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Blog #10

It’s All Over: Write A Haiku

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Blog #9

Angela’s Theory of Leadership

After having studied many leadership theories, the one that I learned in this class that resonated with me the most was transformational leadership. I think being a leader that seeks to positively change other people’s lives is one of the most gratifying parts of being in that role. I have studied servant leadership myself since I was a freshman in college, knowing that I loved the idea of trying to elevate others around you up to your level. Therefore, my own theory of leadership would be a combination of the two, seeing as they share some factors. The most important part of my theory of leadership is that it doesn’t focus on who can or can’t be this type of leader; if you want to make an impact on others and make them leaders as well, you can be a leader. This type of leader always seeks to understand instead of criticize. They don’t look for someone to blame when an issue arises, they look for a way to teach an impactful lesson and show how people work better when you seek to find a solution first. This leader actively finds ways to ensure the success of their team, whether it be with thorough, hands-on, one-on-one training to more certifications and finally opportunities for promotion. This leader leaves an impact on everyone they interact with because they know they were given a chance and so others should be able to have that too. This leader leads with vision, passion, and is able to make it so infectious that everyone is also excited to come together and work. These are all things that would be in my dream leader of an organization I work for but also the leader I seek to be for a team someday.

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Blog #8

Blogging, Pleasure or Pain?

My experience in blogging this semester was rough because I found it hard to motivate myself to do it. I had gone through some things when the blogs first started and I think overall, senior year just felt like I was dragging along. Another reason I didn’t like it was because I felt like I had to be too technical with the blogs, as I saw them more as formal assignments rather than a space for me to talk openly. After looking at my classmates blogs, however, I realized I was taking this way too seriously and I just started writing. I completed more than half the blogs I had missed in a few hours. I do love writing, and like anyone I love to talk about myself and my opinions, so blogging really helped me release my feelings in a way that I could shape and understand them myself. I think blogging can be therapeutic, now. The pros of blogging are, of course, that feeling of just letting things out and being able to shape an interesting story, but the cons include the time it takes. While it may sound easy, there is a lot of revision and ensuring that the message you want to send is getting translated clearly. That was where my perfectionism came in and held me back. You also have to be willing and able to share what you think, which can be hard for those that aren’t good at expressing themselves in any format. It can take a lot of vulnerability to share what you think for the fear of being “wrong.” I don’t think there’s another format that would have made it easier for me to talk about leadership and myself, but I think how the assignment is presented is important. I really thought I was going to be writing mini essays the whole semester when it actually is mostly made up of my thoughts and experiences. Overall, I really liked blogging and I think it’s something I want to pursue professionally on my own as I expand my personal brand.

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Blog #7 Part 2

Good to Great Essay

A concept I would really like to explore is that of the Three Circles of The Hedgehog Concept. This concept states that a good-to-great company understands what they are deeply passionate about, what they can be the best in the world at, and what drives their economic engine. By being able to encompass these three, a company can have a streamlined view of their purpose that they reflect in everything they do, which then becomes their Hedgehog Concept.

The story goes that a hedgehog is one who can “simplify a complex world into a single organizing idea.” Successful companies listed in the text, like Walgreens, Gillette, and Kroger, all found where they would fit best and where they could do whatever best and made sure they could make money off it. The thing that also sets the companies apart is that their leadership was willing to take the risk to learn how to find their hedgehog concept. Many of those companies shifted to their economic denominator (what made them profitable) by shifting to what excited them. I think this is probably one of the most important factors because leaders are typically not guided by what they’re selling, but why they’re selling it. When you understand how to make money at something you’re good at that you love to do, you’ve found it. Additionally, the text states that hedgehog companies succeeded over their substitutes because they set themselves apart through trying to be the best at what they do, not better than others.

If I apply the hedgehog concept to my 498 internship, I can see that the leadership in the company had a jumble of people there that didn’t really match up correctly, so while externally the company seemed great, internally, it was a mess. We had a managing partner that understood the economic engine, but not the other two. Our head mixologist was passionate and knew what the company was best at, but not what drives the economic engine. My marketing manager was passionate about the company and knew what they could be best in the world at, but lacked understanding of the economic denominator. When they came together, it seemed like the company could really reach new heights and cater great events, but once everyone went back to their desks it was a mess. I see that it matters that you’re able to identify the answers to those three questions but also that the whole organization understands them on the same level. 

