The Failure of a Freshman Dictator
According to the Least Preferred Coworker [LPC] scale, relationships motivate me [a score of 75]. As I discussed last week, I feel there is variability in these types of assessments and if I re-took the assessment a week, a month [etc.] from now, I would score differently. Nevertheless, at this point in time the results […]
Spider Squirrel, Spider Squirrel, Does Whatever a Spider Squirrel Does
While biking behind one of the Boston University buildings Friday afternoon, this spider squirrel caught my attention. Here’s the squirrel just chilling while it observes what I’m doing: As it realizes I’m not a threat, it goes on it’s way, doing whatever a spider squirrel does, which apparently means running on this ledge in a […]
How I Quit Smoking In Less Than One Minute And You Can Too! Part 1
Being relatively smoke-free for more than six months now I’m here to tell you about the immense benefits of not smoking and how to quit smoking in less than one minute. There’s simply too much material to cover in one post so we’ll have a 3-4 part series about cigarettes, their dangers and how to […]
You Can Change the World, But Do You Know How to?
Changes in social paradigms start small and build until the changes become obvious to nearly all participants and observers. When these changes provoke a shift in society, most individuals understand the new status quo is better, but are often ignorant of its roots. Behind these intuitive societal shifts, one can usually find an individual with […]
Web Quotes and Counterpoints V
It’s been too long since the last edition of Web Quotes and Counterpoints so here’s the latest quality chatter from around the web. Justin from LifeofJustin writes about a random adventure on the USC campus in Parking Lot Drinking at USC. Justin is spot on in describing USC as a movie-esque experience, What I concluded […]
The Final Two: An Update to My Final Four Picks
It’s time again for us to take a look back at my final four picks and see how they stack up now that we’re down to the last two teams. Last time we checked, 75% of my final four picks were still intact, with USC being the sole incorrect pick. Over the weekend, Kansas beat […]
Look Back at My Final Four Picks
Ten days ago I posted my picks for the teams to make it to the NCAA Final Four. Let’s take a look back at those picks and see how they worked out. My Final Four predictions: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) University of Southern California (USC) University of Memphis University of California […]
My Final Four Picks
This post won’t have any insight or analysis, just my Final Four picks for the 2008 college basketball tournament. My Final Four predictions: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) University of Southern California (USC) University of Memphis University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA) Then, in the Final Four UNC will beat Memphis […]
I’m Back!
Hello there everyone! I’m just posting a quick note that I’m still here and will begin posting regularly again soon. To my RSS feed subscribers and anyone else who stumbles upon this page, I want to wish you all a belated Happy New Year! I didn’t intend to take this long of a break from […]
The Streak is Over: Graduate Summer 2007 Grades – Umass Amherst
Four courses into my collegiate career at The University of Massachusetts at Amherst, my Grade Point Average was a perfect 4.0! The grades for my graduate course, Perspectives on Leadership,were released a few days ago and, unfortunately, the dream of graduating with a 4.0 is officially over. It was a long and hard fought battle […]
The Second Glass & MAP Boston
Last week I attended the Boston Young Entrepreneur’s meeting at City Hall, where I met quite a few interesting people. Amongst the group was Tyler Balliet, CEO and Publisher of The Second Glass, an unpretentious wine magazine. For my Bostonian readers, you may recognize The Second Glass from the half-page article in the August 22nd […]
Done: Time for Beer
Though both my summer classes were enjoyable and educational, I’m wicked glad that I’m now officially done with both of them and can relax a little bit over the next month and a half. During the coming weeks you’ll see some assignments from these classes that I’ve been holding back (until they’re all posted). I’m […]
This Is MONDRAGON!
