Organs with Nice Youth

Organ-nice-seishun communication…very interesting~
Communication between organs with nice youth??

OK, bad pun there.

Now, I only have barely enough working experience to ‘lick’ on the surface of organizational communication, so do bear with me if I’m not very elaborate.

From the multiple part-time jobs I have had, 2 of them practiced, and probably are still practicing, organizational communication rather ‘fiercely’; IRAS (the one which hounds us for our taxes), and a construction company supposedly with a long history, yet with dumb employees.

Organizational communication is particularly important for humongous companies like IRAS, since every department is significantly distinct from one another in terms of labour, and their scope of work. But unfortunately, I was but a dispensable part-timer then, so I cannot elaborate more on this. Instead, I shall move on to the smaller company. 😀

My time in the construction company was a particularly miserable one, and no, it wasn’t due to the working environment. (I dun mind dirt or noise, or anything like that) Now knowing more about organizational communication, I finally realized what’s lacking in that company, and a serious matter at that. Everyday I would hear the head honcho of the company screaming his head on his phone to his multiple sub-contractors and subordinates due to the lack of updates to him on the project, while the employees and sub-contractors would sometimes scream their heads off at one another because of miscommunication (in the construction/renovation industry, a simple mistake can result in penalties amounting to even thousands of dollars).

Seemed like this company lacks a system to relay information to one another within the company, didn’t it?
Sadly, it did utilize an effective mail system that is also easy to use. It was only because the individuals took it for granted. No one ever really reads the mail, merely sending the many auto-receipts, used for micro-management, back to the senders to indicate that they have read the mail. And they did not have a clear partition between proper, administrative mails, and junk/useless mails, thus everything was in a mess.
And it was all left to poor, old me to sieve the crucial mails out from the ‘dump’, and forward them to the relevant people who would just ignore them.

＿|￣|O”‘

Well, that’s all I have for organizational communication.

And, that’s all for this COM101 blog! So far, at least~
And to end things on an ‘impressionable‘ note, though highly irrelevant 😀 :

This man shows he has the balls to wear something like this. Literally.
Via Neta.

So long~!

Everyone can be like a Superhero!!

Common characteristics of a typical superhero: Leading double lives.

In the modern age, anyone with a computer and an internet access can do the same!
Minus the spandex, or the heavy armor, that is.

With every website or game that requires one to register a new account with them, anyone can assume a pseudo identity…not that it’s just restricted to one for every site/game.
Take this blog (and my personal one) for example.
Online, I use the alias ‘MavericK’ for myself. There is no particular meaning to this alias; I just found the word nice, and it starts with ‘M’! 😀 This is an alias I adopt in the virtual world, although it is more of an alternate name rather than an alternate identity for myself.

Back in secondary school, together with a group of friends, we played a prank on our fellow classmates by sharing a pseudo identity on MSN, and taking turns assuming this persona, we would then irritate our classmates on MSN with ambiguous messages while creating alibis for one another. And no, we never went over the line…just enjoyed the discussions back in class about this mysterious figure, while playing the fool. 😛
(Think we used the alias of ‘Kyo Kusanagi’…if this was done now, everyone would have guessed it’s me~)

Thinking back, the above example can be used to illustrate how the internet can be manipulated to ‘manipulate’ people, though on a much smaller scale. Expand it further, and it will become one of the many frauds we hear of, and perhaps…if you’re THAT ‘suay’, encounter all the time.

Then there is also the case of gender-bending.
This is especially rampant in MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games). One classic example, the World of Warcraft. I have many male riends who are into this game, and many times I see them using female characters instead. When I asked them for the reason…:

“I dun wanna spend hours playing the game, while staring at the ass of a man.”

A valid point, nevertheless.
But for me, I’m very sexist when it comes to games…unfortunately. 😀

Once again, the case of gender-bending can lead to fraud and scams on the internet.
Seems like the negative aspects of the internet always will have something to do with online scams and such, doesn’t it?

