December 12, 2006
MGMT250 Retrospection
On the first day of Management 250, I described myself as a “transfer student from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania majoring in accounting.” I do not like having to sum up my identity in ice-breaker and getting-to-know-you exercises. These brief introductions to classmates seem very forced, shallow, and contrived to me. Although I enjoy hearing where everyone else is from or what their majors are, I would much rather have one-on-one conversations. Furthermore, in order to properly introduce myself to someone else, I would have to describe my long history of colleges from B.U. to Case, to show a picture of my kid sister, to explore my love of the arts, to play my eighties record collection, to introduce my loving boyfriend, to detail my career goals, and, of course, to share my fabulous homemade peanut-butter chocolate toffee cookies. I hope that in the course of this semester I have proven to my classmates that I am more interesting than the boring transfer student.
December 11, 2006
MGMT250 Women in Business
In A Framework for Human Resource Management Gary Dessler explains the challenges that women face in the workforce (203). He says that women face “Greater barriers (such as being excluded from informal networks) than do men, and great difficulty getting developmental assignments and geographic mobility opportunities.” (203). Reading this made me think about my own future. Will I be treated differently in the business world because I am a woman? Will I be passed over for that big promotion or international assignment? I only hope that in the future I can prove myself so that my superiors will see me for who I am.
Dessler, Gary. A Framework for Human Resource Management. Fourth Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. 2006.
December 10, 2006
MGMT250 HR Simulation Gripes
A big problem that I had with the Human Resources Simulation was with the incident reports. The incident reports did not pertain to the assigned incidents. For instance, for our third quarter, we were assigned Incident G: Compensation Planning. We decided to choose a Gain Sharing Plan in hopes of reducing turnover and raising morale. When we received the Quarter 3 results, we were baffled by the response. Instead of being about our Gain Sharing Plan, our incident decision results involved the hiring of fifty temporary employees, which angered the CEO, raised our costs and “caused much dissention in the workforce.” (Quarter 3, Human Resources Report). These were obviously results from Incident C: Recruiting for Temporary Position, which we did not indicate on our Decision Form. Throughout the HR Simulation, inaccurate incidents produced results unrelated to our decisions, causing negative consequences such as lowered morale. This proved frustrating and demoralizing for our team. Overall, the HR Simulation went well, but the incidents were consistently wrong.
Golden, Peggy A. & Jerald R. Smith. Human Resources Management Simulation: Player’s Manual. Second Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. 2005.
December 09, 2006
MGMT250 Internships
In one of our Management 250 sessions, a guest speaker from Case’s Career Center spoke about internships. After hearing her speak about internships, I began to think about my professional interests. In addition to holding management and accounting internship positions, I am also interested in trying out two other professions through internships. I am interested in public relations and large event planning. I have always wanted to learn what a job in public relations entails. I am also interested in the challenge of planning a large event. In particular, I would like to intern with a non-profit organization and help plan a charity event.
December 08, 2006
MGMT250 Catch My Dreams
One exercise I completed in Management 250 was entitled “Catch Your Dreams.” This exercise involved writing down your top seventeen goals in life. I found that many of my goals were work or school related, such as “Becoming a CPA” or “Graduating from a prestigious MBA program.” Additionally, I wanted to better myself through cooking, hobbies, and other activities. One of my most intense desires which I included in the exercise is to see the world. I think that travel is a great way to experience other cultures, learn about geography, taste different kinds of foods and, most of all, experience art by visiting it firsthand. I am thankful that Management 250 has helped me focus on my lifelong dream of traveling the world.
November 10, 2006
MGMT250 Go To My Pc
In my last job, I noticed a way to make the company run more smoothly. The company I worked for was a very small accounting firm run out of the owner's home. Most of our clients were schools in the Philadelphia area and most of the work was done on site. My boss was always running from one school to the next and had no way to access files at her home office while on the go. I installed the GoToMyPc program on her computer, which helped a great deal. For a monthly fee, the program made her home computer accessible from any other computer through the internet. My boss never had to run home between meetings for a forgotten file again. This also allowed work to be done off-site through the internet.
www.gotomypc.com
November 09, 2006
MGMT250 Goals
A recent management class exercise involved writing down seventeen of my goals. I began writing about graduating college, going to graduate school, and having a successful career for myself. I have a goal of earning enough money to be comfortable, paying off my student loans, and supporting my family. An additional goal is to be as happy in my thirties as I am in my twenties. After these goals, I found that most of my desires took the form of “hopes” for my friends and family members. I want my little sister to go to a good college. I want my mother to be able to retire within ten years. I want my father to get out of debt. I want my brother to establish a career that he really enjoys. It is important both to have desires and dreams and to work towards those aspirations. I feel that I am playing my part by studying for school, being responsible with money, and trying to support my family in any way that I can. As a student, I set goals for myself all of the time. For instance, this weekend I hope to get through chapter fourteen in calculus, as I have an exam approaching. This is a smaller, process goal which will help me with my long-term goal of graduating from college. This type of short-term goal setting is a very effective way to keep me motivated. I feel that if I can complete today’s goal, I can achieve my long-term goals as well.