Assignment 16A

Assignment 16A- What's Your Secret Sauce? 

1) Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique.

1. Hard worker: I believe I'm a hard working person. I try to put in as much effort as I can into everything that I do. 

2. Passionate: Whatever I try to invest my time into I make sure its something that I'm passionate about. That way I'm always motivated to complete the project or assignment that is given to me. 

3. Caring: I make sure everyone around me is happy and content. I try to put in as much time as I can into building relationships with people around me. 

4. Independent: My independence has helped me become a better problem solver. Knowing that sometimes you can't rely on people is important. 

5. Time management: I try to organize my time as best as I can. I keep an agenda to keep me organized and help my time to be divided as efficiently as possible. 

2) Interview the five people who know you the best.

Interview #1
https://sites.google.com/site/amessageforyou07/interviews/Chase%202.m4a?attredirects=0&d=1
The first person that I talked to was my fiancee Chase. In the audio file he talks about how he's known me for 5 years. He talks about how dedicated I am, how I care about others and how I'm able to maintain a healthy balance between personal and work life.

Interview #2
https://sites.google.com/site/amessageforyou07/interviews/Nathan.m4a?attredirects=0&d=1
The second person I talked to was one of my best friends Nathan. He emphasized how caring I am and how I'm always there for people. He also talked about how I'm not really that outgoing and like to keep to myself more, referencing my independence.

Interview #3
https://sites.google.com/site/amessageforyou07/interviews/Juli.m4a?attredirects=0&d=1
The third person I talked to was my aunt Diana. She spoke about how dedicated I am and how I'm always there for others. She also spoke about my dedication and how I can be a team player when people need me.

Interview #4
https://sites.google.com/site/amessageforyou07/interviews/Juli-2.m4a?attredirects=0&d=1
The fourth person I talked to was my cousin Valentina. She said that I am a dedicated and hardworking person. She also said how I'm always there for others and that I am a very empathic person. She also spoke about my motivation and how when I'm passionate about something I will always get it done.

Interview #5
https://sites.google.com/site/amessageforyou07/interviews/juliana%20thing%202.0.m4a?attredirects=0&d=1
The fifth person I talked to was my best friend Virginia. She mainly spoke about how caring I am and how I always try to be there for people.

3) Reflect on the differences.
I think that reflecting back on all of the people that I talked to, they see me as I see myself. They all spoke about how caring I am and how motivated I am. They also spoke about my hard working characteristics which is something that I also listed. The only thing that no one really talked about was my time management. Even though I see myself as someone that can organize their time adequately maybe other people might not see it this way. Overall I think that they all had the same opinions that I have about myself. 

Assignment 15A

Assignment 15A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No.2 

Interview #1: To be able to place the gps tracker into the magic bands, customers must purchase the magic band first. The first person that I interviewed told me that she had purchased several different magic bands. She told me that her first purchase was based solely on price so she bought the most basic magic band which costs less. As she went into different Disney stores she realized that there were different styles but they became more pricier depending on the style. Price as well as style played an important factor as to which one she wanted to buy. She said that she likes to purchase the bands at the actual Disney stores so that she doesn't have to pay for shipping. She says she just pays with cash or debit card, no need to finance this purchase. They don't really think about the purchase because she says that its a very convenient one instead of having to carry the a ticket. 

Interview #2: The second person I interviewed said that they cared more about the style than the price. They like looking for once that have the characters that they like and they don't really care for price that much. The quality of the bands are all the same so she said that she only picked based on style. She also said that she enjoys online shopping more than going into the stores and looking at all the options. She buys the band a few weeks before her trips to Disney and she enjoys getting the package in the mail knowing she will go on the trip soon. She said that she doesn't mind spending money on them because they will last forever, its not a reoccurring purchase. 

Interview #3: The third person I interviewed cared more about price than anything else. He says he didn't really care for the designs that they had to offer and he just went for the most basic one. He doesn't feel the need to spend more money on an object because of the design changes. He said he bought the item at the store because its a very quick purchase. He was glad he made the purchase because he said he tended to lose the card that is given to him as the ticket. He doesn't see himself buying another one because this one will last him forever. 

