Welcome to another school year of VE blogs! As you already know, I will blog your weekly tasks as my lesson plans and you are responsible for reading through these prior to the beginning of class every Monday. By doing this, we can begin class every week without wasting time figuring out what we need to accomplish. Over the past two plus years, this has worked very well and I know it will continue to be a great resource for all of us.
Above this text, you see two very distinct, well-recognized logos that mean a lot to the American culture. This week, you will work on designing a logo of your own to allow our customers to easily recognize Make-A-Meal! In addition, you will be responsible for creating a company vision, mission statement, rules and procedures, finish your resumes, and our executives will interview for their desired positions. This all seems like a lot of work, but if you dedicate yourselves to completing the assignments, divide the work appropriately, and focus, there is no reason why it can’t be done. Please see below for a breakdown of our tasks by day:
Monday and Tuesday:
In my absence, you will split up the following duties and complete them by the end of class Tuesday:
Create company logo: I suggest making two or three designs and voting on which one works best. Don’t hesitate to take different aspects of different logos and combine them into one if you wish. Feel free to use chart paper near the filing cabinets and the Mr. Sketch markers, which can be found in the bottom drawer of my desk. Please ask the sub to get them if you want to use them.
Company Vision: Research what a company vision or vision statement is all about. It’s basically a declaration of what you want your business to be. This is different from a mission statement and aims at longer-term goals. The article linked above, along with other resources you find online, will be of great assistance
Mission Statement: Construct a clear mission statement for the organization. Use the article above to help craft your statement. You can also check out some other mission statements from Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Nike.
Company Rules & Procedures: Please establish at least 4 standards by which we will operate. Mike Krzyzewski, Head Basketball Coach at Duke University has no rules for his team. Rather, he establishes standards for his players to follow. Feel free to create a list of rules or standards, and make them effective in guiding how we operate.
Finish your resume: If you distribute the workload appropriately, we can have tasks 1 through 4 finished by the end of class Monday or some time during the beginning of class Tuesday. Either way, please use your remaining class time to finish your resume. When I return to class Wednesday, we will no longer work on the resume in class, and all resumes will be due to me via email or shared with my Google Drive by 8/25.
Wednesday
Clear Target: We can apply effective interview techniques
When class begins on Wednesday, I would like to have a briefing on our logo, company vision, and mission statement. Then, I will discuss how I plan to conduct our interviews for this coming year. The main focus of this lecture/discussion will be establishing the fact that everything you do in an interview will be scrutinized, and if you focus on WIIFM, or “what’s in it for me?” If every answer you provide demonstrates the value you can contribute to the organization, and if these answers are 100% genuine, you can walk out of any interview knowing you have put your best foot forward. We’ll take notes and address any specific pressing questions to prepare for our interviews. It’s impossible to learn everything you need to know about interviews in one class period, but if you can take home a few helpful tips and give your best effort, you’ll do very well when your name is called. Also, we’ll dedicate far more time to interview preparation next semester as we approach Mock Interview Competition.
Thursday and Friday:
Clear Target: We can analyze and critique a business interview
On Thursday and Friday, we’ll simply observe, analyze, critique, and discuss all of our prospective executives’ interviews. When class begins, we’ll all log into the computers and access our electronic Interview Critique Sheets so we can keep records of things that went well and what could have been better, as well as whether or not we would consider the candidate for the position. You will complete a critique form for every interview you witness.
After all our prospective CEOs have interviewed, we will vote on who will be our next Chief Executiive Officer. After all our prospective CFOs have interviewed, we will again have a final vote. Beginning Monday 8/29, we will have a list of interviews for all other employees.
That’s it for this week. I know you will do an excellent job completing all your tasks, but if you require any assistance, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email. I will gladly help you get it done!
