Communication Strategies

The researcher plans to investigate the social and economic characteristics of people receiving treatment for CVD in Kenya. CVD is an abbreviation for cardio-vascular diseases. The researcher will collect the qualitative and quantitative data that relate to the economic background of the patients, their demographic characteristics, the family structures, the community structures, other socio-economic support systems, income at family and personal level, personal and family assets and then access to financial resources and  other material resources. The end goal of the researcher is to find out the common characteristics exhibited by the patients who have accessed medical or treatment services for Cardio-Vascular diseases.  The  findings of the research should be helpful to the government and policy stakeholders in the health sector in Kenya, in drawing out a clear depiction of the population being served through their CVD treatment program. The findings will also help other similar countries that are scaling up new treatment programs and have the need of establishing the common attributes of the population that is likely to seek care.

Background
CVD is a group of  heart-related diseases that also affect the blood vessels. These diseases also include all the diseases that affect the cardiovascular system. As such, CVD have similar causes and exhibit similar mechanisms and the treatments are also similar. Cardio-Vascular Diseases have been documented by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the largest killer diseases in the world that claim about seventeen million lives every year.  According to the WHO, these diseases result from various causes including use of tobacco, an unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity. The same source also shows that using alcohol aggravates the risk of getting heart attack.  Specifically, for in stance, when an individual does not exercise adequately and eats high calorie-cum-fat foods, the arteries may block thereby calling for medication or medical attention. If there is no prompt medical attention then this can turn into blockage of the arteries and ultimately cause a disease like heart attack.  Heart attacks may strike all of a sudden and may be fatal if immediate medical attention is not sought or availed. An overweight individual has higher chances of getting strokes or heart attacks.

Research methodology
Cardio-vascular diseases are most common in developing countries or countries that have population characterized by low or medium income levels. In fact, the WHO records that about 80 of the deaths that result from CVD occur in the countries where average income levels are low or medium. Women are affected more especially after their menopause though the risk is equally distributed for men and women in these regions. The ability to  access the requisite medical attention may be inhibited by economic resources, availability of transport, level of awareness, geography, or even family members.  

In this research, the researcher  wishes  to investigate these factors by interviewing CVD patients in six of the countrys eight provincial hospitals and the two of the national hospitals. The Kenyas healthcare system is arranged in a hierarchical manner where the most complicated cases are taken to the highest level hospital. The researcher hopes that at each point of interview (that is, at each hospital) he will be in a position to interview at least five patients, three nurses and one doctor. Through these procedures, the researcher will collect and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data that relate to various aspects of the patients which include their demographic information, family structures, the structures of the  community where they come from, the patients local transportation and how accessible to the transportation systems it is. In addition, the researcher will also collect and analyze data that relates to the income an asset possession for the patients. Level of education and access to financial services will also be among the factors that the researcher will explore.

The researcher will carry out the research in collaboration with Kenyan-Heart National Foundation. This is a non-governmental medical charity that works to prevent, reduce, control, advocate for treatment and better management of heart-related diseases. It does its work through creation of public awareness and through education its mission is centered on prevention as the best mechanism of dealing with CVD. The charity has worked together with community groups in Kenya to promote its work in the country. The researcher has, on several occasions, communicated with them and they have accepted to help in easing the access to interviewees thus facilitate efficiency of the entire process. Kenyan-Heart National Foundation have also accepted my request for assistance in the preparation of the necessary data collection tools, identification of a translator for some of the interviews given that some interviews might entail communication in Swahili. The translator is to be paid out of the researchers budget. In addition, they have agreed to allow me use their office facilities in the preliminary review and cleaning of the collected data. They will also be of great help in determining the hospitals to be visited for the interviews out those in the country. Their recommendations with respect to this will help the researcher to come out with the most representative sample from the target population of CVD patients and providers.

After gathering, cleaning and analyzing the data from Kenya, the researcher will be able to describe the socio-economic attributes or characteristics that are common amongst CVD patients who have accessed treatment services. Thereafter, the information gathered from the study will help in matters of planning and policy implementation to facilitate programs that can help in management, prevention and treatment of CVD.

Limitations of the Study
The researcher will only deal with cases of patients who have accessed treatment services those who might have CVD and have not accessed treatment may be beyond the scope of the study. The findings of the study may therefore not be generalizeable to such individuals who remain untreated. The researcher however strongly believes that the entire research will be helpful to many countries of similar characteristics to provide new insights in management, treatment and control or prevention of CVD especially given that these are diseases that have been identified as they are responsible for over three-quarters of deaths in the low and middle-income countries.  Timeline and logistics
The researchers travels are as indicated below
May 23rd -24th Travel to Nairobi, Kenya
May 25th-30thWork with Kenyan-Heart National Foundation staff in Nairobi on finalizing the tools of data collection tools and putting groundwork for travel logistics
June 1st-31stCollect data at 6 hospitals (3 days of work are required with 2 days of travel per hospital)
July 1st-14thData cleaning at Kenyan-Heart National Foundation office in Nairobi
July 15thReturn air travel from Nairobi, Kenya

Budget
Budget Notes
Airfare The researcher has budgeted 2,000 for round-trip airfare between Kansas City, United States (MCI) and Nairobi, Kenya (NBO). This amount is derived from quotes the researcher received through bargain airfare websites concerning cost of air travel tickets on the researchers intended travel dates May 23rd departure and July 25th return.

Accommodations in Nairobi The researcher expects to use a daily budget of 25day for the 30 days that he will spend in Kenya before and after collecting data in the field. This is derived from the cost of daily accommodations for single rooms with shared bathroom and kitchen and which are easily accessible to the Kenyan-Heart National Foundation offices. All the rest are costs that are based on estimates provided by the Kenyan-Heart National Foundation.

