Checkmate

Today, I spent the majority of my day getting acquainted with my group members. Like yesterday, I woke up at 7:10 AM and proceed towards the dining hall at 7:30 AM. Instead of eating breakfast with my cohort I chose to instead spend my with my group mates in class, so as to ensure that all of arrive on time. We arrived to class at 8:15 AM, as planned, and took out seats together in the front row. 

Class started with lecture on the basics of business computing. During the lecture, we learned about the five facets of business: productivity, quality control, efficiency, effectiveness, and stabilization. It is important to master each and every one of these categories, as they are the key towards establishing a successful and self-sufficient business. 

Mark then took us to the computer lab, where we began to learn about document management. Initially, I thought I was proficient in Microsoft Word, but today's lesson taught me that I hardly knew the basics. The majority of the class period was spent learning and mastering Microsoft Word's formatting systems and key commands, such as Shift+Enter. I was surprised to learn how elaborate proper document management protocols were, as I had previously believed that it was as easy as just choosing a font and spacing size. Now, I've come to realize that it's a lot more complex that I had supposed, with there being dozens upon dozens of input commands that I've still yet to discover. I was able to learn to the importance of document presentation in the business world, as it is primary of displaying one's professionalism, clerical skills, and technological competency levels. 

For lunch, I ate with my group members. I was able to learn quite a bit about them, such as that Arnold is an international student from Costa Rica and that Maya is a member of her high school's track team. After we finished properly introducing ourselves, we decided to get down to business. One of our assignments was to draft a list of group norms, or rules, which we would later sign and turn into our group norms Mark and Reneta in the form of a customized memo. We began jotting down various rules to ensure the success and overall welfare of our group, including that all group members "must be held responsible for the prompt and prepared arrival of their group mates to class." Once we had written a good number of norms, we decide to table the rest of the assignment for later, instead choosing to focus on arriving to class on time.  

We spent the later half of class with Reneta, who walked us through the basics of the CHESS program. Reneta's lecture was very instructive and her concise explanations helped to clear many of my questions about the program. We learned of that were are appealing to three demographics of consumers we are to cater two, which include business tenants, leisure tenants, and group tenants. In addition, we also learned of the various variables we are to manipulate whilst playing the the CHESS program, including rates, advertising, employee hours and wages, and amenities allocations. By the end, I felt much more confident about the CHESS program and I've already come up with ideas on how to make my hotel profitable. 

The last session was devoted entirely to lecture. We went over the basic structure of hotels, including it's three major elements: real estate, branding, and management. We also discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each elements. For example, while working in real estate gives the individual ownership over the hotel, they have little to no say in how it is managed. By discerning the different aspects of each of these elements I learned that no matter which of part industry you choose to divulge in you still have to form a partnership with another party in order to ensure a quality hotel and, by extension, a profit, thus making the hotel business a conjoined effort. 

My group and I spent office hours working on our memo, refining and formatting it as needed. This exercise taught me a lot about team work and arbitration, as whenever creative differences arouse, we settled them diplomatically through voting or compromise. I've taken my behavioral style to heart and begun putting more trust into my group members and their judgments. I honestly wouldn't be exaggerating if I were to say that this is the best group experience I've ever had; not only is everyone following through with their commitments, but they're also making an effort communicate both clearly and effectively with one another, something I've hardly witnessed before. Because of our great teamwork, we were able to finish our memo before the end of the day.

When office hours ended, I said goodbye to my group and returned to my usual circle of friends, Rochelle, Michelle, Christian, Jazmin, and most recently, Sammy. We went to dinner together and then eventually parted way to finish our required reading for the night.