Reflection 15

Well it looks like this is pretty much it for the semester. This is the last blog post and i am not quite sure what to say. I did enjoy this class, no matter how many tons of reading or strenuous group projects we had to do. I guess that I wish I had maybe talked more in class, but that is something I always wish for when I am finished with a class. I know I am really quiet in class, but sitting in a room of 20 people, most of whom are more outspoken than me and seem to pull outside information into the class that I didn't even know existed, makes me severely intimidated. I really don't generally speak my mind unless I am having a conversation with a small group of people about something i know a lot about. Otherwise I just worry that i am going to get something horribly wrong and people are going to call me out on it.
But besides that, I did generally enjoy the class, and we did hit some issues I feel very strongly about, which I am sure will be quite obvious in my blog posts. I think more than anything I enjoyed having a class where everyone knows each other and can come talk to you about what you said in class later. It was slightly relieving to walk into the lounge the day before the mid term was due only to find seven people just as stressed out as me sitting in there rapidly typing on their computers. Luckily, that is not something that is going to change next semester, but it is something I think I will miss very much next year.

Reflection 14—

The simulation…would have been better if we had simply had one or two more class periods to hash out all of the different issues. The topic was extremely stimulating and interesting and I just wish that we had been able to see it through to at least some sort of conclusion. However, overall I would deem the experience to be a success given the parameters of the assignment, although it would have been beneficial if some groups had participated in the representation of their entity more thoroughly. This would have been a good stimulus for discussion and also prevented other outside groups from influencing their decisions based on outside interests rather than internal facts about their organization. Despite this minor setback, the different constituencies brought to the conference introduced a variety of interests that were on the whole well represented. This simulation was a great way to employ some of what we have learned this semester, while forcing us to once again represent a group that we might not typically side with. As a representative of McDonalds it was difficult to separate my personal thoughts from the objectives of the McDonalds Corporation. However, as a group I though McDonalds was extremely well represented, even if some views were manipulated to support what we as individuals thought was important. Overall the simulation was engaging and informative and left the class on a good note. Thanks for all the time and work Class, Erin, and PTJ.