Mentors in the AF

     Finding mentors wasn't a priority my first year I was in the air force. I showed up on time but never early and just did my job to go home to play video games. It wasn't until I realised that some of my friends were getting help writing packages for promotion from higher ranking members that I realised that by showing a little extra effort and making your self appear dedicated to something that you could make friends with people in a higher social standing within the air force. The way I see it, things should be quite similar outside of the military. If someone see that you dedicate your self to learning or working they will gain a respect for you that could in the long run help you out greatly.

Mentors

I have had mentors throughout my schooling that have used not only their social capital for my benefit, but all the capabilities they had in order to help me succeed my goals. I have found that while having a mentor, you dedicate yourself to your goals more because you not only want to prove to yourself you can do it, you also want to prove it to the person who is spending their time on you. Finding a mentor is not easy, at all. I believe you need to find one that shares similar beliefs and motives that you do so that it will be easier to understand ones thoughts better. After you find out that you share similar qualities, beliefs (whatever it is) you dedicate yourself to showing an interest in this person (the mentor) and hope that in return they will show interest enough back that they are willing to help. Convincing someone that you are worth their time and energy, also relies heavily on what the objectives and goals are and if that person shares a same interest. 

KEPLER ANTHEM

We found this planet many moons ago,

We destroyed the native scum.

We survived the plague.

To call Kepler home.

To live in peace!

Our military is

Strong and fierce!

No other nation can compare!

Kepler! Kepler!

We are a nation

Rich in iron.

Top producer of IRON!

Strong and fierce!

Our citizens are rewarded

For hard work.

We take care of each other!

Chief Jessica is strong and fierce!

The shamans do her bidding!

We preserve the common good

By all doing our share.

For our land is strong

And our people are fierce!

Kepler! Kepler!

We found this planet many moons ago…

The Game

The NationState game is fun and I find it to be very creative, though I feel that at times were given too much at once. Its not the most demanding work, but in class time is limited and we don’t have enough time to have creative thoughts and actually brainstorm what can work and what doesn’t, were just expected to have all the tasks given to us completed within an hour or half an hour sometimes. I think that the game is going well though, and my group is very good about voicing all of our own opinions and combining them into a whole idea for our country. I think I am fairly happy with my country/group…I think looking at it now there are a few paths I would have chosen differently if it were a real country, but it’s a game and its just for fun. My group kind of approaches every situation when it is presented to us..so when we had to go to war with the entertainment group we kind of just went along with it, no specific strategy just going with the flow. I don’t really think we have a specific “real-world” example, our country (planet) is pretty creative and new though I would say a few of our rules is from the old tribal like societies.

Midterm in Retrospect

1.  I would say I played a pretty average role in this midterm; I would give myself a 5

2.  So far I have really liked all of the people in my group and I don't think I would get rid of any of them. We work pretty well together.

3. A.  Showing up - 10

 B.  Doing your fair share - 10

 C.  Being on time - 10

 D.  Responding timely to email and communicating effectively with  other members - 8

 E.  Handling conflict among group members - N/A there has been no conflict that I am aware of.

 F.  Being present in the group -- not distracted by outside cell phone calls or text messages when the group is meeting. – 8

4. 1) Carry your weight or be left behind.

   2) Don't anger the group leader

   3) Speak up, everyone's opinion is important. 

   4) Divide things evenly, it makes the job easier for everyone.

   5) Come to class, so we can succeed together.

midterm reflection

http://humanresources.about.com/od/teambuilding/f/team_work.htm

1.  In your group were there people who did more than their fair share, and those who did less?  How did that affect your group's performance?  Where would you put your own contribution, among the most or among the least?  On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, please rate your performance compared to the others in the group (5 would be the average contributor).

I feel that we all contributed the same amount..and I also think we did very good on our presentation. My group has an awesome leader who stays on top of things and makes sure we are always prepared. I would say I contributed an 8.

2.  If you could, would you remove a member from your group at this point?  If you could add someone, what would be his or her characteristics that would add to the ability of your group to do its job?  No need to name names.

I really enjoy working with my group and I would not add or remove anyone from it.

3.  How important were basic workplace rules in your group?  Rate on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, how important the were the following:

A.  Showing up - 10

B.  Doing your fair share - 9

C.  Being on time - 8

D.  Responding timely to email and communicating effectively with other members - 9

E.  Handling conflict among group members - 9

F.  Being present in the group -- not distracted by outside cell phone calls or text messages when the group is meeting. - 9

4.  Please come up with Five Rules for Having an Effective Group.

- Have a common goal

-Divide the assignment into equal parts for the members

-Communicate throughout the whole assignment

-Have a specific time frame

-Ask your group about any questions you have 

Reflection on mid term

In your group were there people who did more than their fair share, and those who did less? How did that affect your group's performance? Where would you put your own contribution, among the most or among the least? On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, please rate your performance compared to the others in the group (5 would be the average contributor).

I believe in our group we all contributed the same. Our group performance was good and our presentation worked out great. My contribution was an 8.

2. If you could, would you remove a member from your group at this point? If you could add someone, what would be his or her characteristics that would add to the ability of your group to do its job? No need to name names.

I would NOT remove any member at this point. I enjoy my peers in my group.

3.How important were basic workplace rules in your group? Rate on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, how important they were the following:

A. Showing up - 10
B. Doing your fair share - 9
C. Being on time - 10
D. Responding timely to email and communicating effectively with other members - 8
E. Handling conflict among group members 8
F. Being present in the group -- not distracted by outside cell phone calls or text messages when the group is meeting.   8

4. Please come up with Five Rules for Having an Effective Group.

1. Be on time

2. Contribute your own work

3. Be respectful of others

4. Listen and then speak

5. Don’t control other peers