Week 10: My Plans For The Future

For my future I want to be a marketing professional. Over the next year I plan on graduating from the Art Institute of Las Vegas. I will be receiving my Bachelor's degree in Fashion Marketing. For the next three quarters I am attending school, I will be trying different internships in order to gain industry experience. I recently just interviewed for an internship in the Product Promotion department at UFC. If I am hired for the internship I will deal with event planning, sales, and also marketing. I will report to managers and help keep track of the progress of a variety of project. This would let me test out product promotion and see what it has to deal with because I never really thought of going that path with my degree. Also since I don’t have any industry experience I think this internship would be a good start for me in order to get my foot in the door. As of now, once I graduate I will get try to get a job in either marketing or PR. I will probably stay in Vegas for a year after graduation. After this I will then take a step back and see what point I am at in my career. Since there will most likely be nothing holding me down in Vegas I will want to start applying for better jobs that are in different areas. This would include anywhere in the US and also maybe out of the country. I feel like at that point in my future it would be a good time to travel and experience different places.

Week 9 EOC: The Apartment

This past week in class we watched the film, The Apartment. This movie was a perfect example of harassment that occurs in the workplace. "Harassment relates to unwanted and annoying actions by one or more persons, including threats or demands"( Human Resources, Quality Service & Training, Hospitality & Restaurant Marketing, Pg. 473). The first example of harassment in the film is a type of harassment called Quid Pro Quo. According to our textbook, this means "From the Latin phrase meaning “this for that”… harassment occurs when one person asks for either expressly or implied sexual favors from another person as a condition of that person’s employment or advancement or to prevent a tangible employment detriment"  (Human Resources, Quality Service & Training, Hospitality & Restaurant Marketing, Pg. 570).   One of CC Baxter's bosses uses Baxter's apartment for personal reasons. He then mentions to Baxter that as a result of this he could get a possible promotion. The second example deals with Quid Pro Quo also. Baxter’s bosses blackmail him. They begin mentioning how if he doesn’t let them use his apartment they will either fire him or take back his promotion. "An employer is automatically liable for harassment by a supervisor that results in a negative employment action, such as termination, failure to promote or hire, or loss of wages” (Human Resources, Quality Service & Training, Hospitality & Restaurant Marketing, Pg. 573).  The third example of harassment is when one of the administrator's got in the elevator girl's space without her permission. This harassment is known as hostile environment. Hostile environment "is an atmosphere that is characterized by unwanted sexually demeaning or intimidating behaviors in which a person is treated poorly or feels uncomfortable" (Human Resources, Quality Service & Training, Hospitality & Restaurant Marketing, Pg. 570). This movie shows was can really happen in real life. Some people deal with this a their workplace firsthand. If any of this does occur and they speak up about the harassment the company can face serious legal issues.

Week 8 EOC: Nine to Five Workplace Harassment

In the film Nine to Five, there are many situations that resemble real life situations of harassment. “Sexual harassment relates to unwelcome sexual advances, sexual favor requests, and other verbal or physical conduct that is sexual in nature and may create an offensive, intimidating, or hostile work environment” (Human Resources, Quality Service & Training, Hospitality & Restaurant Marketing Pg. 389).  A lot of the scenes in the movie deal with the boss, a male, harassing his female employees. The first example where we see harassment in the movie is when he continually passes up the promotion for his best employee Violet. She is obviously the most qualified for the position but instead of giving it to her, he gives it to another man in the company. She asks why she didn’t get it and he gives makes up all these reasons for why she didn’t get it. The next example occurs in the Xerox room. Judy looses control of the Xerox machine and papers are going everywhere. The boss walks in and calls her a variety of names then threatens her job. He talks to Judy in a very disrespectful manner. “…signs of improper behavior leading to a hostile, offensive, or intimidating environment, such as inappropriate joking, teasing, comments, or name-calling or the posting of improper cartoons, posters, or notes posted in common areas” (Human Resources, Quality Service & Training, Hospitality & Restaurant Marketing Pg. 389). The third example is when refers to his employees as “his girls”. One worker that he specifically tries to make his girl is Doralee. She is his assistant and he continuously puts her in positions where he checks her out. Whether it’s knocking the pencils of the desk so he can look down her shirt, speaking to her inappropriately, or buying her inappropriate gifts, he continuously harasses her more than the other women. This leads to a lot of gossip throughout the office that Doralee is sleeping with him. Sexual harassment is a very serious matter and when it occurs it should not just be brushed under the rug.  “It is important to stop this behavior as soon as it is noticed, and not wait until someone complains” (Human Resources, Quality Service & Training, Hospitality & Restaurant Marketing Pg. 389). If someone waits the harassment could become worse.

BOC Week 8: Five Plus Five Soft Skils

Five soft skills that I possess are:

1. Communication Skills
• I revealed this in my resume by mentioning that I created relationships with customers while shopping in order to make them feel more comfortable. 
2. Works Wells With Team Members
• I have always been a part of a team whether it be for sports or for work. I know that while working with others there are a lot of different opinions that you many not always agree with. Working in a team is all about give and take. Sometimes your opinions and ideas will be used and taken into consideration and sometimes they wont but you have to be able to accept that because thats how you are then able to work with other people and as a team. 
3. Adaptability
• I have the skill to adapt because I am open to growing and learning new things. At my current job, I am always wanting to take on new tasks such as a new wall than my usual one for visuals. Since I show this, it contributes to the adapting skill. Companies are always growing and changing in order to become greater and since I always want to learn and grow, I am able to adapt. 
4. Problem Solving
• When I am faced with an issue I take a second to think about the situation all my options in order to solve it and then take action to fix it. At my current job, a lot of times coworkers do not show up for shifts.  The shifts are scheduled for everyone to have the exact amount of work to finish right when the store opens. When people don't show up then my manager and I have to take their tasks meaning  that we have 6 hours of work to complete within 4 hours. This is a big issue. In order to solve this, we came up with a game plan to work together and get all the big jobs done first. After that, we do the smaller tasks since they can de done quickly and we get our work done on time. 
5. Time Management
• I have shown that one of my soft skills is time management by always showing up to either work, meetings, or appointments at least ten minutes early. I also always get my tasks done on time. If told I need to complete a task by a certain time of day. It is either done early or right on the dot. I manage to always find time for both work and school which still giving my all for both.

These skills aren't in my resume currently but are what I would put on it. 

Week 7 EOC: Profile Statements

As an ambitious, visual merchandiser my skills with in-store displays, retail image, and marketing have lead me to achieve positive retail images and draw customers in, in order to achieve higher sales and engage in executing marketing projects.

A fashion industry professional hopeful to demonstrate my skills in visual merchandising and engage in achieving positive brand image. Able to learn fast and adapt to new trends in order to execute marketing and in store displays to their full potential.

As an enthusiastic fashion professional, I am dedicated to utilizing my skills in trend knowledge and visual merchandising to portray a brand's image to the most it can be. I am capable of quick learning on the job and enjoy hearing others ideas in order to get a project to perfection.