Semester End

       I loved the way that our class was setup. I have taken so many large lecture courses with powerpoints and weekly homework that I am sick of that structure. This was a fresh new type of class structure that gave freedom to the students to express themselves and discuss with one another and the teacher. I think there should be a lot more classes setup in this fashion at the university. I don't take as much away from the class when it is taught in a giant lecture hall with powerpoints that have been used for ten years. I thought the class covered a good curriculum, and also had flexible boundaries, allowing us to explore surrounding topics as well. While there was only a small number of students in the class, I feel as if that only helped the discussion, because we started to feel comfortable talking in front of one  another. The group presentations were a nice change of pace as well. It allowed the instructor to evaluate our study of certain topics, and it made us get in front of the class and actually teach our peers. I thought that was a good way to evaluate us rather than giving us tests. I think tests are very structured, and a lot of teachers use tests as ways to evaluate students. I think this class was not setup for tests because the material was quite dense, and it is more beneficial to discuss these dense topics rather than cramming for a large test. The blogging was also very different than most classes, and I think it was rather effective. Not only did everyone blog about what the teacher came up with as a prompt, but we also commented on each others blog posts, allowing multiple ideas, and thoughts to come out in discussion. I would like to see more classes run in this fashion rather than the normal lecture and test routine.
       The course taught me a lot about organizations, and I think the last few chapters were some of the most important. Power and politics play a big role in corporate America, in and out of the office. Politics within the office is how you climb the ladder within the organization. If people like you in your office, you will be more likely to get promotions as long as you are doing a good job on your work. If people outside of the office like you, then they become possible associates and clients, which in turn leads to a better seat in your office. Networking is a lesson that I truly took away from this class. I have always used my resources when it comes to school, and work. Networking is how you get in contact with influential people, and influential people can obviously affect your life. Organizations in general, can be thought of as places where people work with one another, and battle for position with one another (jockey for position). An ecosystem forms where the organization as a whole competes and integrates itself with other organizations. I never really thought about organizations as a whole, especially not from an economic standpoint. I think the class offered up some great lessons that will better my work experience in the near future.

Students vs. University

I thought about this one for a long time, and I feel as if universities have power over students, but most decisions are focused around the general happiness of the students. What I mean is that the students are like the people of our country in the sense that we have a voice in decisions that matter or pertain to our university (country). University decisions are made with careful thought, and if the students do not support the decision, often times they protest or strike. With the economic downturn of recent years, universities across the country had to make cuts in their programs outside of academia. This is a decision that the university was forced into (no money = no program). While students don't have a voice in the matter when it comes to the cutting of a few programs, they do influence the decision in other ways. Generally, universities who are forced to cut programs look into which clubs or sports are most popular, or which programs draw the most focus from the students. These programs are the ones that stay, while the clubs and sports with very few members, or very few people attending events are usually scrapped. I think that the university and students work as a partnership in an indirect way. The students influence campus wide decisions, while the university implements programs and classes that students will both attend and enjoy. I don't think that the administration has ultimate power over the students, but I do believe that they have final say in most decisions on campus. If students wanted more power in these decisions, actions like petitioning, and gaining information about what the students on campus want might help their cause.

Leadership

I can only really think of one circumstance in which I empowered somebody to do something that would better themselves that I consider an important situation. My friend and teammate growing up was a great kid, but came from a tough family. A family who had a tough time supporting my friend, and a lot of the opportunities that I experienced, he could only dream of. Not only was he a hard worker, but he was one of my better friends too. When it came to senior year in high school we discussed what we were going to do for college and what not, and my friend told me that he had no intention of going because he was pretty sure that his parents could not afford it. I told him about student loans, or to look into the community college near our town. He did just that, and he ended up going to the community college for two years. Once he got to school, I urged him to tryout for the basketball team, and he did just that. He tried out, and not only did he make the team, but he became a starter in his first season. A kid that was never recruited heavily in high school became a starter on a community college team, and all of a sudden he was getting scouted by some decent teams in the Chicago land area.

