| Birjees Sarwat Hussain |
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| THE RUSHMORE MBA JOURNAL |
Date Activity(Number of Hours Spent)
Journal for BUS1004 Overview of Business Administration (The Ten Day MBA)
2 November 2002 I did spend the time formatting my resume and my journal. What I’ve done is added HTML language to my document so that hopefully all I’ll need to do is copy and past the document on to the text box of my web page. (2 hours)
1 November 2002 Spent every spare moment reading ‘Ten Day MBA’. There are still areas of accounting that I had and am still having trouble with. Have now come to the Qualitative Analysis chapter. This was one of the most difficult chapters in the BUS1004. Unfortunately Silbiger did not help. (4 hours 15 mins)
31 October 2002 I continued reading the ‘Ten Day MBA’, following Adler’s recommendation of skim reading without stopping to look up areas that presented a problem when I was doing BUS1004. I also forced myself to use another of Adler’s techniques of putting my two fingers and my thumb together to act as a pointer when reading. It was difficult trying to make my eyes keep up with my fingers.(2 hours and 40 mins)
30 October 2002 Also began a rough draft of my introduction to BUS1002. I drafted my opinion of the two recommended books. Why I’m reading them and my opinion of the two authors. I also wrote a a very rough draft of Silbiger’s background. [Note to myself: email Silbiger; maybe he’ll oblige by giving me his background in more detail. My initial internet search revealed little.] I wrote my initial thoughts on his ‘Ten Day MBA’ purely on the basis of my reading of it for BUS1004. Then later at might I began to skim read ‘Ten Day MBA’. (3 hours 30 mins)
29 October 2002 I also wrote an initial action plan for the book review, e.g. an introduction to ‘How to Read a Book’ and “A Writer’s Manual’ and my opinion of them. I thought it might be useful to include this in my assignment. (3 hours)
28 October 2002 I re-read and made concise notes on BUS1002 assignment so that I am clear in my mind as to what is required and expected in the book review. (30 mins)
27 October 02 Although Adler’s book is practical in approach I do find it a little verbose. It’s fine to read if you are reading for pleasure and personal development but if there is an assignment pending I would want to get to the point. At times the language is simple and at others it is not. It’s not always easy to read. (3 hours 50 mins)
26 October 2002
25 October 2002 Started reading “How to Read a Book by Adler and Van Doren. Managed to read and complete up to section 2 of ‘Inspectional Reading 1: Systematic skimming or Pre-reading’. Tomorrow I intent to move on to section 3. (2 hours 10 mins)
23 October 2002 Also decided on book to review for BUS1002. I Chosen “The Ten Day MBA” from Rushmore’s list of foundation courses, which they say that I can choose from.
22 October 2002 Worked on website. Emended and updated pages. Managed to work out some of the problems I was experiencing though some (links for instance) still prevail. (1.5 hours) Examined Hella’s instructions for the next assignment. Made notes and started thinking about the methodology I was going to follow. (30 mins)
20 October 2002 I also emailed Hella Draft #1 of my Proposed Curriculum. I have decided that I will take one of Peter Drucker’s courses : “Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practice and Principles”. Spent time on my column and almost completed it. I thought that I’d get an early start rather than working on it on Thursday evening when there is a Poolside Party in the apartment complex that I may wish to attend.
19 October 2002 Worked on and managed to complete the first draft of my curriculum. Haven’t really had any further thoughts on my website. I think that I shall just put the rest of my “Ten Day MBA” assignment on to my website and think about the links and the line spacing for later. My main concern is to ensure that my course advisors and other members of the Rushmore faculty can see my progress as I work through my MBA.
18 October 2002 Spent the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening putting together my proposed curriculum and a few paragraphs behind my rational. I hope that on Saturday (tomorrow) I can type up my first draft and have it ready to email by Sunday or Monday. (3 hours)
17 October 2002
16 October 2002
15 October 2002 Worked on my curriculum again, this time trying to explain my choices. (1.5hours)
14 October 2002
13 October 2002 Today I accessed my website to work so that I could work on some of my web pages. I managed to put only part of my “Ten Day MBA” on to my website. I didn’t want to put too much on without really knowing what I was doing. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. A lot can be accomplished by trial and error. In the short space of time I had I managed to put only half of what I wanted to and even then I was unable to format it the way I wanted to. (1.5hours) Worked on my curriculum. There are simply too many courses to choose from. It’s a bit like a sweetshop full of sweets. It’s like being spoilt for choice. However, I have an idea of what I want to do even though my proposed choices may seem bizarre to an outsider. I will explain the rationale behind my choices to Hella. (2 hours)
12 October 2002
11 October 2002
10 October 2002 I have had further thoughts about my curriculum. I know the courses I want to do but really need to have a clear reason for my choices. I really want to email my first draft to Hella at least by Monday or Tuesday (15th or 16th October) next week. (2 hours)
9 October 2002 Now I intend to put the contents of my “Ten Day MBA”, the Profile and my resume onto my website. I’m getting a little nervous because since I created the basic pages of my website I haven’t really put any information on it. I just hope I can do it without any problems. Also received another copyright query from my art society. I’ll try and deal with it this evening so that I can get it out of the way before the weekend.
7 October 2002 What a great office DHB is. They celebrated my birthday (a little late). Very surprised. Received a silver pendant and a carved wooden box!
6 October 2002 Looked at list of courses and compiled a preliminary list of what I intend to follow. Have decided to stick to the universities proposed foundation courses. The’re probably essential in that they give a grounding in the basics of an MBA. (3 hours)
5 October 2002 Spent the rest of the day thinking about the curriculum and realised from the “Ten Day MBA” that I wanted to take Economics, Advertising (for local reasons which I’ll explain to Hella), and Quality Management.
4 October 2002 Spent the rest of the day struggling with an idea for my column, eventually coming up with something very late at night. Managed only 3 short paragraphs. Spent time considering curriculum.
3 October 2002 I also discussed the course with one of my sisters. She informed me that one of her colleagues has enrolled on an MSc. Unfortunately that was almost 6 weeks ago and he still hasn’t received his material from them.
1 October 2002 Also, the two books from my friend in the UK arrived today.
25 September 2002 Still no word from the bookshop about “Business Research Methods”.
24 September 2002
18-23 September 2002 Received another query from my art society which I completed and emailed to them. As a gesture they’ve given me free membership to the society for the help I am giving them on their copyright column.(1 hour)
17 September 2002 Received a bizarre call from a salesman of a bookshop saying ‘Business Research Methods’ hadn’t been published yet and when it was he would let me know. When I corrected him by referring him to Amazon.com and Addall.com he went quiet and said he’d call me back. Dubai is not at all student friendly. Read chapter 7 and made notes. (3 hours)
16 September 2002 Received a copyright query from my art society which I answered and will email tomorrow. Received email from my friend in UK saying that one of the 2 books I requested had arrived and wanted mailing address. Tomorrow I shall make a start on Ch.7 on Operations.
