COMM 1010

Team Report Instructions

Instructor: Shirene McKay

Comm 1010 SLCC

General Description

1. Each team will submit ONE report.
   1. Writing the report must be a team project. All members must participate.
   2. The report must have a consistent tone. That is, it should read as if one person had written it.
   3. All members are responsible for the accuracy of the report. Read each others’ contributions to be sure you agree to what you are submitting.

Use of References

You are required to use five references from the text and other reliable. You will cite your references in two places in your report.

1. In the body of the report, cite references in parenthetical notation, included right in the same sentence where you refer to the material
2. At the end of your report, include a section titled Works Cited in MLA format. Here you will list your sources in alphabetical order, according to authors’ last names. Use the guide in the learning packet for correct MLA format.

Before writing a document to submit, it’s important to analyze the occasion and the audience you are writing for.

Occasion Analysis

This report requires a professional style of writing. You are expected to follow a specific format, with a professional appearance. Your document should have a consistent tone throughout, so proofread each team member’s work carefully. The document you submit makes a statement about who you are, so be sure your document reflects the best you can be.

Write in appropriate business language. Your report should explain academic concepts in a style that is easy to read. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling need to be flawless. A sloppy style will probably convince your audience that it’s not worth reading any farther than the executive summary.

Audience Analysis

Your primary audience (intended reader) is me, your professor. A potential secondary audience might be other students. I will be looking for evidence that

• you have successfully completed all the steps of the reflective thinking problem solving sequence
• your problem analysis was conducted thoughtfully, using effective critical thinking and analysis
• your proposed solution is achievable and will solve the problem adequately
• your report includes all the required content
• your report follows the required format

Format for the Report

Typically, each company has its own preferred format for proposals. For this class, please use the following format. Include a heading for each section except the title page.

Title Page: On the title page, center the following information. Each item should be on a separate line, single-spaced:

• a short title for the problem your group selected
• (skip two lines)
• submitted by
  • list all actively participating group members, in alphabetical order by LAST name
• (skip one line)
• college name
• class and section
• date submitted

Table of Contents: List each section in order (flush left). List the page number for each section on the right side of the page.

Executive Summary: Don’t let the title of this section intimidate you. This section is actually just a preview of the contents of your report. It should be placed on a page by itself.

In paragraph form, explain each section of the report. Be brief, but include the most important specifics from each section. This summary allows a busy executive to quickly determine whether the report is worth reading.

Project Description: Write a two paragraph overview of what your group accomplished. Identify the problem. Describe your group’s purpose and why it’s important to find a solution to the problem.

Methods:Begin this section with an introductory statement, explaining that your team used the reflective thinking process to arrive at a solution. Briefly describe the purpose of the reflective thinking process (in general, not as applied to your project). Then explain that you will describe each step your group took in accomplishing your purpose (e.g., what your group did at each meeting), and will provide a brief description of your group’s end-product.

For each step in the PAC-BOY Dewey Reflective-Thinking Sequence create a subheading. Under each subheading include a detailed description of your team’s findings. Remember to discuss (in the section explaining your final solution) potential limitations of the solution (which you uncovered when you discussed what could possibly go wrong with your solution) and how you will manage them if they occur.

Conclusion: Your conclusion will include a brief recap of your main points, along with a statement about why your solution is excellent.

Works Cited

Include a complete bibliographical reference for the text, and any other materials you have cited in your report.

Appendices

You’ll attach two appendices. Each appendix should have its own title at the top of the page.

1. a copy of your Team Contract
2. a copy of your Comparison Chart which you used to analyze your potential solutions

Your Member Participation Evaluations will be handed in separately (for my eyes only).

Here is a review of the steps you’ll need to address in the Methods section. Use the “PAC-BOY” acronym to remind yourself of the order of the steps:

• Part I: P= Problem State your problem question
  • “What is the best way …. “
• Part II: A = Analyze the problem Describe your research about the problem. Summarize what you learned about each of the following:

1. Characteristics of the problem
2. Stakeholders
3. History
4. Policies/politics
5. Resources available

• Part III: C=Criteria

List the criteria you’ll use to evaluate your proposed solutions.

• What is your general goal?
• List at least seven realistic criteria that your solution needs to conform to
  • Some of these criteria should include references from class materials
• Part IV: B=Brainstorm Brainstorm possible solutions
  • List all the solutions you brainstormed
    • Some of these solutions should include references from class materials
• Part V: O = Organize Organize your solutions into a chart that will help you choose the best.
  • Explain how you narrowed your solutions to your top five to seven
  • Explain the chart you used for analyzing the solutions. You may either insert the chart here or include it in the attachments section.
  • Answer the question: “How does this solution excel over the other solutions that you proposed?”
  • Discuss potential negative consequences and how you will minimize them.
  • Revise your solution if necessary.
• Part VI: Y = Yes we can! Choose the best solution and implement.
  • Describe how you plan to implement the solution.
  • This plan must be realistic (something that you as students could actually do in the available time frame).

Reflection Questions: Write a few paragraphs answering the following questions.

1. How does this assignment illustrate the growth/change/progress you have made in

this class?

2. How can you apply what you’ve learned in this class to other classes, to the

workplace and to other areas of your life? Please be sincere. You don’t need to over-inflate your claims.

————————————————————-

Team Paper

Part-time Work

Submitted by team Workaholics

Brian Madrid

Danni Figueroa

Tyler Walker

Roger Brown

Yesenia Blanco

Salt Lake Community College

COMM 1010-01

Instructor: Shirene McKay

November 19, 2012

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Project Description

Methods

Problem Questions

Analyzing the Problem

Criteria

Brainstorming Solution

Analyzing the Solution

Implementing the Solution

Conclusion

Works Cited

Appendix 1: Workaholics Team Contract

Appendix 2: Solutions Analysis Chart

Executive Summary

The following report defines the Workaholic’s proposed solution to our case and process taken for concluded solution. We followed our learning packet examples and also class instructions in order to find a balance between group member’s tasks and our group communication to find the most adequate solution for our case while following criteria and team contract. We shared personal experiences and also conducted research of many kinds in order to conclude with our proposed solution.

The problem chosen required the Workaholics to find, and research different part-time work for Siegfried. Siegfried, a full-time nursing student, searches for a part-time job to help pay for school tuition and fees, as well as living costs, and personal expenses. We stated the problem as an open-end question “what type of job best suits Siegfried’s needs to go to school and have time to study?”. We utilized class time as well as different communication channels to conclude our final case report.

We concluded our final solution to be the following. Siegfried will apply for a spot as an intern position at the University of Utah internships programs. Because of his good academic standing he will have a high chance to qualify and be accepted in the program. The nurse internship program will cover all school expenses and will pay an extra $10 per hour for any other personal expenses and needs.

Project Description

Our group acts as organizers and a job agency for Siegfried, a full time student seeking a part-time job or source of money to pay for school and personal expenses.

Our group consists of five students from the COMM 1010-01 class. Our team, the Workaholics, picked case study #15 “Part-time work” over a variety of cases offered. We picked this case study because we felt a strong connection with our personage Siegfried and his needs to balance time between studying, working and personal time. As we read and described what we understood to be our case, we then based Siegfried’s needs and characteristics according to a mixture of each team member’s current or previous personal living.

Our team’s main source of meeting time came from conducting meetings through class time. Along with this we also conducted meetings through other communication channels such as texting, phone calling and video chatting. We have also met face-to-face in rooms of SLCC library. Through constant communication we believe we have reached the best and most adequate solution to our case study.

Methods

As a group we felt an identity and connection to our case problem. We decided to call ourselves the Workaholics because our case problem was related to working a part-time job and also because we worked hard to find an adequate solution in a short period of time. The name became our cheer as we struggled to find times to meet besides class time. Despite all other circumstances stopping us from performing our best we managed to share information all times as well as opinions. We were assigned a different part of the research every week, and we shared our findings throughout our meetings and notes. Although parts were not finished on time, we do feel that everyone has shared a grain of rice with the team.

• Part I: Problem Question

We debated about the many possibilities of giving our point across in the most simple and clear way. We disagreed with our original statement/ question about Siegfried’s needs and reworded to say:

What type of job best suits my needs to go to school and have time to study? The solution is meant to analyze type of jobs such as restaurant work, computer repair, or part-time paid nurse intern.

• Part II: Analysis of the Problem

As a team of individuals our group discussed different points of views without considering pros or cons as we began our research. The further down we concluded with our research we settled down with what seemed to be the most adequate solutions. We later shared pros and cons to edit and therefore have a set of reliant proposed solutions.

We had different views on how we should go about organizing part-time work and school because each member had previously or was currently experiencing different working situations. Adding to our range of differences, each member of our team is single or within a dating relationship except Roger whom is married and with two children. We considered this different perspective and felt it was a support to editing proposed solutions due to different life experiences he had or is facing.

Continuing our flow chart schedule, we edited every proposed solution considering every viewpoint possible.Our solution needed to find a balance schedule for Siegfried to work, and study while considering needs such as work experience, family and friends time, and enough income to cover tuition and living expenses.

A. Characteristics

As a group we created a scenario for Siegfried. We considered everyone’s needs and inputs on how our time is divided in order to meet those needs and have enough time to study and to spend with our family/friends. We established that Yesenia would be our main guideline as she works two part-time jobs and studies full time while keeping good grades. We concluded the details for Siegfried’s scenario which were the following: Siegfried pays for non-resident tuition average of $3500 per semester, he has skills in areas of customer service and computer repair. He is also on studies for nursing degree and plans to transfer to the University of Utah. He pays no rent, but still needs money for gas, food, and clothing.

