Communicating via Blog

The blog assignments were easy and very interesting. I think this was an unique way to write "short essays" without the stress of writing at least 1 page essay, double spaced, etc.
The blog gave us the opportunity to express our opinions about each activity in class, because sometimes we didn't have time or want to say it in class, and the blog allowed us to communicate our thoughts without face-to-face contact.
The blog definitely helped me to think of the lessons of each activity, because I didn't give much attention to what we could learn from the activity during the group activities. Besides this, it was fun and interesting. I learned a lot more from these activities and the video we watched than in the textbook.
I truly liked the prof's blog, because it opened my mind to new ideas and especially about management. It helped to understand better the roles of managers and their issues and how difficult is to be a good leader. One of my favorite postings was "Attila the Hun." I think the reading was easy and very realistic.
This is the first time at Baruch College that I can say that 20% of my grade was easy and enjoyable. It took a little work to write my postings and to reply to others, but it wasn't nearly as hard as in other classes. Plus, the 20% was totally up to me to earn it or not. I knew that if I do well in the blog assignment, at least 15% of my grade was guaranteed. It couldn't be easier than this!
If the blog assignment was not given, I would have never created a blog for myself. Now that I have it, I will continue to update it in the future.

Poem

When things seem chaotic at times
When solutions seem impossible to achieve
When resources are scarce
When no one knows what to do

It's time to relax and smile
Creative ideas come out from struggles
Successful solutions are found when one believes in oneself,
When one inspires and encourages others,

This is what management it's about.....
To manage, to lead and to inspire!

DISC

I think that the test was very good. I answered the questions seriously and I think that it gave a very close gauge of my management orientation. The test said that I was C (high) and D(low), with a difference of 2 points between them.
In my opinion, the results were right. I agree that I am a very conscientious person (C) and can overcome opposition to accomplish results (D). I liked my results, because it fits my personality and also professionally. These results were not a surprise to me because I know who I am and what is my management orientation. One thing that I liked from the test is that it regardless what I knew about myself, it still surprises me how a simple test could give an accurate result of one's personality. I must congratulate those people who developed and studied the issue.
I think that it is helpful to determine people's management type to better understand where they are coming from, because most managers act according to who they are or their beliefs, of course, it also include some training and following companies procedures. For instance, if a manager is rude or influential, he still needs to have it in his personality in order to show it, since no one can "learn" these characteristics in a classroom or they can be taught. There are things that simply comes from one's personality. Another thing that this test could be helpful is to test managers in several stages of their careers, because as life goes on, people tend to change and it also affects them professionally.
As the example the professor gave, like dating, I am not sure if it shows one's personality with 100% accuracy, since there are more things involved in a relationship than in business. People tend to act slightly different in their personal lives than in their professional lives. But it could be a good start to see if some traits are compatible or not. Of course, it also depends how seriously a person takes the test.
Overall, I think it is a good test and helpful in some cases, but I don't believe it is a 100% accurate since we don't know how seriously a person is taking the test or how honest is the person's answers. Even though I don't take away the credibility of these tests, I still believe that actions tells more than tests (or words).

What the Future reserves for me?

I learned from the video "The Power of Vision" that in order to succeed one must have a vision of one's future. It was a very interesting video. A vision can help us to keep track of our dreams and objectives, but there are things in life that are out of our control and hopefully I will be able to accomplish what I want without too much unexpected surprises. My vision for the next five years is to grow professionally, to obtain a Master's degree and to buy a house.
I will graduate next year, and I expect to start a full time job as soon as I leave school. I plan to apply to all the relevant jobs in my area of interest. In order to receive an offer from a company, I have to research the company, practice for my interviews and possibly a mock interview. Another important thing is to continue getting good grades in school, because most jobs require a GPA of 3.0. I also expect to learn as much as I can in my full time job and make advancements and be promoted according to the company's policies.
I want to get a Master's degree, but for now I am still undecided between a MBA or MS. For sure, I will come back to school for my masters after I pass the CPA exam. This is a simple task, because it only require a GMAT test. But is still challenging because I have to study for the GMAT first, and I intend to take one of those review classes before taking it.
Another goal is to buy a house or a condo. Of course, I need to have a full time job first, which I hope I will. I am planning to buy a house in NJ and in order to achieve it, I will have to save at least $20K per year and in about 5 years I will have about $100K saved to give as down payment. It's not easy to save money, especially living in NYC where the cost of living is so high. But in order to save as much money as I can, I am planning to cut the extra and unnecessary shopping, and only buy the basic.

