A521.5.1.RB - Core Workplace Value Assessment, Reyes, Cassandra

Take this assessment, and create a Reflective Blog posting that discusses how your values align with the values of your workplace; be certain to point out the major similarities and differences and address how you might mitigate those differences.

The assessment lists a number of excellent and important workplace values that one should take into consideration when looking into representing who you are and what you are looking to achieve on a professional level. Verifying which values you feel are most important to you is imperative to each individual’s success in their position as well as their long term career. When breaking down which values you feel are absolutely needed in your organization to consider yourself satisfied with your job and what you deem will make or break your success in an organization, it is significant to have a clear and honest opinion about who you are, what your short and long term goals are and where you see yourself in the upcoming years. Without having a defined view of these things, it is unlikely for anyone to be successful in their attempts to gain success without having a full understanding of what it is they are looking to achieve.

After taking the assessment my five core values were listed as follows; (I also listed a sixth as I felt it was just as important as some of the others listed)

1.     Opportunity for balance between work and family life

2.     Stability and security

3.     Teamwork and work groups

4.     Clear advancement tracks and opportunity for advancement

5.     Respect, recognition and being valued

6.     Variety and a changing work pace

The similarities between my work place and my core values relate sufficiently enough to the point where I am comfortable with where I am, what I do and how my career is progressing. The opportunity for balance between work and family life is essential to my success as I am a new wife and soon to be new mother. It is important that I am able to balance between being able to be successful in my profession as well as be a good wife and mother. My manager has offered me a variety of flexibility when it comes to understanding the changes that are taking place in my life which has allowed me to continue to be successful professionally, however the difference between my core values and my position, is that I feel the organization as a whole could be a little more understanding to new mothers, who are continuing to work full time and pursue their education. I feel as though more opportunities for daycares and a bit more flexibility with time would really help out anyone who may be becoming a new parent.

Stability and security offer similarities to my core values as it is imperative for me to offer a stable profession and environment for my family. It is important to know that I will continue to keep my job as long as I continue to work hard and deliver great results, instead of having the worry that I may be laid off in certain industries such as the airline industry. The differences of stability and security as compared to my values, is the fear of becoming too reliant on the security I have at my job. I feel as though many individuals tend to get stuck in a position or organization because they become afraid to leave the security of it. Therefore, I need to remind myself that sometimes taking chances can offer amazing outcomes.

Teamwork and work groups offer similarities to my core values as I believe that teamwork is absolutely necessary in an organization in order for it to be successful. I think that each department should offer team functions and activities to ensure that all team members feel included and take part in the overall success of each other. The differences in teamwork and work groups to my values is that I feel my organization can do a bit more to ensure that the organization as a whole feels like a team instead of just departmentally. This would ensure all levels would feel as though they could coincide with one another on a more personal level as well.

Clear advancement tracks are essential to my professional success and that is why I have listed it as a core value. The similarities and differences this value and my organization hold is that while there is room for advancement in certain departments or areas of the organization, there tends to be a number of competition for opportunity for advancement as there are many individuals who have been with the University for some time who have already proven themselves and are awaiting the chance for a promotion to take place. While Embry-Riddle Worldwide does offer a number of campuses worldwide the opportunity for advancement at the Worldwide Headquarters is less likely as it is fairly small.

The similarities and differences of my core value respect and recognition is important as I feel that these two things are extremely important for an individual to feel job satisfaction. The similarities of this value are true to my organization as Embry-Riddle Worldwide does its best to recognize those special individuals who have stood out amongst the crowd during the year. For instance this year, I received the “Above and Beyond the Call of Duty” award at the Worldwide Headquarters all hands on meeting this month. It was amazing to be recognized for all of the hard work and effort I had put forth throughout the year, however I also believe that recognition and value should be addressed periodically throughout the year. I think this helps employees understand where they stand in their position and also addresses their strengths and weaknesses.

The similarities and differences of the variety and changing work pace value and my organization is that while my current position does offer certain challenges, the job can get a bit redundant and tedious. It is important for me to always continue to be challenged and ensure that I am keeping up with the pace of my job description but that I am also changing my own pace to ensure that I am never too overwhelmed or bored with my job. I think a healthy balance of each would make it possible to maintain job enrichment.

Cassandra R.

A521.4.3.RB - Subtleties of Communication and Hidden Messages, Reyes, Cassandra

Reflect on Chapters 4-6 of Messages and create a blog posting that identifies how you might use the information in these readings to improve your ability to communicate with sincerity and congruence. Think about instances where you have been exposed to incongruent messages and how you felt at those times.

In your blog, use specific situations that you recall and describe changes that you would make using the technical jargon of the chapters. The goal is for you to become a more powerful communicator by understanding these common problems and deploying strategies to overcome them.

