Larkesha Burns's Domain of Knowledge

Dos Equis is the Greatest

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:22:43 EST

I would like to take this time to personally thank the members of Dos Equis. It was great working with you guys. Before this, I never liked working in groups or teams, but this was different. We were more than just students working on a project; we were colleagues that worked around our differences for a common goal. A goal that we completed very well. Thanks and good luck on finals. :)

Career Center

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 15:06:29 EST

I would have to say that the Career Center visits have been a highlight of the MGMT 250 class. These sessions were very informative and interesting. Students do not hear much about it usually and that is why the Center is not utilized fully. I think more people should know about it. It teaches life long skills and helps a person to re-evaluate their purpose. Various skill tests show that one may be better at something other than their major.

Learning Plan

Sat, 10 Dec 2005 23:05:29 EST

I am very greatful for the Learning Plan project. It has taught me many things. Never before had I taken the time to thoroughly evaluate my life and career goals. Through the interviews, I learned of the struggles and advancements made by those around me. In today's society, it is hard to find people of color who have made significant achievements, but these people are ones that I have seen everyday.

Tommy Boy

Sat, 10 Dec 2005 22:43:32 EST

In the case of Tom Mendola very interesting conversation was made in class. Tom worked at a job that he did not like. That was his first problem. I believe that family and work should be separate, so to get his family involved in his work ethic should not be done. Yes, his family is having problems, but that has nothing to do his work and his laziness. I believe that Tom was given too many chances and should have been fired.

All Praise the Appraisal!

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 15:26:07 EST

Where would we students be without the teacher evaluation at the end of the year? For some, it's just a waste of time, but for others it's a time to vent the feelings that they have been holding in the entire semester just awaiting this moment. Whether you check three for everything or blast your professeor with ones (lowest). There should be a basic criterion across the board for professor appraisal. It should take into account the amount of material taught as compared to the amount of the material that was comprehended. This would be evident via grade distribution. Because to talk to the class and to talk at the class are two different things. Another criterion should be whether the professor made an attempt to assist the student outside of the classroom. If the professor does not hold office hours or SI sessions in particularly difficult subjects, he or she should not be surprised if the class percentages are low. Finally, the professor should be appraised on how much time in the class was actually used to teach the material and how well he or she knows the materials. I have had some classes that were discussion based that always ended up being professor dominated life stories.

Have times really changed?

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 20:13:35 EST

Have times really changed? That's something that I ask myself all the time. The Jonah Creighton discussion stirred up some feelings inside of me that I have been feeling a lot this year as I've been presented with ignorance more and more. It's as if people don't think racism exists anymore, but they continue to spew it more subtly. The comments during discussions about racism i.e. Jonah Creighton show me that it still exists, but the people who speak it only think that it's their opinion and in turn I'm just being sensitive. I don't think that I'm being sensitive, but I think that there's just a lot that they don't understand.

Rudeness in Class

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 20:07:43 EST

Here's something else that I would like to address. The rudeness in class is getting out of hand. Why can't we raise our hands? Why can't we take turns speaking? We are adults, not in kindergarten. It's bad enough that peers get interrupted, but it's really disrespectful when one has the audacity to interrupt the professor. I just thought this needed to be brought to light in people didn't realize that they were doing it.

IF YOU WON'T DO FOR YOUR OWN PEOPLE WHY SHOULD OTHER PEOPLE

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 19:22:55 EST

"If you won't do your own people, why should other people?" This was a comment made regarding Bill Garrett and his lack of action in the Jonah Creighton Case. I don't understand why the concept was so hard swallow, but I know many non-minorities don't understand, so I'll do my best to explain. As a Black man in a company that had discriminatory practices, I am sure that Garrett probably already knew what was going on. So, he decided to pick and choose his own battles. In this type of environment, he was lucky to make it to as high a position that he had. Maybe he was not willing to risk it for one righteous Caucasian that was just becoming aware of something that had been going on for years. Maybe he had a family to feed. For other readers that still don't understand what I'm saying it's probably because you don't understand what we (African Americans) have to deal with to survive racist environment i.e. work, or even college. If you have any further questions, you can email me at lpb1@case.edu to continue the discussion.

Maybe He Should Have Researched the Hiring Policies

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 19:01:49 EST

There were a lot of comments about the Jonah Creighton made that disturbed me. One in particular was that if minority hiring was a concern of Creighton's, then maybe he should have researched the company's hiring policies before he started working there. In my opinion that's a bunch of bull$#!%. No one expects for a company to be discriminatory especially nowadays and in the US. Another ignorant person stated that a company's demographics on hiring minorities did not matter to her. Well, I would just like to say that African Americans are not the only minorities. So while she might have been meaning that it doesn't matter how many Blacks work around her, she was forgetting that she is also a minority. How soon we forget?

I Could've Sworn Jonah Creighton was Black

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 18:48:44 EST

Maybe it was just me, but I could have sworn the Jonah Creighton was black. I even wrote my paper as if he was African American. Because of his passion, involvement, and emotion behind everything that had happened I mistakenly perceived him to have been African-American. It would be the norm for him to have had all of these characteristics if he were Black, but because he is not makes me happy to see all people that all people are not self-centered. He went out on a limb for what he believed in, more people should.

XanEdu is a Do!

Sun, 09 Oct 2005 22:58:38 EST

The Xanedu articles are really good. I'm not saying that they are better than the text, but they give the reader something better to grasp by providing real life scenarios. What I find interesting is that we read a lot more than we actually discuss in class. Some of the most interesting XanEdu articles are the ones we don't even get to discuss. It's nice to read for yourself, but I would like to know how others feel about them.

HR Simulations

Sun, 09 Oct 2005 22:31:39 EST

There have been many comments about the HR Simulations. They are usually negative and pertain to how much work there is to do. Yes, at times it can be overwhelming considering the other work that we have from various classes, but as one who actually manages as a job I feel that the simulations are on point. If we do not get anything else out of the simulations, we can at least say that we are learning a great amount about TEAMWORK. Teamwork is very important because I know that I wouldn't get a lot of things done without a team.

EI is the smarter intelligence

Sun, 09 Oct 2005 19:31:32 EST

I have been told that "IQ will get you the job, but EQ will help you keep it". This is true because your smarts will help you deal with academic situations, whereas emotional intelligence will teach you how to deal with real life situations. One can enhance their emotion intelligence by "accurately perceiving, appraising, and expressing emotion" (Tucker ch2). Overall, the smartest person can have very limited emotional intelligence, but a person with mediocre intellence and great emotional intelligence will probally get further.

GroupThink is totally natural

Sun, 09 Oct 2005 19:10:25 EST

We have learned that as a group we should avoid GroupThink, everyone thinking alike because of cohesiveness. I have been placed in sitiations where I have fallen victim to GroupThink because it just made things easier, but hasn't everyone though. The US is a democracy, which means "majority rules". So basically if someone has a differing opinion from the majority of the group, then that one person has to conform. Isn't that still forced GroupThink? Consequentially, these actions could lead to eventual self-censorship.

Times Have Changed

Sun, 09 Oct 2005 17:41:40 EST

During the time of our Career Fair networking sessions a point was brought up that bothered me. It was said that women should wear dark colored skirt suits to networking events i.e. career fairs or business meetings. My only question is "Why?" Is a woman considered too intimidating if she wears pants? Is she any more or less qualified than a man if she wears pants?