ESP Program Competencies
Lesson Overview
Lesson Overview
The ESP degree was constructed with the idea that graduates of the program will have the skills necessary to fill the communication gaps that exist in today's energy and sustainability fields. We want our graduates to be able to read and interpret policy and understand its applications, benefits, and potential ramifications. It was with this goal in mind that the five learning competencies for ESP graduates were established.
What will we learn?
By the end of this Lesson, you should be able to:
- list the five competency areas for the ESP degree
- describe each (i.e. the intention)
- understand the relevance of each competency to the ESP degree
What will be due?
Refer to the Activities page for more information on the assessments for this lesson.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please post to the Canvas Discussion Forum called "Questions" or
e-mail the instructor (if the question is personal in nature).
Program Competencies
Program Competencies
The Energy and Sustainability Policy program was designed from the ground up. One thing that distinguishes this program from many others is that the design process was driven by the input of an Advisory Board. Our Advisory Board is comprised of a group of professionals from a wide range of positions and responsibilities in the energy industry. The Advisory Board helped us to identify and articulate the knowledge, skills, and values that are required in the industry today. As a direct result of our continual interaction with our Advisory board, the ESP program emphasizes learning in five competency areas:
- Energy Industry Knowledge
- Sustainability Ethic
- Analytical Skills
- Global Perspective
- Communication Skills
You can review in more detail what each of these competency areas involves below.
Energy Industry Knowledge
- Demonstrate broad and accurate business and technical knowledge of all major sectors of the energy industry, including conventional, alternative/renewable, and emerging technologies.
- Recognize and correct misinformation about the energy resources on which society depends, the prevailing and emerging new technologies, policies and associated rules by which energy is produced and supplied, and the environmental and human implications of energy consumption.
- Explain the requirements of private and public sources of financing of energy ventures in light of political, legal, and regulatory considerations, tax and accounting policies, and warrantied performance of energy technologies.
- Cite case studies to explain principles of energy and environmental economics, including pricing of non-market values, cap and trade, and social discounting.
Sustainability Ethic
- Embody the conviction that corporate interests can be reconciled with social and environmental interests;
- Advocate public participation in decisions whose outcomes affect environmental justice; and
- Make a business case for sustainable practices in the context of a particular energy business or utility.
Analytical Skills
- Find, read, understand, interpret, and synthesize evolving energy policy and regulations;
- Understand legislative processes within state, federal, and international governments, including the roles of regulators, non-governmental organizations, and other advocacy groups;
- Prepare and critique quantitative benefit and cost analysis of proposed and existing energy business ventures;
- Assure regulatory compliance of utilities and related entities;
- Help identify advantageous sites and routes for energy generation, transmission, and distribution.
Global perspective
- Illustrate and explain the geographic distributions of various energy resources.
- Discuss case studies that reveal how global systems of energy production, distribution, and consumption are linked to social and environmental systems in particular places (e.g., climate change, water scarcity).
- Document pertinent insights gained from an overseas field trip, internship, or other relevant international experience.
Communications
- Effectively explain to diverse audiences – orally, in writing, and through maps and other information graphics – the intended and unintended consequences of energy policy and regulation;
- Listen to and learn from other members of diverse teams;
- Demonstrate competence in a language other than English.
Energy Industry Knowledge
Energy Industry Knowledge
In order to be competitive in the types of careers emerging in environmental and energy-related industries, you will need to possess both a breadth and depth of related knowledge. While no one person can be an expert in all things energy related, having a keen understanding of how these industries operate and interact with each other, the economy, and society will be key. But, even before you learn any of that, you'll need to understand how to talk the talk! Know the terminology and get familiar with the basics of energy! Memorize the categories, forms, and sources of energy, so that you can talk intelligently and also better understand information that is directed at you!
Energy Terminology
The common language element that allows everybody to talk about energy is the difference between forms of energy and the sources of energy. If you don’t understand the differences between forms and sources, it is very difficult to talk about the energy industry.
Forms of Energy vs Sources of Energy
Forms of energy are not traded. Sources of energy, or the technologies that convert the source from one form to another, are traded. You can get a real practical understanding of this from the statement, “Energy is never created nor destroyed. It is only transformed.” For example, the sun’s radiant energy is transformed into the electromagnetic waves of light which then undergoes a transformation in a photovoltaic device that changes the form of electromagnetic radiation into the form of electricity. Although the energy forms vary, the source stays the same, it is the sun. Make sense?
