Extra Blog: November

This month I didn't really do too much. With looking at colleges and Thanksgiving I got a little sidetracked. I was able to work more on my independent component which is an online Intro to Business class on saylor.com. The lessons on it are pretty good and I've learned a lot of more about different terms you usually hear about when talking about business such as GDP and how the monetary policy works. All in all its pretty interesting and I like learning a little more.

Blog 10: EQ

1. I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2.
A. This question does meet the rule of three. This question can have multiple answers and is worded well.
B. The question does meet the rule of three. People can have multiple options as to how to answer this question and the wording is specific but not too much.
C. The question does meet the rule of three. This question is extremely opinion based so multiple answers are possible.
D. This question doesn't meet the rule of three. It seems too specific and doesn't leave much room for different answers.

3. What is the best strategy a manager can use to make their business more successful?

Blog 9: Lesson 1 Reflection

1. I don't think I'd say proud, but I am pleased with how well I presented my information at the beginning of the lesson plan.

2. I would give myself an AP+ on my presentation. I did reach the requirements for a P from the rubric, but I did have a few moments where I didn't know what to say and just stood there.

3. Having a rough draft for the lesson plan was helpful. It helped me organize what I was going to say so I would just wing it.

4. If I could have changed something I would have written some note cards. It would have been better because I wasn't able to completely organize my thoughts in my head and I probably wouldn't have drawn a blank.

Extra Blog: October

Well this month went by pretty fast, but I did get some important things done and started. I finally got a book for research and it's pretty good. The book is called Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity by David Allen, the book is full of different strategies to help you manage a business better. Besides that I did the second interview and learned a little more about my mentor and I enrolled in an online Intro to Business class for my independent component, which is good considering my mentor didn't have any formal business classes.

Blog 8- Research and Working EQ

1. My working EQ is "What is the best thing a manager can do to help their business?"
2. What is the best thing a manager can do to help their business?

• Managers should help bring out the best in their employees.

3. The most important or useful source I've found is the article "What Great Managers Do" from Harvard Business Review(http://hbr.org/2005/03/what-great-managers-do/ar/1). I got the answer for my working EQ from this article. This article talks about how great managers are able to find what their employees are good at and helps them build on that. This will overall help the business greatly and is why I used it as my answer.
4. I'm doing my mentorship at my dad's factory. While there I can shadow him and learn more about what a manager does. From the first hand experience I can learn a lot about what a manager does to help their business.

Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

1. For the individual component I'm planning on just doing more hours with my mentor. For the most part I'll probably help by doing some office work and I'll shadow my mentor as he does his work. If my mentor offers to let me do any other work I'll probably do it.
2. As evidence that I am actually doing the 30 hours I'll take pictures and videos of some of the work I have to do.
3. By working with my mentor I'll be able to observe how a manager deals with employees and possibly clients firsthand. I'll also see what kind of work they do in the office and I'll get to help with it.
4. Check Link

Extra Blog: September

It's been another month and honestly besides doing my first interview I haven't done anything big in my senior project. For the first individual component I think I'm probably going to do some extra mentor ship hours. I don't really know what else I can do for the individual component with management as a topic and I need to get those hours done anyway. I haven't shown much from my mentor so here's a few pictures. 

A business card from where I'm mentoring. I would have gotten a picture of the location but this was all I could find short notice and it's not a pretty place to look at.

Picture of me and my dad/mentor. Surprisingly couldn't find a good, recent picture of the two of us. 

Blog 6 - Second Interview Preperation

1. My mentor is my dad Humberto Tavira. He is the owner and manager of his business TD Knitting.

2. Five questions about his background that I'm going to ask are:
-How were you introduced to business management?
-How long have you been running your business and did you have any prior experience managing others?
-Have you taken any classes regarding business management?
-When you started up your business why did you decide to base it on textiles?
-Did you have trouble when you first started up your business?

