...15 Minutes A Day: The Journey of a Doctoral Student

Check Out My New Site...

2008-10-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I have launched a new site for my blog that will be much more comprehensive than this site currently is. Don't get me wrong - Blogger is a wonderful tool! However, I wanted my own site in order to do much more experimentation and be able to express myself in different ways. Please check out the new 15MinutesADay.info for new blog entries and other information on my doctoral journey.

Instant Messangers

2008-10-01T21:37:00.000-07:00

In my current class my instructor has recommended that teams make use of instant messengers, chat forums or Skype. While I applaud this encouragement for online students to learn to use Web 2.0 tools, the nature of our program is asynchronous. This means that we all log in when it's convenient to our schedules and nobody can be compelled to meet at a specified time.

Anyway, I mentioned the instructor's recommendations to my team and recommended a few instant messenger programs I have used in the past. These include:

I know there are others out there and during the course of my studies I plan to investigate them. These are the ones that I have tried in the past. I'm looking forward to re-acquainting myself with whichever one my team chooses - if they decide to use an IM...

Image Credit: The image was found on October 1, 2008 on CyberNetNews.com using Google Images.

Podcasts I've Found...

2008-09-30T18:25:00.001-07:00

One of the things I did this summer was give in to all the iPhone 2.0 hype. My husband and I each bought a new iPhone and we have both fallen in love with them! Are they perfect? No! But they are better than anything else we have had in the past. I was given a Blackberry by my employer to use for work, and I don't like it at all. Of course, part of my issue with the Blackberry is that I cannot add anything to it or sync it with my Google calendar or my home Outlook. That is an issue with my employer's settings, not with the Blackberry - though I'm not thrilled with the wheel on the side instead of the touch screen.

Since purchasing the iPhone I have become enamored with pod/netcasts. I have subscribed to "several" (my husband is incredulous when he looks at my subscription list) which I enjoy regularly. My favorite is "The Tech Guy" starring Leo LaPorte. I also subscribe to several of his "This Week in Tech" (or TWiT) netcasts. I also enjoy Cranky Geeks, Grammar Girl, and the Public Speaker Quick & Dirty Tips and the Women of Web 2.0. Each of these netcasts are informative, educational and entertaining. I recommend any of them to anyone.

Do you have any pod/netcasts you can recommend to me?

Image Credit: Image found on September 30, 2008 on MasterNewMedia using Google Images.

Starting a New Class...

2008-09-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

I am completing Week 1 of a new class called Fundamental Principles of Sound Research (RES/711) and seems to be the first planning steps on the road to my dissertation. In reading the syllabus, it seems that most of the assignments are planning, asking questions, reviewing literature, etc. I'm very excited about this class and have enjoyed the reading so far!

On a side note, I had been planning to take a 2 month leave of absence from school after this new class is over in mid-November due to an upcoming work project, but now I'm not certain. I am scheduled to go to my Year II Residency in Phoenix, AZ in May. If I have to push that trip back by two months, I'm not sure where my Residency will be held. I've heard that Atlanta, GA is one of the sites. I don't remember where the others are. While I wouldn't mind going to Atlanta, it is a looooonnnnnggggg way from California for a 3-day class. Ah well, I suppose I'll cross that bridge when I get to it!

Image Credit: Found on September 29, 2008 on IndieWire using Google Images.

On Top of Mt. Lassen!!!

2008-09-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

Well...I DID IT!!! I finally got to the top of Mt. Lassen! My sister-in-law, Marty and I drove up to Redding on September 19th and climbed the mountain on September 20th. We started the climb at 9:00 a.m. and got back to the car at 3:00 a.m. The parking lot is located at 8,000' above sea level and the peak is at 10,457'. Now, for the photos...

<---This is my sister-in-law, Marty. We took these photos when we were about 1/3 of the way up the mountain. Here's one of me at the same spot...

Hey, Quenby (my lifestyle coach...) do you recognize the visor? My boss, Kathy Lummen, picked it up from the Sutter Health Partners booth at Management Symposium. It says "Live Well for Life." She gave it to me and I promised I'd wear it to the top of the mountain.

<--- Here we are about 2/3 the way up the mountain. This is an outcropping just off the trail where we stopped to rest and we were just blown away by the view. Some other hikers offered to take our picture together. We returned the favor by taking their picture together. You can see for miles and miles! Off to the left we saw a big body of water, but weren't sure which one it was until we were heading home. I think we decided it was probably Lake Almanor. But wait...there's more!

<--- Also from this spot, we saw what we thought was our goal - the top! Boy did is seem far away from here! That's equipment on the very top. I'm sure it's there to monitor siesmic activity or something. More on this later...

The closer we got to the top, the less apparent the trail became. Here is a picture of the path --->(what path?!?)... The whole way was very rocky and sometimes you just had to take it for granted that there was a trail there and follow someone in front of you. When we got to the top and looked down, the trail was very obvious, but not from the trail itself! It often looked just like this. This far up the trail was mostly rocky with some volcanic ash. Towards the bottom it's less rocky, but more ashey.

<--- Here is the final stretch. Again, no apparent path. Here we had to put our walking sticks away because they just got in the way. We were picking our way to the top. There are actually two "peaks" here. The first one we came to was slightly lower than this one. It's cleared off and has three plaques that talk about different views that you can see from there. On the far side of this peak there was a trail up to the second peak. It was a bit of a rough hike. This picture is the final pull to the second peak. This is where we saw that far off equipment.

Here is the original view from the top! --->
There was a cloud going past the top of the mountain when we got there. So, we sat down to have lunch and wait for it to pass.

<---Here is a clearer picture taken just before we started back down.

It was a bit chilly at the top. One of the other climbers had a thermometer and said it was 34 degrees (F). We did see patches of snow as we got close to the top, so I don't doubt that he was right. We were very warm from the climb at this point.
<--- You may not believe this, but I was able to call my Husband, Mom, Grandma and my friend Ronda from this spot and had five bars on my cell phone!!! Once I started making calls, everybody around me realized that they had a signal too and started calling their families. It was pretty cool!

Here is the government marker at the top. It's hard to read because of years of vandalism and people looking for it with ice picks. --->

One gal who was at the top said her grandfather was standing up here when Lassen started erupting back in 1915 and he survived because the wind was coming from behind him. Did I mention that we were standing right across from the crater?
<--- Yes, that's it right there! I believe her story because there were plaques all along the trail that had excerpts from the head ranger's journal that documented the stories of others who were on the mountain when it started to blow and they survived the eruptions by hiding under big rocks like these
--->

We stayed up here for about 45 minutes before we started back down. It took us 3.5 hours up and 2 hours down (gravity was our friend on the way down!)

<---Here is the equipment we saw from further down on the mountain. This picture was taken from very near the above marker.

So, I've achieved my biggest physical goal for 2008 - to climb Mt. Lassen! My next big physical goal is to climb Castle Crags. This was a climb I tried to do when I was 15 or 16, but my attitude and hormone poisoning got in the way. It's always bugged me that I didn't succeed at that climb, so Marty and I are going to do that climb next year! Boy does it feel good to have this one done!

Hi! I'm Back!

2008-09-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I last blogged, but I'm not sure where the time has gone. I've been super busy with school, work has been crazy and it seems like no matter how hard I try I just have not been able to catch up! My last class (PHL 717 - Constructing Meaning) just ended last Monday. My new class (RES 711 - Fundamental Principles of Sound Research) starts next Tuesday. That will go for eight weeks and then I'm taking a 60 day leave of absence from school.

We have a BIG upgrade coming up at work in Q1 of next year (upgrading from Microsoft SharePoint 2003 to Microsoft SharePoint 2007). Naturally Microsoft has made a TON of changes to the interface between the two changes and I have to prepare four sets of new curriculum between now and February 1st in order to start training our current site administrators on the changes. That is the first two sets. The second two sets will be for training new site administrators on the new software from the very beginning. We provide one class for Collaboration Site Administrators and a second class for Portal Site Administrators.

I am also in the process of setting up a new web site that will be better equipped to document my doctoral journey. I'm going to expand into podcasting, interviewing people, and looking at Web 2.0 technologies as a way to start preparing for working on my dissertation. (Don't worry Mike. Mine goes in a very different direction than yours, but you did inspire me!)

This weekend - since I am currently between classes - I am finally going to climb Mt. Lassen! My sister-in-law and I are sitting in a hotel room in Redding, CA relaxing before we get up tomorrow to make the climb. I cannot wait!!! I have been looking forward to this trip for more than a year and it's finally here!!! Wish us luck!

Political History & Other Happenings...

2008-08-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

The last two days have been pretty significant in the political history of the United States. On Thursday, an African-American (Barack Obama) accepted the nomination for President of the United States from the Democratic Party for the first time. Yesterday, John McCain announced that he has chosen Sarah Palin - Governor of Alaska - as his running mate. She will be the first female to serve on a GOP ticket. If this campaign wasn't interesting enough before, it just got extra interesting now! I will be watching the debates with great interest.

I am in the process of setting up a new website for myself. I will be transferring my blogs to that site and will be exploring features of Web 2.0 including podcasting. I plan to conduct interviews with my friends and family to find out how they use technology in their lives and take a look at how their use is different from mine. I will post a message here when the site is up and ready to go. I'm very excited to get it up and start applying the new technologies.

The Clinton's Nailed It! Biden Nailed it!

2008-08-27T21:31:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last few nights watching the major speeches at the DNC Convention in Denver, CO. I have to say that Hillary Clinton last night and President Clinton tonight NAILED IT!!! All of the media pundits were worried that the Clintons would grudgingly give their support. They are such Democratic Party stalwarts that they would not want to jeopardize their standings (and her future) by giving anything less than their most ringing endorsements. I found both of their speeches inspiring and - from an academic point of view - rhetorically significant.

When the Obama Campaign announced that the choice for Vice President was going to be Joe Biden, I have to admit I was disappointed. I have been rooting for Bill Richardson for the VP slot. Now, I'm hoping he gets Secretary of State. That said, after hearing Senator Biden speak tonight at the DNC Convention I'm sold! He NAILED IT and will be a superb attack dog for the Obama Campaign - excuse me, the Obama-Biden Campaign!!!

I'm looking forward to Senator Obama's speech tomorrow and I will be following the GOP Convention next week too. Not that John McCain has a prayer of getting my vote, but I do want to see what they have to say...

Watching the DNC Convention in Denver

2008-08-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

I am excited about the Presidential campaign this year. I am supporting Barack Obama for president. I'm not a registered Democrat, but I have been excited about Barack Obama since I heard his speech at the 2004 DNC Convention. He gives me hope for bringing this country out of the Bush Dark Ages.

I was very excited about watching the Democratic National Committee's convention in Denver, CO this year. I have also been excited about the way that the Obama Campaign has embraced new media technology. I have been disappointed to see that neither the Obama Campaign nor the DNC has embraced podcasting. You can watch the speeches (the next day) on the DNC Convention web site, but in this era of being able to post audio instantly, I don't see why we cannot have podcasts posted within a few hours of a convention speech. An organization as large as the DNC should have expert consultants who can help them with things like this.

I don't always have time with my busy schedule to follow every speech. I would love to be able to download convention and campaign speeches and listen to them on my iPhone while I'm driving to work or around town. I would also like to post them here, but they are not available. You can go to the DNC Convention and watch them on the web site, but that doesn't help if, as I said before, I'm on the go.

Ah well, perhaps the DNC will catch up with the new media by 2012. I recommend that they contact Leo LaPorte for some advice on how to do this...

It's been a busy couple of weeks!

2008-08-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks. It's not that I haven't wanted to, but life has just been very busy. My boss went on vacation for a week, which meant that I was fielding all of the service calls instead of only 1/3 - 1/2 of them. That made it so I had to work later in order to get everything done.

In addition to covering for my boss, I also had to get things ready for my own vacation. I had to prepare things for my boss to cover while I was gone and I had to prepare a presentation that I had to give during the week that I got back. Yes, I'm doing another webinar (YIKES!). I was also trying to keep up with my current class and prepare things at home for when we were gone. We took off and went to Las Vegas, NV for a week so the dogs had to go to the Kennel, the neighbor had to be briefed on how the alarm worked and which plants to water, etc.

Around the first of August we had a friend move in to one of our spare rooms. We had a couple of projects to do to get the room ready for him. That took up lots of time - in addition to working and keeping up on my school work.

Finally, I was in a minor fender-bender (I'm fine and there was no damage to the other vehicle - a darn big truck vs. my little Toyota Matrix!) the week before we were to go on vacation so we had to scramble to jump the insurance company hoops in order to get it to the body shop before we left on vacation with the hopes that the car would be done by the time we got back. It wasn't. I'm still waiting to get my little red car back! Grrr!

Las Vegas was a blast! We stayed at the Las Vegas Hilton and met some friends there. They were in Vegas for a convention. We were in Vegas to see them. I went to the Star Trek Experience there at the Hilton. It's closing down in October of this year (pout!) so I wanted to visit one more time before it closed. We also saw the Terry Fator Show at the Hilton. Terry Fator is the ventriliquist that won "America's Got Talent" in 2007. It was a fabulous show. I highly recommend that anyone go see it. He will be doing one weekend a month at the Hilton through October and then has been picked up by the Mirage beginning in 2009.

Now I'm back at work and had to hit the ground running (of course). I'm doing a webinar on Basic Web Design on Friday. Have I mentioned that I had to keep up with my classwork during all of this? Yes, I took a vacation in the middle of a class. It couldn't be helped. So I dealt with it. Crises come and crises go. Dealing with them and work and school is just standard operating procedure in my life. What can I say?

Week One Summary

2008-07-28T22:35:00.000-07:00

The following is a summary of the required reading I did in Week One of "Constructing Meaning" (PHL 717). References are listed at the bottom in APA format. FYI...The first two weeks of any class in this doctoral program are called Reading Weeks. Students are not usually required to activly participate in class until Week Three. We are however, required to slog our way through mountains of reading!

This week I read chapters one and two in Knowledge in a Social World (Goldman, 1999) and the article called “The PoMo in you” (McKernon, 2002). I had been looking forward to reading the books by Kuhn (1996) and Sarup (1993), but discovered on Tuesday at the start of class that they were books that needed to be purchased. I have done so and expect them to arrive on my doorstep tomorrow. I will be spending the next week reading them and the other articles included in the Electronic Reserve Readings (ERR).

Knowledge in a Social World

Chapters one and two of Goldman’s (1999) book Knowledge in a social world were interesting – if a bit confusing. Goldman discussed the definition(s) of truth based on a variety of theories. In his approach Goldman outlined several assumptions (page 10) made by various theories about truth and spent most of Chapter One debunking these assumptions and explaining why each was not a good definition of truth.

Goldman (1999) discussed several theories including Minimalist Theory, Relativism, Pragmatist or Instrumentalist Theory, Divination, Post Modernism, Feminism, and others. While discussing these various theories, he compared them with his own Descriptive-Success Theory which, of course, he favors above the others. Goldman moved quickly through these theories and it was difficult to keep each straight as he progressed.

The one example that stuck with me in Goldman’s (1999) work was where he used the structure of DNA as an illustration. The idea that just because humans in general did not know that the structure of DNA was based on a helix does not mean that it was not true until it was discovered. This bit of knowledge was simply unknown.

The PoMo in You

McKernon’s (2002) article entitled The PoMo in you was a most entertaining article on using Post Modernist Theory in the marketing industry (specifically in New Zealand but also elsewhere in the world). McKernon’s writing style was both informative and fun. He did a good job of comparing Modern and Post Modern marketing movements and cited real world examples to illustrate his point.

I was especially moved by McKernon’s (2002) definition of Post Modernism when he said,
“PoMo favours living, open, meaning-rich systems like those invoked in relationships, the internet, stories and community. One of PoMo's central preoccupations is sustainability: negotiating changes in living systems to derive optimal gains.”

In a world where the only constant is change, the importance of understanding those that a business is trying to market to is vital. People do not communicate in the same manner that they have in the past. Understanding how people today relate to one another and what they value, both in the products they use and in their day-to-day relationships can make or break a business that is concerned with marketing their wares.

Conclusion

While both Goldman (1999) and McKernon (2002) referred to Post Modernist theory, I found McKernon’s article much more enlightening about this theory than I did Goldman. Goldman seems to be trying to cram a great deal of information into small bites – as if he were writing a journal article rather than a book. The chapters of Goldman’s book would have been more informative if he had narrowed his focus a bit rather than using a scatter-gun approach in attempting to cover all the relevant theories at once.

McKernon’s (2002) article was both informative and entertaining. McKernon compared and contrasted Modernist and Post Modernist theories very well and used valid, real-world examples to illustrate his points. I plan to file his article away for future reference. The jury is still out on the value of Goldman’s (1999) book.

