Discussion board | Applied Sciences homework help
- Indicate how the person can get in touch with you or how you plan to contact this person. “Here’s my card with my e-mail address. I’d like to hear from you.”
While modesty is a virtue, do not be bashful about presenting yourself as an interesting and competent person. Whether or not you want to, you are always presenting yourself to others. Brevity and sincerity are the keys to an effective elevator speech. Do not overwhelm your audience with information; present enough to make sure you create a positive impression and, ideally, to be asked for more information. Source: Wallace, M., “The Elevator Speech: It’s There For You,” Law Library Resource Exchange, July 1, 1998. Retrieved from http://www.llrx.com View Everyone as a Networking Prospect Consider the members of all the networks to which you already belong: family members, friends, neighbors, social acquaintances, fellow workers, members of your religious community, professionals (e.g., doctors, dentists, accountants, attorneys), and school contacts (e.g., faculty, fellow students, counselors). Beyond the people you already know, almost everyone you meet has the potential to be a source of useful information. The passenger seated next to you on a plane or train might be acquainted with people who can help you. The neighbor who chats with you at a block party might have the knowledge or skill to help you solve a problem. Within an organization, the best informants are often people you might overlook. Administrative 78 assistants are exposed to most of the information addressed to their managers, and they usually serve as gatekeepers who can give or deny access to them. Custodial and maintenance people travel around the building and, in their rounds, see and hear many interesting things. Be Sensitive to Personal and Cultural Factors While everyone you meet is a potential networking prospect, it is important to think of each person as an individual. Some may welcome the chance to share information, whereas others may object to more than occasional contacts. It is also important to recognize that culture plays a role in networking practices. Treat Your Contacts with Gratitude and Respect Do not make the mistake of equating networking with being dishonest or exploitive. As long as you 20 express a genuine desire for information openly, there is nothing to be ashamed of. Furthermore, seeking information does not mean you have to stop enjoying others’ company for social reasons. When others do give you information, be sure to express your appreciation. At the very least, a sincere “thank you” is in order. Even better, let your networking contacts know exactly how the information they gave you was helpful. TECHNOLOGY tip Using LinkedIn Effectively The social networking website LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com) has been called “Facebook for professionals.” More than 467 million members around the world use this service to advance their careers. When used appropriately, LinkedIn can help you manage your 79 professional identity, expand your network of contacts, and enhance career opportunities. The following guidelines can help you use LinkedIn effectively. Improve Your Profile Upload a professional photo to your profile to increase your chances of being found and receiving messages. Include your education to establish credibility and help you connect with alumni and friends. Include your title, company name, and time period. Make sure this information is up-to-date. If you are in transition or unemployed, use a title that describes what you wish to pursue. Maintain a list of at least five relevant skills in order of your strengths. Add your location. Write a summary of at least 40 words that showcases your personality and tells a story of your experience, interests, and goals. Manage Your Professional Identity Use LinkedIn for professional messages only. Do not link your page to your Facebook or Twitter identity if you use those tools to share nonprofessional information. Use LinkedIn’s multimedia capabilities to showcase your work (and yourself). Request 360-degree feedback from professors, colleagues, supervisors, and clients who can comment on your work, attitude, skills, achievements, professionalism, and integrity. Proofread everything you post. Use status updates to share industry-relevant content to show that you are in-the-know. Learn from Others Join, contribute to, and use groups. Begin by searching for groups in your career field. Focus on trends, glean advice, and garner news and tips particular to your field. Connect with national and international groups as well as local groups to explore employment, training, and 80 networking opportunities virtually and in person. When you understand the culture of different groups, contribute your knowledge, links to pertinent articles, upcoming events, or book reviews. Use the Answers Forum to discover which types of questions others are asking and to learn