Assignment 8: Be a Leader

Last Saturday, the UMBC orientation team held group interviews for those interested in different parts of the orientation process. All the applicants were broken into three separate groups, and groups would cycle through three different activities which included a session on priorities, problem0-solving, and general questions to be expected from freshman. While the groups collaborated to work through the different activities, those in charge of the orientation process and previous orientation team workers observed us and took notes.

Not only did I want to establish the fact that I was qualified for the positions I applied for, I wanted to demonstrate leadership in order to create an impression on the observers and be one of the first names they thought of when deciding who to invite back for one-on-one interviews. I did so by praising group members for their ideas and efforts, trying to make the environment more relaxed and uplifting by creating lighthearted converstation and joking around, never telling people what to do but instead asking why they chose to do things the way they did, praise not just result but teamwork, and never ever ridiculing a fellow applicant. Aside from HTWFAIP methods, I made an effort to answer every question that was asked, introducing myself to the observers, and asking them a lot of questions about the positions and their previous experiences.

Assignment 8: Revised RandomRacing First Year Budget

Due to zoning laws, noise restrictions, and obvious safety issues, legal advising and company attorney(s) are a significant part of the budget. An accountant, whether under my company or from an accounting firm, is given a consistent salary (because honestly, I really dislike accounting).

During the first month, construction is the primary usage of the first year budget. While the shop could be constructed in the first month and begin to generate revenue the second month, the track and clubhouse will take longer to construct and start business.

In the winter, clubhouse and track staff are cut in half because the main source of money would come from the shop that does regular maintenance for all customers (members or not) because winter is not racing season. Come springtime going through early fall (racing season), more staff are brought on to work in the clubhouse and on the track, and all three branches go up in profit.

Assignment 8: Financing Sources

The best option for financing the creation of a racetrack would most likely be either a car manufacturer, car part manufacturer, or other large company who could benefit from putting their name on something that would get a lot of event and media attention. With colaboration with public and club events, and hopefully the incorporation of bigger events such as NOPI, Formula 1, Formula D, and NASCAR road racing, funding for the shop and track could be financed by larger corporations. And should financing not be provided for the clubhouse on the track grounds, a bank loan could be used after generating significant revenue from the track and shop (in the event that not enough profit has been made to construct and finance a clubhouse).

HondaRacing
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
1919 Torrance Boulevard
Mail Stop: 500 - 2N - 7D
Torrance, CA 90501-2746

Monster Energy
Jason McCormick (Monster Army)

P.O. Box 8500

Corona, CA 92878-8500

Assignment 7: First Year Budget

*I have still not heard back or have not contacted all the people with estimates that I would have needed for the construction values. Will revise once I get all the information.

Assignment 7: Secret of Socrates

The country club that I bartended last summer came under new management during my fall semester, therefore over the break I had to go and meet with the banquet manager, not so much to re-interview, but more to catch up and let them know what my summer schedule is looking like. The problem is, I am still trying to either get some sort of internship or at least pick up some shifts volunteering with a few different production companies and I do not know that official schedule yet. Through applying the "Secret of Socrates" from HTWFAIP, I asked the manager questions along the lines of "Don't you agree that it's especially difficult in these times to find a job?" and "don't you agree that building my resume is an important thing to do while still in school?" By asking questions like these, I got him to agree to put down a mock schedule for now until I can contact him with a more definite summer plan.

Assignment 7: Enterprise Value

Sledding

The following form submission was sent. Name: Brian
URL: bbe1@umbc.edu
From: Olney, MD
Referral: Blog
VisitedTossingGames: No
Type: New Hill Submittal
State: Maryland
City: Baltimore
County: Baltimore
Land: School
Property: Public Property
Permission: Yes
Designated: No
Turf: Grass
Slope: 35 degrees
Length: 200 - 300 ft. long
Accessible: Yes
Parking: No
Texture: Smooth
Hazards: No
Crowds: Some
Photo: No
Specific Location, Comments, etc.: UMBC, between Walker Apartments and West Hill Apartments
subject: Sledding Location Submittal

