Ryan Knotts's Online Journal http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/ Thoughts on Management 250 en-us Fri, 08 Dec 2006 23:37:38 EST Fri, 08 Dec 2006 23:37:38 EST ryan.knotts@case.edu ryan.knotts@case.edu http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Movable Type v3.121 HR Simulation - Negatives http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/12/08/hr_simulation_negatives While there were many things that went well in our group, there were also things that I felt we could... http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/12/08/hr_simulation_negatives MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 08 Dec 2006 23:37:38 EST While there were many things that went well in our group, there were also things that I felt we could have done better. If I were to participate in this simulation again, I would allocate more money to our first quarter budget. Our group was playing catch up the entire time because of our conservative spending in quarter one, and we were never able to fully recover. The incidents were also a bit difficult to follow. After the third quarter, our group finally realized that even if we were assigned a certain incident, the simulation program would run through the incidents in alphabetical order. Unfortunately, we did not discover this until one of our incident reports caused a large blow to our morale. Because we turned in the incorrect decision form in quarter six, our company suffered greatly. Looking back, it would have helped our company if we always made sure to double check our work before handing it in.

]]> HR Simulation - Positives http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/12/08/hr_simulation_positives Looking back on the HR simulation, there were many positive aspects. Most of these came from how our group worked... http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/12/08/hr_simulation_positives MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 08 Dec 2006 23:24:37 EST Looking back on the HR simulation, there were many positive aspects. Most of these came from how our group worked and taught me valuable skills that I will be able to apply in future projects. As a whole, our group worked well together. We were able to treat each other with mutual respect and cooperated to meet and reach our deadlines. When a member of the group was unable to make a deadline, they were talked to privately instead of being confronted in front of the whole group. I feel that this enabled the person to explain themselves to Shelley and receive help or feedback if necessary better than a public confrontation would. These meetings did not happen often, but when they did the group members did not seem to be upset afterwards and made their best effort to get their work in as soon as possible.

]]> HR Simulation Q8 http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/12/08/hr_simulation_q8 After our seventh quarter success, the eighth quarter was abysmal. With over one hundred employees that had to be terminated,... http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/12/08/hr_simulation_q8 MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 08 Dec 2006 23:13:48 EST After our seventh quarter success, the eighth quarter was abysmal. With over one hundred employees that had to be terminated, we had to spend a substantial amount of our budget on severance pay. Unfortunately, we were already short of money compared to where we originally hoped to be. This meant that we had to cut spending in our main programs, and were unable to give our employees substantial raises. Because of the massive amount of firings, the morale of our employees plummeted. This also led to lowered productivity and increased absenteeism. Our company, in one quarter, went from above average to last or next to last in the industry in almost all important performance categories.

]]> HR Simulation Q7 http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/12/08/hr_simulation_q7 To account for our mistakes in the sixth quarter, our team decided that we would overspend this quarter in an... http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/12/08/hr_simulation_q7 MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 08 Dec 2006 23:04:01 EST To account for our mistakes in the sixth quarter, our team decided that we would overspend this quarter in an attempt to bring the company back above the industry averages. By spending over $600,000 this quarter we hoped to make the employees feel more valued than employees of other companies in our industry. We also held off from firing the extra workers because we did not want to lower the morale of our workforce. In hindsight, it would have probably made sense to fire the extra workers this quarter when we were spending the extra money instead of waiting until we were restricted to an extremely tight budget. After spending over $600,000 this quarter, we were left with under $300,000 for our final quarter. However, when we received the results from quarter seven, our company was doing extremely well in all areas and our group was quite pleased.

]]> HR Simulation Q6 http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/12/08/hr_simulation_q6 In our 6th quarter, we had more employees that needed to be laid off. With our high productivity, this allowed... http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/12/08/hr_simulation_q6 MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 08 Dec 2006 22:50:26 EST In our 6th quarter, we had more employees that needed to be laid off. With our high productivity, this allowed our group to spend more money on the programs that we felt would be helpful. After our meeting, we were confident in our decisions and felt that our company would make progress towards our goals. However, our group accidentally turned in the decision form from the previous quarter. This meant that we would now be massively overstaffed in the next quarter. In the fifth quarter, we also budgeted a bit conservatively, so the progress that we were hoping for was not realized. We took this into consideration while planning our budget for quarter seven and followed a course of action that we hoped would help the company get back on track.

