Author: jensmak

I found a lot of information from this class to be really really interesting and important as I enter into the professional realm. In my opinion what is most important is the information about iscrimination. I think it is really important to know and truly understand discrimination for many reasons. It is important to understand discrimination because discrimination can get a company in trouble legally and, in my opinion, more importantly, discrimination can prevent talented people from having the opportunities that they deserve and not promote diversity within an organization. Discrimination broadly is defined as making distinctions among people which is not inherently bad and is necessary for decision making processes. Disparate treatment and adverse treatment are types of discrimination that are harmful to people and organizations. Disparate treatment is the intentional discrimination where people are not given opportunities based on race, color, sex, age, ethnic, group, national origin, or religious belief. Disparate treatment is illegal in the United States. Adverse impact is unintentional discrimination that occurs when people of protected classes are unintentionally harmed because they are trained, at lower rates than others. Adverse impact is also illegal. It is important for organizations to avoid discrimination and have measures in place to prove they were not being discriminatory with their hiring decisions. The fourth fifths rule says hiring practices are discriminatory if the hiring rate of protected classes is less than four fifths of the majority group. According to the lecture even 1% bias in hiring practices can lead to 11 million dollars in loss of productivity because less qualified candidates are receiving job which results in the company being less productive and losing money. I think that discrimination is something to take seriously because it can lead to significant impacts on protected group which has many adverse consequences on society, minority groups and the organization. 

1. What am I good at?

I think that I am good at being a leader. I naturally find myself in this role and I am conscious of how I treat others as a leader. I try and ensure that each part of the team is able to have their voice heard which is what makes someone a good leader, in my opinion.

2. What do I value?

I value respect. I think respect is really important in relationships. I think if there is no respect then there is not a foundation of a healthy relationship. I think respect correlates with value and everyone wants to feel valued and like they matter and I think that starts with respect.

3. How did I get here?

I think that I got to the place that I am with hard work and some of my own privilege. I was not given everything in life, I had to work my way through college and pay for everything since I was about 16 years old. On the other hand, I could not have done it without the privilege that I have. I am lucky enough to live in a place with financial aid and I have a loving and supporting family which not everyone has.

4. Where am I going?

I hope to go on to make a difference in people’s lives. I am a management major because I want to be a leader. I want to be able to lead a team and support them to ensure that they are meeting their greatest potential and I want to create an environment that welcomes all people. I think by accepting people for who they are is a way I can make a difference.

I chose to take the IPIP-MEO Narrative report test. This test looked at aspects of my personality looking at different characteristics. The first characteristic is extroversion where I tested very high on almost every category with the highest being cheerfulness. I think this is accurate because I do consider myself to be an extrovert and I strive to see the positive side in every situation. I also tested high (90) in assertiveness because I think I am good about vocalizing what I want in various situations. For the next category agreeableness I had extreme highs and lows. The test shoes I am very trusting but extremely low in modesty and overall agreeableness. I tested high in conscientiousness with high levels of self efficacy and achievement striving which I think is true because I consider myself to be a self starter. I tested low in orderliness which I agree with because I struggle with organization. Additionally I tested overall high in neuroticism which is not surprising to me considering I have ADD and have a hard time with compulsion control and resisting urges which my tests show. Finally I tested the highest (92) in liberalism and adventurism. High levels of liberalism means I have a readiness to test authority which I agree with.

From an employers perspective I think my results could reveal some strengths and weaknesses. I think some of my strengths include extroversion which makes me able to ask questions, work well in a team setting, and be able to voice my opinions. I am also very trusting of people and assume people have the best intentions which is a positive characteristic from an employers perspective because they would assume I am open to training. Another strength is my achievement-striving characteristic and self efficacy which makes me a confident employee who strives for excellence. Some potential weaknesses I have as an employee include challenging authority which would be hard for me if I felt like I had an unqualified supervisor. I also tested relatively high on the  neurotic scale with a high level of anxiety and a low level of ability to control my impulses which makes for a difficult employee. I think employers prefer employees who are more thoughtful and cautious with their actions rather than someone who jumps to conclusions. I think I could work more on my self discipline which would help with my impulse control in order to be a more desirable employee from the employer’s perspective. 

If I were in the position to choose to hire Avery or Jamie I would pick Jamie. Jamie is a consistent worker, he is the one who will show up to work on time and can meet my expectations. It means more to me that an employee is consistent rather than outstanding but a slacker. I think the more consistent worker is the one who is engaged in his job and the company. Considering Avery is a slacker I assume she is not invested in her job or the company as a whole because she is not eager to improve the company. 

A job that would fit someone like Avery is a surgeon. Surgeons need a high level of expertise in their jobs and their own individual skill is very important. Surgeons don’t have to worry as much about the day to day as long as she is using her skills to the best of her ability during surgeries. Avery is better than Jamie in some ways such as being highly skilled and high performing. She also does better under pressure than Jamie. 

Jamie would be successful in a job such as working in a call center or inputting data. Both of these roles involve a high level of consistency and the job itself if rather consistent. These kinds of jobs are typically not too stressful which means Jamie will not be pushed out of his comfort level. He is consistent and can handle the average day to day. He needs a job with not too much variability or skills needed. 

My brand as an employee would be an employee that puts 100% of effort into my job, is dependable, and is willing to learn. As a first impression, I think I come across as polished and professional. The first foot I try to put forward when approaching a job is my professionalism. My strengths are communication, and self-starter attitude. A weakness I have as an employee would be delegating. I sometimes have a hard time releasing parts of my project to others because I like to be in control of what happens which can lead to me becoming overwhelmed and not getting outsider’s ideas.  

