Do You Hear What I Hear???

September 27, 2018 at 10:09 am (Add Value to Business, Business Conflicts, Business Ethics, career, Coming Out LGBTQ, communication, Communication Problems, Conflict, Diversity in the Workplace, Effective Communication, frame of reference, Job Interviews, Listening skills, Motivation, Overseas Business Conflicts, Social Media in the workplace, Social Media/Technology, Telecommuting, Uncategorized, Working Well with Teams)
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woman wearing headphones standing beside man

Photo by Nicholas Githiri on Pexels.com

Listening to me and Hearing me are two different things. How well do you listen? According to PR Daily, less than two percent of the country’s population, have had formal education on how to listen. Did that not just blow your mind, because mine is flabbergasted. We communicate everyday with people from around the world, only to realize what we are saying to each other is only being heard, and not comprehended. I have three quick points on how we can enhance our communication skills, by simply improving our listening abilities.

  1. Pay Attention
  2. Open Your Mind
  3. Interact

These tips do not have to be completed in order, but it is much easier to understand the conversation if you do. Let’s break these tips down into a simpler form.

  • Paying attention is the key to any conversation. This allows the sender and receiver the opportunity to feel each other out. It is also needed to retain pertinent information.
  • Open your mind to all ideas whether you feel like they are good or bad. You never know what someone else can bring to the table, not to mention we all fall short of knowing everything, so always be willing to learn something new.
  • Both the sender and the receiver should interact with each other. By doing this the other knows if the message sent is clear. Interaction could be as simple as eye contact or a nod of the head. The point is you are letting the other know you get it!

I have found in relationships with others in my life, communicating effectively is so important. Not understanding what someone is trying to tell you after they have said it over and over and you have heard it over and over is beyond frustrating. That is why during the communicating process, we must openly listen to each other and pay attention to the details in the message so that we can respond to effectively. Considering there are so many cultures that make up our country, some ways of getting a message across will vary. These steps might not work for every situation, but they can assist with the process.

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SOCIAL MEDIA HELPING BUSINESSES

September 26, 2018 at 11:17 pm (Advertising, communication, Marketing, Social Media/Technology, Uncategorized)

Social media has a huge platform for our generation and it’s no surprise that businesses are getting its benefits from using social media as well.  By using social media, a business can promote the products that it provides or sells without having much work at all. The business whether it be big or small can have the opportunity to communicate better with its customers. Customers can give reviews and feedback on the business, allowing the business to know what to improve or sustain.

There are tons of social media tools and they can all have their advantages or disadvantages for businesses. Facebook is one of the most popular can help promote all services provided and get the news out to the people that are currently following you. The same can be said about Instagram and Twitter, those tools create a fast and easy way of showing what the company does. One tool that has become more popular recently is Yelp, especially for searching restaurants.

Yelp is a social media tool that is designed around review forums. It is generated for every type of business, anything from a doctor office to gyms. Yelp doesn’t require an account for the public to see the reviews or comments that others have left, but a commenter would need an account. Yelp gives the business a page to claim and allows a section for the description of what the business does and promotes services. This tool allows the businesses to upload the contact information, addresses, upload pictures, menus, hours of operation, and any crucial information that is needed for customers to notice the businesses.

A business can promote what services are on the page that it has claimed. by adding specific wording. If as a restaurant special is “dinner served all day”, Yelp and Google search are connected, and it opens the page for the searcher, giving more exposure. Reviews can be seen by the public and this can be an advantage or disadvantage to the business. The business can reply to the review by either thanking for the business or by telling the reviewer that you will take the comment into consideration. This will help the public to see what is good or bad about the business. Reading the comments This is important because it shows a potential customer of what other have liked or disliked, what needs improvement and what should be sustained. Yelp is a great social media tool for business any business.

By Tania Zamora, Business Major – IUPUC

 

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The Life of Generation Z

September 20, 2018 at 5:22 pm (Education, Marketing, Uncategorized)
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When you first think of Generation Z what comes to mind? Lazy, distracted, uncaring individuals that will never own a home and rent their whole lives? Teenagers so absorbed in their phones they forget to look up? A generation that couldn’t care less about their future?  These are all common answers when asking people what they think of when talking about Generation Z. However, these are misconceptions about the generation.

photo for bp               Generation Z is most commonly categorized as people born after the year 1995. They grew up seeing their parents struggle from the job market crumbling and the world of technology has shaped the way they think, comprehend, react, and respond to everyday interactions. They are the most recent generation and coming with that is the unknown about them. People not understanding the generation leads them to fall back on these misconceptions so that they have a sense of knowledge about the generation.

look_a_distraction_design_by_eecomics1               People in Generation Z are not lazy, distracted, or uncaring. If something is not interesting to them they will look somewhere else. On the surface this comes off as having a short attention span and being lazy, but this is just because Generation Z has become extremely efficient in the way they use their time with the advances in technology. If they aren’t going to benefit from something they are looking at then why waste their time? Therefore, social media, blog posts, YouTube, and other internet resources have grown in the market. Also, people in Generation Z care more about their future than most other generations. After watching their parents struggle they put a large priority on paying off student debts, putting their degrees to work, and saving for the future. They also have a high participation in volunteer opportunities and organizations that will better the future. This YouTube Video express the way that Generation Z thinks and acts today.

With the new, unexplored way that Generation Z thinks and behaves, the world will be a very different place as they reach adulthood. Things will start to be expressed in shorter periods of time and most things will be internet based. People will also most likely be in a better financial situation because of their hope and work for a better future. Hopefully this has changed your view or at least cleared up some of the unknown and warped the misconceptions that torment Generation Zed.