Blog 5 - Mentorship Reflection

1. Since I originally didn't know what I wanted my senior topic to be I didn't even know where to start to find a mentor. When I told my parents about it my dad said I could work with him. I mainly did computer work and just followed him around observing what he did but it was overall a good experience. I liked working with him so I decided to make Business Management my senior topic and him my mentor. With my dad being my mentor I knew I would be able to ask things more often and that I would be able to work with him whenever possible.

2. I think that the most important article I have read so far is "Five Strategies Successful Companies Use to Get the Job Done" by Sheryl Nance-Nash. My focusing question is "What do you need to do to run a successful business?" and this article addresses just that with different tips on how some successful businesses stay successful.

Extra Blog: August

My senior topic is on Business Management and since school started I haven't really gotten a good chance to work with my mentor even though he is my dad, but since my mentor is my dad I am able to do my first interview whenever and am planning on doing it tomorrow since it's labor day. While researching my topic I found the website http://www.entrepreneur.com/. I plan on using this website a lot since there are so many different articles on business that I'm sure will be helpful.

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1. I plan to interview my mentor and dad, Humberto Tavira. I am going to interview him because he has been successfully running his own business for the past 13 years and has gained a lot of experience from it.

2. The 5 additional questions I'm planning on asking are: 
Why did you decide to open up your own business?
What do you think are the most important characteristics of a manager?
What has been the most difficult part of running a business?
How did you deal with the recession a few years ago?
When you first started your business how did you get your name out to clients?

Blog 3: Topic Choice & Working EQ

1. My senior project is going to be on business management.

2. My focusing question is " What do you need to do to run a successful business?"

3. Check the link on the right.

Blog 2: Summer Mentorship Component

1.https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-4Wadf2q9u-OD7uScDtXVVgSSolvAkMU8c-Odc8x5lQ/edit?usp=sharing
2. I mentored at HP Textiles Inc with my dad Humberto Tavira. His contact number is (213) 272-1920
3. The summer mentorship honestly didn't raise any new questions. I asked some questions during the mentorship but I don't have any new ones.
4. I think the most important thing I gained from working at my dad's factory was the work experience. Before the mentorship I had never had a job of any sort so I think the experience will help me when I do get a job later.
5. My senior project topic is going to be business management. I chose this because working at my dad's business was a good experience. Besides that my dad may be able to help me get work with some friends of his which would make the project easier.

Blog 1: 2 Hour Presentations

1.  What presentations did you see?
The senior presentations I watched were Debora Martinez - Social Work for Abused, Eustacio Rodriguez - Educational Nonprofit Management, Ashley Dalan - Occupational Therapy, Michelle Ortega - Neonatal Nursing Intensive Care, Ana Landeros - CalPoly Parking Trans. Service, Steven Robles - Firefighting, Kimberly Gallardo - Personality Disorders, Leo Larino - Basketball, Garett Soapes - Surfing, Juan Rizo - Landscaping, Christine Navarro - Biochemistry (Biofuel), Diego Delgado - High School Basketball, Isabel Vasquez - Teaching Middle School Math, Gustavo Rios - Theatre Acting, Lionel Arellano - Computer Technical Service,  and Felicia Stears - Marine Biology

2.   What questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project? This can be about the senior project in general, any components or about a presentation topic you saw or what they said.  
What exactly are the individual components some presenters talked about?
What are the time requirements for the final presentation?
How many activities do you need for the presentation?

3. What has the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presentations?
I think finding the best answer to your Essential Question is the most important part of the senior project. All the presenters took time explaining why a certain answer was their best answer so it seems to be really important. 

4. What topic are you considering doing and why?
As of now I'm not completely sure what topic I want to do, but I have been considering business management or maybe something in the medical field. My dad runs a business so I felt it would be easier to start my research on business management from him. I have also been considering a career in the medical field recently so doing my topic on that would be helpful.  

5. What are you doing for your summer mentor ship?
I may go work at my dad's factory to see exactly what a business manager does or if I get the chance to I may try to work at a local clinic.