Chp. 29 Spiral of Silence

Chapter 29, Spiral of Silence, is a theory that says we live in fear of isolation, and have the ability to assess the public opinion. Spiral of Silence is termed as the increasing pressure people feel to conceal their views when they think they are the minority. In class, we watched the South Park clip when everyone thought Kenny had head lice. I thought that clip was a great example to show what Spiral of Silence encompasses and how it works in our society. I had my own Spiral of Silence experience around Christmas time with my boyfriends' family. Rick (my boyfriend) and his entire extended family are against abortion. Well, on Christmas, unaware of the family mentality, the topic came up about abortion and I shared that I was pro-choice. I cannot say I would have an abortion myself, but I do feel that it is someone's choice to do what they want. After seeing the reaction of Rick's family's faces, I quickly tried to change my view point and say that I was not being serious, and that "of course I thought abortion was wrong." I changed my own thought because I did not want to be looked down upon by his family, which, if I think about it, I know they would not think less of me even if they did know I was pro-choice. My fear of being isolated and labeled as the minority quickly changed my mind, and made me suppress my true feelings on the subject.

Chp. 28 Agenda-Setting Theory

Chapter 28, Agenda-Setting Theory, is an objective theory that says the media tells us what to think about (first level agenda-setting), and in some cases, how and what to think about it (second level agenda-setting). Framing, as we discussed in class, is a term referring to how audiences tend to select some aspects of a person and make them the MAIN focus. In class, we discussed how Hillary Clinton and Barak O'bama are being exploited for being a woman (Hil) and a black candidate (O'bama). These are traits of the candidates that should not be the deciding factor on their chance at becoming president, but should only be their normal, physical attributes. The public, as well as journalists, news reporters, etc, tend to focus on the information that is less important, and turn it into something so big that it can be the deciding factor in someone's vote. However, this chapter also tells us that not everyone is as affected by the media. There are three types of people who are greatly affected, and that is : People who feel a need for orientation; because they want something to talk about with their peers, people who feel relevance to the topic; such as those who have a relative or friend or husband over in Iraq, and those who simply feel uncertainty and want to know as much as they can about someone or something. With newer media effects, we are about to choose from an abundant amount of sources that fit our liking, however, it is up to us to decide what we buy into, and what we choose to think about for ourselves.

Chp. 27 Cultivation Theory

Chapter 27, Cultivation Theory, is an objective theory from the socio-psychological perspective in which television is "society's storyteller." This theory explains that the more tv people watch (heavy viewers), the more likely they are to view the world like they do the television. This means that, say a heavy viewer watches a lot of violent tv shows, where people are murdered or beaten, then that viewer might have a higher chance at believing in the "mean world syndrome," and feel that the world is a cruel and vicious place, filled with nothing but terrible things. Someone who is a "light viewer", however, is more likely to view the world as it is, ever changing and inconsistent, and know that not everything on television is how it is in the real world. This theory reminds me of my father. A few weeks ago my father had his wallet stolen, and after it happened he said, "You know, I should have known, I was just watching a report on NBC about identity theft and how much it's happening." I'm relating this to my father because as hard of a worker as he is, once he's home, he's watching the tv, and he tends to make hasty judgements because of everything he hears. His golden phrase in our family is, "Ashley, you better be careful, I was watching...". We tend to make fun of him a little too much about it, but it is only fair.

Chp. 23 Dramatism

Chapter 23, Dramatism, is explained by Kenneth Burke as "what he saw going on when people open their mouths to communicate" (329). Although I was sick the day we discussed this Chapter in class, I feel like I have grasped the overall meaning of it. After reading this Chapter, I began thinking of the most recent movie I have seen, "300." In this movie, King Leonitis brings his 300 soldiers to battle the Persians, who were under the rule of the god Zerkses. Zerkses, a selfish and materialistic god, tries to persuade Leonitis to hand over Sparta, and give up their battle. He offers King Leonitis much wealth and power, and tells his he will give him anything he has ever wanted, as long as he hands over his power. Leonitis, a very determined and bright king, uses "dramatistic pentad" to analyze how Zerkses is trying to trick him. He analyzes his "act, scene, agent, agency and purpose" (331). Zerkses' purpose and motivation was to get Leonitis to bow down to him, and offer up his power. In this situation, Zerkses was the act, Leonitis was the agent, the form of agency used was by Zerkses, trying to persuade Leonitis by telling him all of the positive results that would come from his bowing down, and the purpose was for Zerkses to gain as much power as he possibly could. Although Zerkses could not persuade King Leonitis, his use of persuasion and digging deep into the person's mind, is how he did succeed in luring in so many others who succumbed to his vicious rule.

