My Final Portfolio
As the semester comes to a close, I have brought my top 5 free creation posts into a final portfolio. I will address each creation and explain why I made the creation in the specific format, and explain how the creation relates to the class discussions surrounding the topic.
I chose to respond to the discussion addressing silence in the workplace by creating a visual image. I chose a visual image because I see the phrase, “strength in numbers” as a visual statement. In the workplace, it is difficult to break silence alone, but in numbers, there is validation and support. Validation is a very important aspect of communication in all aspects of life, and I’ve realized how important it really is as I have grown more confident and see how others seek validation as much as I do. Validation is often overlooked when really, it is a necessary thing for someone to sometimes feel comfortable just feeling their own emotions. The graphic I created is a simple and concise way to show how numbers have more power to break silence than that solemn “1.”
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I chose to respond to our class discussion about conflict and how to resolve conflicts in the workplace through a free-write. I chose to write about this because I had a lot that I wanted to say as this is a topic that I feel strongly about and I get my point across better through words. Our class discussions about conflict are tied to our discussions about silence; I believe the two to be connected in some ways. There are times when conflict arises (or gets worsened) by silence. And silence is sometimes people’s default when it comes to facing conflict. As discussed in class, conflict is a good thing when dealt with correctly and in a way where all of the parties involved feel heard and understood.
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3. this is unhealthy corporate culture
In response to our class discussion on corporate culture, I created a meme and written creation. A company’s corporate culture determines a lot of things: how employees are treated, how employees interact with one another, how managers interact with employees, etc. In class, we discussed how corporate culture has such an impact on employees and on their motivation to work. My meme is an over-exaggeration of how an unhealthy corporate culture plays out: the manager initiating the culture, two employees immersed in the culture, and an employee calling the culture out and getting in trouble for it. You know a corporate culture is unhealthy when someone gets in trouble for pointing out that it is unhealthy.
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4. gender.
In response to our class discussion about gender equality in the workplace, I decided to do a free-write. This is a serious topic that I think should not be embellished and covered over. This kind of topic will never be exhausted, that is why there are whole courses, degrees, majors, and careers focusing on this topic. I wrote about my personal perspective on this topic and Sarah Everard’s death, as it was prevalent on my mind at the time. It was essentially a brain dump of all of my thoughts and feelings that our discussion and Sarah Everard’s death had caused me to have. Having done some refining and clarifying, I stand by everything I said. I feel as though I need to do more research and education on this topic (as everyone does) to feel as though I have a good stance/perspective on the subject.
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I chose to create a meme in response to our discussion on power and resistance at work. I chose this format because, firstly, it’s funny (to me at least), and this meme format is one person exerting dominance (power) over another person. It was very easy to make this, as technology truly does have power over us as we function every day because of it. In class, we talked about how technology has power over our day-to-day lives and our education, as we are continuing our education during the pandemic solely because of technology. This power dynamic will not go away and will only continue to grow stronger.
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Conclusion
This class has given me a well-rounded introduction to the different ways that I will most likely have to communicate in my future career. I appreciated the casual format of workload that really allowed me to think critically about the topics we were discussing in class, from gender equality in the workplace to power hierarchies. Going forward, I will continue to think about the topics discussed in class and apply what I have taken from them to my personal life and career.
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