A521.1.4RB - Kemp, Elijah

One common story within my organization deals with relationships and connection building. On my first day of work I had an agenda that consisted mostly of meetings with different managers and executives throughout the building. I was a bit intimidated at first because I was meeting with the entire senior team, and several other managers from other departments.

I entered the office of the first individual who I was meeting with, and he asked me if I wanted to walk the floor and talk or sit in the office. I never really had the opportunity to walk around a 1.8 million square foot building before, so I elected to walk and talk. The walk lasted about an hour, and we covered the entire perimeter of the building within that hour. The meeting went very well, and I seemed much more relaxed and comfortable when I wasn't sitting in a chair, confined to an office. For the other 5 meetings I had that day, I did the same thing. I walked, talked, and got to know some very good people. I soon realized that this was common practice for the organization, and our building was especially fond of the idea that meetings of all kinds should be stress-free and open.

Now that I have worked for the organization for almost a year, I have had the opportunity to walk with new executives and managers who are new to the company and the building. After talking with them, they were also surprised at how meetings were conducted, but it was a pleasant surprise. Everyone agreed that walking around the building, observing different behaviors from employees and watching everyday business while chatting was not only relaxing for both parties, it actually stimulated conversation and enhanced the relationship between the two, and the company knew this. The relationship between peers and senior management in my organization is the closest I have ever seen. Labeling it a big family does not do it justice.

Everyone in the organization shares this same story with family members, new hires, and other members of the organization. It's common for people to talk about "walks" and how they benefit the organization. They help bring to life the "fast, fun, friendly" environment that the organization boasts about.They help peers become close so they earn one another's trust and friendship, so that organizational goals can be met and the work environment becomes inviting, fun, and friendly. The walks have a huge impact on the organization. They promote friendship and collaboration between peers and leadership, they promote creativity, they open lines of communication and make it comfortable for people to discuss almost anything, and most importantly they help build connections. A big part of Target's culture is connecting and building relationships, and this certainly does that.

MSLD 500_Activity 9.4_Kemp,Elijah

This course was very beneficial to me and provided me with a lot of great tools that I can use throughout my graduate program. The 9-week format was ample time to cover all of the material and familiarize myself with all of the information presented. I thought that the instructor was very engaging and that the course was laid out well for me to be able to retain knowledge and incorporate the action research into the course assignments.

One of the biggest positives of the course was having a diverse student population. Students were able to incorporate life events and professional experience into discussion board questions, making for some very detailed, engaging discussions. The only negative experience I had with the course was not knowing about the Brain software before enrolling into the course. It would have been a good tool to get familiarized with before starting the course to avoid falling behind.

I thought that the critical thinking activities and information given to me during the course will be very beneficial in my organization for me and my team. I proved this with my action research project, but that was one small piece of knowledge that I incorporated into my routine at work, and this class had so much more than that to offer. It will be exciting to see the results from my team after using the tools and knowledge from this course. Almost every decision, both personally and professionally, needs to be thought out using critical thinking standards and skills, so it will also benefit my decision making in my home and with my family. The action research project was without a doubt my biggest takeaway from the class. It really helped me broaden my research horizons, engage my team at work with change, and challenge my peers at work to help benefit the organization. 

MSLD 500_Activity 8.3_Kemp,Elijah

Good presentation design is crucial to keeping your audience attentive, along with being able to retain the knowledge given. I think that being an effective presenter and keeping slide content to a minimum are the two most important points when creating a presentation.

I have sat through too many presentations where the presenter was either tired, boring, or simply did not care about the material being presented. This made for a bored audience and the information being conveyed was not retained as well as it could have been. Presenters need to be excited about the material and knowledgeable so they can illustrate key points for the audience, rather than filling up a slide with words. Having high energy and actually caring about the presentation will allow the audience to be more engaged, creating a more effective and fun environment.

Presentations should also be created in a way so that wording does not clutter slides, and slides are kept to a reasonable amount. Sometimes a picture can tell a story or convey a point. Audiences are said to respond better when they are visually stimulated, and this could not be made possible when using excessive wording, bullet points, and refraining from using stimulating images and graphics.

Creating a good presentation is not easy, but overcoming a few major obstacles could greatly improve the effectiveness of it. 

MSLD 500_Activity 7.3_Kemp,Elijah

Quantitative research is much different than qualitative research. The primary objective of quantitative research is to find out why something happens, not how. In quantitative research, everything should be quantified somehow, or expressed numerically and statistically. One of the biggest differences from qualitative research is that factors that cannot be observed can be measured. Some of the strengths include being able to compare different groups or classes, giving an explanation of causes, and allowing detailed measurements or tests to be expressed in numbers. The weaknesses include data that is only quantifiable data, it gives a very stagnant view of reality, and it asks correct questions that may appear to be close-ended, unlike open-ended questions in a qualitative study.

