unit1 – Page 2 – WRT 205 Summer 2021

Expanding The Canon

Overview

In the Journal of Business Ethics Eddy Ng, incoming Smith Professor of Diversity & Inclusion in Business at Queen’s University and Dr. Greg Sears, Associate Professor of Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior at the Sprott School of Business examine how CEOs convey the importance of diversity management and get their essential employees to execute it. While CEO dedication is seen as being vital to organizational diversity efforts, little is known about how CEOs communicate their priorities and mobilize their key organizational individuals to implement diversity management. It is acknowledged that an CEOs outward appearance of devotion to diversity endeavors in organizations is an essential key to success however when the CEO’s true unspoken priorities are signaled to key individuals in the organization what effect does this have on organizational diversity efforts? I hypothesized that if a CEO didn’t truly have a commitment to a diverse workplace, this unspoken opinion would negatively affect diversity management practices.

In this study, an integrative model with surveys was utilized which theorized that CEOs’ actual beliefs about diversity would be a predictor of the performance of diversity practices within the organization. The findings suggest that a CEO’s public words and actions alone are not adequate for the execution of diversity management practices. Key managers within the company must perceive the CEO as being authentically dedicated to workplace diversity for diversity management systems to be faithfully executed.

Media Thoughts

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carmenmorris/2020/08/11/8-things-any-ceo-can-do-to-advance-diversity-and-inclusion-right-now/?sh=421b26af5ac1

8 Things Any CEO Can Do To Advance Diversity And Inclusion Right Now

By Carmen Morris

This article can be read or listened to. It points out that many diversity and inclusion initiatives have been unsuccessful due to the absence of leadership commitment. It is the task of leadership to support the progress of diversity and inclusion. This is very much in keeping with this research of CEO’s support or lack of it leading to the success or failure of diversity efforts.

Analysis

This study was conducted to investigate CEOs’ true feelings regarding diversity management practices versus the politically correct, publicly stated ones of the company. A CEO’s genuine pro-diversity behaviors can indicate to the workforce if their view on diversity in the workplace is truly positive. The overall goal of this study was to reach an understanding of the influence of both CEO instrumental beliefs and moral values in predicting a CEO’s commitment to diversity and the enactment of workplace diversity practices. The stated objective and the result of this study have uncovered some interesting facts. This study included only Canadian firms.

In addition to the CEO the focus was on senior human resource managers because they are the ones usually assigned with implementation of organizational diversity efforts. If you think about the duties of each individual it makes sense since CEOs focus on an organization’s overall performance while HR managers are often tasked with implementing organizational directives such as complying with EEO/AA laws. “While CEOs play a lead role in initiating and supporting change, HR managers play a critical role in effecting and implementing change.” (Ng & Sears, 2020).

Ng and Sears appear to be developing theory for researchers to continue to expound upon. Their results highlight that both CEOs and HR managers play a crucial role in contributing to the success of organizational diversity efforts. One cannot be ignored or focused upon without the other. I think this research has brought to light that HR managers in particular must interpret the CEO’s words and actions as supporting and prioritizing diversity management. This interpretation comes not just from public pronouncements but rather from private actions supporting and prioritizing diversity management. CEO support is insufficient for organizations to move forward in diversity. HR managers, acting as change agents, must buy into the CEO’s values and thus play a vital role in the implementation of diversity management policies.

So, where do we go from here and what does this all mean? Future studies should include diverse companies in countries other than Canada to get a clearer picture of how generalized these study implications are. Also, it would CEO and HR manager demographic similarities and differences result in different outcomes? The CEO respondents were predominantly male (92%), Caucasian (98%), and possessed an undergraduate or graduate degree (90%). The CEO’s average age was 53 years old. Fifty-four percent (54%) of the HR managers were female, 95% were Caucasian (95%), and their average age was 46 years old. One thing that is apparent, we need more diversity amongst CEOs and HR managers. Moreover, as future studies are contemplated, attempting to find organizations that have diversity in CEOs and HR managers…if that is possible.

CEO and HR Media Thoughts

Source: https://marketoonist.com/2018/08/diversity.html

Basically, how can we expect fresh innovative ideas when everyone looks, sounds and has the exact same backgrounds? In the study I evaluated…The CEO respondents were predominantly male (92%) and Caucasian (98%). The CEO’s average age was 53 years old. Fifty-four percent (54%) of the HR managers were female, 95% were Caucasian (95%), and their average age was 46 years old. Everyone is the same…no diversity! Fresh ideas anyone?

