I quit my job in 2017 after becoming overwhelmed with an untreated service-connected condition. Madison College opened a portal of hope that changed my life. I went from working in a factory to the University of Wisconsin Liberal Arts Transfer Program at the Madison Area Technical College Truax Campus. The Veterans Administration hosts a program called, "Veterans Academic Transitional Integration Leadership Program." What is VITAL? VITAL is a program that allows on-campus crisis therapy for individuals like me who sought treatment through the Veterans Crisis Line. I am a 22 Survivor. 22 Veterans per day commit suicide on average. After taking the hand of the VA through VITAL, I have created this site for all of us to converge as a Veteran Crisis Overwatch monitored by a Veteran who has navigated the programs through college that develop Veterans from crisis to scholar.
My name is Bradley J. Burt. I served with the 10th Mountain Division. I am a disabled student veteran enrolled in the Veterans Administration’s VITAL program. The program provides supports at Madison College but not at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, who has denied me access to these services over the last three years.
The university sends bullies after me who insist I use their supports. Their supports require I turn over my VA records. VITAL protects me.
During the winter holiday break, I reported my ongoing academic abuse I am receiving at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Title IX Investigator Michael Kent attempted to false light profile me on record who sought the retrieval of my VA records. Kent indicated that the request was university protocol.
Outpost 422 is a licensed lobby and class project. The next phase of the project’s trademark development seeks a Freedom of Information Act records request from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater pertaining to their Modus Operandi, which is standard procedure, regarding their intercept of veteran records.
I have not, nor will I, turn over any records to any state agency, which is the foundation of this brand. My job is protecting our best interests in both society and on campus.
The policy is illegal and am asking all veterans who wish to share their experiences with their college experience come forward and be heard.
I believe the proper approach is the academic research approach. We cannot win the war on veteran record privacy through brute force.
Intellect will prevail. Overcome Impossibility and stay the course in school. Reach out and fill out the contact form if you need to relay any concerns to the chancellor of your university or board of regents member.
Upon running a Google search regarding the Veterans Lounge at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for a class project, I unearthed something of concern.
The website home page does not share who is the listed nonprofit, which is required for tax-deductible EIN listing for donators. Only on the donation page. The hosting nonprofit must be listed on the title page.
The website says “verified” located on the “donate” page but does not share specifically who is the ranking member of the committee for the VFW Post. The website does not have a tool bar nor list a point of contact.
The VFW does not need a brick-and-mortar building to operate a “hub” as they suggest. The goal amount is $500,000.
A router and a server only cost roughly $25,000 and must be provided by the Veterans Administration, which is not indicated by the project. The project needs approval by the city for commercial zoning.
Where is the buy in from Whitewater listed on the page? The tool bar would include city manager minutes honoring the request presented by alders. The website does not share any of the information needed to launch the project.
Donating requires transparency. Right now, the VFW is running a virtual panhandler campaign seeking a large amount without providing backing by the city, which is ad hoc.
Do they have bonding insurance to cover that amount? From what I understand, a Post is only bonded at $50,000.
That was a figure thrown at me by State Liaison Mark Herrmann of Rolling Thunder Chapter 5, WI. I could be wrong. That’s why I am currently investigating all aspects between finance committees, quorum and their monuments committee.
My experience with the VFW witnessed unethical methods of reporting and relaying truth. The VFW has been a relentless barrier in my college success from VFW Wisconsin on down.
The truth? The Facebook icon takes the viewer to the Whitewater VFW Post 5470 Facebook page, who has harassed me and intruded in my personal affairs as a disabled veteran attending UW Whitewater by their quorum member Curtis Lemke.
Lemke interfered with my disability accommodations, who’s reputation as a bully intruded in veteran affairs outside his scope. Lemke loves sticking his nose in other veterans’ business as the past president of the Veterans and Servicemembers Organization.
Lemke also flexed his authority by intimidating disabled veterans like me on campus, who were VITAL transfers from Madison College where the Outpost 422 documentary began.