Overall, the hedgehog concept is really interesting because it can be applied to both organizations and people as well as the fact that it helps answer the question of why “those” companies are so successful. On my journey through HTM, it feels like those are the questions I’ve kept asking myself over and over and I’m finally starting to see it clearly. It seriously has felt like what the book says, “...it’s like groping through the fog. You’re making progress on a long march, but you can’t see that well… you can only see a little bit ahead and must move at a deliberate, slow crawl” (Collins, 111). I can feel myself progressing from pre-hedgehog into my hedgehog concept as I explore myself through these blogs and my other capstone classes, even with the few months I got in my 498. I’m excited to carve out those questions more and create how I will distinguish myself as a leader in this world.

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contemporary leadership presentation, blog post #7 part 1

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Blog Post #6

Part 1 - Free Write

I am shocked to say how happy I was to spend a lot of time looking at my classmates blogs. I don’t mean that in a bad way, but more of how delightful it was to hear people’s “voices,” thoughts, and opinions in a way that hasn’t been presented to me before. It also makes me realize how much I miss being surrounded by people who are passionate about life and what they’re doing with it. I love seeing how creative so many people have been with their web designs and graphics; it makes me feel like I’m so bare bones. I think it's made me realize I like to keep my stuff simple and elegant, which says a lot about my style. I like how engaged people are in writing and how honest they’ve been with their thoughts, because it shows how they’re absorbing the information we’re learning in a tangible way. I think seeing others blogs has affected how I want to write and present my upcoming blog posts so it feels more “me.”

Part 2 - Transactional versus Transformational Leadership

Transactional leadership is leadership based on what its titled - transactions. These leaders thrive off getting what they need from their team by offering incentives to do things, which is very short term and feels really Theory X. Transformational Leadership is the kind that lasts a lifetime; it’s the teacher you’ll never forget or the time that always makes you feel proud of yourself. It leaves a deep impact because it transforms both the leader and receiver into something different and better. While transactional leadership has its merits, and can succeed in certain contexts, transformational leadership really affects the culture of a company and group and how people face their days and work.

My favorite example of transformational leadership is my 9th grade English teacher. While I didn’t know it at the time, she would end up being the reason why I came to SDSU with a full ride. What ended up as casually hanging out in her classroom after school to talk turned out to be years of guidance and support. She motivated me to stay focused on my studies despite my many struggles: working for my family, lack of financial resources, and growing up a minority with immigrant parents. The impact she had on those around her and myself propelled me to never stop working hard, even when I felt like giving up. She would always repeat: “it’s going to be worth it someday.” And it will be. In May, I’ll officially be the first of my family with a Bachelor's degree in this country and my family couldn’t be prouder. I seriously couldn’t have done it without her - an inspiring, thought-provoking, and hard-working woman of color who succeeded despite the odds. I want to be like that someday.

Part 3 - Howard Schultz Presentation

https://www.canva.com/design/DAD5dntM-ys/view?utm_content=DAD5dntM-ys&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=publishsharelink

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Blog Post #5

Part 1 - Bad Situational Leadership

During my 398 internship, I had a manager that was very directing leadership style as she showed little direction and support, which in turn made us front office employees have to create our own system of relying on our supervisors as coaching leaders instead. This led to the instance where she let a part-time FDA leave early because she didn’t care what he did, and she went on her merry way at 5 PM. However, we had almost full occupancy that night and she had failed to schedule PDX for the evening so one of my supervisors and I were in charge of hundreds of check ins as well as dealing with a full house’s needs, which had the phone ringing like crazy. We were struggling to keep up until our Bellman called our AGM and told him how we were dying up there and that we needed help immediately. About half an hour later our FDM came in, eyes bloodshot with tears, and strictly ordered me to take a break. Due to her lack of planning the schedule correctly and assuming that whoever was working would handle any issues, we had many complaints that night about lack of on-time deliveries of necessities and long lines to check in. My front desk supervisor was an absolute angel, however, and very well versed in problem management and directing me as efficiently as possible. Her not being committed to her responsibilities and dumping the rest of her team with all the work meant an obvious mismatch where many of us were unhappy and our supervisors did her job for her. I was very happy to leave that role and later found out that more instances like that one had her let go. 

