The Water Cooler

The water cooler has long been a topic of debate.  Some managers seem to think that it has a negative effect on productivity or the bottom line.  I like many love to "chat around the water cooler" with fellow employees and even management.  It seems to me that managers in my old job were more okay with side chat when they were involved in the conversations.  On the other hand, if employees were talking amongst themselves it was seen as less productive.  This is something that I have found to be not so true.  As the following link shows, a professor at Arizona State University agrees.  Here is the link.  The article talks about how managers should encourage the interactions between coworkers.  He says that it is more important to employees to have a good working relationship with the coworkers closest to you than it is to have financial rewards or to like the company that you work for.  I agree with this because it is the daily interactions that take the biggest toll on your stress.  The author also makes the comment that it is hard to put a worker in this management position if they do not have proper coaching and training.  I also understand that you can not put all to much focus on this idea.  Too much time spent talking over the coffee maker or water cooler can lead to a lack of productivity.  This boils down to a basic idea that is used everywhere.  "Everything comes in moderation"

What I learned this Friday

This weekend was a rather enlightening one.  I started my Friday evening at the Kutztown Tavern.  Normally this would just be an hour or two having a beer with some friends.  What made this Friday different is that I decided to dive head first into the world of spicy food.  I was considering trying the Tavern's Ghost Pepper Wings.  When I opened my menu I found a whole new level of spice.  They are called Grim Reaper Wings.  The Ghost Pepper Wings are basted in a sauce that has a honey base.  These wings are known to be hot.  I was originally considering these.  Ghost peppers are the hottest pepper that you can grow.  They are more commonly known as Jolokia.  Well the Grim Reaper Wings are not made from a honey base.  They are made from a ghost pepper base.  These wings are so spicy that the Tavern requires you to sign a waiver saying that I understand that I am eating this and that I know it can cause skin damage and not to get it in my eyes etcetera etcetera.  Now, some if not many of you are probably thinking that I am crazy and probably stupid for doing this.  Well let me tell you, your right.  It was a crazy impulsive thing to do, but it was definitely worth it.  The reactions I had to these wings ranged from a rather upset stomach to a burn in my mouth that lasted about 20 minutes after I finished eating.  ind you this is after eating just 10 of these wings.  I would caution anyone to take part in something like this.  As was stated in the waiver I signed.  If I was to offer anyone any of those wings or any of the sauce that I would have to warn them about how dangerous it could be.  Well, I just thought I would share a bit of advice to anyone who may have seen or thought about Ghost Peppers, Jolokia or spicy tavern wings. On the other hand you should definitely go down and enjoy a drink and a meal at the Kutztown Tavern because it really is a great place to eat.

The second blog of the week

As I sit here in the library I am finding it slightly difficult to wrote this blog.  I have had the page open for a while and could not think of a topic so I decided to just start writing.  I am sure that my lack of a blog idea is partially related to the fact that I am sitting here with friends.  Another part of this inability to write a blog is because I just spent three hours looking at an operations management test that probably went pretty bad.  At least in that regard I do not feel alone.  As I was taking the test I did the usual glance around the room to see what others where thinking.  It seemed pretty unanimous that no one really knew.  There wasn't even that usual person in the class that always knows everything.  This was slightly reassuring.  Still as I sit here blogging away about nothing I have decided that I should at least leave whoever it is that is reading this something worthwhile.  As I was looking for something that would be inspiring I came across a quote from my favorite Dr. Seuss book "Oh, the Places You'll Go".
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go."

Here is the link to the site I found this quote and many more from various people.

Goal Setting

It is almost half way through the semester and its about time for evaluations at the office.  One of the biggest topics of discussion seems to be goal setting.  I started thinking about this last week.  I am not sure what my true thoughts are about goals and how useful they are.  I pose this question to everyone: is it OK to go through life with no long term goals?  Is it frowned upon in the business world not to have long term goals?  A few of my friends have made comments.  They said that vague long term goals are good to keep you on track.  The best piece of advice I got was to keep a few short term goals.  This way they are able to be accomplished and with less time means less chance of unpredictable twists and turns.  The best long term goals are goals that you are truly passionate about.  This is why I started this entry.  I am not sure what I am truly passionate about.  My interests seem to change to often.  Basically I guess I don't know how to go into an evaluation if I don't have long term goals.  Is it OK to say that I don't want to have long term goals and that I would rather just take life as it comes?  I found this link about goal setting and found it to be pretty interesting.  I'm not sure how I will go into this evaluation but I'm thinking that this will be a good topic of conversation with my supervisors.

