Week Two Discussion Questions - Essay Example

1. Communications can be defined as the process in which we convey meaning in an attempt to create a shared understanding (K12, 2009). It varies depending the medium people utilize to communicate. Communication by telephone, internet, and in-person is conducted differently. The telephone was a communication marvel that was invented at the beginning of the 20th century. Businesses have used this communication channel to contact customer for decades. Phone communications between a business and a customer are usually formal conversations.

The internet is a channel that has various types of communication alternatives a person can use. Three types of communication tools the internet provides are emails, instant chat, and forum mechanisms. Emails are the most popular type of communication used on the internet today. Anyone can open a free email account at popular websites such as Yahoo, Google, and Windows Live. Emails are a great communication option for businesses because it is free and the message reaches the inbox of the recipient’s email account instantly.

Chatting is an informal form of communication people used on the internet. Chat rooms mechanism can be used by companies to improve their customer service capabilities since chatting occurs in real time and its costs are a fraction of what it cost to set up a call center. Person to person communication is the most effective form of communication. One of the advantages of this form of communication is that people are able to utilize all senses which include vision, hearing, and body language during the communication session.

Also in face to face meetings the sender can take advantage of other technological tools such as projectors to transmit the message to a larger audience. A few years ago I worked for a company as an administrative assistant. My boss told me to take over the job duties of a certain employee during her vacation. I never spoke with the employee. When the person got back the employee was mad at me for taking over her duties. According to her my intervention with certain customers caused her a lot of inconveniences.

My boss told me not to worry, but I suddenly had a person mad at me work due to a lack of communication. The proper thing would have been for a face to face meeting to have place between myself, the employee, and our boss prior to her vacation to discuss how to deal with her work area. K12.wa.us (2009). Communication Overview. OSPI State of Washington. Retrieved December 2, 2009 from http://www.k12.wa.us/CurriculumInstruct/Communications/default.aspx 2.I remember a few years ago I started a job for a company.

I was the new employee there and I did not understand the corporate culture of the enterprise. When I met the executive team my first impression of some of the members was biased due to stereotyping. Stereotyping occurs a person makes an opinion about a person’s character based one aspect of the person’s personality such as ethnic group composition. When I was young my father and mom told me that people that tattoo themselves were up to no good. I always thought I was not a prejudice person in any way, but when I saw the two executives with three to five tattoos in each arm I displayed prejudice behavior.

My stereotyping instincts that people with tattoos were criminals took over me. I did not see these two persons as matured and competent executives, but instead I thought they were not legit. After a few days I noticed that all around me there were many different characters at the workplace. I read the company’s mission statement and found out that diversity was a driving force at this enterprise. I got used to my bosses having tattoos after a while.