Presented...

I think it was interesting how the average of the presentations given were about technology in one way or another.

There were some issues that I know I definently wouldn't of thought of. The issue of discrimination of lesbians and gays is not something you her about all the time. I was particularly interested though in the military compensation presentation (say that five times fast). Its interesting to think that there is even an issue with that. I really don't think there should be. If I remember right military compensation was acres of land back some time ago. Some of that land being in places like Montana. I only know about that because my Grandmother, as resently as 5 or 6 years ago, had sold the land our family had up in Montana.

Those who have served in the military should be treated with more respect than most of them get.

Information technology

The information super highway, where anyone can find all sorts of information. Information is just easy to get. I can remember a time when nobody had cellphones. I didn't get my first cellphone till I was a freshman in college and now everyone has one. They have phones now that are just little computers. I know my dad has one and he uses it to keep in contact with work. He can keep in contact with his email and other things. I think that this could qualify as taking your work home with you. My question being is does anybody get paid for answering the phone after they clock out?

Organization...the love hate relationship

Within an organization people need to learn how to cooperate with one another.  Some people do not like working with other people.  They were better by themselves.  But in an organization that requires cooperation they have to find ways to motivate themselves to work for some and they don't like.  Let me just say that, for anyone that does not now, there were always be someone there that you do not like.  That is if you're like that.  I know others happy go lucky people that it used except everyone and our friends with everybody.  Does that kind of a person even need motivation or are they just high on life?
What we take a Elmo for example, he is lovable has many popular friends and yet he is a hand. Everybody is in love with a hand. Which goes to show you that people can accept just about anything just some people choose not to.

Some people choose not to be more organized. What happens to them? They live in a chaotic environment.  Then again being organized has been looked down upon as being too structured in social society. In other words, or nice people look like their stuck-up.

With all this said it makes you wonder if I should be organized? Do live loved being chaotic?  No not really.  When I rather be organized? Maybe.

This might be why the term organizational commitment even exists. Is my belief that it would take a lot of motivation to accomplish such a thing in organization.

Organizations try to motivate employees to do things by offering benefits or incentives but rewards only go so far. Let me refer back to the donut example in class. Ancestry.com, would give donuts out on a certain day of the week. One day they decided to implement healthier alternatives and it caused resentment amongst the employees. They eventually had to offer extra incentives to counter act what happened.

So do you reward employees or not?

Culture Shock

Today, I will slighly address a subject I know allot about...

culture shock-

sudden exposure to unfamiliar culture: the feelings of confusion and anxiety experienced by somebody suddenly encountering an unfamiliar cultural environment (Bing definitions)

 

Before I share a brief story, I would just like say that I know everybody has experienced culture shock at some time in their lives. Also, to give alittle bit of a background I have live in many U.S. states and the majority of those places being small rural areas.

 

Anyway, I moved out here last year and it was a shock. I had never known any Koreans before or lived with them for that matter. (If you haven't I highly recommend trying it.) I've never lived in a city this big. I've never attended a school this big. This is the second time I moved out of the house away from parents. I was slightly anti-social. I was scared. A new school year is stressful but the weird thing was is that school was the only thing sane, until midterms. I really was under allot of stress.

 

I know that I'm not the only one and that there are other people that have experienced this.

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

Santa Claus is a great example of merit pay. If you do a good job at work you end up on the nice list. Therefore you may get more presents because your performance rating is nice. Being on the naughty list would make it so you would receive red coal. Red coal because black coal would be a positive and red usually means negative. If in the case of you are naughty and want to be nice then you would need to be earning a relatively low amount of presents to achieve an increase. This method is called merit increase grid.

"Wrong,the first rule of leadership is everything is your fault"

While watching A Bug's Life I over heard a quote about leadership which I disagree with but, it is a quote from the villain. According to what I know is that leadership is more of setting an example than anything else. According to the textbook that leadership involves taking initiative, fixing problems, and organizing change. The ant characters in the movie were experiencing a change in the res heme and so the smartest one, in my opinion, took initiative to fix the problem by helping the ants to stand up to there enemies. Along that process of change there occurred conflict, resistance and some confusion (which is right out of the textbook).

As skills increase...

The Hall of Fame method used in Digital Media Essentials class. Hall of fame is an extra credit achieved when doing exceptional work or winning the peer vote in that class. What happens is a student turns in their assignment and it is either examined and judged by the teacher or is judged by fellow students. On a personal note, I had actually achieved hall of fame status. I believe that method encourages pride in work.

In a job setting-

It would encourage employees to learn more and/or increase their skill level.