References

Goldman, A.I., (1999). Knowledge in a Social World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved on July 26, 2008 from Oxford Scholarship Online.

Kuhn, T. (1996). The structure of scientific revolutions (3rd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

McKernon, S. (2002, February). The PoMo in you. NZ Marketing Magazine, 21(1), 10. Retrieved on July 22, 2008 from EBSCOHost Database.

Sarup, M. (1993). An introductory guide to post-structuralism and postmodernism. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press.

Image Credit: The image in this posting was retrieved on July 28, 2008 from http://www.longview.lib.tx.us/Newweb/library_templates/images/images/reading.gif using Google Images.

Remembering an Inspirational Man...

2008-07-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

I am sad today. I found out today that Dr. Randy Pausch died at his home in Virginia from complications due to pancreatic cancer. If you haven't read my blog entry about Dr. Pausch or seen his "Last Lecture" on You Tube, I highly recommend both as an excellent way to spend just over one-hour of your life.

Dr. Pausch inspired me to go after my own doctoral degree (no, its not in computer science, but the inspiration is there just the same) and his "Last Lecture" gives me a morale boost when I need it because it makes me realize that my problems are minimal in comparison to the troubles of others. I really have no excuses to be cranky or moody.

Dr. Pausch was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University. I have never attended that institution nor met Dr. Pausch myself. Someone forwarded the link to his "Last Lecture" to me in email and it was a life transforming hour for me. He talked about how to achieve your childhood dreams and illustrated his points with his own childhood dreams. He explained that the barriers to our dreams are not there to keep us from achieving those dreams. They are there to help us prove that those dreams are something we really want to achieve. You are forced to work hard in order to overcome these barriers, grow as a person and reach your goals as a better person than you were when you began your journey.

The next two paragraphs are taken from the press release on Carnegie Mellon University...

"He is survived by his wife, Jai, and three children: Chloe, Dylan and Logan. The family requests that donations on his behalf be directed to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 2141 Rosecrans Ave., Suite 7000, El Segundo, CA 90245, or to Carnegie Mellon's Randy Pausch Memorial Fund, which the university will use primarily to support continued work on the Alice project.

For more information on Randy's life and legacy, read In Memoriam: Randy Pausch, Innovative Computer Scientist at Carnegie Mellon, Launched Education Initiatives, Gained Worldwide Acclaim for Last Lecture."

He will be missed forever, mourned for a short time, and celebrated for the rest of my life. I will never forget him!

Climbing Mt. Lassen Postponed...

2008-07-21T22:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I was supposed to climb Mt. Lassen this past weekend, but it didn't happen. My Mom sent me some photos she took of the mountain last Thursday. When I saw them, my decision to postpone was really the only way I could go. On Thursday the mountain was wreathed in smoke from a fire in the neighboring Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The photo to the right is a picture of Mt. Lassen on a clear day. The other photos are the ones taken by my Mom.

The Sacramento Valley was inundated by smoke a couple of weeks ago and I suffered from headaches even being in an air conditioned building all day. Walking outside made breathing difficult. The idea of walking up a steep slope covered in thick smoke was just a no-go idea from the start.

My sister-in-law, Marty, was going to do this hike with me and she agreed that this was not a good idea based on my Mom's photos. We have not given up on doing this hike, however. We are going to reschedule it for sometime in August or early September. I am determined to make this hike this year, but I'm not willing to jeopardize my health or that of anyone that goes with me. We'll reschedule when the fires are out.

On a positive note, I went to Toastmasters last Friday and took on my first "official" role as a Timekeeper. I'm told I did a good job. I got my first item checked off and am scheduled to give my Ice Breaker speech on August 1st. I'm more than a bit nervous, but am looking forward to getting past it and possibly getting the first assignment towards my Competent Communicator out of the way.

Discussion Question - Knowledge Management Challenges

2008-07-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

What challenges do you believe you will face in the course of your professional lives when encountering the diversity of approaches to knowledge? How will you address them?

I believe that my biggest challenge will not come from the approaches to knowledge, but from the management and dissemination of that knowledge to the populace of the organizations that I do and will work for. So many people think that what is important to them is the most important information and therefore deserves "top billing." They have trouble seeing the "big picture" and what a small piece of the puzzle they each are. This does not mean that their contribution is not important, it just means that it has its place in the puzzle and that place is part of a mosaic rather than a headline.

In my organization, we are in the process of redesigning our employee portal. Every time we meet with various groups of stakeholders I am amazed at how important each group thinks it is; how unimportant they think every other group of stakeholders is; and how much they want to restrict the privileges of the people that this portal is being designed for - the employees. The software we are using and upgrading offers a wonderful array of tools for communication, but most of the management groups want to restrict what tools their employees use because they might use them to communicate with each other and management cannot control what they say. I don't yet understand that kind of mentality. I work for this organization because they are a good employer. Why would I bad mouth them using their tools and within their realm to track me down and fire me?

Image Credit: Retrieved on July 11, 2008 from http://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/mirror_puzzle_2.jpg using Google Images.

Exercising in the Summer is Tough!

2008-07-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

All winter I told myself that as soon as the weather got better (warmer & no rain) I would get out and walk more. Then, summer finally gets here and what do I say? "As soon as it gets cooler I'll walk more." HA! I know it's not true! To combat my own tendencies to procrastinate and stay inside with the air conditioning on I have enlisted a couple of walking buddies.

My sister-in-law, Marty, walks with me on Wednesday evenings. We find somewhere either close to home or go to my walking group's events and do a 5K walk. I can do 10K walks, but cannot move afterwards and have trouble concentrating the next day at work because I'm so tired. Marty is fun to walk with and we talk and talk the whole time we are walking. Now mind you, this is not just strolling along! Marty is determined to get me up to a 20-minute-mile! I'm trying...

At work I have enlisted my coworker, Amy, to help me walk the three days each week that we are both in the office. We started last week and continued today. Today was a real challenge! The forecast for today is 105 degrees (F) and by 8:00 a.m. it was already in the high 80s and very humid. We did our walk, but were very sweaty when we got back to the office. And here we thought going out in the morning would be cooler. It was, but the term "cooler" is relative in this case.

Northern CA in the summer is always HOT. 100+ degree temperatures are not unusual. Add to that, we have had wildfires burning all over CA. Sacramento, where I live, is in a particularly difficult part of the Great Central Valley. We get Delta Breezes blowing in from the San Francisco Bay Area, which normally cool us down in the summer, but also blow smoke from wildfires to the South and West of us right into the bowl that is the Central Valley. As a result, our air quality - normally pretty bad during the summer - is horrid right now. At one point the Northern end of the Central Valley was surrounded on three sides by wildfires and there were 1,800+ wildfires burning throughout the state. Needless to say, the air quality in Sacramento right now is downright chunky (see photo - this is our air!) which makes getting out to exercise difficult at best. Alternatives include (in no particular order):

Staying home and putting in an exercise video - at least I'm inside with the AC!
Joining a gym and going there to exercise in their AC
Gritting your teeth (and your lungs) and going out to exercise anyway (within reason of course!)
Blowing off exercise and doing school work - I have too much class-related reading to do anyway and another paper due!
Blowing off exercise and doing work work - There is always more to do than hours in the day!
Blowing off exercise and curling up with a bowl of popcorn to get caught up on my Tivo list

Hmmm! Which one will I choose...?

A Cool Tool for Auditory Learners!

2008-07-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

When I first applied to University of Phoenix for my doctoral program, my admissions councilor sent me an email full of links to several helpful tools. The most helpful by far has been Natural Reader. This program has been a wonderful tool for me! I am a very slow reader and the volume of reading required for a doctoral program was causing me enormous amounts of stress. On top of that, I am an auditory learner so reading the text does not help the information to sink in.

Natural Reader will read my textbooks and articles to me. I even find it helps me with reading my instructors' online lectures and my classmates discussion questions and responses. Instead of struggling to get through all the reading, I am completing it quickly and then either using the information in papers and discussion questions or responding to my classmates' posts.

Natural Reader is an inexpensive program that has saved me many hours of laborious reading and made be better able to participate in class. If you are an auditory learner or having trouble doing your school-related reading, I highly recommend Natural Reader.

Image Source: Retrieved on July 5, 2008 from http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/nokia-to-extend-earphone-series-with-stereo-hs-81and-headphones-hs-61/ using Google Images.

The Price They Paid...

2008-07-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Below is a well-written research project that looked into what happened to the men who signed the Declaration of Independence after July 4, 1776. I found this version of it on The Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution website. There is also additional information posted on the page, but I will let you read that on your own. It seemed approrpiate to post this here today so that we can remember their sacrafices all those many years ago.

Have you ever wondered what happened to those men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or the hardships of the Revolutionary War.

What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners, men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers or both, looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis, had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. The owner quietly urged General George Washington to open fire, which was done. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his grist mill were laid waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home after the war to find his wife dead, his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.
Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. There were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

They gave us an independent America. Can we keep it?

Image Credit: Retrieved image of Carter Braxton on July 5, 2008 from http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/declaration/bio4.htm using Google Images.

Remembering why we are celebrating...

2008-07-03T18:00:00.000-07:00

The fourth of July will find Mark and I over at his brother's house enjoying a BBQ and swimming pool with the rest of his family. In the evening we will be setting off fireworks in the street in front of my brother-in-law's house. In fact we are starting the fun early by going to a Sacramento River Cats game and enjoying the Sutter Health-sponsored fireworks after the game.

I do think it is important to remind folks about why we celebrate our Independence. The Founding Fathers are remembered today as "True Patriots" while present day citizens who protest the actions of the United States government are called Traitors. When you look at the grievences of the Founding Fathers listed in the Declaraion below, you can see that there is no difference between George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and the patriots of today like Brandon Friedman (VoteVets.org), Paul Rieckhoff (IAVA.org) and Cindy Sheehan (Gold Star Families for Peace).

Below is the text of the Declaration of Independence - Yes, in it's entierty! It's not a long document, but will make for a long blog entry. Now, without further delay...

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Column 1 - Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton
Column 2 - North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton
Column 3 - Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton
Column 4 - Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean
Column 5 - New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
Column 6 - New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton

It's Here! It's Here!

2008-06-29T14:47:00.000-07:00

My Toastmasters Starter Kit arrived Friday afternoon and I have been pouring over the books and manuals to learn about what being a member of Toastmasters entails. I've decided that it all comes down to one simple concept: Hard Work! That's OK though. Nothing worth having comes easily. If it did, everyone would do it!

The Starter Kit includes the Competent Communicator Manual, the Competent Leader Manual, and some other manuals on modulating your voice, using gestures and how to evaluate the speeches of others. I have spent quite a bit of time reading and re-reading the Competent Communicator book - most especially the Ice Breaker speech requirements. Now that I know what is expected for this first speech, the ideas are just flowing in and I've gotten a pretty good start on it. I have asked to give it at the club meeting on August 1st.

I also reviewed the education paths available in Toastmasters. The ultimate goal is called the Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM). To get there, a person need so go through four levels of the communicator path and three levels of the leadership path. Each step towards the DTM is progressivly more difficult and requires a greater commitment to Toastmasters on the club, district and organizational levels. I cannot wait to get started!

My club's next meeting would ordinarily fall on this coming Friday, July 4th, so needless to say, that meeting is cancelled. To sort of make up for the cancelled meeting, we are going to join another club that is meeting at the same Denny's restaurant where we meet. The next meeting is on July 18th and I won't be able to attend that one because I will be pursuing another of my goals - climbing Mt. Lassen up near Redding, CA. That was planned before I joined Toastmasters. This is why my Ice Breaker speech is not going to happen until August 1st. After that, I hope to give at least one speech each month and participate in various club roles at most other meetings. This is going to be fun!!!

Learning to Network Using Technology...

2008-06-25T21:48:00.000-07:00

About 15 years ago I was a preschool teacher in Woodland. Once each month the director of my school had a networking conflict. Two of her networking groups met at the same time on the same day. My director asked me to go to one meeting while she went to the other one. Eager as I always am to learn new things and enjoy new professional experiences, I agreed and went happily.

After a few months however, I began to wonder what the point was. The preschool never got any referrals from the members of the group. It cost us time and money, but never made us any money. In fact, a few years after I left the preschool, I discovered that the preschool shut down. I remember thinking, "So much for networking..." Later I came to realize that particular preschool was just overpriced for the town it was in.

Now that I'm in a different career and trying to work my way up the corporate ladder, I can see how important networking is. Having contacts in various industries will open doors and provide you with resources that you can draw upon. This has really been thrown into stark relief for me since I began taking classes with the University of Phoenix, Online.

My classmates in both programs have come from literally all over the world and each posseses a vast array of experience and varying points of view. I had one classmate who was a medic in the US Army. In one class she was stationed in Texas. Two weeks later in a new class, she was stationed in Iraq. She kept up with the class and never missed a beat!

Recently, I read a story on a networking site called LinkedIn. I was impressed with the story so I decided to check it out. I have signed up and discovered that several of my coworkers had profiles on LinkedIn. Once they accepted my request to add them to my contacts, I was able to look at their contacts and found even more coworkers on LinkedIn. And the process goes on. I have also looked up my classmates and found one of them on LinkedIn. And so my network continues to expand...

Combine my LinkedIn network with groups like ASTD and Toastmasters International and my past and present coworkers and vendors at Sutter Health and my network just keeps growing and growing...

Don't Have Time to Volunteer? Think Again...

2008-06-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

I'm about to take off and go do my volunteer work for this weekend. Yep, on a Sunday! What is this activity that is open on Sundays? I'm donating plateletts at the local blood bank - Blood Source. It takes about 2.5 hours every 2-4 weeks and, while I'm doing it, I get to sit and watch a movie of my own choice.

Now I'm not mentioning this to toot my own horn. I've been doing this off and on for years and this is the first time I've mentioned it in my blog. I was mourning my lack of time the other day to spend more time volunteering. My wonderful husband, Mark, said "What about your blood donations? Doesn't that count?" I started thinking about it, and I think he's right. Not only that, but doing this leaves me feeling good because I know that I'm helping three people with cancer or blood illnesses.

The point is that you do not have to spend many hours each week at a volunteer activity. A few hours of your time just sitting in a chair somewhere can help any number of people and leave you feeling good. If you are reading this in the Sacramento, CA area then please consider donating blood to Blood Source. If you live else where, check with your state or county government for volunteer opportunities in your community.

Image Credit: Retrieved on June 22, 2008 from http://www.dhmh.state.md.us/volunteer/FAQ/FAQ.htm using Google Images.

I am Officially a Toastmaster!

2008-06-21T22:51:00.000-07:00

I joined Toastmasters yesterday. The club I joined is in District 39 and is called Good-to-Great Toastmasters. They have a humor theme for their club, but not every speech I have heard there has been funny. I am very comfortable with this group and am also planning to visit others. I am told that I will be getting my first two books mailed to me shortly and will then be able to write my first speech, which is called an Ice Breaker.
I have already started my Ice Breaker speech, which is supposed to be about me and last 4-7 minutes (gulp!). I am nervous about this, but my club is full of nice people who have all already done this themselves and have been in my shoes. They will only help me to improve. Once I get the books, I will be better able to finish writing my speech - and make it much longer than it currently is - and be sure to fulfill all of the requirements of the first lesson.

I also plan to visit other clubs to see how they do things and get more exposure and tips on how to improve my own speaking. I also figure that the more Table Topics I do, the better I will get at doing improv-type speaking. I was called on at my first Toastmasters meeting and did nothing but flub-up and use LOTS of "...and um"s. I was again called upon to do a Table Topics at my second meeting and did MUCH better. Only a few "um"s and I was voted the best Table Topics speech for the evening. I couldn't believe it!

My club's next regular meeting falls on July 4th, so they are not meeting that week. In order to make up for it, they have decided to join the Diamond Club when they meet in the same location we normally do on July 11th. I will miss our regular meeting on July 18th because I will be getting ready to hike up Mt. Lassen the next morning, but I said I wanted to be able to give my Ice Breaker speech at the first meeting in August on the 1st (YIKES!). I was told someone would be made my mentor and be available to help me work on this speech. Apparently, I can also work on the Leadership book at the same time and will start taking on tasks during the meeting. I am really looking forward to this new adventure!!!

What Summer Meant to Me as a Kid...

2008-06-20T22:24:00.001-07:00

Today is the first day of Summer and it got me thinking about what Summer meant to me when I was a kid. When I was a kid, Summer meant freedom from school. The ability to do what I wanted (within reason), when I wanted to do it (as long as my chores got done) and where I wanted to do it (as long as it was within bicycle or mass transit distance from home). I could sleep in or take a nap (or BOTH). I could read a book or watch TV or roam the neighborhood (mostly I watched TV).

