Weblog post 2

In my report to my new boss, I used three concepts from the readings to help make my paper more effective. The first concept that I used was analyzing the audience. I knew that my audience was my new boss so I could address him with my report. This allowed me to make the report more personal and reflect my findings more specifically without having to please more than one audience. The second concept that I incorporated into my report was implementing the organization of information. The report was intended to be a print document so the best formatting for me to use in order to separate information was to chunk it into paragraphs. The spacing between paragraphs emphasized a change in topic and relativity making it easier on the reader to remain focused. The introduction brought the audience onto a common theme for the entire report. My final concept that has made my report more effective was anticipating the reader’s needs. I introduced the material, giving my boss a general idea of what the specifics of the report would consist of. This was followed with the main points of the report and brought together by a conclusion. My paragraphs began with general terminology and led into supporting details. Having my paragraphs follow this series of events keeps the readers needs met and interested in the whole document.

Paper extension

Hello everybody,

Professor Fishman said she would grant us a one day extension on the paper and I believe the condition was somewhere along the line of whether or not the class wanted it. So, if anybody would for some odd reason wish to make the rest of us suffer with the paper being due Friday, please speak up. Then again please don't. So I think professor Fishman should assume that anybody who doesn't oppose in a comment is a supporter of the extension.

Don't let me down guys ;)

Communication in the field of Civil Engineering

Communication Problem

Civil Engineering is a fairly broad field which covers many different topics from earth works to pipe flow and is involved in the design of projects from sky scrapers to neighborhood homes. Civil Engineering is not only a broad field but also a very technical field as it involves not only research and development but also design and implementation.

Due to the nature of their jobs, Civil Engineers (CEs) work and communicate with many groups of people including other CEs, private owners, contractors, architects, government officials, and the general public. As a CE, one communicates with people of all levels of technical understanding of the subject including those who know nothing to those who know more than they ever will. Due to the multi subjected and technical nature of Civil Engineering and the breadth in understanding of the persons involved in projects, CEs must be able to communicate precise and accurately with a variety of audiences. This need for transfer of technical information to audiences with different levels of understanding is significant problem in Civil Engineering.

Communication Medias

CEs use an assortment of communication medias depending on their jobs requirements. Designers use Plans, Specifications, and Precedence Diagrams while Researchers use Professional Journals, Lab Notebooks, Research Publications, and databases. All CEs use schedules, memos, meetings, e-mails, phones, and just about anything else one can think of more to effectively communicate.

Effective Communication

In order to communicate effectively in the field of Civil Engineering one must know their audience. One needs to know how much experience the audience has in the particular field and in related fields. One also needs know how evolved their audience is in the particular project. Knowing these things lets the CE include the appropriate amount of background and use technical terminology in line with the audience’s understanding. If the audience can’t comprehend what is being communicated or place it in reference to what is happening, then the communication has failed. So effective communication is displaying and conveying the appropriate information in a form that the recipient can understand.

Communication Skills

CEs vary rarely work alone. So despite common jokes, CEs need, and have, people skills along with technical skills in order to effectively communicate. These people skills include being able to give presentations and answer questions from management along with being able to lead their co-workers in projects. They need to be able to understand the human component of projects. This is just as important as being educated in the technical component.

Andrew Phifer's Introduction

Afternoon class,

My name is Andrew Phifer and I am a Senior Civil Engineering major from North Augusta, South Carolina. This summer I am taking a few online classes, so that I can graduate in four years, and am working an internship with Savannah River National Laboratory. After graduating in May, I will be getting married and plan to move to Australia with my wife to work on a cattle ranch before coming back to the states to find a job in Construction Management. I enjoy backpacking, canoeing, shooting sports, and am trying to learn how to stay on a horse before I move. I am looking forward to this class and am hoping to obtain useful knowledge that I can apply to my career. Thanks!

Ashbin White Intro/Career

Good Evening, my name is Ashbin White and I am a senior Electrical Engineering major from Carver’s Bay, South Carolina. And “no”, Carver’s Bay is not located on any official map of South Carolina, but it is a small community/town located in Georgetown/Hemingway County. My ideal employment post-graduation would be a position that allots for travel all around the globe, visiting/presenting to different businesses and/or corporations about the advancing technologies related to my subset of engineering. Amidst my travel, I will be exposed to variant cultures/traditions, performing and interacting within new environments. A rather interesting fact about me is that every night before I go to bed I have to have a pack of Haribo ® Gummy Bears and a freeze pop to sleep. My desired career path, post-graduation is a travel engineering consultant with a concentration in Electrical Engineering. Some of the major issues that correlate with the field in which I am entering include: maintaining constant communication and providing supportive feedback to/with all clientele. Another main communication issue would be ensuring that technical jargon does not confuse any clients. Some of the forms, genres and/or Medias used in day to day communication are B2Spiceware and MathCad. Both of these are variations of engineering software that allows engineers to interact via internet. Face to face is also another frequently used means of communication. Effective communication in my field of study would include possessing the ability to communicate with all variations of people. Being multilingual is a beneficial factor in today’s engineering community, being that engineers come from all walks of life. There is a plethora of engineering software that attempt to convey the same thing and being well versed in these arenas will allow for a smooth transition athwart cultures. Good body language is essential in ensuring that attention is not diverted. Having a sense of humor and being witty also ensures a positive and “light-hearted” atmosphere.

