Hope everyone is looking forward to thanksgiving break! Even though this isn't due until after the break, I wanted to get it out of the way so I don't forget about it later.
Ch. 18 is about managing human resources. The chapter states that one of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of student affairs administration is the leadership and management of staff. There are several ways that supervisors can get the best out of their employees (pg. 409). Explain one or two ways that your current or any previous supervisor(s) has let you know that what you do matters and you are a valuable contribution to the organization.
Yay! I really like this blog topic. After working my true life devil wears prada job, I feel like Dr. Henry is always making me feel like I am a valuable asset to her team. In my previous position I worked long grueling hours, and was always micromanaged. Remember the scene when Meryl Streep tried to get her assistant to have a plane fly her back to NYC during a hurricane? Some employers are that crazy and unappreciative. Sometimes I feel like I do the littlest thing for Dr. Henry and she gets so happy like it was absolutely amazing. When it comes to the millennial gap between us, she understands how to work together. When I teach her how to do things on her Outlook she shows great appreciation, but also knows how to give constructive feedback. She understands the idea of assigning a task and letting you work on it without being micromanaging and allowing me to come to her when I have questions. I think she has the perfect balance of being supportive and knowledgeable in the workplace.
Chapter 18 This is a great blog topic! We are fortunate to have an amazing director and office manager in student government. There are quite a few ways that they let us know that we are doing a good job. The first (and maybe an indirect way of showing it) is by giving an opportunity to work on different committees in student affairs that a director would normally be a part of. A more direct way of knowing that we matter is through their communication with us and other department heads. They are often tell us how much they appreciate us and whenever they attend other meetings for grad supervisors they continually bring up how much we mean to them as well.
My coordinator doesnt go out of his way to show us how much he appreciates us, we do get the occasional email saying we have done a good job and thank you but I expect that from the line of work we are in, we do our jobs right and thats how it is supposed to be. What he does do that I really appreciate is he lets us think and supports our ideas. He takes time out of this schedule to sit down and help plan out an idea we have and help put it in motion. Since I am new to this I am not sure of the ways to go about everything but he is always willing to guide but he doens't do it for us, he lets us think for ourselves. We all work hard and enjoy our work and I think that letting us explore new ideas and ways of going about things is more beneficial than a thank you email for doing things the way we have done them for years. I think not having a large age or really much of a gap at all is helpful because it wasn't long ago he was in our shoes and I think he does a really good job of realizing that and he helps us but doesn't micromanage which is awesome.
Labs, I can definitely relate to your previous experience with poor management. My current supervisor is also much more upbeat and appreciative than the administrators at the high school where I taught. At the beginning of the semester, my supervisor was extremely helpful in answering any questions I had and checked in often to make sure everything was okay. As she became confident that I had the skills necessary to do a good job, I have gained more autonomy. She periodically lets me know when I have done a good job, and when I am struggling with something I feel comfortable discussing that with her and getting feedback on changes I can make. Her supportive management style makes me a better employee.
I think everyone has had some sort of experience with a bad supervisor, which makes working under a good one so enjoyable and appreciative. My current supervisors are demanding but they know the demands of the job are tough but my work has always been valued and appreciated. I agree with Lisa in the way that our supervisors are similar, is they take time to meet and discuss our ideas. I have the freedom and responsibility to plan and supervise major programs and that shows confidence from my supervisors. It comes up during staff meetings how appreciative our office is of each other, and it is a great environment to work it and be part of.
One of my favorite things about Gary as a supervisor is that he always says thank you. Even when everything went wrong with elections he took the time to tell me I really was doing a good job and he appreciated the work I was doing. He’s also really good about telling me where I can improve and asking me what I need from him so that I can do better next time. I think he’s really trying to teach and make Justin and I better (future) professionals and I really appreciate that. He also started asking for our opinions right away when we started, it was nice to feel included in some of the decisions we make from the beginning. I’ve noticed he does the same thing for our students, he’ll tell them when they ran a really good meeting or did a nice job presenting, anything like that. It seems like something goes wrong on a pretty regular basis in SG, so I think all of our students appreciate hearing when they’ve done something right.
Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and ate a lot of food because I'll be honest, I did and now I will be at the rec everyday not working, but trying to loose the 10 pounds I gained. But besides that it's time for blogs.
Chapter 16 is about strategic planning and finance. This chapter breaks down the steps for strategic planning and on pg. 367 gives different budgeting approaches. All of this is helpful in our assistantships because it helps us think of the future and what we need to plan to do next which includes future purchases. With the different budget approaches it also helps us prioritize and see what is important and what can wait.
For discussion, and I know it may not apply to everyone's assistantship so if it does not try to find a previous time you did this, name a specific time you had to budget for something in your department, office, or event you were in charge of and the factors you thought off when budgeting.
Now I shall transition to answering my own question. In my assistantship I was in charge of purchasing bikes for our new program, which is sweeping campus by storm, Borrow Our Bikes. Now when I was purchasing these bikes I had to take into account a lot of factors and variables. I had to think of the current budget we had, how long we planned on using the same bikes, if I had to buy different types of bikes, do different bikes need different bike parts. I had to think of all these things and make sure that if my supervisor or whoever asked me a question about the purchases I had a reason for every purchase. Something that everyone also should know it always, always, always keep your receipts.
Chapter 18 In my former employment at CAB something my supervisor did that made me feel like I was contributing to the team was say "thank you" after every successful meeting I ran. We even joked about it because she literally said it every time I felt a meeting ran well or I spoke well, and sometimes I even knew it was coming. But, a simple thank you goes a long way and I really did appreciate it. Also, it is quite surprising to see how many people don't say thank you for good work done even though it takes 3 seconds so I must say that something that small works wonders for people. I see Alyssa knows what I'm talking about.
I am still full from thanksgiving and will probably still be eating turkey and all the fixins’ this week.
Right now we are planning the budget for next year in Student Government and Alyssa and I have some input on it, but I will let her discuss that if she wishes while I talk about budgeting as a regional director (RD) for TKE. The chapter services side of the office is given a large budget and it is separated into different categories for different departments within. I was given a set amount of money for the year and could not go over. This was to cover all of my travel expenses including, airfare, car rentals, mileage, food, hotels, conferences, etc. I was responsible for visiting 63 chapters and colonies in the west (Missouri to California), the largest geographical region (everything is spread out and takes a long time to get to). I would typically plan out 3 months in advance all of my hotels, flights, car needs, and a set budget for food for each day. My first year, I was a little more frugal in my budgeting. I was visiting 4 chapters within New Mexico and Arizona and instead of renting a car; I relied on alumni and members of the chapters to transport me from place to place (the chapters were about 5 hours apart). Sometimes this meant arranging someone from one group to drive me half way and someone from another group to pick me up and drive me the rest of the way. This puts a lot of trust in people you have never met before. Enough of that rant, a tip for budgeting aside from keeping receipts, which is a must (good job CJ), is to expect the unexpected. There always needs to be extra money in the budget allotted for expenses that you may not need at the time but may in the future. For me working at TKE that could have been a meal you pick up for an alumni or a flat tire on the road.
Ch. 16: In my assistantship, like in many others, I am working with a minimal budget that I must be aware of when planning events for the Holcombe Scholars. In addition to budgeting for the seminars and social events we hold, I am also responsible for hiring tutors for the students on an as needed basis. I am the one that collects and submits their time sheets so I must keep track of all of their hours throughout the year in order to complete a budget report at the end of the spring semester. Like CJ mentioned, it is super important that I keep copies of receipts and any other records that deal with the funds so that if there is ever any question, I can refer back to a hard copy of something. With higher education funding being cut more and more each year, budgeting will certainly be a crucial issue for all of us as we enter our first jobs in the field.
