week 15 question 1

When it comes to cyberspace I believe that it is a big part of our lives, just because with all the social networking sites keeps everyone connected. I don’t have any friendships that exist exclusively to cyberspace because I believe that those relationships don’t last very long, and can be based on fictitious beliefs, I say this not because I think people are always lying, but when it comes to cyberspace, many like to create their own personality instead of shining their own true personality. I don’t think that anyone can have a true friendships/relationship without the f2f because they don’t know who they truly are and how they really would react to you face to face. In the cyberspace world, people expect you to believe what they tell you based on their profile or what they write about, but how will you really know an individual without seeing them and having a conversation that’s face to face to see their reactions. I’ve known my mother for my whole life and have had f2f relationship with her the whole time, yet there are times when I still don’t get her, and here we are saying that cyberspace relationships can only exist and keep a real relationship going. I am sure that there are individuals who do have friends exclusively online, but do you really know them as a person besides what they are telling you? It’s hard to say until you have the f2f relationship at one point.

week 14 question 3

A concept I found interesting was the interviewing skills, since I have been on the search for a new job, it came in handy to see what I can improve upon. From preparing for the interview to asking questions and following up, all gave be great pointers to reinforce what I knew and what I didn't know. I am always looking for new ways to improve my resume and interviewing skills so that way I can land the perfect job which I would love. I am very familiar with "work content skills" which is facility in using computers, research ability, and graphic design skills, because this is what I am really good at, I am very computer saavy and have a passion for using them and use it on a daily basis. I also like the self management skills which include personal strengths such as flexibilty, enthusiasm, and persistence, I believe my assistant manager position in the past has helped this skill greatly. It is hard to become persisitant when there are other people weighing you down, but with enthusiasm and flexibilty it can all interedepently work together. I find it really impressive for interviewees to know the organization that they are interviewing for, it shows that you know what the company is about and why you chose the company. The simpliest research just by their brochure or website shows that you know the background of the company and shows you took the initiative to get to know the company. The whole process of interviewing is very tedious and can be nerve wracking but with the proper research and attentiveness to the company can leave quite the impression to the interviewer.

week 14 question 2

Cellular phones- I have been bothered many times when people talk on their cellphones especially when you are out with them at dinner or lunch. It's rude to take a call especially on a date. I had date once where the guy just would keep texting or talking on the phone with his friends during our dinner and after when we were just talking and taking a walk. It was like I couldn't complete a sentence or a thought without a rude interruption. It's like leave the phone in the pocket unless you have a big emergency call that you are expecting. The attention shouldn't be on the phone, but on you and what you have to say.

Answering machines- The answering machines on cell phones are quite annoying. The owner sometimes tricks you by pretending to answer and then after like 5 seconds the lines beeps to show that you need to start leaving a message. You are talking to yourself and realize after about ten seconds that it was a waste of time, especially if the message was really important. It makes you twice as frustrated.

Conference calls- I believe that conference calls are a great way to communicate between a group of people that are spread out and cannot meet at the same place at the same time. It's an effective way to get the main points across in a meeting while giving input. I don't like how people can talk and think that everyone else cannot hear what you are saying, at least mute your phone while your doing your other things. Even the slightest whisper can lead to everyone listening to what you said, it's rude and can be of course embarassing.

Faxes - I have to use these on a daily basis at work and it's great to get patients to sign papers quickly and receive them back. Also to file claims faster, faxes are a great way to get them delivered fast and efficiently. I hate how the fax machines are receiving a lot of junk fax from businesses or ads, it keeps the fax machine clogged up with unnecessary things, and cause clutter and waste of papers. I like how our book stated that we call the would be recipients office first and ask if it's all right to transmit material during a certain period.

Timing your communication - I am 100% on making sure that the timing of your communication is important. If you don't want to disturb them, ensure that their schedule is clear and not when they are doing something important. That way you can ensure that your document will be there on time and with their full attention, same with their phone calls.

Screen Names and Ring Tones - I know some girls who have the same screen names as they did in high school, it's not so cute now, like the whole XxcUtEgIrLxX, for example, isn't what impresses people and your current age group. Same goes for emails, especially when they are on your resume, it doesn't show your professional side, has to be discrete and age appropriate.

week 14 question 1

Organizations are tied to the environment because organizations depend on their surroundings for resources and energy. "The fact that organizations are linked to the communities around them means that they must be aware of the damage they can sometimes cause. They must also be capable of adapting to changes in the environment that surrounds them. "(pg. 215) The relationship between SJSU and the city of San Jose is that how they are independent. Like a living organization system we must all work together to keep the school running well and follow the rules that the city provides for us to work well together. With the different organizations on campus at SJSU and the great business programs we have available for all students, we can give back by providing great engineers and teachers to help others within San Jose. The great football games that the school has and provide fundraisers for the team and what it can bring to the community and to true SJSU Spartan fans.