Stereotyping=Typing from various locations??

This week’s special!!
A serving of Intercultural Communication!!

“ええぇぇぇ～”　＿|￣|O |||

OK! Before I try to make any sense, I’ve read comments in some blogs that our comm. blogs are filled with regurgitation of what we had learnt in that respective week.
So I’m gonna try writing in a more casual manner. (Keyword: TRY)

I’m sure everyone has the experience of hearing stereotypical comments, or even making some on your own, of specific groups of people.
To make things ‘fair’ for everyone, I shall note down one of my own:
“Indian men like to raise their arms to hold the bar at the top in the MRT trains and air their armpits.”
Now, on how I had come to this ‘stereotype’:
Every time when I’m in a packed MRT train, I will usually see this ‘phenomenon’ of one or two Indian men raising their arms to reach for the bar where the handrails are hung, regardless of their height, for support, when there is a holding bar /pole right besides them, or a handrail right beside their hands. There was even this one instance, this Indian man was stretching so far up, I swear he would have been spinning like a top if there was enough space for him.
(think Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes)
So basically, I based my stereotype on the frequency of such incidents I had witnessed. (And also because of the strong impressions of the reaction of people around these men) But then again, the fact that I’m using ‘stereotype’ for myself means that I am aware that not all Indian men are like that!
Though, when I see another similar incident, my thinking is automatically tuned to this ‘stereotype’ again.

Other stereotypes I’ve heard of include:

• Women are typically worse drivers than men (I’m guilty of this 😛 ).
• The Chinese are the best when it comes to mathematics (especially when it’s about money, I guess).
• Men do better in Physics than Women, because…(see next point)
• Men are more simple-minded than Women (we do not question the formulas, we just apply them).
• Anime = Hentai (then doesn’t that make Cartoons = Porn? Try imagining Alvin and the Chipmunks that way)

OK, enough of those.
Well, I’m thinking of doing an elaboration of why we arrive at certain stereotypes, but that would make things so, so dry. Like dry ice. All I shall say is that, they all rise from differences.
So I shall end things with a view of mine instead:

It is generally agreed upon that one must not stereotype, and that is ‘not good’ to stereotype against people. But in my opinion, sometimes stereotyping can bring a little surprise or fun in your life, especially when someone turns out to be the polar opposite of what you had thought he/she was (a stereotype), after getting to know that person well enough.
Don’t you agree? 🙂

PS.: I probably have to delete this post if things get out of hand, or if I get too many bruises on my body.
PS. of PS.: Is this post even relevant of what’s been covered in the course?

Random II

Something for you guys to laugh about. Or laugh at.

I had smashed my face right into a metal holding bar/rail on the MRT, all because I fell asleep while standing up, with no support.
First everything was black, then suddenly pain surged, and cries of “Oh my god!!!” were heard.

*thumbsup*
😀

Super Free

Before I start, a video to present:

Rape Club – Japan
(I cannot present the video here as the video cannot be embedded)

Waseda University. One of the top universities in Japan, and maybe perhaps the world.
So how did such a prestigious school have such a horrifying club? Or better to be termed as, syndicate? How did it manage to ‘survive and grow’, despite the many controversies surrounding it?

In my interpretation of this case, I view all members of this ‘club’, masterminds and potential victims alike, as one single group.

Firstly, group socialisation.
A situation where the individuals and the group seek to influence each other to best meet their needs.
Let’s bring to mind the mastermind first, Wada Shinichirou and his fellow founders of ‘Super Free’. They have much in common; they are the elites, being Waseda students, and they have uncontrollable desires for lust and money. And so they came together, devising a plan for a club where they can satisfy these desires of theirs.
Now, the potential victims, namely the ladies. Plus a few guys, who are there for the money and, well…sex, as well. Focusing on only the women, as the video as pointed out, the main attraction of such a club was that they could know elites from a much higher school, thus a chance of meeting their prospective SUCCESSFUL partners in life.
And so, they formed a sort of inter-reliance with one another, and this led to the start of the expansion of the club.