After his two years were up at the community college, I urged my friend to look to play at a 4 year university, and finish up his bachelor's degree. Again, my words influenced, or "empowered" him to stay motivated, apply to different schools, stay and basketball shape, and ultimately land him a walk on spot at a pretty good school in the city. Friends really do have an empowering influence over one another, and there are certain situations (like the one I just described) that are great, and there are other situations where you have to just make your own decision. I know that if I had not pushed my friend to continue to fill out applications, continue playing ball, etc. that he would be working full time hours at some junky job, and now he has a much brighter future ahead of him. I never really thought about the whole situation, but it was actually quite beneficial for me as the friend to stand by and see that I made a difference in one of my closer friends lives. I don't think I was trying to persuade him through anything but sincere words, and beliefs, and I really think that plays  large part in empowering another person to do something.

Power

There have been many times in my life where I have encountered situations in which there was someone who had authority over me. Growing up in a great school district, I had many teachers that had authority over me. One that stands out in particular was my Varsity basketball coach and English teacher. The relationship we had was one based on respect, dedication, and hard work. He expected the best from me and because of his high expectations, I was able to produce quality work in the classroom and on the basketball court. I never felt that he abused his authority over me, but rather used it to motivate me to succeed. He knew that I respected him and his opinion, which made it easy for him to communicate with me as a student and a player. This relationship of coach-player was one that fostered my dedication and work ethic, because I was receiving feedback and advice from an authority figure that I trusted and respected. I do not think that authority figures can always have this kind of influence, because many figures of authority abuse their power, which creates a sense of animosity between the authority figure and their subordinate. My coach created a balance between his role as a coach and his role as a mentor. This created an extremely successful relationship that was based on a mutual respect. I feel that power can be handled differently from person to person, but I feel the way that my coach handled his power can relate to a business setting in the sense that power can be used as motivation, which can lead to increased output from the subordinate.

On this same team, I also had some power because I was named Captain of the basketball team my senior year of high school. This power was given to me by my coaches and surrounding teammates because they trusted my instincts and hoped that the other players would model their work ethic off of my own. From this source of power, I felt that I was motivated to achieve at a higher level in order to lead my team to a successful season. The team and my coaches counted on me to set a good example and work hard to bring our team to victory. I had some influence in the decisions being made for the team because my coaches valued my opinion. As previously mentioned, I had a great relationship with my coaches and we opened the lines of communication so that I knew they valued what I had to say. My opinion was considered when determining the skills that needed to be worked on, as well as our game time strategy. I reacted positively to the role I was placed in and believe that I thrived as a Captain. It is always nice to be given some power and feel that you have some impact on the outcome of a situation or in this game, the outcome of a game.

