A521.6.3.RB_SchreterPaul

               A community is a type of method for working together. I found this to be a positive experience during tech school training within my military career. This community was self-selected in that it was a self-formed study group for my class. This community stayed together so long as we all had the same interested in doing well within our class. Much like penguins work together to keep each other warm, we all worked together to keep each other smart.

               I do however have the occasional negative experiences with a certain type of method for working together. Sometimes I may be a part of a good team, other times I may be a part of a bad team. On occasion throughout grade school the teacher would for students to work in teams, not of their own choosing. The negative experience comes when not everyone in the group has the same motivational levels and everyone gets the same grade. When someone in the group doesn't care to do any work, everyone else in the group has to make up for the slack, which causes tensions to rise and fights to occur.

              So what could I have done to influence better outcomes with my negative experiences with teams? Well it really depends on the type of person causing the problem. If they truly don’t care about their grade, then there’s really nothing I can do but to suck it up and deal with it. However if they do care about their grade, then this is where game theory comes along. If they’re lazy but care about their grade, then it’s better for me to assure mutual destruction of our grades if they don’t pick up their end of the deal. However this only applies if we’re forced to work with one another over an extended period of time. If it’s just for one assignment, then perhaps the best thing to do would be to negotiate who will do what early on and just trust that they’ll pick up their end. If not, then it’s really up to me to see if it’s worth picking up their slack to ensure a good grade.

A521.5.4.RB_SchreterPaul

The three basic components of an ethical community can be defined as follows:

Trust: “The general expectation among members that their fellows will behave ethically towards them.”

Loyalty: “Acceptance of the obligation to refrain from breaching one another’s trust and to fulfill the duties entailed by accepting that trust.”

Solidarity: “Caring for other people’s interests and being ready to take action on behalf of others, even if it conflicts with personal interests.”

Here is how they might be applied to my organization:

Trust: Trust can be developed with subordinates when they know they can tell you something without suffering extreme repercussions. One day at work a coworker and his team dropped a multi-million dollar piece of aircraft equipment. When they reported it, they admitted that they made a mistake and in hindsight should have been more careful with the equipment. The way supervision responded was by thanking them for their honesty and then worked with everyone to try and figure out ways to prevent the incident from happening again. A new rule came out that now requires load binders to be used to secure this equipment so that the incident can no longer happen again.

Loyalty: Loyalty can be developed by rewarding such behavior. During major inspections of our group, the test is really more on higher management than on lower levels. We as airman don’t really get in trouble, but those at the top do. Those at the top try to reward those that loyally work for them and to make them look good by giving them free days off of work so that they can spend time at home and with their families. By working hard now to make someone else look good, people are rewarded for their loyalty down the line.

Solidarity: Solidarity is to look out for one another. This is already show by our expeditors because they voluntarily stay overtime to make sure everyone on their shift is taken care of. We also foster this type of environment by not allowing anyone on the same job to go home unless everything on that job is done. This encourages everyone to help one another so that everyone can benefit with going home early.

Organizational values need to have life in order to exist. Those wishing to employ these values need to believe in it themselves and to live it out in their own lives. Sometimes these values might not be seen in my own organization. For example in the case of Solidarity, looking out for one another. Some expeditors are all about the mission and don’t think about the people. Some don’t care whether or not we eat, or get rest, or have been working for 11 hours straight. All they care about is that the job gets done. This creates a sort of tension that degrades trust and loyalty over time. Thankfully though, such expeditors have been transferred out due to complaints and new ones put in place. These values are now slowly trying to rebuild themselves within the organization.

A521.4.3.RB_SchreterPaul

               There are many factors in communication that change how the message is interpreted. Often times this can have unintended consequences. Two examples that come into my life and in my line of work is the spatial factor and the paralanguage factor.

The spatial factor involved in communication is often ignored within my line of work. There is this thing called “truck talk” that involves talking without constraints while on the truck. Generally most Air Force personnel need to keep a high standard of professionalism in their work environment, but in my line of work it gets thrown out the window and a blind eye turned away. While the Air Force has been taking measures to crack down on this and it has improved, there is still that occasional “truck talk” that involves racial, sexual, and other very inappropriate comments. The truck usually encompasses roughly a 6’ x 10’ spatial area and can make some people feel very uncomfortable.

               In my volunteer work my paralanguage played a huge role in my abilities to help others. I used to volunteer with a group called Samaritans that provided emotional support for peoples with feelings of distress, despair, and suicidal thoughts. One of my biggest problems was with my resonance of my voice, which over the phone sounds very “official,” and “authoritative.” For people trying to express their inner deepest thoughts and problems, this type of resonance is a huge turn off; as in, my voice was very deep and full. Most people usually respond better to a more feminine, thin, and soft voice. My technique to solving this problem was by removing the bass in my voice which has helped tremendously.