Then the evaluation process comes in.
Disregarding the victims (sadly) in this case, the members continued to stay on in such a club because of the benefits. Like in the video, other than the rave parties they hold all the time, profits from the membership of the club were also distributed to the members. Taken from Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, July 1, 2003:
“High-ranking members reportedly received a bigger share of profits from the ticket sales“,
it was clear that the duration of the membership was recognised as some sort of allegiance to the club, thus illustrating the fact that full membership had to be grown.
And now giving the benefit of doubt to the other male members of the club, some might not have agreed to the idea of rape, but they may have been too tempted by the presence of monetary gains to risk rejection by the other members, and especially the founders, and so they had to ‘acquire idiosyncrasy credit’ by accepting the ‘norm’.

Then comes groupthink, which I believe is the glaring similarity between all cults.
On groupthink: “a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when members’ strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action”
-Irving James
This ‘Super Free’, as mentioned in the video above, functioned close enough like a cult. Groupthink is rather prominent in ‘Super Free’, though it’s more for the male members of the group. They, especially Wada, believed they were untouchable. As taken from an article by Ryann Connell, staff writer for Mainichi Shimbun:
“twisted Liberal Democratic Party stalwart Seiichi Ota publicly defended the accused rapists, calling them “close to normal” and saying that rape was a sign of virility“.
Wada and the rest clearly had some sort of support from a much higher authority, thus their belief in the club’s invincibility. And with this belief, they were free to follow their set of rules and morals, or in this case, immorals. The male members start to expect a new victim after every rave party or gathering. These acts are, in no doubt, vile, but these lustful young men totally disregard such a notion and continued in what they had grown to believe as ‘normal’.
Collective rationalisation at work here?

Well, I believe many would be ‘pissed’ at the existence of such a club. (Boys with weird thinking, please do not comment~)
This may not appease everyone, but the reason I wrote in past tense for this case is because Super Free had been disbanded, after Wada and around 13 others were arrested and jailed.

Now, would you still sway unconditionally towards any ideas, as long as ‘elites’ are involved?
(Hope my grammar…can be understood.)

References:

Wikipedia – Super Free

Geocities – Mainichi Shimbun INTERACTIVE

Random I

I’m only missing names with initials starting with N, Q, R, T, U, and X, in my blogroll.

Gotta catch ’em all!

“I am Dawg Vader.”

SIGNS

Just wanna share this.

Created by Publicis Mojo and @RadicalMedia

The perfect video on the use of non-verbal, interpersonal communication.

Wimpy Me

Once again, this post shall be about myself.
Afterall, it will be about interpersonal communication, and there’s no better person to write about and illustrate the various situations faced than oneself, right? Unless you’re Matt Parkman or something…

This is a rather personal subject, but it will probably be the best example to use in this topic. Haha.

I had only a one-time experience of confessing to a girl I liked (duh!), or rather, I would call it ‘infatuated’…looking back at it now. And I did it the cowardly way: through the use of SMS (sorry for being a wimp).
Luckily for me then, it seemed that it was mutual, and so I was…er~, I forgot how I felt. Happy, I guess?

Then the weird thing happened.
I didn’t know what to do next. My mind was blank. (noob mah~)
Then for some reason, I began shunning the girl, just a few days. It was definitely not because I suddenly disliked the girl or anything. I don’t really know the reason even until now, but I believe it was because I didn’t know what to do.
And so, everything ended before anything started. LOL.