Internet- based activities had transformed and evolved in no time as obscure computer systems suddenly began to be complex that for instance, to be able to contact someone, a click of the mouse can be of great help. The activity surrounding this geography of technology, with its pace of expansion, made companies to take grasp on the opportunity on the apparent power and potential of growing network personally for their enrichment and consequently, for commercial gain. Australia remained to rely on Broadband as an advance technology that promises high speed access to the internet that emerged from its transition from dial-up service. There can be no doubt that this industry largely help them in everyday life thus, moderation of the business environment should be a subject for consideration to evaluate it in terms the standards in implementation of strategy.

Now that we are in the Information Age, the application of information and knowledge creates the economy that is situated everywhere as it revolutionizes our ways of communication. Internet has the domain of its geographic location structured with networks and nodes that interlocks with each other across the planet. The industry required policies and regulations highly strategized being the key driver of competitiveness of the company that allowed them to grow in the economy, society and culture. In these strategies, we consider correlated factors in order to see how the policies are being structured. First, goal tops all of these factors as it determines the flow of the business from its early stage to its universal setting. This will begin with the attempt to expand the network, knock the way thru competition and gain a more diverse market. Second, network which serves as the one responsible for the environment of sharing, allocation, reallocation, and deployment of broadband access. Third, services as it is concerned with the quality and fairness in application and content providing. This remains as an obligation to companies dealing with this service. Fourth, Applications, which are the framework of the transactions in the industry, serves as the basis of the intellectual capability of the existing product. And as a final consideration, it should be the users. Users are the determinant of the success for their number is highly considered to be the main key to see the productivity of the company. They can raise demands price and overall quality of products and services.

Telstra (2010), one of the leading broadband service providers in Australia, has the vision of economical yet efficient product and services highly devoted for the satisfaction of their customers. They try to make sure that each client will be treated fairly with their experience with the broadband service while keeping the eye on the value of the information which is their key product. They strive to sustain the platform and technology for management of their products. Their strategy in marketing intends to have clarity to avoid misinterpretation from the clients with the belief that it will reflect the quality and integrity of Telstras broadband. Fixed and wireless telephony including broadband service remained to be the main focus of their marketing strategy. Their operation tends to look forward on plans for future development for infrastructure designs, IP, and support functions and maintenance. Telstras responsibility for infrastructure is divided between their Information technology and Network Service Management. The part of Information technology under the Chief Information Officer and GMD Information technology set and implement the internal technology the company needs. Then, the functions such as designs and maintenance are managed by the members of their Network and Services group. Their finance and administrative section account and report the objective numbers accumulated by the company. They strive to comply with the standards of accounting to keep accuracy of financial records and supports. The administration is responsible for the security of all the records. They also allotted responsibilities for procurement and treasury to conduct development on ways to get sources and ways for external and internal financial conducts.

Also, Telstra (2010) made sure that they will be able to adopt on any changes that the market will determine. In the event of something resulting to crises, they have measures to follow managed by their team in Corporate Security  Investigation (CSI). Broadband business and other communication based industry required preparedness for uncontrolled variable that may severely affect their activities and may result to compromised quality of the services. They monitor the compliance of the business to the methodology that was set by the management and along the way tried to prevent any risks that may result to crises. They prepared a team especially equipped with the ability to respond appropriately and timely in case it happened and consequently restore the stability of the system. The infrastructure which is highly significant as it defined the framework of the broadband service is under National Counter-Terrorism plan to avoid any extent of damage to other sector of the business. They have periodical assessment and implementation of precautionary actions using the reviews from Risk Management and Assurance. Telstra valued the security of their human resources and sensitive internal information as they consider them as assets to the company. They have a particular design for their approach in facing the risks and different business aspects. This is for proliferation of all the progress they are acquiring in the industry of broadband and telecommunication as a whole.

BMC Software (2008) affirmed the promise of Vodafone in giving the market further worthwhile options in terms of their products accessibility. Relative to Telstra, Vodafone Australia remained as one of the leading innovator in the industry of telecommunication and broadband as they also partnered with Hutchison. In Australia, they provide wholesale internet services that have a wide spectrum of information. Like Telstra, they also encountered challenges when it comes to the complexity of the infrastructure that is based on both Information technology and Internet Protocol.

Despite this, they tend to provide services that show their uniqueness that separated them from other competitors. Vodafone progressed in parallel to their actions of remodeling and sustenance of their system platforms. They also took the challenge of transitioning to become a multiple service provider. With this move, they emphasized the need for analysis of each individual service to meet every requirement and additional opportunities such when they focused solely on their mobile service, they might neglect to find ways in competing in the industry of broadband services. Their management system is interlocking as they secure their capabilities maintain their oneness in the workflow. Like some other companies that are not in the same industry of telephony, Vodafone also used outsourcing as they rely to third parties direct and indirect assistance. They have been monitoring their balance sheet to successfully forecast the variability of possible events that can impact the productivity of the company and assist them in cushioning the threats that this may have caused to the quality of their service. They also tend to abolish any isolated system that didnt relate well with other systems making them more interdependent. The changes they made in the whole system in 2008 like adding updated firewalls and servers and some other changes in the infrastructure can be perceived now as a whole. Vodafone has the promise of innovative overall planning, designing and standard specifications that will surely benefit their operations and marketing activities.

