Running Head: FINAL PORTFOLIO

Final Portfolio Senior Seminar Daniel Potteiger Kent State University

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Table of Contents

Reflective Self Analysis--------------------------------------Pages 3-11 Cover Letter-------------------------------------------------------Page 12 Resume-----------------------------------------------------------Page 13 Best Works----------------------------------------------------Pages 14-39

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My collegiate career began in high school when I took an interest in history and teaching others. So naturally, with my parents advice, I wanted to become a high school history teacher. In high school I received teaching hours by joining an organization called TEE (Teacher Exploration Experience). TEE was a group that prepared students to become teachers while in high school while I accrued college credit. While in TEE I noticed I was a lot braver than my fellow TEE students. I taught my classes well and had a lot of fun helping others learn. I soon learned that I felt uncomfortable teaching kids that were younger than me. This might have been because I was the youngest in my family and I was not used to working with younger children. I slowly started to notice that maybe teaching was not for me. I graduated from Avon Lake High School, and went to The University of Toledo. At Toledo, I majored in education and started to notice that every year teaching gets harder and constantly changes. Also during my freshman year at Toledo, No Child Left Behind was getting a lot of criticism from educators because it was forced into lesson plans. With my dissatisfaction of education and a little too much fun partying, I flunked a class and had to take some time off from college. While taking time off I was offered an opportunity to do door to door sales. The recruiter said it would make me stronger and more mature as a person. This opportunity was also an internship that could provide college credit and I would travel to an out of state environment. Being young and adventurous, I decided that this internship would be good for me so I decided to do it. The internship or Southwestern started in Nashville, Tennessee where we learned a lot about sales basics and were sorted into area or groups. The group I was in included students from

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different backgrounds and experiences. Most of the students in my group were from Michigan and were very religious which was very different than me because I was an atheist. Although the students in my group were different than me I learned to look past our differences and learned to work together as a group. Soon after we learned what to say to each potential customer, we were sectioned off even further to groups of three. These three people we would live with for the next few months and we would have to learn to live, cook and clean for each other. In my group, we were assigned to Hampton, Virginia where we were to live with elderly people and find different locations on our own and create our own business. We were each assigned a few towns that we were responsible for making maps, developing customer relations, and finding different schools to sell our educational materials too. While selling door to door I have had my highest highs on good days but as well I had my lowest lows where I cried and had terrible memories. These memories of the sales would be referred to days on the book field. I will remember these crazy memories for the rest of my life. After this experience of selling thirteen hours a day six days, a week, I realized sales was a possible career option for me. Soon, I traveled back home, and with my parents no longer supporting me I decided to go to community college. At community college, I took a lot of classes that were quite basic, so I would not have to take them later in my collegiate career. While taking classes at a community college, I took them a lot more seriously. Soon I decided I needed to pick a major and my father suggested communications because that what he graduated in. I quickly excelled and decided I wanted to finish my career at Kent State where I could get a degree at a prestigious university. Once at Kent State, I knew I must work hard and get a job to pay for rent and food. I wanted a job where I could receive valuable experience and a job which would be related to my

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career choice. I realized I also needed a phone so if I worked in telecommunications, and in sales, it would appease both necessities. Eventually I applied to the Verizon in Kent and, luckily, I got an interview. I had a good interview and got the job at Verizon in Streetsboro. I continued to go to school full time and work full time and I got valuable sales experience and valuable experience in school to supplement my sales experience. At Verizon in Streetsboro I started as a lonely sales representative. After a year of experience with the help of mastering the product knowledge I was promoted to a communication consultant where I could more effectively deal with customer complaints and business accounts. Eventually a year down the road I was offered a promotion as a sales manager. Unfortunately I had to turn it down because I did not think I could juggle school and being a store manager. Today, I still work at Verizon but eventually got transferred to the City of Kent. Besides working at Verizon I am the Kent volunteer coordinator at the LitterBugz. As a Volunteer Coordinator I am responsible for recruiting student in Kent to go to LitterBugz events. LitterBugz events consist of cleaning up trash in different locations all around Cleveland. This position as a Volunteer Coordinator helps my public image. These extracurricular activities will also help my future jobs as well. Throughout these four years, I have grown a lot as an individual. My freshman year I was immature and didnt take my collegiate career very seriously. Once I found out that no one would be paying for my college anymore, I kicked it into full gear and learned that I didnt want to work at a fast food restaurant my entire life. I quickly went back to community college and took classes seriously. After excelling at those classes; I decided I couldnt live at my parents

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house anymore. Now that I am working full time and about to graduate I realize how far I have come from the bottom to know. I realize that life is hard, but you just have to keep on trucking. One skill that I possess that will be valuable to my career in the future is my ability to find ways to work with people I usually wouldnt get along with. This skill I didnt acquire overnight primarily because I am a very stubborn person. This is a very valuable commodity in the workplace because you can generally find people that you will not like because they will disagree with your values or sometimes you just find a worker that will just not like you. For a long time I worked jobs that I did not see as a future career in so I did not put a lot of thought in solving conflict in the workforce. Soon I realized after having a professional job such as Verizon I learned that I would have to work with my coworkers for a longer time period. I also realized that I would have to see past our problems and work in an effective way that would benefit the business. If you dont work effectively with your coworkers usually it shows and the business loses money. If a supervisor sees that the conflict is causing the business money he or she might fire both workers if they cannot work together. I didnt know I possessed this strength till working at Verizon for about three years when a coworker came up to me and acted immature and I was the bigger person and apologized if I did anything wrong. Although this skill is often hard to do on a day to day basis especially when you have had more experience in a certain area. You must realize that giving in sometimes is better than making a scene. My manager seeing my problem solving called me aside. He knew I didnt like the other worker and he explained how this skill is much unnoticed skill in the workplace. This skill will be very valuable to an employer in several ways. One way this skill is valued in the workplace is by simply creating less conflict. This is valuable by reassuring the

