Week 5 - Blog 3: Transaction Culture (Ch. 11)

A transaction culture, which is a new mixture of one culture (Culture A) and another (Culture B), occurs when a Culture A person interacts with Culture B person, and it helps to develop mindful communication, according to Bell and Williams (p. 353). I think the context in my workplace (a college) proves this concept because we have a population consisting of a huge cultural diversity, such as Cultures A to Z (or more than that), and we create our own culture by respecting and blending the diverse cultures. I really like our culture and atmosphere that made my life lively (I'm a very curious person). Also, we can apply this concept for language use (since my major is Applied Linguistics), such as idiolects between my husband (Californian) and me (Japanese), and between me and my children. We create our own language/words by blending the different languages/words to have mindful communication. BTW, I heard that the more idiolects a couple in a relationship have, the more love between them exists. Do you believe this?

Week 5 - Blog 2: Differentiation (Ch. 10)

The authors mention that one of the popular business strategies is differentiation, which is "highlighting the unique or special qualities of a company's product or service" (p. 312). We can apply this concept for not only business but also teaching. At a college, I lead some workshops for ESL students, and one of these workshops is in the form of Karaoke singing to help students gain native-like English pronunciation. Many educators have used songs to teach English skills, such as grammar, vocabulary, culture, and pronunciation is also one of them. However, my teaching is unique and different from methods of other teachers, as far as I know. When I have learned jazz singing, I could figure out how to improve English pronunciation, especially how to speak English fluently, observing the singing of native English-speaking co-singers, so I utilize those techniques in my workshop. Although singing is not exactly same as speaking, the method works very well, and the students who took the workshop improved their pronunciation and had fun at the same time. I have been teaching this for about seven years, and the grand total of participants is now over 1200! :-) (Table 10.2, p. 330).

Week 5 - Blog 1: Supportiveness (Ch. 9)

One of the four essential characteristics for leaders to have effective communication is supportiveness (p. 288). Also, the authors state that supportive communication "emphasized active listening and taking a real interest in employees." In my workplace (a college), I have a few supervisors for my job (teaching), and fortunately they implement the supportive communication approach towards the staff (teaching assistants). They listen to our stories, in both official and personal, and support us to work effectively, such as scheduling, material preparation, student enrollments, and sometimes "feeding" us (such as snacks and so forth), so we can concentrate on teaching. Also, we trust one another; for example, when a student has a problem in the program, we work together to solve the problem for the student. I think I myself also a leader for my students, so I try to communicate with them in the supportive communication manner so that I can create a good rapport with them in class and the students could improve their English skills comfortably.

Week 4 - Blog 4: Types of Teams (Ch. 8)

The authors state, regarding team-based organization, that "teams...generally fall into three categories or types: project teams, work teams, and quality-improvement teams" (p. 236). Fortunately, I have experienced these three types in my workplace. In one of my workplaces at a community college, an ESL lab, we have one coordinator (boss) and six teaching assistants. As a small organization, we coordinate some projects to develop better service (teaching and learning) for the students, as a "project team." Also, we, as a "work team," have responsibility for the whole work process. Not only teaching, but we also promot our services (what kind of activities and classes we offer, etc.). We are also a quality-improvement team because we "improve customer satisfaction, evaluate and improve team performance, and reduce costs" (p. 241). Since we have been threatened by the huge economic crisis, now our attention has turned to how we reduce costs.

Week 4 - Blog 3: Communication Imperative (Web Lecture)

In the web lecture, Dr. Coopman describes that "most groups and teams rely on a blend of tools that integrate online and offline communication," and through the communication technology we "maximize communication satisfaction and interaction." Yes, it's true. I cannot live without my laptop. Almost every day, I exchange emails with my coworkers, friends, and family members, blogging for this class, Googling to search good materials for my teaching, and so forth. Dr. Coopman also explains how the Internet was originally developed. I did not know about the history, so it's very interesting for me. I remember that I first encountered computer technology in the early 80s. I used it to keep journals of my cheerleader club's activities. It was a UNIX, which did not have any color except the letters in green (like an electric bulletin board) on the black background. To save the journals, I used a flat record-like tool, called a "floppy disk." In the late 90s, I started emailing both with UNIX (electric bulletin board on the black background) and Windows (in multiple colors as it is now) to contact my fiance, now my husband (at that time I was in San Francisco and he was in Tokyo during our one-year long-distance relationship). I really appreciate all of the precursors who created such a great cyber world.

Week 4 - Blog 2: Personal Brand (Ch. 7)

"Personal Brand" is one of the concepts described on p. 217, and according to the authors it means that "Through a variety of popular texts, employees are increasingly encouraged to treat the self as an enterprise, and ongoing project, and even a brand that can be managed," and the best way to do so is to turn into a "personal brand." Even though I'm not a "winning personal brand," I think I utilize this strategy well in my workplace because I have been implementing being "responsive to any opportunities, self-motivating and self-promoting." When I work in class as a teacher, I could be a CEO of an enterprise in the name of the class (but should never be a dictator, though). Also, I'm a "family CEO" because I treat my family (my husband, two babies, and a dog) as an enterprise to make our life easier. Even my husband, who has become a COO for a non-profit organization in the Bay Area, follows me. However, since I have more freedom to be a personal brand at home, I should keep in mind not to be self-centered.

