Work Matters - Some people tend to believe that "smartness" comes as a natural gift. I believe that in order to be smart, you have to work at it. "Smartness" does not just come naturally, it comes through effort and practice. The ability to learn has to come with an open mind, and a grain of salt. Some people might solve a problem faster than you, but this does not mean they are smarter. Everyone should realize that we as human beings can learn more about everything. There are no limits in the act of knowing and learning. I agree with Dweck when he says "People who believe that intelligence is malleable keep getting smarter and more skilled at what they already can do." Everyone should have the mindset that smartness is the learning of a lifetime.
Dweck's Article - The idea that personality is based upon beliefs, goals, and strivings is fascinating. If we take a step back and look at our lives from this perspective, I believe that a lot can be done. When people look at personality in this way, our minds might be able to switch gears. We can change our personailties for the better. I agree with Dweck when he says "beliefs and their impact are part of personality, that they underlie important aspects of adaptive functioning." The research results from the students shows that when subject to the realization of malleable learning, they achieve higher scores. According to this study, all we have to do is convence the person who wants to learn that malleable learning exists, and has a positive impact. This should in turn make that person a better learner, and be able to alter his or her belifs which will potentially change his or her personality.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Chapter 2 - Extra Readings
Women in the workplace - I am definitely a firm believer that women are aspiring a lot more today than in the past. Women now have more confidence, and more reasons to succeed in and out of the workplace. I also think that the more attractive a woman is, the more potential she has for success in a workplace. This thought is shallow, but I believe that it is true. As far as the "flirting" goes, the guys should probably realize that the women who are flirting with them are just trying to "get along" and men should never overstep their boundaries. In other words, men should know when the women are playing the "flirting" game.
USA Today, Flirting - This article completely denied my previous thoughts about women who flirt for success. The statistics show that women who did wear short skirts, flirt, etc. actually won fewer raises and promotions. I guess being a good person and not using your body to get into higher positions at work is a must.
USA Today, Flirting - This article completely denied my previous thoughts about women who flirt for success. The statistics show that women who did wear short skirts, flirt, etc. actually won fewer raises and promotions. I guess being a good person and not using your body to get into higher positions at work is a must.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
How to Get Hired
The ability to relate to all employees at a company is an important aspect. In order to manage people at a "lower-level", managers have to know what they do, and how they can relate to it. Also, in order to manage a company, it is critical to know what that company does! It doesn't surprise me that recruiters look for this in the process of choosing the right candidate for the job.
The writing ability of an MBA graduate is critical. Recruiters want their employees to be able to express their ideas in a professional sense, and make strong statements about what they believe. But, the strong statements made should not portray arrogance. Ethics and integrity are important attributes when considering new hires. It is important to be human throughout the interview process, and not make up stuff that the recruiters want to hear.
The writing ability of an MBA graduate is critical. Recruiters want their employees to be able to express their ideas in a professional sense, and make strong statements about what they believe. But, the strong statements made should not portray arrogance. Ethics and integrity are important attributes when considering new hires. It is important to be human throughout the interview process, and not make up stuff that the recruiters want to hear.
Kenneth W. Monfort College of Business
Back in 1992, the Kenneth W. Monfort College of Business was the first college to hold two accreditations in both business administration and accounting. Today, the college is one of only five undergraduate-only programs in the united states to hold both accreditations. The Monfort College of Business has done this by providing top quality education that prepares students for successful careers and leadership roles in business, and providing that education at a low price. The quality education that MCB provides is based upon the principles of high-touch, wide-tech, and professional depth. Also, MCB has a continuous improvement in the programs that are being taught. All of these qualities made MCB the 2004 Award Winner for the National Quality Award.
The Top Business Schools
I believe that leadership is one of the hardest skills to teach and learn. Yet leadership is one of the most important skills for success. I believe that one of the most effective skills a person can have is interpersonal communication.
In order to succeed in the workplace, communication skills is a definite must. Most of all successful people have good communication skills. The fact that people can do work efficiently and fast is a good trait, but to portray that information to others is what really counts. I am not surprised that most recruiters of MBA graduates look for strong "soft-skills." The ability to communicate, and lead a team of people to better the progression of the company is an important quality that every MBA graduate should have. Being able to work under pressure, and not loose your cool in high intensity situations is a important quality as well. No one wants to hire a manager with a short fuse. His/her perspective on situations should be straight forward, calm, and clear.
In order to succeed in the workplace, communication skills is a definite must. Most of all successful people have good communication skills. The fact that people can do work efficiently and fast is a good trait, but to portray that information to others is what really counts. I am not surprised that most recruiters of MBA graduates look for strong "soft-skills." The ability to communicate, and lead a team of people to better the progression of the company is an important quality that every MBA graduate should have. Being able to work under pressure, and not loose your cool in high intensity situations is a important quality as well. No one wants to hire a manager with a short fuse. His/her perspective on situations should be straight forward, calm, and clear.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Teaching Smart People How to Learn
I believe that this article should be read by every person that is involved with business. The lessons in this article can be taught to anyone in the business industry. The most important part of this article is the ideas behind getting smart people how to learn. Most importantly, understanding the reasoning behind the mental block that some people have, and helping them overcome it.