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employer you can fit in his or her organization. Another way this skill is important to a potential employer is that teaching other the coworker to be the better person. This can create an environment that will allow other coworkers to learn in the organization. Finally if you can get along with the other coworkers in the organization then you can build off their strengths and weaknesses. A very useful skill I possess in a large organization is multitasking. Effective multitasking may seem easy but in a job where one mistake can take an hour and an angry customer to fix, you must make sure there are no mistakes. This can often be very stressful when one customer comes in first and you must explain to that customer that you have to help the customer that hasnt been in the store as long as well. Usually the customer understands that you must help other customers as well but sometimes this can be quite stressful. I have become aware of this strength when I was working with several customers and after appeasing several customers at once I was complemented on my professionalism. With the knowledge of my multitasking awareness I made it my goal to teach others to multitask better and make the workplace a more productive environment. My ability to multitask effectively would be valuable to my employer in several ways. One way this skill would be very valuable to my employer is by making me a versatile worker that can do more than one job at once making the workplace a more productive atmosphere. Another way my multitasking could be valuable to a future employer is by showing that I am a harder worker than some other employees making my employers investment in me more valuable. Another ability I bring to the table is my ability to show up or sucking it up. This may seem like a skill that is not too hard to possess. But I pride myself in a perfect attendance

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growing up all throughout grade school. When growing up my mother taught me at a young age that unless youre dying going to school is more important than playing hookie or taking a day off being sick. In my graduating class of around 250 students there was only one other student that had a perfect attendance. By receiving perfect attendance in grade school I learned that use this strength toward work and my collegiate career. Although I will admit I have missed one or two days in college. By attending most of all my college classes I have maximized my potential knowledge in the subject area. This is because you cannot learn something while not listening to the instruction from the professor. Also by attending almost every college class I feel like I created a better relationship with my professors. By coming to class everyday it was often easy for professors to memorize my name and understand my situation. This meant if I was late to class because I was held up at work the professor would know that I was not lying because I attended class every day. With my excellent attendance rate I excel at work as well. By not calling off work I usually a favorite worker for my manager because I am dependable. I cannot tell you how many time I have seen my subordinates been yelled at for calling off work last second and making my managers life living hell finding more replacements so we would not be understaffed. Although I have not included this skill on my resume I believe in any job interview if I was to talk about my dedication to an organization this skill would come to mind. The last skill I would like to talk about is my ability to feel empathy for others. This skill is valuable in almost any position because it requires you to see what other people are seeing and thinking. Although this skill seems to be mundane and easy to acquire I would say most people do not possess this skill. I cant express how refreshing when you deal with someone who asks you hows your day going? or is genuinely interested in what you have to say. This skill I

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believe is the most important skills to have in the workplace because it foresters better relationships with coworkers and customers. This can be best shown on a daily basis at my current job Verizon. Usually when a Verizon customer comes into my store they come in with baggage. This baggage might include the customer is having a rough week at home or even just needs someone to talk too. By genuinely caring about their day and hearing their situation usually you can bond with a customer and both the customer and the employee can have a more enjoyable phone experience. This can be explained through Begers Uncertainty Reduction Theory the more you will learn about a person the better relationship you will have with that person. In this case the more the customer shares with you the more you can have a better relationship with that individual. Thus making the process of an everyday upgrade a more enjoyable and fun experience between you and the customer. If an everyday conversation can be easier and fun I believe it is my goal as a communication major to teach more people this.

If I was to describe myself after college I would say I am personable that possesses great customer building skills. Thought out my college experience I found myself losing and gaining new friends. Through both I have learned a lot from not burning bridges and staying close to those who matter the most. With my experiences I can learn a lot about the future because with a degree in communication I will have to use these experiences to my advantage. Throughout my journey I have learned what really matters most and that is what hobbies friends and interests you surround yourself with. Many times in life you will have decisions to keep certain friends and make certain good and poor decisions. I feel that these moments must be taken seriously and weigh the pros and the cons. I will admit some moments have had made the

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wrong decisions but you must learn and grow from the poor decision you make and learn not to make these mistakes again. In the future I know my career will have to deal with dyadic communication. From my past experiences in sales I know that every day I will have to work at it. But If I can make sure to keep enjoying meeting new people every day and finding new ways to establish rapport I am confident I could enjoying any career I choose in sales. In addition I feel sales is always a difficult job but with my past experience I know what it will take to become successful in the job market. Also I feel if I can continue to find ways to enjoy all customers I can continue to excel in sales. I have learned the more a customer will enjoy your company the more the customer will genuinely trust your suggestions on what you are providing. Since I will continentally find ways to understand the products I sell and continually work on enjoying and being apathetic toward the customer needs I feel I will enjoy my career. Although I will always enjoy sales I will also find other healthy hobbies such as sustainability. Throughout my college career I made it my goal to be environmentally conscious. I became environmentally conscious after my sister graduated from Ohio University with a degree in sustainability. I did my part by biking to work and joining the LitterBugz in 2012. I also became the director of operations of the LitterBugz in Kent, Ohio and recruited a little more than thirty students to help clean up cities around the greater Cleveland area. So naturally when I get a job I hope that I can work for an organization that is sustainable and green friendly. I also feel that my passion for being sustainable or environmentally conscious will continually help others. Although a lot of friends I have made thought out my college career are not going to stay in the Cleveland area or do not have an interest in cleaning up Cleveland I

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believe my association with them on social networks and my catching up with them will contagiously spread and hopefully they will care about their communities in the future. There have been several experiences outside the classroom which has made me the person who I am today. For example, when I flunked out of school after my freshman year I started my own book business where I went door to door in cities around Virginia. After a while I knew that this is not the career I wanted in the future. So after this realization I knew that I would have to try harder than I have ever tried to get what I want in life and succeed in new ways. This motivation made me realize that no one was going to give me what I wanted. I knew from then on I would have to earn what I wanted by effort. This meant if I wanted to achieve my goals I would have to change my mind set. I learned if I thought like I wanted something more than anyone else I would push myself to my limits. This new idea I created for myself meant I would have to finish what I started. Also this meant that I could not stop working till I was finished to an over satisfactory level. This new mindset may be a little unorthodox but it helped me work harder. In the end I felt that this mindset helped me graduate and that it was the appropriate motivation I needed.