15 September 2002 Also hadn’t given my Tuesday column much thought all week. Due in today. Last night had to put something together ASAP. After 2 hours of intensive thinking going back and forth between the BUS1004 assignment and my column I managed to produce an 800 word article. I was amazed. Managed to email column to Gulf Today. Phew!(1 hour for BUS1004) Had more trouble finding “Business Research Methods”. One bookseller made a promise last week and has subsequently let me down. Decided to email Hella with request. Spoke to a friend who says he’ll try in the Far East and daddy spoke to friend who is leaving for India on Saturday to try there. So many attempts and no fruit, as yet. Completed Ch. 4 and 5 and their overview. Started Chapter 6. (4 hours)
12 September 2002
9-11 September 2002
8 September 2002 Worked on my introduction to Donald Bunker and Associates. Finished it. Feel much more relaxed today about the current assignment. Any qualms I had dissipated after perusing some Rushmore students’ websites. (1 hour) Also decided to work on my journal and then spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching TV. (2 hours)
6 September 2002 Also decided to work on my “Gulf Today” column that appears on Tuesday. With a full time job, the MBA course and the column, I started wondering how I was going to manage. Finished the column. It is ready to email. Started on Accounting chapter. Realised that I need to manage my time more efficiently. Don’t wish appear to be studying all the time, without any relaxation. (8 hours)
5 September 2002
4 September 2002 Started on Day 1 of the “Ten Day MBA”. Stayed up late reading the Marketing chapter. Interesting and so familiar. Began to make notes for the assignment. (2 hours)
3 September 2002 Bought the “Ten Day MBA” and started to read it. Also started to think about the assignment. Made a few written notes. (2 hours) Have become copyright advisor to my arts society. Today received a copyright query that I spent time answering. (½ hour)
2 September 2002 Received unexpected email from Hella about the next assignment. Read the “Ten Day MBA” and produce paper based on it. Sounds excited. Enquired about the “Ten Day MBA” at a local bookshop. Since the bookshop is new it may be willing to help. (½ hour)
1 Septembre 2002
31 August 2002
29 August 2002
24 August 2002
22-23 August 2002
20 August 2002
18 August 2002 Also received 1st assignment. Glad I had already started it. Had a look at free web hosting site, Angelfire.com. It was what I was looking for; free domain name and free web hosting. (½ hour)
15-16 August 2002 Also decided to enquire about books. Studying is doubly difficult here because of the difficulty of finding books locally and the lack relevant resources in local libraries. The readership fees are astronomical! (4 hours)
13 August 2002 Continued to work on profile. Started to think about contents of website, number of pages and above all a simple layout. (2 hours)
8 August 2002
29 July 2002 – 2 August 2002 Continued to work on profile. (12 hours)
28 July 2002
16-27 July 2002
Journal for BUS1002 Foundation for Graduate Study in Business & Administration
Friday, 10 January 2003
Wednesday, 8 January 2003
Friday, 3 January 2003
Monday, 30 December 2002
Thursday, 19 December 2002
Monday - Wednesday, 16 - 18 December 2002 It took longer than I thought it would to incorporate or reject the editor’s suggestions. Since it was the middle of the week I was only able to devote around 3 hours a day. Tomorrow I intend to send my assignment back to the editor for checking and final editing before final submission. (~6 hours)
Monday, 9 December 2002
Wednesday, 4 December 2002
Thursday/Friday, 5 – 6 December 02
Sunday – Thursday, 1 – 4 December 02 I have also written a letter for Anna Green who is filling in for Hella. I emailed Anna my draft #1 with my journal and covering letter with queries. I hope she will be able to help me with some queries I have. (~20 hours)
Saturday, 30 November 02
Thursday/Friday, 28 – 29 November 02
Monday, 25 November 02 I also started to browse “Decision and Dilemma”. Interesting! (6 hours)
Sunday, 24 November 02
Saturday, 23 November 02
Friday, 22 November 02 I understood more about the subject as I read it than I did in my initial 2 reads. I also found better and easier to understand terminology. I also looked over the assignment instructions again to ensure I wasn’t going off track. Late at night around 2-2.30am the NPV clicked. (6 hours)
Thursday, 21 November 02
Wednesday, 20 November 02 I also completed the accounting chapter and am avoiding the QA chapter till the very last. Instead I made start on Ethics. (3 hours 20 mins)
Tuesday, 19 November 02
Monday, 18 November 02 My sister, with whom I was discussing cash v accrual accounting, advised that I shouldn’t get too bogged don with in-depth analysis, which is what I was doing. However, in the long run, it will be for my benefit (3 hours)
Sunday, 17 November 02
Saturday, 16 November 02 Also tried to complete the marketing chapter and did! (4 hours 52 minutes)
Friday, 15 November 02
Thursday, 14 November 02 Read ‘Lincoln on Leadership’ for half hour.
Tuesday, 12 November 02 Still struggling with the marketing chapter. I am beginning to wonder whether the chapter is too long or whether I am over-doing things. (2 hours) Bought an interesting and informative book called, ‘Lincoln on Leadership’ about President Lincoln’s leadership style. It’s amazing how yesterday’s strategies can still be applied today. (~30 mins)
Monday, 11 November 02
Sunday, 10 November 02 I have too many books and too many articles around me. I also think that maybe I’m overanalysing everything. However, that is my learning process. (1 hour 30 min)
Thursday – Saturday, 7-9 November 02
Friday – Wednesday, 1 - 6 November 02
Thursday, 31 October 02 I continued reading the ‘Ten Day MBA’, following Adler’s recommendation of skim reading without stopping to look up areas that presented a problem when I was doing BUS1004. I also forced myself to use another of Adler’s techniques of putting my two fingers and thumb together to act as a pointer when reading. It was difficult trying to make my eyes keep up with my fingers. (2 hours and 40 mins)
Wednesday, 30 October 02 Also began a rough draft of my introduction to BUS1002. I drafted my opinion of the two recommended books. Why I’m reading them and my opinion of the two authors. I also wrote a very rough draft of Silbiger’s background. [Note to myself: email Silbiger; maybe he’ll oblige by giving me his background in more detail. My initial internet search revealed little. I wrote my initial thoughts on his ‘Ten Day MBA’ purely on the basis of my reading of it for BUS1004. Then later at night I began to skim read ‘Ten Day MBA’. (3 hours 30 mins)
Tuesday, 29 October 02 I also wrote an initial action plan for the book review, e.g. an introduction to ‘How to Read a Book’ and “A Writer’s Manual’ and my opinion of them. I thought it might be useful to include this in my assignment. (3 hours)
Monday, 28 October 02 I re-read and made concise notes on BUS1002 assignment so that I am clear in my mind as to what is required and expected in the book review. (30 mins)
Sunday, 27 October 02 Although Adler’s book is practical in approach I do find it a little verbose. It’s fine to read if you are reading for pleasure and personal development but if there is an assignment pending I would want to get to the point. At times the language is simple and at others it is not. It’s not always easy to read. (3 hours 50 mins)
Saturday, 26 October 02
Friday, 25 October 02 Started reading “How to Read a Book by Adler and Van Doren. Managed to read and complete up to section 2 of ‘Inspectional Reading 1: Systematic skimming or Pre-reading’. Tomorrow I intent to move on to section 3. (2 hours 10 mins)
Wednesday, 23 October 02 Also decided on book to review for BUS1002. I have Chosen “The Ten Day MBA” from Rushmore’s list of foundation courses. Total time spent = 122 hours 28 minutes
Journal for BUS1201 Business Research I
Monday, 10 February 2003
Sunday, 9 February 2003
Saturday, 8 February 2003
Tueday, 4 February 2003 I spent time formatting my paper in the Rushmore way just to put as much work in as possible. I put in the abbreviations at the end and made a start on the bibliography. I am leaving the footnotes till last so that I can work on them after I receive Prof Smith’s feedback. I also noticed while reading my paper that I needed more subheadings just to break things up a bit and to make them easier to read. Now all I have left is to put in the bibliography and the footnotes which shouldn’t take long. (~5½ hours)
Monday, 3 February 2003
Sunday, 2 February 2003 I emailed my draft to Prof Smith for his feedback. (~4 hours)
Saturday, 1 February 2003
Friday, 31 January 2003
Tuesday – Thursday, 28 – 30 January 2003 I couldn’t really work after that and did not for several days.
