Empowerment

The doctors employ empowerment as a tactic in our office to make each employee feel special and needed. Employment is described in chapter 9 (pg 292) as the "sharing of power and decision making with employees through delegation..." The doctors have created an environment where each employee is give a specific task that they are to perform in the office in addition to their regular job description. One person is in charge of making the schedule, one person is in charge of ordering medical supplies, office supplies, etc. This gives each employee an added sense of responsibility and importance.

Media Richness

Media richness is described in chapter 10 as "the multiple channels of contact afforded by a communication medium," (pg 334). Certain types of media are more "rich" in communication values than others; for example a letter is less personal than a face to face conversation. I use many types of media at work and the "richness" that goes along with them usually has to do with the level of importance or how quickly the problem needs to be addressed. If a patient is very sick the parent will call the office to make an appointment or sometimes walk in. This added contact allows us to gather more information about the patients condition in a timely manner than if they were to write us a letter or send a fax.

modesty

Modesty as described in chapter 9 (pg 284) as "personal humility about ones accomplishments and a profound commitment to the good of the company." the doctor couple that started the pediatric practice I work for are incredibly modest. Both of these doctors are extraordinary doctors, they led an interesting life and still sit on many medical boards. They are both incredibly knowledgeable about a wide variety of things health related and not. Surprisingly enough, despite both of them being these remarkable people, they have not let any of it go to their heads. They won several awards recently for being the best in the bay area and they just smiled, and filed it away somewhere. They are a walking definition of modesty and their good character is what the rest of us can only strive to exemplify.

Performance management

Performance management as discussed in our book in chapter 10 (p.321)is defined as "any system that track as gives feedback to employees about how well they are accomplishing objectives tied to their key dimension..." My employers use this technique at work frequently. Every month we have a meeting for the doctors to give us feedback as to how we are doing. Throughout the month if they notice that there is something that we need to be better about doing or they want to try something new in the system there is a list that records peoples concerns so that the doctors can address them at the next meeting. In addition to the once monthly meetings we have our review once a year. This review lets each individual know how they are doing, what their strong spots are and what they need to improve in.

Rapport Talk

Rapport talk as discussed on page 204 in chapter 7 of our book is how women construct relationships with their communication. As a women I know that I myself use this strategy when giving shots to patients. I will give advice on what works best for me when I get shots and let the little ones know that I know what they feel like and it will be ok after. For example, I received a tetanus shot several weeks ago and showed my bandaid to the patient and told her how my experience went after seeing that I was ok she calmed down enough to receive the shot.

communication network roles

Communication Network roles as covered in chapter 8 is described as "the location individuals occupy in the flow of interaction," (pg 262, Organizational Communication 5th ed. This has an impact in how successful an individual is at making connections in the workplace. For example a person who has a cubicle located next to the coffee pot will have a better chance at making friends with other employees who come to grab a cup than a person who is isolated in the basement. This also has to do with communication skills. An individual who is an easy conversationalist will have a better chance at making friends within the workplace than and individual who is shy. People who have been able to create more relationships in the workplace are less likely to leave and tend to be sought out for their input on work related issues.

communication imperative

Communication imperative as discussed in the online lecture is when people take the technologies available nowadays and use them to suit their own purposes; whether or not that was what they were designed for. I myself have used technology to suit my own needs take this class for example... We are using a website intended for sharing of personal ideas and we have turned it into a virtual classroom. That is not the exact intent that this website was intended for but we were given a model and adapted it to meet our needs. Communication imperative at its best.

Virtual teams

My dad used to go on many business trips to Germany when I was a child because his company had a location in Germany and the other half of his programming team worked/lived there. With the development of all of the communication technology we have now all he has to do is exchange emails and on occasion wake up early for a conference call (due to the time differences). This enables him to spend more time at home and still be just as productive work-wise.

progressive capitalism

The doctors that I work for are one of the higher paying private practices in the area. The doctors used Henry ford's line of reasoning "that to sell his cars to the masses workers had to earn enough to buy them," (pg 164). While the doctors weren't trying to sell cars, they did understand that their employees had to earn enough to support themselves and would be happier people because of it.
They utilized the strategy of progressive capitalism during the dot com boom when the doctors set up the practice and were doing well.