Ch. 16: Ah, budgeting. It is definitely both an art and a science. I guess for me as the Honors GA, it is a tricky challenge to help instruct the students to stick to a budget. I make few purchases, but have to oversee everything that the students consider buying. Some students struggle with the “oversight” factor and wind up making purchases anyways and expecting reimbursement. Often, it’s not too big of an issue. It really only becomes a problem when they’ve purchased either a very large item or a duplicate of something the Honors College already possesses. Budgeting someone else’s budget has been complicated, but I’ve learned to preemptively account for things that the students might try to purchase by keeping inventory of the items we already own and specifically communicating with the person in charge of the budget for a particular event.
Ch. 18: I agree with Clara, when you’ve had an awful supervisor, it makes working for a good one that much more wonderful. My supervisor periodically meets with me to review how work is coming along, but also just to see how I am doing and to offer a chance to address any concerns I have. I feel fortunate, that while things can be hectic or confusing at times, that my supervisor keeps the lines of communication open. He does a great job of pointing out where I excel and how I’ve contributed to better the way things run. It is rewarding to work for someone who appreciates the effort and commitment you bring to the organization.
CH 16: I haven't worked very much with budgets in ONS. Occasionally, we will order breakfast or lunch for a presentation for the students who attend, but I am not privy to our working budget and how it impacts the frequency, etc. of these orders.
CH 18: My supervisor makes me feel appreciated by telling us when she is very pleased with something. She also has taken the office out to lunch before, or has ordered breakfast for staff meetings.
Chapter 16: Currently, since I am the advisor for Juniper Poplar Hall Council, I work with a student on our budget, planning spending for programs. Since the budget is for the whole year, I have to think ahead and keep the budget on track, not spending too much at any one time. Something I am working on is teaching the students about budgets as well. When one of them ordered $150 worth of pizza I almost had a heart attack, but decided to use it as a learning experience for myself as well as for him. Now he knows to consult myself and the rest of the group before ordering 20 pizzas and I know what clear expectations for these students look like.
Chapter 18: Unfortunately this is an area in which Housing and Residential Education struggles, though certain supervisors and RLCs do make an effort to make the grads feel that they are valuable and matter (because we definitely do!). The RLC with whom I taught one of the RA class sections was really excellent at this, giving me equal input in lesson planning, grading, etc. He always asked my opinion, listened to it and we worked to incorporate the good ideas and develop the less good ones. Being asked my opinion and actually taking it into consideration is something that makes me feel valued, and I'm sure this holds true for a number of others as well. My direct supervisor is very good about saying thank you when I do something for her and when a job is well done she notices that as well.
In my assistantship, we do a lot of marketing and recruitment visits to other universities not only in Florida but other states. I am responsible for creating the budget for my team in regards to these trips. In creating these budgets, I have to take into account not only the office budget, but university rules and regulations., such as contracts and partnerships with certain agencies and the allotted amount of money per day for employees for food. I also have to keep in mind other variables such as the mileage traveled on those trips, the cost of gas in the area of the trip, and the amount of days the trip would last. Keeping all of this in mind, I must also make sure I don’t go over the budget cap in which my director of our office has set for these trips.
Chapter 18:
My supervisor always lets me know that I am a valuable contribution to the team. She does this on a daily basis every time I leave for the day or weekend by verbally telling me or by sending me an email. She has makes me feel valued by always asking for my opinion on a certain project she is doing or student file that she may be reviewing. With my supervisor letting me know that I am a valuable contributor to the team is really encouraging and helpful and keeps me motivated.
Chapter 16: The funding for the College of Education is provided directly from the Florida State Government in Tallahassee. Therefore, is it important to have detailed documentation regarding all elements of the department. Academic records, as well as budget records are carefully archived. In the pre education advising office we have a very small work space and very small staff, however the services provided to students is large and never ending. We all work together to accomplish our objectives, including resource management. One example is simple but effective; file folders are recycled until they are unable to serve a purpose.