The hall of fame method is a good way to increase the motivation of employees to improve.

Questions to ponder-

Do you feel the hall of fame method works? Why or why not? Would you use the hall of fame method?

Dissatisfied with your job?

List of Job Lead sites

aarp.org
abanet.org/aging
alumni.byu.edu
apxalarm.com
backdoorjobs.com
career.utah.gov
career-advice.gov
career-finder.org/local-jobs/utah-jobs
careeronestop.org


Some Temp Services

adeccousa.com
intermountainstaffing.com
kellyservices.com
laborready.com
skillstaffing.com
sosstaffing.com
spherion.com


If you don't like what you are currently getting paid then find a better paying job. Its okay to go looking for a new job. FYI-networking is the best way to find a job. Make a plan that will help you reach your goals. Also remember that, "you are not a job seeker, you are a colleague".

What If...Darth Vader

The perspective of managing as Darth Vader from the stand point of “What Managers Should Do to Support Training” (noe 187).

If you are working as Imperial commander you're under allot of stress. Mainly because your boss, Darth Vader, has extremely high standards for what he wants to accomplish. Heck, its a prime example of a hostile work environment which would be an example of harassment. How would you like it if the only position up the ladder from yours is one where they don't just get fired because of bad performance they get force chocked. That is what happens when there is no rules and you're the one that makes the rules.

Let us get back on track here. How would someone support training when there is no training? You're put in a management position and told if you don't succeed you're going to die. That reminds me of a story about a guy that didn't have a CDL and was told by his boss to drive the truck from one city to another. He had to learn pretty darn quick how to drive manually in order to get the job done. (this story is true and is an account from a Frito-Lay employee here in Utah)There's no training in there.

Darth Vader should know this, that he needs to learn how to support employees and not treat them like flies. He also needs to understand the content, know how to train, and give feed back instead of death wishes.

"..focusing strictly on results does not provide guidance on how to improve." (noe, 226)

Fortune Telling, What If and How

I wonder if organizations actually use the planning process on page 119 in the text. How can anybody forecast or tell the future?

What if the information is wrong? Hiring is such a risky business.

I believe that downsizing is a result of a poor planning strategy. Its plain and simple, somebody hired a bunch of people and didn't know how to shut off the flow.

In this economy I don't hear about much retiring. Who wants to retire in this economy? Its not safe.

I don't think outsourcing solves anything either. That makes it so a company is dependent on a another company. What if that company tanks?

The best way to get a job right now is not by job boards it is through networking or through people you know. That is the truth.

Discrimination Alive and Well

Discrimination is, according to Dictionary.com, the treatment consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit.I believe discrimination is every where. I had stated in my discussion topic-"Will there ever be a cure for discrimination?" I addressed my group with this question and they said no. Then we discussed alternatives and what not. Its like wishing for world peace right here right now.

I think that discrimination in the work force is caused by the lack of confidence that is experienced by those around you. A lack of self worth. I think that if we all just stop caring about what other people think then maybe we would all just get along.

An example mentioned in class of a guy working at Victoria's Secrets really got me to realize that guys should be able to work where ever they want just as well as a women.

Age Gap

As I’ve gone around looking for a job and observed what gets hired. I’ve found it’s usually the skinny good looking fresh out of high school. Either that or people look really young. It's the younger ones with the jobs.

At the career workshop I attended a couple weeks ago I noticed allot of people 40 and over that had either retired and/or without a job. Most of them were without a job because they couldn’t stand the one they were at and/or they got bored. They were in a transitional phase.

 While I was a career workshop I participated in mock interviews back and forth with this man that had to be over fifty. It eventually was my turn to interview him.

As I did he was watching me very intently as I fumbled to go through the interview questions unprepared. As a result, he remembered a time when he had gotten interviewed for a job by some young buck (I think that’s what he said) that was fumbling around and being lax on how he was performing the interview. This old man proceeded to tell me what I was doing wrong then told the instructor. I had nothing to do with what had previously happened to him and didn’t have any idea on how to interview him for a Chaplain Job.  Anyway instructor had told him that this would be something that would happen in the work place and I would be the one with the job and if he had acted that way he might not have gotten a job.

The book mentions on page 28 in the HR How to section that “tomorrow’s workers hitting the 55-plus age group… many of tomorrow’s managers will be supervising workers older than themselves.  I guess it might be appropriate to say that getting to know the 40 and over generation may be the best thing to do.  It’s really a shame that I personally don’t get to socialize with too many people in that age group because I’m in college.