Summer meant swimming! My best friend's grandfather called me Barracuda because I was constantly in his swimming pool. My best friend lived with her grandparents, so I would go over to her house and help her with her chores so I could go swimming afterwards. I was constantly red because I didn't bother with suntan lotion. It would only wash off anyway! Yes, it was painful, but that's why we have Solarcane (a spray on anesthetic).

I grew up in Redding, CA which is a small city at the top of the Central Valley. Because it is so far North, the Delta Breezes that cool the Bay Area and Sacramento Metro Area in the Summer never get that far north. This means that temperatures in Redding can get up to 120º F in the Summer. That never phased me (much). I loved to lay out in the back yard (getting a nice deep red burn) and go swimming in a pool or lake.

Today, Summer is just the time when I switch from the heater to the air conditioner. I no longer have time for the lazy pursuits I had as a child. I do remember them with fondness and hope that someday (perhaps after I finish my Doctoral Degree) I can set up a nice park-like setting in my own back yard so I can lay out back there (using sun screen of course!) and enjoy a nice lazy Summer day...

Image Credit: Retrieved on June 20, 2008 from http://www.maximumfun.org/blog/archive/2007_06_10_tsoya_archive.html using Google Images

Personal Goal - Climb Mt. Lassen in 2008

2008-06-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

Well, this goal is on track to be completed. Monday I made a hotel reservation in Redding for a weekend in July. My sister-in-law and I are going to go up on Friday afternoon and will make the climb on Saturday. Before you go imagining me scaling some sort of rock face, hold your horses! Lassen Peak has a hiking trail from the parking lot at 8500 feet up to the peak at 10,457 feet. The trail is 2.5 miles each way and is strenuous, but there will be no scaling or rappelling involved.

The question I get most often when I tell people about this goal is "Why?" Well, when I was about 11 or 12 years old my Mom took us to hike up the mountain. She chivvied us up the mountain 10 feet at a time. When we thought we could not go any further she would say "Come on, you can get to that tree over there." We would get to the tree and then she would say "You can get to that big rock over there, can't you?" Sure enough, we got to the top. I never forgot that hike and recently I have felt the urge to do it again.

Two years ago I decided that when I dropped under 300 lbs I would go do that climb again. Well, I got under 300 lbs last fall and then had Gastric Bypass Surgery (see my other blog for more info) and now I am well under 300 lbs and still progressing downward. Now it's time to fulfill my pledge to myself. Stay tuned for a progress report...

Personal Goal - Become More Healthy

2008-06-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

My first blog was started last November (2007) while I was on a medical leave of absence after having Gastric Bypass Surgery on October 31st. At my highest weight I weighed 335 lbs. On the day of my surgery I weighed 291 lbs. Today I weighed in a 232 lbs. I am feeling much better than I did at 335 lbs and am very pleased with my progress so far.

Becoming more healthy has been a big goal for me for the past 1.5 years. I realized that my increasing weight was only going to limit my career and personal goals. I couldn't let that happen. I could not be happy settling for an obscure middle management job somewhere. I wanted to reach for the moon and came to realize that impressions would be a big part of what I wanted to do. So far, my instincts in this have proven correct.

I'm glad I had the surgery. My side effects have been minimal and managable. I am seeing both my PCP and surgeon regularly and doing my best to do as I'm told. Having this surgery will actually help me to reach two of the goals on my list: Become more healthy and Climb Mt. Lassen in 2008. I am becoming more healthy everyday. This will definately be a goal for the rest of my life. Talk about long term!

Image Credit: This image was retrieved on June 15, 2008 from http://www.backactive.ca/Default.aspx?tabid=670 using Google Images

Goals are Important...

2008-06-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed, I have posted a list of goals on my blog. I'm sure I will be adding and deleting things from this list as I think of things and accomplish things. I have always been driven to have goals and dreams. I learned early that the only way to get the things I wanted was to keep working on them and make sure others know about them.

My first BIG goal was to join Job's Daughters. During my initiation into Job's Daughters (yes, during the ceremony) I set a goal to become Honored Queen (the president of the chapter). When I was 17, I became Honored Queen and a few years later I was elected as a Grand Bethel Girl (state representative). Job's Daughters taught me many things, but chief among them was the importance of setting goals.

I did go through a period of my life with no real goals set. This was the time in my life when I made the most mistakes. Once I realized this (a few years later), I refocused myself and set goals. This helped me to feel empowered and I stopped letting others walk all over me. I did lose focus during another part of my life when I was out of work for about 18 months, and cast about for a new job. Finding a job and then deciding to go back to school for my Masters Degree have helped me to find focus and keep going.

Some of the goals that I have accomplished include:

Buying a house - completed in February 2006
Earning my Masters Degree - completed in September 2007
Adopting a couple of wonderful dogs - completed in August 2006 and November 2007
Buying a second car - completed in February 2008
Getting a promotion at work - Completed in February 2008

My future goals are listed on the left hand side of the main page of my blog. In fact, it's time to go work on a couple of those right now...

Image Credit: Retrieved on June 16, 2008 from http://pennypincherspantry.wordpress.com/2008/03/ using Google Images.

Career Goals...

2008-06-15T00:01:00.001-07:00

I recently added a new feature to my blog called Goals. It is a list of my Career, Education and Personal Goals. I am sure it will grow as I think of more things I want to do. Right now it only lists my BIG goals that will take me awhile to achieve. I will talk about them here from time-to-time. Now seems as good a time to start as any, so I will start with my career goal.

A few years ago an email was sent out to all Sutter Health Support Services employees announcing the impending arrival of our new VP and Chief Learning Officer. At the time I remember thinking "What a great title!". This person was responsible for the Training and Organizational Development Department. I immediately started looking for a job in this department. I even made it to an interview with the CLO, but did not end up getting the job. It turns out that was probably a good thing at the time. I have learned quite a bit since then and am enjoying my current job very much.

I still think that Chief Learning Officer is a great title and am looking into the abilities and experiences that are required by Sutter Health for someone to be considered for the position of CLO. Because an announcement just went out that the current CLO is moving on (aka leaving the company), a job discription was available and I have discovered that I am well on my way, but it will still be several years before I am a candidate for consideration. That's OK though.

I spoke with my supervisor about this ambition and she thinks it is a good goal for me. She suggested I join ASTD and she also has told me that Toastmasters is also an excellent resource. I am also planning to pursue certificates in Project Management and Knowledge Management. I am also looking at other career opportunities within and without Sutter Health. I am planning to stay in my current position until I am done with my doctoral degree. There is too much to learn here and too much to do that will help me to write my dissertation. Having set this goal for myself has helped me to feel re-energized and more enthusiastic than ever about the work that I have before me.

Image Credit:

The soccer image was retrieved on June 14, 2008 from
http://yummybrainfood.wordpress.com/ and was found using Google Images.

The Webinar is Done!

2008-06-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (Friday, June 13th) I gave a presentation on Document Management in SharePoint 2003. The presentation was one-hour long and done completely online in a WebEx forum for Collaboration Site Administrators in the Sutter Health Network. I was very nervous about my presentation and very glad that I did not have to face the people I was presenting to.

We recorded the session and afterwards I listened to part of the recording again. I sounded OK, but not fantastic. I sounded like I read the whole thing (which I did). I am not surprised by this, but am determined to improve. A week ago I went to my first ever Toastmasters meeting. Next Friday (this particular club meets every two weeks rather than every week) I plan to turn in my application for membership and get started.

As I have become more comfortable with my training materials, my confidence in my ability to speak had been going up. After last week at Toastmasters (where I participated in their Table Topics segment) and then the presentation during the Webinar this week, I realized how much further I need to go to become really confident in my ability to speak in public. I am looking at this has a challenge rather than a barrier.

On June 8, 2008 I blogged about Dr. Randy Pausch. In his lecture and later his book entitled "The Last Lecture" he talks about life's brick walls being there not to keep me from reaching my goals, but to keep those who do not want something badly enough from getting to something. Brick walls can be anything from people to experiences to physical barriers. My road ahead to my current set of goals is littered with brick walls. Classes I have to pass, lack of money/time/energy/know-how, lack of experience and more. I am setting up a list of my goals and developing a plan for how to overcome these barriers and reach each of my goals. I think that this plan and effort will be the topic of my Ice Breaker Speech (my first speech) for Toastmasters.

Image Credit:

The smily image was retrieved on June 14, 2008 from http://www.icone-gif.com/icone/Bubbles/Smilies/ and was found using Google Images.

The brickwall image was retrieved on June 14, 2008 from http://keeleyblackstock.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html and was found using Google Images.

Explain how the threefold contrast between data, information and knowledge has some application in your professional experience

2008-06-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

The following is my response to the statement above which was posted as a discussion "question" in Week 4 of my Knowledge of Theory and Practice class.

According to Becerra-Fernandez, Gonzalez and Sabherwal, (2004) knowledge, data and information are often used interchangeably, but are quite distinct. Data is made up of observations, facts and perceptions; information is gleaned from facts and then combined with other information and presented with the possibility of influencing a decision; knowledge is information that has been or can be acted upon.

In my professional experience, managing knowledge – and thus information and data – is the primary function of my job. I assist in building and maintaining our company employee portal and related collaboration work sites across a system of 41 affiliates throughout Northern California, Southern Oregon and Hawaii. Our portal contains reports, policies, templates, news, information on affiliates, conference centers and cafeterias and a system-wide directory. We display data that measures how we are doing on numerous internal and external measures and where we stand against our competition. Each of our support services departments has a section that talks about what it does to help the affiliates, patients, or communities that we serve.

Our collaboration sites are secured workspaces where our employees can come together to work on initiatives, develop best practices and create materials that will educate and inform our patients and employees on matters that are important to them. Once a project or document is complete it is posted to the employee portal or published and distributed to patients or the community. We are trying to put most of our information online. The only major restrictions right now are:

Protected Health Information (PHI)

Personal Identification Information (PII)

Attorney-Client Privileged Information

We are currently exploring the use of wikis, blogs pod casts and other forms of streaming media and are planning to upgrade our portal platform by the end of this year. This is a very exciting time to be working in my current job.

References:

Becerra-Fernandez, I., Gonzalez, A. & Sabherwal, R., (2004). Knowledge management: Challenges, solutions and technologies. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall.

Image Source: Retrieved on June 12, 2008 from http://segala.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/welcome%20to%20the%20world%20wide%20web%20sign.jpg using Google Images.

I am Hosting a Webinar @ Work!

2008-06-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

My supervisor has set one of my goals for this year to kick off a Sutter SharePoint User Group and institute a series of Lunch & Learn events over the course of this year. When she set up this goal I had expected to do lots of work but be mostly in the background. I was not worried about this because I was just happy to be learning something new and being involved.

We decided about a week-and-a-half ago that trying to do a live-and-in-person event would be to difficult and expensive and we probably would not get the turn-out that we hoped for. The best alternative would be to do a Lunch & Learn via WebEx and conference call. I have been working on the presentation and we expected one of the tech guys from the Web Team to do the presentation. Today he told us that we only wanted to do the demonstrations. It was decided that I would do the majority of the presentation. I am so excited about this!

So far we have about 75 tentative/accepted RSVPs for this first webinar. We also have scheduled the Lunch and Learns and, after conducting a survey of our members, laid out the topics for the rest of the year. This is going to be lots of work, but I am looking forward to the opportunity!

One more thing... My supervisor suggested I joining the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD). I really enjoy training in the professional adult environment and want to learn more about how to become a better instructor. I just learned that they are doing their own version of a Lunch & Learn over the course of the summer. They are offering three two-hour lunch courses and the cost is minimal. I have talked to my supervisor about it and she has encouraged me to take the time and go to these lunch meetings and she is looking into the possibility of reimbursing me for them as well. She has also suggested a couple of possible certification programs for me. One in Project Management and one in Knowledge Management. I think these are excellent skills and certifications to pursue.

It just seems like everything is starting to fall into place and I can see my path ahead. It is a wonderful feeling!

References:

Image Credits:

The puzzle photo was found on June 11, 2008 on http://www.businesstrainingworks.com/Instructors.html using Google Images.
The beach path photo was found on June 11, 2008 on http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Beach-Path-Posters_i1107243_.htm using Google images.

Today something clicked...

2008-06-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today I was continuing to struggle with Moser and vander Nat (2003). I am so grateful to my admissions counselor, Celia Bravo, for recommending Natural Reader (http://www.naturalreaders.com/) to me, because I would have passed out from the effort of slogging through this philosophy text. Thanks to Natural Reader (http://www.naturalreaders.com/) I only had to listen to it which, for me, is a much easier proposition. I have been struggling to understand how this philosophy text relates to the concept of Knowledge Management which, to me, has always been a function of technology rather than philosophy. Anyway, at one point I decided to take a break from Moser and vander Nat and start tackling Becerra-Fernandez, Gonzalez and Sabherwal, (2004). By the time I got through Chapter 2 the pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place!

Becerra-Fernandez, Gonzalez and Sabherwal, (2004) were making reference to terms that had been the main points of many of the articles in Moser and vander Nat (2003). Having that background when I opened Becerra-Fernandez, Gonzalez and Sabherwal meant that I did not have to rush about looking up the terms online or asking the instructor for clarification. I had heard them before and they were familiar - if only slightly.

Suggestion for PHL716 professors going forward (and yes, I will also pass this along to my current instructor): Please explain this to your students at the beginning of the class. I am certain that you will spend less time trying to convince them to read Moser and vander Nat (2003) and have more productive conversations once the reading weeks are over.

References:

Becerra-Fernandez, I., Gonzalez, A. & Sabherwal, R., (2004). Knowledge management: Challenges, solutions and technologies. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall.

Image Credit: Retrieved on June 8, 2008 from http://www.gameaxis.com/img/blog/1863/Image/idea_innovations.jpg using Google Images.

Moser, P.K., & vander Nat, A. (2003). Human knowledge: Classical and contemporary approaches (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Trouble with PHL716...

2008-06-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

I am trying to be a good doctoral student and do the reading that is required for the course. However, in this particular course, I am having trouble understanding the reasons for some of the readings. In particular Moser and vander Nat's (2003) Human knowledge: Classical and contemporary approaches. The other textbooks for this class and most of the articles seem to be about the concept of Knowledge Management - a concept I am learning to work with in my new job. However, Moser and vander Nat's book talks about the philosophy of knowledge.

Now I understand the the "PHL" in PHL716 stands for phylosophy. I suppose that Knowledge Management can be considered a phylosophy rather than simply a noun or a verb, but I do not understand the need to read about these ancient arguments about what knowledge is or is not. My husband said it seems like needing to understand aeronautics before you can buy a plane ticket. If I could only understand the relevance of reading this book, I might be a bit more patient with having to slog through it and such understanding may lead to a better understanding of what I am reading.

References:

Image credit: Exploding_Brain.png was retrieved on June 8, 2008 from http://dmmgmfm.blogspot.com/2007/05/audience-participation.html using Google Images search engine.

Moser, P.K., & vander Nat, A. (2003). Human knowledge: Classical and contemporary approaches (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Inspiration & Goals...

2008-06-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I find I really enjoy about academia is the debate and discussion on every topic. Knowledge is a growing and ever expanding thing and everyone has a different point of view and varying ideas based on their own experiences, culture and background. What is even better is that most of the time the debate can move knowledge forward either incrementally or assist in making great leaps forward. Personally, I am hoping that, whatever my topic turns out to be, my dissertation will help cut healthcare costs and make the system (locally to begin with and then nationally eventually) more efficient if only in one small area. Each improvement, no matter how small, helps to improve the whole in the long run.

I would also like to teach on the University level so that I can continue to improve the world by influencing the up-and-coming thinkers, scientists, executives, philosophers, etc. I would like to be a positive influence on the future. One person that has really inspired me is Dr. Randy Pausch who participated in a lecture series that was once called the Last Lecture. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo). He has such a wonderful outlook on life and gave great advice during this lecture on how to achieve your childhood dreams. He also wrote a book (also called The Last Lecture, (Pausch & Zaslow, 2008)) that expands on his live lecture. I have found it really inspiring and recommend it to everyone.

Note: I made an error when I first posted this (which I have now corrected). I had assumed that, due to his terrible prognosis, Dr. Pausch had died. I learned today (http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/) that he is still with us and living with his family in Virginia. My apologies to Dr. Pausch and his family for my error. I wish you all the best!

References:

Pausch, R. & Zaslow, J., (2008). The Last Lecture. New York: Hyperion

I went to my first Toastmasters meeting...