He also needs to keep constant contact with his family for at least one hour a day over the phone. There is a new member to his family, a baby sister, and has to make sure to be able to schedule video chat’s at least once a week. His girlfriend wants to make plans to continue with a stable relationship, hangout, and make bigger commitments.

B. Stakeholders

Tyler was assigned this area and he concluded that: Those who are affected by this problem are your boss, co-workers, people at school and your clients that you are dealing with on a day by day basis. If you show up to work tired or you go to school so tired you will jeopardize the people that you are around. For example if you are at work and you are dealing with patients and you give them the wrong shot the doctor will have to fix your mistake by either giving them medicine to fix your mistake or the worst case would be having to go through surgery.

Family is also affected as well as friends and partner. Family, with new family member, cannot get attention as it is desired due to long working hours and schoolwork. His girlfriend has to sacrifice spending quality time together as his mind is focused on other things. Some problems may rise on how important they might feel they are to Siegfried.

C. History

Considering each team member’s working and studying background we have based our history research as follows:

Working and studying can be very stressful and may cause grades to drop and even fail a class completely. When studying and working, time management is a must have skill because of high risks of suffering consequences when no using time wisely.

According to research of class credit requirements, nursing students’ courses are considered a bit harder among our team members. According to team discussions we concluded that being a full-time student and working part-time job is stressful. This conclusion was supported by our team member Yesenia Blanco as she is the only member who has two part-time jobs and attends school full-time. Concluding our project she had resigned one of the two part-time jobs and since commented, “it is not as stressful, but still stressful enough to not be completely as relaxed as I would [prefer] for it to be”.

We also concluded that due to the necessity to study for long periods of time for each course, working in an area of expertise other than that which is being studied does not relieve any stress. Instead, working in areas of interest or even working in jobs that will support and offer experience in area of study is considered better among our team members than working in areas that requires a new set of skills or uninterested set of skills. We also concluded that although new sets of skills are always welcomed for an individual’s knowledge, it will cause stress and may even affect performance levels throughout school and job.

Yesenia was assigned specifically to research articles related to working students. She found an article in Collegeboard.com on how being a working student has its positive aspects as well as its negatives. Her research concluded as follows:

D. Policies and Politics

Roger found some information in his mother’s work guidelines book. He did not share any citation of the source in specific but the information is quoted as found inside book, and it is as follows:

“Benefits for part-time employees can vary by company. Some companies do not offer any type of benefits to their part-time employees. Other companies will offer benefits on a number of hours worked basis. For instance, vacation time would be accrued based on the number of hours worked, .0234 hours for each hour worked. Holiday pay may be available to full and part-time employees alike. Health insurance would be available but a part-time employee will pay more in monthly premiums than a full-time employee will pay, $462.30 for part-time as opposed to $153.30 for full-time. Whereas part-time employees working less than a specified number of hours would not be eligible for any type of benefits.”

E. Resources

We began brainstorming ideas for solutions in the moment we acquire a case. Each member then continue to give feedback and ideas throughout meetings 1, 2 and 3. Each team member was assigned an area to research in order to further develop ideas.

Brian did research on paid internships:

1. University of Utah Health Care (careers 2012)
2. Methodist Hospital System (INTERN 2012)

His research results were as follows:

• Nursing Internship at the U re-embers school, books and tuition while working for them.
• Nursing Internship at Methodist Hospital provides same opportunities that the U has but not as known

Danni did research on work from home in area of computer repair:

• Computer repair with Jupiter IT Support, Jupitersupport.com, offers service on how to repair computers over the phone and online. Offices are located in Alabama, South Africa.
• Computer repair according to interview with Edwin Rico: $50-$90 per computer repair and takes about 2-3 hours on each computer. It is hard to keep a constant flow of customers though

Also, as a group we gave ideas and inputs on how our lives in accordance to family, jobs and school affects our schedule and how we manage to complete each task accordingly and on time. We spoke about family, friends, opinions and reason behind the need to work and attend school.

Part III: Criteria

As a team, we had initially misunderstood the purpose of creating a criteria and focused them toward our group instead of toward the solution. We then created a new set of criteria to help us find an appropriate solution to our case problem. After we concluded our new and revised criteria we understood the importance of its role when finding a solution.

Our case description offered suggestions for the overall criteria. We then based criterion #2, #3 and #4 from those suggestions.

A- Our general goal was to analyze strengths and weaknesses of job types in order to to come up with the best job type that would support Siegfried’s basic needs. It would also be of help to any nursing student looking to transfer to U of U and finds his/her situation similar to that of Siegfried’s.

B- Our solution will….

1. Doesn’t favor group opinions/input over another
2. Gets minimum of $10 per hour
3. Close to housing
4. Job provides career experience
5. Consider strengths and weaknesses of job types
6. Supports his needs (Rent, tuition, food, clothing, fees)
7. Provides accurate information for listeners: Audience gets information about types of jobs they can apply (ex: paid-internship requirements)

Part IV: Brainstorming Possible Solutions Every member contributed with an idea. We then mixed them to create different possible solutions. We understood the need to not share open opinions as frequently so as to not turn down any ideas and so we continue to speak throughout other meetings as well.

1. Restaurant work – Night, School/Study – Day
2. School/Study – Night, Restaurant work – Night
3. Complete payments through scholarships, grants, family help
4. Internships – Night, School/Study – Day
5. School/Study – Night, Internships – Day
6. Online School – Restaurang work Day/ Night
7. Online School – Work-at-home
8. Online School – Internship

Part V: Solution Analysis

A. List of Possible Solutions

1. Night-shift for restaurant work, study in the mornings
2. Day-shift for restaurant work, study at nights
3. Obtain money from scholarships, grants, parent’s money
4. Night-shift internship, study in the mornings
5. Study at nights, Morning/Day-shift internship
6. Online study, night/day-shift for restaurant work
7. Online study, work-at-home on computer repair
8. Online study, Internship shifts either night or day

B. Chart

We completed a chart ranking our list of possible solutions against our criteria. We consider our background research and chart scores in order to come up with the best solution possible. This chart is found in Appendix 2. Solutions are listed horizontally while criteria descends vertically on the left side. We then ranked each solution on a scale from 0-5. 0 meaning the solution did not meet the criterion at all, gradually ascending to 5 meaning the solution meets the criterion completely.

After completing the solution ranking chart, according to high scores, our reasoning and analyzations, our solution became evident.

C. Final Solutions

We conclude that an internship of Nursing is going to be the best solution and its the best optimal way of doing things, for school, for work, for experience,and for life. The paid internship program pays for school and offers $10 per hour payments twice a month to help cover bills, living conditions, and personal expenses. Internship benefits also offers low cost in certain areas of medical service. Ending the period of internship Siegfried, as any student planning on a career in nursing, has a job for at least the next two years as a nurse at the University of Utah or any other accredited hospital or institution.

We have also concluded that due to Siegfried’s needs, the internship is the best resource for a reliable income. The internship will also offer working experience and real-life experience in the nursing world. He will also practice material covered in class and therefore have time to study for tests and exams. Graduated nurses and doctors will also be there to answer any doubts or unanswered questions from school or practices. The internship will also pay for school tiotion, leaving book fees and class fees up to interns.

D. Possible Negative Consequences

In any job you do, even if you love it, there are pros and cons. In our situation, a paid internship is not open for just any person; you have to qualify by meeting the standards of education. Also, unless planning ahead, the applicant will have to wait an application period required by the University of Utah’s application process. The intern has to obligatory complete the internship and may not drop out. If internship is not completed, he or she will have to pay all expenses covered by internship, and return any other given payments collected over time of practice in internship program.

Part VI: Implementation of the Solution

We have created a list of resources to help students such as Siegfried find and understand the requirements to complete SLCC nursing program to transfer to University of Utah nursing program. Also information on other nursing opportunities.

• Certification and renewal : http://www.dopl.utah.gov/licensing/nursing.html

• Employment rate and salary http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.ht
• Nurse course description http://www.acs.utah.edu/GenCatalog/deptdesc/nurs.html
• Transfer course information http://admissions.utah.edu/undergraduate/transfer/guides/gened/slcc.php
• Nursing website http://nursing.utah.edu/
  • Training information and requirements for each course
  • News in the nursing world
  • Activities and events on U of U campus
• Other research information for students http://nursing.utah.edu/research/personnel.html

Conclusion

Our final solution for Siegfried’s case study for “part-time work” was the following. Siegfried will apply for an internship position and the nursing internship program and the University of Utah. With such a position, studying expenses will be covered and will receive an extra $10 per hour, working 20-25 hours a week for the period of 3 months, to cover any other personal expenses of rent, utilities, food, clothing, transportation, school books and class fees. Siegfried will also benefit from real life nursing experiences as well as hands-on practice of what is being covered throughout classroom time. He may use internship time wisely and go over material to prepare for tests and exams. Siegfried will be “hitting two birds with one stone”, will have time for family, friends, and to relax. He will also not have to worry about finding a job for the next two years concluding of internship.

Works Cited

Careers. 13 October 2012. 24 October 2012. <www.methodisthealthcareers.com/student-nursing-students.html>.

