Clay's Blog

Journal #10: Most Meaningful Course Topic

2009-12-07T07:42:00.001-08:00

ALEC 102 was a class that I really enjoyed. I believe that all of the topics we covered are going to be very beneficial to me and help me to build healthy relationships. To chose one topic, of the greatest importance to me, I would choose our discussion on personality types. This topic gave me insight to my own personality type and will help me to identify other peoples types. I now have the ability to possibly foresee outcomes of different conversations and identify certain tendencies that I have and that other people have.

I found it very interesting to learn about my own personality type as well. Things that seem routine to me, I know now, are developed by my personality type and I can identify how they might bind or clash with others of differing personality.

Another topic of discussion that I also found very informative and beneficial was the discussion on perception. Everyone uses perception to gather information about their environment, however, sometimes our perceptions can become skewed and may cause problems in our lives if the perceptions are negative. I felt this topic armed me with the ability to identify how myself and others perceive our surroundings and, more importantly, how I can identify negative perceptions and revise my thoughts through reflection. I feel that this skill will be of great use to me in my career and personal life and to help me avoid possible conflicts caused by my perceptions.

Journal #9: Cross Cultural Communications

2009-12-07T07:27:00.000-08:00

Cross cultural communications are an important part of the modern world we live in. A lot has changed since our parents were children. In the present world a firm knowledge of the hows and whys of communicating with different cultures is essential to not only the business man but to the general public as well. The world, and the United States especially, has become a melting pot. Thanks to advancements in technology and ease of travel many cultures are now living side by side.

In class, the speaker on cross-cultural communications shed light on several different aspects of this type of communication. He strongly suggested that cross-cultural communication or, lack there of, has been the cause of every major conflict in the world as we know it. He also suggested that the media plays an intricate yet sometimes malicious role in cross-cultural communication. Also, he made it very clear that cultures are not just divided by national boundaries anymore but, however, by cultural divisions within society that are becoming more and more prevalent.

I believe this class in particular has given me an excellent foundation for explore cross-cultural communication. It has also broadened my horizons to different cultural norms and customs that I should be aware of when attempting to communicate across cultural boundaries. I assume that these skills will be beneficial to my career, as well as, my personal life.

Journal #8: Stress and Time Management

2009-12-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

In this modern world of multi-tasking, technology, large corporations and the like it is easy to become stressed. There are two types of stress that are present in day to day life. One type of stress promotes us to stay motivated and on task, helping us to complete objectives. Distress, however, is stress that builds up when tasks are procrastinated and our time becomes poorly managed. Distress can even be dangerous to ones health.

Some sort of stress management technique is often needed to ward off the dangerous effects that stress can exert on the body and mind. One tool that can greatly help reduce stress is adequate time management practices. As previously stated, stress is the product of procrastination and the subsequent rush to meet deadlines and can also be created by family or social problems. However, for this examination, I will focus on stress caused by work and school related issues. Here is where time management comes into play. Structuring an ample amount of time for each task is paramount in avoiding distress. The use of a day planner and setting small accomplishment goals can be beneficial to executing time management strategies.

Also it helps to visually lay out all the obstacles that you face on a day to day basis. This can be done by simply creating a list of stressors that often trigger your stress response. By doing this you are identifying actions, tasks, people, etc that cause you stress and now you can make an effort to avoid these triggers or identify and reverse their effects before it gets out of hand and you become stressed.

I use stress management in my day to day life as well. Much of my stress management practice is dependent on good time management skills. I use and promote the use of a day planner and I also take many breaks in my studies to focus on something that is not connected to school and work. This helps to clear my mind and keep me focused when I do return to my studies.

Journal #7: Service Learning Project

2009-11-12T20:43:00.000-08:00

For my service learning project I completed twenty hours with the Lincoln Parks and Recreation. The majority of my hours were spent at Pioneers Park just west of downtown Lincoln. Although my hours are completed I feel that the overall experience was quite beneficial and I learned a lot from my coworkers. Also, by implementing the skills that I have acquired in class I was able to identify and evaluate many aspects of interpersonal communication.

