Luiz Goncalves's Online Journal

Which classes to take?

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 23:36:37 EST

As this fall semester of 06 comes to an end it brings with it the scheduling part. This is when students, including myself, will select the classes in which they will take next. With me being in a business major I always plan on taking as many business classes as I can. Next semester I plan on taking classes such as statistics, accounting, and the second class to this one which is management 251. I feel that it is important to choose my classes with care because they cost money and I don’t want to take something that I don't need. Also being a business major I have a curriculum I must follow. Again I feel that selecting classes are a very important part of college.

Numbers and Managing

Sun, 03 Dec 2006 21:22:17 EST

In the begging of this semester my classmates and I were assigned into groups for an HR simulation project. This project was created to simulate what it is like to manage a company. It is also teaches us how to work together in a group and how to accept others opinions. As we get close to finishing up our HR simulation we have to write a final year report. In this, we will discuss everything that has happened throughout the year and all we have done. During this HR simulation we had to deal with a great deal of numbers and computations. Business is all about numbers and we learned that in this simulation. We learned how to control money by hiring employees and buying programs which improved our company. We also learned what was better to invest on and how to succeed even though we had a limited budget. Numbers are an essential part to anyone who is running a business. You must learn how to deal with them and be able to manage your budget. I feel like this HR simulation has thought me that and also given me a good grasp on what being a manager is like.

Recruitment

Sat, 02 Dec 2006 22:25:20 EST

Recruiting is something that is done by almost everyone in our world today. Anytime a company needs to hire more workers or fill out a position needed they go out and recruit possible employees. From college graduates to anyone looking for a job, recruiting plays a big role for them in deciding if they have what it takes or what is needed to get the position. Not only does recruiting involve hiring and finding the perfect person for the job, it is also a big part of sports. Any sports team, if it is college or professionals, have someone who takes care of recruiting athletes. These recruiters are the ones that are always paying visits and watching these athletes perform. Many times having a good recruiter leads to championship runs with great assets to follow. Recruiting is very essential and it must be done right. Having the right person as a recruiter is sometimes what separates great companies or sports teams from average ones.

Self Evaluations

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 22:10:46 EST

Self evaluations are very important when running a business. It is good to get the opinion of your employees and to see how everyone in your company is doing. As managers in today’s world, it is a key thing to let your own workers self evaluate themselves. Managers throughout the year are always watching and keeping an eye close on everything that gets done and who is doing the job. When these employees evaluate themselves managers get to see what they are thinking. Also these self evaluations allow the managers to make corrections or give employees any advice necessary.

Dismissals

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 21:35:27 EST

In todays business world there are many job positions that are taken and available just as fast. When working at a company the hiring and dismissing becomes a lot more intense and it is an issue that must be handle with care. When it comes to dismissing someone it is normally a job done by the main person or the so called "big boss". It is important to make sure that when doing this everything is done properly. There have been many incidents where companies were sued because they dismissed someone in a wrongly manner. I agree and believe that when performing something like firing someone you must first pull that person aside and have a quick meeting with them. There you will let the employee know what he/she did wrong and tell them someone will escort them to get their things and go. It is not an easy job to do such thing happens frequently in our business world.

Feedbacks

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 21:03:46 EST

Feedback is something I feel is very important in everything you do. It helps you correct your own mistakes and become better at what you’re doing. When it comes to a job, feedbacks are very crucial. It can cause fights, arguments, or happiness. At times there are people that don’t take feedbacks very well and get defensive about them. Others take it very good and look at it as a chance to improve on what they did wrong. As far as my management class every time I hand in a paper I get a feedback on what I wrote. I like getting feedbacks on my paper because then I know what to fix or what changes to make. Feedbacks are great because many times it is hard for me to see what I did wrong. When an outsider checks my work they can easily pick out the things I did wrong and correct me. Although feedback is very good it needs to be made at the right time. Timing is a very important factor when it comes to giving feedback. You must always make sure that you never single someone out. You must either pull them aside or make a group comment. Overall feedback is used in many things including jobs. It is a method that allows people to give their opinion about what is right or how to do things.