INTERN, HCH CST 60N NURSG STUDT. University of Utah Health Care. 15 October 2012. 24 October 2012. <www.healthcarejobs.utah.edu/jobs/salt-lake-city-clinical-nursing>.

College Board for Professional. “Students & Part-time Work. College Board. 2012. Article. 24 October 2012. <http://professionals.collegeboard.com/guidance/prepare/work&gt;

Appendix 1: Workaholics Team Contract

Class: COMM 1010

Semester: Fall 2012

Date Created: Oct 1, 2012

• Team Norms Relational Norms

1. We commit to putting team goals above personal goals,so we will each make the time to participate fully in each step of this project.

2. We will not waste time talking about non-related topics, we will focus the best that we can on our group case throughout our meetings.

3. We will get things done on time according to our flow chart and in consideration of other team member’s needs.

4. We will give each other our full attention when someone is talking in the group, and not speak over each other or speak louder.

5. We will be effective and use our time wisely; we will read each meeting guideline before each meeting takes place and will share any difficulties with our research a day prior to meeting if possible.

• Task Norms

1. If any member has to miss a meeting, any assignment given to such member needs to be completed unless otherwise allowed by team leader Tyler. He or she will then need to share information through email with all members of team Workaholics.

2. If you cannot email everyone email Tyler and he will email your information to everyone.

3. If you are going to be late to a meeting send a text or put a phone call into one person in the group.

4. Make sure each member shares information and fully communicates with the team, and if this is not possible because of any given reason please speak with group leader Tyler and he will explain to information with the rest of the group.

5. If you’re stuck on your part of the assignment make sure you ask for help, or let Tyler know two days prior in order to have someone else complete the task and not have the need to complete it at the last minute. Procrastination is NOT excused.

• Consequences for keeping or breaking norms

1. If a group member misses the majority of the meetings they will have to wear a funny outfit to the class period following missed date.

2. If a member of our team do as they are asked to do and are willing to help on the loose ends they will automatically receive a good evaluation grade.

3. If a member of the team does not help out to get things accomplished they will have to bring the team breakfast from village inn, donuts, or any sort of breakfast food.

4. If a member of the team does not give opinions or does not ask for help when they need it, it will result in a bad reflection of the team member and may be at risk in receiving a bad team evaluation.

Team Member Roles

•  Task Roles

1. Leader: Tyler W.

2. Recorder: Yesenia B.

3. Powerpoint Expert: Brian M.

4. Editor: Roger B.

5. Organizer: Dani F.

•  Relational Roles

1. Participation Encouragers –Tyler W.

2. Keeping Discussions on Track – Yesenia B.

3. Compromiser – Danni F.

4. Tension Reliever – Roger B.

5. Tension Maker – Brian M.

 

How does this assignment illustrate the growth change progress you have made in this class?

When I first started Communication 1010 class I felt comfortable but not confident about my presentation skills. I didn’t have a base of skills for public speaking. I felt confused with which organization to follow and troubled as I struggled to find words. I learned some tricks though. Due to the presentation’s format that we needed to follow, it helped me stay on track with the planned order and I didn’t side track or struggle as much to get to my point. I learned that I need to make gain interest in a topic in order to have a flow of ideas when speaking in front of a crowd. I also learned that it is better, as I am still learning and still struggle to stay on track sometimes, to keep audience interaction to the end.

How can you apply what you’ve learned in this class to other classes, to the workplace and to other areas of your life?
I’m constantly working in teams and giving presentations among other community and religious organizations. Many times I would read off the paper and I would lose attention or interest in the audience. Whenever I would allow the audience to participate, many time there would be too many loose ends on the topic that I would not mention of about but was planning on to. This class has reinforced the importance in not so much as memorizing your topic of presentation but knowing it and feeling interest towards it one way or another, that way there is a constant flow of ideas and hardly any need to read off a paper.
It has also taught me that if I’m having a hard time speaking English, I can always count on the audience waiting a couple seconds to get back on track, relax and proceed with the presentation.
I’m also hoping to put into practice what I have learned about speaking and keeping track of main points when I serve an LDS mission.

 

COMM 1010

Team Report Instructions

Instructor: Shirene McKay

Comm 1010 SLCC

General Description

1. Each team will submit ONE report.
   1. Writing the report must be a team project. All members must participate.
   2. The report must have a consistent tone. That is, it should read as if one person had written it.
   3. All members are responsible for the accuracy of the report. Read each others’ contributions to be sure you agree to what you are submitting.

Use of References

You are required to use five references from the text and other reliable. You will cite your references in two places in your report.

1. In the body of the report, cite references in parenthetical notation, included right in the same sentence where you refer to the material
2. At the end of your report, include a section titled Works Cited in MLA format. Here you will list your sources in alphabetical order, according to authors’ last names. Use the guide in the learning packet for correct MLA format.

Before writing a document to submit, it’s important to analyze the occasion and the audience you are writing for.

Occasion Analysis

This report requires a professional style of writing. You are expected to follow a specific format, with a professional appearance. Your document should have a consistent tone throughout, so proofread each team member’s work carefully. The document you submit makes a statement about who you are, so be sure your document reflects the best you can be.

Write in appropriate business language. Your report should explain academic concepts in a style that is easy to read. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling need to be flawless. A sloppy style will probably convince your audience that it’s not worth reading any farther than the executive summary.

Audience Analysis

Your primary audience (intended reader) is me, your professor. A potential secondary audience might be other students. I will be looking for evidence that

• you have successfully completed all the steps of the reflective thinking problem solving sequence
• your problem analysis was conducted thoughtfully, using effective critical thinking and analysis
• your proposed solution is achievable and will solve the problem adequately
• your report includes all the required content
• your report follows the required format

Format for the Report

Typically, each company has its own preferred format for proposals. For this class, please use the following format. Include a heading for each section except the title page.

Title Page: On the title page, center the following information. Each item should be on a separate line, single-spaced:

• a short title for the problem your group selected
• (skip two lines)
• submitted by
  • list all actively participating group members, in alphabetical order by LAST name
• (skip one line)
• college name
• class and section
• date submitted

Table of Contents: List each section in order (flush left). List the page number for each section on the right side of the page.

Executive Summary: Don’t let the title of this section intimidate you. This section is actually just a preview of the contents of your report. It should be placed on a page by itself.

In paragraph form, explain each section of the report. Be brief, but include the most important specifics from each section. This summary allows a busy executive to quickly determine whether the report is worth reading.

Project Description: Write a two paragraph overview of what your group accomplished. Identify the problem. Describe your group’s purpose and why it’s important to find a solution to the problem.

Methods:Begin this section with an introductory statement, explaining that your team used the reflective thinking process to arrive at a solution. Briefly describe the purpose of the reflective thinking process (in general, not as applied to your project). Then explain that you will describe each step your group took in accomplishing your purpose (e.g., what your group did at each meeting), and will provide a brief description of your group’s end-product.

For each step in the PAC-BOY Dewey Reflective-Thinking Sequence create a subheading. Under each subheading include a detailed description of your team’s findings. Remember to discuss (in the section explaining your final solution) potential limitations of the solution (which you uncovered when you discussed what could possibly go wrong with your solution) and how you will manage them if they occur.

Conclusion: Your conclusion will include a brief recap of your main points, along with a statement about why your solution is excellent.

Works Cited

Include a complete bibliographical reference for the text, and any other materials you have cited in your report.

Appendices

You’ll attach two appendices. Each appendix should have its own title at the top of the page.

1. a copy of your Team Contract
2. a copy of your Comparison Chart which you used to analyze your potential solutions

Your Member Participation Evaluations will be handed in separately (for my eyes only).

Here is a review of the steps you’ll need to address in the Methods section. Use the “PAC-BOY” acronym to remind yourself of the order of the steps:

• Part I: P= Problem State your problem question
  • “What is the best way …. “
• Part II: A = Analyze the problem Describe your research about the problem. Summarize what you learned about each of the following:

1. Characteristics of the problem
2. Stakeholders
3. History
4. Policies/politics
5. Resources available

• Part III: C=Criteria

List the criteria you’ll use to evaluate your proposed solutions.

• What is your general goal?
• List at least seven realistic criteria that your solution needs to conform to
  • Some of these criteria should include references from class materials
• Part IV: B=Brainstorm Brainstorm possible solutions
  • List all the solutions you brainstormed
    • Some of these solutions should include references from class materials
• Part V: O = Organize Organize your solutions into a chart that will help you choose the best.
  • Explain how you narrowed your solutions to your top five to seven
  • Explain the chart you used for analyzing the solutions. You may either insert the chart here or include it in the attachments section.
  • Answer the question: “How does this solution excel over the other solutions that you proposed?”
  • Discuss potential negative consequences and how you will minimize them.
  • Revise your solution if necessary.
• Part VI: Y = Yes we can! Choose the best solution and implement.
  • Describe how you plan to implement the solution.
  • This plan must be realistic (something that you as students could actually do in the available time frame).

Reflection Questions: Write a few paragraphs answering the following questions.

1. How does this assignment illustrate the growth/change/progress you have made in

this class?

2. How can you apply what you’ve learned in this class to other classes, to the

workplace and to other areas of your life? Please be sincere. You don’t need to over-inflate your claims.

