"Assume that you're going to the capital city of another country on
business two months from now. (You pick the country.) What key features
of business etiquette might you consider? Why?"
Well, I have been to two foreign capitals in my life (three if you count the Isle of Mann), London and Taipei. Both have significantly different cultures from the US.
If I were to go to Taipei for business, I would have to do a lot more research so that I do not commit a faux pas. I would have to learn such things as the proper greeting and how to bow properly. But at the same time, you need to be careful not to overdo their traditions so that you don't seem like this is a novelty and you are belittling their culture. There is a fine balance of being respectful and absconding their culture.
The English are closer to the States in business but they certainly have their own business etiquette. However, misunderstandings are easier to handle because of the cultural similarities. It is easier to see the discomfort in a situation when the cultures and language are similar.
Monday, June 27, 2016
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Blog Topic #13
"What are you doing to prepare for your upcoming team research report
project? What is your role in the project? What have you learned (from
the project itself or your team experience)?"
Well, I am a little bit behind on writing this one as our team project is done and we present tonight. But I can tell you what I did and what our team did.
To prepare for the project, we started a google doc to write our paper and to generally communicate. It was slow going at first because we were all very busy with other things. We broke the research into three basic sections: advantages/disadvantages, costs, and security. My section was on costs.
I researched the given costs of cloud computing as well as the hidden costs and wrote my section. We all contributed to the other sections of the report, but I have to admit that the ladies did most of the work. I did ask several times if there was something that they needed or wanted me to do though!
I cannot say that I explicitly learned a lot from this project; a little bit about cloud computing pricing and some of the hidden components of that. I am sure I gained something but I cannot quantify it at this time.
Well, I am a little bit behind on writing this one as our team project is done and we present tonight. But I can tell you what I did and what our team did.
To prepare for the project, we started a google doc to write our paper and to generally communicate. It was slow going at first because we were all very busy with other things. We broke the research into three basic sections: advantages/disadvantages, costs, and security. My section was on costs.
I researched the given costs of cloud computing as well as the hidden costs and wrote my section. We all contributed to the other sections of the report, but I have to admit that the ladies did most of the work. I did ask several times if there was something that they needed or wanted me to do though!
I cannot say that I explicitly learned a lot from this project; a little bit about cloud computing pricing and some of the hidden components of that. I am sure I gained something but I cannot quantify it at this time.
Blog Topic #14
I do not have the exact wording but I believe that I am supposed to reflect on my expectations and what actually occurred.
I know that I expected to be annoyed with the single spacing after periods. That was true. It is very hard to break a habit of several decades!
I also hoped that I would have a habit of writing in this blog by now. That however is not the case. I still have to remember to write once a week and I did not always remember to write/post promptly. And it is still hard to get into a routine being as busy as I have been this semester.
I am pleasantly surprised with the type of writing projects that we have been assigned. I feared too much writing for the summer semester but the schedule was very workable. I had at least a weekend between when an assignment was issued and when it was due.
I know that I expected to be annoyed with the single spacing after periods. That was true. It is very hard to break a habit of several decades!
I also hoped that I would have a habit of writing in this blog by now. That however is not the case. I still have to remember to write once a week and I did not always remember to write/post promptly. And it is still hard to get into a routine being as busy as I have been this semester.
I am pleasantly surprised with the type of writing projects that we have been assigned. I feared too much writing for the summer semester but the schedule was very workable. I had at least a weekend between when an assignment was issued and when it was due.
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Blog Topic #11
"Reflect on your own presentation. How did it go? What worked well? What
didn't? What will you do differently next time? What did you learn?"
I think that my presentation went pretty well. Obviously, I won't know really how others thought I did until I get my grade or my feedback notes, but I think things went pretty well.
The main concern is the animated gifs that I used in the presentation. I do not know if they were too much or too distracting. I was doing a presentation on animation so I felt that the only way to show what I was talking about was to use actual examples of animation. It probably would have been better if they only played once. I would probably do that again, depending on the feedback I receive.
