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.