organizational Communication 88b
Write 2-3 paragraphs for each of the questions.
Select two of the "principles of communication" explained in your text. For each of your chosen principles, (a) define it in your own words, (b) illustrate it with an experience from your own life, (c) cite recommendations from sources outside of your textbook and (d) explain how you can use it to improve your own communication.
Explain why patterns of communication that have worked well with traditional American organizations don’t always succeed with a culturally diverse workforce. In your answer, describe several types of cultural patterns that might clash with mainstream workplace practices in the U.S.
Describe four concrete ways that culture and/or gender differences influence how and to whom we listen. What are three specific actions listeners can take to minimize the detrimental effects of these differences?
Choose four different categories of nonverbal behavior. Describe how you could apply what you’ve learned about each category to communicate to a new employer that you are reliable, competent, and responsible. Use specific examples of what you would do within each of the four categories to demonstrate these traits.
Explain the major differences among the win-win, win-lose, lose-lose, and compromising approaches to negotiation. State the advantages and disadvantages of all three approaches. Finally, how do you know which approach to adopt when negotiating with others?
Research a company you’d like to interview with. Anticipate and identify five different kinds of questions that might be used in an interview. Explain each one in terms of its purposes and uses as well as the goals this type of question can help an interviewer attain. Be sure to include industry-specific questions for the company you’ve chosen.
Assume you are in the middle of an employment interview for an administrative assistant’s job. You’ve been a stay-at-home dad (or mom) for the past 10 years, but during the last 2 years you completed an online training program with high grades. During the interview, the interviewer states, “I see you’ve been at home for 10 years with no real organizational experience.†Write an answer in the first person that demonstrates your ability to turn this negative perception into a positive one.
Imagine you are a member of a group that exhibits very little cohesiveness and disagrees on most issues. Identify three actions you would recommend to promote greater cohesion? Explain why you would recommend these actions.
Deborah Tannen writes: “Why should meetings be so frustrating? A large source of dissatisfaction is the conviction that your time is being taken up without obvious results; another is the feeling that you are not being heard. In that sense, meetings are a pressure-cooker microcosm of the workplace: A diverse group of people, with their own ideas, comes together to get a job done.†Discuss Tannen’s comments. Suggest guidelines from your text that could help alleviate the two sources of frustration she writes about.
Select two organizational patterns for informative speeches and two organizational patterns for persuasive speeches. Identify the key elements of each pattern. Provide an example of a topic that would lend itself well to each pattern.
Choose one of the types of visual aids described in your text. For your chosen type of aid, describe its strengths and its potential weaknesses. Provide one specific example of a presentation you have seen in which this type of visual aid was effectively used, and one specific example of a presentation you have seen in which this type of visual aid was ineffectively used.
Describe at least five elements that contribute to VISUAL effectiveness in public speaking. Why is each of these elements important? Next, name at least three elements of body language that detract from visual effectiveness, and explain their visual impact.
Identify an audience and an idea you would like to propose to the audience. Demonstrate your knowledge of effective proposals by writing a brief outline showing the organizational structure of your remarks. Explain why your chosen pattern of organization would be effective for your audience.
