Week 1 discussion
Dq1
VARK Learning Style Inventory
This week we began our study of Career Strategy by taking
the VARK Learning Style Inventory to determine our individual preferences on
how we acquire knowledge. Please comment on your indicated learning style, and
explain how you think you can put it to the best use.
Dq2
Self-Awareness and Career Success
Why is understanding yourself important in your career
development? How can you ensure that an employer will realize that you have a
clear grasp of who you are and what you have to offer?
Week 2 discussion
Dq1
Life Skills
In “What Color Is Your Parachute?” (2007, now in
its 36th printing, Ten Speed Press), Richard Bolles suggests that there are
three life skills that schools should teach but don’t: (1) How to find a
job, (2) How to choose and find an
appropriate partner, husband, or wife, and (3) How to think and how to make
good decisions. Do you think the author is correct? You do NOT need to read the
book to discuss this question.
Dq2
DISC Personality Profile
This week we began our self-analysis by taking the AMA DISC
Personality Survey (TM) to establish a personal baseline for our work in the
course. Your full results will be filed in the Dropbox by the end of Week 2.
See DocSharing for the report format. Please comment here on any perceptions or
conclusions you wish to share with the class at this point. What does this work
mean to you? Did you recognize the person described in the DISC results? From
your knowledge of your classmates, and what they said in class and report here
on their DISC, do you think this report is accurate?
Week 3 discussion
Dq1
Role Models
Class, let’s discuss any conclusions that you reached on
your research and writing about role models. What did you find that was
important to you, and what most surprised you about the individuals in your
report on role models? What can you begin to transfer to your own perceptions
of career tracks? Will there be any “shifts” in direction on your
work at Keller?
Dq2
Career Aspects
Class, let’s discuss our progress in submitting our
assignments for the Dropbox this week. How did you find 1) setting longer term
goals, 2) setting short term academic goals, and 3) anticipating obstacles?
Also, how do the results of your Stress Processing Inventory affect these three
lists? Do you have any comments you wish to share with the class?
Week 4 discussion
Dq1
Emerging Global Trends
Class, in this thread please discuss your perceptions of the
research into international organizations and issues. Let’s keep this focused
and start with three questions. What most impressed you in this research? What
emerging trends did you find that may affect your career choices? How has this
research affected your choices, either in terms of timing for transition points
in your career, for possible career changes, or for global locations for your
work?
Dq2
Career Futures
Class, in this thread we will discuss what we anticipate for
career outlooks three, five, and ten years after your date of graduation with
your MBA degree. Become a career consultant for this thread. With the
additional knowledge gained from your research this week, imagine you are
making a “time line” to advise someone with career ambitions similar
to yours. What would you tell them? While our discussion in the other thread
for this week may involve large global issues, make your recommendations here
specific. What are three key points you would make?
Week 5 discussion
Dq1
Global Leaders.
In the book Global Literacies (Simon & Schuster 2000),
Robert Rosen states :
“Leaders are kept awake at night by hard business
realities: the need to generate profitable growth, reach markets quickly,
protect their reputation, and anticipate the unexpected.
But their deeper sleeplessness comes from the human
challengers: How can they acquire and retain the best talent to lead their
companies through change? How can they promote teamwork across boundaries and
borders? How can they develop executives to lead in the world? ‘Our scarcest
resource is globally literate leaders,’ warns Alfred Zeien, chairman and CEO of
Gillette, one of the Unites States’ most global companies” (page 25).
Class, in this thread, let’s discuss key elements of leaders
operating within global organizations. What are some key skill sets and
personality traits of “globally literate leaders?”
Dq2
Meaningful Work
In the book The New
Global Leaders (Jossy-Bass 1999), Manfred F.R. de Vries (with Elizabeth
Florent-Treacy) states:
“Work in organizations, directed toward achieving
shared goals, also answers another human need: it allows us to feel useful.
