SAMPLE EXPERIENTIAL ESSAY PART 1—OUTCOME 1
COM425: Communication in Organizations
This course investigates the role of communication in creating an effective and ethical organizational environment. It assists students in developing and strengthening such communication skills as self- awareness, intrapersonal efficacy, interpersonal competence, and leadership and team skills.
Part 1–Concrete Experience and Reflection
Describe your learning experiences in this topic including reflections of specific learning situations.
Outcome 1: Understand the characteristics of effective listening and the challenges in giving and receiving effective feedback.
I have worked for Company X for 8 years. My current position involves managing all the parking and transportation for all of X facility; this includes employees as well as customers. There are 30,000 employees and 9,000 employee parking spaces at X, and employees have been on parking waiting lists for over 10 years. Thousands of these employees have to park miles away, leave their car in an unattended parking lot, and ride a bus to work. The situation is awful and, as X continues to grow, there really is no end in sight. Needless to say, many employees without parking privileges have found creative ways to try and bypass the policies.
I was hired to enforce the rules and improve the image of the parking department. I have staff whose job is to drive the lots and ramps and ticket or tow employee vehicles as appropriate, per policy. Employees are very angry when they discover a ticket on their windshield or that we have towed their vehicle. In response, I get many threatening emails and phone calls. In my efforts to change the image of the parking department, I have chosen to not only let them vent but to also to follow up with these individuals, something that has not been done in the past. My goal is to educate them on why the policies exist and the benefits to them when they follow the policy.
I have made many efforts to educate these employees. Through many different venues including on-line quizzes to void a citation, departmental inservices, creation of an informational website, and frequent updates in the weekly employee newsletter, employees are beginning to not only understand the policies but even appreciate the efforts our department is making in improving the situation by enforcing the rules.
Although employees are not happy with the situation, many of them understand the policies and have learned to be personally responsible for their actions rather than to blame the parking department. Many will call us with questions about how to follow the policy rather than to try and find ways around it. It may be challenging to be open and honest with people as well as tell them ways to improve, especially when they are upset. However, it is essential in creating change.
When given in the context of an intention to help, feedback is much easier to give as well as to receive. Realizing the potential improvements that changes can bring through honest, helpful, and timely feedback makes giving feedback much easier. This has been a “learn as you go” experience for me. Sticking to my goals of maintaining policy and educating individuals on the policies and, most importantly, maintaining integrity in my intentions and responses has proven to be very successful. This has helped me in following through with direct reports as well. Feedback is given to help them improve, not to criticize them.