————————————————————-

Team Paper

Part-time Work

Submitted by team Workaholics

Brian Madrid

Danni Figueroa

Tyler Walker

Roger Brown

Yesenia Blanco

Salt Lake Community College

COMM 1010-01

Instructor: Shirene McKay

November 19, 2012

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Project Description

Methods

Problem Questions

Analyzing the Problem

Criteria

Brainstorming Solution

Analyzing the Solution

Implementing the Solution

Conclusion

Works Cited

Appendix 1: Workaholics Team Contract

Appendix 2: Solutions Analysis Chart

Executive Summary

The following report defines the Workaholic’s proposed solution to our case and process taken for concluded solution. We followed our learning packet examples and also class instructions in order to find a balance between group member’s tasks and our group communication to find the most adequate solution for our case while following criteria and team contract. We shared personal experiences and also conducted research of many kinds in order to conclude with our proposed solution.

The problem chosen required the Workaholics to find, and research different part-time work for Siegfried. Siegfried, a full-time nursing student, searches for a part-time job to help pay for school tuition and fees, as well as living costs, and personal expenses. We stated the problem as an open-end question “what type of job best suits Siegfried’s needs to go to school and have time to study?”. We utilized class time as well as different communication channels to conclude our final case report.

We concluded our final solution to be the following. Siegfried will apply for a spot as an intern position at the University of Utah internships programs. Because of his good academic standing he will have a high chance to qualify and be accepted in the program. The nurse internship program will cover all school expenses and will pay an extra $10 per hour for any other personal expenses and needs.

Project Description

Our group acts as organizers and a job agency for Siegfried, a full time student seeking a part-time job or source of money to pay for school and personal expenses.

Our group consists of five students from the COMM 1010-01 class. Our team, the Workaholics, picked case study #15 “Part-time work” over a variety of cases offered. We picked this case study because we felt a strong connection with our personage Siegfried and his needs to balance time between studying, working and personal time. As we read and described what we understood to be our case, we then based Siegfried’s needs and characteristics according to a mixture of each team member’s current or previous personal living.

Our team’s main source of meeting time came from conducting meetings through class time. Along with this we also conducted meetings through other communication channels such as texting, phone calling and video chatting. We have also met face-to-face in rooms of SLCC library. Through constant communication we believe we have reached the best and most adequate solution to our case study.

Methods

As a group we felt an identity and connection to our case problem. We decided to call ourselves the Workaholics because our case problem was related to working a part-time job and also because we worked hard to find an adequate solution in a short period of time. The name became our cheer as we struggled to find times to meet besides class time. Despite all other circumstances stopping us from performing our best we managed to share information all times as well as opinions. We were assigned a different part of the research every week, and we shared our findings throughout our meetings and notes. Although parts were not finished on time, we do feel that everyone has shared a grain of rice with the team.

• Part I: Problem Question

We debated about the many possibilities of giving our point across in the most simple and clear way. We disagreed with our original statement/ question about Siegfried’s needs and reworded to say:

What type of job best suits my needs to go to school and have time to study? The solution is meant to analyze type of jobs such as restaurant work, computer repair, or part-time paid nurse intern.

• Part II: Analysis of the Problem

As a team of individuals our group discussed different points of views without considering pros or cons as we began our research. The further down we concluded with our research we settled down with what seemed to be the most adequate solutions. We later shared pros and cons to edit and therefore have a set of reliant proposed solutions.

We had different views on how we should go about organizing part-time work and school because each member had previously or was currently experiencing different working situations. Adding to our range of differences, each member of our team is single or within a dating relationship except Roger whom is married and with two children. We considered this different perspective and felt it was a support to editing proposed solutions due to different life experiences he had or is facing.

Continuing our flow chart schedule, we edited every proposed solution considering every viewpoint possible.Our solution needed to find a balance schedule for Siegfried to work, and study while considering needs such as work experience, family and friends time, and enough income to cover tuition and living expenses.

A. Characteristics

As a group we created a scenario for Siegfried. We considered everyone’s needs and inputs on how our time is divided in order to meet those needs and have enough time to study and to spend with our family/friends. We established that Yesenia would be our main guideline as she works two part-time jobs and studies full time while keeping good grades. We concluded the details for Siegfried’s scenario which were the following: Siegfried pays for non-resident tuition average of $3500 per semester, he has skills in areas of customer service and computer repair. He is also on studies for nursing degree and plans to transfer to the University of Utah. He pays no rent, but still needs money for gas, food, and clothing.

He also needs to keep constant contact with his family for at least one hour a day over the phone. There is a new member to his family, a baby sister, and has to make sure to be able to schedule video chat’s at least once a week. His girlfriend wants to make plans to continue with a stable relationship, hangout, and make bigger commitments.

B. Stakeholders

Tyler was assigned this area and he concluded that: Those who are affected by this problem are your boss, co-workers, people at school and your clients that you are dealing with on a day by day basis. If you show up to work tired or you go to school so tired you will jeopardize the people that you are around. For example if you are at work and you are dealing with patients and you give them the wrong shot the doctor will have to fix your mistake by either giving them medicine to fix your mistake or the worst case would be having to go through surgery.

Family is also affected as well as friends and partner. Family, with new family member, cannot get attention as it is desired due to long working hours and schoolwork. His girlfriend has to sacrifice spending quality time together as his mind is focused on other things. Some problems may rise on how important they might feel they are to Siegfried.

C. History

Considering each team member’s working and studying background we have based our history research as follows:

Working and studying can be very stressful and may cause grades to drop and even fail a class completely. When studying and working, time management is a must have skill because of high risks of suffering consequences when no using time wisely.

According to research of class credit requirements, nursing students’ courses are considered a bit harder among our team members. According to team discussions we concluded that being a full-time student and working part-time job is stressful. This conclusion was supported by our team member Yesenia Blanco as she is the only member who has two part-time jobs and attends school full-time. Concluding our project she had resigned one of the two part-time jobs and since commented, “it is not as stressful, but still stressful enough to not be completely as relaxed as I would [prefer] for it to be”.

We also concluded that due to the necessity to study for long periods of time for each course, working in an area of expertise other than that which is being studied does not relieve any stress. Instead, working in areas of interest or even working in jobs that will support and offer experience in area of study is considered better among our team members than working in areas that requires a new set of skills or uninterested set of skills. We also concluded that although new sets of skills are always welcomed for an individual’s knowledge, it will cause stress and may even affect performance levels throughout school and job.

Yesenia was assigned specifically to research articles related to working students. She found an article in Collegeboard.com on how being a working student has its positive aspects as well as its negatives. Her research concluded as follows:

D. Policies and Politics

Roger found some information in his mother’s work guidelines book. He did not share any citation of the source in specific but the information is quoted as found inside book, and it is as follows:

“Benefits for part-time employees can vary by company. Some companies do not offer any type of benefits to their part-time employees. Other companies will offer benefits on a number of hours worked basis. For instance, vacation time would be accrued based on the number of hours worked, .0234 hours for each hour worked. Holiday pay may be available to full and part-time employees alike. Health insurance would be available but a part-time employee will pay more in monthly premiums than a full-time employee will pay, $462.30 for part-time as opposed to $153.30 for full-time. Whereas part-time employees working less than a specified number of hours would not be eligible for any type of benefits.”

E. Resources

We began brainstorming ideas for solutions in the moment we acquire a case. Each member then continue to give feedback and ideas throughout meetings 1, 2 and 3. Each team member was assigned an area to research in order to further develop ideas.

Brian did research on paid internships:

1. University of Utah Health Care (careers 2012)
2. Methodist Hospital System (INTERN 2012)

His research results were as follows:

• Nursing Internship at the U re-embers school, books and tuition while working for them.
• Nursing Internship at Methodist Hospital provides same opportunities that the U has but not as known

Danni did research on work from home in area of computer repair:

• Computer repair with Jupiter IT Support, Jupitersupport.com, offers service on how to repair computers over the phone and online. Offices are located in Alabama, South Africa.
• Computer repair according to interview with Edwin Rico: $50-$90 per computer repair and takes about 2-3 hours on each computer. It is hard to keep a constant flow of customers though

Also, as a group we gave ideas and inputs on how our lives in accordance to family, jobs and school affects our schedule and how we manage to complete each task accordingly and on time. We spoke about family, friends, opinions and reason behind the need to work and attend school.

Part III: Criteria

As a team, we had initially misunderstood the purpose of creating a criteria and focused them toward our group instead of toward the solution. We then created a new set of criteria to help us find an appropriate solution to our case problem. After we concluded our new and revised criteria we understood the importance of its role when finding a solution.

Our case description offered suggestions for the overall criteria. We then based criterion #2, #3 and #4 from those suggestions.

A- Our general goal was to analyze strengths and weaknesses of job types in order to to come up with the best job type that would support Siegfried’s basic needs. It would also be of help to any nursing student looking to transfer to U of U and finds his/her situation similar to that of Siegfried’s.

B- Our solution will….

1. Doesn’t favor group opinions/input over another
2. Gets minimum of $10 per hour
3. Close to housing
4. Job provides career experience
5. Consider strengths and weaknesses of job types
6. Supports his needs (Rent, tuition, food, clothing, fees)
7. Provides accurate information for listeners: Audience gets information about types of jobs they can apply (ex: paid-internship requirements)

Part IV: Brainstorming Possible Solutions Every member contributed with an idea. We then mixed them to create different possible solutions. We understood the need to not share open opinions as frequently so as to not turn down any ideas and so we continue to speak throughout other meetings as well.

