Discipline and Conflict Management in the Workplace

           Have you ever worked for a company where all of the employees had positive attitudes, were always working productively, and never complained or made excuses? Yeah, I didn’t think so. One of the biggest challenges for managers is to effectively manage their employees and to keep them focused, motivated and productive. A problematic employee could have a negative effect on the department or even the company as a whole. It is important to know how to properly handle difficult situations that may arise. Let’s look at an example.

Case Study:

“You are a department manager in a mid-sized company that provides technology support services.  You have ten employees who are required to maintain a high level of technical expertise and deliver excellent customer service.  One of your employees, who has been with the company for two years, is performing at a substandard level and you have received numerous complaints from customers and coworkers.  In addition, this employee has displayed confrontational behavior which has created a hostile environment.  You must now meet with this employee and deliver an ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.”

Communicating with People from Different Cultures

I enjoyed reading the article Ten Commandments of Intercultural Communication, it has some great basic information about communicating with people from other cultures. There are many situations where you may need to utilize this information. Cultural diversity is something that companies these days are striving for; it is not uncommon to have employees from several different cultures working together. You could also benefit from this information if your career requires you to travel for work, if your company works directly with other companies, or even in our everyday lives – at a gas station or the grocery store.

I used to work as a server/bartender in a small, family owned, restaurant. The family that owned the restaurant was from Mexico. I have had plenty of Hispanic friends, but they were all born in the U.S., I had never known anyone that had moved here from Mexico. Some of the cultural differences were surprising.

One of the Ten Commandments mentioned was etiquette rules, or manners (Hahn, 2005). I used to open the restaurant at 8 a.m. I am not a morning person and generally avoid as much conversation as I can. When the cooks would come in to work, I would continue to do my job, getting as much prepped and ready for the rush as I could. After a while, I found out that I was unintentionally being offensive and rude. In the town the family moved from, it is customary to greet everyone with “good morning” or “Buenos Dias”, even strangers and people they disliked. Not greeting someone is considered offensive. After they told me this, I did my best to greet them every morning when they came in.

Analysis of Four Common Media Outlets

There are so many different types of media that can be used to relay information to others. Why don’t we take a look at some of the similarities and differences between four common media sources: social media blogging, magazine articles, radio spots, and television.

Social Media Blog

A blog is a type of online journal, short for web log. Blogs can be created by any person for any reason; they are informal writings that are meant to be informative or entertaining (Marsh, Guth, & Short, 2009). Many blogs are written by individuals who want to share their knowledge or opinions with the world, but blogs can be beneficial to companies as well. Many companies have people that write blog posts about the company and what is happening within. Although there are so many different ways for a company to share news with its audience, blogs are more of a non-traditional source that can reach a wider audience.

Does Humor Increase the Effectiveness of Persuasion?

As we discuss humor and persuasion, and the retention of information learned through humorous messages, I am drifted back to my freshman year in high school. I recall sitting in my German Foreign Language class and the teacher used humor in his instruction for the day. He picked up his waste basket, took the bag out, and passed it around the class – each student took turns yelling into the waste basket “EIN PAPIERKORB” – which is the German word for waste basket or recycle bin. The whole class laughed as each student took a turn with the waste basket – I have never forgotten this useless word (how often would I really need to say “waste basket” in German?).


The point of the opening story is that in some situations, humor can have a lasting effect on the recipient. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the effectiveness and risks of using humor in persuasion. Humor will also be related to other persuasion theories with a discussion of how it may
support or limit the effectiveness of persuasion.

Through all the research done for this essay, it has not been proven or disproven that humor helps or hinders persuasion attempts; each incident is different. With that being said “although the literature has not supported the conclusion that humor (in general) supports persuasion (in general), there is reason to think that humor may bolster the weak link between attitude change and behavior” (Lyttle, 2001, p. 66).

