Tag: unit1

Discussion Questions Week 6/28

Response to #1

In Relata Selecl’s TED Talk, I first noticed how honest she was. She would say phrases like, “I wasn’t sure what quote to share with you.” By being honest like this, Selecl makes her speech very relatable for the listeners. She also uses “we” and “us” a lot, which creates the same impact. Salecl also used many examples from personal experiences or her friend’s experiences. This way, many listeners can realize they have seen themselves in similar situations or have seen someone they know in these situations. By doing this, she created laughter. She also created laughter by the way she worded her points. For example, Selecl says, “She was so good at selling cars that then she sold airplanes.” Her friend did not sell airplanes, but it was a clever phrase used to engage the audience. Then, after this laughter, she got more serious about her point. Selecl went into an analysis of choices, then circled back to her own experience with a stranger. She started with a funny punchline that this person needed a sperm donor, which created laughter once again from the audience. However, again, she got more serious after with her tone and talked about how this woman has chosen bad men in her life and how these choices have been risk and stress-provoking. Selecl was very clever with her speeches structure; she creates almost a bond with the audience by using words like “us,” “we,” and presenting stories that most people in the audience could relate to. Using universal terms and ignorance, anxiety, stress, individual choice, and a “veil of obviousness.” A very successful tactic Selecl used was also bringing it back to herself and even asking herself questions. This creates more of a bond with the audience because it shows even the speaker still has questions and that people aren’t alone.

Response to #2

In Margaret Heffernan’s TED Talk, she started her speech with evidence. However, this may have blown over some people’s heads since it was an overview of an experience and ended up being evidence of “dealing with the unexpected.” When Heffernan talks of defying forecasting, she then says an example of this would be when the Bank of England says, “There might be another crash, but we don’t know why or when.” I noticed that some of her evidence did not have to be scientific or relate to a specific event. Heffernan mentions that we don’t know when or where there will be a forest fire, proving her point that we can’t rely on technology for it. Using examples like these where technology is not included in predicting things, Heffernan concludes her introduction by stating that efficiency actually stops us from adapting and responding as humans. This leads into the main section of her speech, asking if efficiency does not help us, what skills will? She gives an example of how we know there will be more epidemics in the future, but we don’t know when and where, but we can prepare. We can prepare with vaccines and safety measures. Heffernan explains that we won’t use them all with an abundance of vaccines, causing these actions to be inefficient. However, she states that this is robust because it creates more options. Heffernan’s “evidence” is hypothetical and does not rely on scientific or scholarly sources. However, I think this was intentional because her whole argument is about relying on ourselves to adapt and grow, not on efficient technology. By using human experiences as “evidence,” she supports her own argument. Heffernan also gives an example of banks, stating that now they hold more capital, being inefficient. However, it protects the system. She also uses climate change as an example, stating that they are forming multiple solutions, and uses the same approach towards trade wars. By dissecting all of this “evidence,” Heffernan’s point is that we can’t rely on something that is “efficient” because we can’t predict the future, we can’t predict outcomes, and it would be better to be “inefficient” and have multiple solutions and preparations for different scenarios. In her Netherlands nurses example, there was an experiment example where the nurses decided what to do with the different patients and how to treat them, causing them to get better in half the time. The nurses had no idea how easy it would be to create this solution since it was not something one could figure out by sitting at a desk, looking at a screen, or analyzing data. Since Heffernan used hypothetical evidence to start, this evidence example was placed perfectly in her speech to prove her point and prove that this type of inefficient thinking actually works. Heffernan did a great job at building a climax in her speech and presenting evidence in a way where the audience could engage by thinking critically about universal experiences with Heffernan’s presented mindset.

The Association Between Unemployment Status and Physical Health Among Veterans and Civilians in the United States

“The association between unemployment status and physical health among veterans and civilians in the United States” by Than V. Tran,  Julie Canfield, & Keith Chan reflects on the high rate of unemployment amongst veterans and proposes positive change through public health policies and programs. This article focuses mainly on the health effects of long-term unemployment and their impact on the veteran community. Tran, Cainfield, and Keith use the connection between unemployment and poor physical health as justification for an increase in programs geared towards easing the transition from the military to the workforce. The authors present the creation of said programs as favorable to “not only the veterans themselves but for their families, communities, and the greater society at large” Although the authors seem to push the idea of creating programs for veterans, there is also a strong importance placed on furthering research behind the trend in order to “raise public awareness of these health issues, and provide insights into critical questions on how best to develop effective reintegration programs for veterans”. I believe that this article draws parallels between the ideas of both “Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage” and “The impact of organizational diversity policies on minority employees’ leadership self-perceptions and goals” by taking the motivation for change that the Gundemir et al article has and connecting it with the philosophy behind the Austin & Pisano text.

