Weekly Assignments - 4/28-5/2

This week, we will focus on work-related articles from the Harvard Business Review.  I have found three solid articles which cover topics that I feel will help you in your future as contributing members of society.  These articles will help you give and receive constructive criticism more effectively, figure out how to get up and go when you might not feel like it, and compile a list of traits that successful people have in common.  Best of all, since there aren’t departmental tasks to be completed, nobody has to worry about who was selected to run the organization anymore!

Here is a breakdown of our articles and classwork for the week:

Monday:

Read the first paragraph of my most recent blog entry.  Then, go to http://blogs.hbr.org/2011/11/theres-no-such-thing-as-constr/ and wait for my instructions. 

Clear Target: We can analyze and critique methods for providing constructive criticism

Tuesday:

Use what we talked about in class about each of the three key behaviors for providing constructive criticism and post a blog entry about how you could use each behavior if you were a manager providing feedback to a subordinate.  Share your post with me through Google+

Clear Target: We can analyze and critique methods for providing constructive criticism

Wednesday:

Think about something, either from VE class, another school activity, or outside of the classroom, that you just never get around to.  Write that down and provide at least three reasons why you seem to never get around to doing it.  Then, go to http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/02/how-to-make-yourself-work-when-you-just-dont-want-to/ and read the article.  We will discuss the article at length during the last 20 minutes of class.  I will moderate our discussion.

Clear Target: We can analyze factors that affect motivation and productivity

Thursday:

Use what we talked about in class about how to make yourself work when you just don’t want to and post a blog entry about how what you learned from the article and discussion can help you do whatever it is you wrote down at the beginning of class Wednesday.  Remember to share your post with me through Google+

Clear Target: We can analyze factors that affect motivation and productivity

Friday:

Today we will read about 9 things successful people do differently than others.  Every time we critique a performance in our class, I ask you to note things that were done well and what could have been done differently.  Reading this article and discussing the power of doing things differently will hopefully help you understand what separates the average from the great.  Your article can be found here. I look forward to our class discussion.

Clear Target: We can differentiate between productive and unproductive habits in the workplace.

My First Sick Day - VE Amended Task for 4/23/14

In the two and a half years I've been at Northwest, I've never taken a sick day.  Sure, I've been out for professional development or personal days, but I've been lucky enough not to miss a day due to being under the weather.  However, after burning the candle at both ends these past few days, I've come down with a pretty rough sore throat.  Currently, I am unable to speak and I am far from 100%.  Consequently, on Wednesday, April 23, 2014, I will take my first sick day as a teacher.  Worry not, I plan on being back to school on Thursday.

In my absence, we will skip ahead to one of your assignments meant to be completed after your employee evaluations.  Today, you will each complete a facilitator evaluation.  That's right, you get to evaluate me on how well I've done in helping you grow as a student and as an individual.

In order for you to complete your assignment, you will need two things.  First, you will need your performance evaluation you completed to use as a reference.  If you don't have it, I've shared it with you in PDF format on Google+.  Second, you'll need to open Microsoft Word to type your answers and save them to your student folder. 

Once you have both items, you will assess me on all 8 factors using one of the four performance rating factors (O - Outsanding, E - Exceeds Expectations, M - Meets Expectations, I - Needs Improvement).  For each factor, you must substantiate your rating by providing a specific example and a comment that supports your decision.  I expect your substantiation to be at least 30 words (about two sentences) so that you can back up your opinion.

After completing this assignment, you will either share your document with me in Google Drive (preferred) or attach your document and email it to mattspinella@gmail.com.  Please be honest, realistic and thorough with your answers.  We will have a good time reading these in class on Thursday. 

Have a great Wednesday.  I will see you tomorrow!

Performance Evaluations!

As previously discussed, this week and next will be dedicated to completing performance evaluations for all employees, and devising a plan to improve our performance and the performance of future firms.  Having completed your reflections last week, each of you has had the time to think about tasks you’ve completed, lessons learned, areas where you can continue to develop.  Reflection is essential to learning about yourself and your growth as an employee. 

Here’s a breakdown of your tasks for the week:

Monday: You will receive a 2-page evaluation form.  Complete the form based on your interpretation of your performance.  Be fair, honest, and thorough in your appraisal of your performance.  During the last 15 minutes of class, we will discuss your findings.

Tuesday through Friday: We will complete evaluations in the following order: Vice Presidents, associates, CFO, CEO.  After each evaluation, we will discuss what we agree and disagree with, as well as discuss ways to improve performance in the future. 

That’s all I have for you this week.  Though this post is short and sweet, there is a lot of “meat on the bones” regarding what we will be doing.  I look forward to hearing your self-appraisals and seeing how you deal with constructive criticism from your peers.  Have a great week!

2013-14 Performance Reflections

If we look back on what we've done this year, there have been a lot of highlights mixed with some not-so-memorable moments.  We've written an Office Guru business plan, prepared for Regional and State competitions, attended a Trade Fair, completed case studies, blogged, and run a semi-successful virtual business.  This week will be dedicated to looking back and reflecting upon four of your most memorable projects or tasks that you completed during the school year.  I'm not going to put concrete borders on what or how I want you to post other than requiring each entry to be at least 250 words.  The goal of this exercise is to let you look back and see just how much you've learned this year and prepare for your end-of-year performance evaluation.

Each day this week, you will focus on one of the following projects and type a reflective blog entry about your personal opinion of your performance, what you learned, and how that project will help you in the future.  By the end of the week, you will have completed four blog entries:

• Office Guru Business Plan
• Promotional Sales Materials
• Resume Creation
• Interview Exercises
• Trade Fair Preparation
• The Trade Fair Experience
• Reflecting upon motivational videos/literature
• Individual Business Plan Creation
• Day-to-day business operations (your departmental tasks)
• Sales calls
• Weekly Newsletter
• Employee Spotlight
• Company Manual
• Payroll distribution
• Anything else that stands out from your classwork this year

We'll share out some of our entries next week and begin our personal performance evaluations before our executives and I conduct formal performance evaluations.

I look forward to reading your posts.  This week and next will be a lot of fun.