Communication Skills Improve Employment Opportunities

Communication is an important skill that college graduates should develop to enhance their opportunities in the workplace and life. The benefits of strong communication skills reach across employment fields and social demographics to improve graduates employment prospects and chances for future promotion.  Learning to effectively speak and write is a skill highly sought after employers and is generally rewarded in the market. 

Because communication opens doors to a number of different opportunities that wouldn’t have been available otherwise it is important for college students to pay attention when professors provide feedback on papers or comment on speaking abilities. Before getting bent out of shape students should understand that feedback is used for improvement and not for criticism.

Employers want students who communicate well in verbal and written form. Employers seldom find the proper amount of oral communication skills among college graduates (Gray & Murray, 2011). The ability to express oneself and talk to each other to achieve goals is important in social situations to get one’s voice heard.  

Consider the regular use of email, letters, and other electronic formats of writing in the modern workplace. The ability to write and communicate using these mediums is a must for those who desire to successfully navigate the workplace.  Information and communication skills can lead to greater employment opportunities as well as higher pay and promotion (Walton, et. al. 2009). 

Communication also fits with other important skills used on the job. Employers seek candidates with soft skills like communication, integrity, courtesy, responsibility, social skills, attitude, professionalism, teamwork, flexibility, and work ethic (Robles, 2012). These skills are more complex than occupational learning and move a candidate more into the world of professionalism. 

Crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s may not be a whole lot of fun but it can have a significant impact on a person’s occupational success. Communication is a skill that develops over many years and as one becomes stronger at communicating they will naturally find more ears listening. Even though strong communication is extremely important for business graduates who desire to someday be managers its benefits are not exclusive to the business field alone. 

Gray, E. & Murray, N. (2011). A distinguishing factor: oral communication skills in new accountancy graduates. Accounting education, 20 (3). 

Robles, M. (2012). Executive perceptions of the top 10 soft skills needed in today’s workplace. Business Communication Quarterly, 75 (4). 

Walton, R. et. al. (2009). Skills are not binary: nuances in the relationship between ICT skills and employability. Information Technologies & International Development, 5 (2).

Four Success Tips for New (and old) Online Learners

by Michael S. Miller, Ed.D.

There is a great deal of information on the internet regarding how to be successful in an online course.  One can find anything from tips for managing your time to staying organized.  Much of what is written is done so by researchers and poll groups; little information exists from actual online professors.  Having spent several years now teaching online, the following are some general guidelines from someone in the trenches.  While this list may seem simple and “common sense,” you would be surprised at how few students actually follow them.

1.       Check your email regularly.  The main form of communication in the online learning environment is through email.  Your school and professor will likely use this as the first step in getting information to you.  Many online professors do not have access to your phone number…so the next best thing is email.  Professors may use email to notify you of a missing assignment, an incorrectly submitted assignment, a grade or attendance issue, general announcements, or changes in due dates, just to name a few.  You will feel much more connected to both the course and your professor if you check your email on a frequent basis.  A good rule of thumb is at least once every other day.

2.       Read the Course Announcements.  Many students see this as superfluous information and do not spend the time reading through the course announcements.  Particularly, at the beginning of the course this is critical.  You will likely find information about: how the course is run, important due dates, professor expectations, and sometimes hints for completing your assignments.  Most online professors spend a great deal of time designing and developing these…use them to your advantage!  Not to mention, when a student asks a question and the answer is ‘in the announcements section,’ it is very frustrating for both parties.  This is similar to the syllabus; read it thoroughly.

3.      Review Assignment Feedback.  For each assignment you complete, there is a great chance that the professor will provide detailed and constructive feedback.  The Illinois Online Network (2010) suggests that the feedback process continues the learning experience, adds depth and understanding to the assignment already submitted by the student, and affords the instructor an opportunity to reiterate key concepts.  In addition, this feedback gives you specific information on your course work in relation to the course objectives and expectations.   "Research suggests that students want feedback, and personalized feedback that includes suggestions for improvement, with explanations" (Getzlaf, Perry, Toffner, Lamarche & Edwards, 2009).  In an online course, detailed and specific feedback on assignments is even more critical given the medium.  Therefore, once your grade is posted for an assignment or assessment, you are encouraged to take the time to read the feedback provided by your professor.  It can be very frustrating for a professor to have to repeat the same comment for subsequent assignments.

4.      Spend Time Learning APA Style Formatting.  If you have never used APA Style formatting, or if it has been a while, it is crucial that you spend time with it. The important thing to remember is that APA can be difficult, but do not get discouraged.  Learning APA takes time and practice.  Even your professor did not learn it in just a few weeks or months.  So, why APA you ask?  Not only is APA Style formatting required of at most schools, but the APA Style format is a standardized system for formatting research papers and citing resources.  By following its rules, one can write a paper that conforms to standard guidelines, the paper will appear professional and scholarly, and readers will easily understand how to find the resources you used.  The American Psychological Association began setting standards for research paper format and citations in order to help scholars, like you, everywhere, follow coordinated guidelines.  Standardized papers are easier to read, understand, compare, and study.  Since researchers often build upon past studies, these guidelines help make that progress smooth (Smith, 2013).  You will be using it a great deal throughout the online learning experience.  A good way to familiarize yourself with it is to take notice when reading journal articles formatted in APA.  You will want to take a closer look at both the in-text and reference citations.  The more time you spend learning it now, the less difficult it will be as you progress through your degree program.

Becoming a successful online learner requires the student to be on top of things- and to be self-directed.  Whether you are brand-new to the online learning experience, or you are a professional online learner; these four tips will help you get the most out of your education.