Week 4 - Blog 1: Communicating Multiple Identities (Ch. 7)

The textbook states that "Thoughtful and responsive communicators will make conscientious decisions about communicating in ways that value difference, resist stereotyped assumptions about particular social identities, acknowledge the power of communication, and foster agency" (p. 223). Also, Allen offers the three specific strategies to better communicate multiple identities: 1) Be Mindful, 2) Be Proactive and 3) Fill Your Communication Toolbox. Since my workplace is a college, I encounter diverse population, such as resident and nonresident students, instructors, administrative staff, technicians, etc. on campus, whose backgrounds vary, and especially the students who I meet change every quarter and every academic year. As a college staff, I definitely need to enact and embody these strategies in my job (teaching ESL). To me, the job is not only teaching but also communicating and interacting with multiple identites outside of the classroom. Fortunately, ther are many co-workers around me who serve as good models and who demonstrate these strategies, so I hope I could improve my competence of communicating multiple identities.

Week 3 - Blog 4: Hegemony (Web Lecture)

Dr. Coopman describes that hegemony, ideological control, refers to "the dominance of one group over another, and the construction of that power relationship such that those who are oppressed accept and contribute to their oppression," and on example is the woman's suffrage movement in the US. I think in Japan they still, to some degree, follow this kind of ideology. As far as I know, women in Japan had been oppressed by dominants, mostly men, so even if they really wanted to get professions, it had been so tough for them to realize their wishes. I think it's based on old Japanese traditions like, "women should make the home while their husbands work outside." However, in 1986, the government amended a new policy, called the Equal Employment Opportunity Law for Men and Women." The government's thinking was to decrease the number of employers who avoided hiring much more females. The law resonated as if an epoch-making affair, but it was so difficult to change the ideological roots of the male workers' / employers' philosophy. Now they have more serious problems. Because of the worldwide economic crisis, many working women in Japan were laid off or are losing their jobs. In particular, some employers dismissed the women who tried to return to their jobs after the maternity or parental leave. Is there any hope for the female workers or candidates in Japan? One recent news article reports that many highly educated young women, like graduates from the prestigious Tokyo University graduate school, try to get married to successful male workers. Now the working women in Japan are hit with double punches: Hegemony and the Economic Crisis.

Week 3 - Blog 3: Reward Power (Ch. 6)

One of the five types of social power is "reward power" (p. 168). It is my favorite one and is effectively used in my work. As an ESL teaching staff at a community college, I lead some workshops for the students. One of the workshops is Accent Reduction through Singing. Unlike regular classes where students pay tuition and are required to attend specific days and times, the one-time-only and 50-minute workshops are elective and free, so the students can participate whenever they want, which means that the students are not required to attend the workshop mandatorily. Therefore, I utilize "reward power" to promote the workshop. For example, on my own initiative, I count how many times the students attend every quarter, and if any student attends more than 10 times, I give them an "Attendance Award" with a special CD (my jazz singing) at the end of the quarter. I take their photo and design a certificate for them, and post it on the wall. This system definitely motivates my students, so I have more "repeaters," and the grand total of the participants has become over 1200 within seven years. I think the "reward power" can be used not only in the workplace, but also in schools.

Week 3 - Blog 2: Organizational Assimilation (Ch. 5)

"The experience of organizational assimilation involves both surprise and sense making" (p. 147). This idea resonates with me because I experienced becoming a both failed and successful "newcomer" when I was younger than I am now. In the transition from being a college student in Japan to a company employee, I faced a big surprise in the new world (the workplace). I think some people know instinctually how to successfully behave or "survive" in the working environment, but I was totally naive and I did not realize how I should have communicated with the people there. My college student-like talk made the senior coworkers upset, but I didn't know why they were upset, so I was uncomfortable when I was a new face in the workplace. On the other hand, I became a successful newcomer when I started college her in the US. Since it was the first time for me living in the US and there is cultural diversity on campus in, of course, an English-speaking environment (my second language), I observed people a lot. It was fun because I'm a curious person, and I could figure out how to assimilate or acculturate myself in the environment. I really like the idea that "one of the more interesting tactics, 'disguising conversations," involves making jokes about people, procedures, or activities and watching to see whether others think they're funny" (p. 148). I with I could have known this idea when I was in Japan. But I think I'm utilizing the tactics in my current life here.

Week 3 - Blog 1: Theory Z (Ch. 5)

From my personal working experiences in Japan and the US, I think both management techniques, the American emphasis on "individual achievement" and the Japanese emphasis on "the performance and well-being of the collective" (p. 130) can be effective in organizations, such as workplaces. We should synthesize and balance those techniques focusing on the context, environment, and so forth. If we utilize both concepts effectively in a certain organization, our achievement could be higher.

