Final Blog Post Summer 2012

As your internships finish up, consider the feelings you have had during the semester? Did you struggle to balance work and class? What emotions do you go through on a daily basis? Do you ever get overwhelmed by everything? Along that same vein, how would you rate your experience? More positive than negative? Provide a sort of synopsis of your life over the summer. 

Post 4

A lot of discussion in business journals lately revolves around the impact of upward social influence tactics. Upward social influence tactics can be understood as the way subordinates (you guys) attempt to positively impact the relationship with the supervisor in order to improve their own ability for promotion. Some believe influence tactics are strictly conscious while others believe that sometimes an individual might perform influence tactics without necessarily knowing it. An example of an influence tactic would be to ingratiate yourself to your supervisor by always complementing their work. Another influence tactic might be always staying late or being their early. Or, you may be the first to volunteer for a job nobody else wants to do. Do you in your job notice yourself purposefully engaging in social influence tactics? In what way have you performed social influence? Do you believe it is having a positive effect on your relationship with your supervisor? Have some tactics backfired?

Post #3

This week, I would like you to dig deep in trying to recognize the purpose of internships. Who benefits from internships? How do organizations benefit? How do you benefit? Who is marginalized through the institutionalization of internships? Do internships grant opportunities or take them away? Should internships be paid? Think critically about the role of internships in society. Internships do not only happen in sport, but are a key component of sport organizations ability to maximize profit. What do you think maximizing profit does to the individual?

Post #2

Talk a little bit about your experience so far. Have you enjoyed your job? Is it what you expected? Are your bosses treating you fairly? Have you encountered a situation you were not prepared for? Do you have any advice for handling awkward situations? Feel free to discuss whatever you want (related to your internship of course). Also, feel free to ask me any questions you may have that you think might benefit the entire group.

Post #1

Welcome to the course blog. For the first post, I would like you to simply tell the class about your internship and provide a little background about yourself. What do you anticipate doing? Why did you want to do this internship? Is this internship something you anticipate wanting to do long term, or are you just looking to get some experience and perhaps a proverbial "foot in the door?" What are your long term goals? Are you getting paid or not? Do you think interns should be paid and why? And include anything else you would like.

If someone posts something you find interesting, please use this forum to converse back and forth. Be as open, courteous, and honest as possible.

Post #5

As your internships finish up, consider the feelings you have had during the semester? Did you struggle to balance work and class? What emotions do you go through on a daily basis? Do you ever get overwhelmed by everything? Along that same vein, how would you rate your experience? More positive than negative? Provide a sort of synopsis of your life over the past four months.

Post #4

A lot of discussion in business journals lately revolves around the impact of upward social influence tactics. Upward social influence tactics can be understood as the way subordinates (you guys) attempt to positively impact the relationship with the supervisor in order to improve their own ability for promotion. Some believe influence tactics are strictly conscious while others believe that sometimes an individual might perform influence tactics without necessarily knowing it. An example of an influence tactic would be to ingratiate yourself to your supervisor by always complementing their work. Another influence tactic might be always staying late or being their early. Or, you may be the first to volunteer for a job nobody else wants to do. Do you in your job notice yourself purposefully engaging in social influence tactics? In what way have you performed social influence? Do you believe it is having a positive effect on your relationship with your supervisor? Have some tactics backfired?