Part 2 - Level 5 + Situational Leadership

I think Level 5 Leaders use situational leadership theory in ways that benefit their message. A person who knows themselves well and whose ambition comes first for their purpose will be guided by what helps fulfill that purpose the most, not their personal wants or feelings, which would generally direct you in a certain way. Situational leadership theory means you have the ability to adapt to what is happening and can make decisions based on who is around you and what is happening. A good, well developed leader knows when they should step down or step up, and when to call the shots and let others make decisions. Level 5 Leaders have little ego - an issue I've seen with many managers. By being so, they can choose any of the four leadership styles and come off as true to themselves and trustworthy. You know they are not coming from a place of greed but from somewhere knowledgeable and ambitious. 

Part 3 - Nominations

•Courage – Tran Le

•Coherence – David Culliton

•Crafty – Nineth Salazar

•Clever – Taylor Jaress

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Blog Post #4

Part 1 - Understanding Theory

Parks and Recreation

Upon figuring out what this blog was about, I immediately thought about the comedy mockumentary show Parks and Recreation. It follows the local Parks and Rec department of Pawnee as they deal with shenanigans within themselves and locals. The main character, deputy director Leslie Knope, is a great example of a leader because she cares deeply about what she does for the town of Pawnee but she also listens to others and makes sure to establish healthy relationships with them, even with people who might hate relationships, like her boss, Ron Swanson. She is very theory Y oriented, always trusting the others in the office to do great things and giving them responsibilities that challenge them. Ron, on the other hand, has a very anti-government and traditional view of having employees and serving his constituents, which might lead him to having more of a theory x view on leadership. He automatically assumes people are selfish and tries not to get to know his employees well, even going so far to deliberately call his assistant by different names. A good example of someone on the country club level of the managerial grid would be state auditor Chris Traeger, who loves being kind to others and helping them out as much as possible, but we see him not do as much work on the show because he kind of lets people walk all over him. In terms of an impoverished leader, I really see that in Tom Haverford, Leslie’s assistant. In the beginning of the show, he’s super lazy, so he doesn’t do anything, and he selfishly finds ways to make himself more popular and successful. Over time, we see this change as Leslie’s mentoring makes him a well-rounded leader, but it does take time. 

Application to Self

Part 1 - Yukl Summary

In the reading by Yukl discussing Leadership Behaviors, they discuss the behaviors that a leader shows to best develop themselves and their subordinates. The one that stood out to me the most was Developing Subordinate Skills. I’ve found that it makes the difference in all my managers. I’ve had nice ones, mean ones, but the thing they mostly share is they failed to support me in becoming a good, self-sufficient employee. There is a point he makes about being patient and helpful, and that really strikes a chord. My 398 manager was very impatient about me learning front desk skills that I wasn’t trained on, which made me feel very insecure and frustrated. Another point was identifying ways to improve performance. My 398 manager was really bad at that, coming off as passive aggressive when she would make suggestions about what I should and should not do. My 498 manager was very hands off and didn’t address how to do this at all, making me feel like I didn’t know if what I was doing was right or not. While they both had good traits, I think I’ll make sure for myself that I am looking at subordinates as future leaders that deserve some consideration and time spent on them to make them better.  

Part 3 - My Leadership Perspective

So far, the readings have just made me realize how important it is to have no ego when you’re a leader. Part of being a leader really just boils down to wanting to be good to others and to yourself, which to me means overachieving your goals, challenging those around you, and creating a vision that is easily understood and infectious. I think it also matters that you care about who is working with you and that you seek to understand them as people so you can figure out how they work and what they want out of the life they’re creating so you, as a leader, can guide them there with all the resources you have. Another part of it is going in with the idea that others around you know more than you so you can 1. Check your ego and 2. Be open to the idea of learning from you people who might have initially overlooked. I feel like that makes you automatically someone people can trust and that people want to listen to because they know you’ll listen to them, too.

