Keeping My Head Out of Water October 7, 2007
Posted by thinkPhD in MGT5016.add a comment
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed. I have a full time job, plus I have begun teaching at a local college in the evenings, just as I did in Georgia before the move. I am also a student, and the demands of researching and writing papers can get me down. I get tired but I know that I can’t quit. I have spent my whole life working to this point and quitting is just not an option. But I get tired of working ALL OF THE TIME.
Other people I know go on vacations. My vacation days are used up either seeing about family things, writing papers or grading papers. When others watch TV, I am working. It is very hard to be “all business” and “no play.” On top of all of this, I often feel as though I can’t get anything done. That is a funny thing, because I get lots of things done but for some reason I don’t feel like it.
I dream about writing papers. I dream about grading assignments. I dream about preparing class outlines. My mind never stops or rests. The right thing to say is that all this is worth it….that I am doing the right thing. It has been very difficult keeping my head out of the water this week. And to top it all off, I don’t know how to swim.
Catch Up September 29, 2007
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This is a catch up post because I have neglected thinkPhD! I finished up the last course with an “A” and have completed three assignments out of five for MGT5016, Managing Change, with Dr. Arthur “Lee” Smith. This is my fourth class at Northcentral which leaves about 13 more. Today I am working on Assignment 4 and frankly, delaying the inevitable….writing!
Work has been going fairly well but some things that have made the adjustment difficult. Employees in the corporate office tend to be just that – employees. A number of them have little or no engagement in the business. After coming from a mill setting where everyone had personal buy-in, this has been difficult for me. There are a bunch of little fiefdoms all around the office with conflicting goals for each group. For example, one group wants me to do something (that will increase numbers on my side) that will decrease numbers on theirs. They don’t even want to entertain thinking about what would be best for the company as a whole. They are so afraid of not meeting imposed metrics. Indeed, there have been a number of firings and leavings ….enough to make anyone worried. It is sad that there is so much division and competition among the groups.
Mom and Dad have decided not to move to our City, but to remain in Alabama. Daughter is adjusting to her teaching work schedule and Son is adjusting to his Senior Year at the University. Daughter’s Boyfriend has gotten a job new near their new home in NC and is enjoying the work. Step-Daughter has a new job as a Police Dispatcher and she is doing great. I am very proud of all of them.
This month we started on a path to remove debt from our lives. Dave Ramsey’s website is a great resource and I highly recommend it. My Sister-in-Law recommended that I check out the resources there, and we used September to create a budget. October we will start cash-basis only with no credit.
This week, I started teaching a GEN300 with the University of Phoenix here. I have been working for them in our previous town for several years. It has taken a few months to get in on the rotation. With all of my other responsibilities (work, Northcentral PhD, home, etc.) I am going to go slow and only teach one or two classes at a time.
I suppose I need to get started on the next paper….
Moving …..Ugh! May 30, 2007
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Well we are almost all packed up. The moving company sent four strong men to load us up. Today was the second day. They think they will be all finished tomorrow. We are going to get the Christmas decorations down from the attic tomorrow morning. Hopefully, we will be all loaded up in the afternoon and we will start out our trip to our new house on Friday morning. Look out Richmond, here we come!!
MGT5010 – Leadership in Organizations May 6, 2007
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I started this class on April 1 but with all of the traveling that I have been doing I have not turned in an assignment until yesterday. This course has 5 assignments:
Assignment 1: 7 questions on topics in the text
Assignment 2: 8 questions on topics in the text
Assignment 3: 4 case studies to analyze
Assignment 4: 2 magazine articles to analyze
Assignment 5: paper on leadership topic
The class ends on June 24. I hope to get the second assignment completed today. I am on question #2.
We close on the new house in Richmond this week and plan to move at the end of May. It will take us a few weeks to paint and recarpet. There are also some repairs that we will have to make. We are very excited about the move!
We also have an outside offer on our house here in Alabama. Since I am in relocation for the company, the house is in a buy-out program if we do not sell it. It would be great to sell it because my parents are living next door and the house would not be vacant.
We Bought A House in Richmond April 15, 2007
Posted by thinkPhD in Home, Uncategorized.add a comment
Much has happened since my last post. We have finally found a great house in Richmond. It is really nice inside and I will have plenty of room for my large office desk. I think we are going to really love this house. In the meantime, I started a new class on April 1st but have been traveling so much that I have not written the first paper. I hope to get started this week on the first assignment. Now that we have an accepted offer on the house we can move forward. We are so excited!
House for Sale January 20, 2007
Posted by thinkPhD in Career, Home.add a comment
I am taking about two months off of my studies. My company has reassigned me to Richmond, VA, and we have been very busy trying to sell this house and find a new one there. In addition, I have been traveling much more than usual as my work is now there in Richmond. I am also taking a hiatus from my work with the University of Phoenix because of all of these new responsibilities.
We are truly going to miss our lovely home in the country. This is probably the hardest part about deciding to accept the reassignment or not. We are just sick that we must sell this home.
Click here to see our House for Sale.
Assignment #8 Submitted December 21, 2006
Posted by thinkPhD in MGT5019.add a comment
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.
Journal Assignment December 18, 2006
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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.
Brain Drain Pays December 8, 2006
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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….
Brain Drain November 25, 2006
Posted by thinkPhD in MGT5019.1 comment so far
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!