Watch this video that explains it much more clearly! It repeats after 22:00, so it's much shorter than indicated!
Video: Bill Nye the Science Guy: Energy (29:51) - only watch to 22:00
EIA website
The U.S. Energy Information Administration [3] maintains a website that can be considered a vetted resource. The Energy Information Administration [4] (EIA) is a branch of the US Department of Energy. They are a nonpartisan entity that collects and analyzes data related to energy exploration, production, consumption, and trade. One key advantage of their mission is that they make their data freely available to anyone who is interested (including us!). You will find that several of your ESP instructors will utilize EIA data and resources in their classes. Familiarizing yourself with the EIA website now offers you the opportunity to explore energy date information that you are interested in.
Read through the first section of the EIA website, "Energy Explained, What is Energy? [5]"
- Forms of Energy [6]
- Sources of Energy [7]
- Laws of Energy [8]
Optional Reading
I encourage you to take some time to look through the available resources including:
- What are the predominant sources of energy for your state [9]?
- How much of the United States' energy is generated from renewable sources [10]?
- Do we get much fossil fuel from federal and Indian lands [11]?
- Why were first quarter 2012 carbon dioxide emissions [12] from coal the lowest since 1992?
This is just a sampling of the types of information you can find on the EIA website. The US Energy Facts page [13] offers a wide variety of information about our domestic energy production and consumption.
Sustainability Ethic
Sustainability Ethic
When YOU think of sustainability, you may think of recycling or waste management, or maybe even “the ability to continue a defined behavior indefinitely” (Thwink.org, 2014). However, as you will read in our textbook, Working Toward Sustainability, “there are at least 70 documented definitions of sustainable development or its sister term, sustainability” (2012). Definitions range from the simple: “living within limits” (sustainablemeasures.com), to the more focused: "improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting eco-systems."
The term sustainability is fluid; its meaning can change based on context and who is doing the talking. So you can see why the term itself may be misunderstood or discussed abstractly at times. It is important that you have a general understanding of what sustainability is and what it means so that you can engage in discussions related to sustainability, no matter what the context. If you plan to build a career around sustainability, you need to be able to address it both in a broader scope and in varying contexts.
For the purposes of the ESP Program, we will use sustainability in the context of the Brundtland definition, which implies that sustainable development is “development which meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This definition was born out of the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development acknowledgment of the need to address poverty, environmental crises, and resource shortages. The balance of meeting the needs of our current and ever-growing population while also ensuring we don’t leave the earth in squalor for the next generation is difficult to define and implement.
The Bruntland Commission
When defining sustainability, we referred to a document from the United Nations called, Our Common Future [14] (1987). The initial commission of 1983 (the World Commission on Environment and Development) was later named the Bruntland Commission, after Chairperson Gro Harlem Brundtland of Norway. The commission and report were the first major international undertakings to look in depth at the systemic implications of human activity on the planet with respect to our relations with 1) contemporary global communities, 2) future generations of human society, and 3) the natural community, or environment, supporting life and biodiversity on Earth. In particular, the commission became cognizant that we as 'individuals' are tightly linked to all three communities.
Additional Resources
While there are many challenges associated with sustainable development, some broad areas tend to take the main stage; they can often be categorized as population, poverty, energy use, food, economy, environment and climate change. Each category can be further broken down into more specific focus areas. For example, the UN released the “17 Goals to Transform Our World [15]”. Go to their website and learn more about each goal by clicking on the associated tile shown.
Now watch the following video produced by the U.N. about the 17 SDG's
Video: Do you know all 17 SDGs? (1:24)
Economic Dimensions of Sustainability Ethics
Economic Dimensions of Sustainability Ethics
You’ve all heard the term “triple bottom line” (TBL), but what does it mean? It's a way of measuring success beyond profits alone.
“The TBL is an accounting framework that incorporates three dimensions of performance: social, environmental and financial. This differs from traditional reporting frameworks as it includes ecological (or environmental) and social measures that can be difficult to assign appropriate means of measurement. The TBL dimensions are also commonly called the three Ps: people, planet and profits.”