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992 South Lincoln Street Kent, Ohio 44240 September 16, 2013 The Plain Dealer 1801 Superior Ave Cleveland, Ohio 44114

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Dear Rosalie Brown: I am writing to express my interest in the position as an account executive at The Plain Dealer. I came across this opportunity while reviewing positions on the Careers Builders website. I am a senior communication studies major with a concentration in organizational communication at Kent State University and will earn a Bachelors degree in December 2013. I am confident that my background and experiences make me an excellent candidate for this position. I have worked with Verizon products and customers for the past 18 months in my position as a Sales Associate at Z Wireless Verizon. I have extensive knowledge of the Plain Dealer culture, mission, and values. I pride myself on taking a high-energy approach to sales by evaluating and identifying appropriate communication and technology solutions for Verizon customers, which has earned me Sales Representative of the Month for five consecutive months. I have also received extensive training on Verizon Wireless products and am familiar with all products offered by Verizon. I have completed weekly online training sessions as well as a two-day training session Earn the Right where I learned effective strategies to integrate customer service with the mission and goals of the company. I work exceptionally well with Verizon customers and seek to offer them support in a quick, effective way to build customer relationships. My coursework in communication has prepared me to listen and respond effectively to customer needs and to resolve conflicts that may arise. I also have sufficient background in public speaking that enables me to communicate effectively with customers and colleagues. Additionally, I have developed skills in working with small groups and teams. Last semester, I had worked with six other individuals to raise more than $1,200 to benefit a womens shelter in Summit County. Finally, my experiences and courses have taught me how to effectively analyze a communication situation and research solution, which I feel is extremely vital to building customer relations. I offer a strong work ethic, excellent oral and written communication skills, an eagerness to contribute, a willingness to learn, a positive and enthusiastic attitude, and a passion for sales. My rsum can provide you with additional information regarding my skills and experience. I am confident that I am a strong candidate and would eagerly accept the opportunity to interview for this position. You can contact me by phone at (440) 714-2657 or via email at dpottei1@kent.edu. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely,

Daniel Potteiger

FINAL PORTFOLIO Daniel Potteiger

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992 South Lincoln Street - Kent, Ohio 44240 - 440-714-2657 - dpottei1@kent.edu OBJECTIVE To obtain a position as an account executive with the Plain Dealer utilizing high-energy approach to meeting customer needs quickly and effectively. EDUCATION Bachelor of Arts, Organizational Communication Kent State University, Kent, Ohio SALES EXPERIENCE Sales Associate Z Wireless Verizon, Kent, Ohio August 2011 Present December 2013 3.0 GPA

Evaluated customer needs to identify appropriate technological communication solutions provided by Verizon Wireless Demonstrated the use of iOS, Android, and Windows devices to educate customers on product use Encouraged customers to purchase Verizon Wireless basic feature and smart phones for Android, Mac, and Windows platforms Marketed Verizon Wireless tablets, Home Phone Connects, and Mobile Hotspots Responded quickly and effectively to customer service issues including troubleshooting devices Recognized as Sales Representative of the Month for five consecutive months Attended numerous Verizon Wireless training sessions including Earn The Right and vz learns Sales Associate Southwestern Publishing, Nashville, Tennessee May 2010-August 2010

Marketed and sold books and other educational materials to households in Virginia Exceeded sales representing revenues over $7,000 Completed extensive sales training program OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE Dominos Pizza Avon Lake, Ohio LitterBugz Director of Operations in Kent SKILLS Advanced user of computers in both Windows and Mac platforms Proficient user in MS Office Suite June 2007-April 2010

August 2011- Present

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Course Identification: Comm 35852-002 Instructor: Java (Krishnamurti Murnadi Course Completed: Spring 2012 Assignment Project Description: Reflection Paper on three stories found in our reading material. Paper should be 2000-3000 words. The objective was to talk about ideas found all throughout class or points of view that differed from yours. Reflection: I chose this the reflection paper as one of my best works for several reasons. One reason why was because it was a project that I put forth a lot of effort toward. This work included reading a whole book and then choosing three stories to talk about. Unfortunately for me reading is not one of my favorite hobbies and since the stories were dry this made this assignment especially difficult. Not to mention since this project was one of the last assignments it required lots of material that I had to go back in my notes from earlier in the semester to use on this project. Although this project was not very easy I made the best out of the situation and buckled down and found the content needed to accomplish this project. I read the stories that I thought were the most interesting a few times. From there I found appropriate topics that could relate to concepts that I learned in the class. I also talked about in each story and how I could relate to the main character and react like him or her in the same situation. I do take pride in my work but I do acknowledge I could have improved work in several ways. One way I could of improved was in my sentence structure. I will admit I do have to work on

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how I structure my sentences. Although it has only been a year I do see several mistakes that I would like to change or rephrase if I had just took more time at this project. Assignment: The three stories I chose for this paper are all stories I enjoyed while reading The Best Travel Writing by Herbert Gold. The stories focus on traveling to different countries and having different adventures where they undergo problems. Although all the stories are different, I believe I could relate to all of these stories. These stories are exciting and make me want to travel to these foreign lands. The first story I read was Music of the Storm by Judy Copeland. This story was about a woman from the United States who leaves her husband to travel the globe. She ends up in Indonesia and wants to go on a schooner ride. While in Indonesia Judy decided to talk to Abbas a multiple ship owner who wanted an excuse to talk to a foreign woman. After talking for a while, Judy convinced Abbas to let her join one of the ships for a voyage to Ujung Pandang. After consulting the police and notifying the captain about people, waiting for Judy at the next destination the voyage was set. While on the ship Judy met an interesting man named Monthar who was very interested in her. Monthar was an adventurer like her and traveled the world. At one point, he made it to San Francisco by ship. Monthar was a big fellow with one hand missing. Eventually Judy finds out Monthar was once engaged and when he lost his hand, he could no longer get married. This was because a man without a hand is unmarriable in Indonesia. Judy feels bad for Monthar but he intimidates her and fearful for her safety, so she keeps her distance. Soon there is a storm and Judy is ordered to the cabin by the captain. Soon she feels sick. Monthar comes in and says she can throw up on his towel. She declines thinking shes not going