1. Restaurant work – Night, School/Study – Day
2. School/Study – Night, Restaurant work – Night
3. Complete payments through scholarships, grants, family help
4. Internships – Night, School/Study – Day
5. School/Study – Night, Internships – Day
6. Online School – Restaurang work Day/ Night
7. Online School – Work-at-home
8. Online School – Internship

Part V: Solution Analysis

A. List of Possible Solutions

1. Night-shift for restaurant work, study in the mornings
2. Day-shift for restaurant work, study at nights
3. Obtain money from scholarships, grants, parent’s money
4. Night-shift internship, study in the mornings
5. Study at nights, Morning/Day-shift internship
6. Online study, night/day-shift for restaurant work
7. Online study, work-at-home on computer repair
8. Online study, Internship shifts either night or day

B. Chart

We completed a chart ranking our list of possible solutions against our criteria. We consider our background research and chart scores in order to come up with the best solution possible. This chart is found in Appendix 2. Solutions are listed horizontally while criteria descends vertically on the left side. We then ranked each solution on a scale from 0-5. 0 meaning the solution did not meet the criterion at all, gradually ascending to 5 meaning the solution meets the criterion completely.

After completing the solution ranking chart, according to high scores, our reasoning and analyzations, our solution became evident.

C. Final Solutions

We conclude that an internship of Nursing is going to be the best solution and its the best optimal way of doing things, for school, for work, for experience,and for life. The paid internship program pays for school and offers $10 per hour payments twice a month to help cover bills, living conditions, and personal expenses. Internship benefits also offers low cost in certain areas of medical service. Ending the period of internship Siegfried, as any student planning on a career in nursing, has a job for at least the next two years as a nurse at the University of Utah or any other accredited hospital or institution.

We have also concluded that due to Siegfried’s needs, the internship is the best resource for a reliable income. The internship will also offer working experience and real-life experience in the nursing world. He will also practice material covered in class and therefore have time to study for tests and exams. Graduated nurses and doctors will also be there to answer any doubts or unanswered questions from school or practices. The internship will also pay for school tiotion, leaving book fees and class fees up to interns.

D. Possible Negative Consequences

In any job you do, even if you love it, there are pros and cons. In our situation, a paid internship is not open for just any person; you have to qualify by meeting the standards of education. Also, unless planning ahead, the applicant will have to wait an application period required by the University of Utah’s application process. The intern has to obligatory complete the internship and may not drop out. If internship is not completed, he or she will have to pay all expenses covered by internship, and return any other given payments collected over time of practice in internship program.

Part VI: Implementation of the Solution

We have created a list of resources to help students such as Siegfried find and understand the requirements to complete SLCC nursing program to transfer to University of Utah nursing program. Also information on other nursing opportunities.

• Certification and renewal : http://www.dopl.utah.gov/licensing/nursing.html

• Employment rate and salary http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.ht
• Nurse course description http://www.acs.utah.edu/GenCatalog/deptdesc/nurs.html
• Transfer course information http://admissions.utah.edu/undergraduate/transfer/guides/gened/slcc.php
• Nursing website http://nursing.utah.edu/
  • Training information and requirements for each course
  • News in the nursing world
  • Activities and events on U of U campus
• Other research information for students http://nursing.utah.edu/research/personnel.html

Conclusion

Our final solution for Siegfried’s case study for “part-time work” was the following. Siegfried will apply for an internship position and the nursing internship program and the University of Utah. With such a position, studying expenses will be covered and will receive an extra $10 per hour, working 20-25 hours a week for the period of 3 months, to cover any other personal expenses of rent, utilities, food, clothing, transportation, school books and class fees. Siegfried will also benefit from real life nursing experiences as well as hands-on practice of what is being covered throughout classroom time. He may use internship time wisely and go over material to prepare for tests and exams. Siegfried will be “hitting two birds with one stone”, will have time for family, friends, and to relax. He will also not have to worry about finding a job for the next two years concluding of internship.

Works Cited

Careers. 13 October 2012. 24 October 2012. <www.methodisthealthcareers.com/student-nursing-students.html>.

INTERN, HCH CST 60N NURSG STUDT. University of Utah Health Care. 15 October 2012. 24 October 2012. <www.healthcarejobs.utah.edu/jobs/salt-lake-city-clinical-nursing>.

College Board for Professional. “Students & Part-time Work. College Board. 2012. Article. 24 October 2012. <http://professionals.collegeboard.com/guidance/prepare/work&gt;

Appendix 1: Workaholics Team Contract

Class: COMM 1010

Semester: Fall 2012

Date Created: Oct 1, 2012

• Team Norms Relational Norms

1. We commit to putting team goals above personal goals,so we will each make the time to participate fully in each step of this project.

2. We will not waste time talking about non-related topics, we will focus the best that we can on our group case throughout our meetings.

3. We will get things done on time according to our flow chart and in consideration of other team member’s needs.

4. We will give each other our full attention when someone is talking in the group, and not speak over each other or speak louder.

5. We will be effective and use our time wisely; we will read each meeting guideline before each meeting takes place and will share any difficulties with our research a day prior to meeting if possible.

• Task Norms

1. If any member has to miss a meeting, any assignment given to such member needs to be completed unless otherwise allowed by team leader Tyler. He or she will then need to share information through email with all members of team Workaholics.

2. If you cannot email everyone email Tyler and he will email your information to everyone.

3. If you are going to be late to a meeting send a text or put a phone call into one person in the group.

4. Make sure each member shares information and fully communicates with the team, and if this is not possible because of any given reason please speak with group leader Tyler and he will explain to information with the rest of the group.

5. If you’re stuck on your part of the assignment make sure you ask for help, or let Tyler know two days prior in order to have someone else complete the task and not have the need to complete it at the last minute. Procrastination is NOT excused.

• Consequences for keeping or breaking norms

1. If a group member misses the majority of the meetings they will have to wear a funny outfit to the class period following missed date.

2. If a member of our team do as they are asked to do and are willing to help on the loose ends they will automatically receive a good evaluation grade.

3. If a member of the team does not help out to get things accomplished they will have to bring the team breakfast from village inn, donuts, or any sort of breakfast food.

4. If a member of the team does not give opinions or does not ask for help when they need it, it will result in a bad reflection of the team member and may be at risk in receiving a bad team evaluation.

Team Member Roles

•  Task Roles

1. Leader: Tyler W.

2. Recorder: Yesenia B.

3. Powerpoint Expert: Brian M.

4. Editor: Roger B.

5. Organizer: Dani F.

•  Relational Roles

1. Participation Encouragers –Tyler W.

2. Keeping Discussions on Track – Yesenia B.

3. Compromiser – Danni F.

4. Tension Reliever – Roger B.

5. Tension Maker – Brian M.

 

How does this assignment illustrate the growth change progress you have made in this class?

When I first started Communication 1010 class I felt comfortable but not confident about my presentation skills. I didn’t have a base of skills for public speaking. I felt confused with which organization to follow and troubled as I struggled to find words. I learned some tricks though. Due to the presentation’s format that we needed to follow, it helped me stay on track with the planned order and I didn’t side track or struggle as much to get to my point. I learned that I need to make gain interest in a topic in order to have a flow of ideas when speaking in front of a crowd. I also learned that it is better, as I am still learning and still struggle to stay on track sometimes, to keep audience interaction to the end.

How can you apply what you’ve learned in this class to other classes, to the workplace and to other areas of your life?
I’m constantly working in teams and giving presentations among other community and religious organizations. Many times I would read off the paper and I would lose attention or interest in the audience. Whenever I would allow the audience to participate, many time there would be too many loose ends on the topic that I would not mention of about but was planning on to. This class has reinforced the importance in not so much as memorizing your topic of presentation but knowing it and feeling interest towards it one way or another, that way there is a constant flow of ideas and hardly any need to read off a paper.
It has also taught me that if I’m having a hard time speaking English, I can always count on the audience waiting a couple seconds to get back on track, relax and proceed with the presentation.
I’m also hoping to put into practice what I have learned about speaking and keeping track of main points when I serve an LDS mission.

 

Comm 1010

Team Report Instructions

Instructor: Shirene McKay

Comm 1010 SLCC

General Description

1. Each team will submit ONE report.
   1. Writing the report must be a team project. All members must participate.
   2. The report must have a consistent tone. That is, it should read as if one person had written it.
   3. All members are responsible for the accuracy of the report. Read each others’ contributions to be sure you agree to what you are submitting.

Use of References

You are required to use five references from the text and other reliable. You will cite your references in two places in your report.

1. In the body of the report, cite references in parenthetical notation, included right in the same sentence where you refer to the material
2. At the end of your report, include a section titled Works Cited in MLA format. Here you will list your sources in alphabetical order, according to authors’ last names. Use the guide in the learning packet for correct MLA format.

Before writing a document to submit, it’s important to analyze the occasion and the audience you are writing for.

Occasion Analysis

This report requires a professional style of writing. You are expected to follow a specific format, with a professional appearance. Your document should have a consistent tone throughout, so proofread each team member’s work carefully. The document you submit makes a statement about who you are, so be sure your document reflects the best you can be.

Write in appropriate business language. Your report should explain academic concepts in a style that is easy to read. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling need to be flawless. A sloppy style will probably convince your audience that it’s not worth reading any farther than the executive summary.

