thinkPhD

Activity 9 includes a one sample t-test, an independent samples t-test, and a one-way ANOVA. This assignment builds on Activity 7 (t-tests) and Activity 8 (one-way ANOVA). I did well on both of these so I am hopeful that #9 will follow along. I did have issues with #7 as I found it was the most difficult of all the assignments to date. I am finally getting the hang of reading SPSS output, which is very different from what the old Minitab output looked like during my MBA days. That course also forced us to do many of the calculations ourselves. I am finding that just plunking the numbers in SPSS does not help me understand the concepts, which is necessary because the assignments require this analysis.

The textbook, Norušis’ SPSS 16.0 Guide to Data Analysis (2009), is not particularly helpful but it does have examples. If you can follow the examples you can infer how to complete the assignments at the end of the chapters. However, some of the questions are asked in such a way that I have to read them several times to “get” what I am looking to answer. Each chapter has a few answers in the back of the book but these are pretty basic answers. It’s not like every odd answer is in the back like some texts.

MGT5028 has 12 assignments so I suppose I am 75% complete, having finished 8 assignments. I turned in #8 yesterday and am starting on #9 today. In addition to the Norušis text, I have a several others plus a bunch of website favorite links. A course like statistics is pretty tough to learn through independent study, which is pretty much what I am doing. I keep telling myself this is my last core course before the research phase of my coursework. I am pretty pumped about that!

Here’s part of Activity 9 so that you can get an idea of the assignment:

One sample t-test

Use renal.sav and do the following: Using “length of stay” as the test variable, conduct a hypothesis test on whether the average length of stay is 14 days. State the hypothesis to be tested. State the reject/not reject decision and conclusion. You should state the variables you are analyzing, display the SPSS output, and add a brief analysis of the output. The analysis should be a brief write up of what you conclude from the output and any insights you might have.

Sounds pretty straightfoward so I hope to finish this activity this weekend. With plenty of coffee and ibuprofen, I should be able to make that happen!

This morning, I nervously signed on to my student web page…and peeked at the assignments page…and there it was…my grade for Assignment#3:

Vital Signs: Management in the Biotech Industry….100%!

Here are Dr. Crake’s comments:

Outstanding work Cindy! You have provided a very well developed discussion of the current management of the biotech industry, together with an excellent discussion of the challenges and opportunities of the industry. Exceptional insight into the possible future management of the industry. Excellent structure with strong line of argument. Beautifully written and presented. Excellent research. Impressive work!

I had issues with finding enough peer-reviewed articles for this assignment. I think that online library databases such as EBSCOHost do not have current (as in this month or last month) journals. It seems like many of the journals are at least six months to a year old. This particular assignment required current information and this was a struggle to find.I am proud of the finished product. My final modification included the use of level three headings in one section. I had struggled with clarity on that particular section of the paper and the headings made a difference.

All in all, what makes me so very happy with Dr. Crake’s remarks is the statement: “Beautifully written and very well presented.”

Thank you, Dr. Crake for making my day!

I am officially enrolled in my second course at NCU: MGT5019 Ethics in Business, with Dr. Charles Chrzanowski as Mentor. Dr. Chrzanowski’s bio includes: J.D.- Law, University of Bridgeport School of Law; B.S.-Law Enforcement Administration, University of New Haven; A.S.-Mechanical Engineering, Norwalk State Technical School. He has the course discussion forum set up with one folder per week. I am not sure if this means he is expecting weekly posts or not.

The course has eight assignments, and includes article reviews, case studies, a final project paper and a “journal.” There will be a lot of writing in this course, both related to the readings as well as reflective or personal application. Our text is:

Carroll, Archie B. & Ann K. Buchholtz (2003): Business & Society: Ethics and Stakeholder Mangement (5th ed.). Cincinnati: South-Western Publishing. ISBN 0-324-11495-8

A few days ago I posted in the Learners forum looking for this text, but last night I found it pretty cheap on Amazon…..$6.79 including shipping. The book retails new for $132.95. I think that is a pretty sweet deal.

I plan to turn in my final paper from MGT5031 today. But time is getting away from me, as we are supposed to go to the Big City to see our daughter and pick up two recliners that her grandparents let her use. She does not have room for them, as she just got new living room furniture. I hope Husband will feel like riding to the Big City with me to get the chairs. It will be like a 2-hr date with my sweetheart.

My responsibilities as a mother, sweetheart, and employee have not changed. Going to school is easy. Going to school while life continues to happen is not!

I received the following polite note back from the Librarian:

Cynthia, we received your request for the article below. Unfortunately, we could not find a lending institution that would provide the article. There are other options to obtain the article. You can check your local public, college or university library to see if it owns the journal, or if it can obtain the article through its interlibrary loan service. You might also try purchasing the article directly from the publisher. Let us know if you have any questions.

This particular article looked very promising from the abstract. I am disappointed. I found one outside Library (online) that I could get the article, but I would have to pay $30 to access the site.

So tonight, I am reviewing my paper and hope to turn it in tonight or tomorrow. 

…without the article as a source.

I finished Assignment #3 on Monday, Labor Day. Today is Wednesday and my two proofreaders have been busy – too busy to read my paper. Hmmm, maybe I should put a dollar bill or a candy bar between the pages or something.

