Further Discussion....Last Week!!! Post 3

I feel most concepts in the book were gone through quite extensively. I feel as though if anything maybe the chapter on public communication could’ve been longer in that public communication is such a big part of life and communicating in a public sphere is very important for many jobs. I think the chapter could have been more elaborate when it was talking about types of arguments. I feel the authoritative and motivational arguments and substantive arguments had so much within each of those sections that it could have been broadened. I think this is especially true when talking about fallacies because that didn’t really go into depth and just talked about post hoc fallacy when in reality there are many more fallacies.

Concept I found Interesting...Last Week!!! Post 2

The general topic and chapter I found most interesting was chapter twelve, intercultural communication. Most of the concepts within this chapter I found very interesting because of how important intercultural communication is in California and especially in a melting pot such as San Jose. Some of the most important concepts I found interesting was individualism and collectivism. Because individualistic cultures are so much different from collectivistic cultures I feel as though it is very important to realize these differences because it explains a lot about how people from these cultures act with one another. People who were raised in the United States being a very individualistic culture tend to look out more for themselves and communicate much differently than someone from say Japan which is very collectivistic.

Reasearch Methods...Last Week!!! Post 1

The research method I found most interesting was ethnography. “The researcher observes behavior in its natural setting” (Trenholm 374). I find this to be the most interesting because the researcher is developing their conclusions off what they see instead of having a set research agenda in hand and systematically conducting a research analysis. To study deception a research question I may use would say “In a relationship who tends to lie more, men or women? For this question I would most likely use Survey research because it is typically the easiest to code and would be the easiest to get a set response to my question given that the population I distributed the surveys to were equal in gender.

Cyber-Relationships...Week 13 Post 1

When I was younger and AOL and chat rooms and things like that were really popular I would go on and meet people in there. I must’ve been around fourteen or fifteen and I had friends online that I had never met in person. Now on the other hand I don’t go on any of those sites or chat rooms so I don’t have any friendships exclusively in cyberspace. These cyberspace relationships are much different from face to face relationships because you could tell the person whatever you wanted without worrying that they were going to find out you were lying. I have never been a fan of meeting people off of the internet so I felt as though I could act however I wanted and pretend to be whoever I wanted to be because I thought that the people on the other side were probably doing the same exact thing.

What I found Interesting...Week 12 Post 3

I really enjoyed reading aout upward, downward and horizontal communication. I found that downward communication in a workplace is what I would think is typically used because of the hierarchy. I do understand why the employees feel dissatisfied with this process and the lack of face to face conversation. The upward communication I think is good in that the employees give feedback to the bosses and I think it helps keep everyone at the same place and feel as if they are being listened to if they progress reports are taken into consideration. Horizontal communication kind of reminds me of think tanks or right now with this budget crisis where everyone is getting together from different departments of the government to develop a plan. I see pros and cons of each of the communication styles.

Etiquette...Week 12 Post 2

The etiquette rules are important in that many people are affected by cell phones, answering machines, conference calls, faxes, timing your communications, and screen names and ring tones. I feel the rule about cell phones is a bit ridiculous. I agree that no one should use their cell phone during a movie and what not but sometimes at a restaurant you do need to pick up the phone and talk or I will talk on the phone if I am waiting for someone to arrive. I do feel there should be more of a voice etiquette when talking about cell phones. Many times I think that the loud obnoxious people on their phone drives me crazy but if someone is just chatting it doesn’t bother me. I do agree about the answering machines because I get really annoyed when someone plays music forever or they talk way too long on their machines. Conference calls are beneficial in many situations especially in business situations where I feel as though the rule is very appropriate. The faxes rule is true because typically faxes should be very impersonal and usually are not private. I think call waiting is rude but necessary. I hate being put on hold but I think if there is a time limit than it is okay.

Organization and the Environment...Week 12 Post 1

As the book says, “organizations depend on their surroundings for resources and energy” (pg 215). Thus organizations need to work closely with the environment and one another in the surrounding areas in order to not damage or completely deplete a resource used by the community. San Jose State is very interesting to me in that it is situated in the Downtown area of San Jose surrounded by businesses and housing. Most other college campuses that I have seen or been to typically aren’t placed in the heart of downtown. On the other hand I feel as though the relationship between the school and the city in which it is situated in is very good because it does provide a lot more jobs and because of all the students it helps local businesses such as restaurants, local bookstores, coffee shops and more. The ethical obligation I feel the school has is being capable of handling the amount of students that come to the school with parking and safety so the local community is not entirely burdened by students disrupting their own parking spaces or causing havoc with the communities safety needs.