Chapter 18: As a GA in Pre education advising, I do not interact with my supervisor very often. We share an open dialog in which we can communicate when needed. He is very understanding and uncomplicated; he makes our office a relaxed environment. I am grateful for the second year GA, Rose, who teaches me so much about our office, the CSA program, and great perspective about the balance between service to students and professional development.
Chapter 16: In financial aid I do nothing with budgets, but as an RA I did have an allocated amount of money for the year to spend on programs for my hall. The largest event our staff organized was our annual event, which was open for any student to attend. With a limited budget we worked on getting as many donations as possible and were successful in getting food and prizes donated. We used the funds we had for decorations and the annual give-away, a coffee mug.
Chapter 18: My current supervisor has let me know that what I do matters by telling me thank you and taking notice of the quality of work I am completing. I appreciate that we have an open line of communication. The entire office of financial aid also shows their appreciation for all its student workers through an annual luncheon. There is plenty of home cooked food and an atmosphere of excitement and appreciation that day.
Ch 16: I have never really worked with a budget. I have worked in many a department that has no budget, and trying to make the most out of nothing is the most important.
Ch 18: My previous supervisor at Disney was an AMAZING supervisor and I miss her so much! She would often send quick thank you emails or call you into her office just to say I was doing a good job and have a quick chat! She would remember the littlest think and really did care. My supervisor now is great at saying thank you, she always says thank you even for the littlest thing. What really got me was this one time when I was collecting material for the career fair, and Dr. Howard, our director, stopped me to tell me what a great job I have been doing and that it does not go unnoticed. I might have been a simple thing, but that short conversation made my whole week!
Ch.16: Budgeting is hard work. In my assistanship, I've been privy to information regarding the renewal of our grant (which was just renewed a few months ago yay!)which can be complicated. Deciding how to allocate funds is tricky business. The reality often is, there just isn't enough to go around. Luckily we don't have that problem at SSS; like Julia noted really being smart about spending and trying to make the most out of what you've got is paramount. As head of a non-profit, we're constantly looking for monies and re-planning our budgets.
Ch.18: Luckily I've been blessed with really good supervisors. The whole micromanaging thing can be annoying at least, disrespectful at most. As a manager, it's important to let your employees know you appreciate them and that you respect them and what they bring to the table enough to let them do their jobs without you looking over their shoulder constantly. At SSS, I have nothing but freedom to serve our students in the way I think is best for that student. My supervisor is great!
CH 16. Budgeting is extremely difficult to do both personally and in the workplace. That is probably the most common complaint you hear in our program, from our guest speakers citing certain struggles and in higher education all together. A specific example I can give is when I was given the task of trying to secure advertising for a local college admissions fair. After some research I realized how expensive adversiting on billboards or radio would be so to save $ myself and other admissions reps took to the streets with printed posters and put them up ourselves in local schools and recreational facilities.
Ch. 18 The biggest lesson I have learned from my professional experiences is that many times it is important to let employees "be themselves", but also within reason. Embracing the uniqueness of others and using the popular sports analogy of " playing to the strengths of the team" is super important. I have felt most valued when additional responsibilites are given to me and I am trusted to carry out tasks. I have had other experiences where a certain supervisor literally tried to mold me down to even specific nuances of the job such as how I sit during meetings. This was a highly stressful time for me and caused a lot of self doubt. Luckily I am with a supervisor now who understands the concept of leadership and truly believes in me and has helped my professional growth.
In my previous career, I had the chance to work worth a lot of different supervisors. The two most important tools that worked for me were communication and rewards. By letting me know what was expected in advance, it allowed me to work with a clear purpose. Good communication also involved giving me insightful feedback on positive and negative performance. I always found it easier to work knowing that we were on the same page and it made it much easier to make decisions in difficult moments because I knew the priorities on which we had agreed. The concept of rewards is much deeper in that it is not necessary to be monetary. Some of the most effective rewards were recognition from my peers. Awards given at conferences or impromptu meetings where specific decisions were commended were the most important and prized. We operated an entire school on a token economy point system that determined everything from class placement and reward trips to graduation and college scholarships. Rewards are not the same thing to every person. One of the challenges as a supervisor is to find the reward that motivates each person and work from that perspective.