Sunday - Monday, 26 - 27 January 2003 It can be very frustrating dealing with the local population simply because everything rest on ‘tomorrow’. And ‘tomorrow’ never comes. (~2 hours)
Friday - Saturday, 24-25 January 2003
Wednesday, 22 January 2003 I made notes as we spoke, after which I quickly sorted through them in case my notes became illegible to me or made less sense later. (~1 hour)
Tuesday, 21 January 2003 I did further research on the internet and struck gold this time simply because I changed the wording of my search in google.com. I managed to download 3 major studies of the labour trends not only in the UAE but the gulf generally. And more importantly, they answered so many more of my questions than any of my other previous finds did. I also came across other reports by local authorities in the UAE but alas they were in Arabic only. It would seem that data is not readily available to the general public, counterproductive really if they want to promote Emiratisation.. My Tuesday column did not appear. Upon enquiry the Editor apologised and said there was no room. He said he did his best to allot space and could not. The whole of that page was covered in local dancing girls, probably for the Dubai Shopping Festival..Outrageous! Tomorrow I want to double check one of the sources. The source is correct but I just want to check if there is an updated version of it, from the statistics point of view, that is. (~4 hours)
Monday, 20 January 2003
Saturday, 18 January 2003 This afternoon I put together a draft outline of the areas I intend to cover in my paper. I intend to send my email on Monday. (1 hour)
Thursday, 16 January 2003
Wednesday, 15 January 2003
Sunday, 12 - 13 January 2003 I received an email from Anna acknowledging receipt of my attachments in respect of this assignment.. She says that I need to send the ‘corrected’ version of my profile before she can approach an advisor. I don’t know what she means. The profile I sent was the one I submitted to Hella in the beginning. I emailed Anna back asking for clarification. Perhaps she means to remove all the highlighting and the coloured fonts from the editor. I hope she can come back to me soon because I do need an advisor at this stage, which I think is the actual writing stage. There doesn’t seem to be a published decree although an Emiratisation law has been passed. Nobody seems to know anything. I also spend time on my website. (½ hour) Today I published the names of the journal and newspaper articles I have written. I also wrote an introduction to Rushmore and the reasons for the website. I then finished my session by correcting a couple of errors on the ‘journal’ page that a friend noticed when he logged on to my website. (3 hours)
Saturday, 11 January 2003 The Human Resources Development Committee was a blank (they have nothing in print) as was the DCCI library. The government departments and offices run by nationals in the UAE are a strange breed and quite honestly the bane of expatriates’ lives. They never answer their phones and don’t or refuse to speak in English, which does beg a question in my mind over and over again. Why do they not hire English speaking staff? The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is notorious in this respect. They just kept hanging up on me or kept putting me through to an extension that was unattended. I tried for almost 3 hours without any luck. I was most vexed and was reminded of the frustration and anger one feels when trying to deal with nationals. It’s like banging ones head against a brick wall. In a way I’m glad I chose to cover Emiratisation as my research subject because (a) it has reminded me how unstable all expats’ jobs are in Dubai despite the fact that these Emiratis are uncertain about their strategy but Emiratise they will and (b) it reminded me to keep my dealings with government personnel to a minimum. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to work on the remaining files I had downloaded last week. I’ll be glad when this thesis is over because since I began it I have not been a nice person to be around. Locals and anything to do with them seems to bring out the worst in me. (3 hours)
Thursday, 9 January 2003 I did do some reading in the departure lounge and on the plane (The Millionaire Mind). When I returned home I continued to read and make notes from my downloads. I also think I should try and get hold of a copy of the Emiratisation Decree (there must be one), the Dubai Yearbook 2002 (apparently there is an article in it on Emiratisation) and the HRD Committee. All this on Saturday, since Friday is a weekend. (~3 hours)
Wednesday, 8 January 2003 I continued to plough through my Emiratisation downloads and must confess that I have learned quite a bit from my reading so far. For instance, I hadn’t realised that some of the changes the authorities had made to their visa/labour laws were to help facilitate Emiratisation! I emailed Anna my list of Completed and Planned Courses with a copy of my profile, resume and BUS1004. I would have like to have sent her BUS1002 but at present I still haven’t heard back from the editor since I sent him my assignment for final editing on 19 December 2002. I did inform Anna and she suggested sending a reminder to the editor. I was also relieved to hear that Dr Cox just wanted to make sure I understood what I was supposed to be doing. (3 hours)
Tuesday, 7 January 2003 Later in the evening I did try to read further from the files I had downloaded during the week and I continued to make notes. I have still not heard from Dr Cox and am worried about what it might be about. I hope I haven’t upset anyone in the faculty. (6 hour)
Monday, 6 January 2003 I spoke to an acquaintance I met about 8 months ago about a possible position in a consultancy firm called Texas Management Consultants. He now no longer works with them and has joined a training/ HR consultancy, Maha Dubai, as a consultant. They predominantly place nationals. I spoke to him and he was able to fill me in on the problems of placing nationals in the private sector and why some banks are doing better than others. I think I have a cold coming on. Do not feel well. (1 hour)
Sunday, 5 January 2003 Tomorrow I’ll make that call these calls. I also feel quite annoyed with myself. I accidentally deleted my column for Tuesday! I searched in every diskette I have and drew a blank. It was a good column too. Blast!
Saturday, 4 January 2003 Spent more time on my introduction to Dubai and Emiratisation. The more information I read the more I am convinced that to an outsider all their strategies are going to seem very ‘prejudiced’ and anti-expats, and I don’t believe this is the case. I made further notes from the documents I downloaded on Thursday. I spoke to Tanmia. The woman in the research department said there are papers available but at cost. She’ll email me the list for me to peruse for suitability and purchase. Each is likely to cost me AED15 (~US$4). I’ll check my emails first thing. (4 hours)
Friday, 3 January 2003 I have also been attempting to get hold of personnel to interview and have come to the conclusion that it may not be possible to have people as my primary source of information. Moreover, I have received no response to the email I sent Tanmia asking for more information on Emiratisation. Incidentally, ‘Wealth of Nations’ by Smith is available at my friend’s university library, and another book by Robbins called Organisational Behaviour. Not the one on the course but worth having as reference. (3 hours)
Thursday, 2 January 2003
Wednesday, New Years Day, 2003 I went through more of the Tanmia and Emiratisation files I had downloaded but I could not do as much as I had hoped I would. I’m feeling a little apprehensive about this assignment, mostly because of the subject area and the possible lack of information available. What if this is the case or people, namely Tanmia, are not so forthcoming? That would mean starting from scratch. I can usually get people to help me. I have to hone my PR ‘skills’. Maybe if I went straight to Tanmia myself and explained my position they’ll be more than willing to help me. I must chase people up on Saturday. I did spend some time backing up the Rushmore folder I have set up for the course. It contains all my pending and completed assignments, my journals, relevant downloads and any correspondences I have had. I feel safer now. Tomorrow I must begin at least a rough introduction. (~3 hours)
Tuesday, New Years Eve, 2002 I worked on the Balcony this evening. Unfortunately there was nowhere in the apartment I could study. The balcony was quieter and I put the light on. I managed to read and made notes on ‘Craft of Research’ and learned a lot more about what I’m supposed to do. Main learning? Bombard the topic with one question after another and start writing straight away; Don’t leave the writing to the end. Maybe I’ll begin with an introduction tomorrow. Also the more you understand a topic the better you’ll be able to write about it. I also worked on typing this journal. Tomorrow I shall go through my downloaded Tanmia files to make notes and ‘paraphrase’ without plagiarising and I need to start on ‘The Millionaire Mind’. Also we having a birthday party for my sister (yes, New Years Day). At midnight tonight a canon was fired by the authorities to mark the beginning of the New Year. Happy New Year! (~4 hours)
Monday, 30 December, 2002 I immediately went on to the website and found the page he was referring to. Unfortunately, they were just synopsis of the actual research material but downloaded them anyway. I then sent them an email asking for further information. I also spoke to an acquaintance/friend at a management consultancy who says that in the New Year he’ll try and put me in touch with people so that they are some of my primary sources. There was also someone he knew who had done his PhD in this area who he thinks would be a useful contact for information but was uncertain whether this person was still in the country. I am to contact him again in the New Year when most people will be available. I emailed Anna about the development of my topic and chose two further advisors since of the 3 I had chosen earlier, namely Professors Cox, Gellerman and Guinn, only Prof Gellerman is available. I also wrote to Anna explaining my choice of topic and how I have tried to formulate a topic-question-problem as is suggested in ‘Craft of Research’. I also asked Anna to tell me how I am supposed to use ‘The Millionaire Mind’. Apparently I’m to spend at least 60 days on it and in conjunction with BUS1201. In the evening I started reading ‘Craft of Research’ more carefully and began making notes. I didn’t get very far because by the time I started it it was already getting late. I did learn more about plagiarism and realised that sometimes plagiarising is more than just verbatim copying. Even paraphrasing can be plagiarising. Learned? Understand what you have read and then look away from the text as you write. I went to the bookshop and purchased ‘The Millionaire Mind’ for my Core Practical Unit, Stanley on Business Success. I shall make a start on it soon. (2½ hour)
Sunday, 29 December, 2002 I also photocopied some material I had seen in a journal at the office. My friend has not come back to me yet. (1½ hours)
Saturday, 28 December, 2002 I spoke to a British friend who works for a National company called the Al Habtoor Group. He says that he did do some work in this area and says he’ll try and dig up some of his work for me to look at.