Individuals need to commit themselves to something that is valuable, that has a
positive impact. Through usefulness is a highly subjective experience, it is
linked to the particular objectives and causes that drive individuals to
transcend their customary abilities. Because a search for usefulness–for
meaning–largely determines a person’s life course, it also influences life in
organizations. Once again, this poses a challenge for the global leader: how to
find a purpose or objective that employees from different cultures see as
meaningful, inspiring them to strive in ways that simplistic formulas of return
on investment and profit maximization cannot.”
Is there some truth to the author’s contention? What is it
that we would find meaningful to our life’s purpose in the midst of an
organization or work setting?
Week 6 discussion
Dq1
Leading Change
In his book Leading Change (HBS Press 1996), John Kotter
states:
“A strategy of embracing the past will probably become
increasingly ineffective over the next few decades. Better for most of us to
start learning now how to cope with change, to develop whatever leadership
potential we have, and to help our organizations in the transformation process.
Better for most of us, despite the risks, to leap into the future. And to do so
sooner rather than later.”
Do you agree with the author? If he is correct, how can we
apply that to our own career plans?
Dq2
Learning To Keep Learning
In an article titled “Learning To Keep Learning”
in the New York Times, dated December 13, 2006, Thomas L. Friedman states:
“I listened to this with mixed emotions. Part of me
said ‘Gosh, wouldn’t it be nice to have a government that was so focused on innovation
— instead of one that is basically anti-science.’ My other emotion was
skepticism. Oh, you know the line: Great Britain dominated the 19th century,
America dominated the 20th and now China is going to dominate the 21st. It’s
game over.
“No question, China has been able to command an
impressive effort to end illiteracy, greatly increasing its number of high
school grads and new universities. But I still believe it is very hard to
produce a culture of innovation in a country that censors [Google] which for me
is a proxy for curtailing people’s ability to imagine and try anything they
want. You can command K-12 education. But you can’t command innovation. Rigor
and competence, without freedom, will take China only so far. China will have
to find a way to loosen up, without losing control, if it wants to be a truly
innovative nation.” (access through ProQuest Data Base in the Keller
library-article 94 of 239 listed therein for that issue)
Comment on how one can stay abreast of changes that will
likely affect a career plan. How will we keep up to date in time to make
effective career transitions?
Week 7 discussion
Dq1
Personal Learning Outcomes
Discuss personal learning outcomes from the class experience
that you are willing to share.
Dq2
Changing World Experience
Discuss keys to adapting one’s career plan to a changing
world experience.
Week 1 assignment
Complete the AMA DISC Survey from Human Synergistics. The
results will be filed in the Dropbox in Week 2. Instructions on accessing the
site are found in the content item labeled AMA DISC for this week. Make sure
you spend time reading the Introductory material at the site. You can go back
to the site multiple times. After completing the DISC survey, work on your DISC
written assignment (instructions in Doc Sharing) that will be filed in Week 2.
Strategy Assignments:
Complete the Learning Style Inventory (VARK).Follow the
instructions in Doc Sharing to analyze your results in terms of your life in
accord with the instructions and rubrics in Doc Sharing for the Strategy
Assignment. Then submit your paper in the Strategy Assignment Dropbox for Week
1. (25 points)
Prepare a draft Time Management Calendar: Blank Time
Management | ExampleAlso file that in the Dropbox for Week 1. (15 points)
(For YOLC access, open a new www.devryu.net page and enter
“YOLC” and “YOLC” as the user and password. Note the log in
credentials are case-sensitive and must be in lowercase letters to enter from
e-College)
Submit your assignment to the Dropbox, located at the top of
this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read these step-by-step
instructions.
See the Syllabus section “Due Dates for Assignments
& Exams” for due date information.
Week 2 assignment
Recommended: Use the Journal tab within the Dropbox icon
above to store information and notes that you want to make on the course. These
can be shared or not shared with the instructor as you wish. Jot a note there
to your instructor and I will respond if you would like comments on your work.
