Research Idea

I’m currently working on an audit for a CARIMAC course-Organisational Communication and just carried out a couple surveys. It caused me to realise how fragile student welfare is and welfare on a whole in Jamaica.

We know all too well the common complaints of university and college graduates – no jobs. Many a solutions have been offered: Major in the more “practical” areas, government should grow the economy and create more jobs, there needs to be more entrepreneurs. The lack of security for a graduate in finding a job is shifted from the individual to the government to society.

Has it been considered that the university is training thousands of individuals annually, like a factory, every increasing its production capacity, ever producing more and more goods. But what happens when the market becomes saturated with those goods; where there isn’t consumption whether because of poor market research and or lack of advertising? Students are left stranded and burdened by the weight of a very good education.

What can be done? The key is research! And whose responsibility is it? It’s everybody’s responsibility. Graduates are tertiary institutions’ commodity. And just as any quality products on the market has to have nutrition facts to be taken seriously, so too  does the university have to research the content of its products; that is, majoring in a particular area cultivates such and such skills upon successful completion of training. In addition, market research must also be done: what are the skills required in this and that field and how will an employee with such skill boost the productivity of an organisation?

How can this be accomplished? Find out what is needed by Jamaican’s economy and who needs what. Apply special psychological research to determine how a graduate’s mind would have been trained upon successful completion of particular majors. This is where innovation comes in. Some students enter specified fields because that is the kind of job they want, some enter because it’s what they love, others because it’s what they’re good at, some just because it’s what they believe to be manageable and then there are the blind ones who just want a degree. All of the aforementioned categories are trained minds, regardless of the reason for training, whose skills may be applied and may even be applied better outside of their field of study. The key is to highlight all the options to all stakeholders and let them choose – match skills to market, consumers to product and products to consumers.

What skills are needed by an insurance broker, marketing consultant, investment manager, a transportation minister, events planner, who are more suited to be entrepreneurs etc.?

What kinds of training can garner these skills?

Who is willing to invest in finding that person or those persons who will grow their organisation? 

Working on an Audit with CARIMAC Students

CARIMAC students in my opinion are very lazy!

Integrity is low and they portray questionably work ethics. I would recommend that all CARIMAC students be required to do a course in ethics and not just media ethics but a Philosophy course in Ethics and Applied Ethics.

On the other hand, I do love working on this audit. The application of business concepts comes quite naturally to me and it's a personal love of mine. I am however disappointed with the way in which information is conveyed to us; we are given excellent information mind you BUT, the sequence is illogical and there are overlapping concepts where in one instance a certain task is recommended to be done one way and further on it is recommended to be done in another.

It does require a great deal of analysis and strategic application which is all well and good - I believe it is fantastic BUT...given the short time frame in which we are expected to cover all that is required - theory and practice - being concise is the best approach.

This truly is the class from hell!!! (in a good way because I'm so loving the challenge)

Globisation: The Lexus & the Olive Tree

Advances in technology and an increased push towards globalisation, has people trying to integrate with the rest of the word while still trying to retain their identities. 

Thomas Friedman attempts to explain in The Lexus and the Olive Tree, the conflicts and benefits involved in globalisation and how technology has moved us into a global setting.

The Lexus is representative of technology and how it allows for us to get more don faster and for less - efficiency. The olive tree represents tradition, culture and identity.

Friedman says that globalisation involves the integration of individuals, market and nation states which enables these entities to reach farther and deeper into the world at a very low cost. The view is that free-market trade and competition is the key to a flourishing and more efficient economy. Friedman is of the view that the more one opens themselves up to globalisation and the spread of free-market capitalism, having its own set of economic rules, the more one allows themselves to be driven by the market, is the more successful or better off they will be.


Well, if one were so gullible as to accept that the solution to all the world's economic problems is free-market capitalism then...

While it might bee good for some, like the United States, it cannot be that all the world will be able to fit into this golden straight jacket. Why? We are all different, we have different needs, we have different resources, our output and intake capabilities all differ. 
 Free-market capitalism could work in an ideal world with no national barriers, where nationality doesn't count, where there are no racial division, no religious factions; if we were all just one bug happy human family...but we're not. 

