My Final Blog

Hello to all of the people I've never met before. This has been an interesting experience to say the least, shout out to Group C. Great job on the collaboration. Well I guess the party is over. I've enjoyed reading your blogs and responding to your comments.

I only have two classes left and I am stoked! Yes! To those of you with several classes ahead of you, don't fret, because when it's all said and done it will be one of the most gratifying experiences of your life. Best of luck to you all.

Week 4 Threaded Discussions

I've been reading through some of the responses to the questions in our threaded discussion. First I would like to say thank you for your candor and sharing such personal experiences. For the first since this class began I feel I actually have a connection to my classmates. This has been the healthiest and most meaningful experience I've had in a while. It's unfortunate that this discussion wasn't at the beginning of our class.

We are all dealing with our stuff and sometimes understanding that makes a world of difference in how we communicate.

Thank you all

No Blog Love

It's week 4 and I've haven't gotten the response I had hoped for in terms of my blog. I've visited most of my classmates blogs and they have a list of people that have visited and commented on their blogs, this hurts. Can a sister get a little blog love? What about a mercy blog. I sent my blog address to everyone the first week and class and I made sure the settings were set to allow everyone to comment on my blog and to date I've only received 7 comments.

The issue of gender, race and how it effects negotiation I think is timely given the current social climate. We are in an election year and in case you haven't heard Obama and Hillary Clinton are both campaigning for president. Do you think one or the other will be able to negotiate their way into the White House for the next four years?
Article two from our assignment highlights what I feel we all give light to in our daily lives or ignore all together, the history of race and gender in this country. " It is not something we shouldn't run away from , disregard, or worse, pretend doesn't exist, for when we do we only delay the inevitable debate." It'll be interesting to see who becomes our new leader.

Role Play #3

Scenario- Employee is unhappy with annual pay raise, approaches manager seeking a higher raise.

Employee- Kristina
Manager - Amie

Employee- I feel that the annual 4% raise is insufficient because I perform the duties of a manager.

Manager- I appreciate your hard work and recognize the additional work you've taken on. Type a letter outlining the additional tasks you've taken on and I will review it with Sr. Management for approval

Employee- Aren't you already aware of the additional work I've taken on and how much it has saved this organization not having to hire a new office manager? I just want acknowledgement.

Manager- I don't have the authority to give a raise higher than 6.5%. I believe I could get you as much as a 9% raise after your letter is reviewed by Sr. Management.

Employee- Given you've seen the results of the work I've done would you be willing to give me a 6.5% raise in the interim ?

Manager- If you provide the letter as requested I will give you the 6.5%. My hope is that after a review with Sr. Management we can change your title to manager and give you the raise you deserve, but I can't promise anything.

Employee- I think the 6.5% is a fair compromise until you can address the issue with Sr. Management. If I provide the letter this week can we schedule a meeting to discuss the interim raise? I would also like to have something in writing.

Manager- I understand I will do what I can. As soon as you provide the letter we will discuss the details.

I felt overall this was a fair compromise, however as a manager I think that during the review process these issues should have been addressed with Sr. Management and the appropriate pay increase should have been given at that time.

Thank you Amie for your time you were a great partner.

Week 3 - My Group Experience So Far

Starting out I had really difficult time communicating with everyone including the members of my group. I was extremely frustrated, so I spent allot of time e-mailing Dr. D. I really had to take some time out to assess what I was doing to contribute to the problem and not doing to resolve it. Initially I was sending my e-mail to individuals rather to the group as a whole, so I was getting limited exposure. I made one final attempt to resolve the communication problem by e-mailing the entire class my home and work e-mail addresses and later posting my issue to one of my group members blog. My efforts brought immediate results. I was able to connect with a phone partner for the 2nd week of class and make contact with my group.

My group has been very receptive and on the ball. I receive immediate feedback to comments and clarification when needed. Ideas are solicited and expectations are set. Overall I would describe the communication style as direct, which works well for me.

Thank you Group C !!!!

Chapters 4& 5

Chapter four discusses different forms of mediation and arbitration as possible alternatives for dispute resolution. It's important to have options especially when our judicial system is being bogged down with frivolous disputes that are costly and time consuming. I agree that it would makes sense to implement a system like this on a broader scale to minimize the impact on our judicial system, however it's makes sense to exercise caution when deciding which types of issues can be decided utilizing this system.

Chapter Five discusses the options available for resolving public disputes. The main goal in addressing these types of disputes is to come to a general consensus. If all the people affected agree it will reduce the costs and time associated with implementing policies and procedures to prevent people from going around the system.