2008-06-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

Shortly after I started this blog I was contacted by Mike Berta from Mike's Doc Blog (http://mikeberta.us/blog/) who is also a doctoral student with the University of Phoenix Online. We have been corresponding on occasion and one of the best tips that he has given me so far is a suggestion to join a local chapter of Toastmasters International (http://www.toastmasters.org/).

Toastmasters is a public speaking development club. They have a formal program that you follow that works to develop your public speaking skills in a friendly, non-judgmental environment. I attended my first club meeting last night and had a ball! I grabbed a membership application and plan to fill it out and join at the next meeting in two weeks! The cost is minimal. The local chapter I am joining has no dues of its own, so there is only the cost of materials ($20) and then semi-annual dues of ($27). The program is self-paced and they have both a leadership track and a communicator track that you can work on either separately or simultaneously. Members are not required to speak at every meeting and for the most part you are given adequate time to prepare your speeches. Once you have given your speech, you get friendly, positive feedback. I am really looking forward to getting involved.

How do your views on some of the subjects discussed by our authors differ from what you have read?

2008-06-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

The following is my response to the question above which was posted as a discussion question in Week 3 of my Knowledge of Theory and Practice class.

I have been having a hard time understanding the work of Moser and vander Nat (2003) and have decided to reserve judgment on that text until I can begin to comprehend what they are saying a bit better. I do not yet find myself capable of critiquing them.

I have started reading some of the articles in the Electronic Reserved Readings and have been enjoying them much more. Druker’s (1999) article on knowledge worker productivity was particularly relevant to my current job and the area that I am planning to study for my dissertation. He argues that managers need to give their knowledge workers the responsibility for defining what quality means when referring to their jobs. He also explains that supervisors need to ask their employees how to make their (the employee’s) jobs more efficient thus increasing productivity and then provide the employees with the tools and resources that they need.

One example he used was relieving nurses of the non-clinical tasks that they were being asked to do that was distracting them from patient care. When a file clerk, who makes much less than a nurse, was hired to take over clerical duties the nurses were able to spend more time with patients and productivity, employee satisfaction and patient satisfaction scores all went up (Drucker, 1999). My current employer is very interested in improving quality of healthcare services provided and is always looking for ways to improve. I decided this article was so good that I forwarded it to my supervisor and we discussed how to implement Drucker’s suggestions in our own sphere of influence.

References:

Drucker, P.F., (1999). Knowledge-Worker Productivity: The Biggest Challenge. California Management Review, 41(2). Retrieved on June 4, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Moser, P.K., & vander Nat, A. (2003). Human knowledge: Classical and contemporary approaches (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

In what specific ways do later thinkers build on the work of earlier thinkers?

2008-06-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

The following is my response to the question above which was posted as a discussion question in Week 3 of my Knowledge of Theory and Practice class.

Later thinkers have progressed through history in the same way that modern scientists, artists, inventors and others have. They build on what came before. Because Gregor Mendel conducted his experiments on pea plants and guinea pigs, the human genome has now been completely mapped. Because Copernicus and Galileo stared at the night sky and theorized about what stars and planets are, we have now successfully landed probes on Mars, and sent other probes outside our solar system and put humans into orbit and on the Moon. Because Gutenberg invented the printing press, today I can sit here and type on my computer and post something that people all around the world can read.

There are a myriad of achievements in a plethora of fields that have lead the human race to where it is today. This includes the field of great thinkers and scholarly pursuits. Those that strive to understand the world and make it a better place are the ones that we can thank today for what we have and we can look forward to better tomorrows. We are all standing on the shoulders of those that came before us and it is part of our efforts here that will further their work and, as a result, make life just a little bit better for our posterity.

Image Credit: This photo was retrieved on June 4, 2008 from http://www.solarnavigator.net/animal_kingdom/animal_images/Chimpanzee_thinking_poster.jpg.

Voting Yesterday...

2008-06-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

I went to vote yesterday. I had to fill in a grand total of nine bubbles. There were two ballot initiatives (98 & 99 here in California) and - because I'm a member of the Green Party - I got to vote for the seven members of the Green Party County Council. There were eight people on the ballot. That was probably the shortest ballot I have ever seen! At one point I thought about just skipping it. I was not fired up about either proposition and did not know anything about the people I would be voting for. I went and voted anyway. When I left the polling place - there was no line, voter turnout was abismally low yesterday statewide - I thanked the poll workers for their service and I felt pretty dog-gone good about having kept up my part of the civic bargin.

I may complain about the current government and the way that they are running this country into the ground, but overall, my life is pretty darned cushy. I have enough to eat, a roof over my head and a good job that I enjoy getting up and going to almost every day (Hey! Everyone is allowed an off day once in a while!). I was not allowed to enlist in the military due to a medical condition I had at the time, so the least that I can do as a responsible citizen of my country is honestly pay my taxes when they are due, vote on election days and cheerfully report for jury duty when called. Apathy serves nobody. Most importantly, decisions are made by those that show up. To those of you who did not bother to vote yesterday, you do not get to complain from now until November 4, 2008. If you vote then, we can talk about reinstating your right to complain.

Image Credit: This image was found on June 4, 2008 on http://cturpen.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/election08.jpg using Google Images Search Engine

Implications & Conclusions from Weeks 1 & 2 of PHL 716

2008-06-02T22:48:00.001-07:00

Implications:

I really had a hard time with the readings. I found Moser and vander Nat (2003) tedious to read and their insertion of formulas into philosophical discussion even more confusing. I have read some things by Socrates. While I found his discussions circular as well, I at least found him amusing and he seemed to have more of a desire to learn from others. Plato seemed to be more inclined to teach everyone his point of view. Perhaps I have this wrong, but that is my impression so far. It could be that I have just had difficulty attuning my "ear" (actually, I do listen to these books as I have a program that reads them to me - I am a painfully slow reader) to the form of language that is used. I have a similar problem when attending a Shakespearean play for the first time in a long time.

Conclusions:

I do not discount the works of Plato or Aristotle as circular. I merely interpret them as circular and am having trouble understanding them. People have been reading their works for thousands of years, so they must have some validity that I am just not understanding. This is my own limitation, not that of these revered thinkers. Religious strife over the last millenia have insured that we do not know everything that the ancients knew because too often books (or libraries) were destroyed during conflicts and wars. I would only ask that those who have a better understanding of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle help me to understand them better. I will also work on my own to try to better understand these great thinkers. Right now I feel like the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz - "...if I only had a brain."

References:

Moser, P.K., & vander Nat, A. (2003). Human knowledge: Classical and contemporary approaches (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Image credit: Thinking Frog retrieved on June 2, 2008 from http://www.tufts.edu/programs/sustainability/images/Frog-thinking.jpg.

CONGRATULATIONS KATHY!!!

2008-06-01T13:19:00.000-07:00

As I am typing this entry I am sitting in the Sacramento Convention Center at a National University commencement ceremony. My sister-in-law, Kathy, is graduating with a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology. I am very proud of Kathy. I know how hard she has worked. Her program required hours spent in an internship. Doing that on top of work, classroom time and time spent working on homework must have been harder than anything I have ever done. She has my greatest respect and I am more proud of her than mere words can express. Time to pay attention to the speakers...

Suvivalists, Seperatists or Defeatists?

2008-05-26T00:02:00.000-07:00

I read an article today that left me feeling puzzled and a bit angry. The headline said “Energy fears looming, new survivalists prepare." The story was about people who have embraced the idea that we will run out of oil and all economies will collapse, food will become scarce and only those who prepare now will be in a position to survive against the raging hordes made up of their fellow human-beings. Now, I am not naïve enough to suppose that this scenario cannot happen. I am an optimist by nature and believe that we will find a replacement for the vast amounts of oil that we are now using.

What angered me about this story is that these people are retreating to their rural hidey holes and preparing to fight their city-dwelling neighbors in the future rather than be part of finding a solution in the present. How are their actions going to prevent the crisis that they are expecting? While I applaud their choosing to buy locally grown foods, generate their own power, and generally reducing their carbon footprint, their plans to gather their own families together while beating off their neighbors and others are hypocritical.

I have to ask these pioneering people why they do not put their ingenuity to work in order to find a solution to the energy issues facing us rather than squirreling themselves away? “United we stand, divided we fall” has been an axiom in American history from the beginning. American ingenuity has, if not invented great advances in history, has improved on them and made them available to the masses, thus improving society in general and occasionally, the world overall. Those who have elected to hide themselves away have usually been left behind and then either faded away or become a problem for society to deal with. Why would these hardy citizens want to put themselves into this category rather than that of those that work to solve problems and make the world a better place for all?

Feeling Rested & Ready to Go!

2008-05-25T21:08:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my Mom and I went down to Santa Cruz – just the two of us. We stayed at a cabin in the hills above Santa Cruz among the redwoods. It is so peaceful there. We left Thursday evening after I got off of work and came home Monday morning. Each day we slept in, had a leisurely breakfast out (I highly recommend The Crepe Place if you are ever in Santa Cruz!) and then we planned our day. On Friday we came back to the cabin from breakfast and took a nap and then went to the beach and took another nap!

Saturday we tried to go to the Boardwalk, but it was such a zoo to find parking that we decided to go up to Roaring Camp instead. We got there about 30 minutes before the next train was due to leave, so we shopped at their little store where I learned about a new collectors’ item – Squished Pennies – and started a new collection. I already had one squished penny that I had picked up in Santa Cruz last year so I figured what the heck! I made another one there at Roaring Camp and then picked up several more when we went to the Boardwalk. At Roaring Camp they had a specially made book you can store your squished pennies in, so I bought one. It sounds kind of dumb, but they are really kind of cool.

The Roaring Camp train ride was beautiful! It’s an old steam locomotor called the Dixianna Shay that pulls six cars up through the trees on a 9% grade (very steep!!!) and takes visitors to Cathedral Grove. This is a ring of trees that are somewhere around 900 years old. One of the trees was hit by lightening and is dead, but the others are very much alive. Another old tree has a giant cavern at the base where it was invaded by fire at some point in the past. The tree is still alive and is gradually healing the wound, but it takes decades to close up. Redwoods are tough trees and, if they can keep the fire out of their base, can survive any forest fire with minimal scarring.

On Sunday Mom and I made it to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and road on the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster four times!!! We both love riding roller coasters and this one is a particular favorite. We also went on the Ferris wheel, the sky ride, the Cave Train and the Logger’s Revenge. We had a blast! Then we went to lay on the beach for a few hours. Goodness, but that was a relaxing weekend!!!

We came home early on Monday because my husband had to have oral surgery and needed me there to drive him home. His surgery went well (three wisdom teeth removed) and I returned to work on Tuesday. I felt so rested and clear-headed upon my return and was infused with a new sense of enthusiasm! What a wonderful feeling!

Thinking Out Loud...

2008-05-14T22:11:00.000-07:00

Over the past few months finding a topic for my dissertation has been on my mind. It is still early in my doctoral program and I have plenty of time to choose a topic and start the research/writing process, but the whole point of a doctoral program is to write a dissertation and add to the literature. The time for considering topics, looking into the literature, and tossing them around is now rather than when it gets down to crunch time.

I know that I want to do something that combines my three big degrees - Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies (with an emphasis in Digital Communication); Masters in Health Administration (MHA); and a Doctoral Degree (in progress) in Management and Organizational Leadership (DM). My current job involves setting up and maintaining an intranet (and all that entails) for a major healthcare organization. I have been trying to figure out how to work that in as well. I enjoy working with Internet-related technology but have been finding it difficult to turn that into a dissertation topic – until I began blogging…

Mike over at Mike’s Doc Blog is doing his dissertation on the use of Web 2.0 in workplace education (Mike, I haven’t been able to go back very far in your blogs yet, so if I’m off on this, please let me know). This got me to thinking about how new Internet technologies are being used in healthcare. I haven’t yet worked out all the specifics yet, but at least it is a direction that I can head in. I intend to keep watching Mike and his progress with great interest.

Mike, through his discussion about his involvement in Toastmasters, has interested and encouraged me to join that group in an effort to improve my public presentation skills. I have mentioned it to my husband, Mark, and he is interested in joining Toastmasters with me. I think I will wait to do this until I get through May. This month has been a hectic enough already. June is soon enough…

Tragedies Abound Lately...

2008-05-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

Tornadoes in the Midwestern and Southern United States. Volcanic eruptions in Chile. A cyclone combined with dictatorial hubris in Myanmar (a.k.a. Burma). A 7.9 magnitude earthquake in China. Civil wars and election-related conflicts in Africa. Wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel & Palestine, and Lebanon. All of these disasters are claiming the lives of several individuals to hundreds of thousands of individuals. The number of deaths depends on the affected population's level of industrialization.

The industrialized nations generally spring into action to try to help any area affected by a disaster. Because of their wealth, they are able to pull food and other survival materials out of their stores or from their populations and ship them, almost overnight, to the affected populations. Never in the history of human-kind has assistance been able to be provided so quickly and so freely. These quick responses keep secondary deaths from hunger/dehydration or disease. Is there more that these wealthy and advanced nations can do? Yes!

As a citizen of one of these wealthy, advanced, industrialized nations I feel that we are not doing enough proactively to prevent the magnitude of these disasters. We should engage our State Department diplomats and ambassadors to offer disaster readiness preparation and propose regulatory changes for smaller countries (depending on their individual level of industrialization) that can help them avert mass casualties in the event of a natural disaster. This offer of assistance should be tendered without strings to every government. Helping to put things like building codes, pollution reduction, workplace safety and disaster preparation training for emergency response personnel in place should not be based on human rights records or form of government. The offer of assistance should be made freely and, if refused, that refusal should be accepted graciously.

Offering this type of assistance to other nations - essentially helping them learn the lessons we learned from our own industrial revolution without making the same mistakes - would be in our own economic and strategic interests as well. Disasters, natural or human-made, are expensive in terms of resources, lives lost or damaged, productivity lost, and environmental damage. By helping less developed nations prevent or prepare for these events now, we will be helping ourselves down the road by having to invest fewer resources in an emergency later because the disaster will be less severe. It would also help us strategically by working on building friendships among the nations that currently despise us.

I am not naive enough to believe that every government is going to readily accept our offer of aid and knowledge right off the bat. Some will never welcome aid from us. This does not mean that the aid should not be offered. The offer should be made and then left on the table - come what may - in future relations. This may help to change the image of the United States with the rest of the world. We may go from being viewed as the world's cop/bully to being the world's friend.

Your comments are welcome...

Beginning to Recover from Year 1 Residency - Delayed Recap…

2008-05-09T22:45:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe how tired I was when I returned from my Year 1 Residency! I was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted and literally wanted to do nothing for the next several days. Unfortunately, that was not possible. I had to go back to work and try to function at a productive level. That was tough! I spent Thursday catching up on email and posting news items and documents on my company’s portal. I went home and basically fell asleep. Friday was much the same. Now for the recap…

Day One was the final day of SEM700 and was basically used to address our fears and answer our questions about the program and the process of earning our doctoral degree. It was nice to see that I was not the only one who felt nervous and inadequate to the task. The professor and the Associate Dean both assured us that, because we had made it this far in the program, we were indeed worthy of being in this program. Professor Perlman then proceeded to give us some pretty good tips for how to manage our time and workload. I felt she had some great tips and I am looking forward to putting them into practice.

Days 2-6 were under the tutelage of two new professors – Dr. Toni Greif and Dr. T. Lee Burnham. They were both excellent professors who really challenged us with the information on Critical and Creative Thinking. They were interesting to listen to, imparted lots of fantastic knowledge, and allowed us to have a good time while doing it.

My class was made up of a mix of characters from across the nation and even some from outside the USA. We had one classmate who flew to Phoenix, AZ from Jamaica! Another one came down from Canada. This is one of the reasons that I love the online learning environment! You get to meet people from all over the world and a variety of professions and experiences. It really gives one a much broader network of colleagues than a typical program can give. We also had people from the EDD, DHA and DM programs, so that offered lots of different perspectives as well.

My learning team was made up of five of us. Two from California, one from Maryland, one from Southern Texas and one from Conneticut. Overall, we had lots of fun and learned a lot from each other. I will admit there were some hurt feelings and crunched toes by the end of the week, but thanks to Drs. Greif and Burnham, I think a lot of the hurt feelings were smoothed over and we all left as friends at the end.

I am hoping to get many of my Y1 classmates in my Y2 Residency, but we will have to wait and see what happens. I’m not sure how the Residency gods work such things. I am sure that individual schedules will also play a big role in who attends and when.