He now works for the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs.
Be cautious donating to this project until I get to the bottom of who is running the operation. Lemke is in charge of monuments for the city of Whitewater with the VFW Post.
There is an alternative here at Outpost 422.
Instead of donating a large sum to a group of thugs, you can invest in sharing blogs, which are free.
The blogs support veterans in journalism for post-combat readjustment who will be guided with truth that the veterans lounge is off limits to police jurisdiction and promotes joining the VFW. Outpost 422 monitors and relays academic abuse by the members of the VFW to ranking officials in Congress and the Wisconsin State Capitol.
Buy in does not require money. Team building starts with the “I Will Not Forget” workshop the Outpost 422 service provides for free.
The “I Will Not Forget” campaign is an oratorical task force that builds confidence in those who are falling behind in school. The service is mobile and virtual and only requires an annual sum of $50,000 to operate. Currently, I am self-funding and using bootstrapping with grants to provide the service.
The VFW does not share important information with you as a donor. Only sophistry, which is a persuasive tool the VFW communications operation uses for collecting money.
You as the donator need honesty and the VFW cannot provide you that service. I was a VFW Service Officerand left for this reason.
Please support my workshop as an alternative to handing over money to this group.
The UW Whitewater “I Will Not Forget” workshop trains future journalists how to speak with high-ranking officials in office as a relay for veteran in distress issues as a lobbyist. The project is an open records scavenger hunt for training future applicants for Project Veritas.
Be careful donating.
You can donate through the flow code on my van, which advocates for tearing the building down and using the recycled materials to build a brick monument instead.
A portion of the proceeds will go the “Youth Build Program” and will train Whitewater high school youth how to build brick arches and trim stone.
Outpost 422 is relaying information to Project Veritas for investigation and donation transparency. The notification announces the ongoing investigation behind the transparency issue.
Until we get to the bottom of this and find out where to locate financial reports, please be advised this method of donation collection is sketchy.
On Wednesday November 9, 2022, one year after giving a presentation regarding the stigma I have been dealing with in the veterans loungein the Andersen Library, the journalism undergraduate consortium journey comes full circle at Madison College through Autumn Landmine Productions.
The topic: My ongoing academic barriers with UW Whitewater, who will not provide me the services of the VA VITAL program, which is an obstruction to my success.
UW Whitewater ignored my complaints with members of the Veterans and Servicemembers Organization’s invasion of my VA privacy through President Curtis Lemke.
Lemke attempted to negotiate these services without my consent.
The First Gen presentation shares the success I receive from Madison College, which takes place at the Intercultural Center at the Truax campus at 3:30 p.m.
The video connects the Madison College honors sociology literature review with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater independent study, which examines the variables with barriers and facilitators for success with veterans and servicemembers attending college, which declares the Hell is Warm on the Homefront 11th hour chaplain service be provided on all UW campuses for mandated reporting with academic abuse.
The patent builds communications fusion by evolving scientific keywords into live stream elements. The elements are the Gonzo-19 documentary published through the Autumn Landmine Productions YouTube Channel and the Bob Cobb Freelance Ink LLC WordPress branded websites through the Jaded Patriot Press newsroom at Outpost 422.
We are examining trauma bonding and diabolical rhetoric. We are spotlighting Machiavellianism as a lobby and corporate capstone class project.
The independent study Gonzo-19 capstone examines the barriers of stigma behind the scenes while the presentation shares the facilitators for success Madison College provided me through tabling events and hosting my Veterans Administration social worker services on campus.
“Weird. One year later Madison College asked me to host a First Gen presentation regarding barriers, facilitators and stigma veterans face at the University of Wisconsin…” Visit the Brad Burt Facebook timeline to view entire post.
One year earlier, Madison College Phi Theta Kappa asked me if I could share my experience with dealing with Machiavellianism as an adult student veteran with disabilities.