from the answers. Browse by topic and subtopic (e.g., résumé writing, start-ups and small business, nonprofit, work–life balance, mentoring, finance) or by language. Sources: Fisher, C., “5 Steps to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile in Minutes,” August 3, 2016. Retrieved from https://blog.linkedin.com). About us. Retrieved from https://press.linkedin.com/about-linkedin; Serdula, D. (n.d.) LinkedIn makeover: Professional secrets to a powerful LinkedIn profile. Retrieved from http://www.linkedin- makeover.com/blog Help Others Do not just be an information-seeker. Whenever possible, make an effort to put people who will benefit from contact in touch with one another: “You’re looking for a new bookkeeper? I know someone who might be right for you!” Besides being the right thing to do, helping others will earn you a reputation for generosity that can serve you well.67 Get Referrals to Secondary Sources The benefits of personal networks do not stop with your personal acquaintances. Each person you know has his or her own connections, some of whom could be useful to you. Researchers have demonstrated the “small world” phenomenon: A study on the “six degrees of separation” hypothesis involving more than 21 45,000 messages and more than 150 countries has demonstrated that the average number of links separating any two people in the world is indeed a half-dozen.68 You can apply this principle to your own information by only seeking people removed from your personal network by one degree: If you ask 10 people for referrals and each of them knows 10 others who might be able to help, you have the potential to obtain support from 100 information-givers. 81 Secondary sources are so valuable that some online networking group sites exist to help users find the contacts they need. Having a network of people who can refer you to others can be especially helpful in today’s workforce, where people often stay in their jobs for only a year or two. Seek a Mentor A mentor is a person who acts as a guide, trainer, coach, and counselor; who teaches you the informal rules of an organization or a field; and who imparts the types of wisdom that come from firsthand experience. Many organizations have formal programs that match new employees with experienced ones. Other mentor–protégé relationships develop informally and unofficially. However you find one, a mentor can be invaluable. This is especially true for women, minorities, and people trying to break into nontraditional fields where “good old boy” networks can be hard to penetrate.69 A successful mentoring relationship is not a one-time affair. Instead, it passes through several stages.70 In the initial phase, the parties get to know each other and gain confidence in their mutual commitment to the relationship. After the initial stage, a period of cultivation occurs in which the mentor guides his or her protégé through a series of conversations and tasks with the goal of building knowledge, confidence, and skill. By the third phase of the relationship, the protégé can function mostly on his or her own, with occasional guidance from the mentor. Finally, the fourth stage involves either separation or a redefinition of the relationship as one of peers. Not all mentoring relationships are quite so involved or long- lasting as this description suggests. Nevertheless, whether they are relatively brief or ongoing, they can provide great value and satisfaction for both mentor and protégé. Whatever the relationship, some rules guide mentoring relationships.71 Look for someone with a position in a field that interests you. Do not be bashful about aiming high: You may be surprised by successful people’s willingness to give back by helping aspiring newcomers. Approach your mentor professionally, showing you are serious about growing in your career. See The Career Research Interview on pp. 155–160 for guidelines on how to handle this process. 82 Once you have found a mentor, show respect for his or her time by keeping most of your contacts to regularly scheduled times. Be sure to follow up on your mentor’s suggestions about reading, checking websites, and attending activities. Realize that a mentoring relationship should be primarily professional. If you have serious personal problems, turn to a counselor. A mentor may be able to help you with some personal problems as they affect your work life, but a mentor should not become an emotional crutch. Also remember that any personal insights that mentors and protégés share should be kept confidential. Finally, do not expect a mentor to grant you special favors, intervene on your behalf with your boss, or boost your chances for promotion. The advice you receive should be reward enough. Network throughout Your Career Networking is not just for job- seekers. Indeed, it can be just as important once you start climbing the career ladder. In an era when changing jobs and even changing careers is common, expanding your options is always a smart move.