So what does free-market capitalism mean? That only the strong survives; dog eat dog; who cares if you are struggling - pick yourself up or get trampled on; economic slavery. It is easy to buy into Friedman's flowery ideology because he speaks so beautifully but what is actually being seen is an oasis; it is not real. 

On the other hand, technology does make things a whole lot easier, faster and much less expensive. Technology has shrunk the world in that everyone is in within reach or can find means by which they can be within reach of practically the whole world. Technology has made it easier for individuals, corporations and nations to compete in the market, to find market, improve their products and so much more. But there is the risk of changing so much to suit a market, or opening up one's market so much that it becomes flooded with much foreign goods that one looses their identity. 

Friedman quotes Surowiecki saying, "Innovation replaces tradition. The present -- or perhaps the future -- replaces the past. Nothing matters so much as what will come next, and what will come next can only arrive if what is here now gets over turned." All that has as much meaning as saying "cocka-doodle-doo." It means nothing! First of all, innovations needs a foundation upon which to build - innovation isn't created out of thin air, it emerges (more than likely out of tradition). Secondly, the present does not "replace" the past. What this suggest is that the present is put in place of the past like a glass sitting on a coaster would be taken up and replaces with another glass. But the past is fixed, therefore it cannot be changed or replaced by anything; the present is a moment and the future does not exist. And thirdly, there is no way that what will come next (something that does not exist) can mean more than what was already experienced (no longer exists) and what is currently being experienced (what is real). And finally, if one wants a new dwelling place, the old house does not have to be destroyed. Isn't it possible to build upon what already exists given that it is built on a strong foundation?

It is very important to not just gobble up what is presented without first properly examining it. We wear imported clothing, eat imported food, use imported technology, practice imparted rituals and religions and studying imported education. While there are many benefits to be found in all of the aforementioned, we do have the responsibility of filtering the things we choose to allow inside our personal and public being.

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An example of the Lexus and the Olive Tree

  

Organisational Culture

What is it? Organizational culture is seen as the historical values, systems of organisational frameworks that constitutes the organization's environment, influencing the ways that workers perform their roles and confronts challenges.

UWI's culture:

Listlessness - it's getting old
No sense of urgency - - - but amidst all that is the one person who is trying to do it right, trying to make it "Your place to shine."

There are a whole bunch of people in this rat race; some trying to make it and if they don't make it they fake it ... trying to replicate the raptor of the greats not knowing that what made them great was their rebel vibes ... their choice not to try to fit in but to just be themselves.  

Culture: We're under the false impression that we aught to fit into the cultural norms, we should be guided by culture. I say *bleep* that! I'm different....I'm not here to fit in and everyone knows it! The good thing is, beauty can't be suppressed because what what you see in the rebel is  what you secretly/unconsciously want for yourself - freedom; freedom from the norms, freedom from culture. The funny thing though is: once you break free you realise, it's inescapable. Because from your liberation is formed a new culture, until someone decides they want to free their self from it and then that person forms their own culture and the cycle continues. 

Fourth Lecture: TEAM

Together

Each

Achieves

More

In any organization, there has to be a shared vision. The question can be asked, can there be an organization of one? And the simple answer is, no, there cannot. And so, organizations may adopt the philosophy of Ubuntu which means, “I am because we are.” My reply to that is, “there is no we without me.” So, individual is no less important than the organisation. As much as interpersonal communication skills are valued, one must firs develop intrapersonal communication skills…can there be one without the other?

One reason that intrapersonal communication should be practiced is to uncover core values at the individual level. Knowing what your core values are influences or probably determines your vision which sets you on a mission to achieve your goals and set your objective/s.

For example: One of my core values is FREEDOM. And though all you can see is a meek little Indian girl bumming around UWI with her knapsack on her back-inside me is a vision. My vision is to inspire change in society by demonstrating that it is only I our minds that we are not bound by convention; that in reality we are all free, if we choose to be; otherwise, continue living in mental slavery. Thus, my mission is to approach my academic career in the most unconventional of ways. I will prove my intelligence not by modelling but, by shaking every instance of instability then offer a solution. My goals are: Graduate with honours, use the principles of my studies in the business of sustainable food production. My objective is to impart all that I’ve learnt unto a younger generation.