Well, I can’t say that is the only reason that I have not turned it in yet. I requested an interlibrary loan of an article, and I have not gotten it yet. It is the first time that I tried the loan of a document. There was a link at the bottom of the EBSCO article. I thought that the article would be delivered “immediately” and electronically. Such is the purpose of an online library, right? I made the request on the 2nd and today is the 6th. How long does it take? Based on the abstract, I think that it would add to my paper, but I am SOOOO ready to turn it in! I guess I will send another note to the librarian and ask.

Drum roll, please. I am a member of our Hunting Club at work (the company owns a lot of land and the employees rent the hunting rights to certain tracts). We had a meeting this afternoon, and I am no longer “just” a member, I am an “elected officer.” I was elected to the audit committee for a three year term. Now, that is impressive, isn’t it! Now, I am not really sure what the audit committee does, but I supppose I will find out soon….

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love to write. I enjoy the art of making myself understood through words and their rhythms. There is a permanence and a peacefulness in making my mark on the page.

But – I don’t like to write papers! I am confined to the assignment guidelines and cannot “just write.” In the case of Assignment #3 (Modern and Future Management), I have the page in the syllabus tacked up on my desk, highlighted with green. “Stay focused” – “stay on topic” it says to me every time I look up and see that green.

I think I am a little brain-fried right now because I have been working on my paper almost all day. I spent most of the morning scratching through and eliminating some of my topical ideas (aerospace, internet, satellite TV, telecoms, nuclear medicine, etc.) and narrowing down to one subject. I think it will work for this paper and I have been researching and re-reading Wren through and through to create a backbone for the paper. The paper is skeleton-y and outline-y right now…but words are there on the page in black and white.

The problem is finding current and peer-reviewed articles on “new” industries which have emerged in the past 5 to 20 years. Typically, scholarly papers look backward and analyze, they don’t seem to look at today and analyze. Of course, it is easier for academia to comment on “historical facts.” For industries which are current, many of the sources are current, too, such as magazines. I have been able to find a few peer-reviewed articles and I am hoping that will “work” for Dr. C.

My sweet husband has been very supportive and encouraging all day, bringing me ice cream (with three cheeries on top) and making supper (chicken fingers and fries). He even has stopped a number of times to listen to me as I read a passage that needs some turn of the words to make it clear and concise. He is my proofreader and critic and I grab him and read to him. He doesn’t even complain about it ! The puppies keep checking on me and asking if I want to play or sing, just take my pick.

So life goes on here in the country; me stuck at my desk wrestling with Wren and writing my paper. So far, so good.

I am almost finished with chapters 19-23 in the Wren’s “The History of Management Thought”, the text for MGT 5031.  I have about 20 pages to go.

I really enjoyed reading the first half of this book, but this last part is not as interesting. Unfortunately, I am not gathering as much information as I read as I did in the first two parts.

I am puzzling over this final paper. I have read some of the discussion boards to see what others are writing but I have not found “my” subject yet.

Here is how I read the text…..I have several pads of the small colored 2″ x 1.5″ sticky notes with me as I read. When I come across a section that is relevant to my paper, or that gives me some insight that I believe will assist me with my paper, I put a sticky note on the page. My book usually ends up with about 50 sticky notes sticking out of the side. If the sticky note is holding my page, it goes at the top. If the sticky note is relevant to my paper, it goes on the side. If it marks a page that I need to re-read or define a term or if I discover something that I don’t understand completely, I put the sticky note sticking out the bottom of the book. The various colors also mean things to me. This system certainly may not work for you, but it does for me!

Here is my Wren book – See the sticky notes?

Assignment #3 (Modern and Future Management)

For your third and final assignment, select an industry that has emerged within the past 5 to 20 years.  Discuss the industry’s current management, challenges, and opportunities.  Offer your own thoughts on where you think this industry will continue to evolve in terms of its business management.

Hmmmm, 5 to 20 years. My son is 21 and my daughter is 22 so I am focusing on industries that have “emerged” during my motherhood lifespan.

I know of quite a few industries that have come and gone (disco dancing, stack heels, bad hair …….), but I need to find one that will have academic writings on its management, challenges and opportunities. The most obvious (to me) is cell phones and internet access, but I want this paper to pack some punch and do not want to choose the obvious.

The countdown is 26 days to finish this course……

I called and talked to my academic counselor, Rita, about which course to choose next. She was very helpful as we discussed the various Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration specializations:

Applied Computer Science

Business Quantitative Methods

Computer and Information Security

Criminal Justice

Electronic Commerce

Financial Management

Health Care Administration

Homeland Security

Human Resources Management

International Business

Management

Management Information Systems

Management of Engineering and Technology

Marketing

Organizational Leadership

Public Administration

Sports Management and Leadership

I had a number of credits to transfer to the program and so very soon I must make a decision as to which specialization to follow. Right now, I am considering Management, Organizational Leadership, Marketing, Financial Management or Business Quantitative Methods.

My original plan included working on a topic that was related to my current employment working in the seconds field. I have been trying to figure out which one of the specializations that it fits in! Of course, I do not have to choose something related, I should choose something that I enjoy or have some prior knowledge or work experience. I will take another look at the courses that are offered; perhaps I can narrow down to two specializations and choose a course that is in both of them.