               These were two examples in my life, which were the spatial factor and a paralanguage factor, which changed how verbal communication gets perceived. These influences had consequences that were potentially hurtful and yielded unexpected results. By learning and being aware of these two forms of communication, I was able to become more self-aware of my interactions with others.

               

A521.3.4.RB_SchreterPaul

Recall two or three situations from your childhood or early adulthood that had a formative impact on you. Describe the situations and relate how they impacted you. Pick situations that have affected how you act and feel in an organizational or team-based environment.

1997 – My little sister

Thanksgiving week in 1997, my little sister was born. I was 9 at the time and I remember my first words to her in the hospital room, “I will always love you.” Being born 9 years apart had a huge impact on our relationship because I was just old enough to start babysitting her so my parents could work. Every summer, taking care of my sister became my new full time job. While she will always be my little sister, I have developed a sort of fatherly mindset throughout my early childhood. I’ll make personal sacrifices to make sure that she is well taken care of.

I believe this affected the way I approach my relationships within an organization. Any time I’m part of a team or am leading a team of my own, I always try to make sure everyone is taken care of. The majority of my time spent at work is on the flight line, where it’s open to the elements. Depending on who’s expediting at the time, it could mean that we very well may spend 9-10 hours outside without ever getting the chance to go inside and eat. I don’t like to see people starve, so I’m constantly asking if people have gotten the chance to eat and whether or not they would like to go inside to grab something. I’m more than happy to pick up their end of the slack to make sure they’re well fed. And if they don’t have food? I’ll give them my dinner.

Early 1990’s – Punished by my Mom

               In the early 1990’s in my very early adolescent days, I remember getting punished by my mom for something I did wrong. I can’t remember what it was because I could have been 4, maybe 5 years old, but I remember it was my fault. What had happened was my mom had me sit against the wall with my hands in the air, as if I were reaching for the ceiling, and to shut my mouth and not say a word. Then she would tell me to not move until she came back. After a while, for a little kid anyways, this can be quite painful.

               After recently talking to my mom about this event, she told me that she went off to cook some dinner for the family. Throughout the cooking she heard these little snivels in the background but couldn’t figure out what they were. Eventually the snivels became so frequent that she needed to investigate where they were coming from. After following the noise she discovers that the snivels were coming from my room! After entering my room, there I was with my hands in the air, tears running down my face trying not to make any noise while I cried my eyes out. Only recently did I find out that my mom forgot about me when she went to cook the dinner!

               While to this day I’m not quite sure why I was so obedient, I do believe this made me more self-disciplined throughout my life. Even though my arms were in major pain and my mom wasn’t around to check up on me, I did what I was supposed to do and followed orders. Within an organization, I’ve taken on the mindset of “you gotta do what you gotta do.” I don’t waste time complaining, when a job needs to get done, I get the job done.

A521.2.3.RB_SchreterPaul

The single story, as shown throughout history, can be a means of motivating others into action. It can also be a means of control and power. The two examples that most come to mind when talking about a single story is with the Nazi perception of Jews during the early 20^th century and the North Korean perception of Americans today.

During the time period of Hitler’s reign of power, he blamed Jews for the economic downturn of the German nation. This single story painted the Jews in such an incredibly negative fashion. What was most fascinating though was how much enthusiasm Hitler had with his stories. As Whalen described, “of all the emotions that will move your audience to embrace your point of view, enthusiasm is the most important.” (Whalen, 2007) Many would say that Hitler’s enthusiasm was the driving force of his campaign. Imagine if he wasn't enthusiastic at all, but rather mundane and boring. Imagine if he gave a boring PowerPoint presentation that looked like the following:

Another single story that’s get told is one that is found in North Korean. From a very early age Americans are portrayed as “cruel, ghoulish barbarians with big noses and fiendish eyes. Teeth bared, they brand prisoners with hot irons, set wild dogs on women and wrench out girl’s teeth with pliers.” (REPORTER, 2012) While I don’t believe it is our call to make, as far as how or what North Koreans are taught in these schools, I do think it’s unfortunate that they are taught only the single story. These kids are being indoctrinate into adopting a very negative view of a particular race. It’s as if the government were domesticating its people as one would of dogs.

The two examples that came to mind when talking about a single story was one of Nazi views of the Jews and one of North Korean views of Americans. I do believe that these were/are a means of control and power and it’s rather unfortunate as the whole story is not given. Granted these were an effective part of the means of motivation, just not very moral or ethical in nature.

References

REPORTER, D. M. (2012, June 24). How North korean children are taught to hate the 'American b*******' at kindergarten. Retrieved from MailOnline: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2163817/How-North-Korean-children-taught-hate-American-b----kindergarten.html

Whalen, J. (2007). The Professional Communications Toolkit.