The journey over the last year led to launching a POW MIA lobby through the “I Will Not Forget” campaign.
The road ahead begins Spring 2023, with the fusion of the honors project and independent study, the patenting of 11th hour diary rhetorical analysis on Clarion Radio at “Hell is Warm on the Homefront,” along with building convergent media backpack and citizen journalism workshops that connect those who deal with abuse find a way out from dealing with stigma.
The stigma variable connects all aspect of my barriers for success in college as a lived experience. The story is told through interactive documentary.
Stigma is found in passive aggressive communication academic abuse, which is the meta theme with the “Overcome Impossibility” tagline we use for helping our clients succeed.
This semester, we are creating awareness. At the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, we are required to learn Adobe sound, video and advertising production software in a ridiculously short amount of time.
The UW-W curriculum in the communications field requires we learn the software in two weeks.
This is simply not possible. I need your financial support.
I am seeking $50,000 to start up a mobile workshop to help students succeed, especially disabled veterans dealing with brain injuries.
The expectation does not allow us the ability to concentrate on our other course work thus leading to dropping out.
Please scan the bar code and help us launch the next phase of Outpost 422.
Our mindfulness bootcamp teaches those dealing with Adobe stress, a scavenger hunt at the Wisconsin State Capitol that gives them hands on experience with developing a storyboard.
The storyboard shares details regarding assembling the story with Adobe instructions.
The program lasts three weeks and preps those at Madison College for their UW transfer.
Portions of the funding will go to finishing the last course needed for the certificate, “Leading with Emotional Intelligence,” and the launching of our boot camp for a summer internship converging Madison College and UW-W into one practicum transfer experience surveying barriers for success along the way.
No student should be forced to drop out as a result of a overloaded curriculum. I have addressed my concerns with the dean of students and the chancellor.
We are seeking corporate investors join our Autumn Landmine Productions Newsflix firm.
We seek corporate employee assistance firms for helping develop a veteran and pandemic refugee reintegration strategy through the “landing strip” project in honor of Wisconsin Air National Guard MIA 1st Lt. Jerome A. Volk.
The project was developed through a corporate communication class for leadership and team building. We seek investors for developing the next phase.
Landing strips allow those in distress a flow code scan to the Outpost 422 website where vouchers will be made available through surveys. We are a national pandemic distress service.
The backpack journalism brand goes on location and cultivates convergent media for submissions to corporate social responsibility campaigns.
We have hit a snag and need support.
We cannot connect the University of Wisconsin with any content about sex workers and the pornography industry, which was the findings of the Gonzo-19story.
Instead, we have relayed the recent revelation to Hustler magazine, who saved me from homelessness. As a brand owner, I have to allow their firm the right to publish my story as a token of gratitude.
I cannot discuss the issue inside the confines of the UW brand.
The inquiry was submitted through the Hustler contact submission form. TSA allowed me boarding privileges without a driver’s license, but the Strat did not.
I did not have a passport and strongly urge those who visit Vegas carry one as a backup plan.
Letter Submission to Hustler magazine:
Hello-
I am conducting an independent study for my journalism final project.
I wanted to write a story about Larry Flynt’s 40th anniversary celebrating free speech and wrote about a trip to Pahrump before I tried to interview John Gruden while visiting Vegas.
I ended up at Larry Flynt’s Hustler Lounge during my Auguust walk and received a VIP experience from a dancer named Strawberry. She saved my life when I returned in December and got kicked out of the Strat for only having VA id.
The limo driver gave me a safe ride and the Lounge vouched for me to stay at Planet Hollywood. I was on the verge of homelessness. I requested I send the story for an independent academic submission to Beaver Hunt thanking Larry Flynt for keeping me safe and for helping people who received Dear John letters in combat receive free Hustler magazines.
My professor is livid and don’t know what else to do. My college disabled veteran reporting outlet is called Outpost 422.com. I have a $2.5 million Go Fund Me campaign. I am trying to raise money to rename our journalism hall from Heide Hall to Hustler Hall to commemorate the POW MIA issue through the disability advocacy of Larry Flynt, who was our topic of choice for our free speech survey in my professor’s law history final paper.