My main role at Pioneer's Park was maintenance. Every of worked I was paired with a senior member of the staff and occasionally with other volunteers. I found that each situation was different. I observed the uniqueness of each individual that I worked with and built different relationships with all of them. Some of which were more in depth than others but were relationships none the less. A moderate degree of self disclosure helped me in getting to know the other people. It seemed to ease the tension and allowed us to explore commonalities. I was then able to draw many conclusions from these conversations and was able to make fairly accurate perceptions, as well as, metaperceptions and avoided conflict on all fronts. Also, I found that the leadership roles within the workplace were somewhat uncommon. The supervisor was seldom present, at least during the times that I volunteered and I observed that the more senior members of the staff took on most managerial duties.

All in all my experience at the Lincoln Parks and Recreation was one of learning and was quite enjoyable. I feel that I did make many friends in the process and hope to return someday. The skills that I acquired during my time in class were easily put to use and I enjoyed the fact that I could observe real world settings of the curriculum. In the future it is certain that I will put my new found skills to use in my personal life.

Journal #6: Perception and Conflict

2009-11-12T19:55:00.000-08:00

In interpersonal relations perception plays a vital role in creating positive communication and also helps us to piece together verbal and nonverbal cues in an attempt to build a unified view of our environment. Perception mainly relies on two inputs, stimulus from the outer world and stimulus from the inner world. Our minds are then able to piece together certain parts of both these large inputs and create a sense of self and provide thoughts on what others think of us (also know as metaperception). Perception of one's self is crucial in building self esteem and also plays a role in the quality of relationships that we create. Also, perception can either create or resolve conflict, distinguish leaders from followers, and help us to foresee events by unconsciously drawing conclusions from past experiences.

Conflict, on the other hand, is one negative aspect of interpersonal communication. However, in many situations it is unavoidable, and, depending on how we resolve conflicts we encounter, many things can be learned from confrontations. Conflict usually arises from differences in personality types and has much to do with our wants and needs. Often times, conflict is created when two or more people or groups independently perceive that what the other wants or needs is incompatible with our own wants and needs. Also, conflict can arise when someone becomes dependent on another. Thus, from this comes three main contexts in which conflict is common: interpersonal conflict, intergroup conflict, and interorganizational conflict. The status of conflict is also progressive and usually moves through the stages of initial frustrations, conceptualization, behavior, and finally outcome. It should also be noted that certain types of conflicts have different consequences ranging from simple resolution to all out war and death.

From the information previously stated two things can be learned. The first is that if we understand how we build a mental view of our surroundings and of ourselves we are more equipped to build healthy positive relationships. The second is that conflict is sometimes unavoidable but, by drawing from our knowledge of perception, we can hopefully resolve most conflicts and the negative consequences sometimes associated with conflict can be avoided. I, personally, plan to put these facets of higher knowledge to use in my service learning project. As previously stated, perception can allow a hierarchy within the workplace to be established. Effectively identifying the leaders from the followers can create smooth, efficient work relationships. Also, I plan to use my knowledge of perception to avoid conflict within the workplace and to help others resolve conflicts that may arise. An insight to both perception and conflict can be very beneficial to any individual who finds themselves in a position that requires them to interact with others. Therefore, I plan to arm myself with a clear understanding of both and implement them, into not only my service learning, but also in my personal life.

Journal # 5: Empathy and Trust

2009-10-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

As discussed in an earlier post empathy and trust are essential components of building healthy relationships and deeper, more involved relationships. Empathy is defined as, "the capacity to enter into the thoughts and feeling of others" (Fritz, et al.). Acquiring a capacity for empathy can lead to a greater amount of trust in relationships, which is the desired outcome of most personal interaction. Therefore, to have trust you must have a complete understanding and effective practice of empathy.

In order to trust another it is usually understood that this individual displays a number of desired traits. Traits such as integrity, value, honesty and the like all make a person seem trust worthy. However, trust is a feeling that can only be acquired by taking some amount of risk. You have to make yourself vulnerable to be in a position to trust someone or something. In a trusting relationship you find that you are able to rely on someone or something which is not easy for a lot of people to do. Regardless, trust is essential to effective communication.