Reference:

Tran, T. V., Canfield, J., & Chan, K. (2016). The association between unemployment status and physical health among veterans and civilians in the United States. Social Work in Health Care, 55(9), 720–731. https://doi.org/10.1080/00981389.2016.1191582 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00981389.2016.1191582

Neurodiversity Studies: A New Critical Paradigm

Neurodiversity Studies: A New Critical Paradigm written by Hanna Bertilsdotter an associate professor in sociology ,Nick Chown a book indexer who researches and documents his findings on Autism , and Anna Stenning a welcome trust research fellow in humanities and social sciences at the University of Leeds, explores the world of Neurodiverse people and the challenges they face in the workplace. Through their extensive research the authors have been able to maintain their stance of supporting the “Neurodiverse movement”. They reiterate throughout their writing that neurodiverse people, no matter how qualified they may be, face many obstacles when searching for employment. There has been evidence from the PARC, an organization which collects research on autistic people that has shown that even when a person with autism holds a doctorates, they are rarely able progress to further research and lecturing contracts. The writers attribute this to the invalidation of “impaired bodies” making neurodiverse people constantly struggle to establish credibility due to the ableist view point prevalent in society today. It was also mentioned that when a study was conducted, many neurodiverse employees have admitted that they have been in situations in the workplace where in order for them to fit in they felt that it was necessary that they mask any characteristics that might indicate to others that there were different. The writers contend that in order for this to be rectified, there must be an emphasis on inclusion in these spaces so these employees can feel safe and work their best.

source:

https://www-taylorfrancis-com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/books/edit/10.4324/9780429322297/neurodiversity-studies-hanna-bertilsdotter-rosqvist-nick-chown-anna-stenning

Overview for Week of 6/28

We’ll be closing out Unit 1 this week, so that means your first Unit assignment deadline is approaching (Sunday, 7/4).

Read on for an overview of how we’ll be moving toward that:

Look for feedback from me in the next couple of days on the summary of your article that you submitted yesterday. You’ll work with that feedback to finalize your summary, which will become part of your Unit 1 blog post (along with your commentary on how this article would enrich our understanding of the specific organizational culture issue/area you’re exploring). Be sure to review the Unit 1 assignment sheet. Consider your purpose carefully.

show & tell

While you’re waiting for that feedback, start thinking about and looking at your options for a media component (link, video clip, image, etc.) to incorporate into your post. You’ve got a lot of latitude to work with here. I suggest using the assignment’s purpose as your starting point.

Here’s what I mean: while you’ve read this article (probably multiple times by now), your classmates probably haven’t. You’re suggesting that this text ought to be part of our canon, that looking at it would enrich our knowledge and understanding of this important issue. You need to show and tell us how that’s the case. You’ll be offering summary, analysis, and commentary. The media element is there to round that out.

For example, your media component might:

  • provide some background knowledge that would be crucial to our understanding (i.e. through a link or a video)
  • contain some visual context for the scope or complexity of the issue (i.e. an infographic) or assist with our understanding of change over time or comparison (i.e. graph, chart)
  • offer an opportunity to explore this issue further (i.e. through a link) for those who want to learn more

You may incorporate more than 1 element if you would like; just make sure you have at least 1.

Also be sure to attend to the following:

  • if using a link, make sure it is functional–use the “Add Media” button in the +New Post window to “Insert from url”
  • if using an image, make sure it is high-resolution so that it’s legible–again you’ll use the “Add Media” button to “Upload files” and “Insert into post”
  • if using an image, provide a caption that includes the source information (where you found the image–the actual web page, not just “Google search”)
  • whatever your media component, be sure that you explain its relevance in your post–don’t leave your reader to draw their own conclusions about its significance. Walk us through what you want us to learn from this item.

Here’s the other work on tap for this week:

  • draft of your blog post (let’s extend the deadline here to the end of the day on Wednesday, 6/30)
  • a few TED talks to watch (linked from Blackboard) for more perspectives on diversity and organizational culture (and in preparation for this week’s discussion)
  • discussion work on the blog–see the prompt here

I’ll be reading your drafts (due Wednesday) and getting you feedback by the end of the day on Friday. Your final version of the blog post is due by the end of the day on Sunday, 7/4.