I would have to say that even though this was the hardest, most intensive class I have ever taken, I had a great time and learned a LOT! I have ideas for my dissertation going forward (nothing set in stone yet of course!) and am going to start taking notes on individual professors so that I have an idea of who would make a good mentor for me and who would make good committee members. Now I am going to start gathering literature on my possible topic and start mind mapping and taking notes on individual books and articles so that I am prepared when I begin writing my literature review. I have also decided to continue with this blog. My blog was never really in danger of being discontinued. Its existence was just reinforced! I am also going to make time to join Toastmasters (Thanks to Mike at Mike’s Doc Blog for suggesting it!) in order to improve my comfort speaking in public. My husband Mark has even expressed an interest in joining with me.

I start a new class one week from tomorrow and plan to implement Dr. Perlman’s time management suggestions. Between now and next Tuesday I am going to Santa Cruz, CA with my Mom for four days with no spouses, kids or dogs. We are just going to enjoy a mother-daughter weekend before I dive into my next class. The next year is going to be interesting and I am looking forward to the challenge. I am looking forward to embracing it with gusto!

Day 5 of Year 1 Residency...

2008-05-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

9:15 a.m. - Today is going well so far. I've done a presentation on a personal passion (my Weightloss Journey) and done a team presentation on Assumptions about the validity of doctoral degrees from online programs. We did very well, according to our instructors, and I think most of us felt pretty good about how we did as well.

1:05 p.m. - At lunch we brainstormed about our final team project and have come up with a very clever idea that will amuse and entertain the class... I won't say more now, but will describe it in a later post...

9:15 p.m. - We were tasked to each do a gift for the class - it can be anything - for the final day. My team decided to do a group gift together rather than doing an individual gift. We are giving everyone a list of the names, phone numbers and email addresses of all the members of the class along with some important information we have learned in this class, a certificate that we are calling an "Honorary Doctorate" for surviving residency, and some coupons for Red Robin. The idea is to "Stay in touch, remember what we learned, and to eat right."

I started writing this post at about 8:00 a.m. today and it's now 9:21 p.m. I am mentally and physically exhausted and just want to go back to my hotel (Extended Stay America) and go to bed. I have really enjoyed my stay at Extended Stay America with one exception...the beds were rock hard! After the first night, I ran to WalMart and bought an air mattress (queen size - just like the bed) and have been in Heaven ever since. Extended Stay America only does maid service once each week, but I asked them that when they did come in and change the linens to please put the new linens on the air mattress rather than the bed. They did as I asked and then made the bed over the air mattress and everything looks nice. :-)

Phoenix, AZ has been a pretty nice city to visit so far. The restaurants we have been to have all been pretty good (except for some bad chicken at a local Chili's for a couple of my team-mates) and everyone that we have talked to has been pretty friendly. I am planning to go visit the Desert Botanical Gardens on Wednesday before my 7:00 p.m. flight home on Southwest Airlines out of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

9:38 p.m. - As soon as my team-mates come back, I'm going to go back to my hotel and crash. Until then I think I'll play some Civ IV...

Days 3 & 4 Are Behind Me...

2008-05-04T21:06:00.000-07:00

As the title says, Days 3 and 4 are behind me and I am looking forward to getting done with Days 5 and 6. It's not that I'm not having fun - I'm having lots of fun with my team-mates and classmates and I'm learning a LOT - it's just been a very intense week and I am very tired at this point. I knew it would be like this, so I am dealing with it ok. It's just that tempers are starting to get a bit short and toes are getting stepped on so everyone is starting to feel the strain.

I have to work on an individual project tonight on something that I am passionate about. My loving husband suggested gardening and home renovation or education. Those were the ideas that I had as well, I'm just not sure how to present them to the members of my class. We're supposed to be thinking creatively, but my creativity tank is on empty right now! I've been using it like crazy over the past few days and at the moment I'm drawing a blank.

I think I will go pour myself a rum and cola and sit and watch TV for an hour or so and then come back and try to think about the project again. I think I'm just to tense to think creatively right now. Once I relax a bit I'm sure the ideas will flow...

2nd Day of Residency in the Deep Freeze...

2008-05-02T23:43:00.000-07:00

My second day of residency was just as fun (and just as cold!) as the first day. I had the same classmates but different instructors. We will be educated for the rest of the residency by Dr. Toni Buchsbaum Greif and Dr. Lee Burnham. They were very entertaining and educational. We have two presentations due tomorrow, but we have been encouraged to make them "interesting" and "not boring" so my team has taken the creative initiative and made both of our presentations fun.

Well... I have to finish one of the presentations, so I better get back to it...

First Day of Residency in the Deep Freeze

2008-05-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

My first day of residency went well. Professor Perlman was delightful and made the day very interesting. She eased our fears about the process of producing a dissertation and gave us many good tips about how to achieve the reading, work, research and still have our families and friends remain on speaking terms with us. By the end of the class we were all much more relaxed about the experience. The only real problem was that the room was freezing!!!

It was windy here in Phoenix yesterday and I think it kicked up a lot of allergens that I have no defense against. I had a headache by the end of the day and went back to my hotel room and took a pain reliever and just relaxed in front of the TV for the evening. Before I did that however, I went to a Super Walmart and bought an air mattress to put on top of my hotel room bed. The bed in my room at ExtendedStay America was rock hard. I don't sleep well on hard beds, but the air mattress made all the difference and I had a nice, relaxing sleep last night.

Well, the class is getting started, so I better start listening...

Into the Wild Blue Yonder...

2008-04-30T11:17:00.000-07:00

Today is the day I leave for my Year One Residency in Phoenix, AZ. My nervousness about the flight is higher - as mentioned previously this is my first commercial airline flight - but is still managable. I think most of my anxiety is around the process of getting through the airport and security and getting on board the plane rather than the flight itself. When I have gone up in my Step-Dad's plane it has been a very fun experience as long as I can look out the window. I did book a window seat with this in mind.

The last couple of days have been a flurry of activity as I pack and write the paper on critical thinking that is due Friday. I have a two-page packing list and managed to squeeze everything into two suitcases and all of my electronics went into a computer backpack that is coming with me on the plane. I'll be fine if my clothes and toiletries end up in Buffalo, NY - they can be replaced at a local Wal Mart/Target/KMart but I'll be royally screwed if my computer doesn't make it to Residency with me!!!

Once in Phoenix I plan to just roll with the punches. I'll go where they tell me to go and do whatever they ask. I have packed protein bars and protein powder (in checked luggage - NOT carry on) in order to address my dietary needs (I had gastric bypass surgery in October and have lost almost 60 lbs since then, but need to take in a specific amount of protein each day) throughout each day. I think I'm about as ready as I can be. Now, if only the work day would fly by just a bit faster...

On-the-Ground Residency Coming Up!

2008-04-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I have a load of firsts coming up this week:

1st ever commercial airline flight (seriously!)
1st time traveling out of state (CA to AZ) by myself
1st time to visit Phoenix, AZ
1st time going to school outside of CA
1st time my husband and I have spent more than two nights apart in the 10 years since we've been together

That's a LOT of firsts for one week. Starting Wednesday (April 30, 2008) evening, I will fly down to Phoenix, AZ for my first-ever doctoral residency at the University of Phoenix. I will be gone a total of 7 days and 8 nights. The residency begins May 1st and ends on May 6th. On May 7th I am going to spend the day doing the tourist bit in Phoenix before flying home that evening. I plan to blog each day (probably at night when I get back to the hotel) in order to record the experience. I am also going to take my digital camera in order to record some of the faces and experiences. I may post the photos here too. Who knows?

The theme for this residency is critical and creative thinking. I believe that the aim is to teach us how to think and ultimately write in a scholarly tone so that we can succeed in writing our dissertations. We have been asked to choose a completed dissertation that is close to a topic of interest for us and bring an electronic copy with us to residency. We have also been asked to write a paper on what critical thinking is and how it will "...provide a personal evaluation of how cognitive development, logic, and emotionality relate to [my] ability to think critically. " This is due on Day 2 of the residency.

All-in-all, it should be an interesting experience!

Developing a Leadership Mission Statement

2008-04-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

With the mission statement of the School of Advanced Studies serving as a context, develop a concise (between 100-150 words) leadership statement that includes your approach, qualities and practices. Be sure to use research to support your statement. These statements will be used as a baseline for leadership assessment and development throughout the program.

The mission of the School of Advanced Studies is to develop leaders who will create new models that explain, predict, and improve organizational performance. These leaders are scholar-practitioners who conduct research as a foundation for creative action, influence policy decision, and guide diverse organizations through effective decision-making (University of Phoenix, 2005).

I will learn to combine the Transformational and Servant Leadership styles (Humphreys, 2005) in order to serve in a leadership capacity in non-profit and governmental health care organizations. My focus will be on leading the implementation of information technology as a transformational communication and resource tool in order to help make these organizations more effective and efficient in their everyday operations. I will also commit to being a knowledge resource for those I lead and serve in order to implement an effective transition to the new technologies and encourage the embrace of a new resources and methods. Because change is rarely easy for most individuals and institutions (Tichy & Devanna, 1990), I will work to make such transitions run as smoothly and quickly as possible while keeping the emotional and psychological needs of those I lead foremost in my mind.

References:
Humphreys, J.H., (2005). Contextual implications for transformational and servant leadership: A historical investigation. Management Decision, 43(10), 1410-1431. Retrieved April 28, 2008, from ProQuest Database.

Tichy, N.M. & Devanna, M.A., (1990). The transformational leader: The key to global competitiveness. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

How has this course changed your approach to leadership?

2008-04-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

This class has made me more aware of the different types of leadership and, as a result, I feel that I have a better understanding of some of my supervisors and the leaders in my organization. I also have a better understanding of why things don't always move as quickly as I would like in an organization like mine. To just storm in and start making changes would "upset the apple cart" by scaring a lot of employees into thinking their lives are about to be turned upside down and a leader - no matter how transformational or inspiring - would have a revolt on his or her hands (Tichy & Devanna, 1990). My current supervisor is very frustrated with how slowly our organization moves to make changes that would probably result in a more efficient healthcare system. I have found myself explaining leadership concepts to her and why they (the leaders in my organization) need to move so slowly and deliberately. Still, she's a "just do it" kind of person who is still new to leadership and has a bit of a low EI so she just wants to move ahead - everyone else be damned. She can be a bit frustrating to work with, but this class has given me understanding as to why.

As to myself, I have learned that I do have a bit of a low EI myself (though I do think it's higher than my supervisor) so I have ordered Emotional Intelligence by Daniel P. Golman (2005) for myself and I plan to read it over the next few weeks. I think it will be helpful in helping me learn to raise my own EI in order to be a better leader. I also have some other leadership books that I plan to read and am pushing my supervisor to let me take a class that my organization offers on Lean Sigma so that I can learn the method of refining projects in order to get the things done that need doing and avoiding scope creep. I think that these will be good starts to improving my own leadership skills.

References:

Goleman, D.P., (2005). Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books.

Tichy, N.M. & Devanna, M.A., (1990). The transformational leader: The key to global competitiveness. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

A discussion on motivation...

2008-04-10T22:16:00.000-07:00

Discussion Question: What components of Emotional Intelligence (EI) do you think are the easiest and the most difficult to learn, acquire or improve? Explain.

Nicole P.'s Response: According to the Week 8 Lecture Notes, there are five components of Emotional Intelligence. These components includes self-regulation, self awareness, empathy, motivation, and social skills. With self-regulation, the leader is able to communicate effectively. Self awareness is the ability for the leader to sit back and examine themselves and their leadership skills, empathy is the ability of a leader to put themselves in someone else's shoes. Motivation is another component of EI and this is the ability of leaders to be motivated and to motivate their employees. Finally, social skills demonstrate a person's ability to maintain relationships with others. Of all of these components, I believe that self-regulation is the most difficult to learn. Communication skills are the most difficult to manage. On the other hand, motivation is probably the easiest to learn. I think that motivation is something that comes from within and it is not necessarily something that can be learned. All of these components can probably be improved upon, but motivation is at the fore-front of all of them, because without motivation, how could you want to improve the rest?

References:

University of Phoenix School of Advanced Studies. (2007)

My Response to Nicole's Post: I agree that motivation is the most difficult to learn, and I want to expand on that thought. I would say that positive motivation is difficult to learn if you do not come by it naturally. We are all motivated by something. It's what gets us to get out of bed in the morning. My husband, who is going through a transformation of his own right now, used to be a pessimistic, impulsive grouch who's only motivation for working was keeping a roof over his head and the electricity and Internet connection turned on. Over time, and with much patience and influence, I have managed to get him to realize that work can be fun and rewarding if you are working for the right company and have a different motivation for working. Through my example, he has come to realize that having a more positive outlook on life and a positive motivation for going out into the world every day can enhance his own life and even improve his own health. It has been an interesting transformation to watch and I hope he can land a job with a better company than he has been working for sometime soon.

Discuss situational modifiers in your workplace impacting leadership effectiveness.

2008-04-07T22:21:00.000-07:00

The biggest issue that our leadership runs into is the confederate nature of our network. Each affiliate (hospital/medical foundation or group/IPA/Support Services. Each affiliate has it's own Board of Directors, human resources, communications department, etc. As a result we have 41 affiliates all doing their own thing and participating in system-wide initiatives only when they want to. There are instances when, because an initiative is mandated by the Joint Commission, NIH, CMS, or HHS, that affiliates are required to participate. Because of the recent focus on improving quality of care, these instances are becoming more common.

This situation affects leadership effectiveness because it means that the system CEO, CMO and other executives need to persuade affiliates to join an initiative rather than just dictating that this is how things are going to be. If the system CEO or other executives are not able to convince the CEO of the affiliate that this is a good project to participate in, then that affiliate will not participate until after results have started coming in from other affiliates. If the results are favorable, then the affiliate CEO should be willing to go along. It makes implementing sweeping changes very difficult.

Reflections and Implications...

2008-04-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed the discussions on the topic of stress management. How lucky I am to work for a progressive nonprofit organization was reinforced by my classmates and this helped me go to work with a brighter attitude and more energy for the tasks I was facing each day. I must also say that I am glad to be nearing the end of this class. Please do not get me wrong, this has been a wonderful class and Dr. Jane is a fabulous instructor! It has just been a lot of work and I am exhausted mentally right at the moment. I have tried to find a balance in my work/school/home life, but it can be difficult sometimes. If I am preoccupied with a class question or a personal problem, then one activity or the other suffers.

In the coming week my husband will become unemployed for the first time in 30 years. While I have no doubt that, with his skills, he will be able to find a new job pretty quickly, it is very nervous making. I must say that he is handling it remarkably well, considering that it is a blow to his ego to be unemployed. Though we have known that this is coming for the past few months, I am glad that the timing of it comes at the end of this class. Having it come any earlier could have possibly thrown me into a tail-spin. Now that this class is close to ending, I will be able to give my husband some of my time when he most needs it before I have to go to Phoenix, AZ for my residency. Shortly after residency is over, I am taking a long weekend for myself and going to one of my favorite places on the planet; my Grandma's cabin in the hills above Santa Cruz, CA. I've invited my Mom to come with me, but if she decides she can't make it, I'm going to go myself and enjoy some peace and quiet and indulge in some "Cathy Time" before diving back into work/school/home life again.

More on stress management...

2008-04-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

How can leaders make the workplace less stressful? Does your organization offer stress management training for employees? Should it, or is this better handled by individuals?

Sutter Health Support Services (SHSS) makes the workplace less stressful by allowing employees to set their own hours of work, providing a quiet room in each building (for naps when needed and breastfeeding employees to pump), allowing a masseuse to come in once a month (employees pay for the service, but SHSS provides the room and allows employees to take the time for a massage), has special events and shows appreciation for all employees periodically throughout the year, and encourages department heads to hold special get-away events for their employees off and on throughout the year.

One of the ways that SHSS offers stress management is through their Live Well for Life (Sutter Health Partners, n.d.) program. This is a lifestyle management program that is free to employees and spouses and helps employees learn to live a happy, healthy, balanced life. With some employees they address weight issues. With others it’s eating the right foods in order to keep cholesterol in check or bring down blood pressure. With others the counselor will concentrate on stress management. It’s a real benefit and SHSS pays the employee up to $500 each year to participate.

I have really liked the Live Well for Life program! I am glad that SHSS put this together and is encouraging employees to participate by paying them bonus money. I know the program has been beneficial in my life and keeps me striving to reach goals involved in helping me live a healthier life.

References:
Sutter Health Partners, (n.d.). Live well for life. Retrieved on April 4, 2008 from http://sutterhealthpartners.com/.

Stress Management - Week 7 DQ #1

2008-04-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

Stop. Smile. Take one hour to do absolutely nothing except to relax or take a nap! You have earned it!Afterward, did you feel more or less stressed?What are your best stress management strategies? Is the ABCDE* model of stress management one of them, or do you think it might work for you?

