HDF 290

 

Retreat Reflection

In the begining of the semester I participated in the HDF 290 Day Retreat in the Memorial Union. I enjoyed it more than I expected to be honest, and I feel as though it gave me a special bond with my classmates, that I wouldn't have had. To me, ethical leadership is where a leader uses his or her own code of ethics as a guide and/or reference while he/she leads. It is completely subjective, and although we all have our own unique code of ethics, we should be mindful of others as well. I also think that there is a standard code of ethics, that everyone possesses on top of their own, which should also be taken into consideration by the leader. As I look at the up and coming leadership inventory assignment, I feel very overwhelmed, but I know that it is doable. A lot of the leadership theories I know will be covered in this class, so that will take up a huge chunk of my 30 required outcomes. I have to say, I enjoyed the final group challenge, and I was surprised at how close we actually got to duplicating the PVC pipe model. I was surprised we all had developed a mutal understanding that stomping meant no and clapping meant yes, without dictating it before hand. It showed me that given a task or challenge, a group of strangers can come together and solve it (even without talking).  

 

SB/LP/CS Unit Reflection

In HDF 290 we went over the SB/LP/CS Unit. This unit covered small businesses, local politics, and local community service organizations. For this unit, we went over small business/entrepreneurship issues, as well as how to make them work. We had a few guest speakers from around the state, as well as writing a paper about a small business owner we knew, and presenting it to the class. For my paper I chose to write about Sandra Sweet, my boss, and co-founder of Coastal Quick Tennis. I enjoyed learning about the other students various connections as well. I enjoyed hearing the guest speaker's experiences, although I didn't really feel as though the woman who was an herbalife representative fit that well with the other ladies, who had started their own buisness from the ground up. I have done a fairly decent amount on herbalife, and when she was speaking if I didn't ask, I don't think she was going to bring up that she worked under them, which of course is know as one of the most popular pyramid schemes. So although she did open her own "nutrition bar", she is employed by someone and working for a very large corperation, which is very different than starting a buisness from the ground up. I did enjoy hearing the tips from the women and hope to someday apply it. My favorite part was the presentations (I'm a PR major, I love presenting). I feel as though my stregnthsquest lead trait competiton, fits best with this unit. When starting a small business, you are competing with every existing buisness around you, in all aspects: prices, customers, marketing etc. 

 

Education Unit Reflection

In HDF 290 we went over the Education Unit. In this unit we went over different laws that were passed about education over the years, making a human timeline. This was effective in showing us how drastically things have changed in regard to education. After that, we were each to pick a topic that was either discussed by another student, or not discussed at all, and present to the class an informational speech. I chose to do my presentation on the Ladd School in Exeter, RI. I was very excited to present on this topic because it is something that interests me very much. I thought that also having Dr. Thomas Dougan come and speak with us was extremely fun and informational. I enjoyed his imput on the school's riot history as well as his own personal experiences of standing up for what he believes in. He is a very funny and entertaining man. I think this unit best reflected my strengthsquest trait of context. Context is looking to the past to learn from it and move forward, and improve upon things to make sure we do not work backwards. This was prevelant when doing the historically accurate informational speech as well as the timeline. 

 

Family Unit Reflection

In HDF 290 we went over the Family Unit. In this unit, we had some guest speakers who work for the school who came to talk about their family life. One was a traditional marriage, one had been married three times, and one was recently married with no kids. I enjoyed hearing about all of their different experiences, and I feel as though we can learn vicariously through them and avoid some of the mistakes they had made. In this unit we also did a few case studies, and learned how to write as a consultant being completely unbiased and using only the facts. I feel as though this utilized my Input strengthsquest trait the most, because I was able to input my advice, and also recieve some information that could be used at a later time. My favorite part was by far the guest speakers. Their little anecdotes made the class lively and fun, while also being informational at the same time. 

 

Inclusion Unit Reflection

In HDF 290 we went over the Inclusion Unit. In this unit, we did a few workplace case studies, and learned how to write as a consultant being completely unbiased and using only the facts. I feel as though this utilized my Input strengthsquest trait the most, because I was able to input my advice, and also recieve some information that could be used at a later time. We also looked at the hiring process and how to be unbiased during that as well, which we had a fun time doing, splitting the class up and such. I feel as though I learned the most from this unit because it will probably be the most pertanant to my future career. 

 

Final Reflection

I had a great experience with HDF 290. I've made friends with all types of people, and got to meet a lot more people in greek life like myself. I enjoyed broadening my horizons and learning about all walks of life, and their certain situations, whether it was in the workplace, school, family life etc. I think out of all the Leadership Theories we learned, Management by Objectives, stands out the most to me. I was instructed to give a small presentation on Management by Objectives to the class, and also create a helpful worksheet. Management by Objectives is a management model made to improve the performance of a company by defining objectives that are agreed upon. Peter Drucker invented this theory in 1954. Management by Objective is where the employees of a company are required to send in goals to their employer, whether it is monthly, weekly, quarterly, yearly, etc. so the employer can monitor the employees work and keep them on task. Most employers offer incentives, such as a bonus, pay raise, or promotion if the employee completes the goals and objectives given to the employer. (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/management-by-objectives.asp). I feel as though if I am every the boss of a company, I will indefinitely apply this to my future workplace. After completing my 30 outcomes of the leadership inventory, I realized how much I've accomplished in the short two years I have been at URI. Documenting all of it made it more real, and more tangible to me than it ever was before. I'm proud of what I've accomplished and cannot wait to see what the next two years hold in this minor.