RESPONSE TO DISCUSSION

DISCUSSION 1
Hello Class,
Share these cultural pieces with us in this Discussion. 
I am a 31 year old female from Providence Rhode Island, I am a traveler that currently resides in Jonesboro GA. That would fit me into the yankee turned ATLien culture. A new cultural wave on the rise, since Georgia is considered the new little Hollywood. My cultural pieces include Christian, although I was raised catholic. I made my first communion, had a baptism, and went to catechism. My race is African American, Italian, and Native American. Blackfoot Indian tribe to be precise. Do to my multi ethic mixes I am a lite skinned person. In the south I am considered a red-boned; and in the north I am considered a yellow-bone. Either way I am considered some color bone in Crayola’s rolodex. A chef, journalist, and public speaker among others makes up my professional cultural group. One culture I identify with is the nightclub life, Because I used to be an exotic dancer for several years. That is definitely a culture all its own. My hobbies are vast to say the least (Kreps,2011). I am an avid yacht lover. My family has had yachts ever since I was 6 years old, so it is a huge part of me. I love to watch tv especially reality tv, paranormal hunting, and educational programs. I am a huge housewives fan. Actually, I hope to be the host of a reunion show.
Also, address why culture is important in communication. How does your culture affect your communication with others in the workplace?
Culture is a vital part communication. It allows co-workers to look past the cultural norms they are accustom to. Sometimes we are so engulfed in our own lives and lessons we cannot see another person’s point of view. By individuals of other cultures getting together we can be enlightened on new and innovative ways to turn the business around. It helps people come together in situations they thought would never be possible.
           My cultural differences taught me to embrace change. It opened my eyes to others way of life. You can understand the people in your community better (Ferris et al, 2018). You can gain more cliental because you can speak to individuals of cultures you never expected to. My business has increased sine I started meeting people from other cultures at various occupations that has allowed me to find and bridge gaps that I never thought I would.
References
Kreps, G. L. (2011). Communication in organizations [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Ferris, D. L., Reb, J., Lian, H., Sim, S., & Ang, D. (2018). What goes up must Keep going up? Cultural differences in cognitive styles influence evaluations of dynamic performance. Journal Of Applied Psychology, 103(3), 347-358. doi:10.1037/apl0000282
Iesha Westmoreland

DISCUSSION 2
In our reading it states that the increases in cultural diversity in organizational life demand strategic intercultural organizational communication (Kreps, 2011). My particular culture background (Caucasian with European descent) has no real bearing in my work place. As I work for the U.S. military, one of the most diverse organizations out there. You don’t even have to be a citizen to join. We see cultural diversity everywhere we go, whether it is for work or in our own work center areas. However, I can tell you this, the more you know about ones cultural and why they do the things they do, it makes it a lot easier to understand and communicate. One example that I have is from a deployment to Iraq and helping them open an airbase. We had training through computer modules as well as a linguist. This computer stuff helped a little but the translator was the biggest help. As he gave us the most important help before we even talked to the Iraqi military. The biggest thing I learned is that nothing would be decided in one day and that multiple conversations very needed. Our reading mentions this in the form of cultural norms and serves as a socializing process (Kreps, 2011). Then everything ended with a separate conversation about something other than work. This was very frustrating at first, but I did learn that this was done to make sure that no rash decision was made and almost all details were thought out. Of course a few were missed, but easily fixed on the next 20 or so visits we had to make.
References:
Kreps, G. L. (2011). Communication in organizations [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu

DISCUSSION 3
Hello Class,
Write a discussion response about a specific conflict you have experienced with someone else. Although preferred, the conflict does not have to be work-related. Discuss why the conflict was not handled effectively and what could have been done differently.
What a great interview. I agree most people do have a fear of conflict. I do as well as my mother and aunts. I feel like they have instilled that in me. Ted brings up a great point (San Diego Living, 2011). It is not want the conflict is about, you just need to know how to navigate through the conflict to find a resolution. I am definitely an analyzer in conflict and all aspects of my life.       
The conflict I face is a conflict between myself and I. I have an extremely unhealthy tendency to hold in my true thoughts. Out of risk of hurting other’s feelings or loosing someone’s bond that I share with them. This is a problem because no one is affected but me. Everyone else can go through their life foot loose and fancy free. I cannot however, I must live with the internal feeling that I did not express (Kreps, 2011). I must handle the situation effectively by standing up for myself. Everyone talks to me in any manner they choose so why can’t I. I always know this was a problem, but I have only recently taken efforts to correct it. Starting with the relationship between me and my husband. It is hard to know that your words can affect the emotions of the person you are communicating with. I am a person that wants everyone to like me, so sometimes I do allow people to treat me as they wish and turn the other check. I do not want confrontation, especially in my family life. In most cases however it is more health to confront confrontation and speak your mind and feelings. Professionally I am the opposite. I speak my mind because I know that in the competitive workforce you must stand up to stand out. My hunger for advancement made it second nature to speak on company policies and co-worker discrepancies. It is a work in progress and I feel I am slowly getting to expressing my true self.
References
Kreps, G. L. (2011). Communication in organizations [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

DISCUSSION 4
Since I have to keep this post to around 250 words I will pick a relatively simple topic that I ran into many times while in the military. First, according to out reading conflict is noted as an inevitable part of group processes due to the inherent differences in opinion, experience, and orientation of group members, who must reconcile their differences to make group decisions (Kreps, 2011). This example is about scheduling time off and vacation time. Back when I was a section chief (civilians know this as maybe a shift supervisor), I had some real conflict with my night shift flight chief on the priorities of who get time off and when. This is a big deal because in the aircraft maintenance world you cannot let to many people go at one time or there will not be enough people to work. We all know when aircraft don’t fly some one has some explaining to do. One issue was that one individual put their vacation time in first so it is more important. The other individual has family issues and already bought the plane ticket to leave and there vacation was put in after the previous individuals. This went on for about an hour on whose was the most important. If we had thought about the situation as the video discussed about accommodating and why there was an issue, the vacation time conflict would not have been so bad. All it took was just bringing both members in and discussing the situation together. Once the first individual knew what was going on they had no problem adjusting their vacation time to meet the second individuals time. In the end both of them got the time off needed and the shop did not hurt for manning and the only thing that was really wasted was the night shift section chiefs’ time and mine.
References:
Kreps, G. L. (2011). Communication in organizations [Electronic version]. Retrieved from      https://content.ashford.edu (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
(2011). Tim Scudder Interview. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_E7YVkjJQ0