Being one of the second tier players in the market, Vodafone Australia had been equipped with an effective strategy since 2006 as they value their so-called total communication needs of the customer. It made them meet all their business objectives, increased popularity and was still able to keep ethics applied in their business structure as they were able to grow their revenues while providing due credits to their shareholders. Their market is expected to grow as well so it became a big challenge for them to follow its pace. They will be facing the first tier players in the market which already had the grasp on it making competition perceived as a huge consideration. The demand for innovative service and products remained to be the priority to gain confidence from the consumers. They tend to look for consolidated services in the way that will provide them outstanding convenience and savings. To stand out among the broadband service providers, Vodafone focused in four objectives they plotted in 2009 first, promoting the importance of clients as their service become more cost efficient making the services worthwhile second, consolidating their mobile service as their core advantage with broadband and the rest of communication elements third, expansion in the market, although this will be applied in international setting and fourth, commitment in ensuring honest accounting.

This company also provides not just technical service but also served in socio-civic activities which made them closer to the public. In the graph shown in the website, Vodafone (2008) apparently accounted the value of strategy, purpose and vision in alignment to their guiding principles as they formed Vodafone Foundation Australia. As they mentioned, the strategy of the company is always relative to the fulfillment of their aspirations to meet their altruistic vision.

The growing demand for Broadband service remained to be the basis why is it in the top of considerations in keeping the balance between profitability and public benefits. Ethics had been the consideration in almost all companies who strive to last long in their chosen industry. Despite the importance of highly standardized business plan and strategies, competence cannot be sustained solely if the credibility will be compromised because of bias choice for revenues. Economists cannot account the value of Ethics using numbers but there is no doubt that fundamental ideas of being righteous, as applied in business, was admired in market system across the globe. Broadband industry involves interactions between executives, employees, stockholders, and consumers and these human factors are interdependent as long as confidence and trust remained at their core. Ethics can contribute revenue immediately, but in the long run, if this will be sustained, it can deliver positive result for the business since it shows honor for the contract with the human factors. Customers are not just paying for the service but they need more than that as they value the reputation of what they are getting and from whom are they getting it. This proved that high ethical standards, in a way, can be translated to money.

Italy is recognized around the world due to its decent cultural approach towards education, business, healthcare and society. Italians culture diligently maintains high standards of healthcare system as well as education systems which provide the best and affordable healthcare services and free educational opportunities to the people.

Italian Culture towards Healthcare
Italian culture towards healthcare is highly recognized due to the provision of high standards healthcare services and medical assistance at very low cost. Italian doctors are very devoted and expert in their profession and the healthcare treatment services are maintained at higher levels. It is wise thinking of Italians who prefer to cover their hospitalization and surgery cost through private health insurance providers which, of course, avoid inconvenience faced due to long waiting lists.

The official name of Italys Health System is Servizio Sanitario Nazioanale which provides low cost healthcare services to the entire European citizens. The healthcare services include in-patient treatments such as medications, tests, family doctor visits, surgeries during hospitalization and medical assistance provided by various medical specialists. Other healthcare services are too offered which include dental treatments, out-patient treatments and provision of medicines and drugs. The Italian culture mandates the health insurance for every foreigner which must cover the entire healthcare treatment from the arrival moment till the departure moment, failing which permit to stay (permesso di soggiorno) is not granted.

Italian Culture towards Education
Education in Italy is perceived to be an essential necessity of life. Italians culture has regulated education as a compulsory requirement for 6-16 years of children and free education is too granted to facilitate people. There are five grades in Italians educational system namely Kindergarten  Playgroup (Scuola Maternal), Elementary School (Scuola Elementare), Middle School (Scuola Media), High School (Liceo) and University (Universita) (Italy Education System, Italiamia).
The educational system in Italy consists of public and private standards. Both the standards are developed more progressively than UK and Germany educational systems. Various universities for postgraduate education have been established in Italy namely University of Bologna which is the oldest university in Western and La Sapienza University which is the biggest university in Italy.

Italys educational system was constituted by Legge Casati (Casati Act) in 1859. The vision of this act was to diminish illiteracy among children and enhance their learning needs. The single town regulates the primary education system, the province regulates the secondary education system and the state regulates the universities education system. The educational system was further streamlined by Legge Gentile Act in 1923. The compulsory age of children for education was increased up to 14 years and option for promotion towards Middle School was granted upon completion of five years primary education which could further be continued up to High School (Italy Education System, Italiamia).

Conclusion
Inadvertently, Italian culture towards healthcare and education is very appreciating and is a symbol of developed country of the world. Since, Italian culture has maintained the higher standards in healthcare and education systems therefore, it is right to claim the Italy as one of the best country of the world which cares about the life of its people with love. In short, Italys healthcare and education culture should be adopted by every developing country in order to maintain good health and develop learning needs among people which will of course, benefit the same in the prosperity of a country.

Learning the process of communication aids one to become a good communicator. Oftentimes, we fail to attain understanding with another person due to cultural, gender, linguistic or other human differences. Nevertheless, with a good understanding of how communication works, we can relate well with others despite the presence of barriers. In this paper, I analyze a communication situation I had with a friend based on the different elements and processes of interpersonal communication. Analyzing each element present in the situation, I reflect on the importance each element plays in helping me achieve a better connection with others. Likewise, in analyzing the processes involved, I emphasize the importance of applying the knowledge I have gained in overcoming my weaknesses as a communicator and in improving the way I relate with others either personally or professionally.

