Looking back at old posts one starts to realize that these posts go hand-in-hand with one another. They all fall under the common theme that makes an organization run more effectively and productive. Wether it is through a bad example or a good one, one is able to realize what contributing factors allows for an organization to succeed. For example, my opportunism post ties to my management posts because bad management can be the cause of a person being opportunistic which can lead to increased transaction costs and in effect be the result of poor team success. A reader can learn from my team success post and apply it to their management in their individual organization if they believe it will help them achieve success in it. They may be also be able to see a decrease in opportunism if they read the team success post and understand that with trust and a common goal in mind, higher success will come if they work as a team while getting rid of some opportunism along the way. Transfer pricing can be related to transaction costs in such a way that makes efficiency of funds increase or decrease. Students that pay for popular classes with illinibucks will more likely pass that class the first time and not have to pay again to repeat it, leading to a decrease in transaction costs. If illinibucks were to start a black market, we would see how transfer pricing would cause an increase of opportunism amongst students.
I see now how these posts are all related to the course themes and more specifically the Economics of Organization. At the time of writing these posts I did not really think of relating them to one another but now it is clear how they are all related and allow for better understanding of how and why different organizations work better or worse by exploring these related themes. Applying these connections and understanding how they affect one another can allow a reader to see what works more efficiently in his/her organization and what he/she should avoid.
Writing these posts is slowly starting to become more natural. I am beginning to be able to apply the concepts to past experiences or new ideas more easily now. Most importantly, I am starting to see how these posts are all related to one another which is what this posts was intended to do. From this point forward, I will be able to relate future posts more to older ones and elaborate why something may or may not work with examples from older posts. Understanding this will allow me to see how the post I am writing, along with older ones, paint a bigger picture and will lead to overall understanding of the course.
In terms of writing the prompt, I would like to see more prompts that have a cause and effect as well as a takeaway message. More specifically, I would like to see prompts asking for further explanation of an obstacle that was encountered and the solutions that were done to overcome that obstacle. This way we can look at differing ways different people were able to cope with hardship and be able to take that and apply it to future obstacles in future organizations if they arise.
As I have written in response to a number of other students, you are free to write your post on something other than the prompt, as long as you can tie what you write to course themes. I should note that the business news is full of stories about organizations that come up short and are facing substantial difficulties. So, personally, I'd rather read a few success stories, where the businesses seem to be doing something right.
ReplyDeleteYou said that at the time of writing you didn't think of relating the posts to each other. That is certainly understandable about the first on - on your experience with teams. It is less understandable about the third and fourth ones. I don't think you are unique among your classmates this way. Many others also haven't been making such connections. But I wonder why. Could it be that it is not something you do in your other classes? There is an expression - not seeing the forest for the trees. Your goal should be to see the forest.
This requires practice and my course is probably not sufficient practice for doing this. But it might offer encouragement to continue to do this elsewhere.
While the potential for opportunistic behavior is often present, quite frequently the opportunism doesn't manifest. People treat each other with decency and respect and provide gifts in the workplace of labor supplied beyond the minimal requirement. So some of the lessons that I hope you will take from the class about what might work for the organization to function well and not be victimized by the opportunism.
Let me also use your focus on opportunism to talk about class function - coming to class, when you get your blog posts in, and when you initiate in writing them. I have a sense that a few weeks ago you were making more of an earnest effort on each of these, but over time and as other obligations have gotten your attention, these have each begun to slide. Just to illustrate, the prompt asked about your writing process for the posts. You responded by talking about what you see as connections between the posts, but you really didn't consider your process in writing them and whether that itself has changed. Our processes themselves can be more or less productive, so are worth considering and then modifying if one can see that a better way of doing things is available.
I agree that the posts and blogging is becoming more natural. I think with anything, things get easier with time and in this case, everyone is becoming more comfortable with the blogging format.
ReplyDeleteI personally find the comments helpful and enjoy the feed back I get from them. I think it is important to give the comments, as well as receive them. That being said, I would appreciate some comments on my blog. Your comments on my posts would help me improve and it will help you to analyze another peer's work.