EGGsplosion!!!

     Salvaging an egg that will fall from a height of ten feet with a few straws and masking tape is not an easy task. This fact was made more obvious to me during a very chaotic but educational project assigned in last Thursday's lecture. Preventing an egg from cracking when gravity is working against it is a difficult project for a single student indeed, but would it not be easier with more people on the job? After all, the saying goes: "two heads are better than one." Quite the contrary. What that particular quote did not mention was that more is better only if they work together as one. In relation, when the final seconds were counted and all of the groups were called up to the front of the lecture hall, it was clear to me that the true challenge in saving the egg was organizing a group of students to work effectively not only as individuals but also as a group.
     Well then, how exactly did my group manage to get a few students to work productively as a single unit? The answer: we did not. That is why our egg cracked upon impact with the floor... In the outline for organizing an effective group, step one states that the group should clearly "define its goals and objectives." Well, those were already specified in detail by the professor when the assignment was given so my group skimmed past number one. Step two suggests that the group "evaluate its resources and compared to its objectives." During this step, my group had focused more time on the few resources that the professor had provided for us to create our egg's protection than our actual human resources. The specific talents and advantages of each student were not assessed - in fact, the thought did not occur to us at all. Step three instructs that the group "develop premesis and several alternative strategies." This is the step that my group had committed most of our time on. Various designs that each group member had branstormed were collectively rejected or reformed constantly on the basis that our resources (straws and tape) were too scarce. In my opinion, my group had never gotten beyond this step since there was no group consensus on the final design even until the final minute. When half of the group thinks that they are creating one design and the other half is thinking of something conceptually different, then it is obvious that the design will have major flaws. Regardless, due to the time limit, my group stumbled on to step four: analyzing alternatives and make a tactical plan. Without a group consensus on what the final design actually will be, anyone can imagine how confusing the fourth step was. Everyone eventually figured out what they should do in order to get the job done; however, without an actual design, each member did not have a clear understanding of what the other members were working on. As a result, progress,  if there was any, was very slow. Lastly, when the group reached step five which directs the implementation of a plan and evaluation of its results, the group was already on the road towards failure. The plan was clearly underdeveloped; therefore, correct implementation was impossible. Without the correct implementation, the result was obvious. My group was unable to save the egg.
     I learned from the project that my group was too focused on what we were supposed to build and did not focus enough on what qualities the individual members brought to the group. Had we realized the qualities and characteristics of each person in the group, perhaps we could have worked more efficiently and completed the building of a successful protection for the egg.

Holy Smokes! Why?!

     Take an individual from anywhere in this world and displace him/her from wherever that person was raised. The result will be what is called a "culture shock" in that person's mind. This case is prevalent in the majority of  immigrants shortly after their arrival in foreign countries that they will begin to call "home," and it is something that I have experienced countless times after my arrival in New York.
     The first things a person can notice in a new environment are the obvious things like people, language, and behavior. Accordingly, the first thing that I have noticed the second after I took my first step outside of the airplane was the people. It is important to note that I have never seen foreigners, or "non-asians," before except on the television. It was surreal to see people that were white, black, hispanic, middle eastern, and etc. What was stranger, however, was their behavior. I assumed non-asians did what they did because they are obviously not asian; however, it later became evident to me that even the asians in this country did not take part in the same conduct that I was raised to follow.
     For the first couple of years, I found that the way people greet themselves in this country was outrageous. In Korea, there is usually an exchange of bows and hellos. I was not unfamiliar with the idea of friendly physical contact, but I was shocked at the way Americans could be so physical when greeting each other. I saw people hugging each other constantly - which was not too bad but still weird. To take it up a level, I started seeing females kiss each other on the cheeks which, to me, was very peculiar. Finally, to take it one step further, I began seeing MEN and WOMEN kiss each other on the cheeks and hugging even though they were married! This was something that I could not understand. Was it normal in this culture for married couples to touch others of the opposite sex so passionately?! Is that not some form of cheating?! Do they not become jealous and argue afterwards?! In Korea, a married couple that would touch others the same way Americans did would be degraded and belittled by others, but here, in America, people are so happy while doing it!

Holy smokes! Why?!!!

Guess Who!

Hello everyone!

My name is Jae Young, and I am currently an upper sophomore. I am have not been accepted into the Zicklin School of Business quite yet so my major is undecided at the moment; however, I intend on majoring in International Business when I do finish my pre-requirement courses. My interests include sports and food; therefore, my hobbies are playing sports, and cooking! In reality, though, I spend most of my leisure hours practicing, teaching, and competing in the martial art and sport of Taekwondo.

In case anyone was wondering, "Ahn nyung ha sae yo" means "hello" in Korean!