I have found trust is a feeling that is most easily attained by prolonged repetition, whether I am the one to be trusted or the one giving the trust. If a person displays behavior that is desired and seems to always display this behavior I find it easy to trust that person. In my service learning project I feel that I have earned the trust of the supervisor, as well as, my coworkers. I made efforts to always complete my tasks with efficiency and feel that I used the levels of communication to convey my trust worthy personality. My supervisor and coworkers have earned my trust. They seemed to be knowledgeable about each of their respective positions and showed me that the operation flowed smoothly. The feeling of trust made me respect each one of them and helped me to fit right in at the Pioneers Park.

Journal # 4: Service Learning Project

2009-10-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

For my service learning project I chose to volunteer for the Lincoln Parks and Recreation department. For the majority of the service hours thus far I have been spending time at Pioneer Park located 3 miles west of Lincoln. Initially, I created goals that I wanted to achieve in terms of personal communication and the construction of efficient working relationships with whom I was working with. Also, I wanted to evaluate and analyze the leadership styles that were present in this particular workplace.

One of my main goals was to create relationships with my coworkers that was conducive to not only productivity, but also to friendly exchange. I have found that the people in the organization are indeed quite friendly and it was not hard to strike up conversation and get to know some of the workers. One person in particular (whom I spent the most time with) shared many commonalities with myself which made it very easy to communicate and stave off potential boredom as well. Soon enough, after some time together, I realized that we were beginning to really self disclose to each other on important issues of government, family, pass times, etc. and were beginning to share quite a bond. The work day seemed to go smoothly and our communication was quite efficient.

Leadership styles within the organization was also something that I was looking forward to observing. However, I found that within this particular establishment the main leader was rarely present in a personal capacity, but often used notes and telephone calls to direct his employees. I found this somewhat strange but soon observed that the employees were self sufficient and were able to complete there work on their own. Some took direction from others and some workers took roles as leaders, persuading others to complete tasks. This absentee manager strategy was new to me but seemed to work well for the workers at Pioneer Park.

All in all, I have had an outstanding experience working at Pioneers Park. I enjoy the time outdoors and the park is very beautiful. I had the opportunity to complete many different tasks such as feeding the livestock, collecting litter, landscaping, and general maintenance. These tasks were quite enjoyable considering the fact that the communication between myself and the other workers was quite good. I feel that I have made some friends in the time I have spent at the park and I am sure that I will be returning there with regularity.

Journal #3: Communication Skills

2009-10-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

Effective communication is the bedrock of healthy relationships. As relationships progress so do the levels at which the constituents of that relationship communicate. Intention should be taken into account when communicating with someone. If a person intends to form a strong bond with another, advancing through levels of communication, from cliche conversations to peak communication, is essential. Advancement in these areas is highly dependent on the amount of trust involved in a relationship. However, empathy is an important precursor of trust. As you can see communicating with others is quite a complex endeavor but, if handled carefully, communication can become efficient, as well as, advantageous to all parties involved.

Analyzing the levels of communication in relationships can hold many observations and, therefore, subsequent conclusions. Examine the level of trust, and improve trust by being more empathetic. As always, viewing events from anothers perspective is a great way to improve trust. Another tactic that is usually involved in communication is that of self disclosure. People use certain degrees of self disclosure for many different purposes. This can be used to convey information about yourself to someone so they can get to know you better or it can be used to persuade others to disclose things about themselves. As the level of self disclosure progresses from simple facts to detailed discussions on emotions, opinions, and even well kept secrets the bond in that relationship becomes more adhesive.

After examining the levels of communication that I encounter in my own relationships I have found that many changes can be made to acquire more effective communication. Considering the Service Learning Project I can see that the quality of trust between myself and my supervisors is essential. They must trust me to do my work and I must trust them to lead me in the right direction. Also, examining the relationships between myself and my co-workers I have not and do not expect to progress to the level of communication that involves the divulging of sensitive information. However, effective communication skills between our two parties can still be constructed regardless of the level of communication encountered. Honesty and a small amount of self disclosure can go a long way in making a good working relationship and possibly even a friendship. I hope they can learn to trust me and receive a small insight to my life and my personality and I hope this level of communication is reciprocated.