Conclusion: The segment that I chose (teenagers) all cared about different things. The two girls I interviewed seemed to care more about style than anything else. They guy that I interviewed care more about price than style. Even though price was also a factor, all three of them were willing to buy magic bands. I think that they are willing to buy this product because its more convenient that carrying a card around that you can easily lose. 

Assignment 14A

Assignment 14A- Halfway Reflection 

1. Tenaciousness is a competency. During the course of this class I have learned to apply my organizational and time management skills more efficiently. I make sure I read the assignments earlier during the week. I also try to write a couple of ideas during the week and then put them all together at the end so that I don't have to rush and do the whole assignment on Friday. I have other classes that I have to focus on during the week so I make sure I make time to complete the assignments as well as watch the lectures.

2. Tenaciousness is about attitude. At the beginning of this course I felt like it was going to be a lot of work and I would have to set a lot of time aside for the assignments. Coming up with an idea for each assignment was difficult, especially having to interview different people for the assignments. What pulled me through was thinking that I couldn't falter with any assignments so I started making a mini schedule of when to complete each one. For the interviews I was able to find people through my friends so that has made it easier. In my opinion, I had already had a tenacious attitude when I came into this class. Several moments of my life have contributed to this but one of the was when I moved from my country to USA. I moved during high school and I knew no one so I had to learn to adapt quickly and I realized that I had to do it myself if I wanted to be successful.

3. Three tips: Always set aside time for the assignments, don't leave them for last minute especially the ones that have interviews in them. Do the extra credit when available, it will help you recuperate any points that you missed during the first assignments. Always double check to see if you submitted the assignment and the correct link.

Assignment 13A

Assignment 13A- Reading Reflection No.1 

I read Grinding It Out by Ray Kroc and I enjoyed the book and admired what he was able to do to get McDonald's to be a successful company. What surprised me the most about this book was his ability to do a sales pitch to anyone and get them as engaged as they all were. He was able to sell anything that he put his mind to and did not shy away from voicing his opinion. He told the customer exactly what they would be getting and he cared about optimizing their profits while also being able to sell his products. I admired his hard work and determination, no matter what hardships came his way he was always able to face them head on. He always worked for everything that he had and nothing was given to him. Everything that he put his mind to he was able to achieve and no one could stop him. What I least admired about Ray Kroc was that although he was opportunistic he was always very overly confident. He was never able to take no as an answer and he almost always let his ego get in the way of things he did. Ray Kroc encountered a lot of hardships while he was starting out with McDonald's. The McDonald brothers were writing out contracts for him that had a lot of "wrinkles" in them. They didn' state officially that he would be able to open up all the stores that he was opening and he thought at any moment they could've been taken away. However, he continued working hard and opening the stores and kept giving the brothers that they had agreed upon for the franchise. I noticed that he was very opportunistic and a hard worker. He never  took no as an answer, and he always seemed to hire the right people. He had a knack of hiring the right people to do the job and he always made sure his team was very complete and had a different skills that he himself might've not had. One part of the book that was confused on was the deal that the brothers had with Ray. I was confused because Ray seemed to have offered them a good thing and the brothers should've written a contract stating everything. It seemed like the contract was confusing in many ways and it would've been better for the business deal if they had had clear boundaries. If I were to ask my entrepreneur any question it would be why he placed his job above his family. It seemed like he wanted to put no effort into keeping his marriage with Ethel and I would like to know why. I would also want to ask him what exactly he saw in the McDonald's restaurant, why did he know that it would be such a successful franchise. I think that my entrepreneurs idea of hard work is being opportunistic. He always saw a business opportunity in anything that he put his mind into. I share that opinion but not as much as he does. He is was willing to do anything it took to get the business going and I'm not sure I would be able to have that mentality. 

