Responding to Reading: Cerner CEO Meltdown
After reading about the CEO at Cerner that lashed out at his employees, I felt that this topic would be the most interesting for me to discuss for this week’s reading response. It is alarming that a person of that high powered position would think it was appropriate to express himself to his subordinates in that way. People our age are told time and time again that we must not send an e-mail that we wouldn’t want a particular person or group of people to read, because e-mail is in writing, and therefore it is proof of whatever statement is made. I do not ever use e-mail to make a point or express my opinions and feelings. I use it as an avenue to send and receive information, so I have never had a debaucle with it.
E-mail differs from text messaging in the sense that it is not as instant form of communication the way text messaging is. When you send soemone a text, it goes directly to his or her cell phone, which is usually on their person. E-mail on the other hand is a slower version of this becaue you need an internet browser to view it (some phones now have this so the two are melding!). I think e-mail is used predominantly because you can attach information and large-scale data that would be inconvenient or impossible on a cell phone. I wouldn’t say that I was exactly surprised by how HR personnel treat resumes. I understand that there has to be some way to filter them, especially if there are a large volume of them to look through. It is your responsibility to make it stand out to them (who likes to be boring?). I like to use power verbs to help me stand out on my resume. I want my actions to stick out in the head of whoever is evaluating it.
Comments
Reply but just curious
CEO Meltdown
I think a lot of people forget that if you send an email to someone they can easily send it to someone else you had not intended seeing it. The CEO obviously did not think of this. He probably figured since he only sent it to his employees they would be the only people seeing it. You can never be sure who is seeing your email since it is so easy to forward it so someone else without the writer of the email knowing. I agree you shouldn't express your opinions or views too strongly in email because then they end up in the wrong hands and you've got nothing but trouble on your hands.
I also think people are a lot less formal when they are texting as opposed to emailing. If you are texting someone it is most likely a friend or a family member. Unless you are very close to your professor I doubt you would be sending text messages back and forth. However emails would be acceptable since it is the usual way to communicate to each other. You also bring up a good point about attaching a lot of data in an email. It would be really hard if not impossible to load up that much data on a cell phone.
once it's in writing it's official
I have also been told time and time again that you should never put something in an email that you don’t want the entire world to see. When you really think about it emails are not personal no matter who you have sent it to. All it takes is one heated argument with an individual for them to take something you have written and use it against you. I think that some people tend to forget the fact that once it is in writing with your name next to it, it’s official. I never really thought of email as being a slower version of text messaging but I guess now that I do think about it, you’re right!