Risk

College can be very risky if a vigilant eye is not kept on the future.  There is a huge investment that comes with going to college.  Not only are you risking thousands of dollars on tuition, books, and housing, but also four (usually?) years of time.  For me, this would only be worth it if I came out with much better chances of a attaining a job where I could be successful.  A degree with low placement rates or one that contains subjects not interesting to me would be a waste of time, as I could not be successful.   I’ve always been interested in consulting, and from talking to various professionals in the field I found that majoring in Statistics and Economics would benefit me when looking for a job in this field.  By choosing a major suited to my career goals, I have reduced risk.

            Extra curricular activities often will improve students chances of receiving a job, as it shows they are involved on campus.  Having a leadership role in these organizations can also be very beneficial.  The job market for consultants is pretty competitive, and it helps to be as involved as possible.  I have joined three organizations on campus.  Freshman year I joined a fraternity, which has helped greatly in expanding my network.  Frequently Alum will contact the fraternity to make the current members aware of job openings or career fair appearances.  With these opportunities, I have increased my chances of getting a job and therefore reduced risk.  The other organization is Illinois Business Consulting.  This group handles real consulting projects for companies.   Although I haven’t participated in projects yet, I will before I graduate.  With this kind of experience, I will be a much better candidate for a position at a consulting firm.  Also, with the competitive admissions process, a lot of very skilled people are part of the organization, and I will have the opportunity to work with and learn from them.  This reduces my risk of not receiving a job as well. 

            Another decision I would like to touch on is behavior.  Having a degree from the University of Illinois can be very valuable, and doing something to jeopardize that is very risky behavior.  Students who behave inappropriately (fighting, mistreating other people, being arrested for illegal activity) risk suspension, expulsion, and/or legal consequences.  All of these can be a step backward in terms of career growth.  By not engaging in this type of behavior, I’ve greatly improved my chances of graduating, which I would definitely need to do to get a good job. 

            Lastly, summer jobs can be very important to future employers as well.  Gaining experience during college in the field you would like to have a career in can make you stand out to recruiters.  Most people I know are on the internship hunt by junior year, and some start earlier.  I was lucky to receive an internship at a consulting firm this previous summer, which gave me some real experience in the business world and working on a project.   During my interviews this semester, I have been able to highlight my experiences this summer frequently.  So not only does this boost my resume, but it also makes the interview process easier.  Because of this, risk of not receiving a good job decreases.  

Illinibucks

A couple situations come to mind when considering the use of Illinibucks on campus.   First, there are many restaurants on Green Street that have long lines during the lunch and dinner hours.  Illinibucks could be used to skip the line, which can sometimes take up to 25 minutes.   Also, the most popular bars on campus will have very long lines on Friday and Saturday nights.  I know having a way to skip them would be highly appreciated by some students.   Another would be at career fairs, where I’ve waited 20 minutes to talk to a recruiter.   Trying to talk to an advisor during the beginning of the year and when students are signing up for classes can be very difficult, due to the high volume of students needing advising.  The Illinibucks could definitely be useful in this situation.   Grocery stores have long lines at times, and getting on a Suburban Express bus first might be useful around the holiday season when the buses are at capacity. 

One must also consider that cutting some lines would be much more beneficial than cutting others.  Skipping a food line compared to getting into a much-needed class is less important.   Would Illinibucks be worth a standard dollar amount?  Or maybe they are worth different prices in different situations.

I would use my Illinibucks in different ways depending on how they were allotted, and what they would be worth in different situations.  If not many Illinibucks were given to each student, I would save mine to use in emergency situations, or when it would be really beneficial to cut a line like at a career fair when there is a limited amount of time remaining.   If they were more numerous on the campus, then it would be useful for cutting lines at restaurants and at bars, in my opinion.  But this also makes me wonder, if you can use the bucks for cutting more necessary/important lines as well as bar lines, and there aren’t many given out, would anyone waste them at restaurants?  Or would everyone attempt to cut the line for signing up for classes?  In that case they wouldn’t be worth as much. 

Succesful Teams

Thinking back on the many teams I’ve been lucky to be a part of in my life, I’d say the most successful was at Jimmy John's.  I worked at Jimmy John’s for two years (on and off), and in both a franchise and a corporate store.  The management was a little different for both stores.

The corporate store was very efficient and definitely more well run.  At the head was Alex, the General Manager of the store.   Below him were two other Managers.  All three of them had similar responsibilities, and each of them was very connected to the workers below them (all of which are at the same level on the hierarchy).  They all worked about the same number of hours per week (at any one time at least one of them is in the store), but Alex definitely had more on his plate.  Unless two of the three Managers were there at the same time, it felt like the simple One Boss hierarchy was in place.  When two were there, either could be looked to for help or leadership.    Day to day, the responsibilities (making sandwiches, bread, cleaning) were divided out to the various workers by the manager, who was aware of who could do which job the best and most efficiently (and if there was a down time, they would help by making newer employees better at each responsibility).  The managers would almost always be assisting the workers as well, which led to more comfort with the authority.  The manager’s made sure everyone knew their responsibilities, which led to a higher performing team in my opinion.   I think corporate Jimmy John’s fit the profile of a high performing team very well, and things ran very smoothly there.