Stress has always had the effect of making me tired. My Mom tells me that I have always been a big nap-taker and I believe that this is largely because I am an introvert. When I get stressed, I want to be alone in order to organize my thoughts, think things through and de-stress - usually by taking a nap or some other solitary activity. Once I have had some alone-time (my husband calls it "Cathy Time"), then I feel better able to get back out into the world and handle my life.

Walking my dogs allows me to get some exercise which is a great way to relieve my own stress. By the time I get home I'm exhausted (and ready for a nap) but my shoulders and legs feel looser and I am able to move my head and neck without intense pain as my stress tends to settle in my neck and shoulders.

Planning fun events like a vacation or a party gives me something positive to look forward to as a reward for making it through a stressful period. My husband is undergoing quite a bit of stress right now as he is about to be laid off from his job of nearly 18 years. They are moving his department to Colorado (from California) and there are no other jobs available in the company in this location that he is qualified for. In order to help relieve some of this stress, I have encouraged him to take the bonus check he's going to receive for staying until the total shut-down and go play some poker at one of the local Indian casinos. When I told him to do this, his whole face lit up and he has been better able to deal with the idea of losing his job. He has also gotten a few instances of positive feedback in his job search, so we are hopeful that it won't be long until he's gainfully employed again.

Gardening is another solitary activity that provides me with some physical effort. Planting new plants, digging and mowing the lawn also help me to decompress through physical exertion. When I am done with this activity, I usually feel better for the physical movement (if a little sore) and I have something beautiful to look at for my effort. It's very satisfying. Gardening also allows me some time to think and reflect on whatever is stressing me out. More often than not, I am able to work out a solution or at least a plan for moving forward into the unknown.

Watching my favorite old TV shows is like visiting with old friends and can deliver much the same effect as eating a comfort food. I will often Tivo my favorites, and because I'm so busy with work and school, the episodes will pile up. When I need to de-stress (especially in the winter when it's too cold or wet to go outside) I will sit down and watch a few hours of a show and delete each episode from the Tivo queue as I go. When I get up again I have had a "good visit" with my old friend and I feel better.

*"A=Activating Event B=Belief System C=Consequences D=Disputation E=New Effects

"An activating event (the A in the model) is any event that occurs in an individual’s life. An example of an activating event might be when a person is fired from work. According to Ellis (1991), when individuals experience an activating event, they immediately develop a belief system (the B in the model) about the event. For example, a person who was fired from work (the A in the model) may tell him or herself: “I am in big trouble,” the job market is horrible,” “I am not going to be able to find another job for at least a year, and I won’t be able to support my family.” These statements comprise an irrational belief system. On the other hand, the same person could tell him/herself: “I have contacts in the industry,” I know companies hiring in my field right now,” “I have money in the bank to support my family until I find another job.” These statements comprise a rational belief system. According to Ellis (1991), individuals’ experience either positive or negative emotional consequences (the C in the model) depending on their belief system. For example, individuals’ with an irrational belief system practice negative and irrational self-talk. These individuals will typically experience negative emotional consequences such as stress, depression, fear, anxiety, etc. Individuals with a rational belief system typically practice positive self-talk and experience more positive emotional effects. According to the ABCDE model of stress management, what you tell yourself determines how you feel (University of Phoenix, 2008)."

References:

University of Phoenix, (2008). Week 7 Lecture. School of Advanced Studies.

Implecations and Conclusions - Week 6

2008-03-31T22:31:00.000-07:00

I underwent a few transitions and transformations myself this week. About half way through the week I was feeling overwhelmed and beginning to doubt my ability to keep up with the program and still have any kind of a life at all. Thanks to the innovations known as a laptop computer and free hotel wi-fi, I was able to keep up and go on a weekend trip that I had been looking forward to for several months. I won't say it was easy - it wasn't! But I was able to do it and stay relatively sane.

In updating my blog (http://cefdoctoraljourney.blogspot.com/) this evening with my DQ's 2 & 3 from this week I noticed that I have used two articles by the same author in these two postings (see references below...). I thought these were such good articles that I have saved the PDF's to my articles file that I am compiling for working on my dissertation and I found two more articles by the same author as well. All four can be found in the ProQuest Database. His writing style is easy to read and I felt engaged by what he said and how he said it. I am looking forward to reading the other two articles that I downloaded as well. All are on transformation, knowledge management, and innovation.

References:

Denning, S., (2005). "Transformational innovation: A journey by narrative." Strategy & Leadership, 33(3), pg. 11-17. Retrieved on March 26, 2008 from the ProQuest Database.

Denning, S., (2008). How leaders can use powerful narratives as change catalysts. Strategy & Leadership, 36(2), 11-15. Retrieved on March 28, 2008 from ProQuest Database.

How does controversy impact innovation?

2008-03-31T22:09:00.000-07:00

When organizational leadership decide that innovation is needed they are opening the door to controversy. People prefer their own routines and work-flows and dislike having to learn something new or different, which is what happens when a new system is implemented. Members/employees are required to move from a routine "...that is known and secure to [a routine] that is unknown and potentially chaotic (Denning, 2005)." Innovation can include anything from a complete factory overhaul to rolling out a new version of software.

An example of this is taking place in my own organization. By the end of the year, Sutter Health Support Services (SHSS) is planning to roll out Microsoft Office 2007. Enough changes have been made to Microsoft Office 2007 that, for many people, learning to use this software is going to be like learning all new software. Even though the changes that were made to the software make it more efficient to use and make document files smaller many people are going to complain about having to adapt to the new version. SHSS is not giving anyone a choice on if they want to implement the new software. First they are going to train "power users" in each department and then count on each of these "power users" to teach their department members to use the upgrade. I'm not sure that this is the most efficient way to implement this roll out, but I am not sure of a better way to do it.

References

Denning, S., (2005). "Transformational innovation: A journey by narrative." Strategy & Leadership, 33(3), pg. 11-17. Retrieved on March 26, 2008 from the ProQuest Database.

What are the processes and methodologies of innovation? How is the effectiveness of these processes and methodologies measured?

2008-03-31T22:07:00.000-07:00

One of the key methodologies to implementing innovation is communication. The world runs on communication. Witness the long running use of newspapers and books; the fascination with television; and the meteoric rise of the Internet. Communicating with a target population about an innovation helps take the fear out of the change an innovation will bring about (Denning, 2008). Denning (2008) explains that the old methods of defining a problem, analyzing a problem and recommending a solution just don't work when an organization is trying to innovate. He advocates the following approach: 1) Get attention; 2) Stimulate desire; 3) Reinforce with reasons. Doing this gets people excited about a change. When they are excited, people are more willing to change their habits.

One method that I have learned while working at Sutter Health is to try something new on a small scale as a "Test of Change." The idea is to find someone that is willing to try a new way of doing things and have them keep data on what happened. At the end of the trial period the question of effectiveness is revisited and, if the data supports it, the change is adopted on a wider scale until, eventually, the entire organization is wondering why they didn't try this sooner. The nice thing about selling a "Test of Change" is that you can tell the doubters that they can always switch back to the old way if this new way flops. You also allow them to have their "I told you so" moment if the experiment failed (if it makes them happy).

Reference:

Denning, S., (2008). How leaders can use powerful narratives as change catalysts. Strategy & Leadership, 36(2), 11-15.

What are the boundaries of innovation in your organization? How were these boundaries established?

2008-03-26T23:21:00.000-07:00

Innovation in my organization is both encouraged and restrained. Many people, including myself and my supervisor, are quite frustrated with the snail's pace that has been set for standardizing work-flows from getting everyone on the same upgrade for the computer operating system to managing chronic diseases like Asthma and Diabetes. There is so much good that can be done if all of our affiliates would just sign on to what the parent organization wants to do. Instead the affiliates are allowed to decline our offer of upgrades because they are too expensive or time consuming. Most often, these upgrades and standardizations would save the affiliates money and other resources in the long run, but they continue to focus on the short-term.

Denning (2005) explains that "championing transformational innovation involves going to war with all the elements inside an organization that benefit from the status quo." In my own experience I have found this to be true. The strategy that we have used in the past is to look for two types of people in each affiliate: 1) A person who is well respected and enthusiastic about the innovation that is being proposed and; 2) A person who is well respected and dead-set against the innovation that is being proposed. The third thing that we hope for is that these two people are well respected by each other and able to work together in most things. Then we put them in charge of planning, implementing and launching the innovation. The idea is to have them counter-balance each other and collaborate together. We hope that the enthusiastic person can convince the reluctant person that the innovation is a good idea while the reluctant person points out the pitfalls of implementing the innovation. In this way we can move forward, albeit very slowly, while addressing the problems that the reluctant person has spotted. Usually by the time we have satisfied the reluctant person, the rest of the affiliate finally agrees with the idea and the project is launched successfully. This is a very slow and frustrating process, but it does work.

References

Denning, S., (2005). "Transformational innovation: A journey by narrative." Strategy & Leadership, 33(3), pg. 11-17. Retrieved on March 26, 2008 from the ProQuest Database.

What is the role of reflection in enhancing the innovation process?

2008-03-25T00:56:00.000-07:00

Note: I forgot to post this on Sunday evening.

What is the role of reflection in enhancing the innovation process?

Leaders of organizations that wish to succeed in their respective marketplaces need to occasionally stop and take a look around at both the marketplace and at the way their organization is interacting in that marketplace. This requires a time of reflection where the leader asks questions such as:

Where are we in the marketplace?
How do our customers perceive us?
Are we gaining or losing marketshare?
Are we as innovative as our competition?
Do we communicate internally and externally as well as our competition?
What innovations are we working on and will they succeed?
Are our employees happy and productive?
What can we do to make our employees happier and more productive?
What can we do to make our customers happier?

Taking time to reflect and learn in today’s busy, fast-paced environment can sometimes be difficult to do, but is necessary in order to evaluate how things are going and if the members of the organization are still on the right track. An organization needs to develop a culture of learning in order to encourage leaders at all levels to stop and reflect from time to time (Senge, Lictenstein, et al, 2007).

References:

Senge, P.M., Lichtenstein, B.B., Kaeufer, K., Bradbury, H., and Carroll, J.S., (2007). "Collaborating for systemic change." MIT Sloan Management Review, 48(2), 43-54.

Reflections on the past week...

2008-03-25T00:53:00.000-07:00

This week seemed to be even more of a whirlwind of activity between all the reading, working on the team project and the individual project. To top it off I can also through in Easter and my husband's birthday. Time just seemed to fly by.

I have enjoyed the discussion questions this week. My favorite was about self-fulfilling prophecies and for some reason I was reminded of my Grandma who has always worked to encourage her children and grandchildren to do their best in everything we do. We work hard to earn Grandma's approval and usually find that we are better off for having done so regardless of how hard the journey was to attain each goal. That question and a visit to see Grandma on Saturday put me in a reflective mood (another DQ!) and I realized what a transformational influence Grandma has been on my life. When I sat down to write my paper on someone I know who has been a transformational leader in my own life I naturally thought of Grandma. She will laugh when I tell her that I wrote a paper for my doctoral program about her. She likes to tell me that she is not that smart and should never be featured in something as lofty as a doctoral program. I try to persuade her otherwise. I am going to hold off on telling her about the paper until I have gotten a grade back. If I get a good grade she will be surprised that she, as the subject of such a paper, could have helped me earn such a grade. If I get a lower grade, she will tell me I should have picked a better subject. Grandma is just funny that way.

What is the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?

2008-03-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

What is the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? Provide an example where the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy might come in to play in your workplace or somewhere you have worked in the past.

My Grandmother, who just celebrated her 88th birthday, is a very wise woman who taught me to learn from the mistakes and experiences others because I will not have time to make all of the important mistakes in my own lifetime. One example she gave me of her learning from others is a quote she got from one of her children's elementary school teachers in the 1950's. She was told that "If you expect nothing from your children, that is very often what you get." After that she has always held very high expectations from both her children and grandchildren and she has lead by example. We have always worked very hard to live up to her expectations. This is an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy because my Grandmother has always told us that we are capable of getting good grades, setting and achieving goals, and contributing in a positive way to society.

Eden (1984), in a literature review on Self-Fulfilling Prophecy cites many of the most renown leadership scholars' examples of experiments that show that managers who have and communicate high expectations from their subordinates receive high rates of performance and productivity from those subordinates. Eden (1984), goes on to explain that when leaders show that they have high expectations - either through verbal encouragement or compensatory actions - a subordinate will strive harder to live up to the praise or higher rate of pay in order to show that they deserve it.

Recently I went through a series of job interviews. The final interview was with the Director of the department and he asked questions about how I interact with my peers and supervisors. He made clear that he would not tolerate someone who felt that they were "above" everyone else and unwilling to learn from colleagues, but that he also did not want someone who was timid and afraid to speak up when necessary. I explained to him that I have always been a leader in nearly everything I have ever done, but that did not mean that I could not follow when other, more experienced leaders were available. I wanted to join this Department and learn what it did and still be given the opportunity to shine - and lead - once I had learned from my new supervisors and peers. He seemed to like this answer because I got the job. Upon reflection, I believe that he was setting expectations for me and warning me that I was not to come into the department with a big head. I got the message and have tried to show my willingness to learn and work hard. I am also taking initiative to take the lead on the projects that I feel confident in when appropriate. It's been an interesting experience thus far and I am looking forward to the future in this department.

References:

Eden, D., (1984). Self-fulfilling prophecy as a management tool: Harnessing pygmalion. Academy of Management Review, 9, 64-73. Retrieved on March 19, 2008 from EBSCOhost Database.

Comments on Innovation

2008-03-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

Dr. Jane Armstrong:

"...As you are beginning to realize, the theory which makes sense to one person is anathema to the next. As a student of leadership in LDR 711, the goal and opportunity is to investigate and explore the myriad ways which in which scholars and practitioners have theorized about leadership. Delving into the concepts and applications allows us to see that many, if not all, have evolved from or been generated to improve upon existing ideas. That's innovation in its truest form, don't you think?"

My response:

It seems that most theories whether social or scientific are built on or defy concepts that came before. One classic example of this is the controversy between creationism vs. evolution. Until Darwin's time the prevailing "theory" of how the world and everything in it came into being was the religious concept of Divine Creation. The publication of Darwin's research in the mid-1800's threw that idea into some doubt and caused much public debate that continues today.

Leadership studies fall under the social, rather than scientific, label but still use scientific methods to experiment and gather data. Examples of scientific data collection can be found in many of our Week 4 readings, (i.e. Jaussi & Dionne, 2004; Judge & Piccolo, 2004; Smith, Montangno & Kuzmenko, 2004). Each of these articles use research - either their own or what they have found in a literature review - to reinforce their hyposthesis. The trouble with such innovation is that we end up with a list of Leadership Models and Theories half a mile long and no better idea of which one is the "right one" to follow because the answer to the question of which is right is "It depends...".

References:

Jaussi, K.S. & Dionne, S.D., (2004). "Unconventional leader behavior, subordinate satisfaction, effort and perception of leader effectiveness." Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, Winter 2004; 15-26. Retrieved on March 4, 2008 from ProQuest Database.

Judge, T.A. & Piccolo, R.F., (2004). "Transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic test of their relative validity." Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 755–768. Retrieved on March 4, 2008 from EBSCOhost Database.

Smith, B.N., Montangno, R.V. & Kuzmenko, T.N., (2004). "Transformational and servant leadership: Content and contextual comparisons." Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 10, 80-91. Retrieved on March 4, 2008 from ProQuest Database.

Leadership as a two-part process: Two questions to answer...

2008-03-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

Some would say that leadership is a two-part process. Part 1 is building and maintaining leadership skills, and Part 2 is building and maintaining leadership skills in others. With that in mind, what do you think is the single most important leadership attribute that results in goal achievement?

"[E]nabling others to act, (Kent, Crotts, Azziz, 2001)" together to achieve a goal and attain success is the greatest attribute that results in goal achievement. Helping others learn new skills and feel empowered by accomplishment and the ability to move on to the next project with enthusiasm is one of the greatest responsibilities of a good leader. Only by encouraging others to succeed does that leader earn the reflected glory of success. Followers will realize that they could not have attained mastery of new skills without the assistance of the leader and they will strive even harder to show that the time and attention they received were not wasted.

What is the single most important leadership factor in encouraging transformational team performance?