So you see, for the 10 steps in relational development, I went from Stage 1 to 2, then a little of 3, and then jumped straight to Stage 9 and 10. For those who have no idea of the 10 stages:
First 5 – Coming together

1. Initiating, aka ‘jio’
2. Experimenting, or flirt
3. Intensifying, or confession, ‘going the extra mile’
4. Integrating, aka ‘hao lian’ (in a positive way)
5. Bonding, or tying the knot

Latter 5 – Coming apart

1. Differentiating, or finding cracks liao
2. Circumscribing, or ‘siam’
3. Stagnation, or ‘sian’
4. Avoiding (this is obvious)
5. Terminating, or ‘Hasta la vista, baby’

As learned in the topic, some theorists suggested an intermediate process for Stages 4-7 called relational maintenance. So basically, I did not even got to go into this stage! *applaud for myself*

In my case, I guess Stage 3 of Intensifying is probably the most important stage to get a relationship going before you get to have the chance of maintaining it. Judging my past action in this mattter, I did not try to be aware of the other party, nor did I try to participate. There was definitely disclosure of feelings, albeit in a ridiculous way. But don’t even talk about physical contact…haha. I remembered even keeping a curious distance away when we had a group photo taken.
Simply 最低だよね (the worst, right), I was…? Or still am…?　＿｜￣｜O”‘

Well, this is my opinion after one encounter, so I like to take it with a pinch of salt. Or sugar. Or whatever. Hehe.
I do hope I get to advance to the maintenance stage next time…if there is A next time. LOL

But I believe this 10 stages are applicable as well on friendship and relationship within the family. Friendship will have these stages at a less in-depth level, while family ties would have the latter 5 stages in much, much more complicated manners.
Afterall, it’s still termed as interpersonal communication, not dating communication. 😀

OK, my thoughts are gone with the wind now…so I shall leave it as that. For now, I guess.
If I feel like revising this entry. 😛

チーム・バチスタの栄光 (The Glorious Team Batista)

Before I get on about the movie, I shall provide a brief explanation on three aspects of ‘hearing’, as given by our male protagonist, Shiratori Keisuke:

• Passive ‘hearing’: You sit and listen. Even a monkey can do that.
• Active ‘hearing’: Aggressive inquiry.
• Offensive ‘hearing’: Using bluff to induce strong emotions, like anguish and shame, in people.

Meet Taguchi Kouhei, hospital therapist, who was assigned witht the task of investigating Team Batista, an elite group of surgeons and medical specialists specializing in the Batista procedure. Despite having a normal survival rate of 60%, the team managed to pull off 26 consecutive successful surgeries, but their latest streak of 3 operations had all resulted in deaths, and thus the investigation. After conducting her style of investigation, Taguchi merely concluded the cause to be ‘unexplained’.
Then enters Shiratori Keisuke, a professional investigator with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. A proud, almost arrogant, man, he described Taguchi’s investigation as ‘passive hearing’ (see above) and dismissed it, instead reconducting the investigation with ‘active and offensive hearing’ (see above), for he strongly believed that the last 3 operations were cases of murder.

Two different styles of investigations, two very different conclusions (trying hard not to spoil the movie hard).
Talking about Taguchi, firstly, her position in the hospital is that of an employee, and she sees herself as of a lower position that the people she has been tasked to study. And so, her method of questioning is meek, as any wrong moves might cost her her livelihood. Secondly, the requirements of her (original) job. She basically has to listen to the many complaints patients might have, and then access the course of action from there. She rarely provides suggestions. And so, it can be concluded that her investigation was conducted in the same manner, with her decoding the possibly biased messages from the team, witout any feedback whatsoever.
Now on Shiratori, he has power, and he is not afraid of abusing it. With an ego to match his authority, he strikes fast and hard on his targets; in this case, the doctors in Team Batista. And with his straight-to-the-point inquiries and the use of Taguchi as a ‘scapegoat’, many surprising points were indeed uncovered, though having paved a road of dissent, and even violence, along the way.

Linking to the study of communication, one important aspect will be perception. Analysing the perceptions of Taguchi:

• I am but a lowly employee roped into this investigation…
• I know nuts about the simplest surgery, let alone the Batista procedure!
• Do this wrong, and say goodbye to my job. *shiver*
• They are all professionals in the medical field. No way can those cases be murder!!
• Oh crap! She cried! What should I do!?

These are just a few examples. Interestingly, she also related every member of the team to a specific animal that is a best representation of them…according to her anyway.

