Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Miscommunication

This week, I'd like you to think about an experience you have witnessed in which information was miscommunicated in the work setting. If you have not yet had a job, you may also reflect on a miscommunication on a sports team or within any social organization. What happened to cause the miscommunication to occur? What was the aftermath? How might the miscommunication have been prevented?

During this past summer, I worked as a waitress at a Bubba Gump’s Restaurant in Downtown Charleston. Communication is an integral aspect while serving customers. I have messed up many a meal order because of miscommunication or carelessness.

During one such occasion, one of my co-worker’s (Suzy) customers asked me if I could tell Suzy to cancel his steak order because he had to leave dinner early. Because I was in the process of getting drinks for my table, I didn’t feel like finding Suzy and so told another co-worker (Mary) to relay the message to Suzy for me. Well – as the popular children’s “telephone” game goes – the message got mixed up during the transfer, and Suzy thought the request was to speed up the meal so that he could take it with him. The miscommunication was realized when the food (and check) was brought out to him. He, of course, refused to pay for the food; and a perfectly good steak went to waste. The fault was completely mine – if I had taken the message directly to Suzy myself, there wouldn’t have been a mix-up.

Thankfully this miscommunication only resulted in the loss of a cooked steak. And, this small mistake forced me to be more cautious in the future: as a prospective health-care provider, the importance of proper and accurate communication will only increase.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Presentation & Portfolio

1. Blog about one more presentation: talk about what you liked about this presentation and why you chose it as your favorite of the last group of presentations.
I really enjoyed Brian’s presentation on autism. It effectively explained and gave examples of this prevalent disease. Also, because he works with kids who have autism, he was able to incorporate personal experiences within his presentation. Learning about the characteristics and treatments of this disease will also benefit me in the future as I work with children in my nursing career.

2. Blog about your past experiences with online portfolios.
What programs did you use?

I have only used the ePortfolio on blackboard.

Was it a good experience or a bad experience?
My experience was somewhat bad because it was frustrating to update and edit my portfolio using this program. We had to change all of our documents to an Acrobat format and then upload them individually. We also had to use the “html” of the page to change font, color, background, etc. Even after taking a class to learn the necessary procedures, the whole process was time-consuming and annoying.

What do you need to know in order to ensure that you are ready for the portfolio draft due on March 23?
To be ready for this due date, I need a refresher course on how to create and edit my portfolio – I’ve forgotten what they showed us last year in CU101. I will also need to have a peer review and critique my cover letter, as well as determine what to include in my follow-up letter. Finally, I need to know what format you want our meeting sheets to be in (Bulleted points? Paragraph form?) and what to include in our progress report/project draft.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

English Presentations

Select any three presentations that your classmates gave in the last few classes; base your selection on how much you enjoyed the presentation.

Presentation #1: “Giving Back to Locks of Love” by Stephanie Buffo
What made this presentation so enjoyable?
I always enjoy learning about non-profit organizations who work to help those in need. Locks of Love takes hair donations from any willing donator and constructs a prosthetic wig to give to a child-in-need for free! Each wig is individually fit to the child, benefitting both their physical appearance and their emotional confidence.
What did you learn?
I learned more about the non-profit organization of Locks of Love. I knew that this organization existed, but I didn’t know how many inches of hair was needed for a donation or how many donations is needed to make one wig.
What made this person an effective presenter?
Stephanie was an effective presenter because she had a personal connection with her topic. She had a close friend die from cancer in high school, which motivated her to start her hair donation. The fact that she was able to talk about her personal donations made her presentation more effective.

Presentation #2: “When the Shark and the Fish First Met” by Nate Kitt
What made this presentation so enjoyable?
This presentation focused on a current world event taking place in the Middle East. It was enjoyable because it discussed a current event and made me more globally aware of Gilad’s situation.
What did you learn?
I learned more about the current war going on between the Israelites and the Palestinians. I also learned about Gilad Shilat – a POW who has been held captive by Hamas since June 25, 2006. I also learned a pretty interesting story that was written by Gilad when he was only 11 years old!
What made this person an effective presenter?
Nate was an effective presenter because he had been to the Middle East to visit during the winter break. Therefore, he was able to discuss this topic from a personal view and from a knowledgeable view.

Presentation #3: “Boykin Spaniel” by Kenneth Cordray
What made this presentation so enjoyable?
He brought his puppy into class with him!
What did you learn?
I learned that the Boykin Spaniel is the state dog of South Carolina! I thought it would have been the Labrador retriever…oops! (And I’ve lived here my whole life.)
What made this person an effective presenter?
Kenneth was an effective presenter because he instantly captured my attention by bringing his puppy in to class. Also, once I learned that this breed was the state dog of South Carolina, I wanted to know more about it. He kept his presentation interesting with quick facts and cute pictures!