Friday, 27 December 2002 I am also thinking of following BUS1103 Carnegi on Leadership & Human Resources and/or 1110 Stanley on Business Success. However, before I decide I need to get hold of either How to win friends and Influence People’ and/or ‘The Millionaire Mind’. I must log on to Rushmore’s psources web page to enquire about the download. (~2 hours)
Boxing Day, 2002 After breakfast I went on to the internet to see what info there was. I typed in “Localisation”, Emiratisation” and UAE and got around 12 articles. I went through the first of 12 I downloaded and made notes. Tomorrow I’ll form some questions for the areas I should cover in my theses. Tomorrow I’ll go to the bookshop to see if there is anything available. I’ll also speak to some people in Government first thing Saturday, maybe they can point me in the right direction. I am also required to choose a course from the CPC. Which one? I’ve short listed some. (~3 hours)
Christmas Day, 2002 I decided to make a pre-emptive strike. In anticipation of Rushmore’s approval I decided to make preparations for my first choice. I went to the residential complex library and found a couple of books, one of which was a recent publication. I also managed to speak to the Dubai Department of Economic Development. The man was so helpful and offered me a year book with statistics of the various industry sectors and their respective impacts on the UAE economy. I shall pop in next week since the Department is right behind the building I work in. I read more ‘Craft of Research’ and gave further thoughts to the topic of my choice and exactly what I’m trying to research and where else the info may be available. I spent time re-writing the title and thinking about the questions I need to answer. I also asked myself who my target audience might be, apart from my advisors. I realised that it would be the economist of Dubai and business people. (4 hours)
Christmas Eve, 2002
Saturday, 21 December 2002 I also wrote an email for a friend of mine who teaches at a local university. He says that if I give him a list of the books I need he can look in his college library. The chances are they won’t be but it’s worth a try. It was a very hectic day on family related matters and thus was unable to read “Craft of Research”
Friday, 20 December 2002
Thursday, 19 December 2002 However, I decided to check my emails before going to bed. Great news. I received a response from Prof Guinn advising that I follow my intention of going on to BUS1201, the literature review. I now need to email Anna my choice of topics for her review and to send me formal permission to begin. Hopefully, she’ll come back to me before Christmas Eve so that I can work on it during the 4 day break.
Thursday-Wednesday, 12 – 18 December 2002 Thinking perhaps that Anna’s computer might have crashed the way Hella’s did before she went on leave I emailed my BUS1201 request to Prof Guinn. (~1 hours)
Wednesday, 11 December 2002
Monday, 9 December 2002 Received a response from Anna for my email. Things are a little clearer I still need clear guideline for the next assignment. I have not had a clear response yet and that’s making me even more nervous. I’m also unclear about the next course. The changes have thrown things off for me. I had chosen 7 courses in addition to the foundation. I had also planned on either book reviews or research papers. Now there are other approaches which means I have to totally rethink my plans and because the credits for each course is now 2 rather than 3 I have to make up the credits by choosing more courses and consider other approaches. It was much easier following the foundation courses and have bought all the books for the foundation. (2 hours)
Sunday, 8 December 2002 Have begun to think about possible topics to research. Some just seem like they’ve been done over and over again. I had thought about subjects like ‘Why employees behave the way they do’, or Demings 14 TQM points and then it occurred to me that perhaps an area relevant to the UAE and Dubai particularly; some economic aspect. For instance, what measures is UAE putting in place for when the oil reserves run out. I also emailed Anna to ask for further clarification on the new Rushmore template and credits for website, BUS1005, 1002, 1003 and 1001. The credits have changed. (2 hours)
Saturday, 7 December 2002
Journal for BUS2045 Drucker on Entrepreneurship p align = center>Birjees Sarwat Hussain
Saturday 22 March 2003 The paper is not ready for grading. I am rather worried about the grade I might receive for this particular unit. Let’s hope it’s okay. I am now going to send it to Prof Zhao. (~2 hours)
Wednesday-Thursday 19-20 March 2003 I re-read the entire paper and must concede that trying to incorporate business terms has been as difficult as doing the paper. I put in the footnotes after shortening sentences and putting in more business terms. I also added an abbreviations page and the bibliography. Compared to the last papers that I completed the bibliography list in this case is remarkably short. In fact the footnotes are up to number 14! The paper is currently at ~5,521 words but this may change when I have to incorporate the editor’s comments. The paper is now ready for editing. I emailed it today. (~8 hours)
Friday 14 March 2003
Monday-Thursday 10-13 March 2003
I re-read the book and this time I tried to see what my cylinder’s case needed and tried to find the principles in the book that were applicable to it.
Prof Zhao said I was supposed to present the case as a ‘live case study’ and which I tried to do.
I did some more research on the internet for material relating to a CTO, his role (I must admit that until Prof Zhao mentioned it I had no idea what it was and I actually did a word search on the Internet typing in ‘CTO role R&D’, which helped) and the typical structure of an R & D establishment as organised by this CTO. I also found a useful picture of a typical gas cylinder on the net that I intend to replace with the picture I drew in Appendix B.
I began to make the relevant changes to my paper and I am finding that the word count is decreasing as I delete/modify the existing and not so good material. I would also like to say that I am concerned about my paper and the grade I may receive…very worried to the extent that I am up until 3.00am almost every morning.
On Thursday afternoon, around 1.10pm, I emailed Draft2 of my paper. I hope I’m okay this time because I need not to exceed the one-on-one consulting time allotted to me and at the moment I don’t know.
(~17½ hours)
Friday 7 March 2003
I put in the conclusion and revised some parts of the paper. I am currently at around 6,200 words, excluding the footnotes, quotes and Appendices A and B.
I did a final read of the paper, making emendments as I went and then decided it was ready to email to Prof Zhao for his initial comments. If it is okay (I wonder…I hope it is) I will put it in the Rushmore format and then send it to the editor.
I emailed Prof Zhao at around 10.45pm.
(~4 hours)
Thursday 6 March 2003
I am currently at 6,500 words including footnotes and quotes. I also moved bits and pieces around the page. I am concerned about whether my paper is on the right track. I haven’t the slightest idea how to write an entrepreneurial policy statement and what I have put together is largely based on the information provided by Drucker chapter. I worked until 3.00am. Very tired!