Research Methodology and Journal Impact Score

The way this research was conducted was via surveys. While surveys can be useful tools such as allowing large populations to be assessed with relative ease, I think it should be noted that to yield meaningful results, surveys require careful planning, time, and effort. The response rate for the study (22.3%) was low with a total of 286 organizations (matched pairs) completing both surveys. Therefore, the findings from this study should be interpreted with this response rate in mind.

The article is published in the Journal of Business Ethics which is a peer-reviewed academic journal. This is a highly respected publication with an impact score in 2020 of 5.77 and is a measure of the yearly average number of citations to recent articles published in that journal.

Media Thoughts

I found this media and clearly reflected that the surveys in my research study as well as many CEOs are …predominantly male (92%), Caucasian (98%), and possess an undergraduate or graduate degree (90%). So, we’re expecting leaders of diversity efforts to lead diversity efforts with no diversity in their ranks…hmmm.

Source: https://www.russellreynolds.com/insights/the-99th-floor/talent

To summarize as the title of this article states…it’s time to walk the talk on diversity. Organizations and employees from the CEO to the HR manager must understand how their actions as well as unspoken beliefs directly affect the implementation of diversity efforts.

Reference

Ng, E. S., & Sears, G. J. (2020). Walking the talk on diversity: CEO beliefs, moral values, and the implementation of workplace diversity practices: JBE. Journal of Business Ethics, 164(3), 437-450. http://dx.doi.org.libezproxy2.syr.edu/10.1007/s10551-018-4051-7

Expanding the Canon

In “Reproducing inequity: the role of race in the business school faculty search”, after discovering that an astonishing 67% of full-time faculty at business schools are white, Professors Grier (a professor of marketing at American University) and Poole (a professor at the University of San Francisco) decided to dive deeper into why diverse groups are underrepresented. To do this, they conducted a qualitative study through interviewing professors in business schools.

Through interviews, Grier and Poole were able to study five components of the Critical Race Theory which offered some explanation into why there is not a proportionate number of diverse faculty members to students. The elements include: unchanged race and lasting racism, the interconnected nature of race with forms of subordination, the idea of one dominant ideology, experiential knowledge, and commitment to social justice. The interviews also revealed in detail how many schools care about the ‘best athlete’ construct, where only outputs matter. Schools do not take into account inputs, or extra duties performed by many underrepresented staff, including mentoring diverse students and serving as members in hiring committees.

Grier and Poole’s research found that to be successful in creating an inclusive environment, everyone must be enthusiastic and open to change. By documenting the issues surrounding diverse faculty in business schools, the professors hope other professors will reflect on their environments, and advocate for change.

The research done by Grier and Poole is essential in understanding the reasons why there are not more diverse faculty members in college business departments. It also helps illustrate that by understanding the reasons behind not having a more diverse faculty, people will understand which components need to shift within their business department. In particular, the article helps identify that the Critical Race Theory applies to higher education organizations. By establishing that the CRT applies to higher education, a relationship is established between diversity and education. Many colleges do not take advantage of this relationship. Universities do not reward professors when they take on different tasks to promote diversity. This includes acknowledging differences and mentoring students who may come from similar backgrounds or share similar experiences.

One of the critical points in the article states that inputs are just as necessary as outputs and that underrepresented minority faculty perspectives must be valued throughout business departments. Different perspectives’ value can only be appreciated when the relationship between international and domestic diversity is studied further.

Due to the dominant ideology component of the CRT, many may find it difficult to change, or understand others, as they are a part of the dominant group. It is difficult for a person to comprehend another person’s experiences if they have not experienced it themselves.

The picture below illustrates that white faculty members consider their department to be more committed to inclusion. This will make them feel more accepted in their respective departments. Black faculty, in contrast, may believe that department efforts to promote inclusion are unsatisfactory. As a result, many feel as though the department does not take inclusion seriously.

www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/01/06/faculty-members-color-see-illusion-inclusion

This supports the idea that white faculty may not understand some of the difficulties other members go through to feel included. To make diverse faculty feel included within the business school, it is imperative that actions, not just words, are taken to promote diversity. This consists of holding conversations or meetings to discuss staff backgrounds and their experiences, encouraging questions, and acknowledging each faculty member’s unique upbringing or culture. Funding diversity studies may also be beneficial in helping promote inclusion.

