BUS 3700 Free Write #3

Today was my 2nd day of work.  It was really interesting learning all the new things I will be doing after my training is complete.  It is such a culture shock working in the federal center.  It's HUGE compared to my old job where we had like 15 offices and 4 bathrooms.  The federal center has a cafeteria, a gift shop, meditation room, doctors office, day care... and so much more.  Friday we have a company picnic so I will get to meet even more new people.  That will be fun.

I was glad that my group got our paper done Sunday.  I reviewed it a few times and had others read it as well and we got all good reviews.  It turned out really well and I am proud to turn this report in.  Today is our last day of class and we have a final.  I feel pretty confident after studying.

BUS 3700 Free #2

I am currently working on getting my part of the paper in tip top shape before it's due next week.  I am nervous about length but I know that we have some good information in our paper.  I hope it comes together easily when we're all finished with our parts.

Monday is my first day at my new job.  I am really excited to start a new chapter in my life.  Of course at the same time I am really nervous, but more excited than nervous. Tomorrow is my last day at my current job that I've been at for 3 years so I know it's going to be an emotional day.  I am the receptionist so I can't be blubbering all over while we have clients in our waiting area. At 5 a few staff members are gonna meet up at a Pub and get dinner for my "Going Away" shin-dig.  That will be fun I am sure. 

Today I am meeting two coworkers for lunch that can't make it to my party.  They are such nice ladies and they make me laugh so I'm sure it will be a good time. I hope there is cake tomorrow too.  I love when there are birthdays at my work because we always get cake.  Tomorrow's not my birthday, but I believe it's a "cake-worthy" occasion.

BUS 3700 Oral Presentation Outcome

I think I did okay on my presentation.  I realized after my presentation was over that I forgot to do an outline and I was really upset at myself.  I spent so much time trying to perfect my actual presentation that I completely forgot to add it.


I felt kind of silly when I started my presentation before my slides were up.  I thought I had to push "DOC CAM" or but I was suppose to push "PC" instead.  I also was embarrassed when a pop up came during the middle of my presentation too.  I think I also messed up a word in the middle of it but I can't remember what the word was.


I kept reminding myself:


Speak slowly, but not too slow.  
Speak loudly but not too loud. 
Keep eye contact.


Over all I am pretty happy with the way it turned out.  Everyone seemed to be interested in what I was saying.  I will find out this week what they actually thought and that makes me really nervous too.  I would almost rather not know what they thought but it will be good to have feed back.  That way I will know what I need to work on when I have another oral presentation.  I'm sure I have a lot more to come in my future.

BUS 3700 Free Write

I'm not exactly sure what I want to talk about so I will just type and see where this takes me..


Today I am going to make a new recipe. I am excited to see how it turns out.  It's whole grain crunch chicken nuggets.  It get crunchy with whole grain chips and flavored with ranch dressing powder mix (SunChips).  It looks really good on the photo so I guess we'll see how it turns out.


My last day at my current job is next Friday.  I am sad to be leaving but excited to start a new chapter in my life. This week my supervisor is in training so I had to take over and it was super stressful.  Everyone at my work seems to be supportive about it, although they all say they will miss me.  I hope that if they do a "Goodbye" party that no one gives a farewell speech because I am a big baby and will cry.  I want it to leave on a happy note... not a sad one.


Tomorrow is Friday and I am really excited.  I am going to Ribfest this weekend with some friends.  I loooooove BBQ.  And also, SHHH... I heard there will be a "flash mob" of dancers there Saturday at 6:30 PM.! I can't wait.! It will be so cool.  Of course, I've never seen one in person so it may not be as cool as I am imagining. 


I am starting to enjoy this whole blogging thing.  I can talk and talk and talk and no one is there to tell me to stop yapping. :)

BUS 3700 Oral Presentation Topic

I chose to do my oral presentation on a Therapy Intake.  I chose to do this because:


1- I am super familiar seeing as I've been doing it for three years
2- It seemed to be the most interesting thing I do.


I say this because no one wants to hear about how I shovel the tide walks, or do supply orders, or do the dishes at my job. I wanted to do something that some people may have had no clue about.  I know before I started calling insurances myself and all of the "behind the scenes" work I had no idea how much it took just to be a client somewhere.  It's basically the same procedure to go to the doctors office or anywhere else.


I really love my job and am happy that I had the opportunity to work there the past 3 years.  I work in our counseling program so I don't get to actually WORK with the clients.. but I do get to know them as they become regulars. I like knowing that the agency I work for helps people in need. I am going to be sad when I spend my last day there next week but I know that this is a step in my career and it's a great one.


I'm currently having issues making my presentation long enough.  But I know I am talking super fast when I practice so I think I'll be okay once I S L O W D O W N. :)

7/27/11 Good Employee Trait

My #1 trait that I believe sets me apart from other job applicants in my field is that I am dedicated.  


I think it's important to be dedicated in your career because it strives you to work harder and do better.  With out dedication, people lack the motivation to be the best that they can be. A person who it truly dedicated will go out of their way to get the job done, and do it with a smile on their face. (Even if it's a fake smile.... just kidding.)


Being dedicated doesn't necessarily working overtime without pay, or volunteering at every picnic.. it's doing an honest days work every day and doing your best for the company you work for.  It's being a loyal employee.


I see a lot of people who lack dedication and they are miserable with work.  I think that's really sad because I want to love what I do, not hate it.  All they do is the minimum amount of work and wait for their pay check at the end of the week.  Sad sad sad...


It really bothers me when I see people "abuse the system" too.  I don't understand how anyone can be so selfish that they FAKE sick time, or put in not so honest hours that they have worked.  Or when they are asked to do something and say "That's not my job!" Excuse me, but a lot of people have to do things that aren't exactly in their job description.  It's called being a good employee. 