Umass – Amherst – SCH-MGMT – 365 Business and Its Environment Summer 2007 Discussion #10 1) What are the characteristics of the Mondragon cooperatives that you find most different from businesses with more familiar organizational forms? 2) What assumptions seem to underlie the Mondragon? 3) What do you think about these characteristics and assumptions? Democracy […]
Leadership Tests < Leadership Adaptability [Part 2]
Today’s post is the conclusion to the Leadership Tests < Leadership Adaptability [Part 1] post. Having given my opinion on why these assessments are not as reliable as observing a leader in action, and that some of the questions can be justified, at least personally, on both sides, I did lean to one side or […]
Leadership Tests < Leadership Adaptability [Part 1]
Umass Amherst – School of Management 697PP: Perspectives on Leadership Discussion #3 The subject of our discussion this week will be individual traits and qualities as they affect organizational leadership. Please read and carefully consider the two short cases, “The Caring Dictator,” about Jack Hartnett of Sonic rollerskating franchises (p. 59 ), and “Pernille Spiers-Lopez […]
Robot Wanted, Human Will Do
Class: Management 365: Business and Its Environment. Discussion #5 …write an imaginary job description for a Wal-Mart clerk…based on [Barbara] Ehrenreich’s experience. Refer to the skills and attitudes required, as well as the organizational and social role that is played. Pretend you are a De Tocquville-type observer/ethnographer, not your typical HR person. You’re not trying […]
Following Footprints: How Sriram Ayer and Small Dog Create Paths for their Followers
Umass Amherst – School of Management 697PP: Perspectives on Leadership Summer 2007 Discussion #2 Read the short case on Small Dog Electronics on page 7 of your textbook [Adam’s Edit: Art and Science of Leadership (4th Edition) by Afsaneh Nahavandi].Also read the very short [Adam’s Edit: Fast Company] article in the module folder about an […]
Umass Amherst – School of Management 697PP: Perspectives on Leadership
Those of who read the post about my undergraduate summer class, Management 365: Business and Its Environment, are probably wondering two things right now, This post will tell us whether you Umass-Amherst allowed you to enroll in the graduate class you were referring to, right? Why was that post titled “…Management…” yet this one is […]
Bits & Pieces on Management and Our Environment
Below is the first discussion and my first response for the Management 365 – Business and Its Environment class I’m currently taking: The Allegory of the Cave by Plato After you have read the excerpt from Plato think about the following: What point is Plato trying to make? What do the shadows and the objects […]
Umass Amherst – Management 365: Business and Its Environment
I’m attempting to take two classes during the first summer session the University of Massachusetts at Amherst offers, however, I need to seek approval from the MBA program at Umass as the second class is a graduate level class, which has a restriction in place of requiring a bachelor’s degree to take, even though I […]
Spring 2007 Grades – University of Massachusetts at Amherst
I just went and checked the grades section on my SPIRE account on the University of Massachusetts at Amherst web-site and my official grades for the Spring 2007 semester are posted. A 4.0 GPA for the Spring ’07 semester! I got an A in both courses, Fundamentals of Marketing and Quantitative Tools for Management (aka […]
It Just Works: How Apple’s Planning & Strategy Create Intuitive Interactions for Consumers
Pending any errors or glitches, I’m done with my group project for my Statistics course (10% of the final grade), so now all I have to do is take the Statistics Final and I’m done with the Spring semester! To mix things up a bit, tonight I’m posting the last essay for my Fundamentals of […]
ABA, Always Be Authentic: A New Decree for Modern Salespeople
As a former sales representative, I have some insight into this week’s assignment: “Is the role of salespeople under appreciated by consumers and/or over abuse by companies? In your experience as either a salesperson or a buyer, what attributes of salespeople tend to be the most important or annoying?”. I submitted the below response for […]
Integrated Marketing Communications: Amazon.com
The goal of this essay, for the Fundamentals of Marketing class at Umass-Amherst, was to “Explain what it means to have “integrated marketing communications”. Include issues such as how to measure results. Pick a company and describe how you view their use of Integrated Marketing Communications…”. I’ve yet to receive a grade for this paper, […]
Facebook Network Stats
I stumbled upon a pretty cool feature on facebook’s redesign a few days ago, stats for categories such as music and movies for networks. If you’re a facebook user and wanna check out what I’m seeing click on Networks, scroll down and you should see a “Network Statistics” section on the right side. If you’re […]
Why I Spent $1800 on a Macbook Pro
The assignment for this essay was to write about the consumer decision making process. Choose a product that you bought recently. It must be complex buying behavior. It should not be something that is an ordinary purchase or that you purchase on a regular basis. Describe your purchase as it pertains to each stage of […]
A 350+ College Tribute to the Virginia Tech Hokies
Check it out: A Tribute to the Virginia Tech Hokies The power of facebook let us receive and compile more than 350 college logos into this collage.
