Last Week of Class

Going into the last week of class brings two emotions, excitement and anticipation. How exciting to get another class behind and you and the anticipation of what the final grade will be. The class has been something that I was not expecting. We had to actually interact with our classmates through another form of communication other than the computer. It was very interesting and fun at the same time. Talking to different people who I never knew existed and having them give me advice about conflicts in my life was a very eye opening experience. The handouts were very useful and insightful about the different conflict managing and negotiation styles. I was very fortunate to be in Group B. We have worked very well together and have not had communication issues inside the group. Over all I have to say I have enjoyed the class and appreciate all the hard work everyone has done to make the class successful.

Week 3 Phone Call

Last night I had the opportunity to talk to Kristina. We had set up the meeting a few days before hand and I was able to call her at our scheduled time. This was the first time that I had talked to someone who was not apart of my group, so it was nice to branch out a little and talk to someone else from the class. Our conversation began with choosing the roles. I had gone over the assignment and was prepared to take on either role. Kristina opted for the employee role. So I as the boss listened to her concern about wanting a higher pay raise rather than 4%.

This was our scenario:

Kristina went to me and told me that she felt like she deserved a higher pay raise rather than the regular 4%. She explained that for the past year she has been doing duties that go beyond her official job title. She has been acting as an officer manager with out the pay and official position. And she felt that it would be beneficial for the company to give her the pay she deserves instead of going out and hiring an official office manager.

As the boss I told her that I respected her for coming to me with her concerns over her upcoming raise. I went and looked over her file and determined that she was performing duties that were not officially assigned to her. I told her that I wanted a letter stating all of the duties that she was performing other than what her job required her too, and I would talk to my bosses about making her the official office manager. I would though for the time being give her the highest pay raise that I could give her of 6.5% as she continues to act as the unofficial office manager. Then with the letter, I would meet and discuss her promotion and higher pay increase with my bosses. We set up a meeting so we could go over everything that was said in our conversation and I would show her in writing my promise to give her the 6.5% pay increase. We ended on a good note and were able to come to a suitable compromise.

We jumped right into the role play. Kristina was really good about asking me all of the right questions. never being in a boss position before it took me a little bit to respond and answer how I felt a boss would to their employee. Over all I felt it was a good experience and rolled more smoothly on my end towards the middle and end of the conversation.

Group B

In our group we were assigned the "Mock Mediation." I have to say that from the beginning of the class to the present day our group has been working together very well. We have been doing most of our communication back and forth through e mail and respond with in a day or even hours of each other. We have set deadlines to get material to each other and so far everyone has met their deadlines. We have brainstormed off of one another and have never put anyone down for their ideas.

Emotional IQ Assessment

This is what I learned about me according to my Emotional IQ Assessment...

Subscale IQ score = 113 Subscale percentile = 82

According to your self-report answers, your emotional intelligence is average. People who score like you do feel that their ability to understand and deal with their own emotions and those of others is acceptable but could still use some improvement. Emotionally intelligent people have an easy time overcoming difficulties in their lives and they are generally able to control their moods. It’s easy for them to motivate themselves to overcome obstacles and reach their goals. In addition, they find social interactions to be quite easy and fulfilling, for several reasons. They are comfortable allowing themselves to get close with others, and feel comfortable being vulnerable enough to establish intimacy. They also report having an easy time offering support to others; likely due to an empathetic nature and a clear mind when it comes to offering good advice. Perhaps by working on your problem areas, you can become more confident in dealing with your own emotions and those of others.

I feel that this assessment has pretty much explained my emotional personality. I do get along well with others and enjoy meeting new people where I am able to meet acquaintances and new friends. I should allow more people in to help when my emotions are down. But I feel that I can get over the speed bump easier myself that I don't ask for help. I feel that I am a good listener and can help people more with their problems. I was not surprised with the results and it was kind of neat to take an assessment that confirmed emotional IQ.

Week Two Phone Call

I was able to talk to Georganna last night for a good while. We were able to answer each others questions about our group project and review details about anything we did not understand. Through the getting to know you session and discussing our final project we were able to come up with a good role play for solving a problem at work.

The premise of our scene is that we work for a local clothing department and Georganna overheard a girl named Lisa talking about how she needed an outfit for a date she had later that evening but she didn't have any money. Later that night while Lisa thought she was on the floor her self, Georganna saw Lisa stuff an outfit into her bag. After this incident Georganna saw it fit to tell the HR Manager about what she had seen.

Georganna then proceeded to tell the HR manager everything that she had seen and heard.

The HR Manager told Georganna: Do you know the seriousness of your accusation? We will have to investigate and review the stores surveillance system. I also asked Georaganna if she would be willing to make a statement to the police if there was evidence on the tape to back up the accusation.