Communication is part of everyday life. It is not limited to adults or learned individuals. Babies communicate with their mothers as they cry when they are hungry, the mute use the sign language to express what they want to say, while the mentally disabled laugh when they are happy or excited. The forms of communication people use may vary but common elements are usually present. These include the message and the communicators or the participants who play the role of either the sender or receiver of the message. In the communication situation I had with my friend, these common features were present along with others namely, feedback, noise, context, and mutual agreementnegotiation. These elements affected the outcome of the conversation but through it all, the communicators still served as the key participants controlling communication factors to achieve understanding.

Summary of the Communication
The communication occurred in a caf one afternoon after classes. The meeting was arranged by my friend, Kang. I have been friends with him for two years now, and except for knowing him as a two-timer, I have always considered him a good friend. Kang arranged to see me that afternoon to ask a favor. He requested me to ask my friend who was his ex-girlfriend to allow him to see her again. He wanted me to act as the mediator to convince the girl that he has finally realized he was wrong for having another girl, and that he would make it up to her if she agreed to make up with him.

When Kang said these words, a lot of things came up to my mind. First, I felt he was not serious, and his bad experience with the other girl might have caused him to think this way. Second, thinking about his past action, I could not help but to feel bias towards him. I thought that having deceived my friend in the past, it would be easier for him to leave her again if she gave him another chance. Guys like him do not deserve a second chance. They need to feel that girls should be respected, and forgiving them is similar to tolerating their bad deeds. Guided by these thoughts, I felt mad at Kang for what he said but I tried to keep myself calm, and clarified his motives for thinking that way.

As the receiver of Kangs message, I felt the need to provide feedback. Feedback is the mirror of communication (Erven, n.d.). Providing feedback is very important in communication because it confirms receipt of the message, and verifies whether the message is completely understood. There are many forms of feedback. The simple arching of the brows in face-to-face communication, smiling, and nodding may all be considered forms of feedback. Keeping ones silence instead of retorting may sometimes be considered feedback, depending on the situation. In my case, I wanted to react right away to what Kang said but at the same time hesitated for I did not want to hurt his feelings. In order to play safe, I kept silent for a while, allowing Kang to express his thoughts.

He reasoned out that he was wrong for trying to find another girl, but felt sorry to find out that after all, he still loved his ex-girlfriend. He tried to forget her, knowing how mad he made her feel, but every time he met another girl, he just remembered and missed her more. Listening to Kang uttering these words convinced me he was serious, but it did not change my mind entirely. Nevertheless, I tried to make an agreement with him by proposing an option to befriend the girl, and take a step by step process. I explained to him that gaining ones trust is not easy especially if you have destroyed it once. Therefore, I suggested him to get to know her again, be friends, and finally take a chance to win her heart. Kang agreed to this proposition, and as we parted, I felt I had a good conversation with a friend. Somehow, the concepts I learned in school have helped me become a better communicator and friend.

Analysis
Several elements of communication are obvious in the situation. First, there are basic elements such as the communicators, which in this case are Kang and I. We both played as either the sender or receiver of the message, but since it was Kang who opened the conversation regarding the favor he would ask, we may consider him as the sender of the message while I, the receiver. Later, as we exchanged views, both of us alternately played the roles of the sender and the receiver. The main message was asking favor to win a girls heart, followed by several other messages relating to the first. Considering the exchange of information and the subsequent exchange of messages, the communication that transpired between me and my friend followed the transactional model. Likewise, as the communication ended up with a mutual agreement, it also suggests the model proposed by Kincaid (1979), also known as the Convergence Model of Communication.  
Another element present in the communication situation was barrier or noise. Noise could come in different forms. It could be external, internal, or semantic noise. External noise otherwise known as physical noise includes physical illness or incapability and the noise we hear from the streets. In the sample communication situation, there was limited external noise considering the quiet ambience inside the caf. Likewise, both I and Kang were feeling alright that day so there were no physical barriers to communication. Also, since I and my friend have the same cultural background, there was little chance for semantic barriers to occur. Semantic noise refers to linguistic barriers or those that relate to the use of the language. Improper word choice, pronunciation and the inability to use a common language are among common semantic barriers to communication (Barriers to Interpersonal Communication, n.d.). However, due to opposing views regarding the present situation, the presence of internal or psychological noise could not be avoided.

When we communicate, we are greatly affected by our perceptions, experience and values. When these aspects contradict those of the other communicator, there is a big chance for psychological noise to occur. When I learned about Kangs plan, I wanted to cover my ears, and not utter a word. I almost said I did not want to hear any more of what he had to say but remembering the outcomes that linear communication can bring, I regained my interest and tried to decipher the truth in Kangs motives. I did not want to defeat the purpose of communication following a linear type of communication I opted for a transactional kind, something that gives importance to building connection between communicators, or a convergent kind, which involves negotiation between the participants.

Linear communication, as perceived by early communication specialists such as Shannon (1948) and Katz (1957), happens when the message from the sender is received by the recipient of the message but the latter does not provide a feedback. Authors of this model may have intentionally missed the importance of feedback due to earlier practices in mass media and autocratic systems such as the case of a terror boss to his subordinates who do not dare to question his decisions. In this type of communication process, the sender does not get a chance to know how the recipient feels about the message. The absence of feedback thus makes the communication incomplete. In the sample situation, when I heard about Kangs plan and felt too opposed to it, I was silenced for a while. On the one hand, I did not know how to react. On the other, my biases of him convinced me right away that he was not serious. These biases hindered me from understanding his point, and it almost caused me to fail to sympathize with my friend. My belief about male stereotypes added to my initial opposition. I always heard what people say that men are usually polygamous. Although I myself am not polygamous, seeing men like Kang convince me that the saying is quite true to some. Too bad, the friendship I shared with Kang did not do good to destroy such stereotypes.