- Ethical Dimensions of Communication Some cynics have noted that the trouble with business ethics is that the phrase is an oxymoron. Despite this attitude, there is a growing recognition that behaving ethically is an
22 essential part of being an effective, promotable employee. Scandalous business practices have led to the downfall of major corporations like Enron and WorldCom and have cost others millions of dollars. As a result of these ethical lapses, sensitivity to the need to communicate in a principled way has grown, and several hundred corporations and organizations now include an ethics officer in their organizational chart who reports directly to the chairperson.74 Employees share this concern for ethics. One survey of 800 recent MBA graduates revealed that almost all of them were willing to forgo some money to work for an organization with a better reputation for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ethics.75 83 CULTURE at work Guanxi: Networking Chinese-Style Any savvy businessperson in China knows the value of guanxi (pronounced “gwan-shee”)—the web of social relationships that help get a job done through the granting of favors. It takes guanxi to get a good job, find a good apartment, overcome bureaucratic hurdles, and line up suppliers and distributors. In other words, it is required to accomplish almost any transaction. As one observer put it, “In the West, relationships grow out of deals. In China, deals grow out of relationships.”72 It may be tempting to think of guanxi as the Chinese equivalent of Western networking, but the concept has far more cultural and practical significance. The unwritten code of guanxi is rooted in the Chinese national character, reflecting the Confucian emphasis on loyalty, obligation, order, and social harmony. Guanxi operates on three levels.73 The strongest bond is with immediate family. In relationships linked by blood and marriage, higher- status members are obligated to perform favors for their lower-status relatives. In return, lower-status family members are obliged to demonstrate fierce loyalty. To a lesser extent, guanxi connects extended family members, friends, neighbors, classmates, and people with other strong commonalities. Unlike the closest form of guanxi, obligations in these relationships are usually reciprocal; receiving help creates an obligation to return the favor. The least powerful level of guanxi is between people who know one another but have no strong relational history. At this level, guanxi is similar to networking connections in the West. These relationships lack the history, trust, and power of stronger bonds. Developing guanxi can be challenging for foreigners who want to do business in China, but it is not impossible. One strategy is to rely on intermediaries to make initial connections. This practice is widespread among native Chinese, so a foreigner will not stand out for using it. Once introduced, be prepared to socialize. Even more so than in the West, 84 important business is often conducted outside of the workplace. When socializing, look for the chance to emphasize commonalties—business experiences, education, and mutual acquaintances are a few examples. After enough trust has developed to seek favors, be indirect. As you will read in the next chapter, Asian cultures consider oblique, “high-context” communication as a sign of sensitivity and skill. Finally, remember that guanxi is reciprocal. Accepting help from others obliges you to assist them in the future. Behaving ethically is not always easy. On a personal level, you are likely to face conflicts between what you believe is right and what is practical. For instance, you might have to deal with a customer or colleague whose business or approval you want, but who is behaving badly —perhaps making sexist or racist remarks. After a trip together, coworkers may turn in inflated expenses and expect you to do the same. Your team might be under pressure to finish a project when you recognize shortcuts are creating potential safety issues. Besides personal challenges, sooner or later you are likely to experience situations like these where others in your organization behave in ethically questionable ways. Do you speak up when a colleague makes promises to clients that you know the company cannot keep? Should you challenge your boss when he or she treats other employees unfairly or illegally? It has been said that ethics centers on a sense of responsibility for someone other than yourself.76 A blanket obligation to communicate ethically can be too vague to be helpful in specific situations. Five philosophical principles offer guidelines that can help 23 you decide how to behave in a principled manner.77 There is no single “right” approach to ethics; these competing ethical perspectives often lead to conflicting actions. For example, what one group perceives as “virtuous” might not bring good to the greatest number; likewise, what one group considers moral might be considered immoral by another group. When faced with a decision about how to communicate ethically, it is helpful to ponder the situation from several viewpoints before proceeding. 85 ETHICAL challenge Ethical Communication Choices Descriptions for seven guidelines for judging ethical communication are provided in the text: Utilitarian approach Rights approach Fairness or justice approach Common-good approach Virtue approach Professional ethic Publicity test Outline the range of ways you could handle each of the following situations. Use two or more of the ethical guidelines to compare courses of action, and then decide on a course of action you believe to be both principled and realistic. Justify your decision.