Are you starting to get the drift of the depth and breadth of the interconnectedness theme that keeps appearing in our readings and discussions?
The idea that businesses should measure more than just profit didn’t come to fruition until the mid 1990s. Since then, there's been a concerted effort to define the parameters involved in the TBL and how to measure those parameters. Because measuring sustainability efforts can be fluid and hard to define, only a loose general framework can be used to talk broadly about the idea. In our reading, The Triple Bottom Line: What Is It, and How Does It Work? (see below) Slaper and Hall discuss the components of the TBL and how it is measured.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is another way to talk about the triple bottom line. Many companies have CSR plans readily available to the general public. In a way, CSR is another avenue to advance their brand and secure more revenue. Kibert et al. argue that “Companies engaged in the CSR framework accrue significant benefits such as a better brand identity, lower levels of regulatory scrutiny, reduced liability, a better reputation among prospective employees, and a far greater probability of gaining a “license to operate” in communities where they proposed to establish operations.” (2012, 302) What the authors are trying to say is that it pays organizations to establish CSR practices. Examples of widely recognized companies that proudly display their CSR efforts include:
- Ben and Jerry's [19]
- Starbucks [20]
- Tom's Shoes [21]
- Adidas, see video below (2:21 minutes)
Adidas - 4 Pillars of Sustainability [22] from.
Optional Reading
- Working Toward Sustainability: Ethical Decision Making in a Technological World, read the first section of "Economic Dimensions of Sustainability Ethics" (p.123) Then also read the section on "Economic Sustainability", in Chapter 11. p. 297) You can use the free electronic version [23]
- Read the section entitled "What Measures Go Into the Index" of "The Triple Bottom Line: What Is It and How Does it Work? [24]" article. Of course, you are welcome to read the entire article if you want.
- Learn more in the Business Daily article titled What is Corporate Social Responsibility? [25]
Environmental Dimensions of Sustainability Ethics
Environmental Dimensions of Sustainability Ethics
Our Role as Humans
Here in the United States, the environmental movement and awareness of environmental ethics are largely associated with the popularity and awareness that resulted from Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. However, decades earlier, Aldo Leopold laid the groundwork for environmental ethics with his “Land Ethic” philosophy in which he suggested that there is an ecological (interdependent) nature of human’s relationship with the land, saying we’re an “interconnected web of inorganic elements and living beings,” that deserve “to be treated with love and respect, for it [all] has not only instrumental, but also intrinsic value.” (p. 96)
Leopold was one of the first people to speak out for the land itself, promoting it as less of a utilitarian resource to be used as an economic vehicle only, and more of an integral player in our well-being; more a part of us versus something to be conquered. In doing so, he attempted to move our land use away from anthropocentric focused endeavors to more ecocentric considerations. He believed that environmental decisions should be made with consideration of what is best for nature, and not what is “most convenient, useful or economically” valuable to people.
Please watch the following video that more thoroughly explains anthropocentrism and ecocentrism and provides an example of when the two ideals collide.
Video: Environmental Humanities MOOC - 10 What is anthropocentrism? (3:15)
Optional Reading
- Working Toward Sustainability: Ethical Decision Making in a Technological World [28], section on "The Emergence of Environmental Ethics" (p.95-99)
You can find a free electronic version under Library Resources in Canvas. - You can read more about Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson in Chapter 5: Environmental Dimensions of Sustainability Ethics of our textbook: Working Toward Sustainability: Ethical Decision Making in a Technological World.
You can find a free electronic version under Library Resources in Canvas.
Social Dimensions of Sustainability Ethics
Social Dimensions of Sustainability Ethics
What is the Golden Rule?
“Golden rules generally call on people to consult their own needs and wants and extend to others the same treatment that they would want to receive.” (Kibert 2012, p 68)
While most of the time, when we think of this “ethic of reciprocity” (Kibert 2012), we think of the “do unto others” mentality – that whatever we desire, others must also desire. However, this way of thinking can be examined from another direction when thinking that perhaps it should be “Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire” (p 68). In a global context, this idea can be extended even further. Because of cultural nuances, how can we assume that we know what someone of another location, religion, ethnic background, etc., desires?
