Lecture: Dialogic Democracy (Week 5)

The web lecture begins the explanations of different forms of democracies within organizations. The dialogic democracy is known for emphasizing participation, inquiry and dialogue within decision making. What makes dialogic democracy different from deliberative democracy is that it finds importance in the passionate and personal viewpoints that individuals bring to a discussion. This idea reminds me of a time when we had a manager’s meeting at Jamba Juice. The general manager of our store asked every shift leader who they thought was the weakest lead and who they thought was the strongest lead. Since I was most recently promoted to team leader, everyone said that I was the weakest leader out of the bunch. Of course this was frustrating for me because I felt like I was being targeted and ‘picked on’ for not being as used to being a team leader. However, the benefit of this meeting was that everyone was able to openly discuss ideas as to how I would improve my managing skills in order to maintain a successful store. This form of dialogic democracy within the organization of Jamba Juice was unique because everyone was able to put in their personal input and express ideas they were passionate about.

Ch: 8 Groupthink (Week 4)

Chapter 4 talks about decision-making processes with the use of the term 'groupthink.' Groupthinking is when all members of a team go along with an idea/proposal. Throughout this process, individuals should be encouraging to other team members to voice their thoughts, remain impartial, and use more than one group in order to have more solutions. At my work, groupthinking is what we always do in department meetings. Everyone is encouraged to input ideas and thoughts about things, even though we may not be that clear on what is being discussed. The concept of groupthink is something where employees/group members can feel more welcome when they are encouraged to speak. Emphasizing that their responses won't be evaluated also helps because then they won't feel as though their ideas are being put down as unworthy. Groupthink is about teamwork and sorting ideas out based on the common consensus of the group, while teambuilding and understanding one another at the same time.

Ch: 7 Consumption (Week 4)

As chapter 7 introduces the topic of gendered narratives of work/life, the concept of consumption is explained. Consumption is how an individual chooses to present him/herself to the people around them through the way they dress, cars they drive, laptops they have, cell phones they carry, etc. In other words, it seems as though consumption is about materialistic things that may appear to make an individual have a higher standing within an organization, in others' eyes. What's interesting is that at my work, I know the hierarchy's and salaries of the people at my work and their choices of consumption aren't what one might expect. For example, the general manager at our hotel gets paid the most and is at the top of the hierarchy, however, he chooses to drive a toyota avalon. Yes, he dresses in a suit each day he is at work, but so does the other 1/3 of the hotel. Basically, everyone holds a PDA these days; it's rare to see anyone holding a basic flip phone. Society is much about one's status in regards to what they have and how much of it they have. In my opinion, when consumption regards cars, clothes, computers, phones, etc. in many cases it can be about greed and appearing successful in the eyes of others.

Ch: 7 Work/Life Conflict (Week 4)

Chapter 7 introduces the term of work/life conflict, which virtually means what is said. Work/life conflict is when an individuals personal life can interfere with their work life and/or vice versa. The only times I experience this conflict is when I'm at work but would rather be out with friends or if I'm at work on a holiday and would rather be with family. Work/life conflict doesn't affect me as much as it does other people. My boyfriend works for Ernst & Young and works up to 80 hours a week during 'busy season,' which means that I rarely get to see him and if I do, I'm making all the sacrifices in order to do so. I think that my boyfriend experiences this work/life conflict more than I do because sometimes his job does make our relationship more difficult. He is unable to balance his personal life with his work life because his job can be too demanding at times. The times that he is able to relax at home and do absolutely nothing, he almost always receives work related emails which makes him start thinking about work and everything he has to get done in the office. When this happens, it makes it difficult for him to enjoy his leisurely time because he now has work on the mind again. Work/life conflicts are not only difficult for the individuals experiencing it but also for close parties involved.

Lecture: Pervasive Communication Environment (Week 4)

In the "Technology and Teams" web lecture, the concept of a pervasive communication environment was of interest to me. These days, there are so many different methods of technology that organizations, as well as schools use in order to network with others who have similar interests/goals. Pervasive communication environment 'gives us the ability to access, create, and share information in multimedia from almost anywhere, at anytime, for any reason.' The diagram shows how cell phones, telephones, magazines, computers, etc. are components of pervasive communication environments. In my department (front office) at work, I mostly use telephones and the computer as my main means of pervasive communication. The phone and computer keeps me in touch with vital information and is also a tool that assists me in completing my job better and faster. Without these two tools, I wouldn't be able to complete my job because communication wouldn't happen as efficiently as needed. Pervasive communication environments are crucial within organizations because it is what makes a more efficient and successful organization.

Lecture: Ideology (Week 3)

As the lecture describes different metaphors and concepts in regards to culture, the role of ideology within organizations is important to address. Ideology is an individuals "assumptions about how things are and how they should be" (Eisenberg et al). In this regard, ideology is about power because it usually gives the advantage to dominant groups. I've spoken about my work at the Marriott in previous blogs and how we have to complete daily checklists on each shift. Recently, we've been told that we could make necessary changes to our checklists and get feedback from our co-workers. The other day, my co-worker and I both decided to switch some things around and when we went to another co-worker with our idea, she said "no, that doesn't work because it has always been done a certain way and can't be changed now." Interestingly enough, this co-worker had been with the company for about 5 years, whereas Val and I had only been with the company for about 2. Val and I both just shrugged if off as no big deal because we thought that our other co-worker probably knew better than us anyway. In this sense, we both assumed that things were how they were because they should be that way.

