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After graduating with my AA in Administration and Information Systems in June of 2014, I was accepted into the Organizational Leadership Bachelor of Arts program at Arizona State University. I fell in love with the study of Organizational leadership and behavior. I graduated in August of 2016 and will be forever changed by the knowledge I acquired while attending this outstanding university.
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Courses completed at ASU
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Click the Organizational Leadership link on the menu to learn more about the study of Organizational Leadership
Course work in the areas of Organizational Leadership,
Organizational Behavior, Project Management, and Organizational Assessment
Organizational Behavior, Project Management, and Organizational Assessment
Organizational Leadership
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION FOR MANAGERS | TWC 347
During this course I created my own company as part of a branding exercise. I used this company throughout the duration of the course to complete various writing assignments from the perspective of the business owner. I had the opportunity to create a letter head for my company, research and practice composing a formal business memo, a claim letter, and a proposal for a grant. I recorded my own podcast for my employees, composed a informational memo introducing a new piece of technology, and finally, I created an annual report as part of my final project. Below is a link to my annual report complete with a letter to shareholders.
During this course I created my own company as part of a branding exercise. I used this company throughout the duration of the course to complete various writing assignments from the perspective of the business owner. I had the opportunity to create a letter head for my company, research and practice composing a formal business memo, a claim letter, and a proposal for a grant. I recorded my own podcast for my employees, composed a informational memo introducing a new piece of technology, and finally, I created an annual report as part of my final project. Below is a link to my annual report complete with a letter to shareholders.
REINVENTING ORGANIZATIONS | BIS 360
The main focus of this course is the revolutionary research of Frederic Laloux as outlined in his book, Reinventing Organizations. This book provides a detailed description of the various stages of human consciousness [Reactive-Infrared, Magic- Magenta, Impulsive-Red, Conformist-Amber, Achievement Orange, Pluralistic-Green and Evolutionary-Teal], as they have occurred throughout history and how humans have evolved over time to adopt new stages of consciousness. I developed the knowledge needed to understand the necessary conditions of a Teal Organization, as well as, how to start a new Teal Organization and even transform an existing organization. Laloux's book provides a blueprint that details how to structure an organization from a teal perspective and how to introduce practices associated with Holacracy. I find myself eternally changed by the work of Frederic Laloux. I am extremely curious what it would be like to work for an organization that operates with self-managed teams and considers things such as wholeness and evolutionary purpose. I am inspired by the use of nontraditional organizational structures and practices.
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We need to continue to educate people on the ideals associated with the Evolutionary-Teal perspective and the benefits we gain by viewing an organization as, “...a living system, an entity with its own energy, its own identity, its own creative potential and sense of direction. We don’t need to tell it what to do; we just need to listen, partner with it, join it in its dance, and discover where it will take us” (Laloux 2014, p. 199).
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LEADERSHIP GROUP COMMUNICATION | COM 430 During this course we were assigned a discussion group that we met with virtually once a week on Google hangouts. We needed to conduct and record a 10 minute discussion on the week's topics and readings and upload it to YouTube for a group grade. I conducted a leadership interview with a leader of my choice and then recorded a presentation on my leader based on the information I gathered from the interview. As a group we developed a Theory Framework Database providing details and origins of Leadership theories we identified as most important. This course discussed ideas such as;
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Organizational Behavior
BEHAVIORAL DYNAMICS | OGL 220 This course served as an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of human relations by focusing on cognitive and social psychology, sociology, communication, leadership, management, and cultural studies. I studied mental models and how to understand the perspectives of others. I am now able to demonstrate self-awareness with respect to internal influences such as personality, emotional intelligence, and stress. I learned the ins and outs of effective interpersonal communication and related skills, such as;
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ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION | COM 250
This course helped me identify common issues facing organizations and how approaches to organizing have changed over time. I was introduced to many historical events that influenced changes in organizing and organizational communication. I studied countless approaches and tools to examine organizations and learned to describe the organizational process of decision making, socialization, conflict management, leadership and diversity. I studied the following in great detail:
This course helped me identify common issues facing organizations and how approaches to organizing have changed over time. I was introduced to many historical events that influenced changes in organizing and organizational communication. I studied countless approaches and tools to examine organizations and learned to describe the organizational process of decision making, socialization, conflict management, leadership and diversity. I studied the following in great detail:
- The Hawthorne studies
- Communication patterns in classical organizations
- Communication patterns in human relations organizations
- Fayol's theory of classical management
- Critical approaches
- Theory X & Theory Y management
- Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
- Systems theory
- Schein's model of Organizational Culture
Project Management
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INTRO TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT | OGL 240
This course introduced me to many of the formal literature, standards, models, tools and guidelines related to project management. The four phases of project management are: planning, build-up, implementation and closeout (HBR, 2012, p. 4). After taking this introduction course I was eager to learn more about the specifics of what goes into each of the four phases, as well as more about the different tools used in the planning stage; such as, a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), the Critical Path Method and a Performance Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) chart and a Gnatt chart (HBR, 2012, p. 8, 14-15). One of the most important ideas that I picked up on in the first chapter of, HBR Guide to Project Management, was the idea of working backwards during the planning phase of any project. Taking into consideration everything that I learned during this course, I believe that successful project mangers must be experts in the following areas; setting priorities before starting the project, developing a well-organized project charter, assembling an efficient team, recognizing the existence of scope creep and the importance of avoiding it, have master scheduling skills that allow them to optimize the schedule, effectively monitor and control the project using 5 basic steps, facilitate a successful closeout of a project and capture the lessons learned. Lets explore each of these concepts a little bit further. Below is a link to my final paper, as well as, my review on a case study of the Altex Corporation. Both provide a comprehensive explanation of the skills I learned throughout this course. |
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PROJECT LEADERSHIP, STRATEGY & SCOPE | OGL 321
The most beneficial part of this course was the Harvard Business Publisher Simulation. We worked through a different scenario each week and then posted a debrief to the course discussion board. This course showed me a different side of project management and reminded me that even though all the charts, planning and scheduling are important, your team is still the most valuable resource you have. Their ability to succeed depends entirely on the project managers ability to lead.