I chose Bobby Seale instead.
I wanted to write another paper and am being told pornographic publishers are not considered academic and could cause a Title IX lawsuit. That’s your gonzo thanks, and documentary logline, for helping a fellow intellectual drifter navigate a close call for saving a disabled veteran in Vegas. I am trying to bootstrap a trip to Los Angeles to finish my documentary.
Please let me know if there are social responsibility grants provided by your philanthropy that could help me out. I could quid pro quo a filmed interview with a member of your firm for a future social responsibility project in Los Angeles.
I am trying to build inclusivity safe zones through the POW MIA issue on Las Vegas Blvd., Hollywood Blvd. and State Street in Madison, Wisconsin. The philanthropy investment will go to helping pandemic refugees and intellectual drifters find resources in times of distress, which is the primary mission of Outpost 422—my registered trademark and disabled veteran college experience.”
In 2019, after fumbling the baton with the second Madison College Challenge, a class project in 2022 reconnected the experience. The Mindset for Success branding journal reflection shares the story:
This assignment correlates with Outcome #4: Investigate how social media may influence our personal branding
Shayna and Scott were my mentors. They are my guides. The Linked In video reassured me of the truths about branding. Too little too late. When I began using social media, I was unemployed and dealing with PTSD.
Social media has always appeared as a tabloid. Now, I realize the power of viral campaigning, which is the subject for inspection.
The five things I found important were value, vanity, vintage, volume, and voyeur. The value of your content on social media builds vanity. Vanity manifests through the algorithm. Artificial intelligence markets the meta of the end user, which attracts them to your brand.
This is a mistake as a branded journalist. Bootstrapping is my passion. The vintage factor of our digital footprint could cost us a viral campaign.
The market is flooded with bots. You are competing with the sniffers more than your consumer on YouTube. Keywords build brands based on reputation, which is the vintage factor.
Volume is regulated through analytics. If a person spams too much, the bots flag the brand’s account. I learned this with Facebook business. Analytics drives the campaign. The voyeur is your potential customer who frequents your page but doesn’t stay very long. Collaboratively, the social media community drives the brand.
I was unable to take the quizzes. I have provided a copy of my brand for future use with students. The brand started out in the Practicum 1 course and is the entry to the Madison College Challenge.
Please pass onto Jill for her inspection. My show is being branded through my brand as a specific communications research brand and will be privatizing the VA.
Mentors from Wisconsin businesses met with veteran entrepreneurs April 23, 2021, offer Zoom coaching sessions during the E-seed Startup Surge Event.
The Surge Event
The D.J. Bordini Center of Fox Valley Technical College teamed up with the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs through grant funding to help veterans grow their businesses.
The Venture Center Director Amy Pietsch hosted the event during the E-seed Entrepreneurship Series of the Veterans Innovator Course. Pietsch meets with the COHORT 2 class on Tuesdays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Autumn Landmine Productions
Mentors met with a newly forming business called, “Autumn Landmine Productions.”
The Zoom session allowed for one-on-one consultation providing feedback and next steps to take.
During break out sessions, topics covered ranged from legal paperwork advising, brainstorming,
The PitchBradley Burt, founder of Autumn Landmine Productions, went back to college to pursue the Technical Studies Journey Worker Degree. Burt stumbled into the Madison College University of Wisconsin Liberal Arts Transfer program after his return in Fall of 2017.
The Madison College Center for Entrepreneurship helped him stay in school to support his income.
Burt is creating an online interactive newspaper, The Jaded Patriot, and the Operation: Greenspace Wisconsin veteran newsletter, which captures found footage by at-risk veteran footage takes on his Facebook pages to spotlight socioeconomical hardship. Autumn Landmine Productions operates as the executive producer like a print newspaper.