Working in Groups

       Ever since I came to college I have enjoyed group projects in classes, because not only is the workload shared between a few different people in a group, but also because if one person struggles with a certain topic, your teammates are there to guide this struggling person. I had never really had a problem with a group project up until my sophomore year. I do remember that it was an economics course, and the project was a bit extensive, but I can't remember what class it was specifically. In any case, our class was broken down into teams of three, because it was a pretty small lecture, and numbers broke down easiest in threes. Our teacher assigned the teams, which is not usually the case. In most of my other courses who use group projects as a tool for learning, our teachers usually give us, the students, the freedom to select our own teams. He announced our team numbers, and then at the end of the class he said we had five minutes to meet with our team and discuss our presentations. I walked around the class looking for my team, and after a bit of looking I found them. One of the students was a foreign exchange student from Japan, and the other one was a student who I had never seen in class before (I assume this was the first lecture he had come to because the syllabus specifically stated that groups would be formed on the current date). We got to talking, and it was extremely difficult to understand the student from Japan, while the other kid had no idea what our topic was. Not only was it hard to communicate with my teammates in our first five minutes, but it was hard throughout the entire project. I attempted to e-mail my two teammates, waited a day or two, no response. Our next lecture I pulled them aside and said we should meet at the UGL at this time, on this day. They both agreed, and we took down each others phone numbers. Turns out, the foreign exchange student shows up, and the other kid does not. The foreign exchange student and I struggle to graze over the easiest of our subjects, and after an hour or so of tough communication, I assigned him a certain part, and I took the other. Within an hour I had made slides for my portion, and so I looked over at my teammate, and he was on Facebook writing something in Japanese to some girl. The group project quickly became a project that was left in my hands, and so I finished the whole thing on my own. I sent the powerpoint to my teammates and hoped that they would look over it before the presentation the following day. This time, the foreign exchange student doesn't show, and the other kid does. Personally, this was one of the most frustrating group project experiences that I could think of, and it led to a very poor grade.
       A story to oppose that strenuous first story would be a group project that ran smoothly, which in turn led to an A grade. Like I mentioned earlier, a lot of my teachers who use group projects for grading purposes usually allow the students to pick their own groups. A couple friends and I decided to take an elective course together, and a couple of weeks into the semester we were asked to form teams for group projects. My friends and I teamed up and worked perfectly together. We only had to meet one time, the communication in our group was excellent. We each took a portion of the project, finished each part in about an hour or so, and then we added each of our parts together and created our overall presentation. We went a little above and beyond with a funny video that was relative to our topic, as well as a little skit that we performed  in front of the class. The presentation went very well, and we got out A that we were really looking for.
       The thing about working in groups is that some people like it, and others like to work alone. For me, when working with people I know and trust, I really enjoy group work. If I am working with people I don't know, I still think group projects can be fun and effective as long as my teammates put forth effort, and maintain communication throughout. These examples both correlate to the business world, because a lot of tasks in corporate America require teams and groups to take care of them. Creating bonds with co-workers is a huge part of the longevity of your career at a certain place. If people in the office like you, and you work hard, there is a very low chance that you will lose your job, and most times, you will be rewarded for your good work (In examples the A grade vs. the bad grade) through a raise, or a promotion.

Employment During Downturn

       While the recession, or downturn negatively affected millions of people nation wide, many people maintained, or flourished in these bad times. I have three examples that play out different scenarios during the recession, and I feel as if they all led to good things in the present. It was extremely hard to find a job that met the requirements that many employees were looking for during this period. The economy and job market was so unstable and unpredictable that a safe and stable job was what everyone was looking for. With that being the case, there was so much demand for jobs that positions became quite difficult to find.
       One of my good friends dads was laid off during the recession, and it changed the entire dynamic of their family. The house that I used to enjoy to go to became a somewhat depressing place to be. There were arguments quite frequently, and everyone was just moody when I was there. I talked to my parents about what was going on there, and they told me that he got laid off, and that their family was having a really tough time dealing with the situation at hand. It is understandable, because he had a great job for years and years, but the company just had to make cuts and let him go. Everything in life has some relation to money, so all of their decisions became a little bit harder, especially because this family had two kids in college at the time. It becomes hard because this family was so comfortable for the entire time that I have known them, and all of a sudden student loans become a realistic decision, which is something that I know my friends dad did not want to force on his kids. It's tough to see someone close affected by something like this, because it wasn't his fault, and he had no say in the matter. After a couple of years of struggle, he finally found a stable job, and the family that I once knew and loved, started to bounce back from their downturn.
       The second scenario that I want to touch on is the idea of maintaining some stable job during this recession. My father did just that, but was stressed out and annoyed with all of the adjustments that he had to deal with. He had a group of workers who worked underneath him in various situations, and he was advised by his boss to let some of them go. So my dad had to let go guys that he had become very close with over time, and he had to keep the ones that produced the best work. Needless to say, firing one of your friends and coworkers is a tough thing to do, and the stress of this situation led to my father having a heart attack. My dad survived the attack and had a procedure to unclog over stressed arteries. While my father pushed through the bad time and maintained his pay, while supporting our family, he pushed back his emotions. Just recently, he quit his job with his previous employer, and took a job with a different employer, because he was sick of the stresses that came with his old job. Not only is his new job better, but it is also closer to where we live, so the bad situation that he once had to deal with became blessing in disguise.
       The third scenario deals with the idea of owning your own business during a recession. My best friend's dad owns his own investment firm in Chicago, and he didn't take hit at all over this period. I believe this has to do with the close ties that his company forms with all of their clients and partners. The company literally feels like a family, and the recession did little to take anything away from that feeling. I do not know too much about their financial maneuvers and such, I do know that my friend's dad has been doing quite well, and it seems as if the recession was a non factor for him.

