Connecting the Dots

Following my review of previous blogs, one connection that was most apparent was between the Opportunism and Illinibucks blogs. Although my analysis/anecdote for opportunism was not entirely accurate, I feel that my understanding of the subject has grown since then. In particular, the ethical dilemma that comes with acting in an opportunistic manner. Knowing that principle nor planning have little/no effect on one's decision making, it is obvious that opportunism is a driving force behind the practicality of Illinibucks. An example that I used in the Illinibucks piece was in regards to the book-buying process and the painful annoyance it sometimes can be. If Illinibucks were in use, they could be employed to skip the entire line to reach the checkout at the bookstore. Using Illinibucks in that situation is opportunism. The incentive to get out of line faster and carry on with the day outweighs the cost of making the students without Illinibucks angry. Similarly, no planning is involved.

On a different note, my blog about a successful team I was apart of connects well to the alignment problem concept. In class we discussed the format of our classroom in a physical sense. The seating is not optimal due to the necessity to fit approximately 30 people in a small space. The organization that controls the desks that are placed into the classroom and the University itself may be on separate agendas. This outlines one reason why big organizations may not work harmoniously. Thus, we discussed how the university is not fulfilling their goal to provide a transformative learning environment in this isolated example. This concept of mismatched planning and execution can be applied to the struggles my football team initially experienced in high school. All team members want to win as many games as possible. However, the team struggled in achieving that goal as the team was not as organized/disciplined as it could have been. For example, some players would provide lackluster effort in practice, thereby affecting their game performance. Conversely, there were players that provided consistency as they always gave their best attempt. A major reason for the turnaround from a 2-4 record to being one of the last 8 teams in playoffs can be attributed to recognition of this problem by leaders on the team and their response to it. With all team members conscious of their contribution, the team's overall performance improved instantly.

My approach to blogging has absolutely changed since I began the class. At the onset of the semester, I was very casual with the amount of research and effort that I put into my posts. I find that attending class and taking Professor Arvan's constructive comments and applying them towards my next post play an integral role in improving the quality of my writing. After we discuss these economic concepts in class, I feel more confident in constructing a worthwhile argument and contributing to our discussion of these topics. I believe that writing about real-life situations greatly broadens our ability to make connections from one concept to the next.

In the future, I look forward to seeing my comprehension of topics in the class growing. I feel as though my blogs discuss the more general facts about the topic or concept. As we get further into the course, my goal is to be able to understand the complexities of the material and apply the concepts to what is going on in the world outside of the classroom. I feel that reading more on the topics will be extremely beneficial to my learning experience.  I also believe that reading more of other students blogs will aid my understanding as well. That way, I can recognize what they did correctly and what was incorrect and apply it to my analysis of the concept. I am intrigued to see how my experience will grow and change as the class progresses.