The value proposition provides the viewer with an ethical vantage point versus a biased opinion of bloggers.
The minimal viable production collects found footage and produces loglines through storyboarding preproduction, Adobe software production and adheres as a brand to documentary ethics.
Autumn Landmine Productions follows the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater ethical standard for publishing during postproduction.
Autumn Landmine brings black and white print standards into the multimedia industry when grey areas appear in found footage.
Autumn Landmine Productions films documentary through Facebook live and uploaded footage. The footage takers provide the content.
Autumn Landmine Productions edits footage according to documentary ethics for publishing purposes.
Burt seeks three angel investors offering each a trustee position on his corporate social responsibility campaign 501 c 3 board.
Autumn Landmine seeks $25,000 for start up to establish the online medium through Stellar Blue Technologies.
The agency doubles as an at-risk veteran social media safety net called Operation: Greenspace HRF, which gives away Wi-Fi devices to the homeless at the Wisconsin State Capitol as an at-risk veteran checkpoint. They are the Jaded Patriots.
Mentor Feedback
An entrepreneur’s elevator pitch offers cross-examination by mentors, investors and lenders the opportunity to weigh in on the strengths and weaknesses of a startup. Mentors met with students to narrow their focus and enlighten the road ahead.
The feedback from mentors helped Autumn Landmine sort through the nuts and bolts of marketing and revenue streams.
Drew Mueske, founder of Tee Forward, offered solid advice by reaching out to his friends at warriorsongs.com to see if they would like to help generate documentaries. Connecting with other veteran organizations helps the community grow.
Dana Coyhis, founder of Not for Now LLC, suggested pitching the idea to VICEto generate exposure. Finding that first revenue stream launches the business and will generate more exposure once the first client relationship gets established.
Rob Kleman from the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce provided a wealth of knowledge ranging from legal services, available financing, what not to do and a friendly consultation.
Mentors pointed the agency towards philanthropies who support veterans. The Surge session helped prevent setbacks with new business ventures that launch offering friendly advice.
Pietsch guided the sessions between 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. through ten minute sessions on Zoom.
Key Supporters and the Road Ahead
Autumn Landmine Productions pitches on April 28th to 1 Million Cups for class. The agency seeks to solicit opportunities for key supporters to donate and be listed in documentary credits.
Burt will begin shopping for trustees and key supporters to apply for a WDVA grant to create a social media safety network.
Autumn Landmine Productions through the recommendation by Pietsch will seek to consult with Stellar Blue Technologies. The grant funding will be used to start up The Jaded Patriot Press after completion of the Publication: Editing Course at UW Whitewater in Spring of 2022.
For press inquiries and freelance consultations, please comment or connect through the Autumn Landmine Productions contact page.
I am announcing my candidacy for president and will provide you with a video format I have trademarked through my college capstone class project called Outpost 422.
As the president, I will advocate for what I am currently lobbying for as the CEO of the Outpost 422 registered trademark. I am lobbying for a unilateral testing and proctoring method for those who deal with trauma informed and brain injuries. And I am asking whenever a professor escalates a situation through diabolical rhetoric found in microaggressions, we be excused from all class participation and examinations for 72-hours for panic attack de-escalation.
The other item I am advocating for is a low light room for all to use as a chaplain confessional opportunity when dealing with PTSD from social isolation. I am currently working with the Whitewater Student Government president arranging these accommodations for myself.
I would like all who work with CSD receive the same privileges as combat vets. As your president and brand owner, I will abide by shared governance policies and create open channels of communication for students with disabilities who deal with aggressive proctoring and lecture methods. I will send you a video this week for my candidacy announcement.
Respectfully,
Bradley J. Burt
CEO Outpost 422
Congressional Advocate-POW MIA Federal Capstone Lobby
The following information was provided by Prof. Lynn Baldwin from the Madison College Mindset for Success course. Outpost 422 investigates tools for success and relays resources by paying forward and passing on.