Incentives

       There incentives all over the place when it comes to making personal life decisions, but one of my personal experiences that I have with incentives relates to one of my former jobs when I was younger. From age thirteen until age eighteen, all of my personal money came from refereeing soccer games. A first year referee in the area that I live in gets paid around twelve dollars for a "house" recreational league match. There is incentive to continue your refereeing career past year one to gain the option of refereeing travel matches (these matches paid eighteen dollars, and were only ten minutes longer than the house matches). The next incentive was the three year pay increase. After being a referee for three years you become a senior referee, which allows you to become a head referee, rather than just a sideline referee. This bump up in position also came with a bump in pay, so a house match paid twenty dollars, and a travel match paid twenty five. Basically, incentives of money or salary made it much easier to continue working as a referee rather than finding another job. The other incentive that this situation relates to is the idea that the incentive to climb the "job ladder" within a company can really affect performance.
       When discussing incentives in regards to school, the type of class that I think of would be a large lecture course that does not monitor attendance. Many students (inlcuding myself) can be lazy from time to time, so a class that does not monitor attendance could lead to absences from class. Right there, the incentive to sleep, rather than listen to a lecture might cause you to miss class on a repeated basis. What I have found out is that these types of classes are really not beneficial to students who skip class because the whole process of the class is thrown out. What I mean by that is students are supposed to attend lecture, listen, process, and attempt to comprehend what the professor speaks about. If as a student you decide to miss class, you miss out on this process, and will likely attempt to cram before tests and get by like that. This might lead to a worse grade than you could have possibly received had you attended lecture more often. So in essence, a student who has no reason to attend class, may not. If this student decides not to attend class on a regular basis, he/she might struggle. Incentives are important in keeping people in check, or doing what they are supposed to do. In this case some sort of monitoring of attendance would lead to an incentive for students to attend lecture, which in turn would lead to better grades (incentives guarantee performance).
       When it comes to school and risk aversion, I think getting things done early reduces risk for me as a student. I can procrastinate from time to time, but I have made a concious effort to get homework and studying done early, rather than waiting until the last minute to do so. My performance usually suffers when I wait until the last minute to get things done, so I have incentive to avoid risk and uncertainty by taking care of business early. Another example that I can think of where I attempt to avoid uncertainty and risk in regards to school is when I keep up to date with class materials on a regular basis rather than having to catch up later in the semester. Cramming before tests leads to bad grades for me, and I find that by keeping up to date in my classes makes my performance better, as well as my grades.

Opportunism vs. "Good Citizen"