The single most important leadership factor in encouraging transformational team performance is the ability of a team leader to "...encourage followers to think creatively about complex problems (Piccolo & Colquitt, 2006)." Following the standard industrial line of management and reduction of variance has created a society of robot workers who only want to get through their shifts and go home. However, the world is changing and the workforce has to adapt in order to keep up. Einstein is attributed to have said "The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them." In today's modern workforce the team/organizational leader needs to be able to encourage their team/organization to look at situations and think creatively about how to solve them in order to stay ahead of the competition.

References:

Kent, T.W., Crotts, J.C., Azziz, A., (2001). "Four factors of transformational leadership behavior." Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 22, 221-229. Retrieved on March 16, 2008 from ProQuest Database.

Piccolo, R.F., and Colquitt, J.A., (2006). “Transformational leadership and job behaviors: The mediating role of core job characteristics.” Academy of Management Journal, 49 327-340. Retrieved on March 16, 2008 from EBSCOhost Database.

P.S. I am experimenting with a change in font. I have been using Verdana quite a bit at work and like it. I want to see how it works here and if it is any easier to read. Please bear with me and feel free to leave a comment if you like.

Can a humble person be a great leader?

2008-03-14T22:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, a humble person can be a great leader. Examples of humble leaders are rife throughout history. Jesus (Lu, 2004), George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ghandi, Mother Theresa, and Pope John Paul II. Lu, (2004), explains that a leader "is a person 'who [has] the vision, courage, and humility to constantly learn and grow.'" Great Leaders also understand that they can do nothing and be nothing without their followers who act as the hands and feet of an organization (company, government, religion, etc.). A leader can get up and give fancy speeches and have grand visions, but if s/he treats their followers poorly, they (the followers) will not do the work that needs to be done. They will feel powerless and isolated and begin to shut down (Kets de Vries, 2006). A good/great leader will show compassion and empathy towards their followers and work to inspire them, not for the leader's own personal glory, but for the greater good of society and for working towards the goal of fullfilling their vision of the future of the organization.

References:

Kets de Vries, M.F.R., (2006). "The spirit of despotism: Understanding the tyrant within." Human Relations, 59, 195-221. Retrieved on March 14, 2008 from ProQuest Database.

Lu, X., (2004). "Surveying the Topic of "Effective Leadership."" Journal of American Academy of Business, 5, 125-130. Retrieved on March 14, 2008 from ProQuest Database.

Responses to Week 4 DQ #1

2008-03-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

What are the core personal attributes of great leaders?

Great leaders are facilitators of change in other people. They must be able to lead others to higher heights of performance and develop methods for effective outcomes. In order to do so, a great leader must be able to accept constructive criticism. The responsibility of communication rests with the giver of that information. If the followers do not understand, misinterpret, or are insubordinate, the leader must be willing to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly of why it wasn't successful. This is an important attribute to me. If the leader isn't willing to re-define his/her approach to understanding the behaviors of the followers, then the outcomes will be skewed. Not only that, but the communication stream is only one way and very autocratic.

Other attribute that I believe are important are: honesty, integrity, and a willingness to be open for change. Jung & Sosik (2006), include these attributes as self-monitoring and an openness for change. They argue that "the images of trustworthy, credible, morally worthy, innovative, esteemed, and self-confident are especially relevant to developing charismatic leadership perception among followers". (pg. 14) A great leader must be able to project an image worthy for someone to follow them to higher heights. As leaders we have to be aware of how we behave to prevent misconceptions and incongruence. Additionally, if a leader is open to change, a follower would be willing to offer suggestions believing the leader will listen. Whether the idea is accepted or not, the perception of a listening, trust worthy individual is all that is needed.

Reference
Jung, D., Sosik, J.J., (2006). Who are the spellbinders? Identifying personal attributes of charismatic leaders, Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 12, 12-26.

Brenda H.

My response to Brenda's answer:

Hi Brenda!

I agree with you that leaders need to be trustworthy, moral and interested in helping followers improve their performance. How do you think that some get into positions of leadership that do not posses these traits? Many of the world's dictators came into power as a charismatic leader and then turned on their followers and repressed them. History is full of such examples (Kets de Vries, 2006). And yet, these leaders somehow manage to stay in power for years and engender the tolerance, if not the love, of their people. Kets de Vries (2006) quotes Plato; "The people have always some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness ... This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector." Would you agree with Plato's sentiment? Do we get tyrants because we, as humans in society pick them and put them in power and then tolerate their cruelties and abuses?

References:

Kets de Vries, M.F.R., (2006). "The spirit of despotism: Understanding the tyrant within." Human Relations, 59, 195-221.

What are the core personal attributes of great leaders?

2008-03-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

Great leaders all seem to have similar traits and values that they bring to their organization, whether healthcare, media, education or a corporate environment. These traits include: honesty; integrity; optimism; emotional maturity; the ability to listen to others and empathize; and the ability to build trust among their followers (Klenke, 2002). The "great" leaders are sincere in showing these traits, while poor leaders simply learn how to show these traits, without really integrating them into their character. Klenke (2002) uses Ruth Simmons (an Educational Administrator), Mary Kay Ash (Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics), and Oprah Winfrey (Media Personality) has examples of great leaders. Each managed to overcome trials and tribulations in their lives and still worked to make their mark - in a positive way - on the people who look up to and follow them.

On the other hand, in 2002 the leaders of Enron; Tyco, International; Arthur Andersen; and WorldCom showed us what leaders who do not integrate these traits into their character are capable of. Rather than working to make their organizations solid pillars of society and the U.S. economy, they lied, cheated, embezzled, and either gutted or nearly gutted their corporations which resulted in criminal charges, massive lay-offs, stock price drops, loss of employee retirement funds, and bankruptcy or near-bankruptcy for their corporations (Brennan, 2002). Their actions also injured the U.S. economy and devastated thousands of employees who had trusted in them enough to invest their retirement savings in the companies for which they worked. When the stock prices plunged, those employees lost their retirement nest eggs and had to either come out of retirement or postpone retirement until they could build their savings back up again.

Brennen (2002) holds up the examples of these scandals as proof that our financial system works and will root out the rotten aspects of corporate leadership. I agree that this may be true, but would rather see more leaders like Klenke, (2002) cited who work from the beginning to build solid companies on the traits of honesty and integrity. This type of leadership does a lot less damage and a lot more good in the long run.

References:

Brennan, J.J., (2002). "The market value of integrity: Dealing with corporate scandals." Vital Speeches of the Day, 69, 145-151. Retrieved on April 12, 2008 from ProQuest Database.

Klenke, K., (2002). "Cinderella stories of women leaders: Connecting leadership contexts and competencies." Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 9, 18-28. Retrieved on April 12, 2008 from ProQuest Database.

Reflections of Week 3 in LDR 711

2008-03-10T22:45:00.000-07:00

The class week at the University of Phoenix Online starts on Tuesday and ends on Monday. Most assignments are due on Mondays as are our reflections of how the readings and discussions have influenced us and our thinking in the past week. Below is mine for Week 3.

This week I concentrated on reading the journal articles in the electronic reserve readings. The two that caught my attention most significantly were "Effects of transformational leadership and organizational position on knowledge management" by C.B. Crawford and "A Historiometric Examination of Machiavellianism and a New Taxonomy of Leadership" by Katrina Bedell, Samuel Hunter, Amanda Angie, & Andrew Vert. I liked "Effects of transformational leadership and organizational position on knowledge management" because in my new position at Sutter Health, I have been exposed to the concept of "knowledge management" for the first time (well, perhaps not the concept, but certainly the term) and am learning that the main part of my job is knowledge management on a system-wide scale. This is because my new position involves building, launching and running the new employee portal (intranet) across a system of 26 hospitals and 14+ medical foundations/medical groups/IPAs. This article has helped me to move forward on deciding on a possible topic for my dissertation.I liked "A Historiometric Examination of Machiavellianism and a New Taxonomy of Leadership" for several reasons:

I am a student of history and enjoy reading about the ancient (1513 A.D.) concepts of leadership and attaining power
My husband has been encouraging me to read “The Prince” by Nicolo Machiavelli and I just haven’t had the time. I think, after reading this article, I will make the time during a vacation I am taking in July.
On the first day of my new job, I attended a meeting where the “taxonomy” of the employee portal was being discussed. I had never heard this term before and had to ask my new supervisor to explain it. Taxonomy has to do with how things are named and what those names mean to people who may visit our web sites. Then, I turn around and find the word in an article I’m supposed to read for class. It was just very timely to see.

I have enjoyed the readings this week and am looking forward to next week’s readings as well. I find it exciting to find ideas for my own dissertation, which at this point in the game seems like a monumental task, and finding information that is both relevant to my current job and to my interest in history. I was also amused that "A Historiometric Examination of Machiavellianism and a New Taxonomy of Leadership" contained the oldest reference citation I have seen so far – 1513 A.D.!

Machiavellianism

2008-03-09T22:46:00.000-07:00

Discussion Question - Week 3 - #3
What processes and methodologies would you apply to assess leadership models? What determines a good leadership model?

I agree with what others have said so far in that a good leadership model is well thought out and easy to administer to study subjects. The leadership model that has caught my attention and fascinated me the most in the reading so far has been the scale of Machiavellianism (Bedell, Hunter, Angie & Vert, 2006) which was developed in order to measure the degree to which leaders agree with statements made by Nicolo Machiavelli in his books "The Prince" and "The Discourses" as to how leaders should interact with others while trying to gain and maintain power. Bedell, Hunter, Angie and Vert (2006) report that high Machs are amoral, good liars and less affected by social constraints, but handle stressful situations very well. Low Machs are less adept in a crisis, but also are more personally invested in those that they lead. The authors go on to state that both types of leaders (high machs and low machs) have their place in different situations and both can be good or bad leaders depending on the person.

References

Bedell, K., Hunter, S., Angie, A. and Vert, A., (2006). "A historiometric examination of Machiavellianism and a new taxonomy of leadership." Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 2006, 12, 4.

How do leaders follow?

2008-03-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

Question posted for discussion in my classroom:

Comments on Following From Jack Welsh
As a leader you also have to know how to follow. There is a following part to leading. To achieve the highest organizational performance, leaders have to rely on the capabilities of others. For example, the person doing an actual job knows the most about the job. The person's supervisor must know how to follow that individual for best results. Jack Welsh recently said on a program on CNBC that customers are an organization's driving force. No organization can be successful without them. So at a minimum, leaders have to follow their customers. What do you think? What customers are you following?

My response:

In healthcare we have a number of customers that we are trying accommodate and please. They include: patients; payers (i.e. insurance companies & government); families of patients; the communities that the organization serves; and our employees (union and non-union alike). This is why it is important for my organization to develop an Electronic Health Record (eHR), develop or purchase the newest cutting-edge diagnostic tools, keep our clinicians up to date on their certifications and licenses, make sure our facilities are clean, safe and well staffed, and provide the services that are needed in each unique community. It is also important that we do not take our customers for granted because our customers are becoming savvier in researching our physicians, hospitals and care centers and will not simply allow our physicians to tell them what they must do. Our patients are expecting us to partner with them in their healthcare needs.

In my new job as a member of the HRIS (Human Resources Information Systems), which is a part of the Human Resources Department, our department's motto is "We are here to serve those that serve our patients". Part of that service, and a major part of my new job, is to provide information that our employees are looking for via the employee portal/intranet. In my capacity as an HRIS Analyst for our employee portal, I help provide links to documents and information that employees need both from HR and from other departments across our system of 26 hospitals and numerous care centers and physicians' offices. We provide access to templates, forms, employee discounts - both locally and system-wide, news about break-throughs, opening of new facilities, and anything else our employees need to know. Things move fast, so it is vital that we keep the employee portal up-to-date and provide them with accurate information so they can continue to do their jobs and our patients receive the proper care in a safe and comfortable environment.

Transformational vs. Transactional Leadership Discussion Question

2008-03-06T21:30:00.000-08:00

Can a leader implement both transformational and transactional approaches simultaneously? Explain.

I believe that the answer to the above question is “Yes!”. Transformational leadership is defined by Burns as “… one or more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality (1978).” Transactional leaders are described by Tichy and Devanna as issuing rewards in return for performance or compliance (1986). While these two styles sound like exact opposites, there is no reason why they cannot be mixed and matched to accomplish to goals of an organization.

Any large organization will have more than one “leader” in the executive suite. An organization will work best and make changes faster if the leader at the top uses a transformational style to form a vision and inspire the “troops” to embrace and move towards making that vision into a reality. However, inspiration is often not enough to keep everyone moving forward. The rank-and-file workers often lose track of the “big picture” and simply want to know what is in it for them. This is where transactional leaders can make a difference.

Transactional leaders as middle managers can be effective in keeping things moving on a day-to-day basis. Tichy & Devanna described them this way: “…for all intents and purposes these managers changed little. They managed what they found and left things pretty much as they found them when they moved on (1986).” While this type of attitude is not good for making great leaps forward, it can help move projects forward that will, ultimately, assist in meeting the “grand vision” of the transformational leader of the overall organization. They are able to reward workers for work done well and deal with workers who do not “get with the program.” These leaders take the day-to-day drudge work off of the transformational leader’s plate so that s/he is able to strategize and plan to make her/his vision become a reality.

References

Burns, J.M. (1978) Leadership. New York. Harper & Row. Retrieved on March 6, 2008 from http://www.reference.com/search?q=transformational%20leadership.

Tichy, N.M. & Devanna, M.A., (1986). The transformational leader. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Response to DQ #1

2008-03-05T21:33:00.000-08:00

Discussion questions are used by the University of Phoenix Online as a substitute for classroom discussions that normally take place on a traditional campus. Below is a response to my answer to our first DQ and my response to my classmate...

Hi Cathy,

You made the statement “If the world still subscribed to the idea that leaders are born to lead and can only come from the upper crust of society, many of the people named - for good or ill - would never have ascended to their leadership positions.” This statement brings the question to my mind, Are leaders born or made? Leadership is an issue that has been studied and research for many years. Through the years of research and study the question has always been asked whether leaders are born or made. If leaders are born, why does one spend so much time reading and developing skills? If leaders are made, everyone can become a leader. After reading so much leadership context, I come to the realization that leaders are both born and made. I say born because effective leaders have traits that may contribute to and facilitate their leadership, such as intelligence, physical energy, and social potential. Nahavandi, 2006 stated, “stamina, socioeconomic class, education, and intelligence, along with a variety of other traits, appear to characterize leaders and especially effective leaders” (p. 42). I say made because an effective leader can be made through formal and informal experience, such as work experience, hardship, opportunity, education, role models and mentors. Therefore, I conclude that leaders have some traits but the traits alone will not make an effective leader. There must be learning and practicing of leadership skills. What is your take on “Are leaders born or made”?

Reference:

Nahavandi, A. (2006). The art and science of leadership (4th ed). Upper Saddle River: Pearson

Sharlene B.

My response:

Hi Sharlene!

The essence of my answer to DQ #1 was that leadership is not determined by birth, but that anyone from any level of society can become a leader. That being said, I do believe that leaders are born with certain personality traits - i.e. force of personality, charisma, and the ability to focus on a goal or deal with a crisis - but unless these traits are nurtured, exercised, and practiced they will not flourish into a competent leadership style that others will follow. Birth order may also have something to do with the emergence of leaders. Many of the people I listed in my previous post were first-born children. First-borns have been shown in research to have many of the qualities inherent in proven leaders (Nyman, 1995). However, Popper and Mayseless argue that good leaders often have the same qualities that good parents show in raising their children (2002). They are nurturers, caring and compassionate. Leaders understand what must be done and they do it for the good of their followers. There have been arguments in early childhood education circles over the "Nature vs. Nurture" methods of raising children, but personally I believe that children with the right nature (i.e. personality traits and characteristics) who are nurtured in the right way (i.e. taught to have and show compassion and feel empathy) are the leaders that are needed in the world today.

References

Nyman, L., (1995). "The identification of birth order personality attributes." The Journal of Psychology, 129, 51. Retrieved March 5, 2008, from ProQuest database.

Popper, M. and Mayseless, O., (2002). Internal World of Transformational Leaders. In B.J. Avolio & Francis J. Yammarino (Eds.), Monographs in Leadership And Management, Volume 2, Transformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead (pp. 203-229). Amsterdam: Elsevier, Inc.

Discussion Question #1 - Week 3 from LDR 711

2008-03-04T23:04:00.000-08:00

Some leading thinkers claim that there have been no major advancements in the development of basic leadership theories in the last 200 years. Make a case to support or contradict this proposition.

I would disagree with the statement that there have been no major advancements in the development of basic leadership theories in the last 200 years and I believe that history will bear me out on this. Two-hundred years ago the world, by-and-large, was ruled by kings, emperors and various other types of dictators and tyrants. The majority of these leaders were born to and expected to ascend to their leadership positions. The lone exception at the time was the United States, which was a newborn nation that was experimenting with Democracy. Even so, the Founding Fathers still believed that only those born to privilege were able to lead and thus, only gave the right to vote to the "landed gentry" leaving all others to simply accept the leadership and rulings of their "betters". The last 200 years, however, have seen many leaps forward in the attitudes that only those "born to lead" can lead.