Understanding this concept at the individual level paves the way for effortless understanding of how this works at the organizational level.

Now an organization communicates internally and externally. For internal communication there are several stages:

1.       Forming – at this stage, organisational communication is at a low intimacy level
2.       Storming – here there is high intensity in communication
3.       Norming- at this stage is when reality manifest or where the group emerges as a formed organisation
4.       Performing-the organisation now becomes an industry
5.       Disbanding – all good things must eventually come to an end

      External communication is more focused on:
1.       Market intelligence
2.       Collaboration
3.       Re-engineering
4.       Enlightened Self Interest

*     *     *

There was a class exercise; we played a game called Atoms. The aim of the gain is to be the last man standing. So we all stood up as a class of twenty. Whatever number is called, we find ourselves groups equaling that number. The first number was ten, the second five and after that people started dropping out. Now, at the first mention of the game I thought again, “I must win.” Well, it turns out that I was the atom up for grabs. Others grabbed me in an effort to stay in the game, which made it effortless for me to also remain. At the end, another girl and I were left standing. So we won atoms.   

We also did another exercise where we had to build a self sustaining straw tower. The group was divided in two. Of course the group that I was in did not win but I learned some valuable lessons.

Lessons: From the game of atoms- It’s all about self preservation, both at the individual and organizational level and for one to preserve themselves, there has to be constant re-evaluation of relationships and there has to be common ground or shared vision. There was even more emphasis placed on shared vision and common grounds in building the straw tower. Most wanted to scale the heights but only few of us tried to engineer a solid base. For an organisation to be able to survive, it must be built on solid grounds – core values, visions, mission, goals and objectives-as simple as they may sound are the foundations upon wich organizations, industries, and economies are/ought to be built. Another lesson from straw tower-say what needs to be said to get done what needs to be done. 

Third Tutorial: What is Organizational Communication?

Organizational Communication is interdisciplinary; it stands at the crossroad of behavioural psychology, is a sub-field of management studies and overlaps with some aspects of public relations.

Organizational Communication a sub-field of Management Studies—coincidence that I chose this class because I DID NOT KNOW THAT!

*     *     *

There was a class activity where we traded M&Ms with the aim of gaining the most of one colour. The first thing I thought was, “competition…I must win this!” I started out with two orange M&Ms, one green, one red, one blue…not sure if I had a brown. I traded a red for a green then an orange for a brown. I had opened myself up to a few possibilities then realised that no one wanted browns and I quickly capitalised on it. It reached the point where someone had a brown and the colour I had to trade was wanted by the person I solicited but I convinced them to trade by explaining that I wanted the brown and the colour they got from me would be needed by someone out there (of course I didn't care whether or not anyone needed it or if they could be traded or not; I wanted the brown and that was my objective). Eventually I had all browns in my bag when McDaniel asked if we were finished. I proudly said “yes!” He asked what we thought it meant to be finished and my reply, “that I had completed the task.” And what was the task? To get “AS MANY  of the same colour M&Ms not just the number that came in our bags, this meant we had to work with other people. I found another girl with three browns and I helped her to trade out all of her other colours with the same skills I used to trade out mine but it didn't stop there. There were other browns hanging around which was of no use to the others but we had nothing in which to give for it…after much persuasion, we/I managed to get brown M&Ms for nothing. It felt like quite an achievement…so much so that I didn't feel the need to persuade her to empty all her browns in my bag (which I’m pretty sure I could have done).

Lesson: Charisma goes a far way for a leader and if you must lead, you must be versed in the art of manipulation; but to guard against being carried away, one must have an objective –to what end am I doing this? Personally, the end must follow the principle of utility – the greater good for the greater number of people.

Third Lecture: The Communication Process

I understand why it would be difficult not to do well in this course, even more so—to fail this course because, we are required to blog about every class. This requires reflection and recollection after the class and during class, one is attentive, just looking for points to blog about. I must say, very strategic plan by McDaniel. I suppose this is an actualization of one of the basic communication principles—meeting people where they are.