So, right now you may be asking, what does the Golden Rule have to do with sustainability? As our textbook states, the Golden Rule “gives us strong reason to assume that, like us, our local and global neighbors want and deserve to have their basic needs met – needs for physical security, health, nutritious food, decent housing, education, a meaningful livelihood, and a life-supporting, beautiful and biologically diverse planet” (p 70). Operating under that premise, an ethic of sustainability can be derived and formulated.
Additionally, the Golden Rule lays the foundation for the recognition of environmental injustice. Environmental injustice was born from the idea that minority populations and communities are often targeted for harmful industries, infrastructures, or disposal sites. Kibert et al. assert:
“Environmental injustice occurs whenever some individual or group bears disproportionate environmental risks, like those of hazardous waste dumps. Or has unequal access to environmental goods, like clean air, or has less opportunity to participate in environmental decision-making. In every nation of the world, poor people and minorities face greater environmental risks, have less access to environmental goods, and have less ability to control the environmental insults imposed on them.”
One of the most recent examples of environmental injustice (or environmental racism) is the Flint, Michigan case in which residents were provided with contaminated water, despite the known issues. Watch the video (7:49 minutes) below to learn more.
Video: Environmental Racism & Flint (7:49)
Optional Reading
- Chapter 4 of our textbook, Working Toward Sustainability: Ethical Decision Making in a Technological World [28] covers Justice, Fairness, and Reciprocity more in depth, including more information related to the Golden Rule.
You can also visit the EPA’s Environmental Justice website [32] to learn more about the EPA’s efforts to ensure that everyone enjoys:the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards;equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.
Learn about the history of environmental justice by visiting Energy.gov, Environmental Justice History [33]And you can visit the Energy.gov Environmental Justice page [34] to learn more.
President Trump's 2025 executive order Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Spending and Preferencing eliminated all offices and positions with environmental justice functions. Therefore, the above Energy.gov links and information no longer exists.
Source: Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing [35]
Global Perspective
Global Perspective
Global perspective, another core competency of the ESP program, prompts us to think about the context and scope of our energy planning decisions. It is often easy to find common ground with those who share our language, cultural norms, locale, and economic standing. In this program, you are challenged to step out of your comfort zone and walk in someone else's shoes, so to speak.
It is important to be aware of our own bias and cultural perspective with respect to the rest of the world. In ESP, we try to cultivate our awareness of biases and perspectives of "the other."
Why is it important to understand people, cultures, and practices that are different from us and our experiences? Because we know that energy-related issues (e.g., resource conversion, demand, exchange, and unwanted emissions) typically extend beyond political boundaries and insulated societies. Energy projects can exceed the scope of the immediate community of interested clients and often have regional or global impacts.
Energy, Environment, and Society
What is the role of energy when you think of a specific geographic region as an ecosystem? Do our energy and environmental systems respect state (and national) boundaries?
What is the role of water in energy demand and use in different countries or geographic regions of countries? Is there an environmental implication to our energy planning decisions based on a competition for water as a basic human need (again in what geographical contexts)?
Global perspective prompts us to think about the context and scope of our energy planning decisions.
Context and Scope?
Merriam-Webster defines context as "the situation in which something happens: the group of conditions that exist where and when something happens". So, think cultural scenarios, weather influences, timeframes, etc. (e.g., The native people haven't had potable water access in years as a result of the pipeline project.)
Scope is defined as " the extent of influence or the range of operation". You can remember this by thinking geographically or numerically. (e.g., The pollution plume stretched 1,100 up and down the east coast.)
How do you know how to prepare for a different audience or an audience that you are unfamiliar with? What strategies could you use to present energy information to audiences with a different view of context and scope than your own?
Envision yourself not in your hometown but instead in Alabama, Nigeria, Canada, or China and trying to introduce the idea of a new wind farm project to the local people. How would you adapt your message to meet the needs of this new audience? In what ways do you need to be adaptive? Context and scope are everything in unfamiliar scenarios.
Consider this…
Two different wind farm projects were proposed in a rural area. Both were on the same mountain range, had similar wind prospects, and the locals both had very similar rural cultural backgrounds. And yet, one was successfully developed into an energy production plant while the other was not.