Persuasion and Ethics

            Persuasion can be a hot topic for some people, especially those that are more susceptible to persuasion attempts. In fact, some people would go so far as to believe that all persuasive attempts are bad. Of course there are going to be some negative persuasion attempts, but it really comes down to the ethics of the persuader. If the persuader is behaving ethically and attempting to persuade the audience for a good reason or a good outcome, than it would be a positive example of persuasion. The purpose of this essay is to examine two different theories about ethics and the effect they have on persuasion.

            Why are ethics important when discussing persuasion? In general, people do not like to think about someone else (especially companies) altering their thoughts or behavior. So when discussing a persuasion attempt, it needs to be clear what the purpose or intention of the persuasion is in order to determine if it is ethical and appropriate. “Persuasion is unethical if it is for personal gain at the

Differences between Persuasion, Manipulation, and Seduction

            Persuasion, manipulation and seduction: it is all the same thing, right? Ways of making a person do something? In actuality, the three techniques are very different. The main focus of this paper is to describe the techniques of persuasion, manipulation, and seduction, and to show how each technique is different. The paper will also include modern day examples of each technique, which types of audiences respond best to each technique, and the ethical perspectives of each.

 

 

            Persuasion is a communication that is consciously intended to influence another person’s choice; in other words, the persuader is purposely trying to change the receivers mind, and the receiver has the choice to accept or deny the attempt (Magee, 2014). Persuasion is generally individualized and is based on a logical address to consciousness (Codoban, 2006). Let us take a look at a modern example of persuasion - you go to your family doctor to have a skin rash examined. Your doctor tells you that he has seen this type of thing many times before, and he is confident this prescription will work to clear up the rash. You, as the patient, have the free will to fill the

Four Types of Market Structures

 

            There are four types of market structures: perfect completion, monopolistic competition,
oligopoly, and monopoly. Each city is made up of a variety of each of these structures. In order to better understand how the city’s economy works, it is important to have a working knowledge of each of these market structures. Each structure has differing characteristics which will be analyzed in detail along with a look at how price elasticity, barriers to entry, the role of government, and international trade are affected in each structure. As the mayor of Example City, the more you know about each market structure, the better you can understand how your city runs and make better economical choices for it.

A Detailed Look at Each Market Structure

            In this section we will look at each of the four market structures and discuss the differing

Can a person lead a moral life without a belief in God?

          Would you cheat on a test if you knew for certain that you would not get caught? If you found a wallet on a sidewalk, would you return it? If you did return it, would you look for any money that might be inside before returning the wallet? If you discovered that your friends spouse was cheating on them, would you tell your friend? Would you confront the spouse? These are some examples of moral dilemmas; each individual person would act differently if faced with these situations.

What makes a person moral or immoral? There has been much debate for centuries about moral motivation and whether the motivation is internal or external. Can one be moral and not believe in God? This essay will show that it is not necessary to have a belief in God in order to be moral. This will be shown by looking at what morals are, the different types of moral motivation, and

Self-Disclosure and Gender Roles in Relationships

            Self-disclosure is talking to someone else about things that are important to you. Small talk can be an important part of communication, but quality conversations about our hopes and dreams are extremely important in relationships. In order to have a long-lasting, happy and healthy relationship, both parties need to be willing and able to communicate their own self-disclosure, as well as listen to and comprehend their partners.

 

            People are constantly changing and without continuous quality conversations, the couple could easily drift apart. As Schoenberg states “romantic relationships begin with a lot of sharing and excitement” (2011), as the years go by, the sharing and excitement can be forgotten or ignored and

Avoiding Miscommunications in Relationships

           Communication is often named the most important part of relationships, and poor communication is often named as a reason why ‘things did not work out’. In the article, Close Relationships Sometimes Mask Poor Communication (Anonymous, 2011), the author describes how couples often have an illusion of good communication, while actually they are misunderstanding each other. The article makes some very good points about not getting too comfortable in your day to day