Cognitive Dissonance – you know how it is in Jamaica, the idea that most people have of UWI is: crem de la crem—bright, competitive, iconic lecturers…you look around and wonder, “is that era over OR, maybe it’s just that the grass just seems greener from the other side?”

Well guess what, UWI is just one of the computers in the office of the organization called Jamaica. An essential part of organizations is communication and if there is inefficiency in the communication process then there’s no way the organization may prosper. Let’s examine our organization and the communication process. There are the Directors/government, supervisors/law enforcers and other members of staff/civilians. There is a simple process to follow in order for there to be communication.

1^st An encoded message is sent

2^nd Message travels through a channel where noise may me encountered

3^rd The message is received, decoded &

4^th The receiver sends feedback (communication cannot take place without feedback)

But how do we communicate in Jamaica? Government talk to government mostly (lateral/horizontal), they send instructions to the enforcers (downward communication); the enforcers practice limited lateral communication and you would think there aught to be some amount of diagonal communication, where government would communicate with members of other work groups like scientists, business people etcetera; and finally, ordinary civilians are informed (allot of times by hearsay). Now, how many time does government or enforcers receive feedback from civilians? What was the last time Jamaica had a referendum, national demonstration…how often is the voice of the people heard at the head? Are we communicating?

Second Lecture

Second lecture and he's not here again. He did tell us that he had some urgent matters at hand and said whenever he's not available he would send a substitute-fair enough.

So...the substitute lecturer comes and announces there will be a guest lecturer also.

Does it get ant better???

So the lecture (by the guest lecturer--who was very young--and I do have a thing with age because see...with age comes wisdom so if he's young...really, how much could he possibly know???) was quite-look at my picture...yes it was. Whoever said youth was fun?! It's quite boring and confusing-it can hardly express its self but...everything happens for a reason right? So here I am on Blogger.com working for my 20% - or however much I end up with. Oh, let me mention why "guest lecturer" was appointed. He is founder of the Jamaica Blog Awards which I just checked out-see what I mean about competition-look at my picture. So the lecture was basically about blogging-how to set up a blog, add widgets (which I'm still trying to figure out because it wasn't mentioned how), how business in Jamaica have not taken advantage of blogging and NGOs seem to be afraid of blogging and social media networks.

*     *     *

Getting back to substitute lecturer. She was mature and the topic: Business Communication 
Now we're talking! And who is a business communicator? A person who manages communications in an organisation. Hmm...sounds like one of my employees, but you know...to be the best manager you need to know the ins and outs of every area in your organisation AND communication IS integral in the running of any successful organisation. Is it not?

Wait........What's all this talk about communication? Communication process, communication, communication...OMG...the course's title is ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION....why did I have the idea that I was in a course called Business Communication?????
 ¡Ay, caramba! 

First Tutorial

For the first time I greeted the lecturer after walking in late. Why? I'm tally out of my element here.

What am I doing here?????? Communication???? Well--McDaniel seems like very cool person--that spells confidence, expertise-not easy. It's not the challenge that concerns me but the competitors. 

The memorable theme in this class was leadership and the message - DON'T SHY AWAY FROM IT! Me...shy? Yes and no. Leadership...BORN WITH IT! Why not in class?? Because I'm giving others a chance to shine as well. 

From what I'm seeing, this class will pose some challenges, the biggest of which is group work. Why? According to the Myer Briggs test, invented by the greatest psychologist of all time-Carl Jung, I fall into the INFP category of personality types and that's why; I find working in groups quite challenging. 

So everything in this world happens for a reason I believe. To function in this world, one must be able to cooperate, to practise interdependence because it is the nature of humans; we are naturally social beings, as Locke would say. And this is where life has taken me-or where I have chosen to be in life-working in a group for my own benefit-and possibly theirs. This I will use to keep me optimistic about this class.

Other possible challenges I see are: getting a client (what kind of client?), making group presentations, so many assignments. My lord - what did I sign up for? The free elective from hell!!!!

Day One of Organizational Communication

Waited mmmm....maybe an hour....or more, until someone came to say our Lecturer would not be making it. Disappointed...yes, a bit...I like new things.

People in the classroom...they all look so normal, a little too normal that they seemed abnormal

I can see this is going to be nothing like philosophy.