One was spearheaded by a group which engaged and involved the surrounding community in the project planning and promised to continue community involvement through project implementation. The other was a proposed from a company that never reached out to the community until required to by law and made no effort to understand the community's concerns. Can you guess which effort was successful?
The project that involved the local population was infinitely more successful. The first group's efforts to treat the local community as stakeholders and understand their perspective allowed the project team to better connect with the community and implement a win/win project scenario for most involved. It also allowed the project team to tailor information to meet the needs of the stakeholders and therefore communicate with them successfully.
These two scenarios demonstrate a cooperative, inclusive approach vs a top-down, exclusive approach. Cooperative efforts typically take more time and money up front, but the opposite approach can be fatal to a project - especially when encountering an unfamiliar context. It is a best practice to not ever assume that you fully know a community, the stakeholders, or their concerns!
Where do we fit?
As you search the Internet or read the papers, you will find many articles related to energy solutions that come from all around the globe. However, these descriptions often have the reader asking more questions than anything else. This is because readers will naturally ask themselves, "How would this work in my own context?"
You will find yourself coming back to this question repeatedly as a professional in an energy or sustainability policy related field. All across the globe, at every scale of governance, people are implementing innovative and creative solutions to some of our biggest challenges, and there is a lot we can learn from the triumphs and missteps that occur. Putting these ideas into different contexts to account for cultural, environmental, and economic differences is key to understanding what could work for us here at home.
Analytical Skills
Analytical Skills
Switching gears a little bit and moving away from the overarching practices needed in today's job market, we're now going to focus in on specific skills that employers are looking for!
The Oxford Dictionary [41] defines analysis as the “detailed examination of the elements or structure of something, typically as a basis for discussion or interpretation.” In other words, we examine something, so we can discuss it or interpret it.
The something can be just about anything—last night’s baseball game, a Beatles album, your family budget, medical results, a business plan, marketing strategy, sales results, consumer behavior, an environmental study (hey, now we’re talking…), a policy, energy information, etc..
In this program, of course, we are mostly concerned with those things related to policy, energy, and the environment (sustainability). In your courses, you’ll examine reports, policies, proposals, and data on topics related to energy and sustainability policy from a wide range of sources.
The methods of examination fall into two basic categories: qualitative methods and quantitative methods.
Qualitative methods explore information that is often subjective, such as descriptions and images, to discover more about the thing we are examining. These kinds of methods don’t begin by saying, “Here’s what I think is happening and here are the variables I’m going to measure to prove that what I think is or is not true.” Instead, they look to gain an understanding of the underlying interactions. This kind of research is often used to study human behavior, especially related to decision-making.
I think of qualitative methods as less number driven, or more narrative in some instances! For example, information gathered from commentary that was provided through an open-ended question on a survey (vs. choosing an answer from a provided multiple choice list).
Quantitative methods use facts and statistics (numbers!) to prove or extract something about the thing we are examining. These methods do start with defined variables and measurements and often involve statistical analysis. Graphs like the one below are created using quantitative data in the form of numbers.
Communication Skills
Communication Skills
The final, and maybe most important competency, that we hope you'll master is communication skills. You may be the most knowledgeable person in your department or the smartest person at your company, but if you don’t know how to communicate what you know, what’s the point? All of us can think of a scenario when miscommunication has been an issue at work, home, or otherwise. In this section, we will provide you with resources and practice opportunities that will help you communicate effectively through writing.
In today’s world, being able to communicate effectively through writing is just as important as being able to engage in conversation. The nature of this program is a great example of why writing is so important – your primary way of communicating with your peers, your instructors, the librarian, etc., is through the written word. Nearly all of your assignments revolve around your ability to write well. Additionally, strong communication skills are one of the primary competencies we want our graduates to perfect before graduation. You are expected to graduate with the ability to write effectively and read, interpret and convey relevant policies to a diverse audience.
For the ESP degree, you are required to take 2 specific English courses and one writing intensive course:
- ENGL 015 (GWS) Rhetoric and Composition (3) Instruction and practice in writing expository prose that shows sensitivity to audience and purpose.
- ENGL 202D (GWS) Effective Writing: Business Writing (3) Writing reports and other common forms of business communication.
- GEOG 438W Human Dimensions of Global Warming (3) Human dimensions of climate change: human causes, human consequences, and policy implications of global warming.