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Blog 3 - Traits

I’m the type of person who’s always been interested in psychology and understanding others, so being able to pick up on traits I like and dislike has become pretty easy, especially when I think of leadership traits. I’ve found that the leaders I admire are hardworking, supportive, passionate about what they do. In terms of being hardworking, I’ve unfortunately never had the experience of having a direct manager be that but I have had many supervisors that just knocked it out of the park. I think of my two front desk supervisors at my 398; they knew their role so well and gave their 110% when they came in to work that everyone would go to them instead of our FDM. They would find ways to solve problems I could never think of and would always be willing to come in early or leave late to get the job done. While leadership doesn’t necessarily mean overextending yourself to the point of exhaustion, I think it does mean putting yourself in those hard spots where you have to roll your sleeves up to get the job done. Another trait I’ve come to appreciate is being supportive. I get this a lot from my peers when we work in group projects, whether it be they check in on each other or make sure we’re getting all the resources we need. My current manager at my 498 has been really great about checking in with me on a consistent basis and asking if I need anything, even allowing me to task her with things on our project management platform so I can keep my project flowing. She also understands me on a personal level, which means she can support me in things apart from work. Lastly, I find passion to be very important in a person or leader. If you can get the job done, but you have no love for it, what is it other than something you can check off a list? You might have to work hard to find that place where your job is your passion but I admire those people highly. I think having passion for something is contagious, and if you can inspire your team to understand what fuels your fire and why it should do so for them too, you can create one hell of a team. 

Pros and Cons of Trait Theory

In our readings, they explain how Great Man Theory explored the concept of leaders being born, not made (Do Traits Matter). Additionally, these people were typically male. The only pro I see to this theory is that it helped narrow down what traits people believed to be leaderlike. I think it is inspirational to think people are born being leaders, but it’s unrealistic. The cons to Great Man Theory are that it excludes those that become leaders later in life and women. There are many great people who became founders of movements or leaders in society later in life and at least half of those are women. Great Man Theory is restricted to gender norms and old psychology - new research shows that many people have moldable mindsets that can change and grow into something completely different. In terms of trait theories in general, I think there are traits that can create a better leader, but not necessarily define exactly what a leader is. I do think, however, not everyone is set to be a leader in the same environment. It really takes them finding where they fit best.

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Leadership and Me

2/12/2020

My name is Angela Palencia and I am currently a senior at San Diego State University majoring in Hospitality and Tourism Management with an emphasis in Meeting and Event Operations and Management and a minor in Entrepreneurship. My website displays the history of my academic experiences as well as extracurricular events and my professional passions. My leadership philosophy stems from integrity, passion, and competence. I’ve cultivated these through my personal work ethic as well as other powerful women I’ve been surrounded by and look up to. I believe that when you show those traits and encourage them in others, you can create an amazing team. My road as a leader has been a bumpy one; there’s been many times when I think I’m making the right decision by being overly accessible or by depending too much on others and things don’t go right. However, I’ve grown to be clear with how I communicate and comfortable with trusting others abilities enough to delegate responsibility I would have done myself. I have to remember that I was allowed the opportunity to do things when I didn’t appear the most credible, so I should let others too. I also believe strongly in passion and will. If you want something bad enough, you can get it, and motivating others to reach their dreams is a huge drive for me as well. By inspiring others, you can make a change that reverberates far after you are present. A quote that I love from Lin-Manuel Miranda says  “what is legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see grow.”

