Stress Index

Although the stress test put a number or range in my head of where I stand exactly, I already knew that I was operating at maximum capacity. It seems like each year I add one more thing to my plate, without ever stopping to take something off. I took the stress index at the following site:
http://webapp.dpor.state.va.us/articles/stress_index.htm
At this site- they assign a certain number value to situations that could/are occurring in your life. The site says that the average person handles around 100 stress points without much difficulties. My number came in at 148. It says it's time to relax.. and if your stressors can not be changed to take a little time off. Great advice- if only it were that easy.
The two biggest stressors in my life- personal situation and my work- are both unchangeable at the moment. My work would be much more manageable if only I could have a little more time off. Our time off is granted by numbers of years worked at the company- and it seems to be fairly consistent with other companies policies. The problem is we work much more than the average company- the only day of the year we close is Christmas Day. We work every federal holiday, weekend, late hours with rotating shifts that never let you settle into a sleep cycle. So while my friend gets 2 weeks off a year; she also gets thanksgiving plus a day or two, Christmas eve and Christmas plus a day or two, new years day, and a couple other days off. So it would seem a change of employment would be the best solution but financially is not feasible at this time. I will probably have to stay here until I finish school- which hopefully is only one more year.
So my plan of action is this- 1. take one day at a time. This works especially well when hit with a large school load on top of workload. 2. Keep my goal in front of me- to graduate college to get a better job- which will allow me to reach my potential and ultimately give me more of a work/life balance 3. Remember what I've accomplished so far.- i went from working 30 hours a week to working 50+ AND took on the responsibility of school AND have completed 3 full marathons and 5 half marathons 4. Take a little time every day to pay myself first- usually this involves running but could also be my in style magazine- even 30 minutes really makes a difference
So far my plan is carrying me through- I think there are times in your life where you test yourself and stretch yourself because in the end the rewards could be great.

Change Management

A corporation is no more important than the people that run it so therefore it evidently would adapt to the enviornment as it changes over time. Change management is the need to change the direction the people in the company are presenting the company to better assymilate the organization into society. The strongest form of change management would have to be training programs or inhouse speakers brought to the Corporation to train and exemplify the direction your employees should be moving towards.

The faceless internet and conflict

When looking at conflict management online- there are several tools out there for a world that is increasingly global. There are plenty of online studies and quizzes one can take to assess their management style, to answer real to life scenes about conflict and other easy fixes to conflict. For the corporation going global, these are a huge help I'm sure. Some of the website I saw, I wanted to explore further to develop my own skills. I think these small workshops help in the global world because the conflict is never as heated as when you work with someone face to face day to day.
However, if you are in a business with constant interaction among team members and upper management, it is safe to say some things can not be dealt with strictly online. From personal experience, most conflict is never really addressed through email or other similar correspondence. Most conflict, when it really comes to a head, must be dealt with in person. It is only in person that you can really listen and therefore communicate. You can actively listen to words, as well as body language, voice tone, and other signals you miss via the Internet. Online management is effective for corresponding with large groups of people instantly, but when problems really need to be solved nothing can substitute personal interaction.

Conflict Management

Handling conflicts online is simply not a good idea. Like text messages, this method of communication allows individuals to avoid conflict in real life, and if they never get to experience that part of life, they will not get the experience needed to help others.

The positive side is that for a large organization with offices in different locations, being able to handle things remotely can save time and money on other expenses.

If they must use technology, then video conferencing would be the best way to handle it.

Change Mgt and Conflict Mgt ONlLINE

I dont think that there will be an effective way to propose conflict management online. I believe that conflicts are mostly with people and until you realize and understand how to deal with people, you will not be successful at managing conflicts. You may be able to do workshops online to teach people steps to avoidance, but the fact of the matter is that conflicts can not be solved without the presence of people. (REAL LIVE PEOPLE)

Digital Bridges

Conflict often arises out of limited resources. One resource that is limited mostly by virtue of how hard it may be to access is information. Technology has bridged many information gaps. Many conflicts arise out of information or misunderstandings simply because people do not know all the pertinent information, both about the issue and the people they are dealing with. Access to information through technology has created 'digital bridges' to fill in these gaps. Most information is probably accessible the only problem is taking the time to educate oneself. In any case there still must be an attitude that cooperative problem solving is possible, or there is no motivation to actually seek out the information available. 