Racial Discrimination and Hiring

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 23:13:14 EST

In my management 250 class I wrote a paper on Jonah Creighton's case. This case involved a person who worked for the company and witnessed racial discrimination. In today’s world racial discrimination is illegal but still performed at some places. It is a very dangerous and difficult situation to deal with. In this case Jonah, who was the worker, heard about someone not getting a job because they were black. If you were in his situation what would you do? Would you say something and jeopardize your job? Believe it or not there are many people that see things like this everyday and do nothing about it. The ones that do usually have to pay a price but they know it is done for the best. It's sad to think that there are people out there who have no feelings and do not care about anyone else but themselves. It's sad to think that some people look at others like they are different. Racism is something that I can't stand and hopefully many agree. God created everyone the same and said treat others like you would want to be treated. That's how I live my life and do not plan to do any different.

Goals

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 20:29:11 EST

Today in class we discussed our future goals and things we would like to accomplish. When sitting down in class today I came to realize how many things I still want to do and all the goals I want to reach. It's not everyday that you sit down and write on a piece of paper all your goals and desires. Have any of you ever done this? You should try it. It helped me really see where I was heading. I noticed that all my goals fall under four categories. Family and friends, personal, and career are the categories most of my goals fell under. All these categories are very important to me and I feel that most of my classmates had their goals fall under the same ones. Also writing down my goals made me realize how many goals are personal goals and what would be called normal goals. Goals like getting married, having kids, finishing school, and getting a good job are all normal goals but still very important to many. Setting goals for myself have really helped me with what and how I do things in my life. Also it has helped me see how hard I must work to achieve them. Goals are important to all; they are limits that we set for ourselves so we have something to push us.

Why Management 250

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 21:10:38 EST

I decided to study business management when pre-med did not work out for me. I felt that business offered more opportunities with where my life was heading. I changed my major in the spring of 2006 and already took some business class. As this fall approached I started to decide on which business classes I was going to take. I selected some business classes but was really looking for one that focused on managing only. Little did I know a friend of mine would let me know about management 250. As I looked into this course I realized that this would be a perfect fit for me. I decided to take this course because I knew it would help me be a better business person in many occasions. Not only did I hear it from my friend, I have experience myself all the things this course covers about managing and business. It has helped with learning about hiring, managing, co-workers, how to run an industry, interviews, and much more. This course is great for anyone who is interested in business and learning how to be a great worker someday. I definitely would have to say that this is a must take course.

About myself

Sat, 04 Nov 2006 20:03:40 EST

Lately all of my posts have been about General Managers and the sports world. I was really excited to share my knowledge about it that I forgot to talk a little about myself and where I’m from. I am originally from Brazil and moved to the United States in the summer of 1998 when my mother married an American man. I went to high school in Pennsylvania and now study here at Case. I am an outgoing person who loves to have fun and make people laugh. Through out my life I have witnessed many things and have learned that life is too short to be mad or sad. I love sports and have always played them throughout my life. Currently I start at cornerback for our football team, which might explain why I prefer to talk about sports in my posts. I feel that the sports world and business offer so many opportunities in the future that I couldn't help but be interested in. I plan to get a degree in business management while focusing in marketing. Everything that is done in life must be marketed some how to succeed, which is why I chose this field of study. Also I work for the Cleveland Cavaliers, which will be a great opportunity to enter the sports business after I graduate. To sum it all up I am a student-athlete with a great personality and determination to get what I want. Thank God I have been fortunate to accomplish all my goals with a healthy life and hopefully things stay that way.

The Draft

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 22:02:05 EST

General Managers are people of high quality and importance. They are also leaders and responsible for most of the decision making in a team. Decision making is very important in sports. It makes a big difference in whether a team will succeed or not. With this said I would like to talk about the draft. The draft is the time when GMs work the hardest. It is when college players are eligible to play in the pros and enter a draft where they can be selected. General Managers, during the draft, are running around making sure everything is ready. Everything from meetings, scouting, and figuring out the budget are all things they must do. It is very important that GMs take leadership during this time to make sure everyone stays focus and gets their job done. After the draft is completed General Managers then decide who will get signed and how much they will get paid. This is a very tough part because college players always want a lot of money. At the same time GMs must make sure they stay under the team budget and the salary cap. With a successful draft means future franchise players and maybe down the road a championship.