Outpost 422 provides a service called “Hell is Warm on the Homefront,” which is virtual confessional and podcast service. The show airs on the Madison College Clarion Radio server on Thursdays from 11-12 p.m. CDT.
Please fill out the contact form if you are interested in being a guest on the podcast or show. We are seeking stories about surviving trauma bonding and Machiavellian abuse.
Madison College is the greatest place on earth–make sure you take full advantage of all of the experience! If you have any questions about anything, never hesitate to reach out. You’ll find an extensive collection of those here
This is an amazing resource that is available to you even after you graduate! Here is link Career & Employment Services
Civic Engagement
A variety of service learning opportunities are available to all Madison College students through the Volunteer Center, including regular alternative break trips during winter and spring break. Volunteering is a great way to help others.
Student Life and the Center for International Education offer multicultural programs ranging from study abroad options to United Common Ground, a student-led organization that focuses on multiculturalism and contemporary issues.
Financial Literacy
Provides suggestions on paying for college, as well as online money knowledge resources. If you’re not sure about how simple the scholarship process is or why it might be important for you, check out our own Hospitality Management program student, Natalie Mickelson’s, incredibly helpful video testimony here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWdzZY5KHKI
During Orientation you can meet with your admission and academic advisors, plan your studies, receive personalized enrollment assistance, and meet students and instructors in your program.
Assistance with meeting transfer requirements to transfer from MATC to your future college or university, including development of a transfer plan to meet your academic goals.
Thank you for supporting the Outpost 422 journey. Namastasmos represents the transition into the college classroom and transfer to the UW. Take full advantage of finding gratitude and journal about how awesome John Stamos is as a drummer. Drum along to Kokomo in times of worry and stress resulting from pandemic social isolation PTSD.
The next phase of the college journey seeks the answers to the riddle of Machiavellianism through diary and research writing.
We are seeking dominant investors for the documentary pilots launching for employee assistance survey of groupthink through flow code reporting. Today, we present to you a sample of what is considered the problem we solve.
As intellectual drifters and pandemic pajama classroom refugees, we seek a chaplain and mandated reporter service at UW Whitewater.
We are launching a campaign calling out unnecessary rhetoric by instructors and we do so through inclusivity. We are developing and honors sociological survey of the veterans who serve post-secondary academic abuse.
I am one. But we are many. Many veterans receive unwelcomed rhetoric, and the Joint House and Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs is being notified of my academic abuse at UW Whitewater through my corporate and health community capstones. The documentary recalls how I have been treated so far.
I am arguing and lobbying for equal mobility and access to resources the Greek societies receive. We are facing the intellectual drifter and refugee crisis through egomania survey for the next phase of ILRB certification for a UW-wide veteran climate survey regarding professors and their gatekeeping and over proctoring methods.
The lobby report is the Outpost 422 independent study seeking help from the UW for providing safety on campus through checkpoints and committee meetings with the chancellor.
We are committed to serving you at Outpost 422. Please check out the sample below if you are confused regarding academic research and where to start.
We all need a starting point in college.
The class assignment assessed socialization and is a helpful resource for mindfulness. Mindfulness builds healthy leaders.
Sef-care is number one. Inquire about employee assistance if you suspect you are having a problem with the workplace community. Journal episodes based on answers to the test and see who the narc at work is.
SELF-TEST YOUR SAVVY IN COMMUNICATING WITH COLLEAGUES from: How to Say it at Work by Jack Griffin
The following is a simple diagnostic test. For the most part, you will find it easy to guess the “right” answer. But getting the “right” answer is not the point of the test. Respond honestly, even if you feel that your response is not the best one possible. This is not a contest. The object is solely self-inventory.