       The main economic tie to this prompt seems to be the idea of opportunism vs. some sort of moral decision. Humans behave opportunistically when there is something of high value to be gained. Other factors that are considered when acting opportunistically are risks, future possibilities, changes, etc. Opportunism is all over the place, but a lot of examples occur in the workplace. The article about Target and their idea to funnel pregnant women into Target stores during pregnancy is one way of taking advantage of managerial opportunism. Companies are provided with a wide variety of information about the customers, and it is up to the corporate workers to figure out a formula to get more customers in their stores. While it is a pretty smart strategy to target pregnant women, in hopes of gaining lifetime relations with the family, I think it is a little bit shady to be analyzing personal information like that. Privacy is a huge part of America, we have the right to our own private life, and no one should be able to access all of the information discussed in the Target article. This is where the "good citizen" side of the story comes into play.
      How these corporations obtain all of this information about their customers is beyond me, but just the idea of targeting pregnant women for the benefit of making more money for your company sounds a bit out of line to me. A pregnant woman does not want to come out of labor and be bombarded with flyer after flyer about where she should shop, or who is giving the best specials to her, she wants to be with her new born child, and all of the outside pressure is not necessary. This is where a corporate worker who looks into these statistics and comes up with these plans to reel in customers has to weigh his/her options. Do I go through with pressuring the pregnant women of our country into shopping in our stores? Or do I be the good citizen, and miss out on a big bump in revenue for my company, and possibly a raise from my current position to something a bit more prestigious? Big businesses survive on making the opportunistic decision over and over again. Any advantage one company can get over its competition is something that will not only reward the company, but the individual as well.
       An example where cooperation led to sharing in a personal academic experience usually has to do with some sort of a group situation. In classes where group projects or group presentations are required, there is often times cooperation amongst the group. There is usually a leader who offers up opinions and such, and once he/she begins feeding the group with information, the group begins to reciprocate and share information as well. An example that I can think of where there was opportunism involved with sharing in an academic setting was when I had missed a couple of classes, and therefore missed out on some notes, so I decided to ask someone in my group for their notes to copy. The opportunism comes into play because by obtaining these notes, I was bettering my chances of receiving a higher score on my test. The student that I asked knew 100% that the test was curved, and so by giving me the notes, she could have possibly hurt her overall grade had I done very good on the test and set a high curve. However, because we had been cooperating in a group, and sharing information with one another all semester, she decided to be a "good citizen," and she gave me her notes.
       With opportunism comes risk and reward, and ultimately the decision that one comes to depends on which of the two weighs more in the end.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

       I have heard this expression over and over again in my life. I feel as if it is a building block in life, and I definitely feel as if parents use it to sculpt their children. For example, when I was young I used to say I would do something, but whether I got around to actually doing it or not was another story. What I mean is, anyone can say that they are going to do something, but those words only count once you actually perform the action that you said you would. The fact of the matter is, what you do is much more important than what you say.
       I can think of tons of examples of this that happen every day, all across the world. The first example that pops in my head when I think of this phrase has to deal with addictions. Alcoholics, or drug users often times lose their jobs, or lose their family due to their problem. In many of these situations the user decides that it is time to make a change, and to fight off the addiction. Now, we have all seen movies, when a druggy or alcoholic says the words, "I'm going to get clean," or, "I'm going to go to rehab," what does that usually mean? It means that the person has thought about the damage that the particular substance has done to their life, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they are willing to give it up. In many cases drug users say that they are going to get clean, but unless they are facing some sort of punishment they will not give up their addiction. An action that would definitely speak louder than words would be if a drug user or alcoholic made it through a rehabilitation program and completely sobered up rather than just saying that he/she would.
       Another example of actions speaking louder than words has to do with love, and how you show it. A guy might tell his girlfriend that he loves her, but in their relationship he does not treat her well at all. Does he actually love her? No, he is just telling her what she wants to hear. An action that speaks louder than the words, "I love you." would be a proposal, which would most likely be accompanied by the words, "I love you." There are many ways to show someone that you care about them without actually telling them. Inadvertent communication comes into play in a scenario where one person recognizes the care and love that another has for them, just by the way they look at him/her. The message of, "I love you," comes through the way one looks at another when they actually mean it. Another expression used commonly explains this situation, "It is written all over your face." Communication is a very complicated subject to fully grasp, but it is also very interesting to discuss and study. Actions will always speak louder than words for the sole reason that anyone can go around saying that they are going to do something, or saying that they believe something, but not anyone can go around and actually act on their words. I could say I was going to go out and find a great job, but whether I go do that or not is what will affect my life in the long run.