We already know why having diverse faculty is crucial, as illustrated by Austin and Pisano, and Gundemir. The following video provides student testimonials about how faculty diversity has had a positive impact on their education.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=owogyWB_lqE

The video illustrates that acknowledging differences between individuals is beneficial, as it encourages students from diverse backgrounds to feel comfortable in their environment.

Grier and Poole’s article is crucial in helping reflect on our surroundings and understanding that we all need to be supportive of change. One of the main objectives was to understand that knowing what to change is essential in feeling the positive effects of a more diverse faculty. By understanding the different aspects that explain why many organizations are not more diverse, institutions will reflect and alter these components, eventually leading to a more diversified group that accurately represents everyone’s backgrounds and experiences.

https://www-tandfonline-com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/doi/full/10.1080/0267257X.2020.1800796

Works Cited:

Flaherty, Colleen. Faculty Members of Color See ‘Illusion of Inclusion’, 6 Jan. 2021, www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/01/06/faculty-members-color-see-illusion-inclusion.

Sonya A. Grier & Sonja Martin Poole (2020) Reproducing inequity: the role of race in the business school faculty search, Journal of Marketing Management, 36:13-14, 1190-1222, DOI: 10.1080/0267257X.2020.1800796

UniversityRochester, AS&E Faculty Diversity Office, director. The Importance of Faculty Diversity. YouTube, YouTube, 1 Dec. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=owogyWB_lqE.

Expanding the Canon

In “Researching Developmental Disabilities”, Szumski, Smorgorzewska, and Grygiel explore the attitudes that arise with students against peers that have disabilities. They conduct an experiment with a random sample of about 1500 Polish students in middle school through a questionnaire. They had a few different hypotheses and corresponding variables to help test them. They test students in two different types of classrooms, in a traditional one that does not have students with disabilities and in an inclusive one. The authors also included a large spectrum of different types of special needs and disabilities, such as: intellectual or physical disability, autism, hearing or visual impairment, social maladjustment, behavioral disorders, and students with multiple disabilities. The goal of this study was to educate schools and students who are working with disabled students and how to make them feel like everyone else. After concluding their research the authors use their evidence to explain the best ways to accomplish this.

Screenshot from Has Inclusion Gone Too Far? on https://www.educationnext.org/has-inclusion-gone-too-far-weighing-effects-students-with-disabilities-peers-teachers/ This graph is showing the percentage of students with disabilities that are included in a general or “traditional” classroom. It proves the authors point that an inclusive classroom is the best space for students with disabilities to feel included.

The authors used the “Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons with Disabilities” (MAS), to analyze the attitudes and the “Commitment to Ethical Goodness Scale” (CEG), to analyze moral identity of the students individually and at a classroom level. To analyze the attitudes of the students the MAS measure is in a way a short story where a person encounters someone who has a physical disability. They then wait with them in a one-on-one situation and questioned through three groups: emotions, cognitions, and behaviors. The students answered each question on a five-point scale of the likelihood that each and any of the dimensions had been raised. To analyze moral identity of the students the CEG measure was a self-reporting questionnaire with 15 different statements. There were three different dimensions of morality included: moral locus of control, ethical goodness, and ethical self-regulation. The authors then used the five-point scale again to see whether the students agreed or disagreed with the statements on both an individual level and of each class.

Screenshot from Applying the Contact Theory in Inclusive Education: A Systematic Review on the Impact of Contact and Information on the Social Participation of Students With Disabilities on https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2020.602414/full. This chart shows what can cause the attitudes of peers of students with disabilities and what those attitudes lead to when they are positive.

The authors concluded that moral identity is a regulator of a person’s behavior. Moral identity also allows for an improvement of the cognitive attitudes towards peers with disabilities better in an inclusive setting. Importantly, they note that classes where students contain a developed moral identity promotes commitment to the attention of others. They then note ways that their results can be used for change within the educational system to allow students with disabilities to feel less like they are being treated differently by their peers and feel more like they are just like their peers, which they are. They also acknowledge limitations that were present in the study like using a cross-sectional scheme, assessing explicit attitudes and not the analysis of implicit attitudes, primarily focusing on inside the classroom and ignoring what happens outside of it, and they studied only one culture as opposed to multiple. By taking note of both of these inconsistencies makes the authors an extremely reliable source.