Assignment 6: Enterprise Value

Microsoft‘s Curent Enterprise Value:
$172. 800,000.000
Outstanding Shares：$8.890.562,873
Single Share: $19.44
Increase: $121,000,000,000

Apple's Current Enterprise Value:
$69.640,000,000
Outstanding Shares: $890,553,729
Single Share: $78.20
Increase: $68,447,000,000

Assignment 6: 10 Social Interactions

Interaction 1:

I met with the head of the orientation team for Fall of 2009 when turning in my application to be a woolie. His name was also Brian. I asked several questions, none that were too detailed but enough to seem very enthusiastic. I even brought up a few ideas for Welcome Week activities that he seemed to be rather interested in.

Interaction 2:

I made sure to stay after class to talk to my management teacher in order to make sure that he knew who I was instead of just being "one of the students." I asked him several questions about his previous jobs and how he got into those fields. I followed up with telling him about my major and asked him if he was doing anything else besides teaching. Turns out he owns his own company that designs and distributes original board games.

Interaction 3:

I did not initiate this conversation, however once it began I started implenting HTWFAIP methods. My Chin102 teacher found out earlier in the semester that I was half asian and asked me about my experiences with Chinese before and which of my parents were asian. We ended up talking about each of our trips to different parts of Asia and how he learned how to speak Chinese so fluently even after he was much older than the ideal age for learning a second language.

Interaction 4:

I met with my Sci 100 group to start planning out our project, and by praising just about every idea and asking questions instead of giving orders, the feedback from the other group members was very positive, we got a lot accomplished, and they actually decided on me becoming the group leader.

Interaction 5:

After discussing ideas for our project in the previous interaction, I asked a girl in my group, Shane, if she could answer some questions about her phone for my entrepreneurship class:
Make: Apple
Model: Iphone 3G
Provider: AT&T
Uses: Calls, Texts, Voicemail, Calendar, Applications
TALC: Early Majority: she definitely wasn't one of those first in line to buy the phone when it came out, however she is still one of the relatively early people to have purchased the phone and gets new applications on a weekly basis.

Interaction 6:

I went to PG county on Friday to look at a beat-up old Nissan 240sx because I was looking for a cheaper car to fix up and take to the track. The seller, Victor, had no real extensive automotive knowledge and was trying to explain certain features of the car that were either nonexistant or wrong. Rather than call him out on it and use such tactics to get money knocked off, I tried to explain back in a way that expanded upon what he was saying and sort of corrected it in those explanations. I ended up saving $75 and only spending $650 on the car.

Interaction 7:

I ordered a meatball pasta from the commons (which takes much longer than what they normally do which is just handing a student a couple slices of pizza), so I ended up just making small talk. I asked about the history of the pizza place because there were many pictures with celebrities on the walls. She didn't know so I just asked her how her work day had been going so far. The conversation ended shortly afterwards.

Interaction 8:

Earlier in the week, I fell victim to bank fraud and over $300 was stolen from my account. While this was a horrible experience, the assitant manager of the Chevy Chase branch at UMBC was very helpful and we actually began talking about her experiences with fraud, and after i asked several questions and tried to remain as positive as i could in the situation, she gave me a lot of advice on how to protect myself from fraud in the future.

Interaction 9:

My ex-girlfriend (oh yes, I know the name, but I will not post it) called me the other night, and rather than ignore the call or seem resentful, I did my best to maintain my composure and asked her how school was going for her and what she had been up to lately. Granted I was not paying attention to anything she was saying, but it seemed that way, and the phone call ended with less drama than I anticipated. Small victory, I suppose.

Interaction 10:

I called Discovery Communications about a possible internship, and while I was not able to speak with anyone in charge directly, I asked the secretary a few questions, found out her name was Sam, and we talked for about five minutes about different people I can talk to depending on my specific interests.

Assignment 6: Additional Internet Traffic

For those with facebook, I created a Link on my page to my blog:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/posted.php?id=1227720395&success

I also created a note with several people tagged, and there is a link to my blog in my AIM buddy profile.

Assignment 6: 12 Month Marketing Budget