First loop learning - The best way to describe this in my own experiences is repetition. People get used to doing something over and over, and unknowingly create a mental block that adapts them to this first-loop learning. People can get used to this idea of repetition, and never think outside of the box. I believe that this type of leaning is the opposite of innovation in the workplace.
Double-loop learning - I see double-loop learning as the constant asking of the question "why?" When working on a certain task, some people just sit there and do it because its there job, but others might ask "why am I doing this?" And when they do ask "why", they should be thinking to themselves "how can I make this task better?" I believe that double-loop learning is a way of thinking outside the box, and being innovative in everyday tasks. This allows more ideas for improvement, and a better way to see things in the big picture.
How Professionals Avoid Learning - I believe that the "ego" of a person sometimes depends on their tendency to have an open mind. If someone who has been an expert at a certain subject for a significant amount of time, they tend to have a strong confidence in what they are doing. For someone to tell that person that they have made a mistake, that person denies it because of his confidence in what he is doing, and his lack of open-mindedness. Even if that person is right, they should listen to what that other person has to say, and not just shut-out all other ideas. In order to break this barrier, people need to communicate more in the workplace with their superiors, and the people below them. This way, they have a better understanding of the mindset that these people have for their own job.
Defensive Reasoning and the Doom Loop - When people do something wrong, they should fess up to it, but instead some people use defensive reasoning to justify there decision making. Even though they know that they are wrong, people will sometimes deny the fact that they have made a wrong decision. When subject to interrogation of a certain decision, people should accept the fact that other people might think differently about that decision. When people have a breakdown of there defensive reasoning, they sometimes might fall into the "doom loop." The doom loop would be the realization that he/she made a bad decision, and because of that decision, he/she is gong into a downward spiral. To overcome the doom loop, people should realize up front that a decision they made was wrong. By accepting that the decision was wrong, they can learn from their mistakes, and not fall into the "doom loop."
Learning How to Reason Productively - The senior managers must learn how to reason productively before the company as a whole can. The senior managers must have the specific mindset that creates productive ideas in the workplace. This way people can reason not just for the sake of arguing points, but to share ideas, and have a common ground to work with. Coming to a final decision does not have to be based upon winning arguments. In the work place, people should be able to build off each others ideas, and have insight to combine everyone's ideas and make final decisions based upon everyone's input.
First loop learning - The best way to describe this in my own experiences is repetition. People get used to doing something over and over, and unknowingly create a mental block that adapts them to this first-loop learning. People can get used to this idea of repetition, and never think outside of the box. I believe that this type of leaning is the opposite of innovation in the workplace.
Double-loop learning - I see double-loop learning as the constant asking of the question "why?" When working on a certain task, some people just sit there and do it because its there job, but others might ask "why am I doing this?" And when they do ask "why", they should be thinking to themselves "how can I make this task better?" I believe that double-loop learning is a way of thinking outside the box, and being innovative in everyday tasks. This allows more ideas for improvement, and a better way to see things in the big picture.
How Professionals Avoid Learning - I believe that the "ego" of a person sometimes depends on their tendency to have an open mind. If someone who has been an expert at a certain subject for a significant amount of time, they tend to have a strong confidence in what they are doing. For someone to tell that person that they have made a mistake, that person denies it because of his confidence in what he is doing, and his lack of open-mindedness. Even if that person is right, they should listen to what that other person has to say, and not just shut-out all other ideas. In order to break this barrier, people need to communicate more in the workplace with their superiors, and the people below them. This way, they have a better understanding of the mindset that these people have for their own job.
Defensive Reasoning and the Doom Loop - When people do something wrong, they should fess up to it, but instead some people use defensive reasoning to justify there decision making. Even though they know that they are wrong, people will sometimes deny the fact that they have made a wrong decision. When subject to interrogation of a certain decision, people should accept the fact that other people might think differently about that decision. When people have a breakdown of there defensive reasoning, they sometimes might fall into the "doom loop." The doom loop would be the realization that he/she made a bad decision, and because of that decision, he/she is gong into a downward spiral. To overcome the doom loop, people should realize up front that a decision they made was wrong. By accepting that the decision was wrong, they can learn from their mistakes, and not fall into the "doom loop."
Learning How to Reason Productively - The senior managers must learn how to reason productively before the company as a whole can. The senior managers must have the specific mindset that creates productive ideas in the workplace. This way people can reason not just for the sake of arguing points, but to share ideas, and have a common ground to work with. Coming to a final decision does not have to be based upon winning arguments. In the work place, people should be able to build off each others ideas, and have insight to combine everyone's ideas and make final decisions based upon everyone's input.
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