Reflective Paragraph

J.Feder
12/2/08

Reflective Paragraph

As I look back on my e-portfolio and class time, I realize that I learned a lot about leadership especially during the class on motivation. I also am glad that I had the experience of creating an e-portfolio in the form of a blog. I also understand the value of being able to network and connect with employers, anytime via the e-portfolio’s accessibility. Class was interesting with all of activities and group work. As dumb as “the smart puppy” was, I will never forget that assignment and that class.

Journal Entry 7

J.Feder
11/22/08

Journal Entry 7 for Ag Leadership

I don’t know if this particular topic for this journal entry pertains to our class but here it goes anyway. The election is over, the votes counted. Our nation has decided on our new leader. Congratulations, Barack Obama. During the campaign we heard the candidates promise everything under the sun, if we only voted for them. One major promise from both candidates was a better health care system. It was found out that each proposed health care “fix” would cost so much money that there would be deficits in the long run. What I would like to know is how we can vote or voted for a candidate to become our nation leader if they don’t have all the information to make a knowledgeable decision. How good of a leader are they going to be if they can’t tell that if you propose a 2 million dollar health care plan that we only have a half million dollars for, that we are going to be short? That would mean the money has to come from somewhere else, right? So how do they propose to do that without raising taxes, something else both candidates mentioned that they would not do? The second issue I have concerning this past election year is the issue of mudslinging. As a candidate for our nation’s leader, it really reflects badly on our country if you are constantly bad mouthing the other candidate. Anyway, that is all I have to say and like I said, was not sure if it applies for this class.

Journal Entry 6

J.Feder
11/12/08

Journal Entry 6 for Ag Leadership

For this journal entry, I was supposed to research the web for a crisis that an organization is experiencing. Upon finding such information, I was to use that information to answer the following questions. Who is the leader in alleviating the crisis and what skills/ expertise do they bring? How does the leader involve the followers? How does the leader create a work place favorable to crisis prevention? Last but not least, the influence of integrity and ethical decision making in solving the problem. I found many crises within organizations but my research was unable to specifically answer the questions above. I found that the S.P.C.A., Blood Blank, and Food Bank all have crisis. The common factor in all of these organizations is a lack of money. These non-profit organizations run on donations and during these hard economic times many people cannot afford to donate, bringing the overall cash flow of the organizations down. This in turn causes the organizations to cut many services that are good for the community. The organization(s) prevents this crisis and/or manage it by taking a proactive role- by calling people for donations, mailing out donation request forms, and applying for grant money. Each of the organizations is also experiencing crises that pertain only to them. For example- S.P.C.A’s around the country are filled to the brim with unwanted animals and many of them are put to sleep needlessly. This is due to several reasons. Many of these animals are a result of previous animals not being spayed or neutered. Others are survivors of abuse and abandonment. The S.P.C.A. deals with these crises by educating the public to spay/neuter their pets and also by raising awareness of animal cruelty and the cost of providing for the animals. The blood bank and food bank also fare the crisis of not having enough flood and blood. They try to prevent it and solve it in the same steps as the S.P.C.A. does- education and awareness. In short all organizations have crises but it takes not just a leader, but everyone to prevent/solve them.