Virginia Tech Campus Tragedy
As a partial alum of UNC-Chapel Hill, and thus a member of the ACC, I wanted to reach out to the community at Virginia Tech and offer my condolences to the students, faculty, family members and friends affected by today’s terrible tragedy. BREAKING — Shooter On Virginia Tech’s Campus (At Least 22 Dead) A tragedy […]
Tax Credits for College Tuition, Senior Tax Administrator Style
I just finished and submitted my taxes! I’ll be getting a refund on both my state and local taxes (albeit only $3 from Taxachusetts) Although both my refunds are relatively low, I’m still very pleased. In the middle of last year, I used the handy dandy IRS Withholding Calculator to figure out that I had […]
Their Product, My Money: In the End, Who Should Have What?
The assignment for this essay was to “…think about the elements of product return policies. Make a list of at least 6 elements or attributes of the return policy (e.g., no questions asked, money back guarantee, etc) that make the product more appealing. List these attributes in the order of their importance and describe the […]
Competition: Driver of a Productive Market
The assignment for this essay was to “…briefly explain in your own words, each of the various external environments that affect marketing. In your opinion, which of the external environments has had the greatest impact on consumer’s abilities to shop and consume products? For this part, do not quote the book. I want you to […]
Down with Textbooks! What Schools, Publishers and You can do to Reduce Textbook Costs
Ah, college textbooks, the fine print on your college bill. It literally sickens me thinking about the literally thousands of dollars I’ve spent on college textbooks during my college, ahem, journey. Everywhere I’ve gone, students always complain about the high costs of textbooks and the low (if any) re-sale value. It seems colleges are listening […]
AIG and General Re Fraud
In late 2000, American International Group (AIG), one of the largest insurance companies in the world, struck an intentionally fraudulent deal with General Re Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, so that AIG could add $500 million in reserves to its balance sheet for the last quarter of 2000 and first of 2001. In a plot […]
U.S. GAAP vs. International GAAP vs. Unified GAAP
For many years, the standards that dictated the accounting industry on an international setting were as diverse as the world’s population. Each country used to have their own accounting standards applicable in their country. As many corporations have become international, these individual standards caused a large amount of rework and comparison issues for accountants and […]
Prestigious Education: What is it?
An article on Boston.com, The Triumph of Victor Valley Alums: Or why you shouldn’t sweat it if you don’t get accepted to an Ivy League school, goes into a detailed discussion on why high school seniors shouldn’t worry if they didn’t get into the absolute top tier of schools. Tom Keane, tells high school seniors […]
The Social Benefits of Dynamic Pricing versus the Equity of Price Neutrality
The assignment for this essay was to give my take on dynamic pricing, which is the practice of constantly updating a price to take into account the external and internal enivornment and situation of the buyer and seller (for instance “a soda vending machine that raises the prices as the temperature goes up”), from the […]
Internet, Say Thank You to the Telegraph
So far, the only class I can say I’ve completely uploaded is the Communications class I completed at UNC-Chapel Hill during the Spring 2006 semester. The class analyzed the role technology had on improving modern communications and vice versa. The class starts by discussing the telegraph and how it kick-started the modern communications era by […]
Turbo Tax Rap
I discovered this gem while perusing facebook today: Apparently, Intuit, the makers of Turbo Tax, are hosting a contest on YouTube for the best rap video about Turbo Tax. If you think that video is as funny as I do, please go here and vote for them. I’ve looked through some of the other entries, […]
A Wicked Long Post about College
I have a vision and several goals in my mind for this blog, one of which is to build credibility for my current school, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. This college is my fourth in the past five years and will hopefully be my last one for my undergraduate career. I graduated from the […]