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Blog Post #4

Some of the challenges I faced in creating the podcast episode was finding our focus. There were many topics that we could have covered under branding and identity but we wanted to find the ones that interested us, would create enough content for a podcast, as well as would be engaging to listeners. Another challenge we faced was deciding what research we wanted to include. The chapter in the book as well as articles we used had so much great content that we found it limiting to try to find the best parts because there was so much we wanted to say. We also struggled with deciding if we wanted our script to be general so we could speak off handedly and have a natural conversation or if we wanted more structure and guidance while we spoke. We decided to limit our topics to those that were both overly represented in our research as well as interesting to us, so we focused on the history of branding/gendered branding, twitter journalists identity, and storytelling. We think of all of these three really captured the tone of identity and branding that we wanted to discuss. We also decided to created a more structured script to be able to provide as much detail as possible while recording the actual podcast. Something we’re in the middle of trying to figure out is how to make the podcast conversation sound as natural as possible, because after recording it once, we realized it sounds a little too artificial. Hopefully, after a few recordings, we find our flow. Another issue is making the podcast short enough within the requested time frame, because we find that we have so much to talk about we go over. With editing and practicing, I believe we’ll find the sweet spot in terms of time.

We split the topics we were working on based on what we found most interesting personally. We started with three group members but were reduced to two, so Haley kept history of branding and I kept Twitter journalists while we split storytelling. This way, we both get a chance to have a prominent part in the podcast while still working together. All of our work has been collaborative through hours long meetings where we sat down and brainstormed and completed it on google docs. We found that checking in with each other and holding each other accountable for different parts that needed to be completed by personal deadlines worked really well for us. We are also really flexible with each others schedules and work together on things when we feel really prepared.

I think I would research more into how to sound natural on podcasts or listen to more podcasts to get a better feel for what they’re supposed to sound like. I find myself to be a pretty good public speaker but I kind of struggled with this podcast. I think I would also find cooler statistics on branding and identity to provide in the podcast because that’s the kind of thing I like to hear when I do listen to podcasts. Overall, there isn’t much I would change from the way Haley and created this podcast because we worked really well with each other through researching, creating the script, and recording the podcast. We had genuine interest and enthusiasm for this project that made it enjoyable to complete. I would also like for our time limit for the project to be longer because I think some of us want to be able to talk more.

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Blog Post #3

An organization that interests me a lot is Starbucks Coffee Company. I am a huge fan of their drinks and foods. What I know about Starbucks is that they were founded in Seattle, Washington, where the first Starbucks location was created. I also know that they have many locations worldwide, that they offer formal education for their baristas, and that they have had a few racial scandals in the past few years. Something that I like about Starbucks is that they’re very open about where they obtain their coffee from and are well linked to younger generations through Spotify and their rewards programs.

Through some research, I found that Starbucks was founded in 1971. There are currently more than 22,000 Starbucks stores. One of the first Starbucks CEO’s was the one to integrate the Italian style of coffeehouses into the place we know today, where people can meet to talk and create a community. Their mission is to “inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” Through their website, it seems that they also aim to deliver high quality coffee while considering social, environmental, and cultural sustainability. They also aim to be fair with their employees (whom they call “partners,”) by offering them comprehensive health coverage as well as stock in the company.

Starbucks brands themselves as an accessible yet upscale coffeehouse. They aim to go against the norms and choose to not have a rigid or compartmentalized view of their customers. They want everyone to feel like and be a possible Starbucks customer. The popularity level of the Starbucks name and Siren logo allows the company to raise prices with no issue. Starbucks also has a very standard set up, as even if you go to a location in California versus one in New York, the menu and layout of the store are likely to look very similar. Overall, Starbucks wants their customers to know that the brand is progressive and inclusive with a focus on them. They are really good at employing emotional branding, which is a technique that connects the consumer to the products in an emotionally profound way. By trying to make Starbucks the place to create relationships and memories, it works on that human need for socialization and connection. In some ways, some customers develop a brand relationship, like I have. I love Starbucks and their products, but also the ways they interact with their customers on Twitter and how they react to crisis. I am associated with Starbucks and it has become an inherent part of my personality and rituals; if i’m sad, happy, or tired, there’s a different drink for all those states to help ground me. Starbucks also heavily employs murketing, where it tries to become an integral part of how people express their identities. I can see this in movies, where the stressed out unpaid intern has to pick up four different types of coffee for the office at Starbucks, or the tired college student trying to stay awake to write a paper. No matter who you are, Starbucks is always there to help you be yourself. They rarely even advertise what they sell but more about how it can change how you feel.