(~3 hours)
Wednesday 5 March 2003
Tuesday 4 March 2003
Monday 3 March 2003
Later I moved on to Entrepreneurial Management which I really need to get my head around. I made notes and read chapter 13, all the time considering which sections apply to my cylinder. I am really concerned about the contents of my paper. I wonder if I’ve got it right.
I worked until 2.00am.
(~5 hours)
Sunday 2 March 2003
Saturday 1 March 2003
Late at night, around midnight, I decided to resume working on my paper. I hope I have the right approach this time. I did some more work on the S-Curve and began on my interpretation of it as it would apply to my cylinder.
All the time I am writing I try to remember Prof Zhao’s advice about making sure I’m not thinning out to much in order to keep the bulk of my paper in perspective. Good advice.
(~1¾ hours)
Friday 28 February 2003
I then tried another approach. This time I plotted a graph using Microsoft Excel. It worked. I even managed to curve out the angles into an ‘S’ shape. It certainly looked better and more professional than my first attempt.
(4 hours)
Thursday 27 February 2003
Since I wanted to discuss the S-Curve I thought it might be an idea to put it in the paper and I tried doing so using the drawing tool. It does not look wonderful. Maybe another approach?
(~1½ hours)
Wednesday 26 February 2003
Tuesday 25 February 2003
Monday 24 February 2003
I also went down to the complex library again and found a book called the ‘Entrepreneur’s Manual’ It didn’t really help but it was useful background reading just the same.
(~1 hour)
Saturday 22 February 2003
Thursday 20 February 2003
I typed up my modified approach and emailed it at about 2.00am Friday 21 February 2003. I couldn’t sleep after that because I was so tired.
(~6 hours)
Wednesday 19 February 2003
Prof Zhao responded and as I suspected my approach was okay but the strategy was all wrong. I need to demonstrate that I have MASTERED the book and I have to admit that I hadn’t read it as well as I should have.
I spend time re-reading the book thoroughly. I racked my brain all day and I now think I know what Prof Zhao is looking for. I stayed up until 2.00 am until I hit upon an idea. I also read ‘The Art of Innovation’ by Tom Kelley which helped a lot.
(~5 hours)
Sunday 16 February 2003
Saturday, 15 February 2003
I emailed my outline to Prof Zhao for his feedback. I will then start on my main points after I receive his feedback. I’ll check this evening for any responses. Mind you it’s the weekend in the States now so I may not here until Monday.
Started on my column and spent the time working on that. I managed to come up with something that I can email tomorrow morning.
Friday, 14 February 2003
I also made a rough start on my thesis. I thought I could start with an introduction to why motivation of employees is so important and with an incident that occurred with my assistant when I was at CLA and when I was at Talal Abu Ghazaleh.
Late in the evening I checked my email and was delighted to receive an email from Prof Zhao. Tomorrow morning I shall email my outline to him for his comments.
I’m a bit stuck for an idea for my column. What shall I write about?
(~4 hours)
Wednesday 12 February 2003
I worked on my outline of the areas I intent to cover to email to Prof Zhao if he agrees. It is now ready for emailing in the event that he is able to be my advisor.
I need to look up the following on the internet: Cutomer value, customer relations and staff motivation. I thought I might start my paper with a very brief theoretical discussion of the above areas and as to why I have chosen them as my objects for my paper. I would then move on to the actual simulated work.
Late in the evening I went on to the Rushmore library and found some articles on staff motivation, customer values/relations.
No word from Prof Zhao about being my advisor. Tomorrow I’ll start on menus, agendas, etc.
(2 hours 50 minutes)
Tuesday 11 February 2003
Sunday 9 February 2003
Friday 7 February 2003
Thursday 6 February 2003
I’ve always found staff motivation and respect lacking in organisations, certainly for some employees.
(~3 hours)
Wednesday 5 February 2003
Tomorrow I’ll begin on chapter 8. As yet no word from Hella/Anna about my email of Monday. Hopefully I’ll hear tomorrow.
(3 hours)
Tuesday 4 February 2003
Peter Drucker discusses the real meaning of management and how it doesn’t just apply to large corporations. It applies to small organisations and to public sector institutions like hospitals. The area that I find interesting is how the process of management can be innovative.
(50 mins)
Monday 3 February 2003
I also emailed Anna/Hella for permission to begin and to request an advisor.
(½ hour)
Journal for BUS1110 Stanley on Success
Birjees Sarwat Hussain
Sunday- Monday 6-14 April 2003 (Day 38-46)
The second hand tables cost us Dh30 (~$8) each (~$16). We’d actually bought them from the apartment complex. They were having a warehouse sale.
Taking the cost of buying brand new tables and the cost of refinishing, the saving were Dh1,255. A new table would cost around ~Dh1,450
Thursday 3 April 2003 (Day 37)
However, not all was lost. He said he could speak to friends in the furniture sale business and see if he could persuade them to sort the coffee tables the way he had done for the office chairs. He said he’d come back to us next week.
Monday 1 April 2003 (Day 36)
I found very little in the yellow page. Perhaps people don’t restore anything in the UAE.
Sunday 30 March 2003 (Day 35)
I know what they need. Sanding, varnishing polishing. Sound so simple. I started looking through the yellow pages and while I was looking it suddenly occurred to me that perhaps furniture restoration is not the done thing here.
Then I was reminded of something. About 18 months ago, an office I temporarily worked for had some office chairs reupholstered so that they would match the newly bought ones.
Saturday 29 March 2003 (Day 34)
We called the apartment complex housekeeping for their advice about where to go. They said they’d try and find out and come back to us.
Tuesday 25 Mar 2003 (Day 33)
Monday 24 March 2003 (Day 32)
Sunday 23 March 2003 (Day 31)
Saturday 22 March 2003 (Day 30)
Now the families is saying that they’d rather I didn’t keep records but I replied (as Magnus Magnusson would say in his quiz show ‘Master Mind’) “I’ve started so I’ll finish”. I think they find it shocking that at least Dh1,500 ($408) is unaccounted for. Discussions have now begun in an attempt to recall what was spent where. Currently the ‘culprits’ are the numerous Neutrogena face products my sisters are buying.
Also another shopping trip to Spinneys and a telephone order to Lal’s to save time.
Friday 21 March 2003 (Day 29)
I also decided that one shopping list was proving to be a tad complicated. I decide therefore to devise 4 identical shopping lists but one for each supermarket / pharmacy.
Tomorrow I must ring my friend about that table. Since I haven’t heard from him I think I can assume that my idea, although a good one, went down the tube.
Saturday-Thursday 15-20 Mar 2003 (Day 23-28)
I have also re-organised the filing system for the receipts. A separate compartment for each shop/supermarket and in the order they come in. It has certainly made it easier to find.
Friday 14 Mar 2003 (Day 22)
Thursday 13 Mar 2003 (Day 21)
Monday-Wednesday 10-12 Mar 2003 (Days 18-20)
Sunday 9 March 2003 (Day 17)
I went to the supermarket today. The floor plan went up the creek because the supermarket had moved what I was looking for from one freezer section to another. It took me ages to find the spring rolls. I eventually found them. I knew where the ice cream was and was able to find it but the search for the spring rolls added about 5 minutes to my shopping time. I was quite annoyed because we needed them in a hurry and I wanted to get back to my skim reading for BUS2003 Crosby on Quality.
Saturday 8 March 2003 (Day 16)
Aware that I was doing 1110 as part of my MBA, one of my sisters asked whether I’d like to keep an account of our household expenses. I agreed and decided that I’d create an excel table for it and run up a monthly total. It’s calculated using MS Excel which automatically does a tally. Even if it isn’t very millionairish it would at least help us to keep tabs on what we spend and where.