Your comments in the Journal will not be graded. Some thought starters for your
Journal are found in Doc Sharing, and you may link to that document below. Any
weekly comments you record there may be highly useful as you prepare your slide
presentation for the final project presentation on your Career Development
Portfolio. Journal Thought Starters
Required:
Strategy Assignment: Goal Setting. File three short pages
(or one page with three sections) in the Dropbox for this week. The first page
will include three to five career goals you want to achieve. The second page
will include key goals you wish to achieve while at Keller Graduate School of
Management. The third page will include obstacles you anticipate in both your
school experience and early problems that must be delt with to begin achieving
your longer-term career goals. See the Lecture for recommendations here, and
examples of those three items in Doc Sharing. (40 points)
Stress Processing Report (SPR). Complete the HS Stress
Processing Inventory this week. You will take this inventory online with the
access provided by Human Synergistics. Instructions on accessing the SPR site
are available on the SPR content item under the Week 2 menu. Paper instructions
are found in Doc Sharing. The SPR written assignment will be filed in the
Dropbox in Week 3.
After you complete the analysis of your AMA Disc Survey results
in terms of your life by following the instructions and rubrics located in Doc
Sharing for the DISC assignment, then submit your paper in the Dropbox for the
AMA DISC assignment for Week 2.” (40 points)
Submit your assignment to the Dropbox, located at the top of
this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read these step-by-step
instructions.
See the Syllabus section “Due Dates for Assignments
& Exams” for due date information.
Week 3 assignment
Strategy Assignments:
Complete either of the following (a or b):
Choose one Man/Woman/Persons Of The Year from Time Magazine over the last ten
years, and prepare a brief report on that person’s career path. What event(s)
triggered their designation, and what, if anything, do you find inspiring about
their career? (Maybe pick an earlier year than 2007, which is YOU!) Time (You
may wish to check out the “Time 100” most influencial people of the
year.) As an alternative to Time Magazine, go to Fast Company or another
business magazine and check for outstanding business leaders. Fast Company Or,
you might try Forbes, Business Week, or Fortune. Forbes Business Week Fortune
Try the Academy Of Achievement and see the note on Oprah Winfrey and her Use
Your Life Awards. Oprah You may also select option (b) below.
Choose a person in your personal experience (either that you
know/knew, or read about) that exhibited superior leadership skills and career
achievements. What is most remarkable and inspiring about their story?
Complete this assignment in less than three pages, and file
in the Dropbox. (30 points)
Complete either of the following (a or b)
Visit the website for the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the
U.S. Department Of Labor, and check out the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Occupational Handbook Prepare a brief (one page) report on what you found most
useful to your career direction. File the report in the Dropbox. (10 points)
Visit the website for the Secretary’s Committee On Needed
Skills at the U.S. Department Of Labor. SCANS Review information there and
decide what applies to your career and necessary skills. Prepare a brief (one
page) report on what you found most useful to your career direction. File the
report in the Dropbox. (10 points)
Note: Both reports (for Strategy Assignments 1 and 2) can be
attached to the Dropbox for this week.
After you complete the analysis of your SPR Report in terms
of your life and experience in accord with the instructions and rubrics in Doc
Sharing, submit your paper in the SPR Dropbox for Week 3. (40 points)
Submit your assignment to the Dropbox, located at the top of
this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read these step-by-step
instructions.
See the Syllabus section “Due Dates for Assignments
& Exams” for due date information.
Week 4 assignment
Strategy Assignments:
Visit websites of the U.S. Department of State, U.S.
Department of Commerce, the United Nations, the World Bank, or the
International Chamber Of Commerce. Write one or two paragraphs on a key article
that you found relating to international business, and file that in the Dropbox
for this week. Be ready to share your insights on that and other appropriate
international articles in our discussions. Be sure to include in that article
and your thread discussion how any emerging business trends may affect your
career choices. (25 points)
www.state.gov
www.commerce.gov
www.un.org
www.worldbank.org
www.iccwbo.org
Visit the website of the Futurist Magazine or other sites,
such as NASA, that give insights and perspectives on what the future may look
like. Futurist NASA Find one article that you believe may impact any future
career options you would like to see as part of your career path. Write a brief
report (less than one full page) on what you find, and file it in the Dropbox
for this week. (15 points)
Submit your assignment to the Dropbox, located at the top of
this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read these step-by-step
instructions.