Budget considerations can be so broad, it is hard to find just one tactic to consider. The most important factor is to establish priorities for your budget. You need to figure out what is going to be the most important within your budget constraints. The hardest decisions I had to make in preparing budgets were deciding on staffing patterns. There were years that I had to make layoffs and cut hours. One year I had to cut an entire department of fifteen people due to en expiring contract. It was supposed to be renewed, but the state made last minute budget changes and the funding was cut. The school could not afford to carry the program without the additional funding, so a difficult decision was made due to budget constraints.
Chapter 16: I have a little bit of experience working with Budgets in undergrad and at my last job. In my last job, we did incremental budgeting and had to see if the increments would be accurate for the next year. If the building was at 75% occupancy, what would utilities look like if our expected occupancy would be at 97% occupancy. What changes to the costs, like increased costs from vendors, etc. We used accrual accounting and after each months period, we had to match the actual money spent and received vs. our budget for the month. With accrual accounting, it was more complicated but helped with keeping track of commitments. Although I was not the person in charge of the budget, I was asked yearly to help figure out predictions for the next year and track the differences after each month's period.
In undergrad, my experience with the budget focused on if the money spent served the correct population effectively. If we held an event for the class of 2007 and only 250 people attended (a small portion of the class) is that the best use of spending our allocated funds? That is a tough balance to find when a large portion of our school was not involved and wouldn't come out to events no matter how great they really were.
Chapter 18: Thank you's are a recurring theme from everyone who has posted so far. It is always reassuring to hear a thank you for the littlest things and it validates all your hardwork. I think Kevin is dead on with his idea of rewards. Rewards come in all shapes and sizes. A lot of time it is those little thank you's or emails but people are motivated by differnt things. As a supervisor, you need to fins what motivates your staff. Sometimes it is a special prize for reaching common goals like a pizza party, for others it is getting a little paid time off (i.e. for a good job well done, you can leave an hour early friday), monetary compensation, or public praise like an award or recognition for a job well done. Each person is motivated differently so finding that motivation is essential. I have a feeling a lot of student affairs people are motivated by the little thank you's because of the type of work we do!
My boss is a prime example of what it means to be a good administrator. She does her job, treats her employees well, and encourages everyone to do his or her best. Also, she conducts herself in a way that is befitting to leadership, friendly but capable of her duties as a boss.
When I do a good job, I am acknowledged for my endeavors. This helps boost the morale of the workplace and constitutes an overall sense of well-being for the office. By treating her employees with respect, as well as complimenting them on a job well done, productivity is up and employees are happy; the employers are happy as well.
Another example of when I know I matter in the work place is the constructive criticism I receive. It's not detrimental to my overall sense of self-worth, and allows me to better improve my work-related abilities.
Ch. 16 While I did not necessarily have to specifically budget for one particular item, I did have to take into account the management of resources in the workplace, and help disburse financial aid funds for students.
It is necessary from time to time to take into account the expected amount of students for the following semester, so one can allocate the right amount of funds. This process is usually administered in the form of a meeting, and is a team effort.
I understand what CJ means when he describes the sense of self satisfaction one gets when told he or she does a good job. At my former workplace, Ruby Tuesday, it didn't really matter what one did...I could have sold the most of whatever and still not be congratulated all that often. While everyone doesn't have to have their hand held or given constant praise, it is nice to know every once in a while that you matter and contribute to group success.
