Reflections on COMM 351 - Communicating at Work
Having a Wix.com professional website or ePortfolio is a bonus for me in establishing my online presence. The site helps me form my brand online through a visual representation of my resume. Primarily, the site allows me to create a space on the web where potential employers can get to know me better and understand my background, skill set and goals for my career.
The part of my ePortfolio that I like the most is the ability to share my full resume with potential employers. By being able to post a PDF that can easy be downloaded in one clean and well formatted document helps others obtain the latest professional postings of me. This site in general also allows me to create a strong brand presence for myself apart from template-based approaches like LinkedIn.
My favorite blog post was on the use of visual communication in a professional setting. I enjoyed researching this topic as it was close to home for me and meaningful to my current career in marketing. The information I was able to share on my blog is actually useful material and can impact or help others who may read it. Therefore I feel that I may influence a person’s decision to use visuals the next time they are trying to communicate an idea.
The most challenging aspect of the ePortfolio for me was formatting the content to appear the way I envisioned it to look. While I have a good eye for design aesthetics, the program functions were challenging to learn how to control. For example, alignment of data (text/type) on either side of a graphic was not as easy as it looks from the outside. The Wix.com program attempts to make web design stress-free for the average person, but it took lots of practice to get everything just the way I wanted it and yet I still see room for improvement.
The best advice that I can give to future students regarding the development and design of an ePortfolio is that it takes time. You must put in the time to create a functional and professional looking site. The color scheme and graphics should reflect your area of focus. The font typeface needs to be clear and easy to read. Since this site is what others will view to learn more about you, you must make sure it accurately represents who you are as well as who you want to become.
I would describe the intersection of interpersonal and organizational communication to a potential employer as follows. Critical to a successful and fulfilling life or career is exceptional communication skills. Whether it is in personal or professional communications, being able to successfully materialize thoughts and ideas is vital to being able to perform effectively at work. Those individuals that are well liked and get along with others through teamwork, often help make an organization stronger. Teams that get along at work will usually come up with stronger ideas. By integrating interpersonal communication in the workplace, organizational communication is enhanced and more geared towards positive operational outcomes.
Within a work environment all employees should be fully aware and understanding the business goals, rules and also the specific objectives of their position. Utilizing ethical communication within an organization helps to ensure effective communication and opportunities are distributed equally and with integrity and fairness across all members of the team. Both individuals as well as groups share the responsibility of acting honestly and with integrity towards others regardless of the diversity that exists between them. Ethical communication encourages members of an organization to cultivate respect for one another and a climate of compassion.
My view of communication is different than when I started the course. It is different because it has developed and evolved during the course of this class. I learned a great deal about handling workplace conflict, listening effectively, how to generate the best ideas and then growing them with a team of colleagues as well as reinforcing the functions of interpersonal communication within a workplace. Having strong communications skills when sending, receiving, and interpreting and then providing feedback to/from messages lends itself to making a more productive and happier employee. Success in the business world often relies on the ability to understand other people’s points of view, being respectful, tactful and developing empathetic
connections with others.
