Deferred Action Analysis

Lapan, Tovin. "Start of deferred action program gives immigrants a reason to celebrate." Las Vegas 

     Sun. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. <http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/aug/16/ 

     legal-residency-sight-deferred-action-program-gets/>. 

The article, it is explaining how the deferred action program is giving immigrants the option of getting degrees, being able to temporarily avoid deportation. These degrees include getting driver's license, scholarships and jobs. Immigrants who already have degrees are offered more opportunities and better jobs. But, it all comes with a catch, for some immigrants open themselves up for immigration after turning in their applications. Also, they may be given fees after sometime, making immigrants, such as Astrid Silva (a 24 year old girl who is publicly known for being in the Dream Act), reconsider.

 Through this article article, I've learned that offers can be made that will call your ear, but they may not always tell you the details. In other words, this act sounds pretty good, but if you research more about it, it has multiple "catches" and unfair hooks. The same thing occurs in business, when a deal is offered, but not every detail is announced.

Team/Group Building

1. The most possible cause of conflict among people can be lack of communication.

2. A team is internally organized, with specific goals and usually has specific roles for different members, as a group is just a collection of people with something in common, such as having the same birth place or interests.

3. Flat organizational structures affects communication because an individual may take expanded roles to do important tasks, and you need to have good communication because you will then have to do a lot of face-to-face meetings with teams and members.

4. When deciding between a face-to-face meeting and an electronic meeting, you must consider the facts of issues that are sensitive, who knows each other, relationships, location, time, and physical characteristics.

5. Some teams cannot reach the highest stage of team development because of conflicts in the team. Things such as team building activities can help stop those conflicts and to show that it is possible to work with each other.

6. Agendas and minutes are important to group success because the closer you and your team become and the more each of you become used to each other, the faster you can get through projects and work on new things; you can work better together.

Team Activity Project: Big foot. In this game, you must put everyone in a straight line and blindfold them. You must them communicate with each other to line up according to shoe size (smallest to biggest). The catch is that you cannot say your shoe size and without vision.

Is Anyone Listening?

1. Listening is so very important because is more than just hearing, it is an interactive process that takes concentration and commitment. Effective listening in business is so crucial to providing quality service, facilitating groups, training staff, improving teamwork, and supervising and managing for improved performance. If we practice our listening skills, we will be more successful in anything we do, for everything we accomplish we use the skill listening.

2. The 4 different types of listening are;

• Casual listening, which is listening for pleasure, amusement and relaxation.
• Listening for information, listening for information and data (self-explanatory.) 
•  Intensive listening, when you listen to obtain information, solve problems, or when you persuade or dissuade.
• Empathetic listening, empathy meaning when a person attempts to share another's feelings or emotions, so making empathetic listening when you listen to someone express their feelings (an example can be counselors.)

I think the types of listening I spend most of my day doing are causal listening and listening for information. Since I am in school for most of the day, I am constantly listening for information so that I can gain more knowledge and do better educationally, and when I'm giving my brain a break from work, I use casual listening to talk to my friends and listen to music.

3. The 6 poor listening habits are;

• Faking attention, when you fake that you are listening to the speaker.
• Allowing disruptions, which is when you allow distractions to disrupt your train of thought or focus on the speaker.
• Over-listening, when a listener attempts to record everything the speaker is saying that they miss the main ideas or major points.
• Stereotyping, judging someone before they speak because of their physical features or perceptions, making  it harder to actually listen to what they're saying.
• Dismissing subjects as uninteresting, such as when a student asks a teacher "are we doing anything important in class today?"
• Failing to observe nonverbal aids, which can be when a listener is not tracking the speaker, missing important gestures or expressions.

I believe the 2 of these 6 listening habits that I'm the worst at is over listening because I want to obtain as much information as possible, making me miss the major points, and faking attention, meaning that I'm tracking the speaker, but in my "own world," not listening to a word they're saying.

4. I think I am a moderate listener. When I do listen, I try to gather as much information as possible, and when I'm not, I don't pay attention to a word the speaker says. I hear, but I don't listen. For example, whenever I'm really tired, I have a hard to listening to what the speaker is saying, though when I'm wide awake, I try to gather to much information, making it harder to remember everything the speaker says before he/she is finished.
5. My weakness in listening can be focusing. I either focus to hard, or I don't focus enough. A strategy I could use is not to get distracted so easily and to tone everything else out when the speaker is speaking. I tried this strategy at my Project Kick-Off convention on 9/12/12 at 6:30pm and it came out as a success. I wasn't distracted at all and I listened to every single presentation.

Job Interviews and Non Verbal Communications

Contributor. "How to Use Nonverbal Communication in a Job Interview Read more: How to Use Nonverbal 

     Communication in a Job Interview." eHow. eHow Contributor, n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2012. 

     <http://www.ehow.com/how_2032755_use-nonverbal-communication.html>. 

Riggio, Ronald E., PH.D. "Using Effective Nonverbal Communication in Job Interviews." Psychology 
     Today. Ronald E. Riggio, n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2012. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ 
     cutting-edge-leadership/201101/using-effective-nonverbal-communication-in-job-interviews>. 

SHAI COGGINS.com. SHAI COGGINS, n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2012. <http://www.shaicoggins.com/ 

     nonverbal-communication-between-the-genders/>. 

healthvermont.gov. Vermont Department of Health, n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2012. 

     <http://healthvermont.gov/family/toolkit/ 

     tools%5CF-6%20Cultural%20Differences%20in%20Nonverbal%20Communic.pdf>. 

1. To make a great, lasting impression, make sure you come to an interview well-dressed and groomed. During the interview, be sure to make eye contact to show that you are confident and sincere. Focus during the interview, have good posture and demonstrate interest on what the interviewer is saying. Be polite and and let your body language portray your professionalism. Stay calm and try not to fidget to much, but don't be too relaxed to the point where you're slouching. Ask questions to show that you are interested, but be sure to watch your tone and facial expressions so that you don't give off the wrong vibe. Present your resume in a professional manner to show confidence and maturity, and when you're finished, shake hands with everyone in the room.

2a. Some differences in nonverbal communication between different cultures can be gestures, because every culture has gestures toward each other and if you do (in their culture) an offensive gesture, problems could occur. Another difference can be touch and eye contact, because some cultures have different personal space issues and insecurities.

2b. Tone, facial expressions, body language, gestures, physical orientation, and eyes are all things to keep in line when talking between genders. Men and women all have their differences with these characteristics of nonverbal communication, but is a great thing to try to master to show complete respect and maturity.