It is suggested that you take the English courses as soon as possible because what you learn in those courses can be used throughout all of your other coursework.
What and how well you write are a direct representation of you. Keeping that in mind, writing, as your primary tool for communication, can serve as a double-edged sword. You have the benefit of really being able to think through what you’re trying to convey, so that each word is deliberate and purposeful, unlike when speaking off the cuff. However, poorly written messages, assignments, etc., have the ability to erode your reputation very quickly.
Communication and Context
Communication and Context
In today's energy industry, especially as it relates to policy and communications, you have to be able to explain the issues, understand the context or situation and take a position based on this information. In thinking about this, this old commercial comes to mind, perhaps you will recognize it. It very clearly demonstrates the point that even one word, depending on the context, can influence the meaning and implications associated with it.
Video: Dude - Bud Light (0:51). Only audio is "dude" repeated at intervals.
Although this one singular word, "Dude" is uttered over and over again, the way in which it is delivered, and the situational surroundings provide enough context for the viewer to decipher the meaning. We can put this same type of example to the test in our energy and sustainability field with one word as well ......green.
What does it mean to be green? Has green been defined? How do you tell if something is not green? How do you explain this difference to others?
Being a Good Communicator
Being a Good Communicator
Some people may seem like they are naturally good communicators; they can frame a message to suit any audience, and the message is always received loud and clear. Chances are, that although they are good communicators now, that wasn't always the case. We all need to continually practice the art of good communication.
Ideas to help you become an effective communicator
1) Gain Competence
Gain competence in oral, written, and presentation skills for conveying information using various media.
Many of your foundation or prerequisite courses focus directly on written and/or spoken communication. Additionally, many of your other ESP courses will provide you with opportunities to demonstrate and hone these skills. The importance of being able to articulate your thoughts and ideas effectively and concisely through words is not to be underestimated. Being able to explain concepts and your ideas related to those concepts both orally and/or visually is a constant requirement for success in any job. Our advice:
- Take every opportunity, while doing course assignments or working outside of class, to exercise your communication skills.
- Take advantage of the resources provided in this class to support your endeavors along the way.
- Take advantage of our in-house writing tutor [48] and the tutor.com services available to you [49] as you fine-tune your communication skills.
Being able to articulate your ideas in words, however, is only part of the communication challenge. A good communicator understands and does more than this.
2) Listen to and Learn from Others
Being a good communicator doesn't only require saying the right thing at the right time. It also requires truly listening and understanding your audience and then responding appropriately. Good communicators place listening towards the top of their 'radar' as they reach out and try to understand their audiences and themselves.
Optional "Reading"
If you'd like to become a better listener, take some time to view this tutorial about Effective Listening [53].
The overview provided on LinkedIn Learning for this tutorial:
Listening is a critical competency, whether you are interviewing for your first job or leading a Fortune 500 company. Surprisingly, relatively few of us have ever had any formal training in how to listen effectively. In this course, communications experts Tatiana Kolovou and Brenda Bailey-Hughes show how to assess your current listening skills, understand the challenges to effective listening (such as distractions!), and develop behaviors that will allow you to become a better listener—and a better colleague, mentor, and friend.
Topics include:
- recalling details
- empathizing
- avoiding distractions and the feeling of being overwhelmed
- clarifying your role
- using attentive nonverbal cues
- paraphrasing what was said
- matching emotions and mirroring
3) Professionalism
Being considered a professional involves:
- understanding what one is talking about,
- regularly producing high-quality work,
- exhibiting high standards of professional ethics, and
- acting as a positive role model in terms of morale and motivation.
Think about the many ways in which you can or will communicate with clients, coworkers, and your professors. Find ways to incorporate the above-listed attributes into the messages you draft, and look for evidence that confirms the importance of these attributes.
Optional Reading:
Consider reviewing Joe Schall's Style for Students Online [57]. Two chapters seem particularly relevant: "Chapter 7. Presenting Yourself in Person and Online" and "Chapter 9. Professional Letters."
Professionalism doesn't mean you know it all
When you are presented with a scenario in which you are asked a question that you do not know the answer to, it is best to say "I don't know, but I'll check on that and get back to you" (or something similar). A client (or anyone you are talking to) will appreciate your honesty much more than you presenting them with incorrect, incomplete, or made-up information.
