The End

     MCOM 320 has been a great journey.  This will be my last blog post for the class!  Who knew how much you could learn in one semester.  Of everything I have learned in MCOM 320, the most important thing I will take away is the importance of credibility in the business world.  Everything I learned in class has helped me increase my credibility to peers, future employers, etc.  A lack of credibility is a risk I am not willing to take.  When a career is on the line, I will try to be the most credible person for the job.  This way I can ensure my future, and receive the job I want.  With credibility in mind, I will be sure to use every principle I can from MCOM 320 in the business world.  In writing, interviews, and presentations I will use my MCOM 320 principles to boost my credibility and impress my audience.

What is credibility?

Please take a survey to help me understand how important credibility is to the public.

Team Planning

This week in MCOM 320 we started our Case Analysis with our teams.  This assignment has a lot of parts that need to be done.  We have had to plan very well in order meet the deadline for the assignment.  We have set inter-team deadlines in order to be able to finish the project on time.  The importance of team planning in this situation and others is vital for efficiency.  If a company does not plan well as a team, their projects will not get done in a timely manner.  When a team is planning well they are coming close to complete efficiency.  I will try to always develop good team planning skills with my teams.  This way I will do well in school and in the work force.  With my weapon of team planning, my co-workers and I will have the advantage over other companies' teams.  This will also increase the efficiency of the company I will work for as well.

Online Meeting

I had my first online meeting with my team the Fab Four.  We used Google Plus.  It worked quite well.  It is amazing that we can have a meeting without even being together physically.  We were also able to through some documents up to share with each other.  This is very effective to show what you are actually talking about.  What I did not like about the online meeting is the constant changing of camera view.  It would be nice to have three bigger screens in front of me showing each face and never having the main screen change.  That way I can constantly see the faces of my group.  Despite this drawback, having a meeting online is a very effective way to meet with a team or group when it is difficult to meet together physically.  I will use online meetings more often to have more frequent meetings with my future groups as opposed to having infrequent personal meetings.

Penguin Posh

     Penguin Posh did a great job on their presentation.  Their presentation broke the routine of the my class's lecture style of presentations.  Penguin Posh involved the audience in the presentation which kept my attention the entire time.  They played a sort of game where we, the class, had to try to diagnose and solve one of the team members problems using the steps described in the WSB reading.  This different presentation will help me remember the process of diagnosing and solving a problem.
     Penguin Posh has helped me see the importance of creativity.  Due to their creativity, I was more interested in their presentation and actually learned more.  I am not the most creative person out there, but Penguin Posh has inspired me to be more creative in not only my presentations but my life.  I need to stretch my mind and learn in new ways.  This will better me as a person and a MCOM 320 student.

WSB 5 Presentation

     This last week my team, the Fab Four, was able to present chapter five out of our textbook for MCOM 320.  For our first time presenting together, I thought we did a great job.  Overall, our best attribute in the presentation was our volume.  People commented on it multiple times.  Also, listening to the presentation after the fact, I could hear our booming voices.  This allows our audience to easily hear us and not get distracted in figuring out what we are trying to say.  One area we need to work on is our off the spotlight stances.  I felt like we were either statues or swaying trees in the wind.  I am not totally sure of the correct stance or posture to have while someone else is talking, but I think my team and I can learn and make that a better part of our presentation.

   Personally, I thought I did well in the presentation.  On goreact.com, I was able to watch myself.  This is always weird to watch and hear yourself.  One thing I can improve on is my hand gestures.  I used my hands, but a lot of the time I brought them into "home base."  I would clasp them in front of me.  I need to keep my hands moving and not distract the audience with my "home base."  Two things I did well are (1) I kept a good pace with my speaking and (2) I used my hands well when they were not at "home base."

Research

     This week in MCOM 320 we had the opportunity to receive a presentation on conducting research on the internet.  Leticia Camacho, the management and accounting librarian, showed us how to effectively perform our research.  The databases that she showed us the university has for us are amazing.  Leticia showed us special formulas we can use to refine our searches and a lot of features that the school databases offer.  I usually take hours to perform all the research I need to write my papers.  Using Leticia's guidance and tips for research, I was able to get all of the articles I needed in 45 minutes.  I now believe in Leticia's principles and will use them not only in my briefing article for MCOM 320 but in my research papers as well.

Online Interview

     Tonight I was able to practice being interviewed online.  It was a different experience looking at a virtual interviewer rather than a real person.  It was hard for me to act like I was in a formal interview.  I was finding myself looking at the interviewer's picture rather than the camera, so I had to move the face right in front of the camera.  This was my first time to actually do a virtual interview

Corinne gave me some great feed back on what I needed to do better and what I did well.  She pointed out that I needed to explain foreign words, especially those related to my mission.  I didn't realize that. Sometimes I assume everyone knows what a zone is and a zone leader.  She also said I was very well prepared with PAR stories and maintained great eye contact.  I will take this advice and improve my interviewing experience.

Corinne Morrison 5 Excellent employer.