After reviewing the tape and the accusation did turn out to be true, myself and and Georganna discussed all the details with the police and took the proper actions regarding Lisa.

As for the rest of the staff, I had the employees re watch and sign a form stating that they understood the contents of the video and would have charges brought up against them if they decided to steal.

Movie Assignment--Erin Brokovich

In Erin Brokovich the conflicts begin early in the movie. The opening scene is of Erin getting hit by a car, by a doctor no less. With this brings a trial where the defense lawyer of doctor turns the blame on Erin and she ends up getting nothing for her pain and suffering. This is a conflict that could be realistic in the fact that the client with most money could hire a better lawyer initially winning the case no matter who was actually in the wrong. Putting myself in Erin's situation with little money I do not see what she could have done differently about hiring an affordable lawyer. However in the courtroom I would not have tried to play the innocent victim part overboard and just tell the story how it happened. I defiantly would not have used profane language inside the courtroom either. In the courtroom scene Erin and her lawyer did not seem to use any of the skills needed in a good negotiation. Erin let her emotion get control of her and blew all signs of a good negotiation.

Moving on after the trial, Erin needs work. She feels as if she was cheated by her lawyer and demands a job from him. She sells herself in her negotiation technique in order to get her the job. He finally complies and her conflict of not working is resolved for the moment. Erin is the type of person who does not take no lightly. I am not sure if I would have been brave enough to argue or negotiate my way into a job. On the other hand I am sure you would do anything in order to provide for your family.

Once in her new job position, Erin finds out about people getting sick in the town of Hinkley from the water they are using and drinking. She becomes intrigued and engrossed in learning about what is going on with these people. Erin loses her job after weeks of research in building her case. Erin presents her boss with the information she has obtained and after Ed listens to Erin, she is able to get her job back. If I was going out of town to investigate something big I would thoroughly discuss the details with my boss and make sure to check in every so often. The situation of Erin getting fired for not checking in is very realistic. If your boss or company believes you to be U.A. then you are putting your job on the line.

Between Erin investigating the water and her job, she also has a love interest. George is her new neighbor and really likes Erin. As they fall for each other George gets tired of of Erin working and him being stuck with the kids. He brakes up with Erin and rides off on his motorcycle. Erin has now lost her boyfriend and babysitter. For all of Erin's hard work Ed gives her a brand new car and enough money to hire a babysitter. I feel that this situation could be true. When people are down on their luck sometimes they get a lift unexpectedly.

With her investigation going well she is uncovering a lot of evidence against the company PG&E. PG&E has been using an illegal amount of chemicals at their plant which has effected the water supply in the town of Hinkley. The conflict Erin faces now is getting her plaintiffs to agree to an arbitration where everyone could get help now instead of waiting through the long process of a trial. Using both effective negotiation and communication Erin succeeded in getting everyone money for their needs. Although it would be difficult to get everyone to agree to one thing, through great communication and negotiation skills I feel you could have persuaded the plaintiffs to all agree together.

During the gathering of evidence to use against PG&E Erin uses her self to persuade the man to let her into the file room. I think there could have been another way to get into the file room. Such as using her communication skills and talking her way into the file room.

This movie is full of conflicts and resolutions for each one of them. The amazing thing about this movie is that it is based on a true story. I enjoyed the show and hopefully nailed all of the major conflicts that Erin had to go through in order to prevail for her clients.

Week One Phone Call

Last night I had the opportunity to talk to Shannon. We had a very nice conversation and learned about one another's problem. Shannon had a problem about her ex husband calling her too much for other reasons rather than to talk about their child. She does not want to be rude, but she does not feel it is appropriate for them to conversate at the moment since everything is so recent, and they both need time to regroup their thoughts and go on with their life. We discussed many options and decided that when he is done talking about their child and decides to go on about other things, she can politely say that she has things to take care of and needs to go. She would also suggest for him to call one of his friends to chit chat with but she does not have time at the moment. To me her son is her top priority and if her ex needs to talk about him, she is all ears. Other than that she just wants to try and move on with her life in a positve direction. The conversation flowed nicely and we were on the same page through out the intire conversation. It was late for me so I had no conversation barriers to distract me. On her end I did not hear any background noise either. I really enjoyed talking with Shannon and admire her for what she is going through and how she wants to get through it with out hurting anyone's feelings.