There’s a lot of backstabbing that goes on where I work. T/F_F_
I am open with my colleagues. T/F_T_
I am pretty effective at getting my colleagues to cooperate with me. T/F_T_
I am afraid my colleagues will steal my ideas. T/F_F__
I ask my colleagues about what interests and concerns them. T/F_T__
My colleagues respect me. T/F_F__
My colleagues are jealous of me. T/F_F__
I criticize issues and actions rather than people. T/F_F__
I criticize only what I believe can be remedied, improved, or eliminated. T/F_T__
I criticize constructively. T/F_T__
A dispute has a winner and a loser. T/F_F__
I don’t make waves. T/F_F__
13- I dread making apologies. T/F_F__
I drink lots of coffee. T/F_T__
I enjoy the people I work with. T/F_T__
I enjoy conversation with my colleagues. T/F_T__
I feel like part of a team. T/F_T__
I get plenty of sleep. T/F_T__
I’m good at “brainstorming. T/F_T__
I handle stress well. T/F_T__
I have “championed” projects and ideas. T/F_T__
I have a happy home life. T/F_T__
I know my colleagues and their jobs, duties, and areas of expertise. T/F_F__
Our office is very political. T/F_F__
The people I work with waste my time with too much talk. T/F_F__
I share ideas with my colleagues. T/F_F__
If someone gets angry, I tell them to calm down. T/F_F__
I think business meetings are a waste of time. T/F_T__
I try to respond fully and informatively to my colleagues’ ideas and projects T/F_T__
I usually get my way. T/F_F__
Sometimes you just have to holler and argue the other person down. T/F_F__
SCORE:
Step 1: Add 1 point for each true and 0 for each false answer. T:19 F:11
Step 2: For questions 1, 4, 7, 11, 12, 12, 13, 14, 24, 25, 27, 28, and 31: SUBTRACT 1 point for each true answer from the total score you got in step 1. 14:True
(note: it is possible to obtain a negative score)
A score of + 17 or higher indicates you are effective at communicating with your colleagues.
Final Score: 18
Response
Bradley J. Burt
Intro to Corporate Communication Online
Dr. S-A Welch
10/12/2022
Discussion I
I scored an 18 based upon where I am in my college journey. The last time I worked for a company full-time was in 2017. I answered the work-related questions based upon my most recent job as the past general manager of broadcast at Madison College for Clarion Radio.
My colleagues respected me because I made sure their equipment was working and helped them edit their shows on my free time and went above and beyond. I was open with colleagues regarding upcoming events on campus that would help them develop their shows and prep for their university transfer.
Being a leader and honors society member is a privilege. For recalling psychosocial questions found in the survey, I looked back to experiences as a low-ranking employee. I recall those years as an experience of how not to perform and communicate as a leader.
Survey Results
The interesting results from the survey indicated my coffee intake affected my ability to communicate effectively, which I argue on the grounds that coffee intake requires me to get up and walk to the break room and make more, which is an informal role that stimulates performance.
Drinking lots of coffee was the only answer affecting my communication savviness. My coffee intake is an integral part of my brainstorming capabilities. Although coffee increases stress, coffee is a part of my military culture.
We collaborate and plan many precautionary steps over a cup of coffee. Coffee brews strategy.
I do not agree that business meetings are a waste of time. Business meetings convey the ideology of how well the organization carries out its mission.
As for politics at the office, as I stated in previous class discussions, politics leads to endorsing groupthink. In the manufacturing industry, seniority cultivated groupthink. Senior union employees dominated the flow of information with managers, and if others spoke up or spoke too much, the senior members would use passive aggressive communication and misinformation to make an example out of an employee.
The toxic workplace made for a negative mindset. I learned I must refrain from conformity as a leader and innovator.
The phobias described throughout the survey like, “my colleagues are jealous of me,” could easily be remedied through an employee assistance program. I do not align with bringing conspiracy theories to the workplace.
I expect my colleagues, subordinates, and those above me respect the workplace by keeping their personal life at home, and if an employee needs some support, as a manager and CEO of my brand, I will make sure you know where to locate available resources for well-being. For an organization to thrive, one must keep a watchful eye on their well-being, which includes how we communicate with each other. What we persist will exist.
