Learning from Your Life Story

MGMT 614 Short Writing Assignment #1 Learning From Your Life Story Aashima Mutneja Gamma 5 Date of Submission: 22nd Jan, 2013 A. Think back over all of the leadership experiences in your lifetime. Choose the leadership experience of which you are the proudest. In this exercise, put yourself back in that time and describe it as if it were happening to you right now. Describe your proudest leadership experience, starting with the specific events. Consider the following questions in your description: What happened? What was the history or climate of the organization/group you were in?What triggered the experience? What caused you to step up and lead? What was the outcome? What changed in the people in the organization as a result? How did you feel†¦ Before stepping up to lead? When you first stepped up to lead? When facing the challenges of the situation? After the results were in? (Do not limit yourself on space for this section. ) Proudest Leadership Experience I graduated from t he University of Mumbai in 2009 with a lucrative job offer as a financial trainee for one of the leading financial software companies in India.Additionally, I was fortunate that few of my close friends were going to join the firm along with me. However, few weeks before our official start we were notified of an indefinite deferment in our joining date. Most of us were finance enthusiasts and were disheartened at this development. We faced a series of disappointments as we tried to find a financial position at the peak of the financial crisis with no prior finance experience or education. Most of us eventually joined jobs related to our major in industrial engineering. However not being able to switch to finance added a lot of dissatisfaction in our current roles.My key strength, as pointed to me by the MBA program is restorative which means to have an innate knack of solving problems quickly and efficiently. I couldn’t agree more with this analysis and true to my nature I qui ckly started gathering and analyzing information related to careers in finance. I reached out to industry professionals and understood that the most desired qualification for finance professionals was a CFA charter. This answered my question on how to break into the field of finance. A CFA certification required passing three extremely difficult examinations, which meant grueling late night studying.I understood that the process would be highly stressful and hence decided to form a study group to ensure that there was a level of discipline, focus and support as we decided to endure this demanding journey. My next challenge was to convince people to get on board. My first choice was to approach my finance oriented friends. As expected, most of them were uncertain about the time and commitment required for this examination. The plan was to finish each level within six months as opposed to 12 months suggested by the program.I understood their apprehensions and tried to address all thei r questions and concerns patiently. To convince them to agree to give the CFA, I knew I would have to show them the benefits of holding a CFA charter. So I arranged a meeting with one of the CFA charter holders who got us excited about CFA and we started our journey towards a charter. My next challenge was to bring discipline and a routine to our studies. Exhausted after long hours of work, I kept the enthusiasm high by reminding them about the final result or simply by taking more frequent coffee breaks.Even though we finally established a routine, the frustration of studying and working together was taking a toll on all of us. Compromising on time with family and friends, missing out on our favorite activities including watching our favorite games, made us question if it was even worth it. At that time the only question I asked to myself was if not finance than what? I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else, I was confident that this was the career option that best fit my interests and skills. I felt that my nner drive and perseverance was an inspiration to my friends and we fed of each other’s energy to carry forward. After twelve months of extreme hard work, we cleared two levels of the CFA examination as planned and the final third level twelve months after that. Fortunately, after completing two level of CFA all of us were able to secure a respectable job within the financial services space. I did not receive an award for it and maybe it did not make a difference to anyone else’s life. However I had the determination and focus to make a difference to my life.I could lead change within me and those around me. It has been one of the most difficult and challenging phase of my life but I have also felt the most driven and alive in those moments of struggle. This was my first real experience with leading others and me towards a goal. B. What things did you just learn about your leadership as you told that story? 1. Accountability 2. Patience 3. Self-discipline C. What leadership qualities did you bring to that leadership experience? 1. Determination 2. Patience 3. Focus 4. Initiative 5. Passion D.How did those qualities contribute to the outcome? Link an outcome to each of the qualities you listed above. Leadership Quality| Its Effect on the Outcome| 1. Determination| It helped me to stay focused on the goal during difficult times| 2. Patience| It helped me to adjust with different personalities and try to understand their perspective while trying to achieve an outcome in a team setting. | 3. Focus| It helped me rise above a disheartening situation and start developing the action plan to achieve my goal. | 4. Initiative| It helped me take actions to change he current state of affairs for the better and encourage guide other people to do the same. | 5. Passion| It helped me be determined and focused during difficult times and also made the entire process enjoyable and the final outcome worth the effort. | E. Now , be your own mentor. Turn back to the story again and look at it from the perspective of what you know now. If you were mentoring yourself at that time, what advice would you give? Mentoring Advice In retrospect, I would advise myself to be more composed as I work towards my goals.I was focused and determined but compromised on my lifestyle, which I feel would not be sustainable in the long run. Having spent twelve months under constant stress and pressure made me lose sight of the bigger picture and made me a more paranoid person in general. I heard time and again during those trying times to â€Å"take it easy† as it was not the end of the world, while I would advise myself to stress myself too much, I would not like to have a â€Å"take it easy† attitude. I struggle to find the right balance of working and relaxation; a key component of a happy and successful life.