"...saying “I don’t know” is not a sign of weakness, or unpreparedness, or a lack of leadership. In fact, knowing when you don’t know something -- and being honest about it -- is a mark of a true leader. Unfortunately, in our instant, on-demand, bleat-before-you-think culture, it’s easy to substitute instinct, opinion, and even unfettered bias for certainty. And unfortunately, it infects our personal and political lives as much as it does business." (McKee, 2016)
Read more about The lost art of saying "I don't know" [58].
4) Competence in a language other than English
Why is this important?
There are two things that should be learned when studying another language. One is the language itself; the vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure and so forth. The second, and of more importance for the ESP student, is the opportunity to shift outside of your own cultural norms. Learning the French language is very different from speaking with someone from France. Speaking with someone from France involves understanding not just the language, but the culture of the language as well. For example, when people walk into shops in Paris, France, they always, always exchange French greetings with the shopkeeper ("Bonjour madame," "Bonjour monsieur") before proceeding to shop or ask questions. To do otherwise (even in English) is considered extremely rude (if their four-year-old knows this, they would say, why don't you?). Also, walking around with a big smile in Paris? No, no, no. Parisians often interpret this negatively, as A) you are laughing at me as if I have something amiss on my person, or B) you are a simpleton. Are you starting to see why some uninitiated Americans might have a non-optimal experience in the City of Light?
All of this still remains important even as more and more people strive to learn English. Author Joe Carroll wrote an editorial in The Business Journal (2005), pointing out that, "More students in China take English as a second language than there are English-speaking people in the entire world." He also states, "If the world's population totaled 1,000 people, the distribution would be as follows: 564 Asian. 210 European, 86 African, 80 South American, 60 North American — meaning the United States, Canada, and Mexico." If you want to read more, Carroll's article, "What's the importance of learning a foreign language? [60]" is excellent (The Business Journal, 2005). This article is over a decade old; if it was important to learn a foreign language in 2005, can you imagine the impetus now?
In other parts of the world, knowing the culture is more important than knowing the language, and sometimes the language specifies the way in which one can communicate with a superior. As an extreme example, we might look at what Malcolm Gladwell (author of The Tipping Point and Blink) wrote about in a book called Outliers: The Story of Success. In the chapter entitled, "The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes," he describes a number of scenarios and discusses airline safety from the perspective of cultural communication (in this case, the Korean language).
Evidently, in 1997, Korean Air Flight 801 experienced turbulence and trouble in their approach to Guam. Culturally, the co-pilot did not feel it was his role (as subordinate) to contradict the pilot with his judgment that the plane was about to crash—indeed, linguistically it was nearly impossible. The plane did crash, killing 228 of the 254 people aboard. Here, cultural legacy impinged on the safety of everyone aboard the flight! Essentially, "... Boeing and Airbus design modern, complex airplanes to be flown by two equals. That works beautifully in low power-distance cultures [like the U.S., where hierarchies aren't as relevant]. But in cultures that have high power distance, it’s very difficult." The dynamic of the industry was changed when all pilots and crew were required to speak only in English. Most of us know that English has lost much of its formal/informal verb tense for addressing either a child or the president of a company. This change in cultural norms (which is often built into the language) has allowed the company to fly more safely since the change in language.
Optional Reading
Kiss, Bow Or Shake Hands: The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More Than 60 Countries [61]. (It is also available through the Penn State Libraries).
Effectively Getting the Message Across
Effectively Getting the Message Across
One of the many reasons that climate change still isn't fully recognized by Americans is that the scientific community has done such a terrible job of communicating the issue. Not to oversimplify, but it could be said that the state of the world hangs in the balance because of ineffective communication! While not every communication experience carries such weight, the importance of effective communication cannot be ignored or taken lightly!
The complexity of climate change has presented challenges in communicating related information to the general public. The following article gives some really great examples of how that happens and makes some great suggestions for scientists to reverse the situation and hopefully not continue to make the same mistakes.