Audience Analysis

Your primary audience (intended reader) is me, your professor. A potential secondary audience might be other students. I will be looking for evidence that

• you have successfully completed all the steps of the reflective thinking problem solving sequence
• your problem analysis was conducted thoughtfully, using effective critical thinking and analysis
• your proposed solution is achievable and will solve the problem adequately
• your report includes all the required content
• your report follows the required format

Format for the Report

Typically, each company has its own preferred format for proposals. For this class, please use the following format. Include a heading for each section except the title page.

Title Page: On the title page, center the following information. Each item should be on a separate line, single-spaced:

• a short title for the problem your group selected
• (skip two lines)
• submitted by
  • list all actively participating group members, in alphabetical order by LAST name
• (skip one line)
• college name
• class and section
• date submitted

Table of Contents: List each section in order (flush left). List the page number for each section on the right side of the page.

Executive Summary: Don’t let the title of this section intimidate you. This section is actually just a preview of the contents of your report. It should be placed on a page by itself.

In paragraph form, explain each section of the report. Be brief, but include the most important specifics from each section. This summary allows a busy executive to quickly determine whether the report is worth reading.

Project Description: Write a two paragraph overview of what your group accomplished. Identify the problem. Describe your group’s purpose and why it’s important to find a solution to the problem.

Methods:Begin this section with an introductory statement, explaining that your team used the reflective thinking process to arrive at a solution. Briefly describe the purpose of the reflective thinking process (in general, not as applied to your project). Then explain that you will describe each step your group took in accomplishing your purpose (e.g., what your group did at each meeting), and will provide a brief description of your group’s end-product.

For each step in the PAC-BOY Dewey Reflective-Thinking Sequence create a subheading. Under each subheading include a detailed description of your team’s findings. Remember to discuss (in the section explaining your final solution) potential limitations of the solution (which you uncovered when you discussed what could possibly go wrong with your solution) and how you will manage them if they occur.

Conclusion: Your conclusion will include a brief recap of your main points, along with a statement about why your solution is excellent.

Works Cited

Include a complete bibliographical reference for the text, and any other materials you have cited in your report.

Appendices

You’ll attach two appendices. Each appendix should have its own title at the top of the page.

1. a copy of your Team Contract
2. a copy of your Comparison Chart which you used to analyze your potential solutions

Your Member Participation Evaluations will be handed in separately (for my eyes only).

Here is a review of the steps you’ll need to address in the Methods section. Use the “PAC-BOY” acronym to remind yourself of the order of the steps:

• Part I: P= Problem State your problem question
  • “What is the best way …. “
• Part II: A = Analyze the problem Describe your research about the problem. Summarize what you learned about each of the following:

1. Characteristics of the problem
2. Stakeholders
3. History
4. Policies/politics
5. Resources available

• Part III: C=Criteria

List the criteria you’ll use to evaluate your proposed solutions.

• What is your general goal?
• List at least seven realistic criteria that your solution needs to conform to
  • Some of these criteria should include references from class materials
• Part IV: B=Brainstorm Brainstorm possible solutions
  • List all the solutions you brainstormed
    • Some of these solutions should include references from class materials
• Part V: O = Organize Organize your solutions into a chart that will help you choose the best.
  • Explain how you narrowed your solutions to your top five to seven
  • Explain the chart you used for analyzing the solutions. You may either insert the chart here or include it in the attachments section.
  • Answer the question: “How does this solution excel over the other solutions that you proposed?”
  • Discuss potential negative consequences and how you will minimize them.
  • Revise your solution if necessary.
• Part VI: Y = Yes we can! Choose the best solution and implement.
  • Describe how you plan to implement the solution.
  • This plan must be realistic (something that you as students could actually do in the available time frame).

Reflection Questions: Write a few paragraphs answering the following questions.

1. How does this assignment illustrate the growth/change/progress you have made in

this class?

2. How can you apply what you’ve learned in this class to other classes, to the

workplace and to other areas of your life? Please be sincere. You don’t need to over-inflate your claims.

————————————————————-

Team Paper

Part-time Work

Submitted by team Workaholics

Brian Madrid

Danni Figueroa

Tyler Walker

Roger Brown

Yesenia Blanco

Salt Lake Community College

COMM 1010-01

Instructor: Shirene McKay

November 19, 2012

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Project Description

Methods

Problem Questions

Analyzing the Problem

Criteria

Brainstorming Solution

Analyzing the Solution

Implementing the Solution

Conclusion

Works Cited

Appendix 1: Workaholics Team Contract

Appendix 2: Solutions Analysis Chart

Executive Summary

The following report defines the Workaholic’s proposed solution to our case and process taken for concluded solution. We followed our learning packet examples and also class instructions in order to find a balance between group member’s tasks and our group communication to find the most adequate solution for our case while following criteria and team contract. We shared personal experiences and also conducted research of many kinds in order to conclude with our proposed solution.

The problem chosen required the Workaholics to find, and research different part-time work for Siegfried. Siegfried, a full-time nursing student, searches for a part-time job to help pay for school tuition and fees, as well as living costs, and personal expenses. We stated the problem as an open-end question “what type of job best suits Siegfried’s needs to go to school and have time to study?”. We utilized class time as well as different communication channels to conclude our final case report.

We concluded our final solution to be the following. Siegfried will apply for a spot as an intern position at the University of Utah internships programs. Because of his good academic standing he will have a high chance to qualify and be accepted in the program. The nurse internship program will cover all school expenses and will pay an extra $10 per hour for any other personal expenses and needs.

Project Description

Our group acts as organizers and a job agency for Siegfried, a full time student seeking a part-time job or source of money to pay for school and personal expenses.

Our group consists of five students from the COMM 1010-01 class. Our team, the Workaholics, picked case study #15 “Part-time work” over a variety of cases offered. We picked this case study because we felt a strong connection with our personage Siegfried and his needs to balance time between studying, working and personal time. As we read and described what we understood to be our case, we then based Siegfried’s needs and characteristics according to a mixture of each team member’s current or previous personal living.

Our team’s main source of meeting time came from conducting meetings through class time. Along with this we also conducted meetings through other communication channels such as texting, phone calling and video chatting. We have also met face-to-face in rooms of SLCC library. Through constant communication we believe we have reached the best and most adequate solution to our case study.

Methods

As a group we felt an identity and connection to our case problem. We decided to call ourselves the Workaholics because our case problem was related to working a part-time job and also because we worked hard to find an adequate solution in a short period of time. The name became our cheer as we struggled to find times to meet besides class time. Despite all other circumstances stopping us from performing our best we managed to share information all times as well as opinions. We were assigned a different part of the research every week, and we shared our findings throughout our meetings and notes. Although parts were not finished on time, we do feel that everyone has shared a grain of rice with the team.

• Part I: Problem Question

We debated about the many possibilities of giving our point across in the most simple and clear way. We disagreed with our original statement/ question about Siegfried’s needs and reworded to say:

What type of job best suits my needs to go to school and have time to study? The solution is meant to analyze type of jobs such as restaurant work, computer repair, or part-time paid nurse intern.

• Part II: Analysis of the Problem

As a team of individuals our group discussed different points of views without considering pros or cons as we began our research. The further down we concluded with our research we settled down with what seemed to be the most adequate solutions. We later shared pros and cons to edit and therefore have a set of reliant proposed solutions.

We had different views on how we should go about organizing part-time work and school because each member had previously or was currently experiencing different working situations. Adding to our range of differences, each member of our team is single or within a dating relationship except Roger whom is married and with two children. We considered this different perspective and felt it was a support to editing proposed solutions due to different life experiences he had or is facing.

Continuing our flow chart schedule, we edited every proposed solution considering every viewpoint possible.Our solution needed to find a balance schedule for Siegfried to work, and study while considering needs such as work experience, family and friends time, and enough income to cover tuition and living expenses.

A. Characteristics

As a group we created a scenario for Siegfried. We considered everyone’s needs and inputs on how our time is divided in order to meet those needs and have enough time to study and to spend with our family/friends. We established that Yesenia would be our main guideline as she works two part-time jobs and studies full time while keeping good grades. We concluded the details for Siegfried’s scenario which were the following: Siegfried pays for non-resident tuition average of $3500 per semester, he has skills in areas of customer service and computer repair. He is also on studies for nursing degree and plans to transfer to the University of Utah. He pays no rent, but still needs money for gas, food, and clothing.

He also needs to keep constant contact with his family for at least one hour a day over the phone. There is a new member to his family, a baby sister, and has to make sure to be able to schedule video chat’s at least once a week. His girlfriend wants to make plans to continue with a stable relationship, hangout, and make bigger commitments.

B. Stakeholders

Tyler was assigned this area and he concluded that: Those who are affected by this problem are your boss, co-workers, people at school and your clients that you are dealing with on a day by day basis. If you show up to work tired or you go to school so tired you will jeopardize the people that you are around. For example if you are at work and you are dealing with patients and you give them the wrong shot the doctor will have to fix your mistake by either giving them medicine to fix your mistake or the worst case would be having to go through surgery.

Family is also affected as well as friends and partner. Family, with new family member, cannot get attention as it is desired due to long working hours and schoolwork. His girlfriend has to sacrifice spending quality time together as his mind is focused on other things. Some problems may rise on how important they might feel they are to Siegfried.