Moreover, the context of the situation added to the internal noise I encountered. Remembering how Kang hurt Claire by having another girlfriend while they were still together, my view of the situation is affected by the past. Based on this, I realized the role that context plays in the process of communication. Context, which includes the communicators present knowledge, perceptions, beliefs and attitudes towards the situation (Ige, cited in Pfeffinger, 1999), has been adopted by modern communication specialists as one important element of the communication process. Context has been added to some basic models such as those by Shannon (1948) and Laswell (1948) to show the relevance of other factors affecting communication. In particular, Foulgers (2004) Ecological Model of Communication emphasizes the relevance of context or communicators background to the communication outcome. Evidently, context plays an important part in the sample communication scenario. It affected the way I perceived Kangs initial message, my view of his plans, and the way I responded to him. Nevertheless, his context or perception of me as his friend may have also affected the way he addressed me. I was quite flattered to think that among all his friends, he chose to trust me more than anyone else.

With these thoughts in mind, I remembered the discussion we had about communication blocks. I realized that my attitude towards Kang and his behavior served as blockage to communication. This is considered internal noise as it interfered with my conversation with Kang. Reflecting on the way I thought and behaved that time, I could accuse myself of stereotyping, judging, and mind-reading. Nevertheless, I tried to overcome such thoughts, and concentrated on what Kang had to say. I kept in mind that good listening habits could somehow help me overcome prejudices I had that time.
The next steps I took that afternoon were remarkable. They helped me discover more about my friend and even myself. First, shocked at Kangs proposition, I clarified his intention by rephrasing his statement in a question that says, Did I hear you say you want to make up with Claire to which Kang nodded with a heavy sigh. From his gestures, I could tell he was somewhat serious but I needed more to clarify. First, he looked down at his cup as if shy to admit what he said, then looked at me straight in the eye smiled without his teeth showing. I could feel then that he was serious as he remained silent, probably not knowing how to explain himself. Then, with another serious look on his face, he explained how he felt about the breakup and the time he spent with other girls. I listened to him as innocently as I could, without calling to mind his past mistake.

Reflecting on Kangs behavior during the conversationhis gestures, eye contact, facial expression, and toneI felt the seriousness of his intention. He explained his side with a calm and serious tone, looked at me directly in the eye from time to time, and clasped his hands on his forehead while he waited for my response. His nonverbal communication agreed with his verbal message, thus convinced me of his sincerity. In this view, I realized the importance of nonverbal communication in understanding and relating with others.

Aside from nonverbal cues, silence also helped me to clarify my thoughts, Kangs feelings, and the actions we should take to solve the situation at hand. When Kang uttered his plan, I wanted to react right away and tell him, Stop I dont want to hear any more of that.  I also wanted to say, Do you remember how you ended up with her, now you want to fool her again However, bearing in mind the importance of achieving understanding in communication, I tried to remain calm and kept silent for a while. The time lag thus allowed me to observe Kangs physical gestures. It also gave Kang the opportunity to clear his thoughts.

Instead of bombarding Kang with sermons, I listened to his reasons. Listening with an open mind helped me to feel his sincerity. It also made him feel that after all, his attempt to seek help from a friend was not in vain. For the first time, I saw Kang speaking seriously about his feelings for a girl, something he or most of my friends would not do. I realized that while prior experience and biases could affect our perception of other people, the willingness to listen and communicate between two persons is the most important aspect to give way to a transaction. The conversation between Kang and me that time at the caf was a transaction as we tried to create a meaningful connection with the way we communicated. As Narula (2006, p.19) explains, in transactional models, the concern is on the patterns of communication behavior between communicators and not the patterns information exchanged between the persons as reflected in a mere interaction. Realizing the difference between the two, I have noted that as guys do not usually open up with friends about their feelings, we usually just interact with friends, and fail to establish patterns of communication behavior that lead to a more meaningful relationship.

The courage Kang took to open up with me was enough to demonstrate how serious he was. In response, I asked Kang what exactly he wanted me to do. He requested me to ask the girl to go out with him, which I found too advance. Nevertheless, instead of telling him this, I asked him to reflect on how the girl felt before when he left her, and how she could be feeling right now. I also inquired whether the girl still says hi to him whenever they come across each other. Kang replied that she does not take notice of him, and pretends each time that she does not see him. In this view, I asked Kang, How do you think she will take the idea of going out with you again Kang was unable to reply immediately to this question, then said, Maybe youre right. She would be surprised and even take it against me. At last, Kang had the idea. The girls past experience would really play an important role in her future decisions.

I told Kang that to win the girls trust again, he might need to be friends with her first. Of course the decision still depended on him. I did not want to advise him directly on what to do because doing such would only result in a one-sided solution. Instead, I made him reflect on what he wanted to do, and offered a proposition he could accept or disregard. I told him that I would help him get a chance to communicate with the girl, so long as he promises to befriend her first and to never fool around again. Offering a proposition is a helpful way of addressing a problem. In Kincaids (1979) Convergence Model of Communication, the author emphasizes on the importance of achieving mutual agreement. Communication, according to this model, involves having common beliefs and understanding. In the sample situation, Kang and I achieved communication as we agreed to settle on the same measures, the same steps to solve the problem.