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to get sick and surprisingly wakes up to find out she soiled herself while vomiting. She eventually borrows some clothes from Monthar and embarrassingly cleans her dirty ones. After cleaning her clothes, she realizes she is not cut out to be a sailor and imagines going home and changing her life style. While coming to this realization, she decides that even if she kept traveling it would not fundamentally change her. In the end, she describes traveling like breathing even though it gets harder as you get older. While traveling, it becomes harder for Judy to find a permanent home. While reading the story Music of the Storm there were several things I realized. First, I noticed there is a major cultural difference between American ideals and those of Indonesia. This is demonstrated by the fact that Indonesia is a collectivistic culture and the United States is an individualistic one. This is shown when Abbas tells Judy of the problems in Indonesia and how he takes responsibility for them. He does not want Judy to make his country look bad if she dies aboard the ship. Judy shows that she takes no responsibility for herself when she leaves her husband and decides to travel the world. In the story, I found that most Indonesians had low uncertainty avoidance. This is shown when Monthar talks to Judy and says she is a free woman. In Indonesia, one cannot be as free like any American who travels around the globe. In intercultural communication contexts (Martin, Nakayama) low uncertainty avoidance means that disliking the rules and taking risks as Judy does is a short-term orientation. I could relate to my intercultural communication classes when Monthar jabbed Judy in the ribs and said, You and I are two of a kind. To me this symbolized that Judy and Monthar had a short-term orientation to life. According to Intercultural Communication in Contexts

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(Martin, Nakayama) this meant Judy and Monthar lived life adventurously and were not concerned about the future. They were adventurers and lived for the moment. According to Intercultural Communication in Contexts: Monochromatic or orientation to time is linear and a commodity that can be lost or gained. To me this describes Judy. This is exhibited by the fact that while she was not sure when the crew would leave in the morning she slept on the docks the night before. W While polychromatic time is more holistic. This describes the captain and the crew of the ship. This is because the captain and the crew know they can never predict the weather and the seas so sometimes they do not have an accurate period. I could relate to Judys feelings at several times during the story. One example was when Judy was more interested when the adventure became more dangerous. If I am dared to do something and told it could be dangerous, I am more likely to do the dare. This is similar to Judy when Abbas tries to convince her not go on the ship. Judy described how the more Abbas described the schooner trip as dangerous and deadly the more she wanted the adventure. The next story I read was Sahara Unveiled by Dar Robertson. In this story, the main character Dar has romantic desert fantasies and decides to travel across the Sahara desert. This is another adventure where the female is warned that bad things can come if she tries something dangerous. Dar ignores the warnings and decides to cross the Sahara. Soon she finds a rag tag group to travel with her from the Marrakech marketplace. Soon realizing that she was the only girl in the group, she convinced everyone it was time to go. They left in the middle of the night with no road or permits allowing them to travel. This is dangerous because it is illegal to across the biggest dessert in the world. After a day of traveling the adventurers find themselves a camp where they can spend the night. That night while sleeping our protagonist Dar soon awakens to

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the sound of a snake getting too close for comfort. Startled she runs up the largest sand dune and decides to stay there till she settles down. Eventually she starts to see something in the horizon, a sandstorm. Unfortunately, it is too late to hide she eventually realizes she just needs to endure the sandstorm because there is nothing she can do. Soon after the sandstorm is in full swing she can barely make out camels approaching her. Her first instincts are too run because she immediately believes they are killers and rapists. They form camp around her by laying their camels around her in a circle and wait through the storm. After the storm is over they give her water and do not speak at all. Eventually they point at her camp she nods and they head toward her camp. Once they arrive at the camp everyone is overjoyed that she is still alive and they begin to celebrate and ask questions about her friends. Since she knows very little about them she just tells her friends they are cool and they start their daily rituals. Eventually she has to go to the bathroom so she leaves the camp. Her following companions or the Tuaregs follow her out of the camp. She eventually feels awkward but does not want to offend them so she just continues about her business and begins to dig a hole. Right before shes about to pull down her pants and use the restroom one of the Tuareg lightly touches her head and shakes his finger. Then all of a sudden the Tuaregs make a make shift bathroom for Dar. With the make shift bathroom she has more privacy to not only go to the bathroom but also they poor water so she can wash the sand out of ever spot of her body where there is sand. After she is finished, she thanks the Tuaregs and makes her way back to camp. As her camp begins to pack up the Tuaregs realize it is time to go. Soon each Tuareg goes up to Dar nods their head and leaves. Eventually the last one comes up to Dar gives Dar his scarf puts his

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hand on her heart and she does the same. In the end Dar realizes that the even with the warning there is still people in the Sahara that are inherently good. While reading, the story Saraha unveiled by Dar Robertson I could associate and emphaze a lot for Dar. For example in the story when Dar found the felt uncomfortable going to the bathroom knowing that the tuaregs were watching her every move. I feel that I could associate with those feeling of being uncomfortable because we grow up with a culture in the United States where I grew up with a lot of privacy I would like more privacy than Dar was receiving in the Sahara desert. While reading the story I felt bad for dar because she was going for an adventure and in that situation I probably would not been as comfortable as she was with the tuaregs watching her sleep and following her everywhere in the united states we have a lot more privacy and even though they constantly talked about the Sahara being a bad place the people she met were even nicer than some of the people she might encounter in the US. Although I think it would be cool to go on a adventure like she did I would get really scared like she did when a snake was close by her. Even though I have experience in the wilderness if there was a animal that was that deadly I dont think I would be as comfortable as she was when she was in the foreign environment being encounter with a snake I might even scream and wake everyone up. I also found the part of the story where the traveler gave the scarf to her a very interesting part of the story because I thought that after the Tuareg nomad gave her his scarf now she has something to remember him by. In addition, she has something to protect against any future sandstorm. While reading the story Sahara Unveiled I saw a lot of things that I could relate to from my intercultural communications class. For example while reading the scene where the German