C. History

Considering each team member’s working and studying background we have based our history research as follows:

Working and studying can be very stressful and may cause grades to drop and even fail a class completely. When studying and working, time management is a must have skill because of high risks of suffering consequences when no using time wisely.

According to research of class credit requirements, nursing students’ courses are considered a bit harder among our team members. According to team discussions we concluded that being a full-time student and working part-time job is stressful. This conclusion was supported by our team member Yesenia Blanco as she is the only member who has two part-time jobs and attends school full-time. Concluding our project she had resigned one of the two part-time jobs and since commented, “it is not as stressful, but still stressful enough to not be completely as relaxed as I would [prefer] for it to be”.

We also concluded that due to the necessity to study for long periods of time for each course, working in an area of expertise other than that which is being studied does not relieve any stress. Instead, working in areas of interest or even working in jobs that will support and offer experience in area of study is considered better among our team members than working in areas that requires a new set of skills or uninterested set of skills. We also concluded that although new sets of skills are always welcomed for an individual’s knowledge, it will cause stress and may even affect performance levels throughout school and job.

Yesenia was assigned specifically to research articles related to working students. She found an article in Collegeboard.com on how being a working student has its positive aspects as well as its negatives. Her research concluded as follows:

D. Policies and Politics

Roger found some information in his mother’s work guidelines book. He did not share any citation of the source in specific but the information is quoted as found inside book, and it is as follows:

“Benefits for part-time employees can vary by company. Some companies do not offer any type of benefits to their part-time employees. Other companies will offer benefits on a number of hours worked basis. For instance, vacation time would be accrued based on the number of hours worked, .0234 hours for each hour worked. Holiday pay may be available to full and part-time employees alike. Health insurance would be available but a part-time employee will pay more in monthly premiums than a full-time employee will pay, $462.30 for part-time as opposed to $153.30 for full-time. Whereas part-time employees working less than a specified number of hours would not be eligible for any type of benefits.”

E. Resources

We began brainstorming ideas for solutions in the moment we acquire a case. Each member then continue to give feedback and ideas throughout meetings 1, 2 and 3. Each team member was assigned an area to research in order to further develop ideas.

Brian did research on paid internships:

1. University of Utah Health Care (careers 2012)
2. Methodist Hospital System (INTERN 2012)

His research results were as follows:

• Nursing Internship at the U re-embers school, books and tuition while working for them.
• Nursing Internship at Methodist Hospital provides same opportunities that the U has but not as known

Danni did research on work from home in area of computer repair:

• Computer repair with Jupiter IT Support, Jupitersupport.com, offers service on how to repair computers over the phone and online. Offices are located in Alabama, South Africa.
• Computer repair according to interview with Edwin Rico: $50-$90 per computer repair and takes about 2-3 hours on each computer. It is hard to keep a constant flow of customers though

Also, as a group we gave ideas and inputs on how our lives in accordance to family, jobs and school affects our schedule and how we manage to complete each task accordingly and on time. We spoke about family, friends, opinions and reason behind the need to work and attend school.

Part III: Criteria

As a team, we had initially misunderstood the purpose of creating a criteria and focused them toward our group instead of toward the solution. We then created a new set of criteria to help us find an appropriate solution to our case problem. After we concluded our new and revised criteria we understood the importance of its role when finding a solution.

Our case description offered suggestions for the overall criteria. We then based criterion #2, #3 and #4 from those suggestions.

A- Our general goal was to analyze strengths and weaknesses of job types in order to to come up with the best job type that would support Siegfried’s basic needs. It would also be of help to any nursing student looking to transfer to U of U and finds his/her situation similar to that of Siegfried’s.

B- Our solution will….

1. Doesn’t favor group opinions/input over another
2. Gets minimum of $10 per hour
3. Close to housing
4. Job provides career experience
5. Consider strengths and weaknesses of job types
6. Supports his needs (Rent, tuition, food, clothing, fees)
7. Provides accurate information for listeners: Audience gets information about types of jobs they can apply (ex: paid-internship requirements)

Part IV: Brainstorming Possible Solutions Every member contributed with an idea. We then mixed them to create different possible solutions. We understood the need to not share open opinions as frequently so as to not turn down any ideas and so we continue to speak throughout other meetings as well.

1. Restaurant work – Night, School/Study – Day
2. School/Study – Night, Restaurant work – Night
3. Complete payments through scholarships, grants, family help
4. Internships – Night, School/Study – Day
5. School/Study – Night, Internships – Day
6. Online School – Restaurang work Day/ Night
7. Online School – Work-at-home
8. Online School – Internship

Part V: Solution Analysis

A. List of Possible Solutions

1. Night-shift for restaurant work, study in the mornings
2. Day-shift for restaurant work, study at nights
3. Obtain money from scholarships, grants, parent’s money
4. Night-shift internship, study in the mornings
5. Study at nights, Morning/Day-shift internship
6. Online study, night/day-shift for restaurant work
7. Online study, work-at-home on computer repair
8. Online study, Internship shifts either night or day

B. Chart

We completed a chart ranking our list of possible solutions against our criteria. We consider our background research and chart scores in order to come up with the best solution possible. This chart is found in Appendix 2. Solutions are listed horizontally while criteria descends vertically on the left side. We then ranked each solution on a scale from 0-5. 0 meaning the solution did not meet the criterion at all, gradually ascending to 5 meaning the solution meets the criterion completely.

After completing the solution ranking chart, according to high scores, our reasoning and analyzations, our solution became evident.

C. Final Solutions

We conclude that an internship of Nursing is going to be the best solution and its the best optimal way of doing things, for school, for work, for experience,and for life. The paid internship program pays for school and offers $10 per hour payments twice a month to help cover bills, living conditions, and personal expenses. Internship benefits also offers low cost in certain areas of medical service. Ending the period of internship Siegfried, as any student planning on a career in nursing, has a job for at least the next two years as a nurse at the University of Utah or any other accredited hospital or institution.

We have also concluded that due to Siegfried’s needs, the internship is the best resource for a reliable income. The internship will also offer working experience and real-life experience in the nursing world. He will also practice material covered in class and therefore have time to study for tests and exams. Graduated nurses and doctors will also be there to answer any doubts or unanswered questions from school or practices. The internship will also pay for school tiotion, leaving book fees and class fees up to interns.

D. Possible Negative Consequences

In any job you do, even if you love it, there are pros and cons. In our situation, a paid internship is not open for just any person; you have to qualify by meeting the standards of education. Also, unless planning ahead, the applicant will have to wait an application period required by the University of Utah’s application process. The intern has to obligatory complete the internship and may not drop out. If internship is not completed, he or she will have to pay all expenses covered by internship, and return any other given payments collected over time of practice in internship program.

Part VI: Implementation of the Solution

We have created a list of resources to help students such as Siegfried find and understand the requirements to complete SLCC nursing program to transfer to University of Utah nursing program. Also information on other nursing opportunities.

• Certification and renewal : http://www.dopl.utah.gov/licensing/nursing.html

• Employment rate and salary http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.ht
• Nurse course description http://www.acs.utah.edu/GenCatalog/deptdesc/nurs.html
• Transfer course information http://admissions.utah.edu/undergraduate/transfer/guides/gened/slcc.php
• Nursing website http://nursing.utah.edu/
  • Training information and requirements for each course
  • News in the nursing world
  • Activities and events on U of U campus
• Other research information for students http://nursing.utah.edu/research/personnel.html

Conclusion

Our final solution for Siegfried’s case study for “part-time work” was the following. Siegfried will apply for an internship position and the nursing internship program and the University of Utah. With such a position, studying expenses will be covered and will receive an extra $10 per hour, working 20-25 hours a week for the period of 3 months, to cover any other personal expenses of rent, utilities, food, clothing, transportation, school books and class fees. Siegfried will also benefit from real life nursing experiences as well as hands-on practice of what is being covered throughout classroom time. He may use internship time wisely and go over material to prepare for tests and exams. Siegfried will be “hitting two birds with one stone”, will have time for family, friends, and to relax. He will also not have to worry about finding a job for the next two years concluding of internship.

Works Cited

Careers. 13 October 2012. 24 October 2012. <www.methodisthealthcareers.com/student-nursing-students.html>.

INTERN, HCH CST 60N NURSG STUDT. University of Utah Health Care. 15 October 2012. 24 October 2012. <www.healthcarejobs.utah.edu/jobs/salt-lake-city-clinical-nursing>.

College Board for Professional. “Students & Part-time Work. College Board. 2012. Article. 24 October 2012. <http://professionals.collegeboard.com/guidance/prepare/work&gt;

Appendix 1: Workaholics Team Contract

Class: COMM 1010

Semester: Fall 2012

Date Created: Oct 1, 2012

• Team Norms Relational Norms

1. We commit to putting team goals above personal goals,so we will each make the time to participate fully in each step of this project.

2. We will not waste time talking about non-related topics, we will focus the best that we can on our group case throughout our meetings.

3. We will get things done on time according to our flow chart and in consideration of other team member’s needs.

4. We will give each other our full attention when someone is talking in the group, and not speak over each other or speak louder.

5. We will be effective and use our time wisely; we will read each meeting guideline before each meeting takes place and will share any difficulties with our research a day prior to meeting if possible.

• Task Norms

1. If any member has to miss a meeting, any assignment given to such member needs to be completed unless otherwise allowed by team leader Tyler. He or she will then need to share information through email with all members of team Workaholics.