The importance of this study is to show that the reason students with disabilities feel neglected and excluded in the classroom and in the future, in the workplace is because of the way their peers treat them. They grow up thinking that they are different and maybe not as good as their peers. This is also important in the idea of organizational culture because I believe that the definition of organizational culture is that it is when there is a diverse group of people working together to achieve one goal. I think that having such a diverse group of people allows for different ideas that some people may not have thought of. Eventually when these students work in the real world and need to solve problems and or create topics and ideas for their companies, they will have different ideas than students without disabilities because they have had different experiences and challenges in life that people without disabilities probably never even thought twice about.

Screenshot from Inclusive Education on https://www.steppingstoneskenya.org/new/welcome/inclusive-education/. It is important to end a division among students who need a little extra help to succeed and students who do not. Needing accommodations does not make them any less smart or accomplished.

Grzegorz Szumski, Joanna Smogorzewska, Paweł Grygiel. Attitudes of students toward people with disabilities, moral identity and inclusive education—A two-level analysis. Research in Developmental Disabilities. Volume 102, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103685.

Expanding the Canon

In Bowen, Haverkamp, and Nye’s “A call to action: Preparing a disability-competent health care workforce” from the Disability and Health Journal, the authors successfully illustrate two initiatives that would eliminate the failure of competence towards those who are disabled as well as their essential care. The authors dissect why the needs of those who are disabled aren’t met by evaluating the preconceived notion caretakers have towards them. It is stated that their misunderstanding is a result of a biased mindset, where caretakers believe those with disabilities have a lower quality of life and function and have low expectations for their health which results in less urgency towards proper care. The authors come up with two initiatives that would alleviate the stress and pain patients with disabilities go through every day, and would in exchange, make them feel more comfortable and heard.

The urgency of these initiatives also circles back to hopes of systematic change and dismantling dishonest organizational culture. The article mentions that the systematic organizational framework in this country has disrupted the development and growth of disability healthcare. The first initiative to tackle this, the Disability Competencies, would demonstrate adequate and accessible health care. It would establish learning objectives and core foundations for health care workers, increasing understanding and urgency. The DCC (Disability Competent Care) would consist of continuing education training and bettering it as a whole. The Disability Competencies provides a set of skills and behaviors needed to provide accommodating health care towards those who are disabled. Through various studies, this framework was proven successful and applied to the full range of disabilities.

The DCC offers structure in educating the health care workforce and addresses the patient as an equal, not by their disability. The authors found that when health care workers have this preconceived notion, they don’t perform as strongly towards their patients, resulting in unfair health care and decreased mental health. I realized that when the patient’s mental health goes down, the health care workers then assume this is all a part of their disability when really, it is a reflection on them. The DCC and the Disabilities Competencies are so important because with a set of skills, behaviors, and reformed education, health care workers can finally take responsibility for lacking tremendously.

Bowen et al. acknowledge that the incompetence seen is due to systematic instability and that their initiatives would develop a foundation for practical, tangible change. I believe these initiatives need to be required and that healthcare licensure should be reevaluated the same way recruitment in the business workforce should, which we have seen in Pisano’s article. We need to re-evaluate the systems that have been set in place, as well as implement structured sets of skills in all places of work. New frameworks need to be created where there are no loopholes for privileged, selfish people in power.

Seen through these repeated injustices among various minorities, instability is systematic and lacks simple human understanding of one another, and the ability to work with each other as equals. I believe this article brings to the conversation another form of injustice that includes the same unstable framework as the ones we have seen. In order to conquer all minority injustices, it is safe to say that letting go of assumptions, implementing structure, and reforming education would finally acknowledge diversity and create big steps towards competent systematic change.

The video clip provided offers you a personal view of patients with disabilities that have undergone incompetent health care. I believe the human connection, as well as the real desire for it, is so beneficial when it comes to understanding one another and bettering a circumstance. In this video, you are able to see how good, fair healthcare for those with disabilities can really make a difference in someone’s life. You will notice health care workers acknowledging the importance of a patient. You also will notice how simple understanding and patience are needed to make a patient happy and content, furthering my point that small steps can go a long way towards competent healthcare and equality.

