A child's poem

Manage here, or manage there,
Management is everywhere.
Kurpis' class taught us about it,
Now I know I can't live without it.
I know it from day one,
Management would be fun.
From Jello, to Blogging, to Porter's box,
I've gained so much knowledge,
This class friggin rocks.

To Blog or not to Blog?

At first, I didn't like the idea of blogging. My first few blogs were quite difficult, but as time passed, I felt it was much easier to express my ideas. After the experience, I can say that I honestly enjoyed it.

Overall, I think the Blog was a great medium for students to voice their ideas, as well as view others'. The main advantage of the blog, in my opinion, is the fact that discussions can be continued where time is not as limited as it is in class. This gives individuals the opportunity to think through their ideas more thoroughly and therefore, more constructively.

I also liked the informality of the blog. It allows people to write conversationally, something which students are not often given the opportunity to do.

With respect to my future as a blogger, I will definitely continue writing about my hobby's and interests to others. I think it helps people to think more critically about the world, myself included

Personal Profile System

Overall, I think the test did a good job of gauging my management style. A few key points stood out more than others. For example, demonstrating patience, desiring to help others, and being a good listener are a few character traits which stand out in my persona.

I don't necessarily want to change my management style, but I would like the ability to adapt to the environment which I am working. I think it is definitely possible to change your orientation as needed, but this change comes with a greater understanding of yourself and your own behavior. This test helped to open my eyes and better understand my strengths and weaknesses as an individual.

I think this test would be hugely beneficial if it were given to employees in the same style as it were given to our class. By examining themselves, employees could make some of the same self discoveries which I did.

I also think it would be a great idea to exchange findings between employees. This would help people accomodate different management styles and avoid unnecessary butting of heads.

See your Future

Viewing vision as one of the determinants of success is something I had never done before. "The Power of Vision" opened my eyes to the importance of envisioning my future. The most memorable part of the video was when a group of young, underpriviledged, inner city children were offered a full ride through college. One simple vision, planted in the minds of a group of children nearly doubled their high school graduation rate and college admittance rates. I think this is a prime example illustrating that with vision comes success. After watching this short film, I realized that I had a few visions myself, but each of them needed to be refined.

With respect to my education and career, I have broken down my future into three different segments.

First, I need to educate myself in the broad field of finance and investing. This step will enable me to choose a career path which most interests me. At this point, it is hard to be specific with the details of my career, but one thing I know is that I want to end up in the field of investing.

Second, I need to gain experience. I plan to “get my foot in the door” with a summer internship. An internship will allow me to further my education in an environment not offered at Baruch. I think one of the biggest problems with my current education is the fact that everything is “theoretical.” In order for me to truly learn about my field of study, I will need experience.

Lastly, after I find something I’m both interested in and motivated to do, I plan on furthering my education to a point where I can thrive. Whether this means simply studying “in the field” or continuing my formal education is to be decided. But by immersing myself in a specific field of study, like investing, I can become an expert. I feel that success comes from knowing what you want to do in life, and then doing it. I vaguely know what I want to do; the rest is for my own discovery.

Decision Making

Personally, I feel that my behavior most resembled the Accommodation perspective. Initially, the class agreed on a curve, as well as extra credit. These two changes were enough of a boost to my grade to leave me satisfied. As far as changes to the next test, I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted. Since my first priority was to improve the grade on my first test, the second test's composition seemed less important. For the next test, I simply planned on studying more, but others in the class thought the format needed to be changed, so I let them decide. Furthermore, there was no way of knowing if a change in test format would have helped me in the future, again making it a less important decision.

Collaboration was the most predominant form of decision-making in our class discussion. For example, many class members either gave their ideas, or their opinions on others' ideas. Although Collaboration was most common, Compromise was also necessary to mediate between classmates. To begin with, one student came to the front of the classroom and took a leadership role in the discussion. She acted as a mediator between others' ideas and opinions so that each one could be properly heard. Towards the end of the discussion, it was easy to see that many students displayed Avoidance. This may have been because it was difficult to reach a unanimous decision. Based on how students performed within different sections, they had different ideas about the specific format of the test. For insance, it seemed futile to continue discussion about inclusion of the essay portion since large portions of the class were in disagreement. Again, causing Avoidance in some students.