As I approach graduation I am seeking full time positions in the Portland or Central Oregon areas. Since times are tough right now and unemployment is high it is important for me to know how to market myself to future employees so that my strengths can be identified as a candidate. I look at jobs as a way to learn and improve upon my skills so I try to gain the most out of each job as possible. I believe you get as much as you put into something so putting in effort and taking advantage of all opportunities that come my way. As a person I don’t really do things ‘half-way’. I thrive in an environment that gives me the freedom to be creative and innovative so that I can make my mark on the company. Another strength is I have a lot of experience for my age because I have been working since I was 14 years old which has provided me with a lot of professional experience to draw from. I currently work as a career ambassador for the college of business which has taught me a lot about being professional which has allowed me to be able to communicate with professionals on a daily basis and learn a lot about business culture and business etiquette. This is a unique characteristic of mine because most often people gain this experience once they have already been in the job market for a while. 

The last job I had was over the summer as an events & marketing intern at a news channel in Central Oregon. From the job description the job made it sound like I was going to be helping a lot with the making of the news, going out on the field with reporters, attending local events that the news was covering, and generally a lot of in the field work with the reporters and news anchors. I got this impression from the job description because all of the above activities were directly in the job description. Based on the job description I was very interested in the position because I have had other internships where I got a lot of hands on experience and I valued that a lot. Unfortunately, the job description was not accurate to the types of tasks that I was actually expected to do. The tasks I was expected to do were very unclear to everyone including my supervisor. This made my internship difficult because I often didn’t have enough projects to work on even when I asked for some and I would often do random assignments that were not related to marketing or events.

 There were some similarities in the job description and what I ended up doing on a daily basis. From the job description I knew there would be a fair amount of social media marketing. Social media marketing became the entirety of my job and I essentially just copied the daily script from the news and pasted it into a Facebook post and uploaded the video each day. I did not find this experience very informative or valuable. I wish that the job description had been more accurate so that I knew what I was getting myself into before I started because by the end of the internship I felt like I wasted a lot of time and I was sad that I didn’t have the experience that was outlined in the job description. 

If I were to find out that one of my favorite businesses was engaging in widespread discrimination acts against individuals based on ethnicity, race, culture, or belief system, I would change my opinion of the company as a whole. I full believe in giving everyone a fair chance and that every person should be treated with respect regardless of culture, ethnicity, or belief system. I think all people are valuable and should be treated as such. If I found out a company that I was previously supporting was engaging in these acts I would no longer support them. For example, recently Victoria’s Secret said they would not consider a transgender person to be a Victoria’s Secret Angel. This upset me because someone who identifies as a female should be treated as such and have the same opportunities as the other females auditioning. After this dispute I ceased supporting Victoria’s Secret because they were not a company that welcomed all. I know a lot of companies that make major strides to be a welcoming and positive experience and offer opportunities to people that are less fortunate than others. These are the kinds of businesses I try and support, not ones that treat their employees unfairly by discriminating against them.

I would also not want to work for a company that had allegations of discrimination. I would not want to work for a company that did not value all people and did not treat all people with respect because the company’s values would not align with my own. I think it is important to work for a company that you feel comfortable with and that aligns with your own personal values.

Recruitment and selection are important aspects to every organization, but a lot of the time it will get overlooked by marketing or product design. In the short run it makes more sense to invest in your actual product or service, the organization may be thinking of ways to improve, redesign or, create something new. It makes sense to dedicate a lot of time to your core product or service because in the end that’s what is bringing in the revenue and profits for the organization. Additionally, it is easy to spend money on marketing because that is the way that customers will find out about your product or service which will drive revenue. When organizations decide to spend more of their resources towards marketing or product design they are focusing on the bottom line of making money but not looking at the bigger picture which can cause some shortcomings in the future. Some reasons why companies should devote resources to recruitment and selection is because the wrong person can cost. If you don’t hire the right person it can cost the company a lot of money in hiring expenses and potential legal fees, and a lot of time can be lost. Additionally, hiring a bad employee can prevent the organization from hiring a great employee. A strength to prioritizing recruitment and selection is finding great employees. Great employees are rare and if you have a good one they can provide a positive atmosphere that aligns with the organization’s culture, expertise, and new ideas. 

Applying for a job and the hiring process can be stressful both from the side of the candidate and from the side of the hiring manager. I remember the most recent time I applied for a job, I submitted an online application and then waited. I found as an applicant most of the time you are waiting for a response. After about 2 weeks after I submitted my application I was contacted to have an over the phone interview. The interview consisted of ten questions and not much conversation outside of the questions which was intimidating. After I passed the first phone interview I was then invited for a skype panel interview. I personally do not like virtual interviews because I think that it creates a barrier between the interviewer and the interviewee and the whole process seems more uncomfortable and awkward. After this interview one month later I was offered the job, and I turned it down. The hiring process did not engage me in the business, I wasn’t able to determine company culture easily over the phone, and I felt like I was not important enough to have a full in person interview. As an applicant I felt undesired. I waited over a month after my interviews before I found out results which made me feel insecure that I got rejected. This process got me thinking about what it would actually be like to work for the company and I realized I no longer had the desire to work for that company. This taught me that recruitment plays a key role in people’s desire to work for particular companies.

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