Dominant Stakeholders
For a company’s well-being, dominant stakeholders who possess a score lower than 17 should consider an employee assistance option.
Let’s revisit week three and discuss the influence of dominant stakeholders and the quest as leaders in pursuit of the prudential state through virtuosity. According to Professor Joep Cornelissen’s textbook “Corporate Communication: A Guide to Theory and Practice,” dominant stake holders, which are the company’s moral agents, possess both “powerful and legitimate claims, giving them a strong influence on the organization” (Cornelissen, 2020, p. 70).
Dominant stakeholders possessing a less-than-savvy attitude affect the flow of information. As the distributors of communication and enforcers of socialization with the rites of passage within organizational culture, dominant stakeholders influence executive decisions, which affects everyone.
Their job is keeping you informed and safe. When an employee comes between the mission, the dominant stakeholders enforce policies. From my experience working in unions, I have witnessed leaders disrupt the workplace and use groupthink to undermine dominant stakeholders.
All employees are dominant stakeholders as moral agents. A solution the company could try would be mindfulness workshops for corporate quarterly gainshare meetings. Corporations, through social responsibility, produce quarterly statements that provide information regarding free services the company provides for well-being found in their corporate social responsibility transcripts available to employees.
Individually, we are all dominant stakeholders of our mindset. Employee assistance programs are free services provided by the company for all to use. I am not ashamed to admit I have used employee assistance programs when dealing with groupthink abuse. The program helped me keep grounded in the workplace and deflect the opinion of others so that I could concentrate on my job.
Organizational Culture/Employee Engagement
Dr. Welch’s PowerPoint for week six discussed two items that provide tools for success when coping with a negative mindset. Welch (2022) states, “Culture is the culmination of what is seen as the best way to conduct business.” Through organizational cultural norms, which spotlight effective communication practices, culmination manifests through promotion.
Culmination rewards employees who demonstrate innovative behavior that led to climbing the corporate ladder through promotion.
Those who communicate the mission effectively by influencing flow when working with others climb the ladder as an American corporate norm. Scoring less than 17 could potentially threaten the viability of the business and lead to demotion or termination.
Getting help immediately will change the outlook of the future. Let’s examine groupthink. Oftentimes, when working in a group of let’s say a less-than-dominant stakeholder position, the odd person out would stress over not fitting in. The ability to shine within the culture could be shunned.
When I worked in the manufacturing industry, those who worked hard were the first to get let go, which was the cultural norm of working in a union shop.
I chose housekeeping as a norm by setting the standard with safety. No matter how high up the ladder I was in authority, I was never too good to push a broom whenever there was a lull.
Being a model stakeholder in an organization comes from having a humble mindset and staying low to the ground.
The week six Power Point also discussed motivators with the employee engagement section. Dr. Welch (2022) indicated “The power/authority to make decisions” is a motivator for employee engagement. Having buy in at the bottom of the ladder retains employees, which I have experience with my previous employee. Bonuses helped me cope with Machiavellian abuse.
The survey questions reflect the ability to profile, discern, and effectively survey conflict effecting the landscape of communication flow based on the individual’s perception through employee engagement. The bulleted information and survey were an eye opener.
The PowerPoint and survey recalled an event regarding employee engagement that reminded me of a time when I was working on the shop floor regarding buy in.
The union demanded lower seniority employees speak to them first before going to the boss and if we went to human resources, we would be considered a snitch and ran off the job.
The company, through its gainshare program, allowed all employees the opportunity to bring ideas forward, which allowed for lower seniority workers a chance to win prizes and receive recognition.
By opening the floor to suggestions, lower ranking employees received buy in and worker harder and stayed later for opportunities to receive bonuses.
References
Cornelissen, J. (2020). Corporate Communication: A Guide to Theory & Practice (6th ed., pp. 70-71). London, England: SAGE Publications Inc.
Welch, S.A. (2022). Culture and Employee Engagement [PowerPoint slides]. College of Arts and Communication, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