]]> Application of the MBTI test http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/11/10/application_of_the_mbti_test Earlier this week, a few friends and I were discussing our plans for the future. When one of my friends... http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/11/10/application_of_the_mbti_test MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 10 Nov 2006 23:20:23 EST Earlier this week, a few friends and I were discussing our plans for the future. When one of my friends was unsure what he wanted to do, I thought back to the class about the MBTI test. I found an online version of the test and had my friend take it, and then helped him interpret the results. By using www.personalitypage.com, I was able to help my friends understand themselves better. This also enabled them to see what careers they may excel in.

]]> HR Meeting #5 http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/11/10/hr_meeting_5 Starting with our second year, our meetings have been organized differently. Before each meeting, Shelley will input her recommendations for... http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/11/10/hr_meeting_5 MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 10 Nov 2006 18:46:57 EST Starting with our second year, our meetings have been organized differently. Before each meeting, Shelley will input her recommendations for hiring as well as adding in the constant costs of our extra programs. After this, our group discusses the results from last quarter and how to adjust spending to fix any problems. We then discussed the incident for the quarter, and totaled up all of our costs. By making these changes, our group has been able to cut meeting times in half.

]]> Feedback http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/11/10/feedback This past Wednesday the discussion was based around feedback. In my experiences, I have dealt with cases of both too... http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/11/10/feedback MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 10 Nov 2006 18:37:54 EST This past Wednesday the discussion was based around feedback. In my experiences, I have dealt with cases of both too much and not enough feedback. I find that I prefer getting too much feedback, as it is easier for me to evaluate. If I am not getting any feedback at all, then it is impossible for me to know if my work is not satisfactory. When giving feedback, I will do my best to follow the SAFE method while giving plenty of feedback if requested.

]]> Importance of my dreams http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/11/09/importance_of_my_dreams While it is important to achieve as many of our goals as possible, some goals are more important than others.... http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/11/09/importance_of_my_dreams MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 09 Nov 2006 03:38:58 EST While it is important to achieve as many of our goals as possible, some goals are more important than others. Personally, I feel that the most important goals to achieve are those of self-improvement. If I am unable to be satisfied with myself as a person, then it will be harder to concentrate on outside relationships. Next, I want to concentrate on my relationships with others. By building good personal relationships, I will have resources to turn to if I need help or advice. Finally, I will focus on my career goals. Even though I have placed career goals last, that does not mean that I find my future career to be unimportant. However, in order to have the best chance of succeeding in my career goals I feel that I need to achieve the other two types of goals first.

]]> Dreams http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/11/09/dreams On Monday, the discussion in class was based on dreams. To get our minds working, each student wrote 17 of... http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/11/09/dreams MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 09 Nov 2006 01:59:20 EST On Monday, the discussion in class was based on dreams. To get our minds working, each student wrote 17 of their dreams on Post-It notes. When sorting my dreams into groups, I noticed that there were three main groups: career, self-improvement, and relationship. We were then to turn these dreams into goals; this was easier said than done for some people. However, almost all of my dreams will be attainable and I hope to reach at least five of them by the time I finish college.

]]> Team Meeting #2 -- group roles http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/10/13/team_meeting_2_group_roles As we finish our second week of meetings, it is becoming obvious what roles each individual plays in the group.... http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/10/13/team_meeting_2_group_roles MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 13 Oct 2006 19:51:29 EST As we finish our second week of meetings, it is becoming obvious what roles each individual plays in the group. Shelly is doing a great job of keeping our group on task and moving us along so we do not debate a single point for too long. At times I feel that I am too vocal about my opinions and am afraid that it is hurting our group. It can be hard to get my opinion out and still remember to ask others for their opinions, and is something I need to remember for next week's meeting. A possible solution for me would be to sit back and only offer my opinion if asked, but with other members already doing that I'm not sure if my passive behavior would help or hinder the group. Those who do take the passive attitude, though, do a good job of expressing their opinion if they strongly disagree with the course of action being taken. If I am able to keep my opinions to myself at times, I feel our group will end up working together as a much more cohesive unit.

