Kaplan University Graduate School of Management

SELF DIRECTED LEARNING PLAN

The Self Directed Learning Plan (SDLP) is a process and document to chronicle your accomplishments and learning steps through the MBA program and beyond as they relate to your professional goals. The SDLP will help you to identify and target the array of competencies you need to reach your professional objectives and to help you organize your Kaplan MBA learning experience to suit your career objectives. The SDLP will be a section of your Career Portfolio, so take some quality introspective time to consider strengths and areas of development relevant to your career objectives. We encourage you to contact Career Services for feedback on relevant competencies for your career goal, as well as other insights. By knowing your strengths and areas to develop, you can begin a plan to find out what you need to do to achieve your career goals. We encourage you to continue to reflect on the identified areas throughout the MBA program. If you feel strength or development area is no longer relevant, you may add another to take its place. At any time, you may also add additional areas.

Your Name: Matthew Neitzel Date: April 4, 2011

Course Title: GB500 Business Perspectives

Professional Goal (3-5 years) from now: My ultimate professional goal is to become the eCommerce Creative Director within a large corporation. This position runs the entire web team that consists of Web Designers, Web Architects, Copywriters, Front-end Coders, Multimedia Producers, and Application Developers. The position is responsible for making sure the website looks good, is easy to use for the customers, functions well, manages the projects, takes care of the budget, and works as liaison between upper management and other departments. I have been a part of such a design team in the past and would like to manage, direct, or lead this type of team. I believe my MBA will greatly help with the business side and lead me into this direction.

Strengths to Leverage

Step 1: The most effective and satisfied people align their work with their natural strong points. Identify 3-5 of your key strengths (see Column 1 below); these could be a competency, skill, ability, knowledge area or personal characteristic. Think about how you can leverage those strengths to be effective in your work, achieve your professional goals, and become a leader in your profession.

Step 2: At the beginning of each course in your MBA program, answer the following question either using this template or a narrative format. What do you expect to learn in this course that will help you leverage your strengths? (see Column 2 below). Be as specific as you can, e.g., assume that a strength is your analytical ability. You might expect to understand more about macro economics so that you can analyze how the housing crisis affects other segments of the economy, such as interest rates or unemployment. At the beginning of the course you are not expected to be an expert in all facets of the course learning; however, you can glean valuable insights from the course description or purpose, course and unit learning objectives, and from unit themes.

Step 3: At the end of each course (Unit 6) answer the following questions either using this template or a narrative format. Did you learn what you expected to learn? (see Column 3 below). Was there information or insights that helped you that you didn’t expect to learn at the outset of the course? For example, not only did you learn about macro economics, but you learned some software tools that help in conducting an economic analysis. What changes or additions, if any, will you make to your SDLP based on learning in this course? Step 1: Strengths to Step 2: Course Learning Goals Step 3: Course Outcomes & Assessment Leverage Good situational analysis. GB500 - Analyze complex decision-making situations. GB500 - I have learned a great deal about what it takes Learn new methods to run a business by making to make decisions in a business. Decision making comes better decisions. from several different areas of business, not just one department. I can see now that one issue in one area of business can adversely affect what happens in other area of business. A great way to help analyze this is through the Systems Diagram. He is logical and works GB500 - Participate effectively in diverse virtual GB500 - Working with my team on the business well on “people” as well as teams. Be able to work in teams to help build my simulation in the Marketplace has been very beneficial in “task” issues. strength of working well with others. learning how others work in a more executive type atmosphere. Consistency in standards. GB500 - Synthesize interrelationships among GB500 - Some of the many skills I have learned in this fundamental functions, resources, and processes that class have really opened my eyes on how businesses are comprise the business system. Learn how to develop run. Having a strength of being consistent in standards the necessary business skills used in business will help enhance the techniques I have learned in order management. to become a better business manager. Painstaking, conscientious, GB500 - Analyze personal styles and skills relative to GB500 – The Insights Profile has certainly helped me industrious and leading and participating in business processes. Learn understand how I can use my personal styles and skills to dependable. more about how to use my strengths and weaknesses become a better leader and participant in organization. to become a better leader. Does not accept second GB500 - Understand competitiveness and GB500 - Not accepting second best when it comes to best. collaboration in a global economy. Learn ways to stay business competitiveness is very important when trying to competitive and become a top-notch decision maker build or help build a business. Through the case studies and leader. and the business simulation, I have learned how to not only be more competitive, but also how to accept when I make a mistake and need to rethink problems and solutions.

Areas to Develop

Step 1: We all have strengths, but we also have areas on which we need to improve. As related to your career goal, identify 3-5 areas to develop (see Column 1 below); these could be a competency, skill, ability, knowledge area or personal characteristic. Think about how you can improve in these areas so that you can achieve your professional goals and become a leader in your profession.

Step 2: At the beginning of each course answer the following question either using this template or a narrative format. What do you expect to learn in this course that will help you to develop in the identified area? (see Column 2 below).

Step 3: At the end of each course (Unit 6) answer the following questions either using this template or a narrative format. Did you learn what you expected to learn? (see Column 3 below). Was there information or insights that helped you that you didn’t expect to learn at the outset of the course? What changes or additions, if any, will you make to your SDLP based on learning in this course? Step 1: Areas to develop Step 2: Course Learning Goals Step 3: Course Outcomes & Assessment May get bogged down in GB500 - Synthesize interrelationships among GB500 - These MBA classes are a very short and the detail. fundamental functions, resources, and stressful six weeks. I have learned, through the different processes that comprise the business system. readings, discussions, case studies, etc., that getting To help overcome getting bogged down in the bogged down in the detail can make projects more detail, I hope this class will help me learn the difficult in short time-frames. Although details are very different functions, resources, and process to important, I have learned to sometimes let it go and see help me understand what it will take to lead a what happens, and then I can adjust if needed. department successfully. His need to assimilate GB500 - Analyze complex decision-making GB500 - Learning several tricks to help solve problems information takes time. situations. Learn to speed up the process it has helped speed up the complexity of decision-making This may frustrate others takes me to come to a complex or regular for me. Some of the great tools I learned are how to who expect a more decision by learning tips and tricks to feel manage polarities, work with virtual teams, use systems immediate response. more comfortable in making effective thinking, how to think like a leader, start a business from decisions. scratch, and many different ways leaders solve problems. May appear unsociable. GB500 - Participate effectively in diverse GB500 - Being proactive in my virtual team has really virtual teams. I hope to overcome my helped me step out of my comfort-zone. During the unsociability by going into the marketplace marketplace simulation, I tried really hard each week to simulation eagerly and willing to do what it look over every aspect of our business to make sure we takes for the team to be successful did not miss something. I also wanted to make sure that if anyone had any questions I would be able to help the best I could in getting those questions answered for the benefit of the whole team.