Another interesting aspect about Starbucks is how they brand their partners. They would be considered sovereign workers, who are responsible for making themselves better people as a way to work better. This can be seen in the ways that employees are required to dress, which is in normal clothing but that fits a certain aesthetic, like button ups and flannels. This allows for individuality but also gives Starbucks an upscale hipster vibe. Partners are also encouraged to attend formal schooling and trainings to become higher level baristas. Starbucks wants their employees to appear competent and professional, like a barista at a signature cafe, despite the mass size of the company and amount of stores.

Starbucks’ style of leadership was mostly defined by former CEO Howard Schultz, who focused on transformational leadership. Going back on sovereign workers, this type promotes the betterment of self and of the brand, which we can see mainly in Starbucks’ effort to be an ethical company. Schultz focused on motivation and inspiration to be the fuel for creating a great company with great employees. With the many opportunities for self-improvement that Starbucks offers, as well as the ways that the company focuses on helping socialist issues, it’s easy to see how transformational leadership has aided the company into becoming the progressive and cool brand it is today. I can see it even from friends I know that work at Starbucks that working there can feel purposeful because of the ways they are encouraged to empower themselves.

Overall, Starbucks has done a great job at branding themselves. Despite the occasional racial scandal, which merits its own conversation on how Starbucks deals with those, they have managed to maintain a high quality of service and delivery that many companies fail at. It is interesting to note how the style of leadership promoted in the company directly affects their brand as well, because due to the transformational aspect, the brand is always pushing itself to become better and be seen as better in the public's eyes. Peoples opinions will always change but the amazing ability for Starbucks to be able to sell overpriced coffee never will.

[angeladrpalencia]

Blog #2

An example from pop culture that demonstrates elements of organizational culture is the way that the characters in the show Gossip Girl distinguish themselves from everyone who is not an “Upper Eastsider.” The high class culture of a select group in Gossip Girl uses rites and rituals, relevant constructs, and vocabulary to demonstrate how to fit in with other Manhattanites. Additionally, Upper Eastsiders show a really good example of having a pragmatist approach to culture that is being infringed by a purist approach.

First, the rites and rituals in Gossip Girl are very distinct and traditional. Rites and rituals are events that occur “...partly from a need for organization members to experience order and predictability in their lives” (Mumby, 2013). For example, in different seasons, you see repeat events occuring because of their importance, like the annual debutante ball, New York Fashion Week, summer break, and Thanksgiving. The narrator is the main one leading the show, introducing what will happen in that episode and how important it is to the characters. However, something always goes wrong, which deeply unsettled those who are most compatible with the status quo, like the character Blair Waldorf, a snobby, overachieving socialite who is the daughter of a famous fashion designer. The debutante ball, for example, is a rite of integration into the upper crust of society, which features lavish ballgowns and the daughters and sons of “New York’s best.” New York Fashion Week is a rite of enhancement, as only the most famous and esteemed are invited to sit front row at a designer’s fashion show or attend the after parties. Summer break and Thanksgiving serve as additional rites of enhancement because only the richest high schoolers can go to Monaco for the summer or celebrate Thanksgiving in Paris.

The relevant constructs that are present in the show Gossip Girl include the presence of a “Gossip Girl blast,” being the “it-girl” or “queen bee,” and even brunch. Relevant constructs are “....”(Mumby, 2013). A “Gossip Girl blast” is when the anonymous blogger who goes by Gossip Girl publishes a juicy story about one of the Manhattanites and sends it to literally every student. To be published under her website isn’t exactly an honor, but is a common thing for the main characters of the show because of the drama that surrounds their lives and the audience that yearns to hear everything. Another relevant construct is the idea of being the “it-girl” or “queen bee,” which shifts between the two female leads Blair Waldorf and Serena Van Der Woodsen. Essentially, the girl with this title holds the most respect and authority over the other, less popular socialites. In fact, the queen bee in high school even controlled where everyone sat, what was popular to wear, and what was trendy to eat. In an early episode, the narrator describes brunch as an experience that “comes with champagne, a dress code, and a hundred of our closest friends. And enemies.” These type of experiences controls everyone whos everyone’s behavior and social status. Most know that brunch means a spread of at least a four course meal as well as copious amount of mimosas, because the children of the wealthy are never carded.