Journal #2: Leadership Styles and Power and Influence

2009-09-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

When addressing leadership, I often think of people in positions of power (military leaders, the president, etc) but after learning that power and leadership are quite different I have a better understanding of how people are influenced. Leadership is a quality that many strive to acquire, however, few achieve the goal of becoming great leaders. Power on the other hand is quite easier to come by. It can be given to you, inherited, but also it can come from an ability to effectively lead.

There are five basic types of power. Three of which (reward, coercive, and legitimate) are related to a persons position. Two sources of power come from, in my opinion, a persons ability to lead and therefore influence other people. These types of power are expert and referent power. Reward power involves compliance of subordinates by which those subordinates expect some type of reward for their efforts. Coercive power demands compliance at the threat of punishment. Finally legitimate power convinces the target population that the person in the power position has a certain right to make demands. These types of power rarely causes the target audience to believe and be motivated to complete a task. On the other hand, expert power is radiated from an individual who has special knowledge and the target population recognizes this and wants to follow that leader. Referent power gives the person in position special status in the eyes of subordinates due to favorable personality traits and the subordinates desire to be accepted by the person in power. All of these types of power influence a population but in different ways. Good leaders are able to create motivation and commitment from the people they exert power over.

Leaders often use different "influence tactics" to persuade people within the target population, regardless if power is present or not. Some of these tactics include: rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, consultation, ingratiation, personal appeal, exchange, coalition tactics, legitimating tactics, and pressure. In all of these cases the target audience is being influenced by the leader through use of logical arguments, creation of enthusiasm, planning, praise, feelings of loyalty, exchange of favors, aid from others, authority, or demands (respective to latter listing). However, not all these tactics are as effective as their counterparts. I believe a good leader has the ability to differentiate and apply these tactics in a logical distribution to reduce resistance and bolster commitment, the desired outcome of any influence attempt.

I hope that, in my experience with the service learning project, I will be able to work with someone who is able to manifest motivation and commitment in me and everyone else that is involved by using their abilities as a good leader and their position of power. This will make the project a lot more enjoyable and I would assume more efficient. This type of leadership also has the potential to construct excellent relationships between leader and subordinate.

Journal #1: Personality types

2009-09-18T11:42:00.000-07:00

Personality types, I believe, are the main factor in establishing interpersonal relationships with anyone you come across. People are all unique, in that, no one person is exactly the same so coming to understand different viewpoints and the way that information is processed by other people can greatly enhance communication and interactions for the better. To generalize personalities types four categories are generally used, each containing types.

The first would be differentiating between extroverts and introverts. Extroverts generally tend to draw a lot of their energy from other people and relationships with their environment, conversely, introverts find internal motivation through their thoughts and feelings. The extrovert may be more outspoken and sociable while the introvert is reserved and reflective. The next category contains the sensing and intuitive characteristics. Sensing individuals draw conclusions about the social environment through the five senses while the intuitive individual relies more on hunches and gut feelings to gather information. Thinking and feeling bring us to the next category. Thinking individuals believe in the truth and justice of a matter while the feeling person is more concerned with creating harmony within relationships. The thinking individual may seem cold and condescending to the feeling type while the opposite is true as the thinker analyzes the feeling individuals personality. People are also categorized as either having judgement or perception personalities. The judgement individual is quite decisive and orderly and the perception individual seems to ride with the flow of events.

As previously mentioned these personality types can be used to better the understanding of ones own type and to analyze others types. Adaption and cooperation of different personality types is crucial in building strong relationships. In fact, opposing types often compliment each other nicely and add depth to any situation. This is quite evident in the Service Learning venture.

In entering the Service Learning Project interaction with other people is a given. Therefore, understanding of different personality types will be quite useful as productive, efficient relationships are built between project coordinators and volunteering students. I expect to evaluate peoples personality types in order to better understand their points of view and allow myself to realize these points and adapt to the environment so good relationships can be constructed. Hopefully, others can do the same so we can create an excellent service experience!