Week 10 BOC: Getting Fired

As a freelancer in the cosmetic industry, you bounce around a lot from job to job, company to company. When I began my venture as a freelancer I started out working as a perfume girl at the age of sixteen. This was the first legal job that I had done considering the fact that I had previously worked any job that I could since I was 13 years old. The pay was amazing to me at the time as I was earning fifteen dollars per hour standing in the middle of a store, handing out pieces of paper that smelled good. I felt like a flower girl handing out flowers to random people, it was a nice change of pace for me as I had always worked harder for my pay. At any rate, this led me to other opportunities later in life as I had already had the experience in my background which led me to the position that I currently hold today. The only bad experience that I had ever had with the many companies that I had worked with was with a smaller company that took me out of my normal element and took me to work at different types of locations than what I was been accustomed. I really felt more like a sales person in that position than any other that I had previously held. Never the less, I accepted the opportunity and did the best job that I know how, working hours that constantly changed while being expected to push products to people. I new something was strange because usually during a few months out of the year, most cosmetic companies seize freelancing because of the season. This one didn’t but still expected me to keep the same numbers. I obviously wasn’t able to do that because the season was slow and the expectations were high. After handing in my sales invoice, I was terminated via email. At first I felt bad, then realized that I was probably better off because the management should have known better than to set me up to fail. My reputation was untarnished as I have established my working ethics in this community being offered much bigger and better thing since this occurrence.

Week 10 EOC: Up in the Air

In viewing this movie I was shocked to see this in action. I have always felt that this should be done by the people the person works directly under. When it is done in a style of a chain of command, it only seems natural that this should happen because the person is next in line on the chopping block should anything go wrong. It isn’t always a good way to handle this issue, but it is more understandable should it be deemed necessary. In the movie I was surprised that they appointed a single person to do this. Seeing all those firing experiences being put together in one person’s day showed how someone can have a skewed view of the good and bad points of a termination. It also showed how desensitized a person can become to the effects on the lives of the individuals. In the movie they brought up the points of the fired employee being able to seek new opportunities in their fields or in other fields. They also brought up the fact they the people being fires could use the time in a way that is more beneficial, or more to their liking. Even though someone may feel as though they are happy or doing well in the field that they currently hold, it might not be the best situation for the employer or the best fit for the organization. He also recommended making use of this time to reflect and retrain themselves with new and other skills. I have been let go before and I new that there were other employees that would keep going back to them to be rehired, but I felt that I was not worth my time to be bothered with an organization that did not value my work ethic and integrity. It worked out for the best.

Week 9 EOC: Personal Freedom vs. Union Membership

Being a prior service member of the Unites States military I have had the experience of being required to be a part of their union in order to be a part of the organization. At the time that I was being enlisted I didn’t mind doing so because it gave me many opportunities that I would not have previously been exposed to and experienced by any other means. I felt that any way that I could get on board with this organization was the best thing for me to do so that I could take my life in a better direction than I would have had I staying in my situation from that moment. It was an experience none the less. The good, the bad, and the ugly. In some ways I enjoyed the privileges of being a part of this organization. Visiting new places, learning new skills, and the feeling of being a real part of a bigger entity than yourself having its perks and down falls. On the other hand I had slowly come to realize a lot of the personal freedoms that I let go of when I signed on the dotted line. Sometimes I miss the camaraderie that I felt at the time. Going through the same issues successes with those around you. The ups and downs that we experienced often pushed us closer together as a team as well as friends and individuals. Even if you didn’t care for certain people, you still had a better idea of where how they felt and where they were coming from in their views on the world. Some things that took place benefited us, while there were other things that took place in which I did not agree, but had to go along with them anyway. I’m glad I had the experience, but some of the things that I didn’t agree with resulted in me finishing my term looking for other opportunities.

EOC: Sexual Harassment Week 8

Kind yet naïve, those types of qualities can get you in real trouble with the wrong people. In my ventures in life I could tell you a thing or two about sexual harassment. What people will do for a quick thrill? What they'll do for jealousy. It's a hard issue to deal with in today's fast paced world. Usually, the one's who have gotten away with it will continue to do it and be caught. In the skills that are needed to do this indecent activity, there are common skills that are learned such as lying, turning a conversation around and living a double standard. Being caught doesn't change anything. At that point it is so ingrained in a person's nature that it will continue without second thought. I would like to take this time to warn all the people involved that things will not change. They will only change when all hope of a person's ability to live up to this double-life can go on any longer. And then sometimes...
The work environment is a dangerous place for this intoxicating cocktail of cocktails. Definitely not for the weak of heart, a good time can be had by everyone, but at a certain point it all changes and not for the good either. This situation can happen in any environment, work-related of otherwise. In the workplace it can be especially devastating. Not only to the people involved, but the moral of a company's employees. It’s a complicated web we weave to rely on the good words of another. This can only be defined in the words of our beloved Wikipedia as being "a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and annoyances to actual sexual abuse or sexual assault," such few words with many rippling waves of meaning by any means.

