Archive for April, 2010
Back in the Saddle…Again!
I’ve been back from Year 3 Residency for a bit over a week now and I’m pretty nearly feeling human again. I got sick with a cold or allergies while I was in Phoenix and that is finally clearning up. I spent several days sleeping quite a bit and recharging before heading back to work.
My husband and I also celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary!!! We went to a Sacramento RiverCats Baseball game (which we both love to do!) and Mark had them put a message on the board for me (see the photo). RHMILY means “Remember How Much I Love You!” He got a great big “Awwww” and a kiss from me as I scrambled to pull out my camera. It was a wonderful day!
I started a new class last night. It’s called “Organizational Diagnosis and Intervention.” Do you have any idea what this is about? I’m not sure yet, but I’m sure it’s important. I just haven’t taken the time to read the syllibus or do the reading yet. That starts tonight! I’m sure this has to do with dealing with troubled organizations. I can think of a few organizations I’ve worked for where a class like this would have been helpful.
I think I’ve reached an alternatively weary/exciting part of my doctoral program. There are some days (hours/minutes/seconds) when I am tremendously excited about the fact that I only have four content classes and my dissertation project left to do and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. There are other days (hours/minutes/seconds) where I’m extremely tired and keep wondering “What was I thinking when I signed up for this journey?” I look at the “light at the end of the tunnel” and am sure it’s an oncoming train.
I am hoping that the excitement will go back to being the predominant feeling so I can push through to the end of this process and graduate. In the meantime I keep putting one foot in front of the other and doing one task or assignment at a time. My dissertation mentor, Dr. Holley, has assured me that my dissertation project is now doable and my timeline is reasonable. Now I just need to pitch it to the folks that I want to study…
Anyway, life proceeds apace. I’m back at work and am still training a new coworker who is coming along nicely. He starts teaching training classes tomorrow (under my watchful eye). Hopefully by July he’ll be able to take half of the training chores off of my plate and let me concentrate on other tasks.
My husband and dogs are great! I think Shasta wishes I’d walk her more often. Come to think of it, I wish I could walk her more often. Now that the weather is starting to improve I hope to fulfill her wish. I think I’ll start by taking both Roobee and Shasta to a nearby dog park.
Mark is as loving and supportive as ever! I really couldn’t do any of this without him. He keeps me going and helps to recharge my batteries on a daily basis.
Day 5 of Year 3 Residency: Scholarly Thinking
Day Five was the start of a second class. This one is concentrating on our dissertations and how to refine and ready our proposals. At this point it’s a bit difficult for me to think in terms of my dissertation because I’m just so tired.
This week has been full of very long days and late nights. During the first class we had to work on presentations with our teams every night and then get up and present on a topic we know nothing about in scholarly terms. Thanks to the Internet there is TONS of information out there on the topics that we were given. Making everything you’re saying about the topics sound scholarly is the challenging part!
Our topics for the first class were:
- Financial Collapse
- Climate Change
- Stem Cell Research
- Nuclear Weapons
- World Peace
- Leadership Theory
I’m sure I’ve missed some. I’ll add to the list as they come back to me.
One of the things that I found very interesting about the topics above was that every presentation on each topic was so completely different. Nobody repeated references or perspectives. We all came at each topic from a different angle. Even though the topics were heavy, it really was a learning experience on scholarly presentation and scholarly thinking!
Year 3 Residency Day 4 – Are we done yet?
Today is the half way mark for this residency and I find myself asking “Are we done yet?” It’s not that I’m not having a good time or learning a lot, because I am. It’s just that this is hard work with a lot of loooonnnngggg days. I’m exhausted and still need to work on a 2000 word paper tonight along with yet another presentation. I’m also here alone and missing my husband and dogs very much right now.
My instructor and other University of Phoenix faculty keep telling us that the point of this residency is to a) teach us to think in a scholarly manner and b) get us out of our comfort zone and still be able to think in a scholarly manner. I think they are succeeding admirably! I’m definitely not comfortable right now!!! I’m feeling like they’re about to lose my ability to think in a scholarly manner however because my brain is quickly turning to mush. Ah well… on to a new day to see what it will hold.
Did You Ever Have to do a Blog Post and Not Really Have Anything to Say?
Yeah, me neither!
Day 3 is going well. I feel like we did a much better job with our presentation on corporate sustainability. The difference in our thinking was demonstrable. Our presentation was much more thorough and detailed. Once more, another group did their presentation on Sustainable Development as well, but it was a completely different focus! They focused on environmental sustainability rather than corporate sustainability. They also used completely different models and suggested a different leadership theory.
Now I’m in a new group and we are doing a presentation tomorrow on Climate Change. We are focusing on the plight of penguins and why those of us in North America should care. I’m the team leader this time and have to come up with a leadership theory to fit the solutions we will present. We have decided to work separately since we will have time to pull things together in the morning. I have a good group and have faith in their abilities.
Year 3 Residency, Day 3: Early Start to the Day
Sustainability Model: Demonstrates that the economy and society are dependent on the health of the environment.
I got an early start this morning, but am very tired this morning. I was working until about 11:00 p.m. last night on today’s presentation. However, there is a group of motorcyclists staying at my hotel and they were revving bikes and playing loud music until very late. Their partying makes concentration and sleeping more than a bit difficult.
My team is doing a presentation on Corporate Sustainability today. I’m presenting the sustainability and solution models. The first one is the Sustainability Model and the second is the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. The Sustainability Model demonstrates that the economy and society are dependent on the health of the environment. The literature shows that people tend to think that for corporations to be responsible they have to give away shareholders money. This model shows that doing business in a sustainable way insures that the organization will be able to continue making money for the shareholders.
What are your thoughts on this?