Illinibucks

       Registering for classes can be a very stressful time for a student because of the large population of students fighting for a limited number of seats per class. In other words, positions in certain classes are difficult to come by due to the 1. Popularity of the course 2. Small number of enrollments allowed 3. Seats reserved for major. Now, if the university decided to create a type of money and call it an, "Illinibuck" and allow the students to use these bucks to bypass the limitations of registration, there might be even more demand for these popular classes. The campus would have to come up with a price to put on these "Illinibucks" because they could be very useful to the students. There are a lot of lazy students out there who want to do the bare minimum to get by. Not only do they want to enroll in the easiest classes, but they do not want to sit around and wait until an opening in a class opens up for them to enroll. The way I see it is there are 2 different types of students, with a group that blends with both groups. There are students on campus who are here to gain a better education, and to have a good time while doing it. There is a second group of students who came to this university to learn, learn, learn. I already explained the use that the first group could get out of the Illinibuck, but the second group I mentioned could also use them. For instance, a student who is really committed to bettering their lives by taking extremely difficult courses, that prepare the student for the real world. A student like this may be majoring in engineering, or double majoring in finance and accounting. Whatever the case may be, this student will most likely have an agenda of what classes they must take each semester in order to graduate. An Illinibuck might come in handy if this student couldn't enroll in a class that he/she needed in order to graduate. An Illinibuck would give this student the opportunity to jump ahead of the others who signed up for this class, and in turn, allow this student to have a seat in the class. I think there would be a high demand for these Illinibucks on campus.
       If it were me personally, I would definitely use these Illinibucks to get into certain GenEd courses that fill up entirely too quickly. I have been trying to take FSHN 120 since I got on campus as a freshman, however every time I attempt to register the class is always full. In my case, I got through my four years without Illinibucks so with that knowledge, if I were to take more classes, I would have a low demand for the product. However, an incoming freshman who does not know the system of registering here at the university might demand Illinibucks highly.
       If Illinibucks were priced too high, many students would avoid purchasing them, and registration and events of similar nature would go on as they do today. On the other hand, if Illinibucks were priced too low, students would purchase them left and right. The students would definitely take advantage of the low price to better their schedule each and every semester. This might in turn cause chaos with advisors, because of the high number of students using Illinibucks to jump to the front of registration lines. Confusion could definitely ensue.

Opportunism

       Taking advantage of a situation to better yourself is how I would define opportunism. However like our topic for the week says, opportunism can in turn be unethical. For instance, students all over the country have the opportunity to attend school, and while at school we students must take tests. Test taking can be very strenuous for a lot of people, whether it be the studying and preparation stages of the process, or the actual test itself, a lot of students become rather nervous. A lot of the times, we students are in class rooms where there is very little room, and students are packed into the few seats available. My example of "opportunism vs. ethical decisions" is in regard to test taking and cheating. Students know that if they took a quick glance at the paper next to them, that it could benefit them by getting an answer on the test from someone else. However, the idea of cheating and it's consequences have been instilled in students minds for years and years, and that is what makes people weary to glance right or left. Not to mention the fact that  cheating on a test is really just cheating yourself. How can you feel right about receiving an A on a test that you cheated on? That wasn't your work, so you shouldn't be rewarded. Moral of the story, students are given the opportunity to cheat and possibly benefit their grades, but most students understand that cheating is unethical, and therefore do not do it. This is how the schooling system lives on.
       An example of an opportunistic situation is at a company function where there is limited food for company employees. There were times this summer where I was sitting at my desk in the office just thinking about lunch and how starving I was. When I went out to lunch with my coworkers and paid for my own lunch, I ate as much as I wanted, or until I was full and satisfied. However, when we had a company picnic, or a company lunch-in I knew that there was not unlimited food, and I knew that a lot of employees would still need to get food. So, even if I was hungrier than ever before, I would take an average sized plate so as to leave enough food for everyone. Moral of the story is that I was offered the opportunity to eat whatever I wanted, and however much I wanted when my boss said, "Eat as much as you'd like." Instead of filling my plate, I decided to be a "good citizen," and cut back on my portions a little bit.
       In conclusion, there are a lot of reasons why people avoid being opportunistic in certain situations. It is not always beneficial to better yourself, because a lot of the times someone else is getting hurt by your choice. Also, a lot of opportunities come with a moral/ethical decision, and in some situations (like cheating) it is better to avoid the temptation of giving in to the opportunity.