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traveler was warning Dar not to travel in the Sahara he used mostly verbal communication. But to further emphasize what he was saying just in case Dar could not understand because she might of grew up in a culture where they valued nonverbal communication more. Her grapped her hand in which he was using non-verbals to emphasize his meaning. Also while reading the story Sahara Unveiled the Tuareg nomads did not speak at all. All the Tuareg nomad used to communicate was non verbals which is very different from the culture in the United States where anything you say can be judged and something you can say can get you in trouble. Which is very ironic because in the United States we have freedom of speech, which is supposed to allow us to say whatever we want to say. Another aspect that I found from my intercultural class that was in the story when Dar integrated with tuareg nomadic culture. You can tell the Dar successfully accommodates to the tuareg culture when eventually she does not even care if the tuaregs watch her sleep. This is shown when originally when the tuaregs watch Dar she feels uncomfortable but eventually she adapts and get used to the tureg nomads watching her. The Last story I read was The Full Moon Over Bohemia by Christopher Cook, which took place in the Czech Republic. In this story, our main character Chris finds himself in the mountains of the Czech Republic outside Prague. He says he loves visiting foreign lands but sometimes he needs to escape the city surrounding and see the countryside of the lands. He soon finds himself comparing the Czech countryside and comparing it too the shire or the countryside of the fictional lands in the Book the Hobbit. This is because of the various cottages that most Czech citizens have. While thinking on the topic, Chris takes time to notice the scenery. While enjoying the scenery, he stares up at the full moon and all of a sudden, the silence is interrupted

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by wolf howls. He realizes he is down wind and the wolves probably smell his sweat and his scent. Chris realizing that these wolfs are probably hungry and on his trail, he quickly reacts. Chris starts to race down toward the ravine where he can stop cross country skiing and start his downhill descent where he can quickly out run the wolves. He soon can hear the wolves louder now and start to hear them moving. Chris franticly starts to push faster realizing hes about to be dog chow. He frantically takes offs he ski and runs toward the end of the hill. He finally makes it forces on his skis and takes down the descent of the hill. Eventually he makes it to his friends cottage and smiles as his friends ask him how was his day. While reading, this story I found several ways to connect with Chris in the story. In the story, Chris is being chases by wolves, which would probably eat him. Although I have never been chased by actual wolves, while on a job in Virginia I was bitten by a wild dog. Ever since then I realized I am sorta afraid of any wild dog especially wolves. Also I could really could connect to Chriss experience when he was talking about the hobbit. Since I have read the book The Hobbit I could relate that the culture because I am familiar of the culture in the hobbit. This was also had a sense of humor to it because they are comparing a real class of people to a race of hobbits which are completely fictional beings. References Herbert Gold (2006) The Best Travel Writings in J.OReilly,L. Habegger, (Eds.) Palo Alto Ca: Travelers Tales Book Nakayma and Martin (2011) In Intercultural Communication Contexts

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Course Identification: Thea 11006-015 Instructor: Rocky (Raquel Encalada) Course Completed: Fall 2011 Assignment Project Description: This assignment I had to talk about the six elements of design used in theater. Reflection: This assignment where I had to describe the six elements of design seemed elementary but I consider it one of my best works for several reasons. This assignment was in a class that was not related to communications at all. Before taking this class I knew nothing about theater and really had nothing I wanted to do with theater. The instructor that taught this class was very difficult and was very unprofessional. Although the professor and I had our differences I learned to work with someone who I really did not like. This class taught me valuable skills from hard work to being emphatic. Although this project wasnt too long or too challenging I know that I want to remember this as one of my best works because I took a lot of pride from getting a near perfect grade on this paper. During this class it was my first semester back at a university. I learned from this assignment that I could achieve good grades if I put forth the effort, attended every class, and worked my hard. This assignment changed my perspective going forward with my collegiate career. Although now I can see a few errors and I could of made this paper a bit longer I am happy with the result.

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Assignment: By using the six elements of design in a creative manner, accurately portraying the play an actor can be depicted in a more understanding manner. With the six elements of design, the viewer will know the visual design of the world that the actor will live in. The actor will be portrayed to the audience in living either in a fantasy world or in a different period that the play would usually take place in. The six elements of design make the play understandable without words to the audience thus being a vital role in the play. The lines design of the play can help the actor be portrayed in many different ways. One way the line design can portray the actor is by telling the audience the mood of the play. For example, if there are a lot of circles in the background of the play then it is likely it is a comedy. This is because studies show that circles make people laugh more. In addition, if there are many long straight lines going upwards, then maybe the scene designer is trying to make the setting look serious. Kind of like a courtroom or something related to a serious mood. Line design is just one of the six elements that help the actor portrays the target emotion and it makes the actor seem more realistic. Mass and composition help actors achieve balance, determine the type of setting, and arrange elements that help create more depth to the mood. For example, if you have a clutter of books in your background it is safe to say that your setting is a library. The element of the design of texture helps the audience think what the actor feels while doing acting on stage. This makes it possible for the audience to feel like they are in the actors shoes, and know what the actor is touching or what the material of the scene design feels like.

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Another important element of design is the color that helps the audience understands the actors feelings. The color of the set design further help the audience know what they should feel toward certain characters and moods of the play. For example in the play Alice in Wonderland the queen of hearts is always dressed in red. This gives the actors and the audience a common knowledge that she is evil. Another usage of color helping the actor is the background of a play. A certain color depicts what the audience should be feeling. In turn, it gives the audience the feeling of what the actor is feeling. Rhythm helps the actor when the shape, color, and texture is repeated and comes together to create union with actor and the audience. This is also referred to as rhythm design, the visual repeating of shape and color. For example, when a person is excited he or she will be moving around quickly with a vibrant color. The combination of all the elements will make the rhythm of the scene a happy one. The last element of design is movement. This ensures a smooth transition. This involves the easy transition to the next scene by the usage of turntables and wagons. For example, in a play, if there was a car that was used it could be used as a wagon. Therefore, actors could use this to quickly move scenery and begin the next scene. The six elements of design are vital because the help attract the audience and they create the mood so the audience know how to feel. With these elements, you can effectively help the actor and make a play more enjoyable. Also using the elements effectively, an actor will be more believable and make the play a better quality. With the six elements of design in use the plays understanding will be a lot easier for the viewer to see and enjoy and experience willing suspension of disbelief.