Chp. 20 Cultural Approach to Organizations

Chapter 20, Cultural Approach to Organizations, is a socio-cultural theory that describes how members of an organization create a culture within that organization. During class last week, we watched a clip from Office Space, and the culture that was formed at "Initech." Many of the characteristics of this "work culture" showed weak relationships with bosses, an overabundance of stress, the need for the bosses to repeat information, and also, annoying habits of other workers and their unavoidable strategies.
This chapter made me think of my dad's new business, Patriot Seating, where he hires veterans of the U.S. armed forces to assemble his office furniture. In class, we discussed how many stories are told about companies, and I automatically referenced it to my father's business. When my dad first started Patriot Seating, he used PR and let everyone know WHY he started it. His brother was a Vietnam vet who now suffers from very Traumatic Stress Disorder. He started the business to give jobs to those veterans who were struggling, so they could feel like they were a part of a good cause. This is my dad's "corporate story." There are also personal stories he shares about each and every veteran working there, how dedicated they are and what struggles and hardships they had to go through. We also discussed rituals performed at different organizations, and I actually used it as an example in class, that every day, my dad has his veterans raise and lower the flag, in remembrance of all the lives that were lost, and also, to show the main premise that his business was started from. Although it is not directly put out there, my dad's business is basically its own culture. All of the men and women who work for him have shared very similar experiences, and are all working for a good cause. The comparisons between Initech and Patriot Seating, although having their differences, definitely both demonstrate how organizations create their own cultures and patterns of behaviors.

Chp. 18 Adaptive Structuration Theory

Chapter 18, Adaptive Structuration Theory, is an interpretive theory that says people are active participants in groups, and that people are both affected by and affect the rules and resources of a group. In the past, the stage model did not include communication as a big role of group decisions. However, AST (along with some main ideas in Chp. 17) both reiterate the idea that communication is the biggest factor of group work.
Our class discussion last Thursday helped me to get a better understanding of this theory, and how it is applied to situations in my life. This theory looks at the "structure" of group work not as being permanent, but something that is continually evolving. Duality of structure explains how our actions create the grounds for developing traditions, which are constantly being produced and reproduced or altered. Everyone in a group has different attributes they can bring to the table.
When I first came to Kent State, I was very shy and timid, especially when having to work in groups in class. I was so scared that my ideas and opinions were not good enough and that everyone would shoot down my ideas. Now that I am a junior, I feel more comfortable stepping out of my "shy zone" and always share my thoughts about what needs to be done in order for the assignment to be completed well. The more ideas thrown out there, the more options the group has to choose from. Traditions are constantly changing and evolving when people decide to speak up, or someone decided to go against what has always been done, and take their own route. If more people start doing this, then more ideas can be created and accepted for new traditions.

Chp. 17 Func. Perspective on Group Decision Making

Chapter 17, Functional Perspective on Group Decision Making, discusses the four functions a group must fulfill to make a good decision. The four functions, analysis of the problem, goal setting, identification of alternatives and the evaluation of positive and negative characteristics, may be completed in any order, but every step must be fulfilled in order for progressive group work to occur.
When working in groups the other day in class, we were to create a commercial about a reality television show that has never been done before. This seemed like a very difficult task because SO many reality television shows are out there today. However, the three girls I worked with and I worked together and included all four of the steps into our developmental process. We followed, without knowing it, the "traditionally successful path" and succeeded at completing the task. We demonstrated promotive, disruptive, and counteractive communication, when we began formulating ideas and getting our thoughts out on the table, then got side tracked by talking about what reality shows we personally like/dislike, and then finally brought it all back together when we brought our strongest ideas together. Our group communication helped us to develop the ideas and quantitative analysis that is needed for successful group decision making.