References

Getzlaf, B., Perry, B., Toffner, G., Lamarche, K., & Edwards, M. (2009, July). Effective instructor feedback: Perceptions of online graduate students. The Journal of Educators Online, 6(2).  Retrieved from http://www.thejeo.com/Archives/Volume6Number2/GetzlafetalPaper.pdf

Illinois Online Network. (2010). Strategies for providing feedback in online courses. Retrieved from http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/communication/feedback.asp

Smith, D. (2013, January). Five principles for research ethics: Cover your bases with these ethical strategies. Monitor on Psychology, 34(1), 56.

Adams Avenue Street Fair-Craft and Music Combo

Street fairs are an excellent opportunity to socialize and experience the artistic talent of the area as they display everything from food to hand-crafted home decorations. Last weekend I attended the Annual Adams Avenue Street Fair with over 300 vendors and 100 live musical acts. The event lined Adams Street for the distance of approximately eight city blocks. 

This particular street fair is one of the largest in the area and occurs annually drawing thousands of visitors to the bohemian Adams Avenue Business District. This year the event was held on September 27^th and 28^th and was situated in a cordoned street right between the stores, bars, restaurants, and apartments. 

Handcrafts:

Some of the items are hand crafted such as the bottled glasswork. Not sure how the artist makes his items but it appears he melts the bottles down in some way to manipulate them into wind chimes, wall pictures, or table trays. Other handcrafted goods included jewelry, clothing, pens, and wall signs. 

Art:

Items such as paintings, pottery, and cartoons were just some of the artistic endeavors on display. A few 3D drawings caught my attention.  As you look at drawings from different angles they change shape.  

Food:

It doesn’t take long to smell the aromas from food vendors representing just about every culture imaginable.  For the first time in my life I ordered a rice milk and cinnamon drink from a Mexican food stand; pretty good stuff. A half block further I was tempted by stuffed grape leaves due to a recent cooking failure I had a week ago. 

Bands and more bands:

If you were in the mood to listen to bands they were blaring on just about every block which converted the art fair into mixed music and art affair. Rock, country, Indie and vocalists got a place on the stage. The beer garden seemed attractive to the concert goers.

http://www.adamsaveonline.com/StreetFair/

Selecting Global Managers

International organizations have a need for global managers that maintain abilities to handle the complex cultural and operational functionality of larger organizations. Global managers are highly sought after as navigators of international context and become bridges between the different cultural perceptions to foster achievement of organizational objectives.  A paper by van de Vijver (2008) helps executives better understand on how to select global managers for recruitment or development and the skills such manager’s hold. 

Success in finding the right global candidate requires understanding how the person views the world by assessing their personality. Nearly all personality assessments have flaws with some having bigger flaws than others. Few practitioners would rely on a single assessment in much the same way as a hiring manager should not look at only one aspect of a person to making an important decision. 

In the global context concepts like cultural empathy, cultural distance, and intercultural abilities have a positive impact on one’s ability to work in a multi-cultural world. Global managers who use these skills typically do so when functioning in multi-cultural teams, operating from another country, or work in an international cultural context. 

Managers who function successfully in international environments don’t often prescribe to a single ethnic identity (Ashmore, et. al., 2004). They take on varying cultural perspectives, adopt a multi-cultural identity, and are skilled when working in a multiple cultural environment. Because of their ability to understand self in different contexts they are able to function in those contexts with greater effectiveness.

The paper finds that the performance of global managers is determined by multiple characteristics. The global manager should have intercultural competence to work with people from different cultures and backgrounds. They should also have the intellectual capacity to understand a complex world in which they exist.  Their ability to use both their intellectual capacity and cultural understandings make them more effective than domestic managers in navigating ambiguous environments. 

The global manager is not a person who has lost their birth culture but is a person who has adapted that culture to the needs of the business community and the world at large. They learned and developed to a point that they understand and share cultural identities with people from various parts of the world. They are open-minded in effectively dealing with and managing perspectives that are different from their own. 

The same intellectual ability that allows them to take on new cultural perspectives is the same intellectual ability that allows understands complex operations that span across different continents. Each organization is a collective of people, policies, resources, values, cultures, supply networks, financial arrangements, and interconnected vines of related networks. To understand how the tangible business operations work within the difficult to define cultures is a life time in the making. 

Ashmore, R., et. al. (2004). An organizing framework for collective identity: Articulation and significance of multidimensionality. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 80–114.

Van de Vijver, F. (2008). Personality assessment of global talent: conceptual and methodological issues. International Journal of Testing, 8.

Wine Review: Apothic Red Wine 2012

You have been invited to a dinner party and need to pick up a quality wine for supper. No need to walk up and down the aisle to find the right wine that meets both the quality and cost criteria you had in your head when you first stepped into the store. Apothic Red 2012 is a blend of Syrah, Zinfandel, and Merlot that balances the different wines for a high quality outcome.

It contains mostly sweet flavors that include raspberry, cherry, vanilla, mocha and some boysenberry. It is a smooth wine with a hardy body and a pleasant aftertaste. This would be the type of wine you would pick up for just about any social affair. Most drinkers will be satisfied with the quality, taste, and consistency of their product.

Apothic Red Wine Maker’s Blend is a winter wine by style and complements a variety of winter related foods. Meat dishes, heavy soups, and wild game regularly pair with a heavier red wine. Room temperature wine also complements hot dish foods more commonly in the cool months. 

Red wine is generally considered healthiest choice among wines. Studies have shown that red wine compounds in the form of polyphenols play a role in inhibiting lipid peroxidation, free radicals, platelet aggregation, and strengthens anti-inflammation (Natella, et. al, 2011). A glass of wine every once in a while has positive supporting effect on overall health. 

http://www.apothic.com/

Natella, F., et. al. (2011). Drinking guidance for red wine: to be taken with meals: red wine prevents post prandial increase of plasma oxidized lipids. Journal of Wine Research, 22 (2).