According to Ouchi, a Theory Z type of organization "would integrate individual achievement and advancement while also developing a sense of community in the workplace" (p. 130). In the 1970s, my father was a factory worker for a leading Japanese automobile maker, which followed the Theory Z style of management. My father's job was to make car engines. Some examples of Theory Z management were that he and his co-workers were expected to wear matching uniforms, which is very common in Japan. Each morning, my father and all his co-workers would assemble to exercise to the NHK radio broadcast calisthenics for about ten minutes before they started work. This is also very common in Japan and, like the uniforms, helped to develop the sense of community in my father's workplace. Also, my father was sometimes required to transfer his workplace from one city to another to accommodate the needs of the company. I also transferred my elementary schools three times within six years because of his work transfers.

I don't know whether I could follow such a kind of management style, although I really appreciate my father's efforts. What do you think, guys?

Week 2 - Blog 4: Retrospective Sense Making (Ch. 4)

I really like Weick's argument that "people act first and later examine their actions in an attempt to explain their meaning" (p.115). If "he lived experience of college and career is most often a series of happy accidents and opportunities" with "a series of logical choices," I can tell my lived experience makes sense (p.117).

After I graduated from a university in Japan, I became an employee for a leading clothing manufacturer. I had worked for the company as a shop manager for about 11 years. Since I knew our products well and had good sales skills, I wanted to try to take on new challenges within the company. And, I hoped to continue working for the company until retirement ("lifetime employment" is a very typical concept in Japan). My ultimate goal was to transfer to a branch in the US; however, the company told me I was going to be in sales or training the new sales employees for the rest of my career. There was no chance to change my job at the company (they have such a strict policy). If I had been in the US, maybe I could have left to work for another company, but in Japan it was hard to change employers. I was really wrestling whether I should quit. Finally, I decided to quit the job so as to study in the US and make a better career and life. Now, I'm a teaching assistant at a community college in the Bay Area, and although my pay is not astronomical (like some high-tech CEOs), I really love my job and I'm definitely applying the strategies that I learned form my experiences as a shop manager in Japan, such as communication with my clients (students), organizing classes, creating materials, handling clients' negative feedback, and so forth.

Week 2 - Blog 3: Feedback (pp. 109-110, Ch. 4)

I agree that feedback, both positive and negative, is effective for organizational communications in businesses (Argyris and Schon). This concept is also applied in my major, teaching English as a second language. Probably, people think that correcting errors on students' writings (essays, for example) seems to be the most effective way to provide feedback, but I don't think that's always true. Of course, teachers should tell their students what the correct grammar is, but if the teachers always point out the students' errors, the students become confused, and their anxiety increases. In other words, this is only negative feedback from the teacher that will demotivate the students. Therefore, ESL teachers should apply both positive and negative feedback on the students' grammar to help them improve effectively. An example of positive feedback is focusing on whether the student is effectively getting across his meaning (organization/context) rather than focusing on precise grammar (details). I think we can apply his concept not only in businesses and teaching English, but also in a variety of fields, and the key point is how we balance the two in a certain field.

Theory X

Week 2 - Blog 2
Theories regarding organizational communication could be applied to not only workplaces but also educational fields, such as schools. This is because schools are big organizations with a variety of sub-organizations, with working contexts that have diverse cultures, powers, leaderships, and ethics.

One of McGregor's two managment theories (pp. 89-90), Theory X, reminds me of high schools in Japan. One exmpale is that English-language education in Japanese schools, in general, follows Theory X because the organizations are "control-oriented" and of course have a "bureaucratic style management."

Many high school students in Japan studying English are neither motivated nor encouraged. One well-known reason is that the students are pushed to study English so that they can enroll at a high-level university. This enrollment depends on successfully passing a very difficult entrance examination, a big part of which is the English test. Unfortunately, in their real lives after the examination, students only have English skills that have been "crammed" into their heads for the purpose of passing the test and no real-life language skills to use. The high schools do not care about the needs of the students. Or, in other words, their approach is not very high up on Maslow's hierarchy (pp. 87-89) in terms of meeting the needs of the students!

Bureaucracy Experience in Japan

Here is a bureaucracy that I experienced when I was working in Japan. This pertains to the bureaucracy concept in Chapter 3. I was working for a large clothing manufacturer at the time, managing a retail shop. This turns out to be a story of "double bureaucracy" as the retain shops were actually small tenant boutiques within larger stores. It would be sort of like having a "company x" boutique inside a Nordstrom or Macy's here in the U.S. The manufactuer's hierarchy was full of managers, directors, vice presidents and so forth. Then, the store itself had its own (similar) hierarchy. Unfortunately, the goals of the two organizations were not always the same and that could cause conflict between the floor manager of the department store vs. the shop (boutique) manager such as myself. These conflicts would arise on a variety of issues; for example, from what hours to work to how to manage our merchandise sales. This experience came to mind when I read the 6 bureaucratic characteristics on p. 77.