Required Reading
What's Wrong With the Way We Communicate Climate Change? [62]
Virtual Reality better than video for evoking fear, spurring climate action [63]
Optional Reading
Communicating Climate Change: Focus on the Framing, Not Just the Facts [64]
A look at how people around the world view climate change [65]
How Americans see climate change and the environment in 7 charts [66]
Unfriendly Climate [67] - an article about Katharine Hayhoe and how she talks to those who doubt climate change.
Have you heard of a book or a documentary called "Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming"? In both, the authors explain how a successful information campaign can trump any real scientific knowledge.
from Amazon
taken by Haley Sankey,
Retrieved 2019
More about the book/movie from Merchants of Doubt [68]:
"...historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway explain how a loose–knit group of high-level scientists, with extensive political connections, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades. In seven compelling chapters addressing tobacco, acid rain, the ozone hole, global warming, and DDT, Oreskes and Conway roll back the rug on this dark corner of the American scientific community, showing how the ideology of free market fundamentalism, aided by a too-compliant media, has skewed public understanding of some of the most pressing issues of our era."
The movie is highly entertaining and while not as detailed as the book, it focuses on communication strategies and why messaging can make or break an informational campaign. If you have the opportunity, pick up the book or view the movie; you won't be disappointed.
Understanding Differences
Understanding Differences
So much of Communication is context; the context of the participants, the context of the situation, etc. The reading and activities below are optional but strongly encouraged. The workshops bring contextual differences to light and may help you communicate better with others. We will be completing the Power and Privilege workshop in a later lesson, but it is included here as well because it is part of the series.
Penn State's Division of Student Affairs has developed a number of online workshops that target important, challenging, and perhaps controversial aspects of communicating effectively with individuals, organizations, and communities.
Here are brief descriptions of these online workshops (some of which we will cover in a later lesson):
Photo by Freddie Everett,
Public Domain
Introduction to Power and Privilege
This workshop focuses on the concepts of power and privilege and how they impact race and ethnic relations. The workshop includes activities that help you to explore your own identity and provide you with opportunities to reflect upon these complex issues. More importantly, how do these ideas impact our efforts as we communicate energy and sustainability issues as we work with individuals, organizations, and communities?
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
by Consuelo
This workshop focuses on understanding and increasing your awareness of a range of stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination, how they differ from each other, and how they influence each other. Rooted within cultural contexts, it is important to get a sense of how our own beliefs come into play as we work to get our messages across to others.
Introduction to the Isms
Learn about the concept of "isms" and more specifically about how racism, sexism, classism, and heterosexism affect communications and community relationships. Taken from the workshop: "...it is believed that our levels of success are a direct result of our dedication, discipline, and hard work." As we work with individuals, organizations, and communities, you begin to see how important it is to ask yourself the question of whether or not everyone actually has the same opportunities to succeed.
Activities
| Requirement | Assignment Details |
|---|---|
| Discussion Forum Post |
Review the required reading What's Wrong With the Way We Communicate Climate Change? [62]. Then, submit a discussion post addressing the following: Imagine you need to talk to a skeptical audience about Climate Change in the town in which you currently reside. Using the framing techniques outlined in the What's Wrong article, provide information on how you would approach the audience and why. How would you approach the topic? How would you make it relate to your audience? What visual aid could you use to help support your talk? NOTE: keep the content geared to your local town, not the state or country as a whole. The audience is composed of people that use the same grocery stores, gas stations and parks as you. Even though this is a discussion forum post, you are expected to submit academic quality work. Don't just answer the question; provide context, keep the tone formal, and, as always, use resources to support your opinion. Be sure to include a reference list to credit the resources you've used (APA style, link provided in the syllabus)! Review the Essay and Discussion Forum Posts Grading page [71] (on the course website) and the assignment Rubric so that you know what is expected of you. View Rubric [72] |
Summary
Summary
As you can see, we've got big goals for you! Most of these competencies are transferrable across a plethora of jobs; communication skills, analytical skills, global perspective, sustainability ethic...these can all be applied to almost any job, anywhere. While getting a bachelor's degree of any kind will most certainly open doors to you that weren't open before, the skills you gain while earning an ESP degree will allow you to pursue so many more opportunities!
We'll talk more about job placement later in this course, but for now, remember that these learning competencies were identified by industry professionals, not academics sitting in an office on campus. These competencies are what employers want in today's job market!