The negotiation process I had with Kang is similar to what is usually practiced. In Kozicki (2005), the author identifies each step of the negotiation process, starting from the Investigative Phase, moving on to the presentation phase, bargaining phase, and finally, the agreement phase. The investigative phase includes the time when I tried to clarify Kangs feelings. The presentation phase was when I asked him to weigh consequences of his first plan. The bargaining phase was when I finally offered him my idea to befriend his ex-girlfriend. Finally, the agreement phase occurred as Kang expressed his willingness to accept my proposition while I agreed to help him with his plan. Importantly, reaching a consensus required proper timing and going through the complete process not just insisting on what one believes is right. In contrast to the process I went through, Kangs proposal for me to help him get to communicate again with his ex-girlfriend was very abrupt. It surprised me, and if not for the learning I gained from the Communication class, I would have reacted offensively. Indeed, every communication procedure has process and elements that can make it successful.
Knowledge of communication processes and elements that contribute to effective communication helps a person to overcome difficulties in relating with others especially during communication scenarios. Although several factors such as biases, noise and poor listening habits are there to hinder communication, communicators will find it easy to achieve understanding if they will focus on what the other is saying, and avoid biases of any kind. Furthermore, timing and the goal to reach a consensus are also important to succeed in communicating ones thoughts and understanding other people.

The Toastmasters international (TI) is a non-profit organization created for educational purposes that have formed a worldwide network to help people in public-speaking and leadership.  The TI has its headquarters in California and is based in more than 106 nations, since 1924.

The Mission of TI is to create a movement towards better oral communication and helps people in listening, speaking, leading and thinking.  These skills can better help people towards self-actualization and ensure better leadership and understanding.  People from various backgrounds can join the TI and fulfill their dreams of becoming better leaders and master communicating with others.
In the year 1924, Ralph C. Smedley organized the first meeting of the group that eventually became the TI in a basement in Santa Ana California.  The parent organization of the TI was the YMCA and Smedley was the Director of Education at the YMCA, California.  He felt that young people required training in the art of public-speaking and presiding over get-togethers.  Smedley named the group as the Toastmasters Club because he wanted young men and women to be trained for public-speaking in a pleasant and socially-excellent atmosphere.  When the Toastmasters club at the YMCA in Santa Ana was initiated, it soon blossomed as it created an informal atmosphere for learning and development.  Soon other communities also got interested and people formed their own Toastmasters clubs.  By the year 1930, the several toastmasters club formed a federation.  Later, the club was converted to TI when another club in British Columbia Canada united with the Toastmasters.  By the year 1962, TI was able to establish several offices in California.  In the year 1990, the headquarters of Toastmasters International was relocated from Santa Ana to Rancho Santa Margarita, California.  Today Toastmasters has more than 250,000, with 12,500 clubs in over 106 nations.

The Toastmasters Web site has a Web page titled Need Help Giving a Speech, and there are more than 10 resource links available.  Three of them that interested me the most were 10 Tips for Public Speaking, Visual Aids  PowerPoint and Accepting an Award.  The TI also has a link that can help a person on the spot for making business presentations or presentations on special occasions.  The content available on these links is easy to read, graphically-acceptable, concise, simple and easy to follow even at the last moment.  The content can help the user to overcome stage fear.

I searched for the Toastmasters Clubs in Boston Massachusetts through the Toastmasters group finder link and found many clubs, two were-

1. Boston DEP Toastmasters Club - Club  9149, Dist  31, Est 12011992
Address MA Dept Of Environmental Protection (D E P)  2nd Floor, 1 Winter St, Boston, MA, 02108, US Phone (617) 292 5787

2. Boston Globe Toastmasters - Club  1279235, Dist  31, Est 04222009
Address Boston Globe, 135 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA, 02126, US,

Decisions are taken to achieve goals or objectives. One has to make decision when there is more than one choice of course of action to accomplish hisher goal. Problem solving is a process where decision has to be made on considering the problem, alternatives and a best course of action. The third step is action i.e. implementing the decision.
           
Group decision making and problem solving is much better than individual decision making. Groups can provide more information, resources, knowledge and experience than an individual could. Group decision making has several advantages that include Diversity, recollecting facts, detecting errors, creativity and innovation. However there are also some disadvantages take too much time, social barriers because of diversity, group think and group polarization.

There are three major methods of group decision making.
Leader decides
Voting
Through consensus
In organizations group decision making take forms of the following techniques
Brainstorming
Dialectal technique
Nominal technique
Delphi technique
         
According to my personal experience group decision making is one of the best ways to conclude on a solution. Apart from all the drawbacks and cons of groups, I have learnt that there are times when individually you cannot get the exact or planned result. With the help of group you can achieve an excellent decision whether it is at work or your personal life. This is because through group you have been able to consider all possible solutions which individually were not possible for you.

Introduction
Decision making and problem solving is linked together because a decision is made when a problem is considered to be solved. Both skills are required in every individuals life whether it be on a daily basis i.e. personal life or at work. Making decisions is an important aspect for leadership and management. A decision can only turn out to be good if it involves combination of skills, creativity in identifying alternatives, and clarity in judgment, determination, and successful implementation. Decisions are made when we want to achieve goals and also during existence of problems. Decision making differs from problem solving as the act refers to selecting among the alternatives that are already present while problem solving is the process taking place before the decision is to be made. However they are interlinked because decisions are to be made during problem solving process.

Thesis Statement
Decision making and problem solving in groups brings about a better result than making decisions individually. The famous saying two heads are better than one is true. This is so I believe because two can work better together to solve a problem than simply one persons effort. More can be achieved that individually may not be possible. Take for instance, democracy vs. monarchy. Today democracy is more appreciated than one persons ruling. However in this context, I would like to refer particularly in organizations and in general. Decision making that is taken on the basis of consensus is more likely to achieve better outcomes than wholly one person taking the entire responsibility.

