Sunday, April 29, 2007

Class

So...last week of class...this sure has gone by in a hurry. I will spend the last week completing the last of the items to be done in the class and finalize the work to be done on our group's project. Our power point will come together soon and turned in by middle of the week. This class has been very beneficial I think...anytime you take an Internet course it can present a unique set of challenges. The online project was a new experience for me and overall I think it worked out great. Our group is very s[read out, but worked extremely well together to overcome distance challenges and communicated well. Hopefully the end result will show that.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

week 3 phone call

I completed this weeks assignment with Lucy. She played the role of an employee looking for an increase in salary, I was the manager. She presented very good information supporting her request for a 5% pay raise. She noted her high levels of productivity, exemplary skill set and great work ethic. I replied by making sure she knows that the organization recognized and appreciated her hard work and it had not gone unnoticed. She is a valuable asset to the team at the company, and I would take the steps necessary to make sure she continues to be. I am not aware of many companies that would simply hand out a 5% pay increase on the spot based on a request. I noted that the organization has procedures in place that are designed to build a pay scale...these involve performance reviews and evaluations. However, I did assure her that she had my support and that I would do what I could to expedite the review process.
This is a conflict that occurs in the workplace as often as any other issue. There is no way to handle all these conflicts i the same way. Each case should be decided on its own individual merits based on what is best for the employee and the company.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Group update

My last entry talked a bit about how our group is progressing as the due date for the project approaches...and also about how fitting the project is for a conflict resolution class. To extend on that a little bit, the goal of resolving a conflict is to come to the decision that will be the best possible for all parties involved...which is what we have done by changing our presentation format from an iLinc presentation to power point. We had begun to experience challenges since everyone was so far apart and power point gives us the best chance of success since as a group our familiarity with iLinc is minimal. As a summary I think working through this project, not so much the project subject itself is the best lesson in conflict management.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Group project update

As a group we are still working very well together. I got to thinking about the project and how it relates to the class...I think we are getting more out of it than just running through a mediation session to resolve an issue that we have created...as we are in a conflict resolution class, we should be learning how to deal with challenges we face...I think getting 6 people on the same page, especially when for the most part we live nowhere near each other, can be a challenge. I am proud of the way we have come together to work towards completion on the assignment. We all have our roles in the project and have come up with a story line of sorts. We have laid out what each of our issues will be so will be well prepared when we present. Issues like the one we are dealing with, a dispute between neighbors, happen quite often and usually there is a more ideal outcome then what actually occurs. Overall I think the assignment is very fitting for the course and I am excited to be a part of our final product.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Movie assignment

For the assignment I chose to watch Erin Brokovich, I have seen it in the past but figured since I was familiar with the story I could more easily focus on the items that pertain to this class than I could with a movie that I hadn't seen before.

-The main character, Erin, faced a number of conflicts in the movie...these included conflicts that were career related, personal conflicts as well and family life conflicts. But just as difficult as it is to deal with those issues it is also hard to balance all of the challenges you could face resulting from the conflicts. Erin deals with the ups and downs at her job. She gets a new job opportunity but quickly blows it by not communicating well. Had she communicated with Ed and her co workers, and informed them of the project she was working on, it is quite possible that she would not have been fired. She also struggles with personal relationships...she has been divorced twice before and the emotional damage from those failed relationships shows in the difficulty she has letting a new man into her life. She gets very involved in the conflict with PG&E and begins to neglect her family responsibilities. It is evident that at least in the beginning she is really struggling to balance the commitments she has made to the different people in her life.
-I believe the conflicts are absolutely realistic. I am sure there are many people that deal with these internal and external conflicts on a daily basis.

-In hind site, it is easy to say that I would be a more consistent communicator. Erin seems to occasionally let her emotions get the best of her...this is evident in the court room, when she blows up and ends up costing herself a settlement in the accident case, and again she messed up when she didn't communicate with the boss and co workers which ends up getting her fired. Over commitment is something many people get involved with. I try not to stretch myself too thin, so that I can fulfill the obligations I have as a student, employee and husband as best as possible. Erin didn't seem to quite stay in control of her life, however she does what she feels is best for her family.

-I think Erin's negotiating and communication skills developed significantly throughout the film. At the beginning there were the two instances where she had difficulty with communication. But through her job and her acceptance of a new man in her life she is able to communicate better. The results of her improved communication skills are settlements for the families that suffer from issues caused by PG&E in the amount of $300 million. She is able to communicate with them and inform them that the reason they are sick is not what the doctor paid by PG&E says but the reason she is giving the. She gains their trust and develops a relationship with them. Her negotiating skills help her with getting the settlement and the information needed to get the necessary information to improve her negotiation tools.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Emotional IQ

My IQ report really kind of echoed what I already felt about myself...it is below if anyone is curious. The test is prefaced by a description comparing it to an actual IQ test that is based more on intelligence as it relates to puzzles and questions that are of a more right/wrong nature...what I find interesting is that with a test like this...I can answer however I want and doctor it up to be as favorable as possible and nobody would be the wiser...so while this can be a useful tool I wouldn't be too likely to use it as an evaluation of someone where a lot is at stake.