]]> Team Meeting #2 http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/10/13/team_meeting_2 This week's meeting went much more smoothly. Unfortunately it had to be rescheduled because our results were not returned until... http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/10/13/team_meeting_2 MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 13 Oct 2006 19:44:39 EST This week's meeting went much more smoothly. Unfortunately it had to be rescheduled because our results were not returned until Monday, but our team did a good job of finding a new time that fit into everyone's schedule and providing notice well in advance of the change. Last simulation quarter, we had a large surplus, in the neighborhood of $100,000. Because we were inexperienced, we felt it would be best to play it safe with our money, and it ended up hurting us. Our morale was very low compared to the rest of the groups; considering we wanted to focus on high morale we found this to be very bad. With a week's worth of experience, it was obvious that we were more confident in our decision making process as a group. As a result, we ended up spending our entire budget plus some of the surplus; I feel that when our results come back this coming week that we will be much happier than we were this time.

]]> Team Meeting #1 http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/10/13/team_meeting_1 Our first team meeting for the HR simulation went well, despite what we felt was a lack of guidance (although... http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/10/13/team_meeting_1 MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 13 Oct 2006 19:38:06 EST Our first team meeting for the HR simulation went well, despite what we felt was a lack of guidance (although this was probably intentional). The biggest problems that we felt existed, as a team, were the errors in the workbook. Since we had no previous information or experience to base our decisions off of, it was confusing when the manual told us we had less than $50,000 left, when in reality we had around $200,000 to work with. These errors ended up costing us some time trying to work through them, and made our team morale lower than it may have otherwise been. I feel that we may have rushed into some decisions near the end of the meeting because everyone wanted to be finished with the assignment. Next week it would not surprise me to see our team work much more efficiently due to the experience of completing the assignment once already.

]]> Networking http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/10/13/networking Earlier in the semester, a large portion of a lecture section was dedicated to networking. The idea was that the... http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/10/13/networking MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 13 Oct 2006 16:18:21 EST Earlier in the semester, a large portion of a lecture section was dedicated to networking. The idea was that the more practice we have with networking, the better we will become at it. Being my first networking session, I was a bit uncomfortable with everything. When I meet new people, I generally like to observe them for a while before trying to talk to them or make a comment, and in this environment that simply wasn't possible. As a result, I found it difficult to participate and wound up talking mostly to students who I already knew or had seen around campus a few times. I feel this assignment would have been much more beneficial to me if there was a follow-up session, perhaps a few weeks later after I had time to reflect on what went well and what needed improvement from last time.

]]> Thoughts on Monday http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/09/21/thoughts_on_monday This past Monday in class has presented me with an opportunity to both reflect and look ahead. Recently we have... http://blog.case.edu/ryan.knotts/2006/09/21/thoughts_on_monday MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 21 Sep 2006 21:11:55 EST This past Monday in class has presented me with an opportunity to both reflect and look ahead. Recently we have been taking self-inventory tests to help us see what type of person we are, and the results of the MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) we shared with us this past Monday. My personality type is "ISTP", or "Introversion Sensing Thinking Perceiving", which is exactly what I judged myself to be with our pre-test. Not surprisingly, my greatest skew is towards Perceiving, which translate into me being a spontaneous person. This skew will make it a bit harder to achieve the goal I set for myself in my first entry, but I believe that if I work hard enough at it I will be able to budget my time and therefore meet deadlines much more efficiently.

Additionally, we found out about our groups for the HR simulation. I'm still a bit confused as to what exactly we will be doing, but our group appears to be a good mix of people with different personalities and backgrounds. I'm confident that we will be able to work well together and overcome any problems that we may be presented with.

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