In hindsight, I would have broken the class down into small groups that could collaborate more effectively. From each group, a representative would be chosen to compromise with other group representatives. This approach would eliminate problems spawning from too many people speeking concurrently. It would also help to allow more reserved individuals to share their opinions in a more inviting atmosphere. Group representatives would speak for and vote in favor of their groups ideas and opinions. This approach would allow the majority of the class to be heard, and wouldn't allow a single classmate to be greedy and overlook the classes best interests.

Egg-cellent!!

Step 1 : Define Goals and Objectives

The definition of goals and objectives was the simplest part of our experiment. The majority of this step was already done for our group. The experiment was broken down into two stages, the planning and the execution. At the end of each stage we had completed goals such as creating a sketch of the design and meeting at the front of the room before time runs out. Our team also gave each member tasks which required individual goals. These goals helped to complete the final objective; saving an egg from a 10 foot fall. Our team did a great job defining our goals and objectives in order to increase our chances of success.

Step 2 : Evaluate your resources compared to objectives

In this step, our group excelled. We looked at all our materials and decided how they could best be implemented into our design. The straws were used as supports for our structure, but were also braided together in order to create padding. The tape was used to hold our straws together, but we also crumpled them into balls for more padding. Our group also identified individual skills which could be used in creating our structure. Braiding straws was essential in creating enough padding for our design, therefore, one of the members of our group used her skills to complete that specific task.

Step 3 : Develop premises and several alternative strategies

Our group essentially created one main idea and made changes in order to help strengthen our approach. In hindsight, it might have been a better idea to explore entirely different designs which provided more overall protection. Our design created the maximum amount of protection on one side of the egg, the side that we hoped would hit the floor. The problem was, if the egg rotated, a weaker part of our design would be exposed. Rather than changing our design, we tried to strengthen it, but ultimately failed.

Step 4 : Analyze alternatives and make a tactical plan

Once again, our team did a great job of coming together to plan the build of our structure. After making a decision on the strongest design, we assigned jobs so that everyone knew what to do, and how it should be done. For example, we had different people crumpling tape for padding, building the main structure, and braiding straws.

Step 5 : Implement the plan and evaluate results

The greatest obstacle with implementation of the plan, was the fact that we couldn’t test the designs before deciding on one. The design did not come together as we had originally thought, nor did it provide the proper protection we had intended. After discovering the need for more protection, we made slight changes in our design and added padding in specific areas. Although our group worked effectively, the design and implementation did not turn out the way we had expected.

Culture Shock

One similarity which all city dwellers have in common, is the fact that walking is one of their main sources of transportation. Having never traveled outside the United States, I can only compare the differences in walking and driving culture between New York City and San Francisco. The phrase "pedestrians have the right of way" has two entirely different definitions in each city.

In New York City, pedestrians are expected to protect themselves from distracted drivers. Whereas, in San Francisco, drivers make an increased effort to lookout for pedestrians, and furthermore, give them the right of way. Although I wouldn't endorse this, in San Francisco, a pedestrian could walk blindly through a 4 way stop intersection with little fear of physical harm. On the other hand, if you tried this in NYC, you would probably be dead on your first attempt.

Being born and raised around NYC, I was accustom to allowing cars pass through intersections ahead of me while walking. After visiting San Francisco, I was surprised how nearly every car would wave me through the crosswalk.

Some of these differences can be attributed to New Yorkers' eternal rush to get somewhere. Alternatively, San Franciscans are known to have much more laid back personalities. Whatever the case is, watch your back New Yorkers, or you'll get run down!

Info About Me

Hello, My name is James Chambers. I am currently a Junior is college, pursuing a major in Finance and Investments at Baruch College. This is My second Semester at Baruch, but my first semester taking classes in the Zicklin School of Business. Below, is a list of the courses I am taking this semester. Contact me if you need information on a class, or have any questions in general.

ACC 2203
ECO 3250
FIN 3000
MGT 3120