December 12, 2006
Career Center
Okay, it is time to buckle down. I need to work on my internship possibilities for next summer. I signed up for eCompass. I emailed a contact at an investment banking firm. I think it is time for me to head to the Career Center to have them review my resume. If possible, I would like to further discuss the results of my MBTI and what careers they envision for me. ENTP is apparently a unique personality type, so I would like to hear what careers I might be best suited for. I am already considering marketing and banking and finance, might I be missing another career? I am printing my resume and I will stop by the Career Center to sign up for an appointment. Wish me luck!
Technology
I am furious with technology. I love it when it works, but hate it when it does not. In the past week, my laptop has stopped working and my mp3 player broke. I, of course, blame both of these problems on the devices themself and in no part to myself. I might take responsibility for the mp3 player, as it looks like it may have been dropped.
However, my laptop is a different issue. I have serious issues with Gateway. My laptop is about a year old and it is already experiencing problems shutting down randomly and not working. Gateway customer service is horrible and is not making me feel valued as a customer. If I cannot resolve the issues with my laptop then I am considering to switching to a computer company with more reliable customer service. Perhaps Dell will be a better solution. Does anyone know how their customer service compares with Gateway?
Finals
I have three finals to finish before the semester is over. My first two are on Thursday. My evolution final promises to be quite challenging. Luckily, I feel that I have worked hard this semester to avoid procrastination when it comes to studying. I have already started studying for them and feel I will be prepared when the time comes. I wish that I could delegate the task of studying to someone else. Just kidding. The studying begins now.
Classes Next Semester
I am greatly looking forward to my classes next semester. I have all business courses and they are all introductory. This means that I will have a wide variety of new concepts and ideas. I am especially looking forward to my Introduction to Banking and Finance and my Introduction to Marketing courses. I have an interest in both of these fields and I am hoping that the introductory courses will either pique my interest or dissuade me from pursuing a career in one of them. I am also looking forward to Christmas break, however. Next semester will come soon enough.
Reflection on Simulation
Our simulation project is finally complete. I had some thoughts about the simulation and some advice for next year.
Most importantly, teams should be introduced to the simulation in more detail than a mere, "Please read over the assignment and ask any questions you may have." After reading the assignment, I felt prepared for the simulation. However, our first two quarterly reports took much longer than necessary and caused great undue stress. An entire class day should be devoted to explaining the simulation and perhaps completing the first quarter in class.
Other than that, the project went smoothly. One other point of advice may be to examine potential ways to hold the interest of the groups for the entire semester. There was a definite waning interest as the semester progressed and the simulation turned monotonous. Motivation among team members fell drastically. I have no suggestions at this point, but I believe several were brought up in class the day that we reflected on the simulation.
November 10, 2006
Goal Setting
It was very interesting to discuss goals in class. I never actually sat and developed goals for myself; they were always distant and intangible. When I was forced to sit and write out my goals for my future, I was somewhat startled to find that most of goals did not resolve around my career. In fact, only one of them actually dealt with finding a good job.
I have decided that my main goal in life is to "Work to live, not live to work." I hope to find a career I can fall in love with, but I anticipate having a happy, successful life outside of business. My other goals included such things as "starting a family," "traveling," and other similar achievements that I cannot wait to accomplish.
I will work at finding more specific goals, such as graduating from college. Goals such as this one can provide me with opportunities to fulfill other lifelong dreams and aspirations. I think this is a great activity and a good assignment to include in the Learning Plan.
Ethics
We discussed in a previous class the issue of ethics. I think ethics are particularly important and that any employee must maintain his or her own ethics in the workforce. I am particularly encouraged by the "whistleblowers" at Enron and in other situations, for those people acted upon their beliefs and did what they thought was right.
I shared in class how my parents own a manufacturing company, FesslerUSA. FesslerUSA makes shirts, namely high-end ladies tees. Well, business was up and my parents were happy, but they were faced with an ethical dilemma. Abercrombie & Fitch, a clothing store extremely popular with my generation, was a customer of ours. Their screenprints that they sent for approval did not match my family's core values. They were very crude and just something my parents did not want to manufacture. It was a small issue, but Abercrombie submitted new designs and the problem was solved. Then Abercrombie came out with an XXX magazine that included naked photos and an interview with a porn star.
My parents stopped doing business with Abercrombie, making their ethics a higher priority than keeping Abercrombie as a customer. I am proud of my parents for holding on to their ethics and I hope I can maintain those same ethics as I go into the workforce.