Web Lecture: Procedural Democracy
I think the main point of this concept is that without it, you cannot have democracy at all. A profound example of this is happening right now in Iran, where citizens are being denied the "foundations of democracy" they believed existed. They voted only to realize their votes didn't count, as the election was inaccurately calculated. They spoke out against the injustice only to be silenced. They tried to report the events only to be persecuted and have information pathways destroyed. They assembled only to be brutally attacked and even killed. How much do we take these basic rights for granted?
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Week 5: Blog 3
Chapter 11: Mindless Communication
How easy it is to get caught up in mindless communication and ways of being. We interact with people everywhere from the grocery store to the bank, but how many of those interactions are performed on auto pilot? We either use scripts or phatic communication that becomes a part of the transaction. "I'm good thanks, how are you?" as we swipe our debit card and enter our pin. If the purpose of this communication is to be polite and show common courtesies, then it achieves it, but does little else.
How easy it is to get caught up in mindless communication and ways of being. We interact with people everywhere from the grocery store to the bank, but how many of those interactions are performed on auto pilot? We either use scripts or phatic communication that becomes a part of the transaction. "I'm good thanks, how are you?" as we swipe our debit card and enter our pin. If the purpose of this communication is to be polite and show common courtesies, then it achieves it, but does little else.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Week 5: Blog 2
Chapter 10: Mediated Interpersonal Communication
There is no denying the increase of mediated devices in communication. Email, fax, texts, voicemail, online chat, and even automated telephone menus replace human-to-human communication with something else entirely. Which is why it is easy to forget that at the end of the line is a real human being receiving our messages. With the use of these technologies we can shrink an entire conversation to a few short-hand, abbreviated sentences and call it efficient. However, we must keep in mind what we are communicating by the way we are communicating. What does it say about our feelings or regard for a person if we only communicate with them in brief messages? Do we ever unintentionally say, "You're not important enough for me to put forth the extra effort to write to you in complete and grammatically correct sentences"? How much are we willing to lose for the sake of efficiency?
There is no denying the increase of mediated devices in communication. Email, fax, texts, voicemail, online chat, and even automated telephone menus replace human-to-human communication with something else entirely. Which is why it is easy to forget that at the end of the line is a real human being receiving our messages. With the use of these technologies we can shrink an entire conversation to a few short-hand, abbreviated sentences and call it efficient. However, we must keep in mind what we are communicating by the way we are communicating. What does it say about our feelings or regard for a person if we only communicate with them in brief messages? Do we ever unintentionally say, "You're not important enough for me to put forth the extra effort to write to you in complete and grammatically correct sentences"? How much are we willing to lose for the sake of efficiency?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Week 5: Blog 1
Chapter 9: Modesty
To me, this is one of the most important characteristics of a good leader, and yet it is so often overlooked and undervalued. Managers with a sense of humility are easier to trust and respect than managers who have an self-centered or self-serving attitude. A manager who puts themselves ahead of the company will certainly put themselves ahead of you as well. This type of attitude makes for a tense work environment because nobody feels supported. Alternatively, a manager with a sense of modesty is one that employees know they can depend on for help and guidance, because they know that their manager is serving the good of the company before themselves.
To me, this is one of the most important characteristics of a good leader, and yet it is so often overlooked and undervalued. Managers with a sense of humility are easier to trust and respect than managers who have an self-centered or self-serving attitude. A manager who puts themselves ahead of the company will certainly put themselves ahead of you as well. This type of attitude makes for a tense work environment because nobody feels supported. Alternatively, a manager with a sense of modesty is one that employees know they can depend on for help and guidance, because they know that their manager is serving the good of the company before themselves.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
