Week 5 - Blog 4: Dialogic Democracy (Web Lecture)

In the web lecture, Dr. Coopman introduces five democracy models, one being the dialogic democracy that "provides an especially useful basis for small group functioning with an emphasis on collaborative inquiry, active participation, and dialogue." To implement the approach, dialogue is one of the key elements emphasized, and "dialogue requires a balance between expressing ourselves and understanding the perspectives that others bring to an issue." I think this concept facilitates our communication in the center of the globalized world because we interact with people around us (at least in the Bay Area) not only who have diverse backgrounds but also who think and feel differently. To achieve successful organizational communication through the dialogic democracy, individuals should be mindful listeners toward others and mindful speakers to express oneself, because organizations consist of individuals.

This is my last blog. Thank you all very much for reading and commenting to my blogs! This has been fun and I wish I could keep on doing this activity even after the session ends. Be mindful! Msensei

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.