Works Cited:

Bowen CN, Havercamp SM, Karpiak Bowen S, Nye G. A call to action: Preparing a disability-competent health care workforce. Disabil Health J. 2020 Oct;13(4):100941. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2020.100941. Epub 2020 May 14. PMID: 32467076.

Expanding the Canon Draft

In the research of Researching Developmental Disabilities, Szumski, Smorgorzewska, and Grygiel explore the attitudes that arise with students against peers that have disabilities. They conduct an experiment with a random sample of about 1500 Polish students in middle school through a questionnaire. They had a few different hypotheses and corresponding variables to help test them. They test students in two different types of classrooms, in a traditional one that does not have students with disabilities and an inclusive one. The authors also included a large spectrum of different types of special needs and disabilities, such as: intellectual or physical disability, autism, hearing or visual impairment, social maladjustment, behavioral disorders, and students with multiple disabilities. The goal of this study was to educate schools and students who are working with disabled students and how to make them feel like everyone else.

Screenshot from Has Inclusion Gone Too Far? on https://www.educationnext.org/has-inclusion-gone-too-far-weighing-effects-students-with-disabilities-peers-teachers/

The authors used the “Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons with Disabilities” (MAS), to analyze the attitudes and the “Commitment to Ethical Goodness Scale” (CEG), to analyze moral identity of the students individually and at a classroom level. To analyze the attitudes of the students the MAS measure is in a way a short story where a person encounters someone who has a physical disability. They then wait with them in a one-on-one situation and questioned through three groups: emotions, cognitions, and behaviors. The students answered each question on a five-point scale of the likelihood that each and any of the demensiones had been raised. To analyze moral identity of the students the CEG measure was a self-reporting questionnaire with 15 different statements. There were three different dimensions of morality included: moral locus of control, ethical goodness, and ethical self-regulation. The authors then used the five-point scale again to see whether the students agreed or disagreed with the statements on both an individual level and of each class.

The authors used a multilevel analysis to analyze the relationship between morality, attitudes towards students with disabilities, and the educational setting. They looked at the variables at an individual level and with each model they added more. The main idea of this study was to discover the importance of moral identity development among students. The authors analyzed it at a classroom level, an individual level, and through the cross of the two. They discovered that at an individual level, moral identity reduces negative attitudes in all three dimensions; however, the relationship between them is weak. Between the two different types of classrooms, students in an inclusive class had more positive attitudes than students in a traditional classroom. This was a strong relationship but only in the affective dimension. When analyzed at a classroom level, moral identity had a week relationship with the behavioral dimension, a moderate relationship with the affective dimension, and a strong relationship with the cognitive dimension. Importantly, the note that, classes where students contain a developed moral identity promotes commitment to the attention of others.

The authors concluded that moral identity is a regulator of a person’s behavior. Moral identity also allows for an improvement of the cognitive attitudes towards peers with disabilities better in an inclusive setting. They then note ways that their results can be used for change within the educational system to allow students with disabilities to feel less like they are being treated differently by their peers and feel more like they are just like their peers, which they are. Then they acknowledge limitations that were present in the study like using a cross-sectional scheme, assessing explicit attitudes and not the analysis of implicit attitudes, primarily focusing on inside the classroom and ignoring what happens outside of it, and they studied only one culture as opposed to multiple.

Screenshot from Inclusive Education on https://www.steppingstoneskenya.org/new/welcome/inclusive-education/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891422220301153

EC Draft

In Is it safe to bring myself to work? Understanding LGBTQ experiences of workplace dignity, Baker and Lucas, both researchers interested in social identity and workplace dignity, claim that people who identify as non-heterosexual and non-cis gender will likely face bullying, discrimination, harassment, hurtful jokes and taunts, and ostracism throughout their careers. To understand the extent and effects of homophobic, transphobic, and queerphobic attitudes of employers and coworkers, the authors conducted semi structured interviews with 36 LGBTQIA+ working adults. The authors coded the responses into four categories of identity sensitive dignity threats experienced by LGBTQIA+ individuals in the workplace: social harm, autonomy violations, career harm, and physical harm. Additionally, the authors presented protection strategies that LGBTQIA+ members in the workforce can implement because of the clear threats to their safety and security. These strategies are avoiding harm by seeking safe spaces, deflecting harm with sexual identity management, offsetting identity devaluations by emphasizing instrumental value, and creating safe spaces for authenticity and dignity. The authors advocate for widespread education regarding the struggles faced by LGBTQIA+ in the workforce as well as change within organizations to be more inclusive and respectful.

