COMM 351: Final Reflection Blog
I came into this summer semester knowing this course would require me to continue to build the Eportfolio I created for a previous course, and it was exciting to curate and add more content to my page. By adding other relevant papers and what I feel is the best of my past college-level work, it has helped to continually improve and establish my professional presence by providing me with a place that I can showcase myself, and my skills and proficiencies. It is my online, continuously-changing resume that gives my experience, skills, and accomplishments a tangible place to demonstrate my professionalism, and I believe it will help me to stand out among other contenders for future job opportunities.
As stated for my previous course, the thing I like most about my Eportfolio is that it never has to be finished. It is a place that I can constantly control, edit and curate whenever I feel the need to include new work, changes, or new experiences and abilities that I have gained. Wix is a great and beneficial site for any student to create their own personal brand, and I believe I have begun to do just that with the changes I have made so far to my Eportfolio this summer. So the thing that is most exciting about using it is that I plan to continue to edit and improve upon the design and content as needed, and as I learn new skills and gain more experience, I will update my page to appropriately translate who I am and what I can do through this platform.
I enjoyed writing the White Paper more so than the Executive Summary assignment, mostly because it had more of an opportunity to be creative. Imagining that I was writing for a real conflict consulting firm not only helped me understand the content of the the module better, but also equipped me with the chance to learn about how to write professional quality work that might benefit me in the future. I appreciated writing these assignments because they were not the typical research paper content usually mandatory in other courses.
The most challenging aspect of the Eportfolio project was in the initial stages, when I created the page for my other course. This semester started off much easier and less stressful; the only thing I had to do was curate and write the introduction blog post. The most difficult part from this course was writing the Executive Summary paper. It was the longest assignment, and I feel that I did work harder on it when compared to the White Paper. My grades reflect this also! Overall, I felt that all four parts were challenging but not as intimidating as creating an Eportfolio.
If I were to train new students on how to build their first Eportfolio, first I would tell them to make sure they put time aside to work on it. Having time to be fully committed to designing and creating it is important because it is not just a place to create blogs posts; it can be used as an online resume and help establish a person professionally. You want it to look its best and appropriately display all of your skills, achievements, and character traits so that they translate well to employers or interviewers. Also, I would advise that they read Wix’s helpful guides for building a page to make the initial stages much easier.
From what I have learned from this course, I would try to illustrate to a potential employer that interpersonal communication is of utmost importance in a workplace setting’s communication. The use of strong, competent and efficient communication between employers and employees, supervisors and subordinates, and trainers and trainees is fundamental to establishing positive and collaborative relationships. These relationships will not only make the organization’s culture more cohesive, but also improve production and likely increase profit because of employee satisfaction.
Knowledge of ethical communication within an organization is vital to maintaining standards that employees will have, as well as to providing healthy relational communication that can strengthen a workplace’s culture. Inclusion of other’s ideas and thoughts, such as mangers listening to subordinates ideas, can benefit an organization by reducing conflict and developing a strong, collaborative team.
Through the assignments, module notes, and readings, this class has definitely made me think in new ways about interpersonal communication, and how it benefits not just romantic relationships and friendships, but also how it can immensely affect the workplace. Although my view of the subject is not very different, I know I have gained a lot of knowledge that I did not have previously. The knowledge gained here will help me become a better supervisor throughout my career.