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Course Identification: Comm 35600-002 Communication in Small Groups and Teams Instructor: Miss Kaitlin R Banduch Course Completed: Spring 2013 Assignment Project Description: This was the final evaluation for my group project. Although I worked with several others group members this evaluation each group member had to complete on their own. The evaluation had to include theories and concepts talked about in class that related to our group project. Reflection: This evaluation for my group project was probably one of the longest papers I have ever written. With the good grade I got on my evaluation I thought it was one of my best works. This evaluation I worked on for at least a week and the day before it was due I stayed up nearly all night making changes to it. This evaluation I took a lot of time looking up different theoretical explanations for each problem or success that occurred during our group project. Although looking back I see a lot of spelling and grammatical mistakes in my evaluation I think that this is one of my best works for all the work that went into this project. Before starting this project I thought raising over a thousand dollars for a nonprofit would be impossible with no past experience in this field. So literally completing the goal of raising over a thousand dollars is an achievement but also explaining all the steps making this goal possible and explaining the theories we used was a great achievement as well.

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Assignment: While working in our small group, we noticed that our groups were very good at decision-making and problem solving. According to Hirokawa (2003) effective decision making is when performance level of decision making and problem solving in groups can be traced to the extent to which communication among group members contribute to the fulfillment to the particular requirements of their task. Effective decision making and problem solving really stresses communication because as long as you have communication all throughout the objective then usually you can make better decisions. The assumptions of effective decision making and problem solving are wanting to make the appropriate choice, understanding the task and its requirements, having access to necessary resources like information and time, and possess the capabilities and skills needed to deal with various facets of the task and the process required to successfully complete it. Effective decision-making and problem solving were important to our group because without it we would definitely not have come close to our goal. For example, if we did not have relatively quick and thought out responses to decisions then our events would probably not be nearly as successful. In addition, without our effective decision making and problem solving then we would not be able to be as cohesive as we were. The next element of our small group I noticed was our strong cohesion. According to Harris and Sherblom (2008) group cohesion refers to the degree to which an individual member of a group feels an attraction to the group. Cohesion was so important to our groups success because the fact that all of our group members generally liked each other. For example, at our fundraiser we had the event at a bar and we all had fun drinking with each other and remising about our success and failures during our project. In addition, our group cohesion goes far

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enough to say that we are friends with each other on social media such as Facebook and Instagram. If our group was not cohesive, I think we would not be nearly as successful as we were because we would not have had as much participation during the fundraisers and events. Furthermore, if we did not have the cohesion that we would not of had fun while working on the project. Which I believe making our project fun help our investment in our work and made our events a success. The last element of our small group, which I found effective, was our shared leadership. According to Harris and Sherblom (2008) shared leadership is based on a collaborative group effort with members sharing power as the task dictates. I believe that our group had very effective at shared leadership. Our shared leadership was so effective because of its ability to change leaders at different points in our project. When someone was specializing in one project or another they would become the leader and organize the event. All of our group members held one event, which made this leadership style very unique and effective to our group. Without effective shared leadership, our group would probably not be as successful. If we used a different leadership style, I believe that our group would probably not agree with the single leader and have many arguments over topics that needed to be handled in a fast and appropriate manner. Overall, though I think shared leadership was the correct decision for our leadership. Next I will talk about how our group effectively made decisions and used problem solving in a effective manner. First, I will talk about how my group effectively had different alternatives. While having multiple decisions to make, one way my group had good decisions is from having multiple choices on a daily basis. According to Harris and Sherblom (2008) if the

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group members are not motivated to make the best choice possible their performance will likely be attributable to factors other than the communication they engage in to arrive at a choice. Another way that our group effectively made decisions and solved problems was having the necessary resources and time. In effective decision making and problem solving having the necessary resources and time needed to get the goal is important for various reason. According to Harris and Sherblom (2008) a group cannot be expected to arrive at an appropriate decision or effective solution unless it is privy to important information and data. For example in our group when making the Zumba even if we did not go to The Province directly instead of waiting for their email then we probably would not have heard back from The Province fast enough and would come close to reaching our goal. The last way our group effectively made decisions and solved problems was by collectively possessing the cognitive and communication skills necessary for dealing with various facets of problem solving. According to Harris and Sherblom (2008) if the task presented to a group is so difficult or complex that group members do not know how to go about trying to arrive at a decision the group cannot be expected to perform well on that task. In other words if the task is too hard for one person you need communication skill to work with other group members. Our group did this effectively by communicating by telephone via text or calling on a consistent basis. While working in my small group I learned that effective decision making and problem solving can be used on a daily basis. If you use the tools that can help solve problems in a more faster and effective manner why would you not use it? From effective decision making and problem solving I believe that now I can not only make better decision while working on college classes but also I can use it in my workplace at Verizon as well.

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Working in retail and sales problems arise on a consistent basis. If you were to use communication better with your coworkers and upper management usually you can solve the problem with better results. This is because if you communicate with others, such as employee or your boss may need to know what the problem is and may have a better solution than what you were thinking of doing. The next criteria that our group performed well in was cohesion. One way that our group had good cohesion was that everyone in our group was highly committed to success. For example in our group, everyone wanted our group to reach its goal so everyone participated in all the events. With the heavy participation everyone bonded from mutual hard work and trying to make our group do well. With everyone in our group equally working hard, we found it easy for our group to be successful. Another way our small group had very strong cohesion was finding different ways to work together. Although we all had different backgrounds and came from different parts of Ohio, we still found ways to bond. While working together, I guess the best way we bonded was talking about various tests from our small groups and teams class and other course we took as Communication majors. Some different ways we found to work with each other was pairing up with group members on different projects. This is mainly because since most of us worked while going to school we had different hours we were available. For example, while doing the Zumba event Oliva and I worked together to organize the event and find ways to make money. The last way our group had good cohesion was by enjoying each others company. In a class that is upper division usually you find yourself a stressed student especially while working as well. We found it awesome that we bonded on a friend level and we eventually got drinks and became friends outside of class. We also took ownership of our group and eventually starting