I think that my presentation went pretty well. Obviously, I won't know really how others thought I did until I get my grade or my feedback notes, but I think things went pretty well.
The main concern is the animated gifs that I used in the presentation. I do not know if they were too much or too distracting. I was doing a presentation on animation so I felt that the only way to show what I was talking about was to use actual examples of animation. It probably would have been better if they only played once. I would probably do that again, depending on the feedback I receive.
Blog Topic #10
"What did you do (or are you doing) to prepare for your oral
presentation. What kind of research was required? Did you practice? How
much? Where?"
The majority of my oral presentation preparation was the making of my Power Point presentation. I did have to do a little research to make sure I get my facts straight. But most of my research was finding decent images for the presentation. The hardest images to find was an example of an animatic. Most examples were in a youtube video and I was trying to not use youtube.
I did not really practice. I had ideas of what I was going to say and I wrote some of them down on the notes. That was about the extent of the preparation that I did.
The majority of my oral presentation preparation was the making of my Power Point presentation. I did have to do a little research to make sure I get my facts straight. But most of my research was finding decent images for the presentation. The hardest images to find was an example of an animatic. Most examples were in a youtube video and I was trying to not use youtube.
I did not really practice. I had ideas of what I was going to say and I wrote some of them down on the notes. That was about the extent of the preparation that I did.
Blog Topic # 9
“Briefly, describe what you like AND dislike about team projects (either at school or at work).”
There isn't much I like about group projects. Whether it be because of you are at the mercy of other members or because you have multiple deadlines so that your teammates know that you are working. Work team projects are not that bad because you get to work on the project on work time dedicated to the project.
It is school team projects are the issue. Like I wrote in a previous blog post, the problem lies with the fact that group projects have no leader and no consequences for failing to do any assigned tasks. At best poor grades are the consequence for not doing a good job but that is not a great deterrent. It comes down to a prisoner's dilemma where everyone, who has other responsibilities and time issues, wants the other members to do the majority of the work. Everyone is trying to play everyone else and searching for the one hard worker.
I hate group projects.
There isn't much I like about group projects. Whether it be because of you are at the mercy of other members or because you have multiple deadlines so that your teammates know that you are working. Work team projects are not that bad because you get to work on the project on work time dedicated to the project.
It is school team projects are the issue. Like I wrote in a previous blog post, the problem lies with the fact that group projects have no leader and no consequences for failing to do any assigned tasks. At best poor grades are the consequence for not doing a good job but that is not a great deterrent. It comes down to a prisoner's dilemma where everyone, who has other responsibilities and time issues, wants the other members to do the majority of the work. Everyone is trying to play everyone else and searching for the one hard worker.
I hate group projects.
Blog Topic #8
“How do you feel about writing (any kind of writing; for school, work,
or fun)?? Do you enjoy writing? Do you dislike writing? Does writing
come easy? Is it difficult? What kind of writing do you usually do? Are
you good at it?”
How do I feel about writing? I would like to write, I really would. But my grandiose ideas are generally to grand for my talents. I know that practice makes perfect but it is hard not to get discouraged when the story isn't coming out as imagined.
What I would like to do is write a comic or an ongoing web comic. The main hold up, besides time, is that I cannot come up with a story that I like or if I do I have difficulty figuring out the details. Again, I know I should start small and what not but it is really hard to think small and take those small steps.
How do I feel about writing? I would like to write, I really would. But my grandiose ideas are generally to grand for my talents. I know that practice makes perfect but it is hard not to get discouraged when the story isn't coming out as imagined.
What I would like to do is write a comic or an ongoing web comic. The main hold up, besides time, is that I cannot come up with a story that I like or if I do I have difficulty figuring out the details. Again, I know I should start small and what not but it is really hard to think small and take those small steps.
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