Organized Activity

I have organized many activities that were work related and non-work related. The one that stands out to me was when I was the business manager for my sons Pop-Warner football league team. I had to organize the team binder for certifications that included all paperwork related the age,weight, picture and report cards etc. I had to basically organize the rotation of parents working the snack bar and delegating responsibilities to the parents to take score, do the chains at the game, work the booth and run the game clock, score board and bringing snacks to each game. I did the fundraisers and raffles as well as sending out reminders for all upcoming events. I also ordered the trophy's for the team at the end of the season. I was also working full-time and raising two children and a husband. The thing that helped me stay sane in all this was to stay organized. I kept lists of everything and constantly reminded parents by calling and handing out lists of who was doing what and on what date. The hardest part in all of this was to get the parents to commit to helping out. I found that the parents where worse than the kids. The thing that I would do differently would be to have a mandatory meeting for all parents and having sign-up sheets for parents and stress the importance of volunteering for their children

Purchasing Cards

The three purchasing card companies that I researched are: Visa, US Bank and Pex.

If I were in the position to utilize any purchasing card it would be Visa. According to there website, they claim that using their card will eliminate Purchase Orders, Invoices and Checks; which cuts down on clerical time and offers the following:

• Improves on management reporting so you can analyze by spending by expense type.
• Flexible Limits/You can set card by department or individual employee.
• Restricted card use.
• Designate specific types of merchants.

The others have similarities but i think Visa has put together a better plan and they are already a prestigious company in which to do business.  

There are so many ways to organize our personal records. One new way that we may consider is a Electronic Filing System for record keeping. It would make life easier to input all records into a database for storage and update it regularly. You can make copy's on a flash drive and put it in a secret location for safety purposes. You would not have to keep the information on your computer. I think with all of the Identity theft and viruses this would be a great alternative. 

Organizing personal records is a very important step in being able to locate records. The first thing to consider is findability. The system that I would choose for personal records is color coded folders to distinguish importance; Red being the most important. 2nd Green;3rd Blue 4th Yellow and so on. I would have 10 of each color and have a private number code segment which would cover confidentiality. I would have them in a locked cabinet in a secure location for the safety aspect. I have not had any problems with findability of my records.

Google Drive

Hello,

I have not used "Google Drive" or "Sky Drive" before and from what I have gathered in my my research is that for Google drive synchronizes' between the user's computer and Google Drive storage, the Google Drive 'client' software must be running on the user's computer. The client communicates with Google Drive to cause updates.

Google drive is a file sharing system where the owner can regulate visibility to the public. It can be indexed by search engines on the Internet if made public. You can have access to sheets, documents, slides and drawings and many other things such as video's and fonts.

I would utilize this in a business setting to share various research and videos to better enhance my business and details of that in a file sharing system to attain more clientele.  Businesses want good information that they
can see what they are possibly purchasing or getting involved with.

Poor customer service

Just recently, I had a plumbing company come to my home and fix a leaky tub faucet. The plumber fixed the problem; so it seemed, and left. I checked his work and it seemed to be fine; not long after it started leaking again. I called the company back and spoke to a women answering the phone and explained  the continued problem. Automatically she went into defense mode. I calmly let her know that it was not working and that is the original problem they came for in the first place. She than calmed down and said that she would send someone out to check the problem out. I had to lead by example and dictate the conversation in being calm and she followed suit. I guess redirection works and being positive worked in this instance. This was an external problem.

My future role as a leader

This chapter has made me think about my future role as a leader in several ways. There are many character traits in the make-up of a true leader. I believe a good leader will first evaluate their weaknesses and work toward improving those areas and excel in them. Leading by example will show your leadership and pretty soon others will mirror what you do. Being a good example in your work ethic Including honesty by being on time following through with projects to completion in a timely manner and having a pleasant attitude while doing so is important. I learned that motivation is part of the recipe of good leader. It is important for a leader to take time and find out what the people they lead are motivated by and using that information to encourage them. By doing this you show a caring attitude toward the individual and this will encourage them to want to do a better job for you. I really think understanding the area of delegating responsibility not only helps you but promotes confidence in themselves and therefore promotes potential leadership in them as well. I also learned about resolving conflict and how important is to take in account all sides and make appropriate judgements from all the facts and try and resolve them. Trying to prevent conflict also is a part of being a leading a group so future conflict will not arise. There is so much more to the full character traits of a good leader. I just picked out a few of the traits that resonated with me.