December 11, 2006

The Last One...

THIS is my last entry.
I've been thinking about my earlier statements regarding sleep and sleep deprivation. Prof. Piderit only touched upon this once in class: "Make sure you review your paper when you are well-rested." Seriously, for a worker's productivity, the value of sleep cannot be undermined.

I just wanted to make sure everyone knows the importance of getting 7-8 hours of sleep every individual night. Don't worry; you will not be missing anything going to bed before midnight!

Have a safe vacation everybody.

Extended Information:
http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/sleepteen.html

Two More...

A few days ago, I completed taking the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory. I'll try to avoid sounding extremely negative, but I really do not enjoy taking these surveys. With no incentive to continue, 70+ of the same types of questions gets to be really tedious. I question the validity of these surveys due to the ease of which you can just click random numbers or lose interest after the 30th question. I think the emphasis placed on numerical surveys needs to be changed. Employers really need to start interviewing people and doing background checks before relying on an 'MBTI' or 'LSI.'
...just a thought.

Should Be The Last...

This paragraph should really be my last MGMT blog entry…but it’s not. I really enjoyed working with Professor Piderit and the TA this semester, and gained a lot from the MGMT class, including, most importantly, guidance on building a learning plan to figure out what I would like to do with my life. The last day of class was a somber experience. I really appreciated the explanation of the project simulation. Up until now, I really thought that the computer picked random numbers to portray ‘real life’ situations…situations which did not seem ‘real’ at all.
Professor Piderit seemed a little choked up at the end of class…we are all looking forward to seeing you next semester!
Happy Holidays everybody!

December 07, 2006

Learning Plans

I just finished my Learning Plan. It’s 4:30 AM in the morning. I feel that I am the most creative when incredibly tired.
When first jumping into the assignment, I prepared myself for a 20-page essay on complete B-S. However, to my astonishment, the essay actually helped me find out a little bit more about myself. Now, I finally have two goals to work on: graduating with a 3.15 GPA in accounting and working on my interpersonal skills.
Amazing how a little late-night writing can affect your whole life!

November 30, 2006

Lack of Action

Today, we discussed expectations set for employees at the work place. I see plenty examples of ‘lack of action:’ At my employment at a college bookstore, I had to deal with fellow co-workers who took frequent unnecessary breaks…and were even caught sleeping! The cause of the inefficiency was exactly what Professor Piderit mentioned: The employer had not set clear expectations. Without these clear expectations set, I also found myself working too hard, not being able to figure out when I should take breaks (usually, when never told to take a break…I don’t).
Also, I mentioned in class, that a manager could take away pay from an employee who is consistently late to work. I admit that the comment was a little too drastic.

November 09, 2006

Jonah Case

I found the latest case to be more interesting and easier to follow than the last assignment. How did the British company find out that the prospective employee was black to begin with? The root of the discrimination may be within the American company itself: They may have given racial information over the phone, which they shouldn’t have. Additionally, the problem should have been reacted to differently. There are so many different possibilities for a positive outcome, including:
-Warn ‘Dan’ before first meeting with Harris
-Curb anger during phone call and involve Human Resources immediately afterwards
-Enlist Dan’s help in the apology

Ethics

After discussing ethics in class, I found out about an interesting situation at…of all places…Wackadoos. A fellow employee had been accused of stealing from the company. Granted, it’s not that hard to steal money from a restaurant position without getting caught. Well, this person was caught (I later found the manager had hired an investigator). The perpetrator was banned from ever coming into the restaurant again. Being a staunch conservative, my politics usually corrupt my ability to think of the right solution in a business environment (can ‘crooks’ even be rehabilitated?). My manager reacted admirably, and gave the waiter/waitress time to pay back the money. He did not press charges. The boss told me that this was the hardest part of managing a business…who wants to deal with being stolen from?