Wages and Contracts

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 20:01:16 EST

In my previous blog I discussed General Managers and how they use motivation and rewards. Another complicated but important factor are wages and how contracts are signed. In today’s world most of the sports consist of a salary cap. A salary cap is a budget set by the league in which every team must stay under. General Managers are the ones who deal with the salary cap because they are in charge of signing players to contracts. In many occasions this can get very difficult to work with. Let me explain a little bit more why. There are some times GMs sign players but do not have much room in the salary cap. When this occurs they have the choice to separate how much the player will get a year so that the first year the amount is less and will fit the salary cap. Then in the following years the player will receive more and more. Here’s an example. A contract of 5 years worth 25 million dollars can be spread out so that the player makes three million in the first two years and then the rest 19 million in the next three. By doing so GMs will stay under the set salary cap, and have money in case they need to sign other players to fill the roster. Although there are many people who don’t know, General Managers have a lot of important decision making. This is why it is important that every team has a great GM.

Motivation and Rewards

Mon, 09 Oct 2006 21:06:48 EST

Today in class we discussed motivation and rewards. Both of these factors play essential roles in today's sports. As far as general managers they use motivation and rewards quite a lot. GMs need to make sure they motivate their staff so the work is always done and that the team has a good morale. I believe that it all starts from our leaders and if the GMs are motivated then it is most likely that the team will follow its lead. Also motivation plays a big part with the players. They must feed of one another to be successful. If they are not motivated then their work out, practice, and game play will not be good enough to succeed. General Managers then use rewards as a way to pay play players. In sports if a player performs well or better then expected they will earn bonuses and endorsements. Both of these are consider rewards that come from the GMs. Another factor that reward falls in is contracts. This goes for the staff and anyone who works for the team. By performing well usually leads to getting rewarded and a bigger contract offer. General Managers must use motivation and rewards as well and as needed as they can. I believe that if you are motivated to do your job well then eventually you will be rewarded.

General Managers and His Team

Mon, 02 Oct 2006 22:40:45 EST

This past Monday, October 2nd, we discussed the meaning of what a team is in class. A team is a group of individuals who are working together to achieve the same goal. A team consists of many individuals who have responsibilities to do. As far as sports there are different departments and multiple people working at the same time. If one individual decides to slack of or not do his job then the team will not do as well as planned. General Managers are leaders in the sports world with no question, but they are part of a team. They lead by making sure everything with the team runs well and smooth. Also GMs are the one who will give the final decision. Although they are one of the most important parts of a succeeding team nothing would get accomplished unless these GMs do not have a great team behind them. General Managers are what I like to call "Team Leaders". Let me get a little more into detail with what a team leader does. First and foremost, the team leader is responsible for getting the team of to a good start. This is very important because starting in the right foot makes a great difference. General Managers will do so by having meetings with his team and discussing team goals and future plans like free agency, signing players, and controlling the salary cap. Second of all, the team leader will then assign jobs and stay out of the team’s way. This is crucial because it is when his co-workers get the most done. GMs will still be there but to provide resources, remove obstacle, and warn about risks. The third part is celebrating your success and making sure everything is learned for the next year. A team must consist of a Team Leader to be successful. General Managers are team leaders and also part of a team in which they must lead with intelligence. Without a great leader a team will not succeed.

General Managers and The Management World

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 21:30:29 EST

Managent is one of the biggest factors when it comes to the sports world. In the case of football, General Managers are the ones who make very important decisions from signing a player to hiring personell. Most of these managers are very smart human beings who have studied business and the way it works for many years before getting the job. This job consists of dealing with money and figuring out the best way to do so. These managers are many times put to the test with the teams budget and taking care of many things that are many times overlooked. Also general managers must be able to read people well and carefully hire the ones that will help him and be the best fit for the organization. Managers make the game seem so simple like getting out there and playing. There are alot of behind the scene things that thanks to these dedicated managers don't show. General managers do what they need to do so the organization runs smoothly and that's all there needs to be said.