Oh The Places You Will Go

Methods in research and writing were very different through the majority of my school years. I still remember asking my grandmother a question and she would always respond “check the encyclopedia.” It wasn't that she didn’t know the answer, but wanted us to know how to find our own answers. I feel like encyclopedias are hardly ever referenced now-a-days, at least not the way they used to be. This is mostly because in today’s day and age everything is at your fingertips and just a click or push away.  A person can share their words (opinions or facts) just as fast as they can retrieve it.

The way we share, interact, speak, and write is extremely different than it was 10 years ago. We write through text, email, Twitter, Facebook, Tumbler, and the list goes on. It’s no question that language is changing. Language will always change. Throughout time language has developed and evolved more and more. New words are made, defined, and replace old words with each passing year.

Although technology has widened our sources, I feel it has narrowed our humanity. Technology is a great gain in retrieving and sharing news, facts, thoughts, opinions, support, you name it, but it has also dwindled true human interaction with each other.

My first blog post is one of my favorites, but not nearly as developed as the latter ones. Looking at one of my other favorites developed later in the course, you can see the differences. Although both were good, the succeeding ones were stronger, arguments were more developed, and the words persuaded you to keep reading.

Another good example of a well-developed blog post is MayaMackey's. Trying to pinpoint or narrow down the most effective demonstration or my favorite blog post she has written is a tough one. Her posts were fantastic to begin with and continued to get stronger with time. As I stated before “Maya is entertaining and informative with a style that is brilliantly fun. The context is clear and concise in a non-rigid way.”

Blogging Newbie

Comparing some of my older blog posts I have come to the realization that I have gotten better at blogging with time. Practice makes perfect, right?

Not saying I’m a perfect blogger but I am way more impressed with the most recent blog posts I have written. However I do love a few of my early ones.

Writing blog posts can be tricky. In order to be an effective blogger you have to capture an audience with your topic and delivery style. People like to see visuals and non-intimidating paragraphs that entice them to read further. As a reader you want a work of art that entertains and delivers information quickly.

I truly enjoyed reading Maya Mackie’s blog. Maya is entertaining and informative with a style that is brilliantly fun. The context is clear and concise in a non-rigid way. 

Maya's Language Is Changing is an excellent example of an effective blog post and one of my favorites that she has written. When you get a chance you should most definitely check it out.

http://mmackeyblog.blogspot.com/

Technology: The Ups and The Fails

When using technology unexpected circumstances can arise and they definitely did for me.  I didn’t have any issues creating my PowerPoint presentation for the Celebration of Student Writing, until I went to present it on the professor’s computer.

As I began to present my PowerPoint I realized the audio had not transferred. What ran fine on my computer did not on my professor’s. I ran into an unforeseen snag and it was no one’s fault but my own for not having a backup plan. Fortunately for me I have an understanding professor and learned this lesson in a classroom, not at a new job.

After realizing there was a lack of audio, I spent an ample amount of time trying to correct the error without any luck. Having no other choice, I called tech support at Microsoft. After an hour on the phone I had the answers I needed to correct my situation. Microsoft’s tech support taught me how to save my PowerPoint as an MP4 which allowed me to share my presentation while preserving the audio’s integrity.

Even though technology has its drawbacks it also has a ton of advantages. Some of the advantages technology has shared with us is efficiency, enhancement in professional confidence, improved ease of sharing material and ideas, as well as increased speed in organizing business globally by enabling communication in seconds.  

Some of these advantages however, may not be able to build trust like personal interaction. At the same time, technology sure can be consistent, allowing one to show logical and imaginative views, and if done right can extend emotion and establish credibility. 

Does Gender Bias Still Exist When Hiring?

Does gender bias still exist when hiring management staff?

In my experience, yes, it absolutely does! For eighteen years I have worked in various work settings with the same ending result: I apply myself completely, becoming practiced at what I do to such a great extent, that I am given managerial responsibilities, without the actual title of a manager. On more than one occasion, employers have told me, “You need to be a manager.” However, when I asked for the position from a previous employer, I was told, “Women cannot manage women.” Furthermore, that was not the first time I had heard this phrase. This experience is extremely contradicting and stagnantly annoying.

Fully able and willing women are overlooked when it comes to promotions. Women hold more than 44% of master’s degrees in business and management, but only acquire 14.6% of executive offices, 8.1% of top earners, and 4.6% of Fortune 500 CEOs,

according to Judith Warner a New York Times Magazine writer and a Columbia University Masters Graduate (Warner, 2014). Managerial positions are being filled with less experienced male counterparts. In addition, women are being paid less for the same work. This is a problem that is silently noticed and seldom discussed in the workplace.

What can be done to try and close the gap preventing women from equality?