Week 7 EOC: How to Evaluate Employee Performance in 15 Steps

Evaluate Experience

o What did you learn?
In the process of interviewing both of these individuals, first I realized how much I didn't know about them personally. In asking each of them these fifteen questions I discovered that they had many of the same views about themselves that I had about them.

o What caught you by surprise?
I was surprised to realized how much I already knew about them just in my every week view of them as fellow classmates. Also in realizing that each individual was on board to make suggestions on how to go about the activity. As a group we were ready to roll from the start and saw the assignment through to the end of the evaluation process.

o How prepared were you? I was actually a lot more prepares than I thought I was.

o Evaluate the individual members of your group.

Kelsey- Kelsey took charge right away in organizing the project and vocalizing each step. Our understanding of the overall requirements and flow of the project was due to her assessment of the questions. Kelsey was clearly the leader of the group once we settled in to our location.

Richard- He was clear in making his intentions known that he was all for participating to the best of his ability while breaking down the components of the project in a round-robin fashion for efficiency in disbursement of the effort between each member and time management.

I chose the location and led them to an area that was enjoyable yet somewhat secluded so that we could discuss how to go about tackling this project. I also ensured that there was clarity in any misunderstanding of the project or individual questions.

o By name, how did they participate? We participated about equally. Kelsey took on a leadership role, I brought up issues that needed to be addressed in order to plan out the discussions and Richard acted as a participant by asking valid questions and pointing out questionable areas in our discussions.

o Do you think they (by name) could be viable candidates for a real job? Explain.

Kelsey- I believe that she can absolutely be an essential part of any team. Her take charge attitude reflects her willingness to jump in with two feet. She came across as highly articulate while knowing how to play the role of team member as well.

Richard- He is a perfect candidate in that he has the courage to speak up in any situation that doesn't seem clear or fair when others may not. He brings up valid points while keeping each individual engaged in the process of the task that is at hand.

o Would you want them to represent your school in a job interview situation as graduate of The Art Institute? I would love to be represented by these two individuals in relation to this school. They represent the team attitude, responsibility, and willingness to succeed that is necessary in today's rough terrain

o How could this experience be improved for you? For the class?

Week 6 EOC: Steps in Job Instruction Training

In the Job instruction training process, certain steps are needed in order to ensure the proper training of a new employee to your company.  Watching the movie “9 to 5” presented in class, some of the steps were followed while some were ignored. I preparing the employee, the new employee was briefed on the work environment and the duties that it involved. This step was passed down to an overlooked employee instead of the management whom which she was appointed. This gave the new employee to get a feel for the culture of the business and she got an understanding of what was expected. Her overlooked supervisor presented the tasks involved with the job in a quick one-day session that assumed her level of basic office skills were up to par.
A quick explanation of the duties and demonstration were not enough for this newly working housewife to grasp when it came down to actually performing the job herself. In the explanation of the duties they seemed like simple and easy to do. When it was time for the new employee to take on tasks that were assigned she failed in completing them. This happened not only because of the lack of any effort on her trainer’s part to let give her a chance to perform the duties on a trial basis, but to follow-up on the lessons learned in training process.
The portions of the film that we did get to watch gave us good and bad examples of how things should be approached in a job instruction training program. Giving the new employee a chance to make their errors early on with some OJT is essential in order to make the corrections necessary for them to succeed. This would be the best way to ensure their understanding of the tasks assigned.

Week 6 BOC: Stolen Valor Lawsuit

The company went wrong in not doing a background check on the supposed veteran before hiring him/her. The company should try to settle with the new employee outside of court and formally apologize before hiring them. The company should take the former employee to court. The monetary reward awarded in the case should cover lawyer’s fees, wages and other all costs that would compensate for the deceit and the time lost in training and experience that should have been provided to the other qualified applicant. Jail time should not be required unless the company does not receive compensation. If the company does not get any monetary reward due to their failure in performing a background check.