Comms in Software Development

Hi everyone, my name is Chris Gossett and I am a senior in Computer Information Systems. I have an A.S. in Computer Technology and hope to obtain a position somewhere on a software development team after graduation from Clemson. As for interesting facts, I’m afraid I don’t have much to tell; I do enjoy reading good books(currently awaiting George Martin's Dance With Dragons), hiking and finding waterfalls.

In software development, effective communication skills are a major necessity. The ability for a development team(s) to convey their understanding of the client’s requirements to each other and the client is critical.

Face to face communication between a client and developers or leads has been the historically typical method of communication in software development, however with the expanding marketplace and newer technologies becoming available, communication methods have transitioned to more remotely accessible ways. Technologies such as telephone, email, instant messaging, texting and video chatting have become commonplace and day-to-day within the software field, with the latter becoming more popular in recent years.

Effective communication in the software field involves having the ability between all of the people you work with, whether they be your clients, managers, developers or analysts.

Some important skills to have in this field are the ability to communicate effectively between members in your development field to those who are unfamiliar with the technical aspects of the business, such as potential clients. Potential clients may come from many different fields and may have many different needs and requirements for the software which they require and it will be your job to effectively attempt to understand what their requirements are and convey them to your other developers in technical terms.

Introduction: Corey Park

Hi my name is Corey Park and I am a junior in Mechanical Engineering. After college I hope to go into either the automotive industry or work for a smaller company that specializes in a field I find interesting. I was born in Arkansas but I've lived in Las Vegas, Charleston, Sumter, and best of all, Clemson. I enjoy doing anything competitive and often risky or in hindsight borderline dumb. Therefore I am often called out on many occasions when injuries are discussed due to the fact that I have broken 9 bones, 4 of which I have broken twice, and torn my Achilles. Despite all this the most painful moment in my life was when Mufasa died in the Lion King.

Communication is very important within all types of engineering. This past semester I completed my first Co-op rotation at GE in Greenville and of all that I learned it was that those who get what they want and are the most successful are the ones that communicate well. Working in an area that is tied to all other areas in both manufacturing and engineering at a facility employing over 3000 people taught me that keeping everybody up to date as well as clearly delivering thoughts and ideas is often more important than the engineering aspects. Communication within many parts of engineering is also a large factor in terms of being able to simplify an idea for an individual who is not as knowledgeable in that particular area such as an intern while at the same time being able to clearly explain higher level material to those who have the experience and knowledge to comprehend it.

Media in terms of communication is very diverse and still developing within engineering. The most important part of communication in very large plants such as GE Greenville, BMW, and Bosch is choosing which available form is best for each situation when often no two are the same. In terms of immediate communication cell phones and landlines as well are often the choice but if it is only a quick question that may not be answered soon enough in an email then instant messaging systems are highly helpful as well. Emails are still the predominant form of communication which leads to many engineers checking their email accounts countless times throughout the day. In terms of group communication sometimes it is urgent enough that a quick conference call be made to exchange ideas or get necessary information. If two groups of engineers are too far apart to meet in person then teleconferences are a useful and relatively simple way to communicate and often include PowerPoint presentations that both parties can view.

As mentioned above effective communication within engineering often requires more than simply being able to talk to an individual. Knowing which form of communication is vital not only in efficiency and effectiveness in terms of delivering a message or receiving feedback, but also because the choice an engineer makes in more important situations will potentially be a bad fit for the individual or individuals part of the communication which hinders the objective at times. Engineers often need to be able to at any moment quickly be able to communicate whether it be to a fellow engineer or to an operator in a factor. In both situations the most effective engineer is the one who can clearly communicate based off of the audience, the situation, and timing.

Furthermore engineers communicating with each other must adapt to situations where the preferred choice of communicating is not an option. At times engineers must be able to communicate an idea on the phone that would almost always require a visual aid of some sort and do so well enough to successfully complete whatever work is being performed. For example if a mechanical engineer is part of creating a test stand for a prototype machine, there will likely come a time when one of the engineers who designed a part of the prototype that he needs assistance with will not be able to meet in person so instead both engineers must know the technical aspects well enough to communicate them verbally.