On a smaller more direct scale technology can serve as a forum for questions, discrepancies, issues, and general problems to be looked at, analyzed and answered. This is both a way to help employees with problems and see small problems before they blow up into difficult conflicts. 

Conflict and Change Management Online

The gravitaion of life online is increasing greatly. An individual can shop online, find dates online, why not resolve conflicts or manage people from the internet. Is this a difficult concept to put into practice? It is possible to both of these things online. Lets first dicuss conflict managment online. Advantages for conflict management online is that there is no physical violence involved. Resolving conflict via internet is an exchange of messages. The disadvanteage is that a conflict resolution may take longer to achieve. Because there is no one on one interaction, it may take a longer time to resolve.

The advantage of managment online is that managment can be done from far distance. So someone in America can manage a group on the opposite dide of the world, for example china. Because resources are cheaper in other areas, this way of managment can help increase profit. The disadvantage is that communication can be difficult. To encode message souly online can be difficult.

Assimilation

Well a good example of assimilation would be the public school system. You have to adapt to survive in any situation, but when you are young you are way more impressionable. It is really hard to be 100% yourself. Kids join gangs because of peer pressure and the desire to fit in (besides “safety” reasons). There are other kinds of assimilation that happen too though. Sometimes assimilation has positive effects too. It’s a lot easier for teachers to assimilate children so they can teach them all the same way. It’s the same way in the corporate world.

Animal Cruelty

Everybody is capable of a good presentation, but you really have to have great social and organizational skills to give an awesome presentation. I actually went to a lecture/ seminar on animal abuse this past summer. The way the presenter would speak was like he was speaking directly to you. I mean really you feel guilty as hell for eating a piece of chicken! I thought that it was really effective how he used slides with pictures of the animals before ad after. I think I almost threw up once. He also used video and handouts as well. I know that it sounds like he was just bashing meat eaters, but that was only half of it. He started out by saying eating meat isn't bad, just the way the factories treat and execute the animals. I like how he played both sides of the fence and the media he used.

Decision making styles

With the magnitude of decisions i am required to make every single day, it would seem near impossible that i do not have a set system for making decisions. i think my decision making process is all about prioritization. i prioritize my decisions into areas of my life- work, school, and personal (including marathon training) and try to make the smartest decision I can each day for the circumstances. Like most busy people, time constraints limit my decision making process.
The older I get, the more I search for the work/ life balance that is so hard to achieve. With that in mind I find myself spending more time on personal issues while just trying to fit everything else in. The decision to finish school was a personal objective and it was made quickly. The decision to go back was not hard- finding the time, money, and energy is a whole other story.
The decision to run a marathon was a little more thought out- but not much. I set a goal, had the drive and made the decision every week to follow up on that goal.
In my work environment, there is less time for sitting down, waying out options and finding the rational choice- after you have been in this business you know that you make a choice and the important thing is to follow through. I think the idea of rational decisions puts a lot of pressure on people. Sometimes there is a right or wrong decision and sometimes that decision just means you try again until you find what works for you. Overall i make more intuitive decisions and I have found that follow through is almost as important as the inital decision.

Playing Mental Chess

Making decisions can be tedious. Decision making becomes tedious when you take in consideration all the angles i.e. how is this going to play out in the future, does making this decision contribute to my goals. Probably the decision that I have thought out the most that has been asked of me ever since I was a child is, “what do you want to do when you grow up.” Maybe it was my upbringing, but nearly every grown up in my life asked me that as a child. Simply being asked the question changed my frame of mind. Suppose I was never asked this question, it would not have seemed as important to make a decision. Since it was made to seem an important decision and one that I should think about, I thought it was important to get it right. Due to the fear of picking the ‘wrong’ choice I was indefinitely unwilling to commit to anything. In essence, I was attempting to make the most rational decision possible. The problem was that the things I wanted to do were often very irrational, unstable, and difficult to obtain. Such as being a movie producer, being a screen writer, becoming an aviator, or being an Olympic athlete.

