Friday, April 27, 2007

Working With My Group

The last time my group met (via conference call), we all agreed on our parts and are working on those pieces independently or in pairs. I agreed to put the PowerPoint together and have been working on a few areas that I felt I could beef up as the Judge. Everyone's individual parts are due to me today so I'm hoping everyone will get them done in time. I will use the weekend to put it all together and come up with our first draft to review on Monday via iLinc.

I've been reading about other groups and how their group work is going. I've learned how some of them are using technology to communicate such as iLinc and chat rooms. This is something that I haven't done before so I'm anxious to try it out.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

3rd Phone Assignment

I partnered with Tracy Buckley to do my 3rd phone assignment. I played the role of the employee and she played the role of my boss. I told her that I felt I deserved a more substantial raise because the job duties I am currently performing are above and beyond the duties that are listed in my job description.

She asked a few questions to get some information on the structure of employment levels such as, “are there higher level positions that contain the duties that you are currently performing?” She also wanted to know what duties that I am performing are outside of my job description. I explained that I am performing all of the clerical support work as well as supervisory work. I told her that I am currently managing several large projects that require a high level of responsibility. We verbally reviewed my work history and rating on previous evaluations.

Tracy recognized that the job duties I am currently performing are duties that are normally upheld by a higher level management position. She also took into account the employment structure of the company and clarified her limitations in regards to raising levels of pay. Based on my history with the company, high ratings on work performance, high level of responsibility, and additional job duties, she agreed that my pay raise should be more substantial.

Because it is not within her power to offer more money without reclassifying my position or offering me a new position, she said that when the opportunity became available I would receive more pay. She asked me to continue doing the work that I have been doing and that she would do her best to make a promotion happen as soon as possible. She felt that it was worth paying me the extra salary rather than trying to train a new person and losing a valuable employee.

Although I did not receive an immediate pay raise, she did recognize the extra efforts I have put in and let me know that she would be an advocate for me. This solution was mutually satisfactory to both of us.

Group Work

My group had another conference call last night to work on our final presentation. Working together definitely presents its challenges so I’m lucky that everyone in my group is courteous. We were all pretty easy on agreeing on our roles. Matt, the only male in our group, jokingly agreed to be the defendant in the sexual abuse case. He said he was OK with that since he ends up being innocent at the end.

A few of our members have some experience with law classes so that is a big help. One of them came up with a couple of sample cases that we might be able to model so on our call last night, we agreed on a case.

We did have some differences of opinion on the format of our final presentation. We weren’t sure if it would be better to present it as a summary or as a dialog, such as a script to a play.

Araceli walked us through the process of a court case so we were able to create assignments based on those pieces. Because some of the pieces tie together, we agreed to coordinate to come up with a draft. For example, the defendant and the defense lawyer’s presentations rely on each other. As the judge, there’s really not much to develop. I chose this role since I agreed to put the PowerPoint together and will be responsible for tying all the individual pieces together.

The other thing that took us a bit to agree on was how to present. Once we found out that it’s not a requirement to present on iLinc, we weren’t sure if we should use it at all. We discussed the pros and cons of doing a live iLinc presentation versus just submitting a PowerPoint. After our discussion, we finally decided on submitting a PowerPoint as our presentation and using the iLinc session for our group to review the first draft.

We also had some discussion on the timeline, how soon we should get the first draft done, when we need to review, when the final draft should be complete, etc. All in all, the conference call was a productive one.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Movie Assignment

For the movie assignment, I chose to watch Erin Brockovich. This movie is riddled with conflict, many of them internal. I’m going to start with the internal conflicts because it’s the first type of conflict presented in the movie. There is the conflict within Erin herself. She talks about how she wanted to go to medical school and ended up marrying young and having children. This is a reoccurring theme throughout the movie, Erin’s reality conflicts with what she feels her potential is.

As the movie progresses, Erin has many other internal struggles that she goes through. She struggles with her pride when she asks Ed Masery about an advance on her paycheck. Although she needs the money to survive, her pride makes her reluctant to take the money he offers. As she gets to know George (the neighbor) better, she struggles with whether to trust him or not. Although she wants to trust him and depend on him, she is hesitant because she’s been let down so many times before. Erin finds herself torn between her family and her job that is requiring her to spend so much time away from home. She loves her children and considers them a priority but she feels like she’s finally filling her potential with the role she has played in the case. Her job and her relationship with George are also conflicting. She knows that George is a good man and that he makes her happy but to hold on to that, she would need to let go of her job that is also fulfilling.

Some of the other characters also have internal conflicts in the movie. Ed Masery is conflicted with wanting to do what is right for the plaintiff versus what he knows is a sound business decision. Mrs. Jensen (the main plaintiff in the movie) is conflicted wanting to believe the best in people and believing the cold hard facts. When Erin presents the facts she’s uncovered about PG&E, Mrs. Jensen is reluctant to accept them because she can’t believe that the company would discard her family’s health.