See the Syllabus section “Due Dates for Assignments
& Exams” for due date information.
Week 5 assignment
Strategy Assignments:
Visit the McKinsey & Company website,
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/leading_in_the_21st_century/leading_in_the_21st_century,
which addresses leadership in the 21st Century. Prepare a one to two page
overview of the key points and ideas that resonate with you. File your paper in
the Dropbox for this week (40 points). Be prepared to discuss and defend your
priorities about leadership as defined in this website.
Submit your assignment to the Dropbox, located at the top of
this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read these step-by-step
instructions.
See the Syllabus section “Due Dates for Assignments
& Exams” for due date information.
Week 6 assignment
Strategy Assignment:
Check out Internet sites that offer current listings and
information on job opportunities Visit the Monster.com site for a start.
Monster.com Continue your search with other relevant job sites as you wish. For
example, you could check out 6figurejobs.com for a look at higher paying
executive positions. Executive Positions Select one new job direction that may
interest you in the future and write a short paper (one page) about what you
have found. Add the section regarding Keller just below and then file your
paper in the Dropbox. (25 of the 40 points)
Check out the Keller Career Services site, and add a
paragraph to the report on what you found that would be helpful to your career
plans. Be as specific as you can regarding your professional focus. (15 of the
40 points) Keller Career Services
Submit your assignment to the Dropbox, located at the top of
this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read these step-by-step
instructions.
See the Syllabus section “Due Dates for Assignments
& Exams” for due date information.
Week 7 assignment
Strategy Assignment:
Visit websites that focus on planning a career. You may wish
to start with Mapping Your Future’s website. Once there, head to the Planning
section. Planning Your Future Write a short report (less than two pages) on
what you found and how it applies to your career plans. File your report in the
Dropbox for the week. (40 points)
Submit your assignment to the Dropbox, located at the top of
this page. For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read these step-by-step
instructions.
See the Syllabus section “Due Dates for Assignments
& Exams” for due date information.
Virtual Lecture
Attend one virtual presentation as directed by your
instructor and post offer comments, questions, and suggestions in your posts
this week.
Individual Final Project Presentations
Generate an 8–10 minute Power Point presentation on your
Career Development Plans. Think about three main sections: introduction,
discussion, and conclusion. The introduction and conclusion may be only one
slide each, with the other eight slides devoted to the body of your
presentation. Consider the class as an interviewing panel or review board that
is present to consider your work and offer recommendations. This is a
collaborative setting, and the panel is there to offer suggestions to
strengthen your future career efforts.
The presentation should include no more than 10 slides
because of time limitations. The 8–10 minute presentation will be followed by a
three minute Q & A session, thereby allowing each student 15 total minutes.
Your instructor will provide more information about your
presentations.
Ensure that your PowerPoint presentation is posted in the
DropBox at least twenty-four hours before the start of your presentation so
that files can be uploaded prior to the start of the presentation.
Your instructor will provide more information about your
final project presentation.”Ensure that your PowerPoint presentation is
posted in the DropBox at least twenty-four hours before the start of your
presentation so that files can be uploaded prior to the start of the
presentation
Week 2
CARD548 PREPARATION GUIDE: DISC Assignment
Personal Styles Analysis:
The AMA DISC SurveyTM
INTRODUCTION:
The DISC Survey is designed to measure four basic styles of
behavior. Those are Directing,
Influencing, Supportive, and Contemplative.
Each style has strong points, and possible weaknesses, to an individual’s
effectiveness. The survey materials will
show both productive aspects of each of the four styles, as well as
counterproductive aspects.
Take the DISC Survey online using the instructions found in
the Week One Assignments page. Then,
complete the following assignment that is due in the Dropbox by the end of Week
Two of the session.
YOUR ASSIGNMENT:
Write a 3 to no more than 5 page double-spaced paper [be
sure to use subheadings to identify each section] in which you use the results
of your DISC Survey. The content of your
DISC paper should include, but is not limited to, answers to the following
questions:
I. Describe your
personal styles (25 points)
Describe your strongest style(s) and your weakest
style. Provide examples to illustrate
how the strong styles characterize you (or, in the case of your weakest style,
do not characterize you). If your
profile is balanced, describe either how the four styles equally characterize
you or how your styles change depending on circumstances.
