Sunday, November 18, 2007

Yahoo Article

This type of interview method where potential employees are judged based on personality rather than credentials definitely has pros and cons. I had an interview this past Spring similar to this where we worked in teams to design games for kids (it was for a job as a camp counselor), and I thought this was a good idea because we would be working with each other all summer. For other jobs, I don't think this is completely necessary. I have a friend who is an absolute computer genius (Computer Engineering major) and can fix anything I manage to screw up on my computer, but he has terrible people and social skills. He is courteous and polite, but he is very shy and I can see him being a wallflower in this type of interview situation. Although he would probably be more capable of performing the job than all of the other candidates, his abilities would probably not shine through as well. So, if a certain job (working with computers, for example) does not require as much people skills, I think this type of interview would be completely unnecessary.

One thing I did like was the company that had all day interviews (9-10 hours long) because they said that "people can't BS for that long." I would do well in that type of situation because I am myself no matter how long I have to be a part of something. There are those people that are completely fake, but it is difficult to weed them out based on a 30 minute interview. An all-day interview (even though it would be a pain, especially if you didn't get the job), is the best way to get rid of those types of people. Another important thing the article said to watch out for was people being picked based on compatible personalities. A group of co-workers may have a blast going out for beer, but they may have terrible quality of work together.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Dual Coding Theory

Dual coding theory is used to make information "stick" with viewers. Viewers have difficulty remembering auditory or visual images alone, but when these processes are combined, viewers are much more likely to retain the information. However, the auditory information must complement the visual information rather than compete with it.

One example of a commercial demonstrating dual coding theory is a current Lee's jeans (for her) commercial. The commercial has a catchy song in the background and explains why these jeans fit your curves perfectly. Each part of the advertisement that described the "fit" of these jeans also had the actress doing something to demonstrate this. When the ad was talking about the slender fit of the legs, the actress was twirling around where the camera could get a great shot of her elongated legs. When the ad was talking about a slim waist, the actress was playfully shaking her hips. These images, along with the speaker and the fun music, makes the viewer remember these jeans as easy-going and meeting all of her needs.

Another example of a dual coding commercial is the Invisalign (alternative to braces) commercial. This commercial will have more impact than a radio ad discussing the process or pictures alone because the actors were smiling and enjoying themselves while the speaker discussed the many benefits of Invisalign. The viewers will now connect Invisalign to perfect smiles and good times.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Group Work

It seems like this semester has contained a vast amount of groupwork from each class. I think my generation has been exposed to group work at a young age, and I have felt comfortable with it for quite some time. Our "Bridging the Gap" group was successful because we had different talents to work on each aspect of the proposal. Derek and Bob were our creative geniuses that took care of all of the artistic work of the website, Kent was the delegator and knew how to do a little of everything, and Stefanie and I were the writers. I felt bad at first because I couldn't help with the computer design work, but I realized that they had no desire to write either, so it worked out well that everyone had different strengths.

Our group didn't have any miscommunication problems. I think we can attribute this to the fact that we met up and worked together for most of the project instead of trying to email documents back and forth. We had to do this a few times for editing purposes, etc., and I think this was difficult for Derek when Stefanie and I both emailed him grammar corrections for a document. I'm glad that we completed most of the project in person, because I can't imagine doing a whole project over email.

The most difficult part about groupwork is trying to coordinate five busy, busy schedules to find a time when everyone is free. This is the case for all groupwork, and it often means meeting at inconvenient times. Another difficulty for groupwork is delegating tasks, but Kent was our CEO and I think he did a good job with that.

The best part about groupwork, in my opinion, is getting to know a group of people that you ordinarily would not hang out with outside of class. I really enjoy meeting all kinds of people, and groupwork gives me the opportunitiy to do this. I enjoyed our group because we had a wide range of personalities, but we all got along really well and completed our proposal with little to no difficulties.