Running head: PERSONAL ACTION PLAN

Personal Action Plan Observations
Rhonda Riley
University of Phoenix
Diversity in Communications
COMM/315
Peter Pizor
October 20, 2009
Personal Action Plan Today, instead of going to The Red Lobster with my co-worker for a lovely, lavish steak and lobster lunch; I decided to go to the unemployment office (Henderson - Job Connect), to observe the various types of people coming in to apply for employment; in an attempt to identify the social differences that one would encounter there and possibly get a story or two from some of the applicants. What did you observe? Upon entry, I spoke with the receptionist and explained reason for being in the office. I told him that my Diversity in Communication assignment required that I observe the people and environment of a public business. I asked if it would be okay to hang out for awhile and people watch. He said sure, he actually thought it was amusing. My first observation of the place was that the majority of the applicants in the office were Caucasian women. Had it not been an employment office, you would not have know that they were there to seek employment because they were not dressed to professional, not as one would dress when applying for employment. They wore jeans and t-shirts with tennis shoes or sandals. Why was this situation out of your comfort zone? Initially, I believed that there would be lots of lower-class citizens waiting around for assistance. My ideas were to see how being amongst them would affect me, not that I consider myself upper-class, but I am far from lower-class. Everyone was so busy with completing their applications; they weren’t really interested in conversation with anyone else, that is, with exception to one young lady that sat next to me, curious about why I was sitting in an employment office with my laptop, just typing away.

What did you learn? The young woman’s name was Laura, although I didn’t ask, I could tell that she looked to be in her early twenties; I learned that she worked for a major hospital in the Henderson, as a medical coder and biller. She had been employed with the hospital for close to two years, and unemployed now for almost a year. Because of the current economic downturn, her employment was terminated; she was told it was due to the reduction of insured patients coming to the hospital. She claimed the hospital even tried to charge a $50.00 co-payment for emergency visits for patients without insurance. All I could say was WOW! Just from speaking with this young woman and looking at my own financial portfolio, I learned, or, realized that most people are only a paycheck or two away from sitting exactly where these poor souls are sitting, due to no fault of their own. What perceptions changed or remained the same about the people observed? The recession has changed a lot of my perceptions; I used to think that if a person wasn’t working, it was because they didn’t want to work, of course things have changed drastically but I am more sympathetic to others needs. I’ve always tried to volunteer time during the holidays with the Salvation Army, but now I’m considering passing out meals, at my cost, to the homeless on the weekends. What perceptions changed or remained the same about the people observed? My perceptions remained the same, these are hardworking people, caught up in a bad economy, doing their best to find employment in order to feed their families. What types of things did you notice about the people? Did you witness any socially conscious individuals? What traits did you see? Most of the individuals that came in signed in and waited to be called to the back. I noticed a board in the waiting area that described the Employer’s expectations and defined each expectation. I thought to myself when I read each, that I guess it’s necessary to list that type of information for some people. For me, even as a teenager on my first job, I always tried my best to please my employer, so that I could remain employed. What type of social inequality did you observe or experience? Well oddly enough, I sat in the waiting room for a little over an hour, so there was a shift change for lunch and I noticed that the new receptionist was following up on most of the applicants, but not once did she ask me if I was being helped, or needed help. This was after everyone was called, and new people began to check in. I thought that rather odd. Did your comfort level change from the time the observation began until it ended and if so how? No. I basically sat in the waiting area and typed away with no one asking any unusual questions. Maybe they thought I was a news paper reporter with all of the news on the unemployment rates rising. How has this experience helped you to be more of a socially conscious individual? The experience showed me that although many think there are very few resources for the unfortunate many that have lost their jobs; the “Job Connect” is one resource where I personally witnessed three people find jobs in the time that I was there. Should there come a time (God forbid), that I need to reach out and find another job, I would sincerely consider them an option. What traits will you need to exhibit? I will need to be patient, open-minded and tenacious. Being persistent certainly pays off in the long run. I may need to lower my standards, in terms of salary, initially, just to get my foot in the door. What areas need to be improved and what steps will you take to ensure there is growth in this area? The areas that I witnessed that could be improved are the attitudes of some of the employees; their attitudes were cheerful, however, they attire could stand some improvement. How are you trying to teach someone how to get a job by, “dressing for success”, when your appearance is far from the look of a successful person. I believe a few of the employees there could benefit from a make-over.

What is your personal action plan? My personal action plan is to continue to be the best person that I know how to be. Personally I want to continue to be kind and understanding to others, while being flexible my ever changing environment. My plans are to complete my degree, continue my education in business management with an emphasis in social services. My objective is to never judge a book by its cover, no one is perfect, but we should always strive for perfection in our everyday lives.