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?