thinkPhD

I have been working the last few days on Assignment #8 “The Final Project.” I just turned it in. I tried to pull in some of the “teachings” from previous papers and draw some conclusions. I sure hope Dr. C. likes it!

Work has been very busy and I had planned to take some vacation days this week. Unfortunately, that has not happened and so I will be at work tomorrow. Tonight Husband saw a really big deer in the yard and since my vision is not all that good, I could not see the detail that he could. But believe me, it is great to live in the country where we have some wonderful things in our yard.

I had to make a decision about my next course. I have chosen to wait until February or March for my next class because of some issues that are brewing with work and my career. I am disappointed that I cannot take one or two at a time, but I guess I will have to be satisfied with ending up as the world’s longest doctoral candidate.

Assignment #7 is a reflective journal that has been worked on throughout the course. It consists of five sections with questions that are posed from the syllabus. Dr. C. told us to make it less of a research assignment and more of a stream of consciousness as we reflect on ethics and how they apply (or not) to business. I found this assignment to be the easiest because I just followed the line of questions and answered them and added my additional insights. The worst part was not knowing if I was doing it correctly! My Journal ended up being 17 pages full, not including title page and reference page. I suppose I did it correctly because I am happy with my grade. The paper was returned in about a day.

I now have my final project – the last of eight – to complete. Husband and I did some brainstorming on the subject and I think I have narrowed my topic down enough. This assignment is to be “no less than 10 pages” and include statistics and charts. I will work on this almost all day today (Monday). I had planned to take off Tuesday, but I have been monitoring my work emails and it looks like I will be going in tomorrow. The work is piling up and there is no one to back me up now that my work associate has accepted a transfer.

The brain drain paid off and I earned another pleasing mark on the paper. Today I am taking the day off from work to start on the next assignment. This one has two more case studies to analyze. This is the last set of case studies – yea! They are NO FUN to do….

I just turned in Assignment #5 and my mind needs recharging. The questions at the end of the case were very involved and each one could have been a paper! The GE and PCBs case dealt with environmental issues and since my education is related to this subject, it was hard to not go off on a rant. I did not like the way the questions were organized and so I hope Dr. C. is able to figure out my answers – I did not always answer them in the order they were presented.

Son came for a visit yesterday evening and we had a nice visit today through lunch. He left mid-afternoon to go see a friend’s new PlayStation. I went right to work on the paper again and worked until now – 9PM. Am I crazy or what?

I am going to hang it up for tonight and turn on the TV. I don’t know what is on, but I am sure it is something that I can knit to and I don’t think I have to write a paper about.  I am teaching myself how to knit continental style, which is different from the method of throwing the yarn which is what I learned back in the dark ages. I am getting a little better but it does feel awkward. I am trying to teach an old dog new tricks!

Read Business and Society Chapters 13-16. Review the following case studies and answer all discussion questions at the end of the cases: Case #23 “Societal Impacts of Marketing” and Case #25 “The Hudson River Cleanup and GE.”

It’s always a little tricky to figure out the similarities between the two cases and build a paper around them together. The first article is about an importer who must make a decision about asking tribal artisans to modify their handiwork to appeal to a broader market base. Case #25 is about GE and cleaning up PCB’s they dumped in and around the Hudson River. Any ides on how to pull these together?

Today is the day after Thanksgiving – “Black Friday” is what retailers call it because they move from the “red” to the “black” today. I think it is Black Friday because I get to work on this paper! 🙁

Assignment #4 included reading four chapters in the text and analyzing Case #21 Pizza Redlining – Employee Safety or Discrimination? This Case was involved perceived discrimination and it was tricky not to get too preachy in the paper. On the other hand, it was tricky not to second guess everyone’s motives. I was able to pull out some of the fallacies and a 100% on this paper. Dr. C. turns around assignments very quickly and I am grateful for that! Now, on to the next Case….

I received Assignment #3 back this afternoon and Dr. C. had written some very-appreciated compliments on the paper. “Excellent!” makes my heart sing! I earned a 100% or 40/40. So far, I have received super marks on my papers in MGT5019. I am so very excited. I spoke to Son today and he told me he is proud, too. I have gotten several hugs from Husband. This is the first paper that I did not ask him to proofread and he said, “you don’t need me to proofread your papers!”. He was just kidding and he knows that I am going to force him to keep reading my old boring papers!

I turned in Assignment #3 last night. This paper is another Case Study and is based on Case #9 Phantom Expenses and Case #11 Just Between Friends? P2P vs. IP.

