksheet. The places that I like to travel to are mainly up to our cabin at Calamus Resevoir and also camping to various state parks such as Indian Caves and Lewis and Clark . The things that I value the most in my life are my family and my deep religious beliefs, therefore my dream job would be doing something I enjoyed that allowed me to help support my family but still gave me plenty of time to be with my family. The only actual issue (whether state, national, etc) I could think of that I really care about deeply is that I, like many other people I am sure, would like to see the war in Iraq come to an end. I know there are reasons we have to be over there, I just wish it would come to an end. My favorite authors are Janette Oke and Lori Wick who write the historical Christian romance books that I enjoy but never seem to have much time to read anymore. Other then those books my reading consists of children's books that I read to my kids. Likewise the only newspaper that I read is our local Central City Republican Nonparel and as far as magazines I enjoy reading Family Fun and Country Weekly. The classes that were always my favorites include math, science and definitely history. The only sport that I was ever any good at was swim team. Previous jobs that I have held are as a hairstylist, grocery store clerk, and a 1-800 phone operator for Cabela's, but my most recent job is a stay at home mom. My volunteer experiences include Girl Scout Leader and Unit Manager, Sunday school music teacher and vacation bible school co-director and before that a teacher for VBS.

Communication Between Different Generations at Work

2006-02-16T20:25:00.000-08:00

http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1547806&page=1
This article discusses the problems that can arise in the workplace due to the large differences in the communication style of different generations. I do agree that older generation workers are more likely to take the time to make sure they are understanding the communication they are receiving and also with the fact that the new slang from the younger generations could be misinterpreted by others resulting in poor communication. I feel that if we are aware of the differences in the communication between generations then we can overcome any obstacles this may bring and therefore have a better, less stressful and smoother running workplace.

Sloppy Speech

2006-02-11T21:06:00.000-08:00

http://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/113463931925020.xml&coll=1
This article discusses the downfall of using words such as "like" or "um" frequently when you communicate. I do know someone who overuses terms like these to an extreme. Whenever we have a meeting for an organization we are both part of and this person has something to say it is all I can do to silence the internal groans in my head because I know it will take her twice as long to get the point across that she is trying to make. Not that her point is not good but a large part of the time I find myself working very hard to pay attention to her. The use of these words takes away much of the credibility from her and any desire I may have to try to listen to her. I agree with the author that the overuse of these words is something that a good communicator should try to rid themselves of.

The Importance of Communication in Health Care

2006-02-11T20:45:00.000-08:00

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/39033.html
This article discusses the importance of communication in a hospital, specifically the ramifications if patient and health care providers cannot understand each other. I totally agree with the stand the author takes on this issue and feel this is an issue that I very possibly will run into once I graduate and begin working in the Radiology field. While I may learn effective communication skills those skills will not help much if the person I am trying to communicate with does not speak my language. Hopefully wherever I am employed will have qualified interpreters to help me deal with this communication obstacle.

Gossiping at Work--A Good Communication Tool

2006-02-02T19:49:00.000-08:00

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635175981,00.html

This article discussed the communication form of gossip in the workplace. It is an interesting article because I for one always think of gossip as a negative thing but it points out that in fact it can be a very positive thing. When gossip is not done with mean undertones but merely as a conversation starter it can promote relationships between people giving the feeling that the work place is full of people who care about you as a person not just your job performance. According to the article, this has shown to improve loyalty to a company and general happiness with your job. When you look at gossip as a communication tool to form bonds with your co-workers I do see that it can improve the way you view your job. Everyone wants to feel people genuinely care about their lives and gossiping can give you that feeling if done in the right way. However if gossip is done in a demeaning way then the opposite will be true and it could only hurt the way you view your workplace. I think this is a type of communication that needs to be done responsibly and very carefully for the outcome to be a positive one.

The explanation Behind The Worrying

2006-02-02T19:15:00.000-08:00

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/health/health.php?story=dispatch/2006/01/29/20060129-H4-00.html

This article discussed the amount of intrapersonal communication that goes on in a woman's brain in comparison to the amount in a man's brain. It states this to be the reason women appear to worry more when in essence we really just think and worry differently then the men in our lives. I do tend to agree with this as in my own life when times are stressful I usually am the one who worries more and has more anxiety then my husband when he is dealing with the same issue.

The Start of Deb's Web

2006-01-26T09:17:00.000-08:00

Hello, this is a new adventure for me as I had never even heard of a weblog or a blog before this assignment. I am currently enrolled in speech 140 after not being in college for 12 years and this assignment has come from that class. I have been a stay at home mom for quite some time to four wonderful kids but they are getting older and that doesn't pay the bills so off to college I have gone to pursue a degree that will help me provide for them the way I want to be able to. I hope this class will give me a positive start back in college my first semester and am exicited, though a little scared about all the technological aspects of this I know nothing about. Hopefully I will gain a little more knowledge about the computer and this whole blogging aspect as the semester progresses.