In my quest for a degree in Applied Communications, what I have truly learned

cannot always be reflected in the grades that I receive on my work. I make this

statement because I am a nontraditional student who also works many long hours

everyday at my job. When I began my pursuit for a degree, I also began my journey

as a steward for the National Association of Letter Carriers union. Therefore, in this

paper I will argue that though the grades I received on the projects we have done

this semester may reflect a grade of a B, but that my overall body of work, which

also includes my work as a steward, deserves an A. Some might say that if I truly

deserved an A that it would have shown in my school work alone but I feel that my

work as a steward helps to fully define the true meaning of Applied

Communications. Throughout this paper I will show three key ideas. First, I will

show how I have incorporated Martin Buber’s concept of I-Thou into my

interactions with management at work in order to improve my communication and

interactions with them. Next, I will show how I used the concept of “face”, from

Politeness Theory, to help with the difficult conversations that often occur in my job

as a steward. Finally, I will show how I have used Attribution Theory to change my

perspective of management in order to create a better work environment at my job.

Martin Buber’s concept of I-Thou has had the greatest impact on me during the

time I have spent pursuing my degree. In his book, Buber says, “Whoever says You

does not have something; he has nothing. But he stands in relation.” (Buber, 1970)

In this particular sentence, Buber exchanges “Thou” with “You”. However, the

meaning is as powerful as ever. Buber is letting his audience know that when we

speak of someone as “You” that we no longer see them simply as a tool to leverage
for our gain but we see them as someone with whom we want to share a

relationship. This person becomes a real person to us and is no longer just an

object. In my work as a steward, my job is to honor the contract between the NALC

and the USPS. In the process of doing this job, I must meet with members of

management in order to discuss violations to the contract and work to resolve these

violations. Many of these discussions are difficult because both parties feel justified

in their actions. This narrow perspective each party has lends itself to each side

treating the other as an object instead of a human. After reading Buber, I have tried

my best to change this dynamic during my interactions. The first thing I did was, try

to get to know the other person on a personal level. I found that when they were

viewed simply as “management” then they were just the “object” that I had to fight

with to get what I needed. However, when that object became “Kathy”, the mother

of a teenage daughter who is going into her senior year and looking at colleges,

things changed immediately in our relationship. All of a sudden, we weren’t union

and management fighting about a violation of the contract. We were Tommy and

Kathy working through the details of the contract in order to maintain a strong and

healthy work environment. Does this mean that we don’t still have arguments? Of

course not, but we now seem to be able to not let the argument linger on and effect

the whole meeting. The nature of the union and management relationship is volatile

but by treating management as a “Thou” it has at least started the process of an

improved relationship.

The next concept that I have incorporated into my job as a steward comes from

Politeness Theory and it is the concept of “face”. In the lecture of Politeness Theory,
“face” was said to be, “The desire to be liked, admired, appreciated, and approved.”

(Thompson, 2018) I have learned that when I go to management about a violation

of the contract that in many ways I take away their ability to maintain “face”. When

I confront them about a violation, I am essentially showing them that they are

wrong. When I tell them that I think they are wrong, I take away their ability to

maintain “face”. This has been a challenging process because no matter how I

approach this, I still have to point out the violation of the contract and I must admit

that I don’t yet have the perfect solution. My approach so far has been to “ask” if

they are aware that what they are doing is a violation of the contract, instead of just

“telling” them they violated it and filing a grievance. Though this is not a perfect

solution, it has given them the ability to say that they were not aware of the

violation. In many situations, this has allowed management to save “face” and made

the conversations somewhat less volatile. Again, while not a perfect solution, this

has proven to be a good starting point.

The final concept I have been working on in my job as a union steward comes

from Attribution Theory. In the lecture on this subject it was said, “If we like the

person or the group we will excuse negative things by saying, “What could they do?

The situation was really tough.” If we don’t like the person or group we will hold

them responsible and say something like, “What do you expect? They are too stupid

to do anything else.”” (Thompson, 2018) As a steward this an easy hole to crawl in

and can have a great effect on how others view the way I perform my job.

Therefore, when a violation of the contract occurs, I now try to do two things. First,

I let the contract be the focus and not the person who committed the violation. By
doing this I allow myself to give the person the benefit of the doubt. I have learned

that it doesn’t matter if they violated the contract on purpose or by accident, either

way the problem has to be resolved. So if instead of accusing the person and simply

focusing on the contract itself, I don’t vilify them and therefore give them the benefit

of the doubt. Secondly, before I meet with management over a violation I try to view

it from their perspective. Though this doesn’t change the violation, it does give me a

different point of view and allows me to take my emotions out of the conversation.

If I can see the violation through their eyes, I go from accusing them of a wrong to

simply pointing out a mistake. However, like the other concepts I have written

about, this process has not been perfect but it has been a good launching point for

change.

In conclusion, though I may have not been able to show A work on paper, I have

been applying the concepts to my everyday life. In my pursuit of my degree in

Applied Communications, I have developed my skills that have greatly assisted me

in my job. I must admit, when I started this program and became a steward at the

same time, I had originally envisioned becoming a hammer for the union and

spending the rest of my days battling management for what is right. However, after

over a year in the Applied Communications program, I now see that I should focus

on “co-creating a better social world, through the use of positive communication”.

This change of heart has not only improved my relationships at work but it has also

changed my life. I now wake up every morning and spend an hour reading the Bible

before doing my studies and heading to work with hopes of making a change. All of

these factors have helped me create a positive attitude in my life and changed the
way I view my fellow human beings. I have no idea what the future will bring, but I

do know that if the path I’m currently on is any indication, then I will be creating a

much more positive environment than the direction I was previously taking.

Therefore, Applied Communication’s is making an impact in my life, which means I

have not only have learned but I have “applied” what I learned to bring about

change.

Buber, M. (1970) I and thou. (W. Kaufmann, Trans.) New York, NY: Touchstone

Thompson, C. (2018) Politeness theory lecture. Retrieved from

https://blackboard.ualr.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_54724_1&co
ntent_id=_1631930_1&mode=reset

Thompson, C. (2018) Attribution theory lecture. Retrieved from

https://blackboard.ualr.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_54724_1&co
ntent_id=_1631932_1&mode=reset