Organizational Learning

For the past five years I’ve been playing basketball professionally overseas, which has presented me the great fortune of seeing new countries, experiencing different cultures, and adapting to interesting environments. Obviously, this is what I like to do during my spare time, but I also enjoy listening to music and staying up-to-date on current events. Besides working for an internship at the University at Buffalo for the Athletic sales and marketing department as well as in a factory packaging goods for a short period of time, I’ve never worked for an organization. The reason I decided to join this program, is due to the understanding that I believe it will help me transition into the corporate world, as I have asperations to work in the felid of sales in marketing. I’ve learned a lot so far within the course about being a leader within an organization and how-to mange employees as well as emotions. I’ve completed six of the courses so far and can’t wait to learn more about how to be an effective leader in working situations, as I stride toward completion of the program.

Objective Questions

What do you remember most vividly about the lesson?

What I remember most vividly about this lesson, is the question of does the organization lose critical knowledge when key people leave? Which I believe it shouldn’t because organizations should prepare themselves for the departure of employees, especially key employees. A level of talent may leave but the information should remain.  

Where does this lesson fit into the curriculum?

This lesson fits into the curriculum because it exposes why it’s important for leaders to make sure the company is preparing itself for all possible occurrences.

Interpretive Questions

What do these results mean to you in terms of future planning?

These results mean that communication is very important for leaders to have, when concerning employees and bosses. For a leader to be truly effective, they need understanding with the entire organization for the working environment may run fluidly.  

What other ways could you assess student learning?

Video presentation has always been a good way for students to learn and become more engaged within a lesson. Also, active learning which was discuss in the HR 651 course, is also a great way for students to learn, as it gives them hands on experience.

Reflective questions

How do you feel the lesson went?

I feel that the first lesson went well, as I learned more than I thought I would. I was especially engaged in the question, is the organization open to discordant information? Most employees are afraid of giving their bosses bad information or new ideas because the news or ideas may not go over well. Organizations who are truly willing to learn and listen to all information being presented will most likely be subjected to greater success    

Which activities do you think fostered high involvement?

Making sure that the organization is following a defined learning agenda, is something that takes high involvement from the leaders of the company. Knowing the vision of the company and how it should be perceived by customers, clients and employees, will be a very hands on job for leaders in the company.   

Decisional questions

Which skills will you further develop?

I will further develop my communication skills as well as my informative learning because I believe these are two key elements in being an effective leader. Having the ability to communicate with people and being informative on the workings of the company, will help me lead employees. Also, active listening as discussed in course 601, is a great way for me to learn and comprehend other’s viewpoints or teachings.      

What things will you do differently?

I will do more listening and less talking, while communicating with others and apply the 360-degree feedback method discussed in course 601 within my social life. This will give me some indication on how people are receiving me when I speak to them and what I can do differently to have more seamless conversations.    

These questions apply to my personal life because they allow me to look at ways to improve on my social skills. This lesson was about learning, not just individually but within a group setting. This takes an understanding of others and how they respond to my energy, behavior towards them, and the character that I display. Listening to comprehend is a key aspect to truly learning, which is something I feel I can always improve on.