According to your self-report answers, your emotional intelligence is average. People who score like you do feel that their ability to understand and deal with their own emotions and those of others is acceptable but could still use some improvement. Emotionally intelligent people have an easy time overcoming difficulties in their lives and they are generally able to control their moods. It’s easy for them to motivate themselves to overcome obstacles and reach their goals. In addition, they find social interactions to be quite easy and fulfilling, for several reasons. They are comfortable allowing themselves to get close with others, and feel comfortable being vulnerable enough to establish intimacy. They also report having an easy time offering support to others; likely due to an empathetic nature and a clear mind when it comes to offering good advice. Perhaps by working on your problem areas, you can become more confident in dealing with your own emotions and those of others.

week 2 phone assignment

This week I worked with Carrie to complete the phone assignment. Our scenario was that we had an employee that had witnessed 3 other employees stealing money at work...the problem was that one of the employees was a supervisor and the other was a close friend. The employee was having an internal battle over whether he should come forward or not. He was torn between doing the right thing and maintaining his relationships at work. His justification for not turning them in was that there was seemingly no direct affect on him resulting from the theft...however after some internal conflict he came forward. He went to HR and explained his situation...our HR rep (Carrie) explained that even though it was a difficult decision that coming forward was absolutely the best thing to do. She also provided support and assurance that his name would be kept confidential so that there were no repercussions brought on by his decision to turn in the dishonest employees.
We did a great job of formulating and working through a conflict that could certainly be encountered at any workplace. We had an individual experiencing and internal conflict, who did the right thing and our HR rep made him feel good about it. We worked well to complete this assignment and I believe it was beneficial to both of us.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Group project

I have been working with the other members of my group, group B, to set up a plan to present our final project. I haven't presented a project before in this way and was quite nervous when I read the assignment, however, we have all been communicating well with each other and we have generated a great idea for a mock mediation session. The general idea is that we will present an issue that has arose between a group of neighbors over a very valuable mineral discovery beneath their land. The neighbors have run into the conflict over who is the rightful owner and what portion each should receive if it needs to be split up.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Phone call assignment

I was fortunate to partner with Christina on this assignment...we took the 15-20 minute time slot to get to know each other a little and discuss any conflicts/challenges we were currently dealing with. We found that fortunately neither of us were facing any serious conflicts but both had at least one challenge that we were trying to resolve currently. Mine was work related and hers was regarding a school challenge. I feel that the time we spent was very productive. Neither of us really dominated the phone call and we were able to make suggestions to each other that will hopefully result in an amicable resolution of our challenge.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

The Invitation Came Through

I received your invitation through my yahoo email. I guess I will have to email the class to send their invitations to this email. Spam blockers....one of the joys of working for the county.

It was great talking with you today and going over our conflicts. Thanks for helping me solve at least part of mine. I'm sure I'll be talking with you soon in class.

Personal work style handout

I sat down and took some time to complete the "Assessing your Personal Work Style" handout for the class and the results say...
-The DISC assesment points out that I am a "S"...I compared that to one of the links in the handout and it says that S's are Steadiness: Sympathetic and Cooperative.S's are helpful people who like working behind the scenes, performing in consistent and predictable ways, and being good listeners.
-In the Tieger Assesment my personality types were I (Introvert), S (Senser), T (Thinker) and J (Judger)
-My NLP style is primarily Visual, but I only scored a 6 and the other 2 scores were somehwhat equal...
-And my 2 primary conflict management styles are the Avoiding Turtle and the Collaborating Owl

Overall I am not really surprised y the results of these tests, for tha most part they echo the way I feel about myself. Although I can't say I am really happy with the Avoiding Turtle...there are positive aspects to that particular characteristic, but I think it would be beneficial if that wasn't my primary trait.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

A bit about me

I am 23 years old and am 3 months away from graduating from NU...I am pursuing a degree in Business Management. For the most part my technological contribution to this class may be somewhat basic. This is my first blog and it looks like many of the things I do in the class may be for the first time. Hopefully though, through practice and application the class will afford me the opportunity to become more familiar with things that up until now I have had little or no experience with. I look forward to everyone's thoughts an contributions.

first blog

So I have created a blog...never thought I'd do that. Hopefully this works and if there's any problems with it please let me know.