Tamika Jones

February 3, 2014
Report 2: How have you become a part of the organization (organizational socialization
for those of you who have taken Communication in Organizations)? What sort of
training/instruction have you been given? Describe your interactions with your supervisor
and anyone else that youve worked with.
After spending three weeks in the Embassy, I have become even more immersed
in the organizational culture and have become an important piece to organizations
mission. In the past two weeks, I have taken on another task in which I am responsible
for carrying out. I am responsible for sending out Executive Taskers on the
Ambassador and DCMs behalf that request appropriate action from high-ranking
officials. The Executive Taskers can be a variety of information such as letters that
request a meeting with the Ambassador, people requesting social security benefits, input
for award ceremonies, and other different forms of information. Most of the Executive
Taskers are in Spanish, and it is my job to read them and set a deadline for an agencys
response. Sending out Executive Taskers is a way of dispersing information and
managing agencies. It is my job to make sure that agencies are receiving proper
information, and that they are following through with the task given. I have become a
part of the organization because I have been given the responsibility of carrying out this
job throughout my time at the Embassy. Since I am the one sending them out, I am
considered the point of contact. When a Director sends me an email about an Executive
Tasker, I have been given the opportunity to exercise judgment to give a response on
what is necessary. What has truly been the evidence of being an essential member to the
organization is that I have been asked to propose a strategy on how the Staff Aides can
better manage the Executive Taskers. Currently, there are about 50 plus Executive
Taskers in one large folder. It has been difficult for the Staff Aides to keep track of them,
making it difficult to hold agencies responsible if they are not fulfilling their duty by the

Tamika Jones
February 3, 2014
deadline. The second way in which I have become a part of the organizational culture has
been my job as the back-up note taker for the Country Team or senior officials team
meeting. I am responsible for writing and editing notes for the Deputy Chief of Mission
(DCM), which is a job that has a lot of responsibility. The Staff Aides are depending on to
write the majority of content from the meeting. Recently, I received feedback from one of
the Staff Aides. He said that I am doing a great job on gathering the content for the notes.
The constructive instruction that I was given was to focus more on editing and gathering
and the names of the people who spoke. The constructive feedback has allowed me to see
areas of improvement. When I first started taking notes, The Staff Aide told me that the
trick to the Country Team meetings are to know the people who are talking. As far as
training, he told me that note taking is an acquired skill, which has been strgethening
weekly for me. In Country Team meetings, there are 30 plus directors from different
agencies present, including all the consulates. Some may not think that note taking is
essential, but I have come to realize the note taking is extremely important to in order to
disburse crucial information for carrying out Mexico-U.S relations. The Staff Aides trust
that I will gather the necessary information at the Country Team meetings, which has
given me a bigger role in the organizational culture.
My interactions with the people I work with have been very productive. As the
Exec Office is very fast pace, the Staff Aides tend to relay information very rapidly. It
takes keen listening skills and attention to detail to take the information and do something
with it. If I am not sure of something, and I will ask questions to clarify rather than to
assume avoid miscommunication. I make an effort to copy the Staff Aides on every email
I send, so that they are able to monitor and keep up with the information. I feel that

Tamika Jones
February 3, 2014
through email, asking questions, and my listening skills, I have established a good
relationship with the Staff Aides, but there is still room to learn and improve. My
supervisor is the assistant for the Deputy Chief of Mission, so I do not work directly with
her. However, she has helped me in my understanding of the organizational culture at the
Embassy. She has encouraged me to attend meetings to see how each agency functions.
She has given me permission to visit a different agency for one hour once a week to
expand my knowledge beyond the State Department. This has been essential to my
growth in the organization, and has helped me build a better understanding of how the
Embassy functions as a whole. She also has encouraged me to volunteer for events
involving high ranked officials. Being a member of the Embassy organization has truly
been an exciting experience. Each day is presents new opportunities, allowing me to
develop new skills.