A Common Household Process For Washing Dishes

Ashford University COM 340 Process/Mechanism Assignment

Growing up, most people had chores to do around the house. I was no different, but I did have certain chores I liked better than others. Doing the dishes was one of those chores most of my family and friends hated to do. For the most part I didn’t mind doing the dishes, so long as people rinsed their plate before throwing it in the sink. The problem is, people forget to rinse the excess food off of their plate; and the process of doing dishes becomes extremely undesirable.
The Purpose for developing a process for washing dirty dishes is to make it easier to keep the sink clean as much as possible. If you have a double bowled sink with a garbage disposal and a drain on the opposite side as most kitchens do, then this process is for you.

How to setup your dishes before washing them. Use the garbage disposal side of your double bowled sink to clean dishes by running them under lukewarm water to remove any excess food. During this process, periodically use your garbage disposal to allow food easier flow through sink pipes. Allow pot and pans to soak on counter tops filled with warm soapy water for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill one side of your sink half way with warm soapy water

How to wash your dishes. Start by washing the glasses and fragile plates and then move to the dinner plates. Lastly wash the pots and pans you left soaking. Submerge the dishes in the water and using a kitchen brush or sponge, scrub any grease, sauce and food off. Replace sink with new soapy water once it becomes too dirty. Stack these washed dishes into the empty sink. You may run out of space then it becomes time to rinse your dishes. After scrubbing your dishes, rinse each dish by running them under the tap. Check each dish for left behind food or sauce and if any soil remains, repeat this step again or the soaking method from before.

How to dry your dishes. Once you are sure each dish is clean, dry each one off with a dish towel. To keep dishes from getting water streaks, be sure to dry each dish right after it is rinsed or place them in a dish rack to dry. Be sure to put cups and bowls upside down so excess water dries. Put dishes away once dried, this makes them easier to locate.

If you follow the stages described above you will be better organized, and much faster at washing dishes. After each meal, try to rinse the dishes to keep food from settling in; making it harder to wash the longer it sits. Overall, the best way to keep the dishes clean is to wash them as you go. This will keep the sink clean and free of any build up.




Reference
Lannon, J. M. (2008). Technical Communication (11th ed.) Ashford Custom. New York: Pearson Longman

War on Bad News

Training Video


Training videos are great tools for employees to model company policies and expectations. The aim is to create a work environment for top performance, and excellent customer service.







   






I don’t know what is harder, giving or receiving bad news.

Conflict is a part of everyday life, but how we handled it determines if the outcome is good or bad. In the case involving a confrontational employee, I will be briefly explaining the importance of resolving this issue immediately to avoid any escalation.

After reviewing the case, I asked to see the employee in my office to hear his side of the story. I wanted to give him ample opportunity to explain the sudden drop in performance along with the chance to explain his behavioral issues, and the reason for customer complaints. During this meeting we will be pointing out why we hired him, what the company expects, and that we are here to support him reaching his full potential. A few questions would be, “Are we meeting your needs as an employer, and is there anything you need us to do that we are not doing to help you become the best employee you possibly can be”? 

As a small company, we make it a point to know each and every one of our employees. The point of having the meeting is let our employee know we recognize there to be a conflict, and we are every bit of concerned in helping to resolve any issues he might have. By starting off the conversation non-confrontational, calmly, non-defensive, and without blame the employee will feel cared for and respected. At the same, my plan is to express avoiding disciplinary action and possible termination if at all possible. This creates value in the employee to want to get back on track by understanding that we want to avoid any disciplinary action, and that we hired him because we believe in him. When an employee knows possible termination is likely it can cause great harm. The key is to understand the conflict, by first understanding the needs of the employee (www.helpguide.org).

 After investigating the reason for the lack performance/complaints, I plan to do a two month probationary coaching period. During this period there will be continuous training to ensure the employee understands what is required to reduce customer complaints while increasing substandard performance. This will be an official verbal warning, with the next step being a written warning, and then termination if performance continues to be substandard. The goal is to help the employee reach their full potential, and to do so we will make every effort to turn this conflict into an opportunity to improve employee/employer relations through a better understanding of expectations. We want our employees to know they have a voice, and that my office is a compassionate environment with an open-door policy. But it has to be clearly expressed that confrontational behavior will not be tolerated in the workplace.

Ultimately, I anticipated the employee being defensive if he was confronted openly in front of other co-workers for the lack of performance; and it is precisely the reason why arranged a meeting in my office to discuss the conflict. Once in the office, I made it a point to express compassion for the issues my employee had in order to create a non-confrontational environment. It was important to understand the conflict, and for our employee to feel valued and fully supported. This was done by making sure our employee knew disciplinary action was the last resort, and that compromise to resolve the issue was our first priority.

 Although I was firm in establishing what was expected from our employees, my reactions maintained a level of respect throughout the meeting. Placing the employee on probation and issuing a verbal warning was firm but fair. The employee felt appreciated because he had a voice, and it was our willingness to empathize by showing support in the face of adversity that created a win-win opportunity between us and the employee.