There are also a few more obvious external conflicts in the movie. Erin and George have different view points when it comes to spending time with her family. He feels that a job is a job and she feels her job is more important than that. There are the conflicts between the lawyers and plaintiffs and among the plaintiffs themselves. Erin and Ed Masery negotiate over what her work is worth. This conflict is the most ironic one. Erin is so used to being sold short when it comes to her worth that she automatically expects it when Ed Masery discusses her bonus at the end of the movie. Instead, he’s realized her potential, respects her dedication and hard work, and decides to increase her bonus to a much higher amount than she original expected. The end of the movie resolves another conflict Erin has experienced. She brings George with her to tell Mrs. Jensen about her very large settlement and allows him to see what she found so important about her job.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

your phone assignment

Ii sounds like you worked on a great scenario with your partner. Sexual harassment is a problem that many employees encounter in the work place...but even though it is somewhat common it is also quite a challenge to deal with. It sounds like you both did a great job presenting an issue and providing resolutions to combat the problem.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

HR Manager/Employee Phone Assignment

I chose to be the Human Resources (HR) Manager and my phone partner, Jess Walton, took the roll of the employee. The workplace problem he put forth was sexual harassment by a supervisor. As the HR Manager, I asked him if he had spoken with his supervisor and let him/her know that this type of behavior makes him uncomfortable or is he not comfortable having this dialog with his supervisor. He responded that because the person is in a supervisory position, he was concerned there would be repercussions if he attempted to discuss it with the supervisor.

As the HR Manager, I offered Jess two possible solutions. The first solution is that I could have him placed in another department so that he would no longer be supervised by the same person. The drawbacks to relocation is that it may take some time and although his position and pay would remain the same, it is likely that his job duties would change entirely. The second solution (and also the one that I recommended) is that I would discuss the situation with his supervisor without using specifics that would tie the complaint to Jess and see if the situation improves.

Jess agreed to the solution and I suggested that we set a time, two weeks from today, that he meet back with the HR Manager to revisit the situation and effectiveness of the solution. He was pleased with this solution but requested he have confidential contact with the HR Manager during that time to report any problems.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Emotional IQ Test

Here Are My Results:

Snapshot Report:
Self-report Component
Subscale IQ score = 132
Subscale percentile = 98

Detail Summary:
According to your self-report answers, your emotional intelligence is excellent. People who score like you do feel that they have almost no trouble understanding and dealing with their own emotions and those of others. They have an easy time overcoming difficulties in their lives and they are 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; this is likely due to an empathetic nature and a clear mind when it comes to offering good advice.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Problem Solving Exercise

During the phone call, I thought the conversation flowed very naturally. I felt comfortable talking about the subject and since his conflict was with employees that he supervised, I could relate to the situation. I didn’t ask him if he thought the conversation flowed naturally but my guess is that he would think so as well. He was recently promoted to a supervisory position and two of the people that he supervised were previously co-workers that he was friends with. Now that he supervises his friends and they are reluctant to accept his direction, it’s putting a strain on the relationship. I didn’t have any solutions to offer but it sounded as if he was handling it in a mature and respectful way. I asked him if the two staff persons were men or women and he responded there was one of each. I asked if he thought their friendships would survive the transition and he said that the friendship with the male would come through it ok but the friendship with the female was most likely beyond repair. I’m a woman but I’ll be the first to admit that women tend to hold on to a grudge a lot longer than men.

Because the call was during work hours for me, I had two interruptions from a staff person with questions. They were interruptions but very minimal ones since both questions were one word/phrase answers. I think I even just wrote the answer to one of the questions on a note pad and held it up so he may not have even noticed.

My conflict was regarding the blogs for this class. This was a new experience for me and since my email address on file with National is my work email address, I was getting a huge influx of email from classmates, conflicting with work. Since the director of my department is pretty understanding about letting me do homework on my lunch or take time out of work for assignments when I need to, I try not to let going to school interrupt my work. My partner to this assignment had some good suggestions for me and was willing to help in any way that he could. Overall, I thought the conversation was productive. I believe our conversation went over the twenty minutes because we were still talking. If I had to make some judgments about him based on our conversation, I would guess that he is an outgoing person that talks with other people easily. I would also guess him to be in his late twenties or early thirties. If I dared venture on guessing an ethnicity, I would say he’s Caucasian, or at the very least, born and raised in the U.S., probably California. I’ll have to ask him to find out if my judgments are correct.

Ps. I don't mention his name here because we are encouraged to share our blogs with friends and family. If he decided to share his blog with co-workers like I did, I might be escalating his conflict.

Barriers to Communication

Environmental:
Noise can negatively impact a discussion, such as having the TV on in the background, a crying baby, traffic noise on a cell phone, copy machines running, a loud air conditioner, someone mowing the lawn outside, etc. The space you are in can also prevent good communication, such as a cramped office with too many people, uncomfortable chairs or not enough chairs, etc.

Verbal:
One of the verbal barriers that I’ve encountered is accents. It’s difficult to understand people with really strong accents. Talking too fast or too quietly can also prevent good communication.