These statistics look at the different reasons why LGBTQ+ are not “open” in the workplace

A screenshot from…

A Workplace Divided: Understanding the climate for LGBTQ Workers Nationwide, published by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

This media consists of multiple easy to read graphic designs that highlight important statistics and information about LGBTQIA+ workplace disparities.

Video: How to be a good LGBTQIA+ Ally

Educate yourself on the community (this includes terminology)
Do not make assumptions
Do not ever out someone
Be conscious of your language
Do not let slurs slide in others
Do not let others to make queer-phobic jokes
Stand up for others
Make space for LGBTQIA+ community

PERSONAL COMMENTARY: X

Works Cited: X

Discussion 6/28

I absolutely love the way that Heffernan approached her TEDtalk. She was able to get her main theme across to the listener, that efficiency is not always the best work aspect, by way of storytelling and setting different scenes. In the beginning of her talk, when she first mentioned the supermarket method to have each worker come to be assigned a task and then return for another when finished, I personally thought it was a very good idea. It was not until she made her point that there are always unpredictable aspects to the day when I realized that she was right. The way Heffernan was able to bring forward her argument in a small easy to understand way and then follow it with much bigger real-world examples was brilliant. She also included some very well-timed anecdotes that became very memorable for the audience members. One in particular was around minute 12:50 when she remarked about when efficiency and productivity are the only things valued. Heffernan then stated, “What gets left out? Anything that can’t be measured—which is just about everything that counts”. This made the viewers, especially me, realize that being efficient is not everything and that there are sometimes much more important things than work.
For question number two, I chose to analyze Renata Salecl’s TEDtalk titled Our Unhealthy Obsession with Choice. It was clever of her to start out with a bunch of quotes about choices and then stating that she was unable to choose the best one. It led into her main idea very well, that humans are very caught up in the need to make the best possible choice and then becoming overridden with anxiety or guilt on whether it was the correct one. She then led into very compelling real-life examples of the anxiety and the fickleness of the human unconscious. The first story she told was perhaps the most memorable to me. When Salecl mentioned her friend at the car dealership who would plant ideas into her customers head and encourage them to make decisions they most likely would not have made on their own. It just goes to show that human choices are impacted by their surroundings and upbringing. She then connects her next two stories by using the idea of anxiety and its connection to predictability, which in turn connects us back to our main idea of choices can be scary but we know we will always be making them. Each of Salecl’s stories blend into each other seamlessly and further proves the point from before while still introducing a similar but new idea. I personally thought it was very well done and created a lot ideas to further ponder.

Discussion Questions Week of 6/28

Response to #1

In his TEDxMidwest talk, “Why work doesn’t happen at work” (October 2010), Jason Fried, entrepreneur and founder of Basecamp, argues that it’s time for companies to change their thinking and practices about office work. He asserts that the typical office is an unproductive environment full of interruptions and activities that waste time, and he makes a case that employees will be more productive working in environments of their own choice. Fried’s rhetorical approach is interesting because it relies entirely on anecdotes to support his claims. He does not cite statistics or external sources. Fried knows that office workers are the audience for this talk, and he engages them by telling stories they can relate to. For example, most office workers can relate to Fried’s anecdotes about meetings that were a complete waste of time or a boss who has a habit of interrupting them. He really strikes a chord when he compares interrupted work with interrupted sleep. In delivering his talk, he does not speak from the position of an authority on office work but from the position of a peer, as someone who has developed insights from experiencing office work directly himself. He wears worn jeans and hardly ever makes eye contact with the audience as he shuffles back and forth on the stage. His tone is conversational. All of this helps him convey the message that “I’m one of you,” and create the pathos that helps his audience emotionally connect with his ideas. Fried also knows that radical organizational change is hard to achieve quickly, so he offers some simple and practical ideas that his audience can try wherever they work. For these reasons, I think Fried’s rhetorical approach is effective in getting his audience to believe his argument.

