The Power of Talk
Running head: The Power of Talk
“The Power of Talk (Harvey #20)”
The Power of Talk Observation
What evidence have you seen to support or refute Tannen’s article in either students’ behavior in class or at work?
In my current classes I have found more evidence to refute Tannen’s article rather than support her article. I think that part of the reason is because there are fewer males in most of my classes than there are females, so the opinions, credit and vocals are more women focused. The other reason is because most of my classmates are in Human Resource classes and know the importance of respect and understanding of one another. However, when I was in my undergrad classes I did notice some things that help support Tannen’s article by both students and instructors. The difference in my undergrad classes is that there were more males than females in my classes because not many women were taking engineering majors at the time. I had one male instructor who told use in day one that not all the females would make it through because it was just not the work for women and that females are not wired to handle that kind of work and many of my male classmates agreed. I feel that statements such as that fit with Tannen’s article because it shows that the way males and females grow up to think that men have one place in the work force and women have another. This in turn has the domino effect and leads to beliefs that women are not confident or women who are confident are seen differently.
At work I have had several different experiences that support Tannen’s article. I have been around several women who have apologized for things that they have no control over and thinking back I have found that I too have done this. Once when I apologized in front of one of my managers she said to me, “I don’t understand why we as women feel the need to always say sorry for everything, I don’t want to hear you say it again even if you have done something wrong (S. Stuckey, UPS
“The Power of Talk (Harvey #20)”
The Power of Talk Observation
What evidence have you seen to support or refute Tannen’s article in either students’ behavior in class or at work?
In my current classes I have found more evidence to refute Tannen’s article rather than support her article. I think that part of the reason is because there are fewer males in most of my classes than there are females, so the opinions, credit and vocals are more women focused. The other reason is because most of my classmates are in Human Resource classes and know the importance of respect and understanding of one another. However, when I was in my undergrad classes I did notice some things that help support Tannen’s article by both students and instructors. The difference in my undergrad classes is that there were more males than females in my classes because not many women were taking engineering majors at the time. I had one male instructor who told use in day one that not all the females would make it through because it was just not the work for women and that females are not wired to handle that kind of work and many of my male classmates agreed. I feel that statements such as that fit with Tannen’s article because it shows that the way males and females grow up to think that men have one place in the work force and women have another. This in turn has the domino effect and leads to beliefs that women are not confident or women who are confident are seen differently.
At work I have had several different experiences that support Tannen’s article. I have been around several women who have apologized for things that they have no control over and thinking back I have found that I too have done this. Once when I apologized in front of one of my managers she said to me, “I don’t understand why we as women feel the need to always say sorry for everything, I don’t want to hear you say it again even if you have done something wrong (S. Stuckey, UPS
References: Harvey, C. P. & Allard, M. J. (2009). Understanding and Managing Diversity, (4th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Smith, L (February 2008). Diversity and the Workplace: Unit 2. Retrieved from http://smithlindsey.blogspot.com/2008/02/unit-2.html United Parcel Service of America, Inc. (2010). WLD Overview: Learn about the business case and goals of Women 's Leadership Development. Retrieved from https://ep.upsers.com/eps/upsers/myportal/upsers_content/contentzone?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=SITE_WLD/About+WLD/WLD+Overview