differentiation

The example I thought of, relating this term to my own work experience, was scheduling for the office. While there are the rules for when one can schedule appointments based on what the person is coming in for each person interprets them a little differently. in addition, while the doctor is technically our boss we all know that the woman who prints out the schedule will call you on anything that she doesn't think is a good idea and make you reschedule any appointments that she thinks should be elsewhere.

interpretive veiw

As I work for a pediatrician's office I will bring a lot of work experience there to this class. When I read about the concept of and interpretive view I, naturally, thought of my own experience in the work place. I was thinking that although ideally the doctors that I work for set the rules in the workplace realistically the staff who does the everyday scheduling and advice is really who creates the workplace environment. We are the ones who are on the "front lines" with the patients, and although we can try follow the doctors standards for scheduling and advice ultimately it is our own experience and judgment that handles the scheduling and advice because the doctors don't have the time to monitor what each person will say and the advice will differ from doctor to doctor.

orginazational culture

Our book defines organizational culture as "actions, ways of thinking, practices, stories and artifacts that characterize a particular organization," (pg 127). There are many examples of organizational culture in the pediatrics office I work in. The decorations alone let you know that you are in a place that is kid oriented. There are murals of hot air balloons painted on the wall, toys scattered throughout the office, even the staff wears scrubs that are geared towards kid's interests. The medical terminology that the staff uses when communicating with each other is not something that most people who don't have a medical background would understand. Even the layout of the office separates us from the patients; there are counters separating us from mingling freely with the patients and doors between the common area and the exam rooms allow for privacy when discussing concerns.

Feedback

We use feedback (in chapter 4, pg 109), both positive and negative, at work on a regular basis. Throughout the month we have a list posted on a wall where people can write down any concerns, or problems that they would like to have addressed at the next staff meeting. Once a month we (the staff and the doctors) all sit down and have a meeting regarding the concerns that have been raised. This allows the doctors to let us know what is working or not working for them as well as a voice for the staff to discuss problems that the doctors may not be aware of since they spend much of their time in exam rooms with the patients. This is a helpful communication tool for bridging the gaps between the front and the back office in the workplace.

beurocracy

My experiences with San Jose state admissions and records department came to mind when I read this section in chapter 3. There are rules and forms for every situation that can be encountered. I am in the process of applying for graduation and I feel like I am an animal at the circus jumping through hoops for entertainment purposes. I know that they have a system to try to manage thousands of students paperwork, but if you miss a "hoop" you're back at the beginning. The school says that they are trying to downsize and get rid of excess students, yet they're not doing anything (that I am aware of) to speed up the paperwork or reduce the "hoops."

Particularism

While I had experienced this I did not know the technical term for it until reading chapter 3. It was because of particularism that I left my job at the animal hospital. I loved the actual work that i did with clients and their pets, however, despite hard work and good work ethics the only way to be promoted or get the desired shifts was to be in the "in" crowed with the manager. The final straw was when a coworker (one who was notorious for just not showing up up to work without calling) was promoted to the position that I had been told would be mine as soon as the space opened up for almost the past three years. That was when I knew it was time to quit.

Scientific Management

Chapter three discusses how the principles thought up by Frederick Taylor have been applied at the gym. I know that the main reason I prefer to exercise at the gym is so I can use the cardio machines to monitor how hard I have worked or what I have accomplished. The motivation to go a little but harder/ faster to see the higher number of of burned calories or miles run is all the incentive I need to push myself.

1st assighment

Hello everyone! I have worked at several jobs throughout my life however I will stick to the ones where I was on the official payroll. My first job was working at Togo's for a summer in high school, it wasn't too bad, I learned how to make a large sandwich with everything on it in 30 seconds flat (a fun party trick). Aside from sandwich culinary skills and smelling like pastrami every evening, I didn't leave with much. I then was hired on at an animal hospital as a tech assistant/receptionist. That was fun!!! I continued to work there through high school and summers home from Sonoma State. I learned a ton about general office skills and medicine in general. I gained 3 cats and several scars along with many friends from my stint there. I had a part- time job between summers at sonoma state cleaning fish tanks and rat cages in the biology department, very exciting, I learned that you can not pay me enough money to stick my hand in a tank full of leeches and that was the end of that job. I currently work as a medical assistant in a pediatrics office and LOVE what I do (even the shots). The doctors and staff are wonderful and occasionally we pull something really cool out of someone's nose...