2. If you cannot email everyone email Tyler and he will email your information to everyone.

3. If you are going to be late to a meeting send a text or put a phone call into one person in the group.

4. Make sure each member shares information and fully communicates with the team, and if this is not possible because of any given reason please speak with group leader Tyler and he will explain to information with the rest of the group.

5. If you’re stuck on your part of the assignment make sure you ask for help, or let Tyler know two days prior in order to have someone else complete the task and not have the need to complete it at the last minute. Procrastination is NOT excused.

• Consequences for keeping or breaking norms

1. If a group member misses the majority of the meetings they will have to wear a funny outfit to the class period following missed date.

2. If a member of our team do as they are asked to do and are willing to help on the loose ends they will automatically receive a good evaluation grade.

3. If a member of the team does not help out to get things accomplished they will have to bring the team breakfast from village inn, donuts, or any sort of breakfast food.

4. If a member of the team does not give opinions or does not ask for help when they need it, it will result in a bad reflection of the team member and may be at risk in receiving a bad team evaluation.

Team Member Roles

•  Task Roles

1. Leader: Tyler W.

2. Recorder: Yesenia B.

3. Powerpoint Expert: Brian M.

4. Editor: Roger B.

5. Organizer: Dani F.

•  Relational Roles

1. Participation Encouragers –Tyler W.

2. Keeping Discussions on Track – Yesenia B.

3. Compromiser – Danni F.

4. Tension Reliever – Roger B.

5. Tension Maker – Brian M.

 

How does this assignment illustrate the growth change progress you have made in this class?

When I first started Communication 1010 class I felt comfortable but not confident about my presentation skills. I didn’t have a base of skills for public speaking. I felt confused with which organization to follow and troubled as I struggled to find words. I learned some tricks though. Due to the presentation’s format that we needed to follow, it helped me stay on track with the planned order and I didn’t side track or struggle as much to get to my point. I learned that I need to make gain interest in a topic in order to have a flow of ideas when speaking in front of a crowd. I also learned that it is better, as I am still learning and still struggle to stay on track sometimes, to keep audience interaction to the end.

How can you apply what you’ve learned in this class to other classes, to the workplace and to other areas of your life?
I’m constantly working in teams and giving presentations among other community and religious organizations. Many times I would read off the paper and I would lose attention or interest in the audience. Whenever I would allow the audience to participate, many time there would be too many loose ends on the topic that I would not mention of about but was planning on to. This class has reinforced the importance in not so much as memorizing your topic of presentation but knowing it and feeling interest towards it one way or another, that way there is a constant flow of ideas and hardly any need to read off a paper.
It has also taught me that if I’m having a hard time speaking English, I can always count on the audience waiting a couple seconds to get back on track, relax and proceed with the presentation.
I’m also hoping to put into practice what I have learned about speaking and keeping track of main points when I serve an LDS mission.

MKTG 1010 Complaint Letter

****Adress**********
******************
January 18, 2012
Costumer Service
Vaquita Market
938 N 900 W
Salt Lake City, UT 84116

To Whom It May Concern:
I was a customer for the past year of 2011 and at this past month of December the cashier wasn’t in her best attitude. On December 20th I bought some groceries. At the cashier, when handling the money to her, she yanked it off my hands. A similar act happened when she return my change and instead drop it on my hands in an unfriendly manner. I felt as if I was the reason why she was not feeling well or was in a bad mood.

To the resolve the problem I would like an apology for the inconvenience.

I appreciate the service of other employees and I hope this would not be of any inconvenience for your business. If you need to contact me you can e-mail me at **************@hotmail.com.
Sincerely,

Dani Figueroa

Sociology 1010

“Are we citizens of East St. Louis or America” (84, Kozol).
“Questions of unfairness feel more like a geometric problem than a matter of humanity or coinscience” (85, Kozol).
New York and Illinois, separeted by land, these children being part of the United States of America are more than land (separated) they are also socially stratified from each other and from the rest of the country. There is an obvious existance of inequalities between these two groups of children, their building structures of houses and schools, their way to make a living, and the opportunities and rewards each both is presented with.
Class, a form to analyze stratification in industrialized countries, is the divition of groups of individuals whom create variations of wealth and power to define themselves in one of the seven levels of socioeconomic variations. The seven classes are: upper, upper middle, middle, lower middle working, lower and the “underclass”. According to each’s definition, the children of East St. Louis would fall under the “underclass”, as for the children of Rye, they would go under the upper middle class. The “underclass” has no stablished household income, on average a family typically earns less than 28,777 anually (196, Giddens), and less than $19,000 during 1991 (1991, census). Stated in Kozol’s book, a third of the families living in East St Louis live on less than $7,500 a year. On the other hand an upper middle class household annual incomes ranges from about $120,000 to $300,000, with a median average of $210,000 (193, Giddens), and a median average $32,000 during 1991 (1991, census). Only 546 students, with $400,000 of private funds for restoration, and $12,000 funds per student, a family would need to earn an average of $3,000 during 1991 in order to sustain such spending.
The “underclass” as mentioned in the book lacks many of the life chances offered to top classes, and “lack access to the world of work and mainstream patterns of behavior” (196, Giddens et al). The “underclass”, a class that includes at its top percent African Americans, also consists of unskilled and unemployed men, homeless people, and entire families on welfare (207, Giddens). Children in East St. Louis have been socially labeled into a class that gives them little or no chance to move forward. Inequality in East St. Louis is not only reflected in the children’ schools, but also their homes, their surroundings in every aspect, and as a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch refers to the city, “another world”. Author of Savage Inequalities, Jonathan Kozol, mentions multiple times the existance of raw sewage in East St. Louis making it the main property of inequality between them and Rye, NY. According to a St. Louis health official “sewage systems separate us from the Third World” (Kozol,1991), and from the rest of the nation, more specificly the children of Rye, NY. Although the city is affected by raw sewage it is not the only characteristic portraying savage inequalities. Also affecting the health and being treated as “expendable”, chemical plants such as Pfizer and Monsanto release toxic funes to the air day and night, having the highest rates of child asthma in America (80, Kozol). The city’s population is 98 percent black, their children know not the National Anthem, they don’t know when to go to school, and many accept bribes which causes them to be categorized stereotypically such as dumb, lazy, arrogant. All but 23 employers in the city, no teachers to save budget, no city hall, and no hygene system for sewage, East St. Louis citizens are deprived and therefore socially excluded from the majority population of the U.S.
There are two main factors affecting an individual’s sucess. First factor would be structural forces such as class, gender, race, racism, exclusion and such. Second factor would be agency, consisting of lack of motivation and repetitive personal failure. When cities consist of 80% or more of a same race, or ethnic group, they are excluded from other people exposed to different opportunities and goals. When a race or ethnic group have been humiliated thorughout history, among many inequalities, they are not given opportunities to work or to study. Children and adults grow up knowing one thing above most, not to succeed. When there have been a lack of opportunities in an individual’s life, motivations and reasons to live are negatively raised in the individual’s mind. There are several adnormal mental health problems following such behavior and many individuals living in remote, excluded places are not offered opportunities to recover and live a steady healthy life. As a result of lack of motivation and personal failure, rewards of knowledge are not thought of or regarded as an important aspect of failing.
I grew up in a wooden house with holes on its roof, the streets were not pavimented and you could see kids with dirty clothing and no shoes. My house, despite every other defect, had a metal fence that kept me and my siblings from going outside and interacting with the rest of the kids in the streets. My parents would say “they are just bad influence, you don’t want to hang out with them”. I didn’t understand until a day I let them in and they stole my toys. I went to the top, middle and lowest schools in the region. I learned my best and the most in the lowest ranked school. This happen in Chile, were education systems are not public and ranks are not based on the education level, because they are all the same, but on the quality of the material and building. Once arrived to the U.S. I attended top, middle and low ranked public schools and also a top private boarding school. The education I received in the private school exedes that of the public education, but it also gave me a fantasy look on how life is. Everything was “perfect” no renting, no bills, just study, play sports and drug free parties. The buildings were brand new, up to the year books, expensive lab equipment, and 1200 acres with less than 100 students. After that year I arrived to West High. The education was at a disadvantage level, classrooms were old and always having issues, and their books were falling apart. AP classes were at extreme difference, based on one skill instead of knowledge. I learned less things and I was unmotivated for a while because of the knowledge of unequality I had acquarided. What kept me in there was art, an office lady, and an English teacher. They taught values overall and did their best to teach out of curriculum. One thing I learned from all the different schools I attended was that, privilidges, hard work, and oportunities are taught and seen differently within each social class.
Majority of population earns less than $100,000 annually, while less than a third earns over $300,000 yet surprising power is shared among that third of the population of an entire country. Power, over history, has gone from something being earned, to something that’s a privildge, to something that’s inherite. The less experienced have more power, I don’t know what can’t be wrong with that. Also, when we have created “proffessional” reasons on why to blame people on the lower side of equality, it is hard for me to see a country where everyone is treated equally. Reasons such as class, gender, race, exclusion or structural forces and lack of motivation, personal failure or agency are reason we’ve created to notice differences and to categorize people in different ways. Categorizing, titles, names are not a way to be equal. In order to be equal we need to be humane, feel the need to work together toward one same purpose, if we pull a string 100 different ways it is opt to brake and not go anywhere. Whether we admit or not, in order to succeed in different aspects of life, help is a requirement.

 

 

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