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.

Telephone Role Play Exercise

Topic: Sexual Harrassment

Introduction:

I was fortunate to enough to have Shannon Mathwig as my partner, she played the role of the HR Manager and I played the employee.

Issue: Employee overhears a sexually explicty conversation between two employees and reports to HR that she has been sexually harrassed.

Summary: I informed HR that I had overheard two employees having a sexually explicit conversation and although this is a regular occurrence I found this particular conversation extremely offensive. HR agreed to bring both employees in to discuss the incident. HR informed me that this would be considered a verbal warning for both employees. HR also agreed to take steps to communicate the company's sexaual harrassment policy at a company wide meeting to prevent future situations like this.

I found Shannon's communication style to be direct, which I could appreciate. As the employee I felt comfortable that immediate action would be taken and that my issue was taken seriously. I was concerned about potential retaliation from the two employees and Shannon informed me that my name would never be mentioned in the conversation.

Week 2 Assignments

12 Angry Men

1. Identify all of the conflict in the movie. How are they presented and resolved?

The movie opens with the ending of a murder trial. The all male jury now has to decide a young man's innocence or guilt. As the jury leaves to deliberate they are cautioned to make their decision based on the facts.
The conflict arises during the premlinary vote, as eleven votes for guilty and one for not guilty are read. The eleven men who voted guilty decide it's their duty to convince Davis he is wrong and they are right, so they go around the table highlighting the aspects of the case they feel prove the young man's guilt. Davis's reluctance to make a hasty decision sends the remaining jurors in a tail spend as they all begin to argue and attack each personally, ignoring the facts of the case all together. Davis remains calm throughout the process forcing the other jury members to exam their own prejudices, stereotypes, and question their own interpretation of the facts. The conflicts are resolved through renactments and a review of the evidence.

2. Do the conflicts seem realistic? Why?
The conflicts are realistic because people have things going on in their lives that could possibly spill over into this type of proceeding. When you combine people from different backgrounds and histories and ask them to make an uniformed decision there is bound to be conflict.

3. How might you have handled the conflict different/ better than in the film.
I think sorting through and elminating personal stuff in order to come to a general consensus is part of any process. However if I had been the foreman I would have been more assertive and taken on more of the management role and kept order during the process.

4. Did the chracters utilize effective negotiation, communication, listening, and problem solving skills?
Most of the characters were able to negotiate, and communicate effectively, however they didn't do a good job of listening to each other. I say this because most of the resistance was a result of their personal experiences, which often distracted them from the facts in the case.

5. Do the conflicts in the film provide any opportunities for alternative dispute
resolution?
No. Having a third party involved would not eliminate the process of sorting through the facts and it would not eliminate personal issues that can sometimes interfere with the decision making process.

How I Negotiate When I Want Something

If I want something I go into the negotiation process with the belief that what I want is attainable. I don't think you can succeed at anything without the belief that it's possible for to have what you want.I worked as a collector for a few years and in that time I had to learn how to identify the type of person I was talking to so I could adjust my communication style to fit with theirs in order to begin the negotiation process. For anyone who has worked in a sales environment you know how difficult this can be, you literally have seconds to make that determination and begin the negotiation process.The first step for me in any negotiation is building rapport. I do this by identifying with the person on some level. The next step is to state my purpose and then listen. I have found that people tell you more by what they don't say than by what they do say and if you're not listening you'll miss the underlying reasons that might cause resistance.Chapter one discusses the importance of listening in the negotiation process and how, two-way communication can make the negotiation process smoother. Listening makes the other party feel what they have to say is of value. When you undercut that value by ignoring or not listening to the individual you're negotiating with you've already lost.Chapter one gives an example of how the part owner of a radio station wanted more money for her share of the station than the other partners. In the negotiation process the purchaser discovered by listening that the issue wasn't money rather the owner's desire to continue on as manager of the station.By listening you build rapport, credibility, and gain insight into the underlying issues that may impact the success of your negotiation.

Listening the Key in the Negotiation Process

You don't listen it's not the first time I've heard that criticism. What I believe others are interpreting as my not listening is my need to interrupt while the other party is speaking. I have to admit it is a bad habit. In my own self-defense I only interrupt because I'm afraid that I'll forget what I'm going to say not because I don't view the other parties opinion as valuable. You can't listen if you're too busy thinking about what you're going to say next.

I was a successful collector for two years until I changed positions. Although I may not be listening in other aspects of my life I understand the importance in the negotiation process.

Power Vs. Resources in the Negotiation Process

In chapter one negotiation power is defined as the ability to persuade someone to do something, that ability is derived from our belief that we have an equal chance of success in the context of the negotiation. In the negotiation process the person who holds the power is a matter of perception. As we shift our perception of power we can affect the outcome.Building a rapport or a relationship with the person you are in negotiation with is one way to improve the chances of success.Yesterday in my comments, I talked about my experience as a collector. The amount of time you have to determine the other parties interests, and underlying objectives can be limited, which is why it's important to listen; by understanding the other parties needs you are more likely to satisfy them.Resources can make an agreement more attractive and in increase the negotiating power "depending on the context and who's being persuaded." As a collector I would often offer reduced pay off amounts as an incentive, which would help to shift the odds of collecting in my favor. At the end of the day if the other parties needs aren't being addressed in the negotiation process you are less likely to succeed.

I love to travel and I thought I would share a picture from my vacation last year. You may recognize this yes! It's the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. Great place to visit.

Personality Tests Results

I would like to share with all of my class mates the results of my personality test. The first test is the NLP ( Neuro Linguistic Programming). My primary representational system is " kinesthetic." This basically means that I think in terms of feelings.
Secondary- is Auditory- which means I use an aural vocabulary.

TAPT( Tiger Baron Assessment of Personality Type). I am an extrovert who perfers to focus my attention on the outer world. I perfer to deal with tangible, factual, objective information. I'm logical in my thinking and prefer to make decisions in this way. I prefer order and structure. I would say this test nailed my personality to a tee. I really stuggle with spontaniety, it's gets me all frazzled.

The DISC assessment is something we all been subject to at one time or another, my results show strongest discriptor is compliance, which means I'm a stickler for quality. Running a close second is "Dominance" which says I am direct and decisive, never have truer words been said.

The results of the Conflict Management Style test were all over the place, which I interpret as versatility, meaning I adjust my style depending on the people involved and the environment in which the conflict occurs.
I've taken several personality tests and I've never been suprised at the results, they defintely describe who I am.