Discussion prompts for Week of 6/28

This week you will be watching three TED talks and reading another article that all intersect with our big umbrella topic of organizational culture. (Think of this like a Venn diagram:

Venn diagram

I think this can be a helpful analogy because it is much the same tactic that we take in research: we are not simply looking for the one “perfect” source but rather for a source that interacts with our ideas in someway that move them forward. And the more voices we hear from in that research (the more perspectives we incorporate), the more likely we will arrive at a fuller understanding of the topic we’re examining.

For this week’s discussion I would ask that each of you respond to question #1 and then either #2 or #3. Please categorize your list as “Discussions/ Homework” and tag it with “weekof6/28,” “unit 1,” and [your name].

  1. We use the term “rhetoric” to discuss how we make arguments (what we do and how and why, not just what we say). Since a hefty portion of your work in this upcoming Expanding the Canon blog post hinges on rhetorical analysis, let’s do some practice–working with one of the TED talks for this week (Heffernan’s, Fried, or Salecl), talk to us about what you find interesting in their rhetorical approach. How do they engage the audience? What kinds of strategies do they use to explain their ideas? What do you think is interesting or significant about the way that they present their arguments and appeal to their listeners?
  2. Choose one of the talks that you watched this week and examine how this speaker works with evidence. What kind of evidence do they use? How do they explicate the connections between their evidence and their claims?  Be specific. How do they walk the audience through their argument? What are some of their argumentation tactics that you find effective? Note that you will need to watch the talk at least a second time, and take notes while you are doing it; you can also access a full transcript of the talk on the TED website.
  3. Choose one of the talks, and discuss how this presenter adds to our body of knowledge around organizational culture. Who is the speaker/author, and what kind perspective do they contribute? (You may need to do a quick Google search to get a sense of who they are.)  What kind of connections do you see between this take and other things we have been learning about organizational culture? If you were to make a Venn diagram (or a few) articulating the connections between this text and other ones that we’ve read, what would it look like? You can have some fun with this using an online Venn creator like this one or by sketching it out by hand and incorporating the image(s) into your post):

Venn Diagram Maker

Please post your responses by the end of the day on Wednesday, 6/30, and respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ posts by the end of the day on Saturday, 7/3.

Discussion Questions Week of 6/21

Question 1

In anticipation of “expanding the canon” I started my research at the SU library with the intent of using some of the filters to narrow my search. This resources has been advantages in its ability to gather relevant texts that can I pull from in order to form a well rounded claim. The phrase that provided the best search results in support of my topic was “veterans and unemployment”. Many veterans find it difficult if not impossible to find employment after joining the military as a result of the trauma they faced while serving. Being that the readings we have covered thus far have taken the ideas of organizational culture/ diversity and  presented them with respect to a wide variety of people, I believe the topic of unemployment amongst veterans will highlight the intersectionality between these concepts. Moving forward, I plan on pulling articles that express the ideas of not only the veterans but of those who have influence in the hiring process and members of human resources departments at companies who strive to make an impact on the veteran unemployment rate. 

Question 2

In “The Inclusion Dividend: Why Investing in Diversity & Inclusion Pays Off” by Kaplan and Donovan, they express the difference between intention and action surrounding the topic of diversity. They make claims on how the vision of diversity in the mind can come to fruition in a way that does not reflect the true intent of the person who made those actions. Whereas in “Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage” by Austin and Pisano they reflect more on the change that needs to be made regarding diversity and organizational leadership rather than the though process behind it. 

In this week’s they say/ I say I was more comfortable with comparing the ideas of the two texts. This is due to the amount of practice I had with understanding the stances of each author separately and then comparing them throughout last week’s assignments. These templates have helped me understand my own beliefs through the analysis and comparison of the author’s own points of view.

A quick(ish) note on this week’s work and what we’re trying to do here

As you’ve probably noticed, you’re submitting all of your work this week through the blog, including the summaries, rather than through Blackboard. That’s by design. Summary is a crucial skill for research writing, so we’re spending a fair bit of time practicing and reflecting on it. You’ve had a chance to receive some private feedback, and now it’s time to open up your audience a bit–this way you’ll have the opportunity to give and to receive feedback from one another.

You can learn a lot by seeing how others summarize the same text as you–what they prioritize, how they define the source, what works well in their approach that might be different from your own.