Individual vs. Group decision making
Groups are better most of time in comparison to individuals because they can solve problems better, give more information and resources, provide a broader view, and spot faults among ones reasoning. However, a tradeoff exists because group problem solving involves an excessive time to be put on the structured procedures being followed. Also, group conflicts make it difficult to conclude on a decision. Group is better for problem solving when tasks those are conjunctive, where each member has little to contribute and requires more information from others. In this case, groups are better because multiple solutions can be provided and accepted by the members as there is a plenty of time to discuss and meet. Individuals on the other hand are better for the process when disjunctive tasks are concerned, where one can depend on hisher skillsability because there is no requirement of coordination or discussion (Galanes, n.d.)

Group decision making is likely to be more effective as systematic processes are used in an organized way and follows an overall plan for decision making. (Galanes, n.d.)

Benefits of Group Decision making
A group involves 2-7 people. They usually are formed informally or sometimes in a structured manner with an assigned goal. The process of arriving at decision could be structured or informal. Besides the size, other factors that affect group decision making include demographics, composition, and purpose. Time limitation and contradictory goals are the external factors affecting the effectiveness of the decision.  (Hicks, 2004)
         
One of the advantages of group decision making is its diversity. Different qualities of the group members who come from different culture or demographics could bring diverse expertise to the group. In this way a group can come up with high quality alternatives for consideration than an individual could.

Diverse experiences- the pool of individual experiences from their personal lives and other could help bring about a good solution.

Superior remembrance of facts-number of people in a group overcomes the problem of forgetting information as in the case of individual working alone.

Greater satisfactoriness of decisions- because everyone has had their say into the decision, they tend to support it.

Finding errors- mistakes occurring is minimal when more than one is working.

Communal understanding- because all the members conclude the decision after considering all alternatives and through detailed discussion, everyone is well aware of the action that will be taken.

Creativity- in comparison to individual group may come forward with more creative and inventive solutions to the problems.

Collective responsibility- many people involved in the process would not burden anyone.
Simplifying complex decisions- groups can encounter difficult problem which individual may not be able to.
           
Group problem solving and decision making involves more knowledge of different members. There is a group acceptance to the decision. Because of enhanced and improved communication process better decision could be generated.

Drawbacks of Group decision making
It cannot be suggested that this form of decision making would always work nor would individual. It may be because of a diverse group, there would be social barriers and problems in the beginning stage to accept and respect each others view point. This eventually may slow down the process. But it should not be forgotten that handling the group efficiently would result in a high quality decision.

Other problem with groups is that they take too much time. That is why it is mentioned they should be used for conjunctive tasks only. Another issue is groupthink. This takes place when individuals tend to conform to the dominant view point in the group and where there are possibilities that all alternatives were not fully considered.

Lastly, another major problem is with the fact that group polarization occurs at times. This is the degree to which group takes risky decisions that individually one would not. This is because individuals do not hold them selves accountable in a group as much they would as if they were deciding alone.

Methods of Group decision making
Decisions in group can be made through different methods. They all have their pros and cons. The three usually used methods are as follow

Leader takes the decision-this method of decision making saves time. However, the disadvantage is that the accuracy may be limited as effectiveness of the decision lies on the group discussion. When ideas of the entire group are taking into account, the decision would more accurate and effective.

Voting- voting takes place on the decision of the majority. Because this is not a reliable method, it should only be used when there is lack of time and the decision is not so important.

Decision on consensus- this is the most difficult method as it requires a lot of time, effort, and group contribution. But the good thing is that it results in the best group judgment. It seeks to get acceptance from all the group members. Consensus is achieved when the group members accept the same option available. This results in a creative and innovative decision. Because each member agrees to the decision, it supports the step of implementing it i.e. action.

A problem in this method is that there may be one member of the group disagreeing with the decision. This is why consensus decision making is more effective as it considers the objections as well before taking any decision. Some of they ways a group can overcome the difficulty of blockage by a member are

Listen to other views vigilantly- ensure that you listen to other point of view before presenting yours.
Find an acceptable solution- the concept of this approach is that in the end every one wins. There wont be any losers. Thus agree on one solution.  

Hear everyone- everyone should be given a chance to be heard. You must discover all the possible alternatives.

View disagreement positively-disagreements arent bad. Everyone doesnt start off disagreeing. Disagreements tend to examine commitments of the group, settle on how good the idea seems, and search for ways that the group will end up in a mutual agreement.

Group decision making in organizations
In organizations, some of the most common methods used for group decision making include
       
Brainstorming- in this step or method, members of the group suggest ideas verbally or alternatives to be chosen from. This is usually done in an informal way. Group members understand the problem as the situation to them is fully described. There is a group leader responsible for seeking ideas of the group members. Generating alternatives stage differs from evaluating alternatives as the members are not permitted to discuss the ideas until everyone has presented their ideas. Once the generation stage is complete, the group then discusses on the suggestions. Brainstorming is an unstructured method that does not involve much on ways to evaluate the alternatives to come to an action. A drawback of the method is that there are individuals who may hesitate to present their ideas with the fear of being judged by others.
         
Dialectical inquiry- this technique involves emphasis on considering all alternatives. Initially, it requires the division of groups into opposite sides, which debate on the pros and cons of the projected solutions. Similar to this is another method called devils advocate where one group member enlightens with the probable problems with a projected decision. Both of the techniques are used to ensure that group takes into account all the consequences of a decision.