Assignment 12A

Assignment 12A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior 

Segment: People that attend Magic Kingdom 2-3 times a year

Interview #1:

The first person I interviewed felt like she encountered the problem as soon as she walks into the park. She has two small children and she is constantly worried that they are going to get lost in the park. Her children currently don't own cellphones so she has to be hyperaware of where her children are at all times. One of her children suffers from ADHD and he has been known to roam around without paying attention to his surroundings. Her current solution is to tell her children where to meet in case they get separated, as well as write her phone number in a piece of paper and place it in her children's pocket. She did not use any source of information to find her current solution. 

Interview #2: 

The second person I interviewed said that they encountered the problem when her friends want to go their separate ways in the park. She says that she usually goes in a large group of friends with her sorority sisters and they usually split up into several different groups. She says that it becomes hard to try and communicate between all of them. Her current solution to the problem is to try and set up a time when they can all meet. They make a plan and meet at a specific place and they give a time as well. Sometimes, however, some of her sisters are late because they lose track of time or they are in line to go on a ride. 

Interview #3: 

The third person I interviewed said that they encounter the problem when their phone runs out of battery. This person said that their family isn't too fond of riding the rides so they let her go by herself and she had to depend on her phone to be able to communicate with them after. She has had the issue before were her phone runs out of battery because of the long waiting lines and her using the phone while waiting. She realizes that her family becomes bored and they want to ride something else while they wait for her. Her current solution is to either have her family wait for her or if she gets out and they're not there they tell each other which ride they are going to next and they meet there. 

Conclusion: After I interviewed all three people I realized that they faced different kinds of problems when going to the park. Dealing with children is obviously more different than when you are going with your friends. They all become aware of the problem at different times when attending the park. All of their solutions included making some kind of plan in case anything goes wrong during the day. I think the segment that I chose was good because they are people that get to experience the park more and can encounter more problems when going.  

Assignment 11A

Assignment 11A- Idea Napkin #1

You: I am currently majoring in Business Management as well as minoring in Event Management. My skills include being able to communicate and work well with others, as well as time management and organizational skills. I've had a lot of volunteering positions where I have had to delegate tasks to people and make sure they are getting their work done. I try to be as organized as I can and make sure that everything gets done in time. I had the opportunity to work at several events where I had to work with a team and complete the tasks at hand. My aspirations if this business idea would ever take off would be to work for Disney. This would play a major role in my life because I would be able to achieve one of my goals by working for that company.

What are you offering customers?: What I'm offering customers is a chance to find their friends and family in an easy way. It provides an alternative to having to depend on your phone while you are at the park. It would cause no inconvenience because the product would already be in the magic band, which is what you would use to get into the park. It would be a product that you could use every single time you went to the park and you wouldn't have to purchase a new one every time. It is also convenient since Disney already has an app and on top of that has machines around the park where you can scan your magic band.  

Who are you offering it to?: I am offering this product to everyone that attends Disney's Magic Kingdom. No matter the age, whether they are a child or an adult this product is very easy to use and is accessible to everyone. Tourists would be of course the main demographic for this product since they most likely have no access to phones and they usually come to the parks in big groups. They would benefit the most from this product if they want to go around the park in different groups. However, this product is for the usage of everyone that attends the park. 

Why do they care?: Customers using this product would care because they would want to know where their friends and family are in the park. If the can't locate them through calling them, they have an option readily available for them. The longer they stay at the parks, the higher the chances are that the battery on their phone dies. It is very easy to lose a small child at this park when they become distracted and parents would most definitely care to find where their child is. 

What are your core competencies?: What sets me apart from everyone else is that there is no set system in place to find people at Disney. The only "competitor" I would have would be the cellphones that people carry with them. However, not everyone has a cell phone especially tourists that are just coming to visit. 

I think all of these elements fit together because they all complement each other. The people that I would be offering this product to cares about the well being of others. They would want to find their family members and they would want to know they are safe. The demographic for this product complements this as well because it applies to all ages. There are also weaknesses with this such as the product itself and how well it would work in the parks. Price would also be a concern because Disney may raise the prices to apply the GPS to the magic bands. 

Assignment 10A