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referring our group to we. According to Griffin (2005) that shows that a group is very cohesive. We enjoyed each others company so much we became each others friends on Facebook and on Instagram. I think this helped a lot while working on the project because while having fun the workload does not seem so bad. One thing I learned about cohesion is it can be used to make projects enjoyable and I will try and be more cohesive with groups I work in on a day to day basis. Although if your group has too much cohesion sometimes you can for get alternatives. Which can be seen in history at disastrous moments like Pearl Harbor or the Bay of Pigs. For the most part as long as you make sure everyone gets a say I think cohesion should be used on a daily basis. The next criteria I would like to talk about is how our group had effective leadership. Our group had shared leadership, which as I stated before means that it is a collaborative group effort with group member sharing power as the task dictates Sherblom (2008) Our group effectively used shared leadership by all participating equally. Since everyone in our group participated in different organizations and had jobs sometimes only some group members could attend certain events. Although some group members did not attend all events the group members that did go would call the other members and keep everyone informed on what was going on. The next way our small group had effective leadership was everyone having different ideas so we had a more creative approach to raising the money. Our group all came from different backgrounds and had different jobs. With the diversity of our group we came up with different ways to raise the money. For example, Oliva was in a sorority and one of her sisters was a professional Zumba teacher so he was able to plan the Zumba event. David was in the young professionals a organization that helps people in college and he was able to coordinate an

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event at Brewbakers in which they had a buffet for 5$ which completely went to our charity. I knew a local artist that was having a gallery art show and I went to the even and raise awareness. While learning about leadership, I learned that you do not always have to have one leader to be successful. Being in sales makes me a very confident individual which intern makes me usually the leader of a group. Also I have found that usually when there is not one strong leader that no one really participates and no work gets done. After taking this class though I have found out that shared leadership is also very effective in a small group setting.

Sources

Harris, T.E, & Sherblom, J. C (2011) Small Groups and Teams Communication (5th edition). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon Nicholl, T. A., & Lou, K. (2012). Model for Small-Group Problem-Based Learning in a Large Class Facilitated by One Instructor. American Journal Of Pharmaceutical Education, 76(6), 1-6.

Constenla, D., Lefcourt, N., & Garcia, C. (2013). Expert consensus-building for developing guidelines: lessons learned from a dengue economics workshop. Pan American Journal Of Public Health, 34(3), 198-203. Greer, L. L. (2012). Group Cohesion: Then and Now. Small Group Research, 43(6), 655-661. doi:10.1177/1046496412461532 Burgess, A. W., Ramsey-Stewart, G., May, J., & Mellis, C. (2012). Team-based learning methods in teaching topographical anatomy by dissection. ANZ Journal Of Surgery, 82(6), 457460. doi:10.1111/j.1445-2197.2012.06077.x

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Course Identification: Comm 45095-001 Film as Pop Culture Instructor: Mr. Robert D West Course Completed: Spring 2013 Assignment Project Description: Compare the differences between the films Breakfast Club and Wallstreet. Talk about the similarities and difference found in movies during the 1980s. Reflection: I would classify this assignment as one of my best works for several reasons. One reason why was because I excelled in Dr. Wests classes. I thought this assignment would be a good representation of his class because I enjoyed the subject area and worked hard on his assignments as a result. Dr. West taught a hard class and I thought with my special gift to achieve success in his class this assignment deserved to be one of my best works. Although there were several things I could change now looking at this assignment I believe that it wouldnt help that much. The topics I brought up in this assignment were thought provoking and I thought that is why I excelled in this class. Assignment: While watching several movies from the 1980s such as The Breakfast Club and Wall Street I noticed a lot of similarities and differences between the two films. Over the next few pages I will talk about both the adult and youth culture that defined the 1980s, in addition to a few aspects of each film such as, the Brat Pack and how the stocks and the upper class were valued differently than today. Throughout the 1980s movies were very popular and important to the culture during that time, which explains how influential they were.

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During the 1980s the youth culture was heavily emphasized by the Brat Pack that was a collection of actors and actresses that acted in the most popular films of the decade together. Some of the actors that were a part of the brat Pack were: Emilio Estevez, Anthony Micheal Hall, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. Together this group of actors accurately portrayed the youth culture in the 1980s, through both their on and off screen characters. The Brat Pack was most famous for accurately portraying teenagers in their films, in addition to be being great off screen role models for teens in 1980s. One aspect that I took away from the film The Breakfast Club and the Brat Pack portrayal of teens was the rebellion among teens at this time was different than any other time period. As best said in the beginning of the movie Breakfast Club from David Bowie And these children that you spit on, as they try to change their worlds, are immune to your consultations, they are quite aware of what they are going through. This quote assumes the teenage rebellion at this time was high because of the disconnect in family relationship between parents and children at the time. This was a recurring theme throughout the film. For example after they smoke marijuana in the film they open up and share their personal family problems, which bring them closer as friends by realizing information that was not known before. Also during the film Breakfast Club, cliques became a major important class distinction in high school. In these cliques students that have common interests such as students who play sports are known as jocks and students who play an instrument in the school band are band geeks. These cliques were integral part of high school society that separated certain students from talking to other students from other cliques. What I liked about the movie the Breakfast Club was in this film the cliques were all mixed up in detention and forced to interact.

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Eventually after the students shared information about their parents and they found common interests they became friends and defied the common clique stereotypes and became friends in front of their other friends. Next I will talk about the adult culture during the 1980s and the film that portrayed it accurately was the movie Wall Street. In this film, Charlie Sheen portrays the main character as a struggling stock trader. While selling stocks on Wall Street he finally finds a way out of daily grind and a way to make a lot of money. Although it is illegal to share stock information that is not in the public eye, Sheens character sees it as a way out of his boring life and does it anyway. To me, is the theme of the 1980s Darwinian thinking that the strong will survive and the weak will perish. After persuasion from the antagonist in the film Gordon Gecko he decides to illegally gain information and make a lot of money. Eventually he sees that he is hurting his father from his new lifestyle and decides to stop and help his dad and his company. In the end our protagonist goes to jail but he goes their knowing he saved his dads company. In the film Wall Street, America learns about the everyday lives of stock market workers that deal with persuasion on the stock market. In this film we see the side of a hard working individual that has worked fair all his life and how one simple thing can change his living conditions and personality. From watching this film hopefully the audience can see that just because something is easy, does not always mean it is right.