Nominal Group Technique- this is a formal decision making technique where members of the group are suppose to make a broad list of their ideas in a form of writing. This process is done in private. Once this has been done, each member is asked to share one item at a time from their list to be discussed until all of alternatives are considered. In this process there is no permission to criticize or evaluate the ideas. Once all the ideas are proposed in public, then the discussion take place which closes on ranking of ideas in a sequence of preference.
         
Delphi Technique- organizations use this technique when individuals are present at different geographical locations. This group is formed on the basis of individuals particular knowledge and expertise of the problem. In Delphi method, every group member has to provide independent ideas or solutions to the problem in the upcoming stages. These alternative solutions are provided through email, fax, or in an online discussion or by bulletin board electronically. Every stage follows a question answer session where alternativesoptions are to be ranked in some manner. After many rounds, the group finally lands on a decision made on consensus to take best itinerary of action.

Personal experience
There have been many times in school when we are assigned a project in a group. I remember when I was in high school, in our English class we were asked to write a paper individually at first and then groups were made to check each others work. We had to do the brainstorming session, then the first and second draft. The final draft did not occur till our peers checked each others writing. This activity helped me get good grade because group suggestions and critics corrected and improved my writing piece. Once this happened, we were to sum up the information from our groups (additions, deletions, suggestions) and compile our work together in the final draft. I learned that individually you can do well but with the help of group you can achieve excellence.

There are many other experiences to share but the one most related to this topic was when in my e-commerce class in business school, we had to do a group assignment on making an e-business plan. Each group had to have a group leader and I was the leader of my group. Some of the problems I came across while doing the project was getting work done from group members. Because they all were my friends, it was hard to assign work to each as this would regard as if I am bossing them around. But since it was the responsibility of the leader to post meeting minutes to the teacher on his blog, I had to make sure I do that as it was the part of our grade. Apart from all the disagreeing on the group, we ended up with a great e-business plan on a salon. From the entire class our project was rated 1st including the presentation by the teacher.

Conclusion
From my experiences I have learned that working with a group does not always mean that every thing will turn out smooth and as planned but when the group is handled effectively, you can overcome all the negativities of group decision making. When it comes to group decision making in organizations, usually they follow a structured manner and procedures to carry out the problem solving process and come to a final decision. Because their decision will affect organizations operations they have to make sure they are successful in reaching group consensus.

The seminar can be held in a spacious function room. The participants can simply sit down on the floor for a closer interaction during the activities if they prefer to do so.  It will start off by forming groups wherein the members of each group come from the different departments.  The purpose of the said action is to immerse each employee to the personalities of other employees outside their department so to fully utilize their creativity in a new working environment.  A brief review on the concepts and theories of creativity will be done after the groups have been formed.  Then the first activity will take place.

Each group needs to think of a group name and incorporate a certain creativity concept.  A representative from the groups will do the explanation.  The facilitator of the seminar will discuss that creativity is present in everyone, young or old.  Also, he or she will share that a creative process needs to be undertaken within an appropriate environment or the term, press in order to come up with an output.  The next activity will be named as The Light Bulb.  This will do an approach with creativity in line with the character of Ginger in the movie Chicken Run.  The facilitator will ask the employees on how Ginger managed to be a heroine by being creative.  The answer is the fact on how Ginger observed that the chickens should fly over the fence thus coming up with an idea of making a flying machine.  The idea was made possible with the help of her other animal friends.

The goal of the activity is to tap creativity among the employees while being able to work with a team.  Stuff in the office like the printer, fax machine, pen, coffee mug, notepad, and folder will be set in front of the employees.  Then, cards in which office problems are written will be handed over.  The activity might seem to be bizarre since the solutions should come from the office tools but then again, the strange set up will let the employees do some real thinking.  The solutions of course, will not be tackled in a literal way.  If it makes sense then be it in a literal way.  For example, the problem is about an employee who is always late.  If the assigned tool for the group is a notepad, then a probable solution in real life is to let the manager do the talking and let the pages of the notepad represent the number of people who needs a job, and if he continues on being tardy, one of these people will replace him.  Through this way, the manager can let the employee feel the importance of the job.  Another example is the use of the printer.  The management should liken the working attitude of the office to that of the printer.  Obviously, no text on the paper will be printed out of there is no output.  It is similar to an office work that needs to be done effectively and efficiently before coming up with the perfect output.  Basically, like Ginger, the employees will be able to generate creative ideas through giving solutions to the problems.

The last activity will be entitled as Squeeze out the creative pulp.  This activity will have a lighter atmosphere but still enhance the creative thinking of the employees. Each group will have a turn of singing a line from a song and then the other group will continue it but by singing a line from a different song.  An example is, Hello, I love you can be sung by the first group then the next group can sing, You light up my life.  And so on until a group becomes a winner.  Each group will be given 30 seconds to think of the next line.  The analogy of giving the lyrics in a continued process is that to ensure that in real life, a creative idea will just remain as an idea if no work is done.  After the third activity, a summary of everything that has been learned will be explained by a representative of the participants as well as the facilitator.  Then, the closing remarks and the giving of awards will be shared by the highest ranking officer that is present in the seminar.  The content of the message can include motivating words on creativity while giving emphasis on the thought that the creative meter at the workplace should never run out and that each employee has a vested right of sharing his or her own creative idea.

Summary of Events
Introduction and grouping 15 minutes
Brief recap of concepts 15 minutes
First activity (group names and explanation) 30 minutes
Discussion of facilitator 15 minutes
Second activity (The Light Bulb) 30 minutes
Break time 15 minutes
Third Activity (Squeeze out the creative pulp) 30 minutes
Integration 15 minutes
Closing and Awarding for Outstanding participants, group winner 15 minutes