When I went away to college for the first time I finally decided that trying to make these decisions rationally inhibited my willingness to take chances that could pay off if everything went as planned. So, my decision making has become less and less based on purely rational thought and increasingly based on motive and desire. If I am tackling a difficult decision I will first decide what my motive is for making the decision. I find looking into motive is eye-opening. It allows me to see alternatives that I may not have previously thought about. Once the motive is clear, decisions are much easier for me to make. Another factor I incorporate into decision making is attitude. Once a decision is made it can mentally be sabotaged by a bad attitude. Even if you may not have picked the best decision having a better attitude will help to some extent. In any case these little tricks I like to use are much less time consuming than playing out mental chess with each decision

Decisions and Assimilation

How do I make a decision? Different methods apply to different sitiuation. The more serious the situation is, the more I focus on my decision making process. In general, I acess the peoblem. In my mind, I break down the problem. I observe each part as an individual. Then I put everything together. After fully understanding the situtation where I have to apply the decision makine process, I observe the best choice. A far as assimulation goes, I believe alot of time this is a positive thing. it makes the world smoother and less agitaion. However, the world should not become robotic. So Someone who does not do what everyone else does is always needed.

How about assimilation AND decision making?

I am assuming most people would not decide to be assimilated but instead go about it with not too many other options. This would depend on what type of assimilation is being analyzed; negative or positive assimilation. Going to work for a new corporate company and conforming to new practices, accepting new rules, and adding them to a person's consciousness could be seen as normal, but if the person did it because their was no opportunity at another company he or she was seeking, it could be viewed as negative. Although if this was the dream job, these practices and rules would be welcomed by the individual and they would then be assimilated into another piece of the corporate machine.
The flip side would be the rebel who chooses to go into business for themselves and make their own rules, practices, and procedures so they would not be assimilated into part of the machine.
Assimilation could probably be done better too, in that the manner in which organizations assimilate individuals to their practices.

Assymilating Into Sports

When I was about 5 my dad, the golf pro, forced me to start playing golf and I happened to have quite a talent at it. As I grew up I became better and better and the next thing I knew two other boys and I were Clarksville's prodigies in the game of golf. In every tournament we played we were revered and expected to place 1st, 2nd, and 3rd and after a while golf became as much a part of my life as I became a part of the sport itself. When I got to high school I was very nervous to try out for the team for many reasons including popularity, my future and many other reasons. Making the varisty golf team as a freshman was a huge honor and at tryouts that year me and my two buddies placed for the first, second, and third spots on the team, which was something that had never been done, not even by our fathers who had also played on the same team together. As the years went on we became more and more competitive between one another and that always kept us trying to get better and push ourselves to eventually be the best. Our Freshman year James, one of my friends, won the state championship, then the next year Ryan, the other friend, won state and so on our third year it was almost expected that I win. I remember the stress that I felt before the tournament and nervous feeling deep within my stomach, but most of all I remember the feeling I felt when I won the state championship.

Good Presentation

Last offseason during the Tennessee Titans practice, Jeff Fisher had one of his assistant coaches give a speech on playing to your fullest and when you play extreme football you are unpredictable and will adapt to any situation to catch the opposing player on his heels and then bull rush your opponent. While the whole team was standing outside listening to this message they were wondering where their coach was and they were told that he was sick for the day. Then all of a sudden Jeff Fisher landed on the field with a parachute and he had skydived into the stadium to explain his point of unpredictability.

Good Presentation

Using Social Media to Compete with Big Business

View more presentations from Julie Gomoll. (tags: strategy media)

Motivation

I found some excellent examples of motivation throught story telling and irony at a website related to motivation. When you go to the web-site look for videos. Ever since the time of Homer and even before then people have learned valuable lessons through story telliing and even today it is still an effective way to teach, and get a point across. The reason being it puts things into context.

Malaria

Bill Gates did a presentattion that no one will ever forget. He wanted to inform peopel about the malaria problem in other countries. This guy is crazy! At a confernece, he tells the people about malaria. So everyone is somewhat listening. They are thinking, another problem thaat they have to listen too. So Bill decides to do something to capture the audinces attention. What does he do? He say "not only poor peole should experince this..." and he grabs a jar of masquitos and let them loose into the audience. This would have freaked me out and had me running towards the exit. People then paniced. Bill then told the audience that the masquitos were malaria free. Now people with in the audience have a new understanding of the fear of malaria. Although malaria is treatable, thousands of people have died from this disease. Bill gates did an excellent presentation that captured the audience.