A Humanistic Rationale For Technical Communication

After reading this article, I was a bit perplexed at what was going on.  The article tries to explain whether a technical writing course should satisfy a humanities requirement or not.  The way that the author approached this article was a bit puzzling for me.  I didn’t really understand her view point or why she decided to take this particular approach.  Obviously, she is a lot more qualified than I am to speak about this matter, so she definitely knew what she was doing; I just had a hard time staying on track with what she was saying.  She brought in the topics of rhetoric, science, and others to prove her point why she thinks technical writing is more than just a “skills” course, but as a student who isn’t really familiar with this kind of topic, it made it very difficult for me to understand.  I realize that she was writing this article for people in the English department, so most people understood her rant about how technical writing is positivist.  I on the other hand, am not one of those people and found it extremely complicated to keep up with her theories.  Although, I thought the article was a pretty difficult read, I did like some of the points that Carolyn Miller made about technical writing, and the way she thinks it should be taught.  “It is an amenity occasioned by the conditions of employment in business or industry” (Miller 6), I like this quote because I feel that this is a good point about technical writing and how it is useful in everyday life.  Most people do not know what technical writing is, but everyone in the business world uses it and I think that it is important for people to understand how valuable technical writing is in everyday society.  Also, I enjoyed the part where Miller talks about how she thinks technical writing should be taught as an understanding of how to belong to a community.  Rather than just being able to form a bunch of words on a page, technical writing should be used to focus on a community.  By understanding that technical writing is like being a part of a community, the writer can focus on reaching out to that community, and learning how to be successful in that community.  You have to be aware of who you are writing to and the “concepts, values, tradition and styles” (Miller 8), are all important in being successful in your communication to that community.  The analogy of being a successful communicator in your community and being a successful technical writer go hand in hand, and I thought Miller made an excellent point in explaining that.

Who Killed Rex?

The article “Who Killed Rex?” really made me think and caused me to do a lot of head scratching.  After reading it and taking notes on things that I found interesting, the main question I had about the article was who was to blame for Rex’s death.  The author tries to do research and figure out if one individual is to blame or if it is a certain group within the telephone company such as the Sales or Customer Service department.  He finally comes to the conclusion that he can blame the Network Control Center (NCC).  Although, I do see his point of view I have a bit of a different opinion on who is to blame and why I feel that even though you can hold some more accountable than others, it is really a combination of a group of people that is to blame for Rex’s death. 

A quote from page 11 of the article states that, “NCC workers might blame other units for Rex’s death, but there’s no way to guide interactions, enforce compliance or hold any accountable.”  I totally agree with this quote and believe that it is not simply one individual who is to blame, but a combination of many.  In the article, the author has reasons why it could be the Customer Service Clerk who is at fault for not asking the customer if he had any pets or locked gates.  Also, he states that the individual who opened the gate “was the only one who could have stopped it,” so maybe it was his fault that Rex ran out and died.  These examples give strong points of whom to hold accountable but who’s to say that any of these are more important than the other.  I feel that all of these do play a factor in the death of Rex, but it’s not one persons fault more than the others.  Yes, the Customer Service Clerk should have asked if the customer had pets, and yes the individual cable guy probably should have closed the gate, but that’s not totally their fault.  The cable guy is not responsible for chasing after pets and making sure they don’t run away.  He is supposed to be informed ahead of time if the customer has pets so he can close the gate.  His job does not entail him chasing after dogs and making sure they don’t run away, he is supposed to fix the interrupted cable service, and if told ahead of time, to close the gates for any pets the customer may have.  With all that said, I think that the customer is a little bit to blame for the death as well.  So he was not asked if he had any pets or locked gates, but he still should have been cognizant of the fact that he knew the cable guy was coming over and should have taken the appropriate action with his dog Rex.  As a dog owner myself, I get very upset when workers come in my back yard and let my dog out.  I feel that it is there fault and they should know that my dog will run away.  But is that really fair to place all the blame on them?  If I know that my dog will run away if the gate is open, then I should be aware when workers are going to and from the backyard and either tie my dog up so she won’t run away or bring her in the house until the worker leaves. 

All I’m saying is that everyone plays a part in the death of Rex, and even the owner should have been more aware that his dog would run away if the gate was left open.  I like how the author looked at different parts of the company to be held accountable for Rex’s death, and that made me realize that even though they all played a role, there is really no one individual who is to blame for the death of Rex the dog.

Job/Graduate School

http://www.degreesource.com/articles/52/1/Financial-Advisor-Job-Description/Page1.html

This link defines the job of a financial advisor.  After I graduate and obtain certain licenses I will be qualified for this job. 

I plan on attending Graduate School after college to get my Master's in Business Administration.  You said we could work on our personal statement instead of the job application letter.  I'm not sure if this is where I would start that, but I posted a job that I will be qualified for, as well as, this opportunity for Graduate School. 

Professional Workplace

http://www.raymondjames.com/about/mission.htm

The link above reflects the mission statement of Raymond James Financial Services. The statement produced by this company strongly relates to the subject of technical communication. These two subjects are most closely related however in their involvement with ethics.  Raymond James financial advisors receive large quantities of money from various clients, all of which desire a return on their investment. In order to ensure that their clients money is being invested properly, and with their clients intentions and desires, there needs to be ample amount of trust, communication, and full disclosure between the advisors and their clients. By doing so, advisors at Raymond James are acting in an ethical manner on behalf of their company and their clients. It is crucial that Raymond James advisors communicate well with their clients and display loyalty and trust, so that the client will not be fearful of how their money is being handled. People will not do business with individuals whom they believe are immoral and unethical, especially when the business pertains to investment management. I believe that displaying ethical behavior and communicating well with clients is the main determining factor in the success of a financial advisor. Displaying strong technical communication is a major factor in whether or not clients are going to trust you with their money and help them achieve their lifetime goals. This shows how a company relies on technical communication between the company and clients to ensure ethical behavior as required between the investor and the company.