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Generation X – Bridging the Gap in Leadership

September 12, 2018 at 10:44 pm (communication, Comparison and contrast, Education, Uncategorized)
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There is no clear decision when “Generation X” begins or ends, it is typically said that is starts in the early 1960s and ends in the early 1980s. Generation X follows the baby boomer generation and are often referred to as “Gen Xers”. “Gen Xers have been called everything from slackers to disloyal, from dumb to just plain bad” (O’Bannon, 2001). It seems that this could not be any farther from the truth.

Gen Xers come from a time when the divorce rate in America was skyrocketing. “Between 1965 and 1977, the divorce rate in America doubled. Over 40% of Xers come from broken families, and 12% of elementary school children grew up as “latchkey kids,” responsible for their own welfare after school until their parents returned from work” (Zill & Robinson, 1995). Although no one realized it at the time, this taught the Gen Xers how to be self-sufficient. It also taught them how to handle difficult situations.

Gen Xers are looked at as being responsible for bridging the gap between the baby boomers and millennials. Carolyn Wiethoff states, “Gen Xers grew up in the information age, and they are quite comfortable with technology. Politically, they grew up as America’s global power was declining. In the business world, Generation X saw a record number of corporate bankruptcies, Wall Street scandals, and massive corporate downsizing.” They have shown they are capable of being tech savvy, such as millennials, and exhibit leadership skills shown by the baby boomers.

Gen Xers were forced to be responsible and handle adversity at a young age. This valuable skill translated to the workplace and created great leaders. In a study published by DDI, it looked at more than 25,000 leaders spanning 54 countries and 26 major industries. They found Generation X accounts for 51 percent of leadership roles globally (Neal & Wellins, 2018). Their ability to be responsible and handle adversity has showcased their leadership skills.

Gen Xers are viewed as loyal employees, but also value time spent with their families. This can be directly related to how Gen Xers were raised. They take pride in spending time with their families because it was something that was taken from them at a young age. They understand the value of family and what it can mean to their spouses and children.

Their life experiences have impacted the way they communicate, act, and react to the world around them. Their experiences have given them the tools to communicate to both younger and older generations. They have risen to leadership levels without sacrificing the value the of family. This can be directly related to their upbringing. They were shown family and financial instability. In turn, they have made it a priority not to repeat history.

Sources:

Neal, S., & Wellins, R. “Generation X-not millennials-is changing the nature of work.” 11 April 2018, https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/11/generation-x–not-millennials–is-changing-the-nature-of-work.html

O’Bannon, G. (2001). Managing our future: The Generation X factor. Public personnel Management, 30, 95-106.

Wiethoff, Carolyn. (2004). Management Basics: Managing Generation X . Indiana libraries, 23(2), 53-55. https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/1805/1343/Management%20Basics.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Zill, N., & Robinson, J. (1995). The Generation X difference. American Demographics, 17, 29-32.

By: Tyler Houchin, General Studies Major – IUPUC

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Words change human behaviors

September 9, 2018 at 5:15 pm (communication)

We all know of someone that speaks before they think. While not knowing how it affects those around us. Words can change human behavior in both positive and negative ways. One single word can make the difference between liking a person and disliking a person.  It can affect relationships, businesses and impact your career. Using the right or wrong words will show you how a person is going to react.

For instance, when communicating with your significant other use words of encouragement such as love, proud and beautiful.  This will allow the person receiving the message to feel happy, appreciated and able to open up and communicate better with you. On the other hand just using the wrong words such as always or never, you’re pathetic, you have to do this will change the behavior of the person. They will shut down, become standoffish and not feel comfortable to communicate you with.

Same thing in businesses they know the right words to say to keeping customers coming back instead of losing them. Greeting their customers asking how their day is going will make them feel welcomed and willing to shop at their store. Ignoring the customers using words like hurry, I don’t have time for this will make the customer want to leave and tell their friends about how badly they were treated.

Just one negative word can ruin a person’s day. Nevertheless, one positive word can make a person’s day. Benjamin Franklin said, “Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.” So in other words choose your words wisely because they have the potential of accomplishing nearly anything or destroying nearly anything.

By Tameeka Sizemore, Psychology major- IUPUC

 

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Frame of Reference

September 6, 2018 at 11:53 am (Listening skills, Uncategorized)
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How does your frame of reference affect how well you are able to complete the task at hand? This is a question I find myself asking when preparing this blog. There are many times I have overlooked the importance of this. Over the last year I have learned from personal experience on how my frame of reference can affect how I approach problems in the workplace.

The first step to understanding the role of your frame of reference is to know what the frame consists of. This can vary by your location and the activity you are currently participating in. My frame of reference at work focuses on mainly cost and revenue generated. I am also from Generation Z. This has a larger effect on the technological side. I see the advantage of how technology can improve efficiency even if It cost more than standard equipment.

I reflect over the past experiences I had at work while thinking about my frame of reference. Many of these issues could have been resolved earlier if I would have stepped back from the situation to define how I am viewing the issue versus how the other person views the issue. Most business are trying to make as much profit as they can while keeping their customers happy. Working in the quoting department is just that. We try to maximize our profit. While I look at this my customer is trying to minimize their cost. It is best to approach this as if we were a partnership. We both need to agree to the price that satisfies both of us. While this process sounds simple it took us around 2 weeks to accomplish. If we would have started out at the point where we both were transparent with our needs this process could have taken only a few days.

In my short time in business I have found it best to take a few minutes before each meeting and analyze where my customer/coworker is coming from these meetings would have been more productive. We also would have been more efficient which frees us up in order to do other tasks. Going forward I plan on scheduling a few minutes into my calendar in order to my position to that of my opposition.

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