Friday, August 13, 2010

My first children's book is published!

 I am pleased to announce my first sucess.

 My first children's book is  being published. It is titled "Liviy's Tubie" the ISBN is 9781453745847!
It will be available  through Amazon books. I have three more to come in the near future.

 I am so happy and pleased that my first book will be available to those who may have children with GT tubes. I know there is a need for books for younger children who have medical issues and for their peers.
Understanding health and medical challenges can be hard for children and even harder for younger children.



I pray this first book will bring some joy and peace to even one young child. Then I will have made a difference in a child's life with my book.






An image from my book.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Delivering Bad News Tactfully and Effectively

Delivering Bad News Tactfully and Effectively By J Albee

The situation is “You are a department manager in a mid-sized company that provides technology support services. You have ten employees who are required to maintain a high level of technical expertise and deliver excellent customer service. One of your employees, who have been with the company for two years, is performing at a substandard level and you have received numerous complaints from customers and coworkers. In addition, this employee has displayed confrontational behavior which has created a hostile environment. You must now meet with this employee and deliver an ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.” (Ashford University online, Assignment, week three (2010)

I will assume that since this employee has been with the company for two years, this is a relatively new situation. The employee would not have been kept employed had he had low level of technical expertise or have has behavioral issues. I will also assume the company has employee evaluations on a yearly basis as many companies do. Given these assumptions I will create a meeting running dialogue and I will name this employee John Smith and discuss my actions for this assignment at the end in a summary.

The first this I would do is pull the job description, performance expectations company policies, and makes two copies of each. I would have his employee file and copies of evaluations, as well as current and past performance levels. I would also print the complaints received by customers and co workers; I would black out the names for privacy. I would also contact any employee who has filed a complaint and or customer if I need more specific information or details. I would also create a contract for the employee to sign at the end of the meeting. This contract would spell out the performance levels required, the professional manner expected as well as the behavior levels expected by John Smith. I would also include the fact that should John not meet the conditions described in this contract his employment would be terminated immediately. This contract would be signed by both John and I as a legal ethical contract of expectations. These would be prepared in advance of the meeting.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Media technologies

Media technologies have exploded in the past 20 years. From the early days of word processors which were very large and cumbersome to today’s netbooks, laptops, pda’s, i-phones and e-readers all very portable and offer various media technologies. Gone are the days of typewriters from our childhood. Today we send a message via cell phone, computer and we communicate.

The computer, netbooks and, laptops now offer gaming, TV online, plus word process, excel spreadsheets, power point slide shows and presentations access to unlimited other programs which can be loaded on with ease . The computer can be used by children as young as 4 to adults. The various programs offer something for everybody. Most computers also have programs available for hearing impaired or those who have visual issues as well as some physical challenges, a computer in most forms can be used by almost every person. Computers are used by businesses for everything from accounting, to communication to web applications for advertising or selling products or services. Most business use the computer for most aspects of conducting business, from keeping track of customers, to invoices and keeping track of inventory, shipping or whatever needs they may have. The computer can be adapted with the programs needed for most business. The computer uses audio, video and textual forms of communicating. The computer has the ability to (with the use of online access) to send audio, video and textual communication from one computer to many other computers. There is also the ability to connect to other computers and have a conference with other computers where video, and audio as well as a PowerPoint presentation can be seen and heard by all the computers connected to the network.

No one can deny the mass communication of the cell phone. Most Americans have cell phones, even children and many senior citizens have cell phones. We as a culture use the cell phone to communicate with family friends, business associates and even work relationships, even to run our business. The new cell phones which have the capabilities of connecting to our e-mail, going on line to conduct business they have become very valuable in the country as a form of communications. Children use their phones to talk to each other as well as text each other. Parents also text their children and keep track of where their children are, since many parents work outside the home. Schools also use the cell phone as a means to keep in contact with parents of students. Many schools use the cell phone to notify parents when their child is absent or have health or behavioral issues and needs parents’ attention.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Blogs, Purpose, audience, media/format /design/content and organization

Purpose, audience and media

Web logs are known as Blogs, they are an on line personal essay or a personal diary. Most blogs are informal, enlightening and might be entertaining depending on the purpose of the blog. Many blogs resemble a newspaper column: providing individual responses to current news, other current issues- everything to favorite recipes, to product evaluations.

Organizations and some business use Blogs to communicate with people who might avoid traditional media or who seek less formal, more personal relationships the successful blogs can build. A Blog- or ever better, a collection of blogs- can help give a human face to an organization or business. A collection of blogs can bring a face and a portfolio of work to a new graduate with the ambition of being writer.

The blog should use wording, terminology and language which the intended audience will clearly understand. The blogger must have an idea and a plan of action as to the purpose of the blog. This blog’s purpose is to showcase the communication skills and writing skills which this blogger has learned, as well as introduce the blogger/writer to future employers, publishers and other authors.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Welcome, summary …. audience, content, design, purpose of my blog

Welcome to my blog.

 This is the first post to my new blog. I am very new to this form of communication.

 Audeince, content, design and purpose of my blog.
The audience I hope to reach is prospective employers, current and future writers, editors, publishers, and fellow students. The goal of this blog is offer sample work from classes along my journey toward my BA in communications, content. The samples of my work are offered as a portfolio of work created by and written during classes at Ashford University as an offer to prove my personal proficiency in the communications field.

The design I have chosen is one I hope will be inviting, easy to read and navigate to the content desired. The purpose of this blog is to draw attention to my portfolio and to my skills as a writer. The blog is intended to draw attention, then to be easy to navigate for the user to find the areas of interest on my blog. The user will find it easy to view a sample of my work, and someday add my experience in the field of writing.

While my ultimate goal is to become a children’s writer of both articles and books, I also have interest in writing articles, editorials and short stories. This blog, I believe will lead to an opening within the field of communications which will allow me to use my writing and communication skills.