December 05, 2005
Annual Report Again
Tonight our team met to discuss our plan for writing our annual report. I don't know how this will work, but we basically decided to revise the first annual report. Of course, this entails adding the new data from the second year. The only substantial new sections of our report are the questions that ask for reflections on the simulation as a whole. In any case, I think our strategy will be fine. We did well on the first report and I think we can anticipate doing well again. Our team leader is going to discuss our plan with Professor Piderit anyway.
Learning Plan Again
I have just completed my Part II draft (the goals section). I think that the class discussions that we have had recently were in fact helpful. I chose to use the outline format to describe my goals. This seems to work well. In my paper, I wrote one goal, broken up into subgoals and action steps, and then followed that with a paragraphs describing why I chose it, how it relates to my values, and why it's a SMART goal. I did the same for the next goal. In the end, I'm happy with my draft, although it does exceed the informal page requirement.
November 27, 2005
Management 250
As the end of the semester draws near, I'd like to say a few things about this class so far. I have enjoyed class for the most part. I think that, for me, it has really helped me to start thinking about my future more than I would have having not taken it. This has happened both through writing my learning plan and through the various activities that we have done, like creating a rusume for example and participating in the mock interviews. I also enjoy our discussions in class as they help me to think about real life work situations and to reflect on situations that I have had in the past. The only aspect that I might change about the course is the readings because they haven't been nearly as helpful as the other aspects of the class. Plus, the books were really expensive.
More on the Learning Plan
In last Tuesday's class we did peer reviews for our learning plans. While this was helpful, I am a little worried about the grading for the final paper. In the syllabus, it says there is no formal page requirement. However, we learned in class that we could be penalized for length. The first part of my learning plan was 14 pages long. This was only to include everything that was required, and I still didn't get an A. How am I supposed to add part two and not exceed 15 pages? I understand that I will have to revise and take sections out, but if there is a page limitation, then the instructions in the syllabus should specify that.
November 21, 2005
Learning Plan Part II
I have just started my learning plan part II. This assignment is just a little difficult because the directions confuse me. For example, I don't know if the rubric that was distributed is for just part II, or for the complete plan when we turn in both parts I and II. Also, in discussing a class that will aid in achieving a learning goal, what if my goal is to get a minor in economics? Could I then just describe a couple of economics classes that I'm going to take to fulfil my minor? In any case, although the assignment is a little difficult, I do value the fact that it fources us to take a step back and try to objectively look at who we are, where we're going, and how we plan to get there.
Extra Session
I thought that Tuesday's extra session was very informing. We were lucky to have such an expereinced individual come and speak to us about something directly related to class. I thought that he did a wonderful job explaining the systems of performance evaluations to us in simple ways to ease in our understanding. Furthermore, his real life examples helped me to see which types of performance evaluations I wouldn't mind being subjected to in my own career (and the ones that I would try to avoid). One downside to the session was that the "demonstration" was a little boring and the point that he was trying to make with it was a little unclear.
November 13, 2005
Feedback
I thought Thursday's session on feedback was great. I think that it is very important for everyone entering business to know how to give constructive and accurate feedback. Through my experiences, I have dealt with situations which could have been handled better if only the principles of good feedback were followed. For example, I worked at a restaurant in which the owner/manager insisted on degrading employees and emphasizing mistakes as a form of feedback. Fortunately, I was not usually at the receiving end of this treatment, but i noticed how this poor use of feedback led to a less-productive working environment for everyone on the job. Also, throught the experiment in class, I learned how to give better feedback to others.