Reference

Upside Learning.2014. 5 Steps To Improve Customer Satisfaction. Retrieved From

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK3cNcuvuMs

Roebuck, D., McKenney, M.2006. Improving Business Communication Skills

Staff.2015. Conflict Resolution Skills. Retrieved From

www.helpguide.org

~Four Types of Media Technologies

Audio media



Audio media today has revolutionized the way people receive their messages through the use of sound. In the past it seems audience members were limited to reading the newspaper, listening to am/fm radio, or watching black and white television. Nowadays audience members can listen to satellite radio, download messages through podcasts/streaming, and get their information through audio books. Personally, I love audio books because I tend to be a slow reader; and find that I can now finish a book in a day or two instead of reading a book that may take me a week to complete. The difference between a podcast (or streaming of a message) is that it needs to be clear because unlike news periodicals, audience members do not have the ability to re-read information. Electronic books (audio books) have the challenge of appealing to audience members in a different way. The authors I select must have a reader that has interesting in the way the message is delivered in order to keep my attention. I select most of my audio books through my kindle tablet by listening to a sample of the reader before I buy, this way I know how the reader sounds before making the purchase. Audio media technology is very efficient, and can be transported through tablets, Mp3 players, on laptops, and can be downloaded from your phone on Itunes or google play. This is a much more efficient way to carry multiple information that audience members can listen to while driving, walking, or exercising.




Social Media




Social media is revolutionizing the way people communicate, network, and stay in contact with one another through outlets such as: Twitter, FaceBook, Blogs, and LinkedIn to name a few. If you are employed, a business person, or live on planet earth for that matter, chances are you use social media on a daily basis to send or receive messages. For generations, if a person wasn't at an event live, the only way they would hear about it would be from the news media. This worked well enough when you consider how things were before, but the side effect was that a few gatekeepers controlled what images people saw, what news stories were covered, and from what angle. Now that social media sites let people from all over the world share their story through videos and images, it has changed the way people get their news and think about news in general. It has become a big issue for governments or organizations that want to hide the truth behind the veil of official secrets. Exposes from behind closed doors and aired on channels like YouTube have forced changes in ways that traditional media couldn't because they lacked access (www.inc.com, 2014). Email is a social media outlet that I use every day at work. I find it is a communication technique used as a a two-way process of giving and receiving information through any number of channels. Whether one is speaking informally to a colleague, addressing a conference or meeting, writing a newsletter article or formal report (www4.uwm.edu). I also use surveys at work when I need feedback from my clients, and emails at times when I need to submit proposals as a formal report to upper management. For example, if I were speaking to upper management by way of proposal my communication would have to be specific through persuasion techniques in order for the proposal to be granted. Asking for input or encouraging audience feedback, can be beneficial in correcting mistakes. It also can be an excellent indicator in knowing if your message was clearly communicated and received by audience members. On the job,I am always sending and receiving emails. and occasionally I seek the help of my colleagues to proof-read my emails just to make sure it is worded appropriately before sending it to our customers. It is important when sending/receiving messages through social media to proof read and identify all sources used are accurate before any information is shared.





Visual Media




Visual media is an excellent way for the public to get information through commercials, pictures, and local current events that creates a story-line for people to follow. Recent headlines good or bad, can effect public policy as well as business executives. This year healthcare has been a major topic in news reports that effect public policy and business executives. Several businesses such as, GE, BlueCross Blue Shield Association, Kaiser Permanente, and Verizon–provide product feedback and allow entrepreneurs to see their solution through the eyes of potential customers. Ultimately, accelerators hope that these relationships offer insight into how to gain visibility to other larger investors and companies that could lead to post-program funding and commercial progress of products and solutions (www.healthaffairs.org, 2014). Visual media most effectively targets a wide audience. We live in a visual society where want to see pictures in order to believe the message presented. Therefore, perception plays a key factor in the usage of visual media. Video footage must be exact, and not manipulated in anyway in order for the visual information to be considered credible. This can be often seen on a news segment when a positive story is revealed in a negative way.






Print Media




The world thrives, and revolves around media; with print media there is no difference. Every newspaper, magazine, and wire publication wants to be the first to deliver the public breaking news. Print media campaigns for our lives through persuasive images shown below in order to gain our attention, and our business.

Print media consists of community newsletters, magazines, newspapers, wire services, and many other various publications (www.waptac.org. 2015). The writers for print media is pretty easy to understand to appeal to a mass audience. An excellent benefit of print media is that it is easily accessible once it goes to print for years to come, as opposed to stories found e-journalism that can disappear or be taken down at any moment. Although, perhaps the most important benefit of print media is tangibility. Among the reasons why many people prefer print is to do with the feel of the paper, having it in their hands means that the content is real, it exists (www.printpower.eu). Ultimately, I find print to be extremely unique in that most of us can read a series of information with minimal distractions. This creates an intangible feel along with a lasting experience because we possess this magazine or newspaper in our hands giving us that sense of knowledge is a power to that is held.






References


Roesler, Peter.2014. 6 Ways Social Media Changed the World. Retrieved From
www.inc.com

Bovèe, Courtland L., John Thill.2013. Business Communication Today

Marsh, Charles, Guth, David, Short, Bonnie.2009. Strategic Writing Wisconsin.(2015).

Principles of Communication. Retrieved from https://www4.uwm.edu/cuts/bench/commun.htm

Bhandari,Aman,Jain, Sachin.2014. Health Care Accelerators: An Innovative Response To Federal Policy Mandates. Retrieved From
www.healthaffairs.org

Public Info.2015.Working with the Print Media. Retrieved From
www.waptac.org

Staff.2015. Why Print Media? Retrieved From
www.printpower.eu