COM480 week 3 assignment blog posting

Well here is another required blog posting for my COM480 Communications Studies Capstone class. Nothing really to do with indie film producing and I may either create another blog expressly for these assignments or delete these posts after the class is over. I'm leaning towards the latter since there are only a few more weeks left in this particular course, however, it may be interesting to create a blog that consists of a compilation of all of my university schoolwork from the past few years.

Anyway, here is the latest assignment/scenario with my answer following;

Delivering Bad News Tactfully and Effectively

“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."

The scenario gives the impression that due to the complaints mentioned that there may have been previous attempts that resulted in this current situation. With that being the case, I would schedule a meeting with the employee to discuss the matter and given the employee’s confrontational history, would also request that someone from the human resources office also be present as an impartial witness as well as to assist and represent the employee’s interests regarding the fairness of the proceeding. However, were the situation not dictating that an ultimatum be delivered then I would have first met with the employee privately to discuss any underlying personal issues that may be affecting his/her performance and if there was anything the organization could do to provide assistance. In this meeting I would combine both escalation and conflict reduction tactics (Shockley-Zalaback, 2009) by informing the employee that whatever their issue, it is adversely affecting organizational progress and that first and foremost we are here to help but also stress that the current situation will not stand and will be resolved one way or the other. I would also take steps to let the employee know that he/she is a valued member of the team and to further explain exactly what both the team and employee have to gain and lose should the employee continue on the current course.

By placing a large part of the responsibility of how next to proceed on the employee places them and us in a less adversarial position that otherwise could have further served to escalate the conflict. It has been my experience that in many cases such as this, employees who feel threatened or cornered may feel that they have to “fight back” or defend themselves by channeling these feelings into actions such as wrongful termination litigation, which can result in lost time, productivity, and cost.

Attempting to actively collaborate with the employee can not only serve to possibly help the employee with whatever possible issues they may have that is causing them to behave this way, but also be put into their record that they sign as agreement to work together to resolve and improve the issues. Should things not work out and the employee should choose to pursue some sort of wrongful termination proceedings then the signed agreement could be entered as evidence that the organization did all they could to work with the employee and that termination was the last course of action before other alternatives were tried.

The ideal end result of the meeting should be that both the employee and organization come to a mutually beneficial agreement that assists the employee with whatever personal problems that may be causing the problems, reiterating the value of the employee’s place on the team, as well as collaborating with the employee to set professional goals and direction as to how the employee envisions their future with the organization.

Reference:

Shockley-Zalaback, P. (2009). Fundamentals of organizational communication. Boston: Pearson.

Week 2 COM480 Capstone assignment

The following is a slight diversion from the original intent of this blog. In order to satisfy a course requirement, I will be posting assignments here in addition to any news regarding my progress as an independent producer. At some point I may just create another blog dedicated to school work but please bear with me for now. Anyway, the post is sort of related to the topic in that it is an overview of some of the current media technologies.

Television is the most popular mode of media delivery with a presence in more than 99 percent of American homes (March, Guth, & Poovey Short, 2009). Traditionally, the audience was restricted to regional markets but over the past two decades satellite and cable technology along with affordability has increased the international audience to the point that currently almost everyone in the western world has or is otherwise exposed to television programming. Programming is increasingly varied with hundreds of shows produced to reach an equally increasingly segmented audience. However, traditional advertising based television programming is facing increased competition from other forms of entertainment delivery platforms such as DVR, in which viewers can program the recording device to skip the commercials as well as video on demand, video games, and the internet. Also, as mentioned before, viewers are becoming more segmented and actively seeking out specialized content that fits their needs that traditional broadcast networks have trouble producing. Each year millions of dollars are spent producing programs that are often cancelled within a couple of months due to low viewership. On the other hand, series and shows produced for a smaller, specific audience, such as those produced on pay channels such as HBO and Showtime often last years longer with a relatively smaller viewing audience.

Web Sites

Web sites are fast becoming one of the most popular means of presenting information quickly to a wide audience. Anyone can create a website and use it to inform, market goods and services, share opinions and entertain. While television can reach a wide market, the web audience surpasses it in audience diversity that can be worldwide. While television programming is “appointment TV” in which the audience has to schedule time to watch their programs, the web is instantly available to its audience at any time, however, many people surf the web while also watching TV. Web sites also host social media such as blogs and social networks that promote conversation, openness, community and connectness; basically people can use websites to communicate with each other. Web content creators, such as those who create entertainment to be delivered specifically via the web are able to communicate directly with their audience, creating a market for extraneous products as well as a proven audience for potential sponsors.

Blogs

A form of web site, blogs are mainly intended to provide specific, more personal and less traditional commentary on whatever issues the author presents. The audience is just as diverse and varied with blog topics ranging from current events to merely being online diaries of the author’s, or blogger’s, life. Bloggers often invite their readers to comment and interact with the author, which can result in establishing and building a more personal relationship with the audience who may consider the author an authority on whatever topic he/she is writing. Many bloggers have used this process to successfully market services and goods through their blogs as well as used it as a medium to attain celebrity status (i.e.; Perez Hilton). Blog technology has advanced over the past five years to now be able to add features such as videos, links to podcasts (see below) and other blogs similar to their own.

Podcasts

Podcasts are the rising star of media technologies and are fast becoming as viable a means of marketing goods and services as television and radio. Although mostly produced in an aural format, they can also be video, or vodcasts. As with blogs and websites, anyone can produce a podcast and the equipment to do is affordable; all one needs is the right software, a computer, camera (if video) and microphone or other means of producing content. Popular podcasts are beginning to get paid sponsorships by corporations and other business entities with many a podcaster making a decent living by podcasting alone. Notable celebrities that have embraced podcasting as their medium of choice include independent filmmaker Kevin Smith and comedian Adam Carolla. Both have successful podcasts and each host their own podcast networks containing various programs hosted by their celebrity friends. Smith in particular is notable for having expanded his podcasting efforts to a live broadcast network, Smodcast Internet Radio (S.I.R.), beginning in May.

Reference:

March, C, Guth, D, & Poovey Short, B. (2009). Strategic writing; multimedia writing for public relations, advertising, and more. Boston, Mass: Pearson.

Adam Carolla podcast network - http://www.adamcarolla.com/ACPBlog/

Kevin Smith’s podcast network - http://www.newsaskew.com/