Learned and Improvement

From the standard business communication I learned how to be detailed. For example, these assignments required finding the answers in the book and then posting them on the blog. Detail was needed to assure I got the correct answers in my blog. Another thing I learned from this assignment was writing email messages. Through a few of the assignments I learned how to write a negative and positive message.One skill that needs improvement is turning my assignments in on time. It was extremely difficult for me to balance this classes homework along with work since we often got assigned a good amount of homework. I need to be more organized and get my homework done when it is due.

Page 43 Efficient Meetings

• Keep the discussion on track. A good meeting leader draws out the best ideas the group has to offer and resolves differences of opinion while maintaining progress toward achieving the meeting's purpose and staying on schedule. 
• Follow agreed-upon rules. The larger the meeting, the more formal you need to be to maintain order.
• Encourage participation. On occasion, some participants will be too quiet and others too talkative. The quiet participants may be shy, they may be expressing disagreement or resistance, or they may be working on unrelated tasks. Draw them out by asking for their input on issues that pertain to them.
• Participate actively. If you are a meeting participant, look for opportunities to contribute to both the subject of the meeting and the smooth interaction of the group. Speak up if you have something useful to say. 
• Close effectively. At the conclusion of the meeting, verify that the objectives have been met or arrange follow-up work, if needed. 

Page 39 Guidelines for Collaborative Writing

• Select collaborators carefully. Choose a combination of people who together have the experience, information, and talent needed for each project. 
• Agree on project goals before you start. Starting without a clear idea of what the team hopes to accomplish inevitably leads to frustration and wasted time.
• Give your team time to bond before diving in. Take time to know each other before being asked to collaborate.
• Clarify individual responsibilities. Make sure individual responsibilities are clear because you rely on each other.
• Establish clear processes. Make sure everyone knows how the work will be managed from start to finish.
• Avoid composing as a group. For longer projects, you will usually find it more efficient to plan, research, and outline together but assign the task of writing to one person or divide larger projects among multiple writers.
• Make sure tools and techniques are ready and compatible across the team. Even minor details such as different versions of software can delay projects.
• Check to see how things are going along the way. Make sure you check in with your group to assure things are going properly. 

Page 36 Characteristics of Effective Teams

The most effective teams have a clear objective and shared sense of purpose, have a strong sense of trust, communicate openly and honestly, reach decisions by consensus, think creatively, and know how to resolve conflict. Teams that have these attributes can focus their time and energy on their work, without being disrupted by destructive conflict.

Page 35 Advantages and Disadvantages of Teams

Advantages 

• Increased information and knowledge- By working in teams more experience and information can be put into the decision-making process.
• Increased diversity of views- Team members bring a variety of perspectives to the decision-making process.
• Increased acceptance of a solution- Those who participate in making a decision are more likely to support and encourage others to accept it.
• Higher performance levels- Working in teams can unleash new levels of creativity and energy in workers who share a sense of purpose and mutual accountability. 

Disadvantages 

• Groupthink- Occurs when peer pressures cause individual team members to withhold contrary or unpopular opinions.
• Hidden agendas- Private, counter-productive motives, such as a desire to take control of the group, undermine someone else on the team, or to pursue a business goal that runs counter to the team's mission.
• Cost- Aligning schedules, arranging meetings, and coordinating individual parts of a project can eat up a lot of time and money.

Page 146; Learning Objective Checkup; 5.5 and 5.6

Objective 5.5: Define the four types of sentence, and explain how sentence style affects emphasis within a message.
13.) Were is the most emphatic place to put a dependent clause?
         a.) At the beginning of the sentence.
14.) Devoting a lot of words to a particular idea shows your audience that:
        c.) The idea is important.

Objective 5.6: Define the three key elements of a paragraph and list five ways to develop unified, coherent paragraphs.
15.) When developing a paragraph, keep in mind:
      c.) That your choice of technique should take into account your subject, your intended audience,               and your purpose.
16.) To develop a paragraph by illustration, give your audience enough examples to help them grasp           the main idea.
17.) Paragraphs organized by comparison and contrast point out the differences or similarities                     between two or more items.
18.) To explain the reasons something happened, which of these paragraph designs should you use?
       a.) cause-effect

Page 164; 4 Message Design Elements

• Consistency. Throughout each message, be consistent in your use of margins, typeface, type size, and space. Vertical lines, columns, and borders should also remain consistent so readers know what to expect.
• Balance. Balance is an important but subjective issue. One document may have a formal, rigid design in which the various elements are placed in grid pattern, whereas another may have a less formal design in which elements flow more freely across the page. Simple designs are usually more effective than more complex designs.
• Restraint. Do not clutter the message with too many design elements, too many colors, or too many decorations. Simple is better!
• Detail. Always pay attention to detail that can affect your design and message.

Page 97; 6 Steps for Audience Analysis

1. Identify your primary audience. For some messages, certain audience members may be more important than others.
2. Determine audience size and geographic distribution. Depending on the size of the audience, the message will be needed to be altered based on the size.
3. Determine audience composition. Look for similarities and differences in culture, language, age, education, organizational rank and status, attitudes, experience, motivations, and any other factors that could affect the successful reception and decoding of your message.
4. Gauge audience members' level of understanding. If audience members share your general background, they'll probably understand your material without difficulty, If not, your message will need an element of education to help people understand your message.
5. Understand audience expectations and preferences. Members of the audience may expect an extreme detailed report or just a short summary.
6. Forecast probable audience expectations. Potential audience reaction affects message organization, If you expect a favorable response, you can state conclusions and recommendations up front and offer minimal supporting evidence, If you expect skepticism, you can introduce conclusions gradually and with more proof.

WMU Insider with Taylor Lewis Edited

     Taylor Lewis has never known a dull moment. Even though she grew up in the "middle of nowhere" on a family farm, she was always busy participating for 11 years in 4-H and taking her prize cattle to shows all around the country.
      More recently, in addiction to her education, Taylor has spent 3 years working for Steak N' Shake, and was recently promoted to a Service Trainer.
     After graduating from High School, Taylor was all set to attend Ferris State University when Kellogg Community College offered her a Trustee Scholarship and a position on the Kellogg Community College softball team.
     Now she is attending Western Michigan University, and majoring in Human Resource Management. Just last week, Taylor applied to be an International Student Volunteer in Costa Rica. As she has never been out of the country, or even on an airplane, Taylor is very excited to think she might have such an opportunity for travel and service.
     In the future, Taylor hopes to begin her career somewhere warm and sunny; perhaps North or South Carolina. Her dream job would be as a College Recruiter for a large college.