Procrastination

I, like many on this college campus and around the world have this undesirable attribute known as procrastination.  I tend to like to wait until the night before something is due to work on it.  Or on the rare occasion I will finish an assignment the day or even the hour it is due.  For example, this post is due in 1 hour and 12 minutes.  I find that I do this for a few reasons.  One being that I get easily side tracked.  Like now, I am sitting in the library and no one is around and yet I can't help but to look around me to see if something does happen.  I want to be the first to know if something changes around me if it will be more interesting than what I am doing.  This is why I am still working on the RL Wolfe case study.  I, like others, found the holiday to be just another day to sit around and watch TV instead of work on the three case studies that I have due this week.  This also reflects on some of my fellow classmates blogs.  I tend to find a lot of time to do things that I enjoy and push off things that I don't.  I can't imagine what it would be like for me if I had to work a 40 hour week and raise children like so many of you do.  I must take a quick moment to commend all of the parents in this class who have the time for so many things.  I guess that is part of why I chose to go directly into my MBA right out of my undergraduate degree.  That and the fact that I had very little interest in getting into the real world and the economy didn't help.  Which is interesting because I just remembered how I used to like working over the summers because I would be spending so much time working and getting paid and didn't have to think about work when I left.  Yet when the actual task of getting a job and accepting the real world comes, I fight tooth and nail to keep it at bay.  I really hope this changes once I get my masters and go to find a job in the real world, advertising if possible.  Well I guess I have bored everyone sufficiently.  Just so you know, only 1 hour and 2 minutes before these are due.  Back to my original topic though, procrastination is a bit of a detriment usually but sometimes it gives me the added time I need to get away from something so that when I return I have a clearer mind to be able to complete the task better.  Other times its just a big waste of time.  One hour left!!!!

Work place unity

I was talking to my supervisor right before I left today. He is going to be in the golf outing tomorrow that is being hosted by the accounting club.  Him along with at least two other coworkers will be in this outing.  It brought me back to when we had a few of our own SBDC outings.  We liked to call them team building exercises.  One of the most successful outings we had was what we called SBDC March Madness.  In short we all went down to a basketball court and played each other for a few hours.  It was some of the most fun I had ever had with coworkers.  I find that it relates to last nights conversations specifically stereotypes.  Looking back now I know I had certain dispositions and stereotypes in my mind before the games began.  I know they are wrong to have but at the same time as it was said in class they started for a reason.  So anyway, when we were talking today about the golf outing it got me thinking that we need to continue having these outings.  I think that events outside of the work place such as these outings help build unity and team cohesion.  

This whole idea started me thinking about how other managers try to build team unity and cohesion.  What other companies use games or other friendly competitions?  Should more companies use this type of team building?  Here is a short blurb if you will, on team building.  I find the organizing of a day trip to be a great way to incorporate everyone and see coworkers outside of the work environment.  I also know that it is a lot harder to organize these types of things when there are so many individuals.  Not only must you account for everyones schedules but also all of the different interests.  We were lucky to get so many to come out and play in the basketball game.  It was a great way to see the talents that can't be shown at work.  I think that it was also a great way to find the leadership abilities that some have in different settings.  All in all, I find these events both fun and useful.  

What to write about

As my title infers, I had no idea what to write about in this blog.  I came to thinking that the best way to figure out something to write on was to peruse the text.  As I was looking through the chapter headings I found a chapter that mentioned rewards.  It is chapter 20 if anyone cares.   As I was going through the chapter I found something that was very interesting and directly pertaining to this university.  It brings up the idea of rewarding for one thing and wanting another.
The part of the article is titled In University.  It goes on to talk about how universities reward for professors to do research and to publish more than they reward for being a great teacher.  I found this to be very interesting.  This link is a short rebuttal to Kerr's article.  I can understand where both sides are coming from.  In the issue of universities I think that it might help if rewards were more equal for teaching and research.  The whole idea of rewards seems like a great way of getting something out of employees.  As many others have said, it doesn't have to be monetary rewards, a simple pat on the back or "Good job" is as much a reward as stock options.
The Chapter goes into details in several areas but the university really stuck out because although the topic is not under business it is still a business.  I don't know about everyone else but I didn't choose Kutztown because the professors here are published.  I am interested in anyones inputs on the topic because I know that this issue goes well beyond what I know on the topic.  I would also like to know what the managers in our class think about this rewarding for a and hoping for b.