From today every shopping receipt is to come my way. I have decided to file them in my little MBA journal that has a pocket on the inside cover.
Wednesday 5 March 2003 (Day 15)
Monday 3 March 2003 (Day 14)
Monday 24 February 2003 (Day 13)
Saturday 22 February 2003 (Day 12)
Friday 21 February 2003 (Day 11)
Thursday 20 February 2003 (Day 10)
Wednesday 19 February 2003 (Day 9)
Monday 17 February 2003 (Day 8)
Dh50 per chair = Dh400 (~$109)
My sister went shopping armed with my floor plan with all its labels and markings. It’s become a bit of a laughing point in our house but everyone’s cooperating because it is for my course.
I have also suggested that all my sisters, only one of whom has agreed, switch to the Al Wasl mobile phone service. I’ve had it for 2 years and have barely spent anything on phone calls and only pay as I go, rather than paying Dh90 per quarter in addition to the call charges (Dh0.90 fils/minutes) ($0.24). That’s Dh360 plus however long the call is. I paid Dh200 for the initial connection and only Dh100 per year for subsequent renewals. Call charges are limited to the value of the pre-paid card. Moreover, it can be used on any phone, not just mobiles. Since getting my mobile I make very few calls on it, unless it’s an emergency.
Saturday 15 February 2003 (Day 7)
Since my father’s been travelling to Pakistan quite a lot lately we’ve been making a lot of long distant telephone calls. Since we can’t change our telephone provider (there is no other out in the UAE, other than Etisalat) I suggested using prepaid telephone cards for all long distant telephone calls. I have also suggested that my sister’s use prepaid phone cards when using their mobiles. Each call would be limited to Dh30 maximum (~$8.17) and last around 5 minutes.
Friday 14 February 2003 (Day 6)
Thursday 13 February 2003 (Day 5)
Wednesday 12 February 2003 (Day 4)
Tuesday 11 February 2003 (Day 3)
Monday 10 February 2003 (Day 2)
Saturday 8 February 2003 (Day 1)
Sunday 19 January 2003
Saturday 18 January 2003
Thursday 9 January 2003
Tuesday - Wednesday 30 December - 8 January 2003
Journal for BUS2003 Crosby on
Quality Management
Birjees Sarwat Hussain
Sunday 20 May 2003
I then spent time updating this journal. I now have to start thinking about putting the paper on the website for 1111.
(~2 hours)
Saturday 19 April 2003
Later in the afternoon I worked on my column. It’s about the funny side of life and Tommy Cooper and his jokes.
Between 10.00 and 11.30pm I completed the painting I had started about 10 days ago. It too is ready for posting. I don’t really care if it doesn’t get chosen for the member’s gallery on this occasion. I’m just glad I started painting again after almost 3 years! Linda will be so pleased. She’s sent me so many inspirational videos for free to get me started but nothing seemed to work.
At around 1.00am I decided to email my column for the paper. I also noticed with amazement that Prof Smith had responded. My paper is now ready for editing/grading.
(~3 hours)
Friday 18 April 2003
I also had a lot to say about the recognition step, in some cases disagreeing with Crosby’s suggestion of non-monetary incentives. I don’t believe that a simple pat-on-the-back would encourage employees to participate. I have now come to the Make Certain Programme and have decided to go back to the Quality Step and incorporate it in that.
(~8 hours)
Thursday 17 April 2003
When I arrived at step 11 I felt I needed some additional ideas. So I also went onto the internet to download some material on Error-Cause Removal (ECR). I found one that was quite useful, since it gave me an idea of how other firms have faired with the ECR approach.
(~7 hours)
Monday – Wednesday 14 – 16 April 2003
I did a fair amount of reading into SPC and the various charts used to depict the results. The Business Excellence Model is useful in measuring quality and I discussed the role of the assessment process.
(~18 hours)
Sunday 13 April 2003
I also spent time putting the contents of this journal in electronic form.
(~5 hours)
Saturday 12 April 2003
I also needed to work on my column for this week. I hadn’t a clue what I was going to say until I sat down in from of my computer. After about 2 hours of writing I managed to come up with an 800 word column that ended up making me laugh at the sort of angles I could take with ideas. I thought it was quite amusing although the story was quite serious.
Later in the evening after dinner I got my paints outs and went to work on my painting. At least that’s looking like I want it to, even though it may not get in to the members’ gallery.
(~4 hours)
Friday 11 April 2003
I spent the morning and the late evening trying to devise a background for my simulated company. Since I enjoy painting, I decided on a paint manufacturer. I did some background reading on how paint is made because I think a little knowledge in that area will help in my understanding of the problems that might occur. I thought about the possible turnover, production level and possible quality problems that might occur. I also found some information as to the sorts of departments that might be involved.
I also need to make a start on my column. What on earth am I going to write about this week?
(~4 hours)
Thursday 10 April 2003
Wednesday 9 April 2003
I spent time reading and making notes from the articles I had downloaded from the internet last night.
I shuffled contents about on the pages I had already written. I gave only brief coverage to the Business Excellence Model (BEM) and Six Sigma and changed its location on the paper. I also deleted the excess information in the first part but find I am still in the 2,000 word area.
I found quite a nice picture of the BEM model which I intend to use as an illustration in my paper. I now intend to begin the second and bulk of the paper; the practical application of the theory. Here goes!
I also have to start thinking about my column and I didn’t get the chance to do any painting. I have a deadline of around 23 April 2003.
(~3 hours)
Tuesday 8 April 2003
I revised the pages I had completed and moved contents around. I know this might seem a little premature and usually left until after the paper is completed.
I studied Deming’s 14 points and made further comparisons with Crosby’s 14 step programme. They’re similar in so many respects.
I re-read the book on BEM and the information I managed to find on the internet about Six Sigma. Both have their origins in Total Quality Management (TQM). I just want to touch upon it briefly with a couple of brief paragraphs for each. I am also keeping in mind the proportion of the paper I should allocate to the two parts. 35% to 65%.
(5 hours)
Monday 7 April 2003
Today I woke up early to tackle the part I have been dreading. I tackled the erroneous assumptions and put more in about Deming’s philosophy. I now intend to discuss his 14 points and put a comparison in with Crosby’s 14 step programme. I found many similarities but also a couple of areas where they disagree. I worked from 9.30 am – 12.30pm, from ~2.30pm – 4.30pm and then ~7.30pm – 9.00pm.
I resumed my painting, the composition of which I am satisfied with.
(6 hours)
Sunday 6 April 2003
Saturday 5 April 2003
I also spent 2 hours after lunch on my column. I then gave my myself a 2 hour break and another 2 hours on my entry to the ‘Shade of Green’ theme for my art society.
Later in the evening I resumed studying the BEM.
(3½ hours)
Friday 4 April 2003
Thursday 3 April 2003
This time I decided to begin my draft on an actual Rushmore template because I remember the last time I struggled with the formatting when I cut and pasted the document from an ordinary word document on to the template. All my graphs and tables went funny. I need to make a start on my electronic journal.
(3 hours)
Wednesday 2 April 2003
Tuesday 1 April 2003
Couldn’t study at all today. I am really tired. It’s all these 2.00am stay ups and rising early.
I tried to draw for the competition instead. Resumed studying around midnight 2.00am making notes on Crosby.
(2 hours)
Monday 31 March 2003
Saturday-Sunday 29-30 March 2003
Friday 28 March 2003
Thursday 27 March 2003
Wednesday 26 March 2003
I understand more of the book on my second read. UAEWC is now more enlightening, (no pun intended). I found some information on the Balanced Score Card (BSC) which I would like to cover in my paper along with the BEM.