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Course Identification: Comm 25902 Communication Theory Instructor: Vanessa C Heeman Course Completed: Fall 2012 Assignment Project Description: Write a paper on one communication theory and describe it using real life example minimum of four pages Reflection: I used this assignment as one of my best works for several reasons. One reason was because it was my first research paper in the concentration of communications. I thought it was one of my best works because it effectively explains structuration theory to a person that does not specialize in communications. Although now that I look at it there are a few things I would like to change. Overall the paper was a good display of one of my finest works. If I could change this paper I would make a lot of spelling and grammar changes but overall the paper is pretty good. Assignment: While learning about Structuration Theory I found there is a great injustice in the use of power. In theory there is power where an employee is able to change the work environment. Throughout history the United States has been known for the inequality of minorities. Why is it that the civil rights battle ended forty four years ago yet the race-specific employees or nonCaucasians have reached unprecedented levels? (Fairlie and Kletzer (1998)) Through globalization and immigration there is a rebirth of racism in organizations across the world. Although racial injustice is not as obvious as it was in the past, it still exists and needs a solution.

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While what some employees may do can be racist or unjust, these acts are often legal, but remember some things that are legal are not always correct. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal. A classic example of racial injustice in an organization is in the movie Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. In this film directed by Danny Leiner, Harold, the main character with good morals is confronted by his boss. The boss is an unnamed Caucasian male who finds that he has a lot of work to do before he can enjoy his weekend. Harold being the studious and hardworking employee is shafted by the legitimate power of his boss. The boss explains to Harold that he cannot finish his work because he has to meet with Asian investors and he needs someone to finish his work. He then passes all his work onto Harold. This is an example of social injustice that exists throughout the film. What interests me in the theory is that not only was Harold given the work because he had less power, but he given the harder work load because he was Asian. Race or ethnicity is an overlooked part in Structuration Theory. This is shown after the boss and his other Caucasian male friend leave and the boss starts feeling remorse. At that point the friend says hes Asian he loves work, you probably made his weekend. This is a social injustice that could possibly be another type of power in Structuration Theory. In this hostile work environment not only does the boss has legitimate power to pass the workload to his subordinates, but he also has the coercive power to punish the employees if they dont do what he wants. Harold eventually catches his boss slacking off at the job and not at the meeting with the Asian investors like he said he was. When Harold confronts his boss, he uses coercive power. Harold threatens to tell the bosses boss what he did. Harold also takes advantage of the given

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situation and creates some comedy with a rumor and insult. Harold seeing his boss and his Caucasian buddy in the company of two attractive females decides to humiliate the boss. Harold remarks If you ever try to do this shit again, I will tell the whole office of when you two got chlamydia in Atlantic City! This insult devastates the two girls and his friend. Harold not only teaches his boss a lesson, but also puts him into an awkward situation with the two attractive females. Though this insult was funny and worked, one must remember that it was a movie. This would not always work in real life. I believe this racism or prejudice in the office environment that is overlooked can be a type of power in Structuration Theory. This power could be added to the Structuration Theory, but it would entail reporting someone using power in an unjust or racist way. This unjust use of power is a major problem made worse by globalization. With globalization there have been more and more foreign workers in companies all around the world. Corporations have found with globalization, they can have markets in more countries thus making more profit. This situation is seen all around the world. In the United States there has been a large immigration of Hispanics throughout the country. In Europe through the advent of eastern European countries joining the European Union, many eastern Europeans have migrated to the west. Wealthier countries such as the United States and Western Europe began to have citizens afraid that immigrants would take their jobs. With the fear of mass immigration, misunderstanding of the global economy and world connectivity a negativity of foreigners has been bred. For the most part, this prejudice has been a fight between aliens and citizens. What further escalated the problem was in most countries the citizens were white and the aliens were not. Another factor which increases racism and prejudice is that today 75-80% of the heads of organizations are white, (Blitz and Kohl (2007)) and usually more conservative thinking. Usually

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they promote an individual who looks out for the interest of its host country. This is usually a citizen with similar racial or ethnic characteristics. By having a conservative thinking head of the organization that the workers look up to confirms the suspicions of an average or already racist employee. That is individuals of a different race and immigrants are the enemy. Fortunately, there are many ways to solve this injustice by using new power on a universal scale. According to Addressing Racism in the Organization, one way to effectively fight racism in the work place is by the creation of racial affinity groups. To start a racial affinity group an employee must contact the Human Resource department with evidence that another employee is misusing rules or power. With a little effort the Human Resource department could use their authority and create a racial affinity group. Members of the group are told to try to have a very holistic or socio-cultural thought process while participating. Through meetings and caucuses groups can make goals in which they can solve problems at the workplace. By the creation of a racial affinity group there can be less racism. This will make the company look better. The existence of the group can also enhance productivity, staff morale, client services, and avoid lawsuits. Usually by participating in the racial affinity group the misusers of power become more tolerant of disliked groups including homosexuals and females. The existence of the group could be a peaceful way for the minority group to gain power in the organization. Another way to fight racism or prejudice on an organizational universal scale is by enlisting the support of an organization that protects civil rights. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the largest civil rights group in the US. It represents and raises awareness of any racial injustice. Not only can the NAACP represent an employee in court if the organization is racially unjust, the NAACP can also give one advice on obtaining help and support.

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Sources 1. Blitz, L. V., & Kohl, B. G. (2012). Addressing Racism in the Organization: The Role of White Racial Affinity Groups in Creating Change. Administration In Social Work, 36(5), 479498. doi:10.1080/03643107.2011.624261 2. Wilson, G., & McBrier, D. (2005). Race and Loss of Privilege: African American/White Differences in the Determinants of Job Layoffs From Upper-Tier Occupations. Sociological Forum, 20(2), 301-321. doi:10.1007/s11206-005-4102-6 3.

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