Quantitative research is very popular in the social science fields like psychology, sociology, and economics. This is because research in these fields can be expressed in statistical terms. The data collected is much more straight forward and factual, rather than opinionated and dynamic. Surveys are a very common method of data collection in this type of research, but the questions are very structured and the responses are pre-determined by the person administering the survey.

MSLD 500_Activity 6.3_Kemp,Elijah

Qualitative research is defined as a type of research that seeks to find answers by collecting evidence and producing findings that were not determined before. Some of the most common qualitative research methods are focus groups, participant observation, and interviews. Focus groups are crucial in collecting data with cultural norms taken into account, participant observation is taking information from people in their usual contexts, and interviewing is used for collecting data on individual thoughts, opinions, views, and background.

In qualitative research, the questions asked to find answers are open ended and appear to be flexible when compared with questions of quantitative research. Participants are given the option to choose their own responses rather than being forced to choose from a pre-determined set of answers. By having this flexibility, the answers are unanticipated by the researcher and they may be more complex and detailed in nature.

Perhaps another significant aspect of qualitative research is that it involves the beliefs, norms, and views of the local population that is involved in the research. Questions can be targeted to a specific audience or group of people who have similar characteristics, with everything from religion, gender, norms, and philosophies being used to in the answers. On the other hand, qualitative research does have its weaknesses. The number of people studied may be much less than in other research methods, the data may be much harder to compile and compare, and the questions asked are dependent upon the researchers own attributes and skills. 

MSLD 500_Activity 5.3_Kemp,Elijah

This is one class where I have been able to make immediate changes in my personal and professional life from the material and content being covered. Two of the biggest changes I have noticed in my decision making and thinking processes is becoming more aware of the assumptions that I make, and using the SEE-I process in real-life applications.

Assumptions are a necessary part of the thinking process as they represent the beginning of reasoning. I tend to make assumptions about people and events at work but rarely ever noticed it and never thought through the implications of making these assumptions. I have become more aware of these assumptions, and I have been able to think through the consequences of the assumptions I make by asking myself questions that pertain to the question at hand. I have found that assumptions are much easier to recognize and think through when I know why I am making them and what I am trying to accomplish by making them.

The SEE-I process has been very beneficial to me, both in my personal and professional life. At work, the SEE-I process has allowed me to better analyze problems and situations by defining them and going into more detail than I normally would. By writing down the situation or problem and using the process to break it down into more detailed sections, finding a solution becomes easier and my decision is made with more confidence.

In my opinion, the only way to make lasting, positive changes in the way I think is by applying the techniques and concepts in everyday life. Like any other subject or topic, information that goes unused is likely to be forgotten. I want to prevent this from happening by using most of the techniques, information, and concepts in my personal and professional life. Using the processes and information learned in this course will ensure the retention of the material and concepts while fine-tuning my critical thinking skills.

MSLD 500_Activity 4.3_Kemp, Elijah

After watching the video, it appears as if Sheena is well-traveled and well-versed in many cultures. I do agree with her in regards to her assumptions. I think that one of the greatest freedoms Americans truly value is freedom of choice. It does not matter if the decision we make is the wrong one, at least we were able to make the decision rather than have someone make it for us, no matter what we are deciding on. Our freedom of choice is something that we inherit and begin to use at a very young age, and because we know nothing else, not having the freedom to choose is quite frightening.

Sheena mentions in one of her examples that Americans, when compared with people from Europe, will actually still choose to make a decision even when the outcome of that decision is too great to handle or bear. This is what we are accustomed to. In other cultures the ability to choose may be severely limited, making freedom of choice a privilege and not an entitlement.

I think my favorite assumption about choice is that more options lead to better choices. We live in a country where you can walk into a grocery store and easily choose between 15 different types of hot sauce, or 25 different types of deodorant. If there were only 15 choices of deodorant, would our decision be of lesser quality than if we had 25 choices? I think not. I think that it actually hinders our ability to choose because we become accustomed to having more and more choices. When we walk into a store with only 5 choices of deodorant we may become lost and unable to choose. It gives us the mindset that we should have 25 choices of deodorant or else we couldn’t possibly make the best decision. We may be a bit spoiled in this regard.

Leadership and choices go hand-in-hand. As leaders we will be faced will decisions that not only affect us but employees and the organization we work within. If we make these assumptions while in leadership positions it could hinder performance and prevent us from maximizing employee potential. On the other hand, it may do the complete opposite. There may not be 10 different choices for us in particular situations, so will we still be able to make that decision, and can we live with it and talk through it? Sometimes there may only be one decision to make and it may not be the most popular one among employees. Or, will having several different options allow us to make the best possible decision for our organization and its team as opposed to having a few options, or maybe even one? I think at all depends on the organization and the leader.

“Every man builds his world in his own image. He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice.”  -  Ayn Rand