I think the text addresses nonverbal and verbal communication and congruence and incongruence in great ways. I think communication in any setting is important to the success of any relationship whether it be personal or professional. Communication and congruence can be the deciding factor in various decisions that need to be made in these types of settings, which is why it is important to always ensure that you are being consistent with all types of communication your audience may perceive.

As the text states, only 7 percent of our message that comes across to others is verbal, while 38 percent is vocal, and 55 percent is body language. I couldn’t agree with this more, as over the years, I have learned that you can learn a lot more about an individual about what they aren’t saying than what they are, or the manner in which they are verbalizing their feelings. Nonverbal communication and awareness of incongruence is the key to ripening our personal skills in emotional intelligence. It allows us the ability to concentrate on someone’s actual feelings in regard to a certain situation rather than the image they are trying to portray in reaction to it.

Social kinetics serve as communication purposes, however vary from person to person and more importantly from culture to culture. I think this was an important point as many companies and organizations these days are very concentrated on diversity in the workplace. It is important for us as a society to understand that everyone comes from different backgrounds and walks of life and how important it is to recognize the social and cultural differences we may face. Illustrators and regulators can assist with ensuring that we each have an understanding of each other or if something may need to be clarified. These types of communication allow for individuals to ensure that they are on the same page with the information that is coming across.

In my personal experience I have had many instances where I have had to be emotionally intelligent and use my skills to gain a specific hidden message that another individual was putting off nonverbally. For instance, the most recent interaction of nonverbal communication that I have had to dissect was with my new coworker who I am training. During the training process I could tell that this individual was a bit overwhelmed by all of the information that was being provided regarding our system and software usage. While training I would ask, “Do you understand?, Does that make sense? Or, would you like for me to review that one more time?”

 I consistently received verbal responses from my coworker who informed me that he was receiving the information well and understood the processes and how to complete his work, however his facial expressions showed confusion and lack of understanding to me. In order to ensure he understood the processes he was being taught, and that I was doing a good job in my training him, I tested him one day on his abilities and realized that he was having difficulty in completing his assignments. His nonverbal cues had informed me that he was in fact having difficulties but for one reason or another he did not want to verbalize the issues he was having. In order to further assist him in understanding and completing his work, I held a few more training sessions where the work was broken down into easy to understand methods which further assisted him with completion of his training and full comprehension of our departments systems and processes.

Proxemics and territory are very important in nonverbal communication and can offer a variety of comfortable and uncomfortable situations. I have noticed that proxemics can also have much to do with culture and the spatial distance each individual feels content with. It is important that people in an organization are aware of proxemics and the effects culture can have on spatial distance, as these scenarios can make or break certain professional relationships. A full understanding of what ones culture considers respect or authority can have major effects on an organizations relationships with their competition, employees, and customers.

One example of proxemics I have noticed is with one of the managers in my organization that is from another country. Unknowingly, I can tell that he makes his employees feel uncomfortable as he tends to stand very close to them. It is interesting to watch as his employees tend to take a step or two back when speaking with him, as he tends to move forward to close the space. It is apparent that his employees are a bit uncomfortable as he tends to invade their personal space, however it is clear that he is not doing it on purpose, as his gestures are consistent with all individuals in the workplace. Over time his employees and others have been able to get used to his spatial distancing, and move accordingly in ways in which they feel comfortable with the spacing they have available to them. I also think that overtime this manager has recognized and taken into consideration his spacing and the comfort ability of his coworkers around him.

Paralanguage and Metamessages have another level of importance when it comes to communication and can be just as important to withholding professional and personal relationships. These two communication cues rely on the importance of how something is being said, rather than what is being said. Paralanguage and metamessages allow for individuals to concentrate on the actual feelings of the person delivering the message rather than what it is the person is trying to make the receiver believe they are feeling. An example of this would be when my team and I are in a meeting with my manager who informs us that the processes for each of our systems are going to change and everyone will have to receive new training in each system we currently use. While we all make ourselves appear to be happy about the changes, my manager notices our concerns by the tone in our voices and the questions we are asking. He reassures us with positivity and excitement in his tone of voice that everything will be okay and even though there may be some kinks we may need to work through, that the change is for the positive in the long run.

Nonverbal communication is such a large part of our lives that should be paid much attention to as it can inform individuals of action and reaction before it even takes place. While verbal communication allows us to interact on a more straight forward level, nonverbal communication allows for us to be emotionally intelligent and read between the lines of someone’s feelings and emotions. I think each of the listed communication cues above is necessary to possess and maintain a full understanding of how to interact in a group or team environment or one on one. By comprehending social kinetics, proxemics, paralanguage, metamessages and a variety of other useful tools and interactions, I think I can and will become a more powerful communicator by understanding the common issues we all tend to see with nonverbal communication, which will allow me the opportunity and strategy to overcome the specific situations I may continue to come across on a daily basis.

Cassandra R.