The vocabulary and metaphors that the socialites of Gossip Girl use is very exclusive and unique to their culture. Vocabulary, in terms of organizational culture, are words that become “... [a] ‘badge’ signifying membership of the culture, and anyone who doesn’t know the jargon can be immediately identified as an outsider” (Mumby, 2013). We see this primarily in situations where characters of the show are speaking about high fashion designers, restaurants, artists, or even use foreign words to exemplify their high class culture. I, myself, had to Google words several times when characters referred to something so obscure to me that is largely familiar to them. Vocabulary can be used to look down on members of outside groups as well, which we see whenever Blair Waldorf looks down from her nose when she says someone is from Brooklyn or when she speaks about those who go to New York University. The main characters of Gossip Girl also use quite dramatic language in their everyday lives to emphasize the grandiose nature of living as a rich person in New York. For example, the character Blair will often cry about how a certain day is “the worst day of her life” or how Serena, her best friend, is a complete “train wreck” when she kisses someone and is caught on camera. Interestingly enough, a study on Korean viewers of Gossip Girl found that they were using the show to both learn English and create an online community. Through this community, those who were better at understanding the vocabulary and metaphors of the characters, despite the language barrier, were found to have “gained increased recognition and admiration” because information about the series “[served] as a form of… capital among fans” (Lee, 2016; Baym, 2000). Therefore, even the fans were serving into the organizational culture of superiority of Gossip Girl just through the access to the vocabulary that they were using.

A defining feature of Upper Eastsider culture is the resistance to change from those that are outside of the main group. Blair, Serena, and all the other characters with families who make billions are typically against lower class people coming in and changing the rules that have existed among them for what seems to them like forever. It appears that they have a pragmatist approach to their culture because they like to control how people think and behave depending on their moods. There is supposed to be one single culture to attune yourself to or you’re out. Even things that would not make sense to normal people, like bullying the girl you call your best friend because she left to boarding school for a summer and didn’t tell you, makes sense to those in the circle that see it as a fair punishment for not abiding by the rules. When characters like Daniel and Jenny Humphrey attempt to come in and change the status quo with a more purist approach, they are faced with shock, dismay, and immediate disposition. In fact, Jenny was severely demoted after gaining queen bee status and trying to “change things up” to the point where she had to move away. Her brother, on the other hand, adapted to the culture despite his claim in the earlier seasons that he “didn’t get it.”

Overall, Gossip Girl is a great example for creating examples of organizational culture with concepts like rites and rituals, relevant constructs, vocabulary and metaphors, and even showing the struggle of pragmatist versus purist culture. Despite the fanfare and dramatics of many of the show’s characters, it’s easy to see how in any case there can be organizations that will never lose control over how things are done and where things are done, and this is especially true on the Upper East Side.

Sources

Baym, N. K. (2000). Tune in, log on: soaps, fandom, and online community. London, UK: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Lee, H. (2016). Developing identities: Gossip Girl, fan activities, and online fan community in Korea. Participations - Journal of Audience and Reception Studies, 13(2), 109-133.

Mumby, D. K. (2013). Organizational communication: a critical approach. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.

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Blog #1

The only communication class I have taken here at San Diego State is COMM 103, which is the intro to communication class that every freshman is required to take. Due to my extensive AP English background, I wasn’t required to go further than that. I feel like I’ve built my writing and communication skills pretty well on my own without having taken any classes, but i’ve always been interested in coming back to a writing or communication class because I enjoy the subject.

