The YO-YO EGG

So in management class we had to make a contraption out of straws and tape to prevent an egg from breaking. As the teacher began to tell us of his whole idea, I had realized I left my cell phone in the computer lab, and as some of you remember, I ran out like a bullet to try to find it. (And I did :) ). When I rejoined my group, I was a little behind but lucky for me I had a wonderful group that brought me up to speed.
Right away my group members told me the goal was to have an egg drop 10 feet without breaking. They have spoken to the professor, who said the egg does not have to free fall all the way to the ground from the 10 feet height. So basically, we had a goal, and did the research to see if there were alternate ways to approach this problem. They have calculator 16 straws would equal to over 10 feet and we can get that by cutting the straws vertically. So, we applied the most we could out of our resources to stretch them into what we needed. We would have the egg free fall about 9 ½ feet while tied to that amount of straw and then it would stop before hitting the ground, from there it would only have to handle a drop of a few inches.
We drew out the plan and designated someone to hunt for the scissors. When we did not get them, first we started taking out keys and all sharp objects in an attempt to cut them in case we did not get the scissors. This was our alternative strategy if scissors were unobtainable. Thankfully, we got them quick enough and everyone went to work.
Without having to be told, each person just started doing what he or she could to help the cause. I was taping the straws together; another person was cutting them while others were working on getting the egg secured to the straws. No jobs were allocated, things just happened. In addition, what was strange was there was really no leader, but everyone managed to get along just fine as equals.
Then I was chosen to drop the egg because I was the only girl and all the boys insisted that they were taller. Thankfully, it went good and our egg did not break. What I think was the best part of our work was that the actual execution of dropping the egg was the easiest part. Unlike other groups who worried and tried to drop the egg from as low as possible, our group went on the table completely confident that the egg would not break. We planned and prepared, thought was tough an stressful, in the end we knew we couldn’t fail. I think this is most important in planning. All the work should be done in the planning phase so when time comes to execute it goes flawless and worriless.

Ready for a Big Break?

Hello everyone, typically when someone thinks of management problems the first thing they people complain about is their own time. There is never enough of it to go around and we struggle to fit in all the things we have to and want to do. Although this an is issue, especially for student, I believe that most should be able to handle this well by their junior year.

I have recently realized that there is another management problem that will impact all of us fairly soon if it hasn’t already: Career management. I am actually in the middle of it right now. Currently I have a great job in electronics. I have my own department, a part time secretary, and whatever resources I need to get my job done. It pays well, I have flexible hours so that I can go to school and I’m comfortable with my coworkers. The issue is this job has nothing to do with my major, marketing. Most marketing jobs require internships or experience, which in order to do I would have to quit my job. As a junior, I know it’s time to start managing my career plans, but how will I manage my bank account with out any substantial income, that I have gotten use to already.

One more thing about career management that becomes an issue is which opportunities do u take on and which do u pass? I have friends and family all pushing me to do different marketing jobs, so how do I know which ones will be right for me. It very hard to say no when someone is trying to set you up with an interview or a job in a marketing firm that you know you do not have enough experience for and won’t be able to keep your job after you get it. It equally as hard to say no when the position would downgrade you from where you think you are professionally.

Managing you career is way more then just catching a lucky break or knowing the right person. You need to make the right decisions as to which “big break” is legitimate and which will benefit you he most. You also need to decide when you are ready for that break.

Welcome!

Hello, my name is Olga, it was intended to be and pronounced Olya in my home country of Ukraine but this is the way America spells it. I came here 10 years ago with my family and now live in Brooklyn, NY. Currently; I work at a cell phone wholesale company doing everything from billing to RMA. I am also a junior at Baruch College, majoring in Marketing and Advertisement. This blog however, will mostly be about management. My professor asked the class “How does a good manager act?” This has been on my mind at work all week. On one hand I work better when my boss acts friendly, asks for my judgment on how to do my part of the work right. On the other hand, I have people working under me and unless I am strict and controlling of every move they do, their work wouldn’t likely be done right, if done at all. My company doesn’t have a lot of workers, so we approach each person differently to get maximum efficiency, but how does a company with hundreds or even thousands of employees manage? I will be putting up posts with ideas later!