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.