That’s an eagle…by the way…

And now on Shiratori:

• They are all monkeys, and I will study them like the monkeys they are.
• They are all hiding something. Definitely!
• Just because the patients died in the Batista procedure doesn’t mean that their deaths have all got to do with the heart.
• I am from the Ministry, and so they will all have to bend to my will and order for this investigation.
• This is my job, and my job is to deem everyone as a suspect. A suspect in these cases of murder.

It can be also interpreted that his view on things are rather peculiar, compared to that from the general perspective. For instance, he was having a bowl of udon and a bowl of soba together, and this of course intrigued Taguchi (and many others, I believe). He then explained that he wasn’t having them as the main dishes together; the bowl of udon is merely a side-dish to his bowl of soba.
You got to hand it to this man.

Nevertheless, due to the difference in perception, the way these two individuals look at the cases are almost of oppposite ‘polarities’, and in turn, the results of their investigations have a vast difference.

Another point in the study of communication would be the use of non-verbal cues. For instance, the nurse in the team, Otomo, seemingly broke down into tears in both questionings by Taguchi and Shiratori. Taguchi had the common reaction: panic. But for Shiratori, being the ‘jerk’ that he is proud to be, he simply pulled Otomo’s hands away from her face, and then teased her: “I don’t see any tears from your eyes~~.” The nurse had succeeded with Taguchi, but she didn’t got her way with the inquisitive Ministry official.

Taguchi’s at a loss…

…while Shiratori gives no mercy

This is a rather amusing film, and it’s quite hard to classify it under a specific genre. It’s a mystery movie at heart, yet with Abe Hiroshi in it, you will expect a fair share of comedic factors throughout. And also, it also has thought-evoking emotional scenes in it, especially with Taguchi when dealing with the patients, and with the truth.
And with the movie centering on the testimonies of the characters, us communication students can have quite a numbers of things to study from this (or is it just me?).
Anyone watched it yet? Mind sharing any points I might have left out? 😀

Even a baby knows ethos and pathos!!

This was originally in my main blog, but got to transfer it over here.

Logos, pathos, and ethos.
A brief definition:
Logos – appeal to reason
Pathos – appeal to emotion
Ethos – persuasive appeal of one’s character

Whoa.

OK, anyway, we might not know it, but we understand the use of ethos and pathos ever since we were babies. Using this clip as an example:

Cute~!
The baby is, or was, feeling happy, judging by the toothless grin he beamed on the protagonist, Kuwano. He is trying to let Kuwano know that he is happy, and so the beaming of his grin (pathos). And obviously, this relay of conversation is successful, because Kuwano understands the simple message intended by the baby and tries to reciprocate the smile (the unintentional use of ethos from the baby is successful!). But something seriously went wrong during the feedback; the baby is scared to tears by Kuwano’s ‘smile’, or twitching sneer, to be exact.
This is thus a result of miscommunication: the intention of the  encoder, Kuwano, is  misinterpreted by the decoder, who is the baby. But this is not due to noise, but is definitely something to do with the encoding.

The use of logos is not reflected because, well, babies cannot understand reason and thus no use of it!
(Try convincing me that you obeyed your parents’ order to stop sucking your thumb. Or fingers. Or even toe.)

And from this clip, we can know Kuwano is a rather pragmatic person indeed; he predicts a possible reaction from the crowd of somehow blaming him, and tries to flee the scene of ‘crime’ before anyone can link him to the baby’s crying.
But of course in turn, we CAN too assume that he made the baby cry, due to countless observations we have made of culprits leaving a crime scene ASAP to try avoiding the responsibility. This would be the Idol of the Cave (individual prejudice) at work here.

So you see, the simplest act of smiling is communication. Everything little thing we do is a form of communication, just that we don’t see it (well, not literally anyway).

Credit: YouTube Clip from 結婚できない男 (Kekkon Dekinai Otoko)
(2 years old!! Oh my god!!)