Ch: 6 Surveillance (Week 3)

Surveillance immediately made me think of our security/loss prevention officers at the Marriott. Chapter 6 defines surveillance as ongoing supervision, which makes it a mode of power. In our hotel, the security officers do have a lot of power because they have the ways and means of watching employees as well as guests within certain areas of the hotel. The bank room has cameras, as does the parking lots, hallways, and ballrooms. This way, they can keep an eye on any activity that may hinder the business or affect it in any way. At times, surveillance may be hidden and we may be unaware that we are being watched. I'm actually quite sure that the Marriott has more cameras than we think and so I am always aware of what I'm doing while at work. Therefore, these methods of surveillance can be a form of power because employee actions differ based on their awareness of being watched.

Lecture: Hegemony (Week 3)

The web lecture on culture and metaphor explains the concept of hegemony as "the dominance of one group over another." In hegemony, groups/people that are oppressed accept their standing within organizations and allow themselves to be oppressed against. Sometimes, they even 'contribute' to their own oppression. With this concept, I think about groups of educated people vs. uneducated people (educated meaning college degrees and uneducated meaning no upper education). Within my organization, the individuals that I know that are uneducated do not have the desire to move up withini the company, instead, they settle for where they are currently at. On the other hand, when people get an education, they strive for more because in their mind (and on their record) they are capable of doing more with their future. This is just what I have noticed within the Marriott. As you can see, hegemony isn't only about religion, race, or gender but it can also be used in regards to social standing, education, class, etc.

Ch: 5 Practical View (Week 3)

Chapter 5 starts our exploration of cultural studies within organizations and communication. The concept of 'practical view' is necessary in organizations because managers personally asks for advice and ideas from their employees to increase their satisfaction, as well as gain ideas about how to improve and enhance competition. Therefore, this usually leads to an effective organization where the balance is maintained between competitors as well as employees. At my work, we have quarterly meetings where our managers give us a topic to discuss with our co-workers. This usually consists of them telling us to make a list of pros and cons between all 5 of our front office managers, what we feel would improve the dynamic of our department, and ideas about how we would personally go about satisfying ourselves in the work environment. This is crucial within organizations because everyone is given the opportunity to give feedback as well as speak his/her own mind. If practical views weren't an option within organization, they wouldn't last for the long haul because employees/members wouldn't have the desire to stay due to a lack of satisfaction.

Ch: 4 Loose Coupling (Week 2)

In chapter 4, the concept of loosely coupled systems are introduced. The book gives an example of different departments within a university not interacting closely with one another, as they should. However, the faculty and students within the same dept. do interact with one another. Even though one may assume a loosely coupled system to be negative within organizational communication, it is looked at as being better in the long run because this system is capable of standing strong through 'environmental jolts.' I work in one department of the Santa Clara Marriott, but on top of that there are about 20 other depts. (i.e. housekeeping, accounting, sales, events, etc.) We all communicate frequently, but not as much as we communicate within the front office. This is an example of a loosely coupled system because we don't necessarily communicate as much as we should. At the same time, this can be looked at as one of our strengths because when other departments don't necessarily perform up to standard, we won't be affected by it.

Ch: 4 Feedback (Week 2)

Chapter 4 discusses the importance of 'feedback' within organizations. In many cases, when there is no feedback or lack of, individuals who are a part of an organization may not improve in certain areas that are crucial to the success of the organization. Feedback is defined by Eisenberg as "a system of loops that connect communication and action" (109). In other words, when feedback is given to the recipient, an action should be done in response to the feedback, otherwise the purpose of feedback is ultimately useless. All of my jobs (previous and current) had a certain time period where we would sit down with managers for a 'review,' where we would talk about a raise, as well as give and receive feedback. When I was an assistant manager at Jamba Juice, I was told that I was great at interacting with my team, but needed to work on planning my shifts better so that I would succeed. This shows positive and negative feedback. Based on the negative feedback, I acted upon what I was told and improved on planning my shifts. Therefore, when the next review came up, the once negative feedback became a positive one, which enhanced my growth within the store, as well as the overall success as well.

Ch: 3 Resistance to Domination (Week 2)

Another concept in chapter 3 that caught my attention was ‘resistance to domination.’ Eisenberg defines the concept as, “any action on the part of oppressed individuals to lessen the constraints placed on them by those in power” (68). This concept is meaningful to me because there have been many instances where I have felt oppressed or witnessed a manager oppressing a fellow co-worker. Just a couple weeks ago, my co-worker and I were talking about our weekend when our manager just made his way into our conversation only to shut me down and tell me that I wasn’t focusing on work and just socializing with my co-worker. I was frustrated because he only addressed me even though I was the one being quieter during our conversation. I felt as though he attacked me because he didn’t have as personable of a relationship with me as he did her. I was angry and told him that he should get his head together because clearly he wasn’t being fair and frustrated about something else going on in his life. In this event, I was resisting his domination because he was using his managerial standing to oppress me.

Ch: 3 Hierarchy (Week 2)

In chapter 3, we are introduced to the concept of a ‘hierarchy’ within organizations. A hierarchy is essentially where we can visualize a tower that works its way up from bottom to top, or works its way down from top to bottom. In this tower, we would see your everyday employee as well as individuals that hold managerial or executive positions. Because I work at the Santa Clara Marriott, I am a part of a hierarchy. For example, I am an employee of the front office, then comes Debbie (the front desk supervisor), Ashley (the front desk manager), May (the front office manager), Shelly (the director of rooms) and then finally Chuck (the general manager of the hotel). This is an example of a hierarchy because it works from your everyday employee on up to the general manager. This is important within organizations because it gives everyone different responsibilities. The idea of power is also split up among the tiers of the tower in hierarchy. This is a concept that is meaningful to me because I am aware of it every time I go into work. The managers are always leading the meetings and dealing with the more difficult guests because it is their responsibility to do so. If organizations didn’t have a hierarchy of some sort, then they wouldn’t be as structured/organized which can eventually lead to failure.