Archives for the Month of October 2006 on Beau Lem's MGMT250 Journal
Networking
I thought the networking class was actually a pretty good experience. I met some people I had never met and got to know more about people I already knew. The experience I had was a little different than others, because I was basically the only one not prepared to network. I came to class dressed in shorts and a hoody with out any business cards. Being in the environment I felt unprofessional and less confident in meeting people. My conversations didn’t last very long and it seemed as if I was listening a lot more than talking. I believe if I came prepared I would have had a better experience and probably met a lot more people in my class. I learned that being prepared and confidence is very important to making good and useful networks.
HR Simulation
When I was first assigned the HR Simulation project, I didn’t enjoy it or thought it was very useful. Now after three meetings with my group and two quarters, our group started to understand what tasks were required. All our group members are willing to contribute to the team, so things are starting to move more smoothly during the meetings. I am starting to have some fun seeing how good our group does compared to other groups. I am learning that teamwork really helps when making tough decisions that a company might actually have to face. I think the HR simulation will be a good experience and I am looking forward to seeing our company end up being the best out of all the groups.
MBTI
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is test that identifies a personality that describes you best. The MBTI answers four important questions: where you focus your attention? The way you take in the information? The way you make decisions? How you deal with the outer world? I was very skeptical at first thinking how can a test tell something as complex as a personality. Even while taking the test I thought to myself that the questions seemed repetitive and impractical. After receiving the results I was very surprised to see how accurate the indicator actually was. Out of sixteen different personalities I was considered an ESTP. ESTP stands for extraversion, sensing, thinking, and perceiving. Extraversion means I focus my attention more on the outer world of people and things and not as much on the inner world of ideas and impressions. Sensing indicates that I take in information through the five senses and focus on the here and now and less on the future possibilities. Thinking implies that I make decisions based on logic and on objective analysis of cause and effect. Perceiving individuals tend to like a flexible and spontaneous approach to life and prefer to keep their options open. I liked taking the MBTI and I thought it was very accurate.
Learning Style Inventory
According to the Learning Style Inventory (LSI), there are four different learning styles. The styles are diverger, assimilator, converger, and accommodator. A diverger is someone that has strengths in imaginative ability, understanding people, recognizing problems, and brainstorming. Assimilators are strong in planning, creating models, defining problems, and developing theories. A converger’s strengths are problem solving, decision making, deductive reasoning, and defining problems. Finally accommodators are strong in getting things done, leadership, and risk taking. After filling out the LSI test I found out that my learning style was a diverger. Divergers focus mostly on concrete experience and reflective observation when trying to learn something. I learned that to develop my diverger learning skills I need to practice being more sensitive and gathering information with an open mind.
Mock Interview
My mock interview was with Rockwell Automation on September 22. I felt that I actually didn’t perform well, but she obvious saw different and I scored quite well. I liked that I got to have my mistakes and flaws pointed out so I wouldn’t do it on my next interview. I learned that all focus should be on the interviewer at all times with continuous eye contact. In general I thought the mock interview was a good experience not only for self reflection, but for great practice. Now I can feel confident, when applying for jobs knowing what to do on my next interview.