Fordism and the US Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Fordism and the US Economy - Essay Example The decline of Fordism was not an abrupt one; rather it was a gradual but inevitable process which can be attributed to three major factors: Advancement in technology, particularly in information and communication, the emergence of a new capitalistic model and the rise of the globalized economy. In order to understand how the Fordism came to an end, it is necessary to evaluate its significant attributes. Fordism, considered by scholars as a second type of industrial revolution, as typified in reference to Henry Ford's system of production which delineated specialization in mechanical techniques in the assembly line (Nadesan 259). The era also brought forth the rise of corporations and speedy growth in consumer culture giving rise to American consumerism. In its abstraction, Fordism is mainly the mechanization of production. It is also marked by protectionist market policies, oligopolistic competition, integration of the banking and finance business with the state and considerable focus on capital (Amin 1-40). Hence, it is safe to refer to Fordism as the ideal type Western Capitalism which puts emphasis on production techniques and organizational process as these were deemed the most effectual and profitable (Mead-A 53-61). Fordism initially transformed simple production tec hniques to a more complex mass production system which spawned the economics of scale and scope. This in turn brought about the proliferation of massive industries and organizations' emphasis on advanced plant equipment, organized production lines and higher output of production which reduced unit costs of products. Fordism also introduced a 'more doable' organizational structure in industries composed of functional units such as accounting and personnel management schemes in order to reduce cost in manufacturing. It led the reformation of industrial systems and practices as well as helped effect public policies and institutional regulations to temper the effects of market failures (Polanyi, 73). These practices included careful division of labor and standardization of components, parts and processes of a product which were easy to produce and repair. Others refer to this as to 'Fordize' or to standardize certain goods and mass manufacture them so as to make them affordable to the c ommon man (Abernathy, 57). The result of this was the total vertical integration of an industry as for instance the integration scheme of the leading car manufacturer of that period, Ford Motors, which manufactured parts needed for its own production (Chandler 77). This results to big number of employees and workers that were needed to be hired and included in the hierarchal system. This system of production, however, was not spared from criticism. Aglietta for instance, claimed that the rapid growth of production outpaced demand for consumption resulting to economic discrepancy (43). In the 60's productivity slowed down as the Fordist model of production reached its limitations as wages failed to increase and capital began to wane, worsened further by workers' fallout and union demand. Other scholars such as Gramsci argued that the crisis brought about by the Fordist form of production should be understood in its political and socio-cultural significance as this system of production was institutionalized by political legislations through which regulations with regards worker's union, wages and labor benefits were put into effect (110). This has been

Tanning Salons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Tanning Salons - Essay Example As we become increasingly aware of the benefits associated with regular exposure to sunlight and of the importance of managing the risks that can be associated with sunburn and overexposure, more people are turning to indoor tanning facilities to help attain their tans in a controlled environment scientifically designed to minimize the risk of sunburn." (Tanning Truth). Tanning is divided into two groups, indoor tanning and outdoor tanning. As the name suggests, indoor tanning is done indoors in a tanning salon using different artificial methods to tan your skin. Outdoor tanning is when you expose your skin to the sun where your skin tans by exposure to natural rays of the sun which contain Ultraviolet rays which tan your skin. Naturally tanning your skin by exposure in the sun takes time and requires a lot of patience. While a tanning salon is a fast and easy way of tanning your skin. Tanning salons use different ways of skin tanning. It is a known fact that Ultraviolet rays have many harmful effects, like causing skin cancer, skin wrinkles, and skin burns. Tanning salons therefore moderate the way your skin is tanned. For example, the amount of time you spend in a tanning salon on the different ways of tanning is monitored. Indoor tanning in a tanning salon is considered and also called Smart Tanning. ... People are also taught on how their skin reacts to sunlight. It is safe to opt for tanning in a professional tanning salon today because the government regulates indoor tanning in Canada and the United States. In the United States of America, the exposure time for every tanning session is established by a schedule which is present on every piece of equipment, this takes the tanners skin type and the machines intensity to deliver sunlight, which is designed to minimize the risk of sunburns. This kind of controlled tanning is impossible in natural sunlight, where seasonality, weather conditions, altitude and time of the day make outdoor tanning very random and prevention of sunburns difficult. Studies have shown that people who opt for indoor tanning at a tanning salon are less like to harm their skin through tanning than people who opt for outdoor tanning. Tanning salons also teach their customer how to avoid sunburns and protect their skin when exposed to natural sunlight outdoors. It is important to know that while tanning, like in all other things you do in life, it is best to go the moderate way, so you can protect your body from any harmful affects of tanning in natural sunlight or at a tanning salon. There are different ways in which you can tan your skin artificially in a tanning salon. Tanning salons have different methods like, a tan booth, the famous tanning bed, tanning lotions and oils, tanning goggles, tanning pills, and sunless tanning. All these methods require professional guidance from a tanning salon. The most famous and popular way of tanning your skin at a tanning salon is the tanning bed. Tanning beds are light fittings that you lie down on to get your tan. These light emit Ultraviolet

American Bibliographical Article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

