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Kathy Boyd |
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Interview |
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Communication Skills |
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Eng. 111, 11/29/05 |
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Communication In The Workplace |
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"If you are 99% right, then you are 100% wrong!"� This is the slogan in Sheila Wright's job as an operations manager.� Sheila has worked in printing and accounting for 34 years and printing for 32 years.� The last 27 years have been at her current position with a local independent forms distributor.� Her company is the middle man between the customer and the manufacturer and currently has ten employees.� To enter this type of work one needs an accounting certificate, an accounting degree or sufficient prior knowledge and experience in accounting.� Sheila's accounting/bookkeeping responsibilities include payroll, balance sheet, trial balance, sales representative's commissions, and accurately closing every accounting function to balance each month.� In Sheila's job, accounting is a very large part of what she does; she also must know the entire scope of what goes on in her company so she can better service her accounts.� When I asked Sheila if communication skills are important in her job, she gave me an emphatic, "YES!"� Accounting/bookkeeping is a very precise job, and one must have fine-tuned communication skills when working with co-workers, customers, manufacturers and sales representatives.� These skills are essential in order to have accurate accounting records, to be successful, and to advance in this field. |
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Listening is an extremely important part of her job.� The customer will not accept a job with even one mistake.� She must listen to the customers carefully to be sure of what they want. She must also listen to her staff to understand their instructions and desires in calculating gross profits, sale prices, commissions, or if a co-worker has a question about an accounting journal entry.� An example she cited was when a sales representative set up the customer's invoices in a different format from what the computer normally uses.� Sheila had to go to the sales representative, confirm what was wanted, and make the necessary adjustments so that the invoices would be sent correctly. |
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In reference to oral communication, occasionally, Sheila has to cover for a sales representative and make his or her speech to potential customers.� In a few days she �will make a presentation to explain her business and to help solve a problem a customer is having. �She will explain the technical end of printing to this customer and help create a business card alternative that will save the customer 75% on the cost of the printing job.� She gives oral presentations to other accounting clerks to help them understand how new procedures are handled and how it will influence their job.� She also gives oral presentations to the entire company as each quarter ends to explain the status of the business at that point in time. |
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Research is a large part of an accounting/bookkeeping job.� Since each account must balance in each accounting period, if it is off, the accountant must research the activity during the period to find the error and correct it to make the account balance.� This is very important to the company's bottom line and to each individual who may get a paycheck, an invoice or receive payment for a bill.� Everything must be totally accurate and sometimes it takes a great deal of research to balance the books.� An example of this is, at the end of the month, the books must balance to the penny, or the company cannot start business on the next business day.� According to Sheila, "The accountant/bookkeeper must research until the problem is found and solved even if it takes working into the wee hours of the morning."� The amount of time this research takes depends on the journal entries and other activities during the accounting period by not only Sheila, but of others who have access to the accounts.� If everyone does his or her job carefully, usually there are little to no problems, but that isn't always the case.� Sheila said that research averages about two hours a week in her job.� As far as reading goes for an accountant/bookkeeper, �the main source of reading in Sheila's job would be to consult a computer manual for industry specific software to determine how to solve a problem that may arise or to find an alternate way to do the work at hand. |
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When considering communication through writing, Sheila does two main types of writings.� One is writing up the specifications for a job.� This must be detailed and precise, or the completed job will be wrong and unacceptable to the customer.� The customer will not accept the business cards if there is a misspelled word or the logo or the colors are wrong.� The same thing applies in accounting; if one journal entry is wrong, it can throw off the whole set of books. The other main writing she encounters is a procedures folder. Here she keeps a written set of procedures for every single task she performs.� Keeping this type of log saves time and errors by making sure every entry is done uniformly and correctly. �One example she gave of this is regarding a pension contribution.� A pension contribution is made for each employee once a year.� She has a written procedure as to how to write the check, to whom it is written, where to send it, and the journal entry to make for the books and cash transfers.� In a typical work week, she spends about ten hours on writing. |
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Sheila uses the computer all day for accounting work and keeping communications open between all people involved.�� At Sheila's office they use Goldmine contact software for keeping in touch with each other and with clients.� All communication is recorded in that program with very little paper, but it creates a great "paper trail" for reference, etc.� It stores a record of all the customer's orders, payments, and concerns.� She uses Goldmine to link to their company website, e-mail, word processing and document storage. �Sheila uses the Internet for corresponding with customers and manufacturers on a daily basis. �If a customer did not get their proposal, bill or credit for a payment, she can bring up the account history and print off a duplicate to send or make any changes required. A customer called one day and needed a copy of a proposal done several months before.� All she had to do was key in the information, print it out and mail or fax it to the customer.� The company uses industry specific software for printing all major accounting processes from order entry thru financial statements. �She also uses Lotus and Excel for the spreadsheets.� |
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In conclusion, I can see that accounting/bookkeeping is a challenging job.� It takes a patient and organized person who enjoys working with numbers and has impeccable communication skills.� �Sheila is definitely that type of person and does her job extremely well as she daily upholds the company's slogan:� "If you are 99% right, then you are 100% wrong!"� |
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Works Cited |
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Wright, Sheila.� Personal interview.� 22, Oct. 2005. |
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Back to English Composition page. |
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