At the franchise store, things were a little different.  I think this team was less successful.  At the top there was Jake, the Manager of the store.  Under him was one Assistant Manager, and below those two were a number of PCs (Person in Charge).   This type of management worked a little differently.  The Manager would work six days a week, almost always in the morning and lunch as that was when we were busiest, and when he would leave for the day the PC would take over his responsibilities.  This was difficult, because PCs were chosen from among the lower employees, and anyone who could close the register and was deemed responsible could be made a PC.  I knew multiple who were not exactly fit for the job, so this didn’t always work out that great.  The assistant manager was also a worker that had been promoted because Jake needed help, but I think she did a fantastic job.  We did run into a problem there.  People had a problem with Jake, and occasionally he would act inappropriately.  There was a Regional Manager of the stores in the area, but he wasn’t one to go to with complaints.  I think this led to resentment with the boss, because even the Assistant Manager wasn’t sure how to handle the situation.  People ended up quitting the job, and I think it definitely led to a less productive team.  Was this because of the structure? Possibly.  If there was someone else with the same job as Jake (another Manager, like at the corporate store), then the workers might have felt comfortable saying something to that person, and possibly resolving the issue.

Ethical Opportunism

It’s seems to me that at some point in a person’s life, they will be undoubtedly faced with an opportunity that would benefit them, but wouldn’t be entirely ethical.  Sometimes, the line between ethical and unethical can be distinct, and in others it may be blurred.  What factors affect this?  The person making this decision may not have a strong moral conscience.  Maybe they were not raised to adhere to the strictest of moral standards, or maybe they have found that exercising a lax conscience has given them a competitive advantage against other more morally responsible people.  

An example of this that immediately comes to mind is when a person is in debt to an acquaintance.  Some parents instill in their children a sense that when a debt is owed, it must be payed back in full as soon as possible.  Others may not stress this as much, and the child may not understand the social/legal benefits of doing so (in the social sense, that you are a trustworthy and responsible person; in the legal sense this could be connected to your credit score).  Of course, most know that an immediate payment of a debt it very much appreciated by the person to whom the debt is owed.  But imagine a situation where the indebted would benefit by waiting longer than they should to eliminate their debt.  Maybe the loaner is forgetful, and/or doesn’t pressure the indebted for the money (they don’t need the money immediately, it’s a small amount of money, etc.).  It would be opportunistic for the indebted to not pay up.  They may think, “good things come to those who wait”, although that is a twisted interpretation of the saying (in my opinion). 

To cite a specific example, I have a friend who lived with one other roommate last year.  Each month, this person was in charge of paying the entire television/internet bill, and the other roommate would pay their share of the bill to him personally.  He would pay the bill on time (by automatic payments online), and then report to the other how much was owed.  He wouldn’t pressure his roommate to pay him, but made sure he was aware of the debt.   The roommate was, without fail, very late on his payments.  Even though a debt was owed, he would not go out of his way to repay it.  The indebted in this situation would receive money from his parents to pay for the bill, but he would spend it on other things, and therefore would claim to have to ‘wait’ longer before asking his parents for money again, less they become suspect of his devious actions. 

My friend who payed the bill did so with his parents money, and wasn’t pressured  by his parents for the money from his roommate as he paid each bill (he would collect it over the semester and pay back a total).   So it begs the question, how unethical was the ‘late payer’ really being?  He was being opportunistic by not spending the money when he had to, and using it for his own personal gain, while not doing much harm to his roommate.  The possible disadvantages of this strategy, however, are a reputation for late payments and a loss of a trust.

Blog Post 2

I’m currently a member of a fraternity, and organization that frequently undergoes change in leadership.  The President, Vice President, Treasurer and a myriad of other positions are elected once a year.   The Executive Board is made up of the President, VP, Secretary, Treasurer, Sergeant at Arms, Social Chair, and Pledge Ed.  These members carry out many of the obligations of the Fraternity, as well as making sure the other members are doing their part.  It’s ultimately the responsibility of the Exec Board to make sure the Fraternity is doing everything correctly.  I have not held a position on the Board, but I’ve had a positive experience with this structure. 

Having all members in leadership roles replaced after a year seems like a very unstable way to run an organization.  In order to combat this, members who aspire to these positions will be “trained” or mentored in the upcoming semester by the incumbent.   This helps prepare the member for the position, but this structure could cost the organization as a whole in a couple of ways.  First, lessons learned by previous leaders that are not passed on will be forgotten, and could possibly be made again.  Also, structures or policies put in place by the current officers (that may ultimately prove good) might be eradicated by future members of the Board.  This would inhibit long-term growth within the organization.  Once current members of the Board have been replaced, they may not communicate well to the next members small details that could really benefit the organization if they were paid more attention.