II. Discuss how you
developed your styles (25 points)
Consider the possible effects of family, school,
organizational memberships, and/or culture on the development of your
self-reported styles. Discuss the factor
that you think was most important in shaping your personal styles.
III. Assess the
impact of your styles on your effectiveness (25 points)
Discuss the impact of your styles in terms of two
factors–such as interpersonal relations, group activities, individual or
managerial performance.
IV. Identify a
target for change and a specific change strategy (25 points)
Focus on a single
style and a concrete, behavioral strategy for change.
If there are certain issues that you would prefer not to
discuss, simply exclude them from your paper and focus on other styles, events,
or factors.
Your assignments are due by Sunday, end of week two, 11:59
P.M. (MT). Submit your assignment to the Dropbox. The assignment is worth 100 points.
Week 3
CARD548 PREPARATION GUIDE: SPR Assignment
Stress Processing Report
INTRODUCTION:
The Stress Processing Report is designed to assist you in
uncovering thinking patterns that may be limiting your personal success or
causing you distress. This survey/report
is only effective if you consider it confidential and personal, and an accurate
benchmark of how you are perceiving life at this particular moment. With that approach, you will be able to
design goals to improve your effectiveness and attempt to limit the stressors
in your life. You will decide how much
of the results of this SPR work to share with the instructor and your class
mates.
Take the SPR online using the instructions found in the Week
Two Assignments page. Then, complete the
following assignment that is due in the Dropbox by the end of Week three of the
session.
YOUR ASSIGNMENT:
Write a 2 to no more than 3 page double-spaced paper [be
sure to use subheadings to identify each section] in which you use the results
of your SPR. The content of your SPR
paper should include, but is not limited to, answers to the following
questions:
I. Describe need
areas (10 points)
Review the information in all 19 domains of your SPR. What are the three areas of greatest need
(lowest scores) and what cluster(s) do they fall in? What key behaviors may apply to these areas?
II. Discuss whether
these results are realistic (10 points)
Does your experience confirm the SPR results and indicate to
you that the problems indicated are real and important? What is most important, and what domain needs
attention at this point?
III. Interpret the
findings (10 points)
Review the behavior examples for this critical domain. Describe where these behaviors were learned,
and what causes you to continue to be influenced by them. Then consider the self-improvement
suggestions for these behaviors. What
steps do you think should be taken to improve feelings and behaviors in this
area?
IV. Identify growth
plans and undertake a specific change strategy (10 points)
Describe a
focused behavioral strategy for change that you believe would work and that
appears attainable in the near term.
If there are certain issues that you would prefer not to
discuss, simply exclude them from your paper and focus on other events or
factors in the SPR.
Your assignments are due by Sunday, end of week three, 11:59
P.M. (MT). Submit your assignment to the Dropbox. The assignment is worth 40 points.
Week 4
Tabs For A Career Development Portfolio
CARD548 Career Success Strategies
The key to a Career Development Portfolio is to develop
material and order it in a manner that suits you. Whether in your computer or in a three ring
binder, the order and amount of material is really all about you. Make the development of that portfolio a
labor of love, and understand that it will be changing as your school
experience and your career develop. It
is always a work in progress.
Suggested Tabs:
• Current
goals
• Work
philosophy
• Results
of DISC Survey and written report
• SPR
(Stress Processing Report) and written report
• Samples
of key course outcomes and assignments
• List of
technical and life skills gained from each Keller course
• Personal
resume
• Work
Experience
• Journal
Notes from GM548
• Examples
of work experiences
• Examples
of volunteer and community service experiences
• Academic
plan of study at Keller
• List of
professional associations or memberships
• Networking
connections
• Interview
experiences
• Final
slide presentation in GM548
• List of
favorite web sites
• Personal
observations: (Late Night Thoughts While Listening to Mahler’s Ninth)