American Bibliographical Article - Essay Example Juliann Garey is a great writer, having written various screenplays as well as TV pilots, specifically to Sony Picture, as well as other TV works such as NBC, Columbia, CBS, and Lifetime TV among others. She is a journalist by profession and has made many publications. This novel, inspired by the experience of the writer (Silverman ), narrates Greyson Todd’s struggle for happiness and stability in the face of bipolar disorder (Nelson). This author is typically a creative writing professor, literature, and novelist; best known for The Emperor’s Children novel. Her novel focuses on three friends in their early thirties, who lived in Manhattan, a few months before the 9/11 attack. They are well educated as very privileged, although they are forced to struggle to realize the lofty expectations regarding personal as well as professional lives. The novel was ranked among the top 10 books of 2006 (The New York Times). Along the lines of Chekhov’s short story, The Lady w ith the Pet Dog (Kakutani ), Claire Messud’s novel has been considered great. The books were authored by a Canadian-American novelist and filmmaker who has been working in media production and commercial television for over ten years. Regarding this novel, two characters narrate the work. They include Nao, a sixteen-year-old girl living in Tokyo and a writer who lives on an island off British Columbia (Downer). Nao keeps a diary that the writer finds on the seashore in the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami. Ozeki’s story has been described ad meditative and era-flipping (Jensen ). The author chosen for this bibliographical essay is Claire Messud.

Discussion 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 7

Discussion 1 - Essay Example Indeed, the very dawn of religion is marked with the desire of a human being to understand phenomena that are though to be out of one’s comprehension. Another reason that may be quite compelling to pursuit the path of religious studies is to achieve a global perspective. Indeed, different areas of social life are affected by religion directly or indirectly. What is more important is that the above mentioned notion may also be used as an effective way to analyze the causes of conflicts. Finally, it must be noted that some of the reasons that were provided by Livingston may be reevaluated. It may be true that the former has been influencing the latter for many centuries; however, the process of secularization clearly divided these two institutions. In addition to that, one should also keep in mind that many nations that now belong to a particular religion were converted which resulted in the elimination of the previous state of social affairs. For example, Greece is often regarded as the stronghold of Orthodox Christianity. Nevertheless, for many centuries people of this country were genuine

History in Distributed Databases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

History in Distributed Databases - Essay Example In this scenario, a distributed database design allows the organizations to divide a database over different hardware devices, but with a central management control. The basic purpose of implementing distributed databases is to offer higher reliability and superior performance. Without a doubt, the division of a database into multiple locations can provide a number of advantages to organizations (Holmes; Hoffer, Prescott and McFadden). Additionally, this way of data storage offers superior control over particular data. In this scenario, the load of the database management is divided among several hardware devices and burden of processing is shifted from a single location to multiple locations. Normally, a distributed database is developed on the basis of business departments, or geographical areas or companies. In view of the fact that the database appears at local location to each business department inside an organization hence it offers quicker response times for the database user s. In addition, these departments are also smaller as compared to the size of the overall organization, as a result the processing load over the server also reduces. The research has shown that the majority of organizations prefers to develop distinct business sectors for particular tasks. For instance, organizations can develop different organizational units for human resources, accounting, and sales departments. Moreover, they develop a distributed database to assist in running the operations of particular business units all the way through the company, at the same time as establishing and maintaining authority from a central server. This technique is also useful in separating the data and hardware all the way through the organization, as a result the performance and control over the database also improves (Holmes; Hoffer, Prescott and McFadden). Though, the distributed databases require the development of database using all the traditional techniques of database development excep t they are based on a different perspective. They are being developed to get the advantages of central access by company head office, at the same time as supporting local access for particular company sectors. In this scenario, this database design technique is very useful for organizations that are distributed all over the world. Additionally, these databases are also used by the companies that support multiple portfolios. For instance, a number of industries such as hospitality, manufacturing and banking can take benefits from the implementation of distributed databases. In addition, a distributed database can also be useful in supporting an organization in their accounting unit. Moreover, an international organization that has several offices in various countries of the world can normally develop a distributed database to support its business operations in each country. In this scenario, this division of geographical areas would allow the local country to get access to data and p erform operations faster. Also, the organization would be able to use the central database to get access to data available in each country without having an impact on local application. Without a doubt, distributed databases offer superior reliability and flexibility for the organizations. In view of the fact that the data is located on different servers, hence it can straightforwardly be copied onto new hardware devices and database structures all the way thro

Learning-Centered Adult and Postsecondary Education Research Paper

Learning-Centered Adult and Postsecondary Education - Research Paper Example Learning from different sources enables an individual to gain understanding from various platforms, further enhancing his/her skills and abilities (University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, 2014). However, in the absence of the same, in higher education level, a person will lack in terms of widespread knowledge. In the presence of wide variety of educational approaches and materials, individuals will also be able to learn in a manner that can ensure the enhancement of his/her abilities to deal with the challenges of the practical world, which is quite vital. I, as an individual, also had to face problems in the practical world owing to lack of knowledge gained from limited sources and teaching approaches (Weimer, n.d.). The approach of learning-centered education in the domain of adult and postsecondary education will ensure that students are able to learn more apart from the knowledge provided by their academic materials (Duffy & Kirkley, 2003). However, this aspect in turn, tests the mental strength of the students, which can be identified as negative aspects at large (Yurichenko,