Review at post and provide comments that include positive feedback and suggestions for improvements.

Post 1 during my time in this class I was forced to think about how I am very easily marketed to. I think that probably my highlight of the course was reading the Immutable Laws of marketing. I thought that though they could use some updating that are pretty applicable to interactions and life and in general. My five ideas will all come from the book.

Law 4 (Law of Perception) early on in my HR career I was taught by my mentor that an employee’s perception is their reality. Seeing that law in the book showed me that the law can be applied anywhere. If i think or perceive that a person does not like me I will think that is true, if i perceive a product to be a good buy I will think that is true, etc. I learned that reality is merely a form of my own perception.

Law 8 (Law of Duality) in the book they talk about how every market will become a two horse race and I found that to be interesting. It showed me that when a new fresh idea is presented someone is always going to take that idea and repackage it. This has forced me to look at the way I shop for products differently. I learned to examine what I am buying and why I am buying it.

Law 13 (Law of Sacrifice) This law struck me and I think it resonated with me most. I sit here at almost 7 pm in my office typing this after working a 9 hour shift. I am exhausted and I am trying to finish a little early in this course because my staff is short and I need to be out helping them. I want to be home, with my family snuggled up to a bottle of wine...i mean my boyfriend (no i don't) but I am here because this is important. I find that I am having to sacrifice things to make room for others. This week its being home early, next week it could be something different. I have to find a way to make room for all the important things: Family, School, Work, and sacrifice the things that are not pressing.

Law 17 (Law of Predictability) you don't know the future and you can't know the future so you have built your company (or life) in order to be flexible and stand through any storm. I think this one speaks for itself for me. We have to be flexible and we have to sometimes "go with the flow" or we will never make it out of here alive!

Law 19 (Law of Failure) My dear friend Antony has the phrase "Fail Faster" painted on a mural in his office. Failure is to be expected. I don't relish in the fact that I have failed a million times. I have lost and I have let people down. I have to learn how to drop things that don't work and move on. It's hard to admit defeat, I like most people hate it. This law shows me that instead of being ashamed of my failures I need to accept them, learn from them and move on.I don't mean to be sappy about a marketing text but during this quarter I was really overwhelmed. We moved, I started a new job, and about a thousand other things were going on and I found myself questioning is getting this degree worth it? I'm tired, broke, and over it most days. The 22 Immutable Laws text was this weird little book that felt like it telling me "Hey stupid knock it off and read between the lines here!" I hope everyone has had a great quarter and hopefully we will meet again in another class!!!

Post 2 first and foremost, reflections back on this course and what I have learned is that critical thinking and communication is key to marketing, sales and success in general. It is not enough to be able to speak what needs to be done, but I must be able to take those words and effectively apply them to make things happen. Second, this course has taught me that feedback is also key to success. The benefits from obtaining information, statistics, and facts and figures from consumer feedback are irreplaceable. Marketing and sales must listen to what consumers are telling them, and apply efficient and effective measures for customer satisfaction being the end result. Third, my thoughts have been changed, when entering this class, my thoughts on marketing was “bigger is always better”. Course studies of unit nine and the Segway “big surprise,” which lead consumers to believe something major, even bigger than the internet was coming, and it ended in total disappointment. The heart of any marketing and sales technique is the needs and desires of the consumer. Seaway had no heart. The Marketing Department failed, ignored the consumers completely. I must have heart. My heart concerning marketing and sales will be the consumers. Fourth, Management and consumer related software is a must, along with accurately identifying what the results are telling me. Researching these software programs during our class taught me just how much will be missed without them. The fifth idea that I have generated through this course is that social media is much more valuable than I realized. Social media can be used to “listen” to what consumers want. Many ideas for new products and how to market them effectively to different audiences will be revealed through social media.

Although I am studying accounting, CPA, this class will be most beneficial to my professional and private life. I have come to grasp the concept that we must all look at each other individually. We all see things and comprehend the same thing in a different manner. I feel that the most important entity concerning marketing and sales is the understanding and respect to different cultures and philosophies. Communication can then be effective, leading to trust and building and maintaining great relationships, both professionally and privately. Thank you, it has been a pleasure.

Post 3 the role of HRM in the workplace, namely the “strategic” partnership that HRM can play in furthering an organization’s goals In my opinion (and it is an “admittedly” a limited one), I have always envisioned a more dynamic HR department everyplace I have ever worked starting with the Marine Corps. HRM in all actuality functions as the “right hand” of executive authority, with the ability to be the “pulse” of an organization. HRM should be the channel that creates the bulk of an organization’s communication (through blogs, “webzines”, organizational newsletters, and regular email updates about all things of interest to both the organization and its employees).

In reality, it is most often viewed as an “office of doom” where employees go to air grievances, or partake in the office gristmill of gossip. I have always “felt” it could be so much more, and after taking this class, I am one again excited about using what I have learned to infuse any department I work in with this new information.

As a future “project manager” managing I don’t know what – I love the steps or the flow of the strategy such as: analysis of design of work (perhaps the most important and complex part of an organization); HR planning (“strategically” organizing or positioning the human resources); recruiting (“proper” recruiting utilizing new methods and techniques (such as social media) to engage potential employees); selection (based on the “broadest” of capabilities to insure diversity, and the “narrowing” of a pool of the most interesting prospects); training and development (educating for increased performance and engagement); performance management (“scientifically” assessing the management and employee performance to gauge success); compensation (determining the best pay structure for the organization to retain and attract the best workforce); and employee relations (this, deals with “human” in resource).

I have learned a lot in this class, and have actually dispelled a few personal myths (who would have thought that so much "thought" went in to the “little” I have previously been paid).

Sincerely,

Post 4 i really enjoyed this course and learned some valuable things. I recently sat down with my mentor and we mapped out my career path and the next role for me is a managerial one. That is my goal in the next two years and I believe that a lot of what I learned in this course will make me a better manager. The thing that impacted me the most were the topics covered in Units 3, 4 and 5, they centered on recruiting/hiring and employee development/training and managing performance. I believe that in a managerial role I can partner with our HR department in these areas.

The hospital that I work in has many programs that employees can take advantage of if they want to develop in their careers but I think it is important for a manager to know the career path of their employees and to encourage that training and development. It is also important for the managers to recognize when that training or development is not working and to implement something else. Retention is important to productivity and the bottom line. Managing performance was particularly interesting to me because at the time of the unit, I was getting my performance appraisal and just by reading the chapter and participating in the discussion questions I was able to gather that my current manager does not like to give reviews and does them poorly. I took what I learned and applied it to my situation and forced him to change his process. I will use the suggestions in the book in my future role.

I believe that partnering with HR to recruit and hire the right worker for the job is also something that I will use in the future. It is important to take advantage of all of the resources available and to maybe think outside of the box for the right employee. The resources that Professor White made available and her participation on the discussion board was very encouraging and I can truly say that I learned quite a lot from this class, not only from the book or Professor but from my fellow learners. I wish everyone the best.