week 13 question 3

The concept I found interesting was the Feedback concept. "Feedback is information that helps individuals to control and adjust their behaviors. It is also information that tells people how they are doing and what they may need to change to be more effective." (pg 167) As the youth director at my church we had a big meeting to discuss our services and talk about the teachers. Now I have never received any feedback from the kids themselves, but from the adults, I got a lot of positive feedback. During the meeting, the kids slowly started to give their own feedback and their opinions on what was good as a teacher and what was bad and can improve on. It was hard to take in at first because of course we all want to hear only positive feedback, but coming from the kids that I teach every Sunday I was learning that not all feedback has to be good. Feedback is meant for us to learn from and improve on what is bad and make them good for the better of others and yourself. It's hard for us to learn the bad stuff because we tend to think that we are perfect and not need any help but that meeting helped me realize that others have great intentions for you, even though you are older.

week 13 question 2

There are many characteristics and or behaviors that may lead me to judge them as unattractive other then their physical looks. It is a big thing for me to have a big sense of humor and can make me laugh, it is important that they make me happy and can do so by being light hearted. As potential romantic partners, I really don’t like when they act very cocky or disrespectful especially to women, just so that you know that that is how they really are and may treat you. It automatically filters to unattractive when men think they know everything when they really don’t, like when your having a conversation about a specific topic, yet they just act like they know to impress you, it’s not a great quality to have, if you don’t know, you don’t know, that’s it, there’s not maybes. Duck’s theory does make sense to me, Duck states that he feels that attraction is really a process of elimination, and I can concur to this statement. I once used pre interaction cue to consider a person, yet that person’s height wasn’t the ideal height I wanted him to be, and he worked at pearl tea place, which I was hoping he’d have a more stable job. “In pre interaction cues, people use non verbal impressions to determine whether they wish to interact with others.” Pg 159. We mostly make our first decisions based on this cue, by the first physical meeting and see what we are working with in a sense, then we decide if we would like to interact with them and get to know them or just move on to something “better.”

week 13 question 1

I believe that the competitive symmetry would be the most difficult to change in a person. "Competitive symmetry, both members fight for the one-up position." (pg 148) With this much competition within any relationship can get very dangerous and can cause much friction and tension with one another. Everyone is always trying to get ahead in our world and with this competitiveness, it's only human nature to feel this way to get ahead and beat everyone else out. The most damaging one to a relationship would be the rigid complementary, "when the submissive partner begins to resent always giving in or when dominant partner beings to tire of being in charge, dissatisfaction can result," (pg 148) it can dammage the relationship. They will be clashing in their rigid roles and this can lead to much anger and frustration for both people. When there was just one submissive and one dominant person in the relationship and the submissive becomes dominant then there will be two dominants and this will lead to control mayhem. The most damaging to the self esteem ofthe individuals involved would be the submissive symmetry where both parties struggle to relinquish control. We've all been there with friends when we decide where to go next with the struggle of deciding and just got back and forth until someone makes a final decision. It loses your self control and what you want because you cannot make a decision, it can ruin how to take control of your life and the decisions you make if this pattern does continue throughout their life.

week 11 question 3

A concept in this chapter that interested me was the part of ethnocentrism. It states that ethnocentrism is the belief that ones' own culture is superior to all others and the tendency to judge all cultures by one's own criteria. Recently I was watching the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and in it the girl's father is so full of pride of his greek's heritage, he believes that every word is derived from Greek language. It is a great movie about love and his ethnocentrism plays a very funny role. It just shows how he believes his culture is the best and that without it their lives would be totally different and not as useful. This movie, every time I watch, reminds me that we mustn't think that we are the only people who are right about our own culture and that with our melting pot that we live in here, we must always keep an open mind and that there is no right culture or wrong culture.

week 11 questions 2

Do you believe in the rationality, perfectibility, and mutability premises? What social institutions and practices are based on these beliefs?
I believe in the rationality (most people are capable of discovering the truth through logical analysis) and mutability (human behavior is environmental factors and that the way to improve humans is to improve their physical and psychological circumstances) premises. It has to do with the way we live here in America for the rationality premise, Larry Samovar, Richard Porter, and Nemi Jain argue that most Americas at heart, rational, the way out society works through systems such as democracy and free enterprise systems. AS with mutability if we live better lives and we make better physical appearances and our psychological circumstances then we are inclined to improve ourselves as humans. IT is like getting a new haircut or a all over makeover and then we realize we like ourselves better and like to maintain those compliments we get.

week 11 question 1

I do agree with anthropologist Ruth Benedict that we are "creatures of our culture" in that our habits, beliefs, and impossibilites are shaped by our culture. We are shaped by our culture because that is what we grew up with and who are parents shaped us and taught us to be every step of the way.
Our book describes culture as "that part of the environmetn mad by humans," it includes the all thematerial objects and possessions that a social group invents or acquires. It also shares the less tangible parts such as the shared customs and values that bind its members together. This is what we are making our lives to be, part of a certain culture and hold certain morals and values as we were taught. Just like being taught right from wrong from our parents, it's how we were shaped. In order to break through the limits of our cultures, we must always keep an open mind and not conform to think that our culture is the best and that it is the only way that is correct. We must surround ourselves and understand other people's cultures and realize that we must not believe in what they believe in but keep in mind that they just have different values and rules then us.