I continued skim reading Quality is Free. I paid special attention to the Quality Policy and intend to go back to it to read more thoroughly. I hadn’t realised that a Quality Manager was held in such high regard. Most people in the UAE think it’s a second rate job and demeaning for a university graduate. This is total opposite to what Crosby suggests, I’m pleased to say.
Prof Smith responded to my email this evening (so quick) with his comments on my rough outline. He said it was solid but the six Sigma was not. I would like to cover BEM and Six Sigma in my paper.
(~3 hours)
Tuesday 25 March 2003
Monday 24 March 2003
I now intend to go back and the read the book more thoroughly thinking of a plan for the paper.
(~1½ hours)
Sunday 23 March 2003
I skim read Quality is Free.
(20 minutes)
Tuesday 18 March 2003
I emailed Prof McManus about a possible approach to this unit and put the idea of beginning this unit without officially completing 2045. I have decided that once I’ve actually completed skim reading Quality is Free, to go back and read it more carefully and to make detailed notes of the 3 points covered in Crosby’s book. Namely Quality Management Maturity Grid, Quality Improvement Programme and the Make Certain Programme. It is a readable book and because of this the information is sinking in.
(~45 minutes)
Monday 17 March 2003
I completed skim reading part one of the book.
Part two of Quality is to minimise errors and hence defects. There should not be an acceptable level of errors and management seems to foresee it and accept it as something that is inherent in work involving humans.
I would like to b able to set up and run a quality management system ad wonder whether this is the HPA Quality Improvement Programme.
(1¼ hours)
Sunday 16 March 2003
I found Case History 3 on page 95 of the book very interesting. Proper people management is so important that in the midst of managing actual day to day operations of a company they are all too often forgotten.
(2 hours)
Saturday 15 March 2003
Friday 14 March 2003
Sunday 9 March 2003
Journal for BUS2039 Smith on Economics
Birjees Sarwat Hussain
Thursday 29 May 2003
Tuesday 27 May 2003
Monday 26 May 2003
I wrote Prof Guinn and letter and emailed my draft to him for comment/feedback.
In the evening I worked on my journal for this paper.
Sunday 25 May 2003
Saturday 24 May 2003
I also emailed my column today. Strangely enough I am being extra careful about what I write. It vexes me because I don’t think this is what writing is about. Perhaps I should just be content with the fact that at least I get my picture in the paper once a week with a byline.
Friday 23 May 2003
I would still like to complete this paper by 26 May 2003 which is a Monday. I am currently on a 1,400 word count. What I would like to do is devote at 1,000 words to the competition part of the paper. I keep remembering Prof Guinn’s advice about paying particular attention to this aspect of economics.
Thursday 22 May 2003
I wrote a lot about division of labour and specialisation. All the time I was writing I kept checking the word count. I fear I may go over the 3,000 word limit. I am already on 850 and I have not even finished division of labour.
Wednesday 21 May 2003
I re-read the causes of division of labour and purchasing power that leads to division of labour. I read the relevant chapters on ‘Wealth of Nations’, Alfred Marshall’s ‘Principles of Economics’ and ‘Almost Everyone’s Guide to Economics’ by Galbraith and Salinger.
Tuesday 20 May 2003
I completed the introduction and the overview of the Wealth of Nations. I’m actually doing by hand but I know I have to start typing it so that I can at least see the word count. I also planned my case study. I thought about a cosmetics firm manufacturing hair care products. It would be a medium-sized firm of about 100 employees and based in St Albans, which is just outside London. All the time I am writing I am concerned about the word count. Am I going to go over it? By how much am I allowed to notwithstanding Rushmore’s email saying 3,000 is the limit. At first I thought even 3,000 would be too much to write considering the difficulty I was having with this paper. Now that I understand the book better I’m wondering whether I’ll be over.
Monday 19 May 2003
I did extensive reading on the neoclassical theory of the firm, technology/automation and input-output theory and the production-possibilities set. I re-did the introduction and rewrote the outline in a different order.
Sunday 18 May 2003
Saturday 17 May 2003
I would like to submit a draft of the paper to Prof Guinn by 26 May, hopefully.
Friday 16 May 2003
I also received an email from my friend in the UK saying that “Plan for Profitability’ had arrived. He would post it to me as soon the last of the 4 books had reached him.
Thursday 15 May 2003
I went on to the internet and found some relevant articles I could download on ‘competition’, ‘motivation’ and ‘improvement’ in the workplace. I read them and began making notes.
My friend emailed to say that the two books had been put in the post today. Judging by the time it took for the ‘Quality is Free’ to turn up, I should say that I should get the books in about 3 weeks time.
Wednesday 14 May 2003
I examined the 3 books and found some useful information on the neoclassical theory of the firm. On reading this and some other books (Galbraith and Salinger) I could see a correlation between this and Smith’s ideas in Wealth of Nations. According to Galbraith the economic system in use in most western countries is neoclassical and derives much of its claims from those of Smith’s work.
I prepared an outline and emailed it to Prof Guinn.
I resumed reading Wealth of Nations again in the light of my outline.
Tuesday 13 May 2003
Prof Guinn responded. He is my advisor. I’m really pleased.
Monday 12 May 2003
I read through all the chapters more thoroughly to extract those points that I could use on a micro level of a case study.
I am very worried about this course. I am uncertain as to whether I’ve grasped the theoretical enough to be able to apply it on a practical level. I am also worried about the word count.
Wednesday 7 May – Sunday 11 May 2003
Tuesday 6 May 2003
I went on to the internet and found Smith’s Chap II and iv. It didn’t help since I already had the book in front of me. I also found that because the book is not mine I couldn’t mark it. I had to resort to post it notes.
Saturday 26 April-Monday 5 May 2003
I also received an email for Rushmore informing students that they had discontinued the book review approach. They have also changed the method of requesting an advisor. I think the method is good and it might actually speed things up a bit. The new method is that students complete the online forms and forward them to the advisor of their choice.
I was quite dismayed about the change in approach to the paper since I had intended to use the book review approach for my economics paper. I wasn’t sure what to do since ‘Wealth of Nations’ is so theoretically orientated. I found the difficulty very distracting because I couldn’t concentrate on my reading. Thankfully I emailed Prof Alan Guinn and he was able to respond very quickly. His comments were very helpful.
Journal for BUS2121 Benton on Leadership
Birjees Sarwat Hussain
Thursday 19 June 2003
Wednesday 18 June 2003
Tuesday 17 June 2003
I then updated this journal.
Monday 16 June 2003
Sunday 15 June 2003
Saturday 14 June 2003
Friday 13 June 2003
I am now about to go on to the traits that are inherent in all leaders.
Thursday 12 June 2003
Wednesday 11 June 2003
Tuesday 10 June 2003
Monday 9 June 2003
Sunday 8 June 2003
Friday 6 June 2003 – Saturday 7 June 2003
Thursday 5 June 2003 – Friday 6 June 2003
Wednesday 4 June 2003
Tuesday 3 June 2003
I started the introduction. I thought that if I began writing something, anything, it would be easier to face the paper.
Monday 2 June 2003
Later I logged on to the Rushmore library and downloaded about twenty Harvard Business Review case studies. Excellent!
Saturday 31 May 2003
Wednesday 28 May 2003
Tuesday 27 May 2003
Monday 26 May 2003
Journal for BUS2039 Smith on Economics
Birjees Sarwat Hussain
Thursday 29 May 2003
Tuesday 27 May 2003
Monday 26 May 2003
I wrote Prof Guinn and letter and emailed my draft to him for comment/feedback.
In the evening I worked on my journal for this paper.
Sunday 25 May 2003
Saturday 24 May 2003
I also emailed my column today. Strangely enough I am being extra careful about what I write. It vexes me because I don’t think this is what writing is about. Perhaps I should just be content with the fact that at least I get my picture in the paper once a week with a byline.