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HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING SIMULATION
The simulation part of this course offered a very unique experience that allowed me grow as a project leader. I was able to strengthen my knowledge and understanding of what it takes to manage a project from beginning to end. The simulation provided the perfect platform for me to test my skills and experiment with different approaches by being able to complete multiple attempts of each scenario. I feel that this environment, involving multiple attempts each week, allowed us to, in a sense, develop a level of experience, as a project manager does throughout his/or career after managing many projects. Throughout each scenario, we were expected to make decisions before each week of the project that would affect the projects progress that week. The decisions that we were expected to make were limited in scope and revolved solely around leading the project team. Our decision-making capabilities were limited to: adjusting the number of meetings, availability of overtime, time spent developing prototypes, and the composition of the team as far as size and skill level. These parameters, coupled with the extra emphasis on keeping team morale high and stress levels low, shows me that we were expected to focus on the ways in which our decisions affected our team. These decisions helped me enhance my project leadership capabilities. |
Click here to see my debrief after working through my first scenario in the simmulation
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Organizational Assessment
ASSESSMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS | BIS 357
This course allowed me to understand why organizations assess themselves and provided me with an overview of common challenges that present themselves during organizational assessment. I was introduced to various organizational assessment frameworks and strategies and had the opportunity to research leading assessment models such as; Shingo Prize, Good To Great, Lean Enterprise Self-Assessment Tool (LESAT). I also studied and assessed successful companies such as IBM, Berkshire Hathaway and Southwest Airlines using the leading assessment models. I am now able to identify the impact of the enabling environment on Organizations, especially my own. I am also able to determine which specific assessment model should be used to assess organizations based on certain criteria.
Below are links to two discussion board posts. The first assesses Southwest Airlines using the Good To Great assessment model and the second assesses IMB using the Shingo Prize model.
This course allowed me to understand why organizations assess themselves and provided me with an overview of common challenges that present themselves during organizational assessment. I was introduced to various organizational assessment frameworks and strategies and had the opportunity to research leading assessment models such as; Shingo Prize, Good To Great, Lean Enterprise Self-Assessment Tool (LESAT). I also studied and assessed successful companies such as IBM, Berkshire Hathaway and Southwest Airlines using the leading assessment models. I am now able to identify the impact of the enabling environment on Organizations, especially my own. I am also able to determine which specific assessment model should be used to assess organizations based on certain criteria.
Below are links to two discussion board posts. The first assesses Southwest Airlines using the Good To Great assessment model and the second assesses IMB using the Shingo Prize model.
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LEADING ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION | OGL 355 This course focused on strategic management practices. We studied competitive advantage, drivers of the business environment, as well as the implications of these driving forces, critical success factors, core competencies, and dynamic capabilities. We learned to assess strengths and weaknesses through an internal analysis and assess opportunities and threats through external analysis. We explored different competitive and functional strategies; how to implement them, as well as evaluate them. We focused on corporate strategies including; organizational growth strategies, stability strategies, and renewal strategies. I studied multiple case studies of well known organizations outlining both failures and successes. I have a much broader understanding of various strategic practices and how they can be implemented and evaluated as a result of the knowledge I gained from this course. I feel more confident in my abilities to conduct an external or internal analysis. Most of all, I am now a firm believer that strategy is necessary in any organization and should be occurring simultaneously on many levels. Below is a link to my discussion board post on competitive advantage showcasing my understanding of what it takes to stay competitive. I also included a link to my final paper which was a case study I developed on the non-profit organization known as, The Sierra Club. |
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Pro-Seminar I |
Pro-Seminar II |
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Pro-Seminar I gave me the unique opportunity to reflect on my academic journey and collect evidence of the skills I acquired through the Organizational Leadership program at ASU. Our text, Reframing Organizations, by Bolman and Deal (2013) taught me how to effectively reframe situations using the four frames below to reach the most ideal solution.
Reframing Organizations
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Reflecting on my Pro-Seminar II experience, I can honestly say that I have developed a detailed image of what I want my life to look like. I know what I value and what I desire, both personally and professionally. This six week journey of self-discovery was exhilarating, and I feel as though it truly prepared me to go after what I want in life and to turn my dreams into reality. As a result of the various activities and exercises of this course, I know what I want my future to look like and I have developed a detailed career and life plan with the steps that will help me reach my goals.
Artistic representation of my future life...
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