Week One Assignment 4

My Conflict Management Style is the Accommodating Teddy Bear. According to our text the Accommodating Teddy Bear is•Teddy bears use a smoothing or accommodating conflict management style with emphasis on human relationships. •Teddy bears ignore their own goals and resolve conflict by giving into others; unassertive and cooperative creating a win-lose (bear is loser) situation. •Advantage: Accommodating maintains relationships. •Disadvantage: Giving in may not be productive, bear may be taken advantage of. •Appropriate times to use a Teddy Bear Style: owhen maintaining the relationship outweighs other considerations owhen suggestions/changes are not important to the accommodator owhen minimizing losses in situations where outmatched or losing owhen time is limited or when harmony and stability are valued My back up style is the Compromising Fox. According to our text the Fox is:•Foxes use a compromising conflict management style; concern is for goals and relationships •Foxes are willing to sacrifice some of their goals while persuading others to give up part of theirs •Compromise is assertive and cooperative-result is either win-lose or lose-lose •Advantage: relationships are maintained and conflicts are removed •Disadvantage: compromise may create less than ideal outcome and game playing can result •Appropriate times to use a Fox Style: owhen important/complex issues leave no clear or simple solutions owhen all conflicting people are equal in power and have strong interests in different solutions owhen their are no time restraints

Week One Assignment 3

Barriers To CommunicationEnviromental: I know that time is a huge factor on completing a successful discussion. I can identify with time and space. I am usually two hours ahead of the counselors I need to talk to about school, so when I have the time they are not on the same schedule so they will not be available or if I need to come in and meet with them in person I am in another state making it impossible for a face to face meeting.Verbal: I am currently dealing with students turning words around and making them negative. Such as if I pull a few students out at a time to work with them as a small group, one will say you are working with me because you think I am stupid. I explain that she is not stupid, I just want to see how well they work with out distractions and answer any questions they may have about the assignment. Interpersonal: An interpersonal barrier that I can think of is one time I made a comment to a friend and she got really offended. I had no idea that what I said made her so mad until I would try and call her and she would not answer and avoid me. She finally talked to me and I was able to explain that I meant nothing bad when I said my comment and I was sorry she took it personally and too heart. Side note: The comment I told her was that she makes friends fast. This was after she met a girl for a day and became a brides maid in her wedding. Now if this was insensitive I need to change my communication skills and think more about what the other will think about what I am about to say. To minimize barriers I can learn to take others feelings into great consideration and talk to each person as their own individual instead of thinking that they will always react the same as everyone else.

Week One Assignment 2

On the Tieger Assessment of Personality Type I discovered that I can catergorize my self as an:Extravert, Senser, Thinker, and Judger. Accordingto the website http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/myers-briggs/myers-briggs.htm#ESTJESTJs direct their energy towards the outside world of actions and spoken words. They introduce a logical organisation and structure into the way things are done. They prefer dealing with facts and the present, and are likely to implement tried and trusted solutions to practical problems in a businesslike and professional manner.I would say that this is a bit like my personality other than dealing wit the present. I am already plannig my future with my husband and I don't even have him here yet. I almost think ahead too much and have to force my self to think about the present. I am also including the description of an ESTJ from the website http://www.personalitypage.com/high-level.htmlbecasue it narrows the profile down pretty much in a nut shell. The description isPractical, traditional, and organized. Likely to be athletic. Not interested in theory or abstraction unless they see the practical application. Have clear visions of the way things should be. Loyal and hard-working. Like to be in charge. Exceptionally capable in organizing and running activities. "Good citizens" who value security and peaceful living.

Week One Assignment 1

When assessing my personal work style I found out that I am a Conscientious worker. according the website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DISC_assessmentbeing conscientious means:Conscientious: (Compliance in Marston's time): Persons with High C styles adhere to rules, regulations, and structure. They like to do quality work and do it right the first time. High C people are careful, cautious, exacting, neat, systematic, diplomatic, accurate, tactful. Those with Low C scores challenge the rules and want independence and are described as self-willed, stubborn, opinionated, unsystematic, arbitrary, and careless with details. Completing the assessment was very interesting in my results from left to right my results went up a few points each letter, C being my highest. I would have to say after reading about the different meaning of the letters I am more of a C personality when working. I like the sturcture of things writtin out saying do it this way. I also like independent work better than group but have no problem working with a group. The discription of the C describes me pretty well. The website for the online test would not come up for me, so I will try again later this week. Or if any one has a working link go ahead and blog it on over if you don't mind. :)

Welcome

Now that we are in the second week and pretty much have this blog thing down I just thought I would share some of my favorite things with ya'll. :)
I love sports and of course my husband but...
Right now it is baseball season. So go Stros! And Yes! I want Lidge gone. :)

During foot ball season it is all about the Cowboys! I know we didn't go to the Super Bowl this year because of our ball fumbler of a snap holder Romo. He will probably never live it down. :) But I'll forgive him if he gets us to the Super Bowl next season. :)
-Amie