Changes in attitudes towards leadership are why people like Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton were able to become President of the United States. Others have come from humble beginnings and lead corporations (ex. Ross Perot, Sam Walton, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates), movements (ex. Margaret Sanger, Susan B. Anthony, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.), and government agencies (ex. Madeline Albright, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama) to do great things. In other countries we have watched as leaders have ascended from the lower ranks of society to become provincial and national leaders (Ghandi, Golda Meir, Idi Amin, Fidel Castro) while others have taken on the mantel of leadership even though the idea was unwelcome (Michael Collins, Charles DeGaul, George VI). While not all of the people mentioned here can be called "good" leaders, they were internationally recognized as leaders in their time. If the world still subscribed to the idea that leaders are born to lead and can only come from the upper crust of society, many of the people named - for good or ill - would never have ascended to their leadership positions.

Doctoral Reading Assignments...

2008-03-03T21:34:00.000-08:00

The reading assignments for my doctoral program are very overwhelming. I have spent most of the last two weeks trying to slog through nine text books on the subject of leadership. I have suggested to my professor that the University give students a bit more direction on readings than just saying “Here are nine text books, you have two weeks to read them all”. Especially since University of Phoenix Online advertises itself as a University for working adults who do not have time to go to class in person. That said, I did not find the reading boring, which was a surprise. I was also very glad to find (thanks to my admissions counselor) Natural Reader, a computer program that can read my text books to me. I am a slow reader. Natural Reader has enabled me to get through up to 15 chapters a day on the weekends and 3-5 chapters in the evenings after work. I could never have done that on my own. I highly recommend it!

I was very surprised by the breadth and depth of research on leadership. I have concentrated so far on the books that talk about Healthcare Leadership and Transformational Leadership. I work for a healthcare system – Sutter Health – that is currently in the throes of a massive transformation. Trying to get 26 hospitals and 15 medical foundations/medical groups/IPA’s working together and doing things in the same way and use the same systems is an immense undertaking that is taking and will continue to take years to complete. We are working on integrating and digitizing all of our systems from healthcare records to human resources to materials management to Internet technology. We are also trying to standardize care so that the quality of care given is both high and similar across the system no matter the size of the hospital or physician practice. The effort never goes smoothly and, according to the reading I have done so far, it should never be expected to.

I do believe that we currently have the right person at the helm of the organization. Pat Fry - our President and CEO - is a friendly person who seems to be doing a pretty good job of wrestling everyone into line and getting everyone beating the drum in a similar rhythm. He never seems to lose his since of purpose or of the direction he wants Sutter Health to go. The next five years should be very interesting to watch and see how things go in this major transformation.

15 Minutes a Week...

2008-02-19T17:52:00.000-08:00

I know, I know! This blog is supposed to be updated every day, but this has been a very busy week! I had to bring home work each night in order to finish the last of the projects that my supervisor wanted done before I left. While I didn't finish everything, I did get them to a point where they could be handed off to others for completion.

I started a new job today! I hit the ground running with six hour meeting plus 3-4 hours of travel time. Now I have the weekend off and I get to start up again on Monday. Well, I don't really have the weekend off. I have a LOT of reading for school to do too.

There is a big blow expected here starting tomorrow afternoon. To prepare for that, my husband and I went and bought a generator tonight. Last time we had a big blow we lost power for 36 hours. My husband has sleep apnea and cannot sleep when the power goes out, so we bought a generator that will allow us to run his apnea machine, the fridge, and a space heater. That just felt like a good investment.

Well, I'm tired and cannot think of anything else to say. Back to it again tomorrow...

Late Night Blogging...

2008-02-17T02:24:00.000-08:00

It's 2:24 a.m. on Sunday, February 17th. When I went to bed on Saturday night I thought to myself as I lay down "D'oh! I forgot to add to my ...15 Minutes a Day blog!" I then thought, "I'm too tired and don't have anything to say anyway." Then... I just laid there for two hours as my brain whirred over things I have to do in the next week or two. So I got up and did some reading in one of the NINE text books I have to read over the next two weeks and now, I'm doing my Saturday blog. I know I said it is currently 2:24 a.m. (well, now 2:28 a.m.) on Sunday, but I feel the day is not over if I have not fallen asleep yet.

Anyway, I went and did another 10K walk with my dogs, Roobee and Shasta, today. We went to Vacaville, CA and walked through their historic district. Vacaville is a nice town that has experienced the same population explosion that many other Central Valley communities have experienced in the last (almost) two decades. The historic district and immediate surrounding neighborhoods have classic styles of buildings including Craftsman and Victorian and many historic markers and statues throughout the town. As you get to the outer edge of the older part of town you begin to see the early versions of what have become known as McMansions set up on hills. Usually rediculously large houses on rediculously small lots with front yards taken up mostly by circular or semi-curcular driveways or hidden behind large, imposing gates. Personally, I prefer the older, historic district to the modern outer edge. There is more character in the older areas. Even the poorer areas with their unkempt yards and beat-up cars are more homey and friendly than the imposing edifices of the McMansions. This is why I bought a house that was built in 1955 rather than a small "new" house built in the last 10-20 years.

My home has character! There is a fruitless mulberry tree outside that I am sure was planted when the house was built. We also do not live in a homeowner's association (HOA) so the colors of houses in our neighborhood range from muted (I admit my house is currently in this catagory) to bright and lively (I am planning to paint this summer and then my house will be in this catagory) and the conditions of the yards range from well manicured to out-of-control neglect (my yard falls somewhere between these two extremes). The sidewalks are uneven and patched in places and my particular neighborhood has no streetlights, so walking after dark is out of the question. Now, to some this may sound dreadful. I do not feel that it is. I do not go walking at night because I feel I will be accosted. I do not go walking at night because I am afraid I will trip and fall. Otherwise, I usually feel pretty safe in my neighborhood.

My street is usually pretty quiet. Sometimes one of my neighbors will blast some music, but only during the day. Once it starts to get dark the music is turned off and peaceful quiet descends on the area. Occasionally a dog will bark for long periods of time, but this does not happen often as most of the dogs in this area seem to be happy and well cared for. My neighborhood is basically your classic, blue-collar, middle-class neighborhood. It has been a good place to call home so far.

Now that I have gotten this blog entry done, I think I will try going to bed again and see if I can get my brain to SHUT UP and let me sleep. Good night.

Take the Lead...

2008-02-15T23:33:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching a movie called "Take the Lead" starring Antonio Banderas. It is a movie in a similar vein to "Stand and Deliver" or "Lean on Me" that shows outside-the-box thinking on how to reach troubled, inner-city kids and encourage them to excel in ways that even they never knew they could do.

In "Take the Lead" Pierre Dulaine, a ballroom dance instructor in New York City, witnesses a crime of vandalism by a high school student. The victim of the vandalism is the principal of the student's high school. Mr. Dulaine decides to volunteer at the high school and ends up teaching students sentenced to detention how to ball room dance well enough to be serious competitors in a ball room dance competition normally only attended by New York City elite. Needless to say, the kids made quite an impression with their style and skill.

I enjoy movies like this because it shows how involvement affects the outcomes of these kids that nearly everyone, (including the kids' own parents), had given up on. One person put some effort, (quite a bit of effort actually), into these kids and they showed that they were worth that effort.

Children need the time and attention of adults in order to invision a future for themselves and to learn how to find their path in life. When adults focus too much on less important, more selfish activities the kids, and thus society, loses out. Children need the adults in their lives to take an interest and show them that they can do whatever they set their minds to. This involves, of course, both words and deeds.

"There was a time when we expected nothing of our children but obedience, as opposed to the present, when we expect everything of them but obedience." ~Anatole Broyard

"When you expect nothing from your children, that is very often what you get." ~Vera Reinstein (my Grandma)

Quitting a job sure takes a lot of effort!

2008-02-14T20:09:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I did not write anything here last night! I spent most of my evening yesterday working on my transition document. My supervisor wants me to create this document that explains my job to the temp that will take over from me next week. The document makes sense, I just do not have time to work on it during the normal work day. Heck, I do not normally have time to do most of my regular job during a regular day, much less work on this document. Ah well. Only four working days left in my current job...

Why go after a Doctorate Degree?

2008-02-12T18:11:00.000-08:00

I heard a statistic once that amazed me; only 2% of Americans pursue and achieve a doctoral degree. A professor told my class this once, along with the statistics for percentage of population that attains each degree level. I remember thinking that I wanted to be a part of that 2% even though I had very little chance of getting there based on my Associates level and Bachelors level grades.

At my undergraduate alma matter, California State University, Sacramento, my academic counselors told me that I had no chance of getting accepted to a program unless I could get a perfect score on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Knowing that I do not handle standardized tests well, I knew there was no chance of getting into graduate school that way. So I started to look for a different way.

One night I was watching the news on TV when, in sports, there was a story about Shaquille O'Neal graduating from the University of Phoenix, Online with a MBA. Now, I have never had much respect for Shaq just based on his actions, what he says about Sacramento (my adopted home town), and just the way he talks in general. I told my husband, "If that idiot can get a masters degree, so can I!". I looked up University of Phoenix, Online and discovered that they had a Masters of Health Administration (MHA) program which was perfect for me as I work for Sutter Health. I filled out an application and started my first class about a month later. Now, more than two years later, I have a MHA degree and have started on my doctoral degree.

I was very impressed with the MHA program at University of Phoenix, Online. There was lots of reading and writing, but NO TESTS! As I said before, I do not do well on tests - especially standardized tests. However, I am pretty good at writing papers.

My family is proud of me and keeps encouraging me to go on with my education, while ribbing me a bit about being a "professional student". I come back and tell them that I would have to make money in order to be considered a "professional". My husband called my schooling my "most expensive hobby"... until we bought a house. Now homeownership is my most expensive hobby, but school is still a close second. He is proud of me too and very supportive.

I am pursuing this degree to prove to myself that I can join that elite 2% and to advance my career. I work in healthcare and around many physicians, who I all call Doctor. Someday, the people I work with will call me Dr. Ford. I will not be a physician, but I will have accomplished a similar level of education and proven myself in the academic world.

Drawing a blank tonight...

2008-02-11T21:36:00.000-08:00

I have sat here for two hours tonight trying to think of something to spend fifteen minutes writing about. I finally gave up and put in a movie I rented from Netflix called Inherit the Wind. It is a fictionalized story about the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925. The willfull ignorance of the majority of the population continues to confuse me. If God is almighty, why does it fall to mere humans to defend faith in God against those that do not believe in the same way. Cannot God defend himself?

He who troubles his own house will inherit wind. ~Proverbs 11:29

Hypocrisy in Action...

2008-02-10T21:48:00.000-08:00

Some of the major religious denominations in the United States are having issues with local churches breaking away to join more conservative alternatives because the denominations are allowing the ordination of openly gay ministers. One recourse that the national denominations have is to exercise a clause in the agreements between the national denominations and the local churches that says the local churches' real estate is being held in trust for the mission of the denomination. What this means is that the real estate technically belongs to the national denomination rather than the local church. The local churches are, naturally, fighting this because their members have paid for the maintenance of the church grounds and buildings through their tithes (Garza, 2008). Now, you are probably wondering how this dispute constitutes hypocrisy...

The hypocrisy comes in because according to the Bible, Jesus instructs his followers to love one another (New American Standard Bible, John 13:34, n.d.). He tells a story about the Good Samaritan being the only person to take care of a crime victim (New American Standard Bible, Luke 10:30-37, n.d.) and instructs his followers to follow this example. Yet these people who proclaim themselves followers of Jesus are separating from their national denominations because of their attitudes of intolerance and hate towards gay people and their loathing for the ordination of gay ministers. Isn't there already enough of a shortage of love in the world? Shouldn't these people who profess to be followers of Jesus, be adding to that love by accepting and celebrating the ministers and following their willingness to serve rather than spewing this vitriol and hate? If these actions are not a definition of hypocrisy, then I do not know what is.

References:

Garza, J., (2008). Breakaway churches face a new battle. The Sacramento Bee, February 10, 2008, A1. Retrieved on February 10, 2008 from http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/701100-p2.html.

New American Standard Bible, (n.d.). John 13:34. Retreived on February 10, 2008 from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=50&chapter=13&verse=34&version=49&context=verse.

New American Standard Bible, (n.d.). Luke 10: 30-37. Retreived on February 10, 2008 from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=49&chapter=10&version=49&context=chapter

3 Hours Today...

2008-02-09T20:19:00.000-08:00

This morning I got up at 7:00 a.m. (early for a Saturday), packed up Shasta and Roobee (my 1.5 yellow lab and 5 month old English Pointer) and went to the Lincoln, CA suburb of Sun City and did a 10K (6.2 miles) walk. I signed in at the event table at 8:55 a.m. and finished back at the event table at 12:10 p.m. This was Roobee's first 10K and she did very well on the walk. Shasta is an old hat at these types of walks. She and I have been doing these 5-10K walks since May 2007 and she is such a trooper! We were home by 12:45 p.m. and I was in bed for a nap at 1:30 p.m. I slept until 5:30 p.m. when my husband woke me up for dinner. Roobee seems a bit tired and Shasta is acting a touch sore. I am very sore and knew I would be and went on this walk anyway. I'm doing these walks in preparation for climbing Mt. Lassen in July with my sister-in-law, Marty.

I climbed Mt. Lassen when I was about 12 years old and have wanted to do it again for the last two years. I think I just want to tackle it again to show that I can do it as an adult. When we did this when I was a kid, we literally climbed Mt. Lassen 10' at a time. My brother and foster-sister and I kept trying to convince my Mom that we could not go any further and needed to turn around and go back to the car. She kept us going by saying, "Come on, you can go as far as that rock, can't you?" and we would walk to the rock. Then she would say, "Come on, you can make it to that tree, can't you?" and we would walk to the tree and then sit down and take a break before she would pick out a new landmark for us to hike to. We made it to the top and I will always cherish that memory. I'm sure that I will have to use that 10'-feet-at-a-time strategy again in July.

Now, you may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with being a doctoral candidate? Well, for one, I'm between classes right now and, while I have a TON of reading to do between now and when my class starts, it is important to take care of myself both mentally and physically, in order to be able to participate fully in class. While my schooling will take up much of my "free" time over the next three years, I do need to have other interests in order to keep from burning out. So from time-to-time you will be reading about my "extra-curricular" activities in addition to my currcular activities. They are both important.

TGIF!

2008-02-08T20:51:00.000-08:00

It's been a long week! I had a job interview on Tuesday and received a job offer on Wednesday. My new job is a promotion with a nice bump in pay (along with an increase in responsibility) and I will become salaried rather hourly, and will have a flexibile schedule. I will also be working on technology projects across the healthcare system that I work for. I think it will be a good opportunity for me - both career-wise and as a topic for my dissertation.

Tomorrow I'm going to take my dogs - Shasta and Roobee - for a 10k walk tomorrow in Sun City. The Placer Pacers are holding a Friendship Walk there. The weather will be very nice, if cool, and sunny. I've been looking forward to this walk all week. It will be nice to get out and stretch my legs a bit. Granted, I'll be sore when I get home and all day on Sunday, but the sense of accomplishment will out-weigh the discomfort. It always does.

...15 Minutes A Day

2008-02-07T22:56:00.000-08:00

Hello! My name is Catherine Ford and I am beginning to think that I am insane. I started a Doctoral Degree program through the University of Phoenix, Online last month. I had to get through a couple of relatively easy orientation/introduction courses first. Now, in a little less than two weeks the real courses are beginning.

Each course will usually be eight weeks long. The first two weeks are called "reading weeks". I only have to check in and post in the classroom two days during each of these weeks, but the reading load is HUGE! I have NINE text books to read in full before I get to week three. Then the real work begins. We will, I am sure be discussing and writing about the books in depth, so I cannot slough of the reading and just get by.

To prepare for this program I read a book called "Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes A Day". It suggests spending just fifteen minutes writing each day in order to get into the habit of writing. It suggests starting a journal. I decided to start this blog. It is my intention to do just that, spend at least five minutes each day writing on this blog. I also plan to start updating my other blog "Cathy's Weight Loss Surgery Journey" as often as there is news about that. Among the things that I plan to talk about here are leadership, politics, my job working for Sutter Health as a HRIS Analyst, and life in general. I invite comments, but mostly this is for me to voice my opinions and get into the habit of writing everyday.