Decision Making

The task to decide the fate of our grades seemed relatively simple, but the different opinions and self-interests played a major role in the decision making. In my case, I was jumping from one method to another. Initially, I was using the accommodation method, because I thought that this was an opportunity for those who didn't do well in the test to have a chance to improve their grades. As a student, I understand that sometimes, regardless of how much you study for an exam, you still get a low grade. This happens to me once in a while, and it's not because of lack of studying since it's unacceptable for me to take a test without being prepared.
One of our fellow classmate was eager to win and to make her case regarding the option of rewriting the essay and to gain the points back. I understand she did well in her essay and it was important for her that others won't have a second chance to gain back the points, I only lost 2 points in my essay and I didn't agree with her, but I didn't say anything because people who got a low grade in their essays didn't speak up either. So, at this point, I was moving to the "avoidance method" because the whole discussion seemed pointless since only one person's opinion was valid to lower the extra credit points and to rewrite the essay. I was already satisfied with the curve, it was all I wanted.
If I had the knowledge I have now, I would chosen the "collaborating method" where the class would be divided in smaller groups, and each group will come out with suggestions and each group will granted 1 vote for each suggestion. This method would have been better because it would give us more time to come up with new ideas and more time to negotiate. In addition, everyone will have a chance to speak, because most people tend not to speak in large groups and prefer to express their opinions in smaller groups.
I think that overall, despite the conflicts to achieve our goal, we were successful in this task.

Weak Currency

Global outsourcing is good for several reasons, companies can acquired products from around the world with a more competitive price and sell them locally. A large number of goods and products sold in the USA are made in China. Some companies open factories in China and others have contracts with chinese factores to manufacture their products.
Products made in China have a lower cost for companies, because the chinese currency (yuan) is weaker than the US dollar. Is this good or bad? It maybe good for companies, because they pay less for the products and sell them with a high profit. The US government have critized the weak yuan and want the Chinese government to increase the currency rate in order to protect the US trade and workers. Is it really true or is it more a political issue? No doubt job migration could have a negative impact in the local economy, but some may argue that new jobs will be created to replace those lost to job migration.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7035009.stm

Sunny Side up Egg

The objective was to ensure that the egg will be kept intact with the limited resources we had. Our plan was to suspend the egg with the 8 straws and the tape, and the egg will fall into the ground with a distance of 2 inches. A thick tape was attached to the bottom o the egg, in order to avoid to break the egg when it touches the ground.
From the very beginning we draw our design based on the idea of having the egg suspended by a cord. We made a few modifications, such as changing the length of the cord. The initial idea was to use the straws as a cord and the tape was only used to attach the egg, but we decided that we it would be better to use some of the tape as part of the cord ( a combination of the 8 straws and half of the tape). After our final drawing, we started to put our ideas into action. When we finished our prototype, we tested it in order to ensure that it will work according to our plans, before we presented it to the rest of the class and the professor. The test showed us that we needed to add more tape on the bottom of the egg, so we did it. Later, it proved to be a successful plan, because the egg did not break.
This exercised helped us to use our creativity and to work as a team, because without the contribution and ideas of each member, we wouldn't be able to make it successful.

Better Future?

In the era of globalization, it is assumed that the majority of the countries in the world are involved in it, but some African countries complain that they were denied the access to the globalized market. What about poverty? What is the involvement of the private sector in social issues?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7013764.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6724741.stm

Management Issues

To manage work, personal life and school takes a lot of time, especially when one is studying full-time. There are a lot homework and projects. But, I believe that if I set a schedule and follow it closely, I will be able to reconcile these three things and still do well in school. I am only concerned about one of my classes this semester.

The source of the problem is a professor that I am taking this semester. The professor is a very good teacher so far, but, unfortunately, it seems that she believes that in order to get the
students to participate in class and cooperate with her is to act as a dictator. We are required to bring the textbook, to do the homework and extra materials to class every session, which is fine for me. The problem is, for example, when a student forgets to bring the textbook to class, the professor will yell at him/her. Or if she explains a topic and you asked her to repeat it, you'll receive a very rude answer before she explains it again.

My solution to this problem is to constantly remind myself that I have to be prepared for class and to pay attention in the lectures, in order to avoid asking unnecessary questions, because it's very embarrassing to receive a rude answer from a professor in front of other students.

Dream Job, is it possible?

Who doesn't want a job of his/her dreams? There are several publications in the market and also on the internet about how to land the so called "dream job." Some might wonder that a dream job would be the one with a higher salary... since money is a vital part of life, especially with the high cost of living.

According to a research, the quality of work can have a positive or negative effect in one's well-being and mental health. It also points out that money is not the only key motivator to keep a person in a certain job, but a challenging, exciting and stimulating job ... Do you agree with this?

I think that they might be right... if we enjoy what we are doing, our life outside work should be better since we won't go home stressed out or thinking how much we wish to have a different job.