Mentoring is a popular topic when discussing career development. In today’s world, businesses have developed into massive identities with intricate internal networks. Having assistance can be extremely helpful in gaining advancement through a company.  Mentorships can give employees that needed boost to make a connection to fast track their career that they may not have been able to access without help.

Mentorships are the professional relationship between a mentor and mentee/protégé. A mentor is usually a higher-ranking senior professional, who aides in the development of a mentee by being a role model and coach. The mentor takes the mentee under their wing providing nurturing support in career development. A mentee is an apprentice or beginner who has knowledge in their given field but desires further growth for prosperity. Mentorships in business have many different roles, mostly consisting of someone who shares their wisdom, experience, contacts and support, as well as being a sounding board for their protégé.

Mentorships have been initiated to neutralize old exclusive networks. The Old boy network or “Good ol’ boy network” is nothing new. This close knit inconspicuous social network consists of higher positioned males, in business settings, that incorporate competition and power advantages handed down through friendships and alliances, yet excludes women and less powerful males. Typically, the hierarchy chooses their next “boy wonder”, grooms them, and introduces them to exclusive connections as they send the manufactured prodigy on the fast track of their career, while shutting the door on others.

Business has been done through this network for decades. The mentality of this system can appear to be threatened as women and males of “non-white” heritage rise to contend for these higher positions. Some might wonder if this state of mind will die off with older generations retiring. Like gender biases, this approach is passed down to the next generation of “Good ol’ boys” creating a never ending succession. With the help of mentors these doors are not as sturdy as they once were, but is mentorship all that is needed to achieve an even playing field?

What Are You Talking About???

When having a conversation and you don’t understand what someone means or is talking about you have the option of asking. However when reading, some terms might be lost in translation.

While writing a paper you have to remember not everyone has the same understanding of things or the same history on a topic as you. There are several words in the English dictionary that have more than one meaning as well.  

The idea is to give your audience an understanding or background of what you mean without overdoing it. This was brought to my attention by reading Bartholomae and Johnson Black, I’m sorry I do not have a link to this enlightening read.

My point for example is that the point of a pencil is very different from your mother saying "it is not polite to point."

Let me point you in the right direction by following this link http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/point.

What's Your Method?

What’s your method?

Let’s face it not everyone learns the same. In fact not everyone does anything the same for that matter. This is pointed out in:
http://vizedhtmlcontent.next.ecollege.com/CurrentCourse/priorandshipka.pdf

I was asked to present a visual of my writing process. This is what I came up with:

Usually I have the television going quietly in the background when writing. If I sit in complete silence I just want to take a nap^_ taking a nap is very counterproductive.

(My surroundings usually looks like this before I get started)

Once everything is set and I get myself settled, typing a list of the key components I need is an excellent way to help me organize, create sections and make sure I cover all points required. I continue to go through one section at a time until I am satisfied with my rough draft. I get by the Writing Center to make sure I understood the assignment properly and all requirements are covered. This is my way of double checking before I move forward.

Now that I have a sturdy foundation, I can continue to fine tune my paper and finish my final draft. After my final draft is complete I have a peer or someone else review it to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Before turning my paper in I like to read it one last time to make sure the delivery of my words and thoughts are to my liking. If I don’t like something I can correct it real quick before saving it and turning it in.

It's an Abomination!

It’s an Abomination!

                There is so much controversy surrounding grammar, spelling, and that language over-all is being ruined by texting. “Texting is not really writing at all” says John McWhorter in a TED Talk I recently watched.
  https://www.ted.com/talks/john_mcwhorter_txtng_is_killing_language_jk#t-133449

Some consider texting as “fingered speech” instead of actual writing, while others still consider it writing. I am certain some in the past have opposed new methods of grammar or words when they were first introduced. Taking the “fingered speech” approach, for the first time ever we are capable of writing how we speak in real time. If we look back at how language and writing has developed we can see the evolution through time. Is texting one of those incidences?

http://community.cengage.com/GECResource2/info/b/bus_comm/archive/2013/05/30/does-texting-hurt-grammar

As a student, I hate working in groups simply because I have to go back through my younger peers portions making ridiculous corrections on written work that should be formal. Not only is this frustrating, but it is time consuming and complete garbage that I have to do other’s work so I don’t have to worry about my grade.

People lack ambition and self-pride, they have become lazy. People everywhere, everyday have become so complacent about how they speak, write, and carry themselves that others can hardly understand what the other is saying. The sad part is that they don’t even care what people think.

I recognize that everything evolves and becomes more complex or “efficient” but an understanding needs to be grasped in order to maintain a professional setting. Let’s face it, we are not writing contracts or laws in “finger speech” and the line needs to be defined.