Friday 23 May 2003
I would still like to complete this paper by 26 May 2003 which is a Monday. I am currently on a 1,400 word count. What I would like to do is devote at 1,000 words to the competition part of the paper. I keep remembering Prof Guinn’s advice about paying particular attention to this aspect of economics.
Thursday 22 May 2003
I wrote a lot about division of labour and specialisation. All the time I was writing I kept checking the word count. I fear I may go over the 3,000 word limit. I am already on 850 and I have not even finished division of labour.
Wednesday 21 May 2003
I re-read the causes of division of labour and purchasing power that leads to division of labour. I read the relevant chapters on ‘Wealth of Nations’, Alfred Marshall’s ‘Principles of Economics’ and ‘Almost Everyone’s Guide to Economics’ by Galbraith and Salinger.
Tuesday 20 May 2003
I completed the introduction and the overview of the Wealth of Nations. I’m actually doing by hand but I know I have to start typing it so that I can at least see the word count. I also planned my case study. I thought about a cosmetics firm manufacturing hair care products. It would be a medium-sized firm of about 100 employees and based in St Albans, which is just outside London. All the time I am writing I am concerned about the word count. Am I going to go over it? By how much am I allowed to notwithstanding Rushmore’s email saying 3,000 is the limit. At first I thought even 3,000 would be too much to write considering the difficulty I was having with this paper. Now that I understand the book better I’m wondering whether I’ll be over.
Monday 19 May 2003
I did extensive reading on the neoclassical theory of the firm, technology/automation and input-output theory and the production-possibilities set. I re-did the introduction and rewrote the outline in a different order.
Sunday 18 May 2003
Saturday 17 May 2003
I would like to submit a draft of the paper to Prof Guinn by 26 May, hopefully.
Friday 16 May 2003
I also received an email from my friend in the UK saying that “Plan for Profitability’ had arrived. He would post it to me as soon the last of the 4 books had reached him.
Thursday 15 May 2003
I went on to the internet and found some relevant articles I could download on ‘competition’, ‘motivation’ and ‘improvement’ in the workplace. I read them and began making notes.
My friend emailed to say that the two books had been put in the post today. Judging by the time it took for the ‘Quality is Free’ to turn up, I should say that I should get the books in about 3 weeks time.
Wednesday 14 May 2003
I examined the 3 books and found some useful information on the neoclassical theory of the firm. On reading this and some other books (Galbraith and Salinger) I could see a correlation between this and Smith’s ideas in Wealth of Nations. According to Galbraith the economic system in use in most western countries is neoclassical and derives much of its claims from those of Smith’s work.
I prepared an outline and emailed it to Prof Guinn.
I resumed reading Wealth of Nations again in the light of my outline.
Tuesday 13 May 2003
Prof Guinn responded. He is my advisor. I’m really pleased.
Monday 12 May 2003
I read through all the chapters more thoroughly to extract those points that I could use on a micro level of a case study.
I am very worried about this course. I am uncertain as to whether I’ve grasped the theoretical enough to be able to apply it on a practical level. I am also worried about the word count.
Wednesday 7 May – Sunday 11 May 2003
Tuesday 6 May 2003
I went on to the internet and found Smith’s Chap II and iv. It didn’t help since I already had the book in front of me. I also found that because the book is not mine I couldn’t mark it. I had to resort to post it notes.
Saturday 26 April-Monday 5 May 2003
I also received an email for Rushmore informing students that they had discontinued the book review approach. They have also changed the method of requesting an advisor. I think the method is good and it might actually speed things up a bit. The new method is that students complete the online forms and forward them to the advisor of their choice.
I was quite dismayed about the change in approach to the paper since I had intended to use the book review approach for my economics paper. I wasn’t sure what to do since ‘Wealth of Nations’ is so theoretically orientated. I found the difficulty very distracting because I couldn’t concentrate on my reading. Thankfully I emailed Prof Alan Guinn and he was able to respond very quickly. His comments were very helpful.
Journal for BUS2121 Benton on Leadership
Birjees Sarwat Hussain
Thursday 19 June 2003
Wednesday 18 June 2003
Tuesday 17 June 2003
I then updated this journal.
Monday 16 June 2003
Sunday 15 June 2003
Saturday 14 June 2003
Friday 13 June 2003
I am now about to go on to the traits that are inherent in all leaders.
Thursday 12 June 2003
Wednesday 11 June 2003
Tuesday 10 June 2003
Monday 9 June 2003
Sunday 8 June 2003
Friday 6 June 2003 – Saturday 7 June 2003
Thursday 5 June 2003 – Friday 6 June 2003
Wednesday 4 June 2003
Tuesday 3 June 2003
I started the introduction. I thought that if I began writing something, anything, it would be easier to face the paper.
Monday 2 June 2003
Later I logged on to the Rushmore library and downloaded about twenty Harvard Business Review case studies. Excellent!
Saturday 31 May 2003
Wednesday 28 May 2003
Tuesday 27 May 2003
Monday 26 May 2003
Journal for BUS2131 Blanchard & Johnson on Management
Birjees Sarwat Hussain
Monday 14 July 2003
Sunday 13 July 2003
Saturday 12 July 2003
Friday 11 July 2003
Thursday 10 July 2003
I discussed Covey’s time management matrix and decided to create my own version of it. This matrix seems like a useful tool for selecting the 20% goals on which you should spend 80% of your time. I talked about how goals should be SMARTA as I recall from an internal quality auditors’ course I attended a couple of years ago. I also put in the conclusion, added the appendices of which there are three, A, B and C, the bibliography and the table of contents. I don’t need to worry so much about the footnotes because I now put them in their correct format as I write my paper. Currently I am just over 3,300 words.
I would now like to email this paper to Prof Guinn for his feedback. I wonder, though, whether I have grasped the concepts of his suggestion. I would also like to add that a number of major family crises caused several disruptions to my rhythm of study and when writing this paper. Nevertheless, under the circumstances, I hope I’ve done okay. Tomorrow I shall email my paper to Prof Guinn for his feedback.
Wednesday 9 July 2003
Tuesday 8 July 2003
I studied the goal setting theory and various chapters in ‘Getting Things Done’.
Monday 7 July 2003
There’s a huge chapter on the use of time management matrix. It is so useful. Reading it helped me to learn something about people close to me. I also read ‘Getting Things Done’ by Roger Black and I found some excellent information on setting goals and managing your time. I’ll start on that tomorrow.
Sunday 6 July 2003
Saturday 5 July 2003
Friday 4 July 2003
Thursday 3 July 2003
Although I have seen flow charts I have never created them for an actual situation. I, therefore, spent time studying flow charts and what the various symbols mean.
Wednesday 2 July 2003
I worked on the overview of the book and fine-tuned the introduction.
Tuesday 1 July 2003
I also decided to help myself by getting rid of my writers block. I decided to begin my introduction, executive summary and overview of the book.
Monday 30 June 2003
Saturday 28 June 2003
Today I received a pleasant surprise. During course 2039 Smith on Economics, I completed and entered a painting into my art society’s members’ gallery. It was published in the magazine and it is on their website for about the next 6 weeks. (www.saa.co.uk/galleries) At least that’s something pleasant happening under the circumstances.
Sunday 29 June 2003
Tuesday 24 June – Wednesday 25 June 2003
One minute goal setting
Prof Guinn responded to my query with a different angle to try. I think the suggestion is excellent and quite novel. I have since been racking my brains for some ideas. Family emergencies have deterred me from working or devoting as much or any time to the paper. Therefore, at the moment I have nothing really to work with.
Monday 23 June 2003
I then emailed my query to him.
Saturday 21 June – Sunday 22 June 2003
More comes later. Keeping watching.
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