Response to #2

Margaret Heffernan begins her TEDSummit talk “The human skills we need in an unpredictable world” (July 2019) with a story about a grocery chain that tried to use technology to improve its operations. It’s a story of good intentions with poor results and helps her illustrate the main theme that runs throughout her speech, and that’s: the expensive and inefficient human way of solving problems often delivers better results. Her objective tone and poise establish trust with her listeners, which is important because she wants them to understand that her subject is serious with implications for everything from climate change to financial crises to epidemics. To appeal to her audience and build up support for her claims, she uses a pattern of stories followed by ideas. These stories are her evidence, and she draws them from many different areas of life, such as the grocery store, home health care, and sports. These stories create pathos and emotional connection because her audience can relate to these scenarios and outcomes. In her story about home nursing care, Heffernan also incorporates data to support her argument, noting that after an experiment “patients got better in half the time and costs fell by 30 percent.” This tactic helps creates logos and appeals to listener’s sense of logic and reason. Heffernan is a polished speaker, and she is also very skilled at using rhetorical strategies to strengthen her argument and persuade her listeners to share her point of view.

Discussion Questions WK 6/28

In Jason Fried’s Tedtalk “Why work doesn’t happen at work” he mainly uses comparisons to help his get his point across that work doesn’t happen at work because of the various distractions present in the office. One of his comparisons was that when a person is trying to sleep they need to be distraction free so they are able to have a good nights rest. Fried says this is the same case for work as well, you must be distraction free to get your best work done because you won’t be able to get deep into your work (or your sleep) if you are constantly being interrupted. He gives examples of distractions that are present at work that aren’t at other places like work meetings or frequent check-ins from managers.I think that by making these comparisons Fried gets across his message that people do their best work on their own schedules when they are in control of their environment.

2)Margaret Heffernan’s use of real world examples allows her to effectively support her claim . Heffernan began by talking about an American Supermarket which switched over to functioning more digitally in hopes of making the store more efficient. She contradicts the idea that it would be more efficient by mentioning that the machines could not do what employees could, things such as predicting when a kid would knock something over, or when someone would drop things. Heffernan said that efficiency is only beneficial when you can predict exactly what is needed, but when the unexpected happens efficiency is not longer an asset. She reasons that this same reason is why “Companies are blindsided when plastic straws and bags and bottle water go from staples to rejects over night.”. We spend too much time relying on things that we do not consider having any alternatives in case these things unexpectedly don’t work out. By including all of these real world examples Heffernan is then able to support that every time we lean on technology to do the things that we can do ourselves the trade-off becomes increasingly steep. Margaret Heffernan is able to utilize this information to express that the idea of efficiency makes us necessarily on Technology which us from working at our full potential.

Discussion Questions Week 4

In Fried’s TED talk, he discusses the reason people do not get work done at work. All three of the TED talks were relatable but I felt that Fried’s was the most because of the way he explained distractions and the way he compared work to sleep. I think that the talk as a whole is significant for many reasons, I also think that the way Fried presented his argument is important because the way that an argument is presented can have an effect on the response by the audience. He gave example after example and explained why each example happened which allows his listeners to actually picture an event that he is describing. He uses so many different types of examples that most people should be able to related to. Even if you are someone who does not work in an office, like a student for example, you can relate to be interrupted by your phone or by your teacher. I found the overall topic to be interesting and significant because work and sleep are things that people do everyday and will do for the rest of their lives.

In Fried’s talk about doing work at work, he provides evidence that most people have most likely experienced. He discusses where and when most people claim they are the most productive by giving some examples of answers to the question he asks, “where do you go when you need to get something done?”. Fried also gives scenarios where people get distracted so they physically can’t do their work. Every piece of evidence that he gives, it is very clear as to how it supports his argument. For example, when 10 people are in a meeting for 1 hour, that is 10 people whose work was interrupted and 1 less hour of work that they are going to get to do. So, as Fried explains, thats 10 hours of work that the company is losing. He walks the audience through all of the examples and evidence that very clearly prove his point. What I found to be the most effective about his argument is the fact that he used a wide spread of examples, the more examples he uses, the larger amount of people are going to relate to it.