Moving forward in the course, much of your writing work will be public in this way–on the blog, with your classmates reading and responding. That will provide valuable experience with writing for an authentic audience, which in turn will help you to improve your rhetorical agility. That’s a key aim of this course–to think about the ways in which writing and research are situational, flexing and adapting our work to our distinct purpose, audience, and context.

Now, obviously, this requires a degree of trust, and in a fully online setting where we don’t see one another’s faces and don’t have those same kinds of human interactions that we’re accustomed to in a classroom setting, we will need to work intentionally to build that trust. Trust will make it easier to put our writing out there, to accept constructive feedback, and to offer up our own valuable insights.

Here, I think that our growing knowledge of organizational culture can be a real asset. We know that cultures are built–they don’t just happen–and that they are manifestations of our shared values. I propose that we take a little time this week to reflect on what values we want to be sure we enact in our class community, in this organization that we’re making.

I’ll go first–one of the features of this section that I really value and that I’d like to build on is your openness about the diversity of your backgrounds and experiences. As a group, we represent different generations, different professional fields, different geographical areas, different ethnic and racial groups, and I really appreciate how you’ve been willing to sharing those differences and the unique perspectives you’ve developed as a result. I hope you’ll continue to do so. I think that communicating from where we are–honoring and acknowledging how we are situated–is really important.

Would you please chime in and comment on this post with your thoughts about the culture you’d like to see us build in this online community? What value do you propose we share? What practices do you propose we try to enact? What would you like to see us do/not do/prioritize/avoid?

Response 6/21

  1. I would like to “expand the canon” by researching about LGBTQIA+ diversity in the workforce. Currently, I do not know much about this topic. However, I think it is important to educate myself and others about it. For this assignment, I would like to read a variety of texts and watch a few videos. I think it is crucial to hear from researchers and experts, but more importantly personal narratives of those facing discrimination in the workplace based on their sexual or gender identity. I plan on gathering statistics to show how “real”, important, and widespread this issue truly is through using the Syracuse Library databases. I also think it would be interesting to reference specific companies that have implemented programs and resources to address this. Additionally, it would be helpful to hear from hiring managers and diversity leaders on their experience with this topic. Finally, I would like to find proposed solutions to fostering more inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community in the workplace.

2. In Kaplan and Donavan’s book, they argue that people generally have good intentions regarding inclusivity but can unconsciously overlook situations which can become hurtful and harmful. The authors urge readers to constantly consider the importance of diversity throughout our daily decisions. I agree with the authors claims and believe that this excerpt has the potential to spark change within because of the real and powerful story told about Kim.  Through sharing a day in the life of Kim , these authors have clearly identified detrimental patterns in the culture of careers and have provided solutions to address these issues.

I used components of my Kaplan and Donavan response to craft this one. I am still getting comfortable using the templates and I am questioning if I am doing it correctly. I was not sure if my “I say” was strong enough or even made sense but I wanted to try it out instead of using two of the “they say”.

Discussion 6/21

  1. In order for me to start expanding the canon on my own, I decided to look more into the themes of the previous works that we as a class were reading.  After isolating these themes that I picked out from our blog, I went immediately to the Syracuse library database to enter them into google search.  The themes I chose were diversity in the workplace, diversity in organizations, unconscious bias, intent vs impact, etc.  These topics were all aspects of the previous articles that I wanted to explore further.  The particular article I enjoyed the most so far has been the Kaplan and Donovan excerpt from chapter three of their book The Inclusion Dividend.  Therefore, I think that those themes are going to be the ones I explore the most.  Personally, I find this aspect of the class a bit difficult because I am not the biggest fan of sifting through various articles trying to find the ones that correspond the best to my argument.  I tend more towards picking the first articles I see and forming my argument around those main ideas instead of having my articles back up my thesis. 

3. The project that Mark Kaplan and Mason Donovan are working towards in chapter three of their book The Inclusion Dividend is to create more aware workplaces, especially in reference to inclusion of all outsider groups. These outsider groups are mentioned within the book as the minority age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or on education level, class, or geography.  The authors, through their text, are spreading the ways in which executives and other people in the insider groups in workplaces hinder growth from a diversity standpoint.  To execute their project, Kaplan and Donovan give examples of how companies can be exclusive through the use of a day-to-day storyline of a supervisor.  I enjoyed this set up because it actually showed me the whole picture of how places can inadvertently be exclusive.  Throughout the scenario there was not one part of the day when I could easily say that the executive was being intentionally biased; but when I took a step back it became obvious how elitist the department was.