A520.1.2.RB_StevensEric

1.  I noticed when I started this exercise that the questions asked in the assessment test were very practical. I noticed that there were some areas of this self assessment test that I felt that I was very comfortable with some of the questions but others I seemed to be unsure how to answer them without doing some self reflection. I was also surprised when faced with the same questions again in the post test. I seemed to stop and think more clearly about my responses and I began to think more deeply into the responses. I found in this exercise that i was lacking in some of the areas in of the assessment and made me think about the areas that I need to improve on. I felt that a majority of the assessment hit close to home on my own leadership shortfalls. In the same thought I felt that it also improved other areas that I feel are my strengths in leadership. I saw at the end that the ability to lead from a role model style of leadership was shown as a result of the assessment. I think that I have had the ability to lead from the front and become a role model of my subordinates. I have always said that I would not ask my subordinates to do something that I was not will to do myself. I was surprised to find out that I should work on my ability to deal with conflict and improve on this aspect of my leadership abilities. I should learn how to face opposition from my superiors and work on ways to convey my stance on issues in a more thorough and thought out form. I will take this information and apply it to my managerial techniques and improve on my weaknesses and strengthen my traits that seem to be prominent.      

MSLD500_Activity9.4_StevensEric

I started the course not knowing really what to expect. I have in my past experiences have taken management style courses that were very structured and not open for interpretation or change. This course challenged me not only as a critical thinker but a problem solver. The were several times in this course where the directions on the assignment were provided and what the end result should be. The way the course was designed it challenged me to find a starting point. Once started the assignment can go in different directions. Now that the course is done I look back and realize that I should have read the text a little more on some of the modules to get a better idea and become more confident. I think maybe in the future time permitting set up and project which focused on a leadership role in a corporation or some other type on entity that would cause the student to make decisions that could potentially have positive or negative impacts  for learning experience. The topics covered in this course were very relevant to my experiences. Great Job!

MSLD500_Activity8.3_StevensEric

After conducting my action research project I feel that I am better prepared in becoming a researcher. I can say that without a doubt after over 2 1/2 years of being out of the pocket from college research this has been a great learning experience for me. I realize my APA is improving BUT I still have a ways to go. I am also slowing my reading down in the APA 6th edition since I know I missed some key points. Sorry about that sir..

 I think it is important that the author of the presentation first and foremost be familiar with the material being covered in a presentation. The presenter needs to not be an expert but needs to be comfortable with the material they are presenting. If the audience were to stop and ask about a particular part of the presentation hopefully not at the beginning and the presenter doesn't have the answer or even worse makes one up the credibility will be lost. The presenter would be tuned out in the audience as a person who has no idea what they are talking about. If the presenter is faced with the dilemma that they do not not the answer they should state "I will get back to you on that".

It is also important that the presenter not be monotone in their presentation since the audiences attention span will quickly fade away. The presenter needs to move around the room and engage the audience as much as possible to keep their interest. Do not put too much information onto one slide if you are using power point. Please do not read word for word off of the slide and use examples to exemplify the slide in a better understanding to the reader.

Last but not least gain feedback from the audience at the end of the presentation through evaluations. The audience can be critical on your presentation but this is how we can learn from our mistakes to make our future presentations interesting.