I am pretty oddly placed into my class because I’m the only non-communication major there. I am a third year Hospitality and Tourism Management student studying Meetings and Events Management with a minor in Entrepreneurship. I’m taking this class as an elective to fulfill the minor, but with enthusiasm because I can’t wait to see what I learn! My dream is to own my own event planning company, and with that comes running an organization and I want to make sure that I am knowledgeable on the different ways that an organization can communicate and how to improve interpersonal communication as well. I am also heavily involved in several organizations on campus so I find it important for me to understand how we shape those organizations to be beneficial for the individual and not just the collective. I feel as if I have a unique perspective on leadership and organization so I am interested in seeing how I do in this course and what new things I will learn about

What interests me about organizational communication is how thoroughly the subject goes and how not many people stop and think about why we communicate the ways we do. I feel that if more people were aware about this subject, the way we run society or organizations would be a lot better and more considerate of personal issues. Additionally, I enjoy how the history of organizational communication stems back to a history of studying the structures in our society because I already have a vested interest in some of these theories from personal research. I feel like organizational communication also bleeds into so many subjects and theories that it could be applied to virtually anything. I’m interested in seeing what different kinds of organizational communication exist and how they can be applied to my life in general. I think it is important to be aware of not only what you’re saying but how you’re saying it and what impact that can have. Having this over awareness is useful when there are hierarchies involved and something could be misconstrued because of where you are placed. I feel like organizational communication is not only looking at how you communicate but also why that type of communication exists and how that organization was formed in the first place to encourage or discourage certain kinds of communication.

The metatheoretical perspective that I prefer the most is feminism. As a self-proclaimed feminist since I was 12, I’ve had several years to look critically into the ways that we have built our society and relationships around the lack of input from women. More often than not, a lot of the reasons of why some things are the way they are can root back to misogynistic ideals. Feminist theory comes to me more easily than the others do and it makes more sense to me too. I approach many ideas and viewpoints with a feminist eye because I enjoy finding the foundations of societal structures. Feminist theory is relatively new and because management has only looked at organizational life as one gendered, there are many layers of complexity that are lost that could be useful in understanding an organization’s formation or movements. That is not to say that feminism is one overarching idea; there are liberal feminists, radical feminists, and critical feminists, all who have different ideas of what approaching an organization is like. I like feminist theory because it is important to consider gender, power, and organization when you create practices for a diverse group of people. I also like that feminism attempts to dismantle systems of oppression and create new ones that can uplift everyone, not just women. The concept of empowerment is unique to the feminist approach which is another reason why I prefer it. I feel like it gives a perspective as well as a future approach of how to handle these systems. I agree that society has centered itself very strongly around the “binary” of gender that not only women suffer under that idea. Men are keen to believe that feminism wants to get rid of men because of the approach of a radical feminist, but they aren’t seeing the other kinds of feminism that want to bring together men and women and have them fight against cultural and societal ideals that oppress us equally. The power of gender is stronger than we think, especially when it comes to how they create organizations. Some physical organizations and roles are even created solely based on the concept of gender to either empower or oppress. As a woman, I’ve always been hypercritical of the way I’m treated or the situations that I am put into. I also make sure that I am not propagating anti-feminist ideas because it can be easy to do so when I’ve been programmed to believe certain things about what my role as a woman isn’t and is supposed to be like. I feel like it would also be interesting to look into how the concept of feminism was formed and how it can be looked at using a different metatheory.

Overall, I look forward to taking a communication class that is going to help my future as a leader, because I want to be observant of how organizational culture is created and aware of the culture that I cultivate that is going to best help others thrive and grow. I feel as having myself grown through oppressive systems, it is my duty to create an organization that has a purpose to uplift everyone and bring awareness to issues that aren’t considered that often.

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Leadership Development Plan

The following is the leadership development plan I’ve created for my next three semesters at SDSU as well as my post-college career. Through consideration of what I view a leader to be as well as a reflection on my performance in the past semester, I believe that I’ve created an ideal guideline for tasks and goals I should complete in the upcoming years to become the leader I envision. 

Timeline of Event Planning

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Volunteer Experience - Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Walk

I volunteered at the Race for the Cure Walk on November 4th, 2018. As a course guide, my responsibility was to guide the runners using signs and my hands. This was another event that I liked to help out at because the energy was so high due to the runners. This was another huge event that had several expo areas and a huge attendance. I liked this event but I volunteered early in the morning so I was really tired!