I am partially venting because I had a stressful day at work... :)

Team Projects

Team Projects in my opinion have pros and cons.  I like them because a large project split into smaller portions between the team members makes the project not feel as big, and it gets done a lot quicker.  I also like that there's a wide range of ideas that can be used to make the project better.


But.............. a team project can be a pain when there's a member who doesn't want to do anything and just sit there while everyone else does the work.  I've been really lucky the past few team projects I've been in because all of the members did their part.  Also, it can be annoying when someone tries to take the whole project into their own hands and not let anyone else get an idea in.  As the old saying goes ... "There is no I in TEAM." :)


I like the team member evaluations that we do.  I think it's important because of the possibility that a member doesn't do their equal part of the work compared to everyone else.  I certainly wouldn't want someone who sat and did nothing to get MY earned A.  It's just not fair to the others who worked hard.


I am excited/nervous about our project coming up that is due.  I only got to meet one of my team members last week but she seems like she's going to be a really good person to work with.

Blog #5 Public Speaking

Public speaking to me is pretty scary. Although I feel okay when I am speaking in front of a crowd, I feel like time is running slower than usual. My fear is completely forgetting what I have to say and looking like I have no idea what I am doing.

When I was going to school at KVCC I took a public speaking class. Before then I was TERRIFIED of talking in front of a class or crowd. My teacher forced the class to face their fears of public speaking. I think that helped me a lot. I notice that the longer it is between oral presentations, the more nervous I get when I have one to do for a class.

Doing oral presentations helps with a lot more than just public speaking. It helped a lot with me being comfortable in interviews. Although they are very different in some aspects, the "spot light" concept is pretty much the same. All eyes are on you, and that can be intimidating.

What helps me the most is practice, practice, practice. The more familiar I am with the subject I am talking about the more confident I am. When I am iffy on the topic I feel more tempted to want to read straight from my note cards... which is a big no-no.

For my oral presentation in this class I have decided to do a process that I do at work because I am familiar with it. That way, I will not want to read from my cards because I will already know what I want to say. I feel like I will sound more natural that way too. I haven't decided yet which process I want to do. I want it to be interesting, but not complicated to the point where people don't understand what I am trying to explain.

Overall, yes public speaking is scary. But I know that it's important to practice it in school because it will help a lot in the later years of my career.

BUS 3700 #4

I think that the most important communication success factor is being "clear." By this I mean it's important to give any message clearly so the receiver understands the message the way the sender wants it to be understood.


Sometimes when people are in a hurry, it's easy to communicate without explaining.  Because sometimes we already assume that the person knows the details, or the background of the message being given.  Without a full understanding a message can be easily misunderstood.  That's why it's SO important to be clear when communicating.


A message that is over explained (or just too long) can be confusing, as well as a message that is under explained.  To communicate effectively the message needs to be specific, but not to the point where it makes the receiver feel stupid.  


When writing a message, it's important to think of who the person getting the message is.  How much do they already know?  Are they expecting this message?  How would you want the message to be given if you were the one receiving it? After answering these questions, the message should be easier to make clear.  In the end the communication should be a success.!

Blog #3 INeffective Business Communication

I have decided to talk about an example of an ineffective business communication that I experience about two years ago.

I had been working at this business for about 2 years, maybe a little less.  I was a receptionist at a therapist office so it was always really busy and chaotic there.  I remember coming in one morning and seeing an email from the finance director that stated something like this:

"It is against our regulations to open any mail marked confidential that comes into the office.  I spoke with the executive director and she stated that when we find out who made this mistake they will no longer work here."

I was shocked, I wondered if I did it accidentally.  Would they think it was me who did it because I had worked there the least amount of time?  I prayed silently at my desk that it wasn't me.  My supervisor came into my office to talk to me about it.  We were both shocked at how harsh the punishment was for such an error. 

About an hour later the Executive Director writes an email to the front desk staff:

"I don't know what she was talking about, but I never said anything like that.  I am shocked that she would say such a thing."  It continued on and honestly I don't remember the rest so I won't make it up. (Hah)

About 5 minutes later from the Finance Director I receive another email:

"I am sorry for the first email I wrote, she never said those things.  I must have misunderstood what was said. No one is getting fired."

I remember sitting there thinking to myself... Did two adult women just have a cat fight over email?  How ridiculous.  Not to mention unprofessional.... Needless to say, no one got fired... and we never figured out who the "mail opener" was.  The end.!

BUS 3700 #2

Writing is one of the few things that I actually liked doing in grade school.  Obviously, as I got older the papers became more difficult.. but I still mostly enjoy it. I don't really have a favorite type of writing.  It's all pretty much the same to me.  Although research papers can be difficult, so can story writing or opinion papers, etc.  


I use to write stories for class when I was in elementary and absolutely loved it.  I would make up some of the craziest scenarios and characters.  I think that's where I realized I liked writing.


When I was 12 years old I started writing poetry.  By the time I was 14 I had written over 150 poems that were organized in a blue binder that I kept in my closet.  It was a way for me to put my thoughts and feelings down on paper.


Writing in general is something I don't dread often.  Not to say I haven't had a paper that I didn't want to write.. but it's a lot better than having to do an excel spread sheet with formulas. :)

July 6, 2011

Yesterday was my first class in BUS 3700.  The name of the class is Integrated Communication in Business. To be completely honest, until I came into the class and read the syllabus I was not exactly sure what to expect.  I felt a bit of relief when I saw that I would be doing something that would actually benefit me in my current as well as my future life. 

I have great expectations for this class. I plan to take this class seriously because I know that I need improvement on a lot of my communication skills in writing as well as orally.  I have always been a good writer when it comes to stories, but when it comes to relaying a message I can sometimes add too much "blah blah" and ruin the main purpose of the paper.