Interpersonal:
Everyone is different so it makes sense that we are also different in how we perceive things. It’s very easy for an innocent comment to touch someone else’s sore spot and create a conflict. Consider a staff person that asks a question and gets the reply, “I think we talked about this already.” A person who is confident in their ability to do their job would just respond, “Actually, I don’t think we did” or “We probably did but I can’t remember.” Someone who is feeling inadequate would take that as a criticism. I’m pretty open-minded so I’m not really aware of any interpersonal barriers that I have. I suppose closed-mindedness could be an interpersonal barrier for me. When I’m trying to have a conversation with someone who is completely closed-minded and refuses to see a situation any other way than what is stuck in their head, it irritates me and I will terminate the conversation.

I think I minimize barriers as much as possible by giving the people that I’m talking to my full attention. This helps me to catch any subtleties that might indicate how a person is taking the conversation. Before I say something that I think might be upsetting, I try to consider how I would feel if someone said that to me. If it’s something that needs to be said, I say it anyway; however, I always acknowledge the person’s feelings afterwards, or even before. I also try to throw in a little sugar with the lemons to make things a little easier to swallow. I might say something like, “I know you don’t want to hear this but I’m only saying this because I want you to be happy.” The “I want you to be happy” let’s the person know that I have their best interests at heart. To minimize barriers, it’s important that we be kind and be respectful to the people we communicate with.

Other Assessments

NeuroLinguistic Programming Style:
My primary interacting strategy is "auditory" which I find odd. I would consider myself more visual. One of the things I notice about myself is that I read everything. I read every sign I pass that most people wouldn't even notice. I'm terribly directionally challenged and can't really follow a map. I need written directions to get to most places unless I've been there MANY times before. Knowing these things about myself, I wonder if "auditory" ties in because as I read things, I'm reading them "aloud" in my head.

My Personal Work Style (DISC):
I was highest on D with a 29 and C came in second with 25. This means that although I am not compulsive, I make decisions easily and am comfortable taking the lead. I'm also very logical and set high-expectations for organizations.

Tieger Assessment of Personality Type (TAPT):
My letters were ESTJ. I'm definitely more of an "extrovert." I'm not shy and it's an effort for me to keep things to myself. I'm very social and find it easy to share things about myself. I'm not so sure I agree with the s for "sensers" because although I work well with spreadsheets, charts, graphs, and data, I'm pretty good at seeing the big picture and maintaining relationships. I agree with being a "thinker" because I am pretty logical and I am able to base my decisions on logic rather than how I personally feel. What is logically fair is something that I've noticed is important to me. The "judgers" fits me. I do a new To Do List everynight before I leave work. I keep several calendars and am very organized. I'm more of a "go with the flow" when it comes to my personal life.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

My Conflict Management Style

Apparently I'm an Accomodating Teddy Bear. The interesting thing is that in second place, I am a Competing/Forcing Shark, Collaborating Owl, and a Compromising Fox; a three way tie. Something that I've always found fairly unique about myself is that my two best subjects in school have always been math and English. Most people are either good at math or English, but not both. It has something to do with the left or right side of your brain being dominant. I wonder if there is any correlation between the left/right brain balance and the three way tie.

After reading all of the points under each style, I would classify myself as more of a Compromising Fox. I notice parts of me that I can associate with in almost every category. I am really not the Competing Shark although I am goal orientated. The one category that absolutely does not describe me is the Avoiding Turtle. I suppose that makes sense because if I have to give up my personal goals to make the personal relationship work than the personal relationship isn’t worth it.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Christine's Blog

Hi Christine,
Thank you for inviting me to post to your blog. I have several hobbies that I find enjoyable. I like to take trips to the mountains and smell the pine trees. I like the snow, but not the cold, so I usually like the mountains in springtime the best. My favorite time of year is the Fall months. Fireplaces, good books, and friendly company. The holidays are nice too.

Another past time of mine, is riding my Harley Davidson. My Girlfriend, Peggy, owns one too. She is new at the long trips, so we usually take short rides, but we enjoy the time out on the open road. Peggy is also a skydiver. She has made four jumps to date. I like to fly planes, but I will only jump if that is a better alternative to staying on board.

The ocean and any body of water is always a favorite of mine. I like to sail, swim, water ski, and just hang out by water.

A recent venture that has been fun for us, is to go to the casino's in California for little get aways and try our hand at winning some money. I have won as much as $400, and lost about the same. All in all, it is fun.

Thanks for letting me be a part of your class project.

Good Luck,
Scott

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

My Intro Email to Conflict Resolution

Hello Class,

My name is Christine Texeira. I live in Valley Springs, CA. Some of my hobbies are snowboarding, wakeboarding, reading, and scrapbooking. My fiancee and I have two dogs that I treat like my children, a Boxer, and a Lab. I work for the San Joaquin County Office of Education in Stockton, CA. I work in the Assessments Projects department under several contracts with the California Department of Education. I am in my early thirties and have decided to go back to school in order to get into management (many positions require a Bachelor's degree). My field of study is Early Childhood Development which I chose because it fits well with my education background. I chose this course because it fulfills some of my general study. I am excited about the technology required in this class because I feel I may learn something new. In the area of Early Childhood, most people are fairly basic computer users and are not comfortable with technology. I consider myself an advanced user of many programs but have little experience with blogging. I look forward to working with some technologically advanced students.