Transaction Costs

       A transaction cost is basically just the cost for each party in an economic, or financial exchange. While growing up I never really understood how many costs that there are involved in an every day setting. I was used to my parents buying me meals, my clothes, etc. I started to realized that my parents were not going to support me forever when I got into a car accident in high school. First, my parents made sure that I wasn't injured or anything, but their very next statement is what made things very clear to me, "Do you realize that your insurance is going to go up?" At the time, that question really didn't register, so I waited for their next statement, "You are paying for any damage that insurance doesn't cover out of your own wallet." By this time I did have a job, but it was only on the weekends, and I really didn't have too much money saved. The damage came out to around $1500, all of which I had to pay. From then on, I started to appreciate money a little bit more.
       The next time that transaction costs started to affect my life was when I first set foot on campus here at the University of Illinois. I came to school with a lot of money saved from various jobs that I had in my high school career. The amount of money in my bank was more than I had ever possessed, and for that reason I was pretty comfortable that it would last me throughout the year. Little did I know that groceries only last a couple of weeks at a time, eating out is quite expensive, and not to mention, socializing can be extremely pricey as well. My funds started to trickle away as the semester went on. Each large transaction that I made at school was followed by a call from my dad saying something along the lines of, "How did you spend a hundred dollars at Wal-Mart?" My main point that I am trying to make here is that it costs a lot of money to live. Necessities start to mix with wants, and that is when transaction costs become more and more difficult to deal with.
       This week in class we had some very interesting discussions, not only about rules of the class, but also about the structure of organizations, and the balance of powers between different employees within a certain company. I found the discussion about corporate America to be very interesting because I worked in an office that showed chain of command very well. Each person had their responsibilities, some people having more than others, and some people having more important responsibilities than others. That is how an organization is made to function fluently, and smoothly. There is a top tier level of employees (CEO, CFO, President, Vice President) then their is a middle tier of employees (Accounts Recievable, Sales, Controller, Marketing, etc.) and finally their are lower tier employees and interns. The difference in pay between each job title is different for every company, because some companies create more revenue than others, some companies are publicly traded, etc. I think that these types of real life business conversations will benefit all of the students in our class when we venture out into the corporate world. We touched on entrepreneurship for a little bit in class as well, and I am excited to look into that subject further as our class moves along.

Experiences with Organizations

     This class seemed rather interesting to me because I am an economics major, and it is my senior year at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. What that means is that I am working as hard as I possibly can to find a job once I graduate in May. Most of the companies that I have applied to, or the companies that I am looking to apply to, are large organizations. I think that by taking this course I will gain insight as to how exactly these large companies function, how they profit, etc. Basically, I think this class will show how an organization stays on top of every detail within the company, how each employee has a different task, or a different piece of the puzzle, and that when each employee is given incentives from the company, how well most employees respond, and function as one. 

     I wouldn't say I am overly experienced when it comes to knowing the process behind a successful organization, but for the past two summers I have interned at a pretty large publicly traded company. The company that I worked for is called CTI Industries, and I worked in the accounting unit at one of their branches in Lake Barrington, Illinois. I definitely gained some insight into the corporate world, because day in and day out I worked with the same people, and started to see how each one coincided with the next employee. While some employees are being paid more than others, and their position may be higher than someone else, I felt as if each person contributed in an orderly and even fashion. What I mean by this is that I saw a team of employees rather than a bunch of individuals. Every morning the controller and I did consolidations together, every afternoon accounts receivable was on the phone looking for payments, and at the same time the CFO was in meetings with future customers, etc. It was quite an enlightening experience, and I feel as if I really did learn a lot.

     When I was looking at the selection of economics courses for the spring semester, I tried to look at the classes that would most benefit me in my future. This class stood out over the rest, because I know I will be able to take what I learn and use it in my hunt for a job, and once I find a career. It will be very nice to get to know all of what happens within a company that most people never get to see. The part of the class that I look forward to most is the general idea of entrepreneurship, solely because my best friends father opened up a golf and fitness facility that is now very popular, and quite successful, and by doing so he has influenced me in the sense that I now see that opening a company is possible. What I am interested in is how do you create a company that is both productive, and profitable. There are so many questions that go along with my last sentence; What incentives should employees be given? Who can you trust to manage your company? How do you get people to gain interest in your company? I just added this class so I have yet to attend a lecture, but I look forward to our discussion come Tuesday.

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