The paper was 11 pages, with 2 pages of References, 1 page Abstract, title page and cover page. In this class, all of my papers have been very long and take hours to complete. My strategy has been to read the case(s) and then the chapters, using the technique with sticky notes that I offered in a previous post to mark relevant passages. In my mind or on paper, I sketch out an outline for the paper. I log into the ELRC (Northcentral’s online library) and begin searching. When I get ready to write, I make sure that I have hours of uninterrupted work-time. I want to start a paper and complete it in one sitting, as I have to re-look up all of my sources a second time if I start and stop. Typically, I will take a vacation day (yes, a vacation day) or a weekend day (yes, I know I am crazy) and write the paper. Most of the time, I will get Husband or Daughter to read over it. I also send it to Turnitin.com (I have an account there) to make sure everything is perfect. Once it is fully reviewed and corrections made, I normally wait until the next day to post it after a final reading. Too much review and revision? I cannot possibly turn in a paper that is not my “best work.”

Oh and by the way, I found a “Perfectionist Quiz” on the internet last week and guess what – I am a perfectionist! 🙂

If you are in school and struggling over writing papers, be sure to try several different methods before settling on one. The method above works for me, although it may not work for everyone. When I work on an assignment, I am not doing it for the grade. I am doing it for the LEARNING. My focus is on pulling out all of the information that I possibly can so that I can use it in my personal or professional life.

Later today, I will begin the reading for Assignment #4, which included reading chapters 9-12 and an analysis of Case #21 Pizza Redlining – Employee Safety or Discrimination?.

Right now, I have to grade papers for a class I am teaching at the University. The students have turned in their very first PowerPoint presentation as well as an summarizing/paraphrasing/quoting APA style activity.

I received the second assignment back today and was very pleased with the 100% that Dr. C awarded. This paper was an analysis of the Case 3B in the text: The Body Shoppe International PLC (1998 – 2001). I had heard of The Body Shoppe previously but this paper gave me the opportunity to take an in-depth look at the company, which portrays itself as eco-friendly in all respects. I was surprised to find that the public image is very different from the true picture of this company.

My B.S. degree is in Environmental Science and I believe that I understand ecological issues reasonably well. The Body Shoppe has some ethical issues that must be resolved before I shop there. It seems the owner has used the company as a platform for her own political agenda. Recently, the company was purchased by L’Oreal which will use The Body Shoppe in a marketing campaign to corner a particular advocative demographic. Researching the paper was very interesting and Husband and I had some good discussions about The Body Shoppe. He sees all ethical issues in “black and white” or “right or wrong.” I mentioned our discussions to Dr. C. when I turned in my paper and he wrote the following on my returned copy:

Very good paper and very well researched. Also, in your note to me you indicated that you had a good family discussion about this assignment – I would have liked to have heard what the general family consensus was.  Also, don’t be afraid to throw in your personal opinions- it not only shows a practical understanding of the issues but it adds to the “character” of the paper as well as makes it more interesting to read.

I have always steered away from inserting personal observations or opinions into academic papers, but it appears as though Dr. C. would like to have some of this in the assignments. This will feel a little strange but I will certainly make a point to add some “character” to my next paper. Since this is an Ethics class, he wants to see the impact of our study on our personal selves.

My October was filled with going back and forth to the hospital – Mom had complications with her knee replacement surgery in September. She is much better now and very happy to be home!

MGT5019 began October 1 and runs through December 23. There are eight assignments and my plan was to tackle them throughout this time. Unfortunately, this has not happened, and I am playing catch up. So far I have turned in the first and second assignments, and received a grade back on the first (100%). I have also completed the first entry (out of five) in my Journal, which is one of the required assignments. So far, I have done a lot (!!) of reading and pulling info together for the papers. I hope to finish assignment #2 this weekend.

Wish me luck!

I worked today on Assignment #1 for the MGT5019 Ethics in Business course:

Read Business & Society Chapter 1. Article Review: Two articles, representing different points of view, are provided in course resources. Each article is by a noted management authority. You are to prepare a review of these articles which should include: a summary of the contents, comparison of the two points of view, and your opinion on the topic of social responsibility and business ethics. This assignment requires coursework files.

 Assignment Outcomes (1) Understand the perspectives of various parties who influence business decisions, and who are influenced by them (2) Analyze the conflicting objectives of these parties

I read Chapter 1 and the two articles twice. The syllabus was not clear about the number of pages required and Dr. C. responded to my note very quickly. I was impressed! The two articles represent opposing viewpoints and I will have to compare and contrast them. The Peter F. Drucker article is difficult to follow, and although I can see his point, I am not sure that he was totally clear with his reasoning. I will read the article again and this time, I will make an outline of it while reading. I want to pick up the themes and discuss each one. The other article is by Milton Friedman and it is equally as circuitous!

I received my book and started reading right away. So far, I have not worked on the writing part of any of the assignments, as my mother has been in the hospital. I hope to devote a whole day next week to working on assignment #1. How do I do this? Well, what else is a vacation day for? This first assignment includes reading chapter 1 in the text and preparing a review of two articles (provided), including a summary of their contents, comparison of the two points of view, and my opinion on the topic of social responsibility and business ethics.

I found out today that I will have to take a business trip next week on the same day that I teach a campus class (Friday). I will have to find a back up person in case my flight is delayed. Next week is already shaping up to be very busy. The busier I am, the more I have to do!

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!