As many of us have experienced, I have witnessed the many challenges that staff supervision can create. In both of my jobs prior to enrolling at USF, I worked under a new supervisor - someone who had JUST been hired to supervise my position and was still learning the ropes. Unfortunately, both of those individuals were under a lot of pressure in their new roles and were in a job that required a results-oriented mindset, so it was all about being successful rather than managing people. The biggest difference for me now, is that I work with someone who leaves me notes, emails, and talks to me about the work we do together and how great it feels for us to be able to accomplish things in this short time that weren't possible years ago. It's rewarding and pushes me to work even harder because I know what I am doing is getting noticed.
In my assistantship, I have been charged with advising/overseeing a student consulting group and we just last week set the budget for the upcoming year. The most important thing with the budget we set was to leave room for growth. This is the first year of the program and we have some big ideas, but we know we likely left off a lot of things. We didn't want to suffocate the group and make it feel restricted, so we did our best to be realistic about funding but also to make sure we give the group members the freedom to enhance the program for future years. Another important consideration is the number of people that the program will impact. We have 12 students in the group, but we also have a student coordinator, myself, and my supervisor - all of who could make decisions regarding the budget, if necessary. Additionally, we consult other student organizations so this is where we see the most potential for positive impact. The more students, staff, and faculty we impact, the more gracious we can be with the budget because the program is reaching out and hopefully representing our brand well.
Ch 16 I haven’t worked with the BBC budget too much, but I think it definitely falls under “incremental budgeting.” We know we have four company tours, and etiquette dinner, open house, etc. throughout the year, and we can use last year’s budget to determine the cost. I was able to see this budget, and found out that it is supporting a lot more than just activities for the students. This helped me understand why we need to be frugal with spending, as there is not much left to fall back on. We also learned that the students needed to understand this as well. When 50 students RSVPed for a tour and a lot less actually showed up, we could have arranged for cheaper transportation. Emphasizing this to the students helped with turnout for the next tour.
Ch 18 My position was a bit challenging at first, as both my supervisor and I were new to USF and the BBC. It seemed like a constant game of catch up, and we struggled to communicate because we were in opposite offices most of the week. Meeting once a week to catch up on everything definitely helped, and being on the same page is less stressful for both of us. My supervisor is very supportive, and I feel comfortable asking her for feedback.
Ch 16: When I first started my assistantship with New Student Connections, I was responsible for putting together Welcome Kits for Fall Week of Welcome. The kit included a number of promotional publications and décor for offices around the university to post. I only had a certain amount to use to buy the items. I had to do a number of price-comparing sessions with vendors and printing companies to get the most out of the budget. For instance, one company was selling streamers for $1.00 a roll while another company had a promotion, selling 4 streamers for $2.00. Also, I had to create budget proposals via spreadsheets to explain how much each product costs, also showing comparisons of how much something would cost at one company over another as well as how much product I would receive. Of course, I had to consider the quality of the products that I was purchasing, too. It all worked out in the end as I got the most out of my budget limit. Many offices were representing WOW with the décor provided to them.
Ch. 18 Keri is great with expressing her gratitude toward the work I do in the office. I have a corkboard that is starting to get covered with random notes and memos people post, expressing their appreciation of the work I do. She has written a certain amount of them It could be something as complex as helping a student or something as simple as encouraging another staff member. She is great with recognizing the great things that I do. On the other hand, Keri also spots the areas that I need to improve in my work performance. Such feedback speaks volumes to me because I’ve always been taught that people correct you or suggest ways to improve because they care and want you to succeed. I’ve had some missteps in my position, and she has helped me rebound and see the error in the situation. I’m glad that I have an amazing supervisor
I feel like my previous supervisor was great. He did not micromanage us, and kind of let his staff form their own experiences and opinions. He took the time to understand each of the G.A's and our strengths and weaknesses. I think the practice of synergistic leadership was vital. We were all active in defining the goals of the department. As employees we were highly motivated and always encouraged to try our hardest. One other important aspect our supervisor was very aware of was the recognition of burnout and stress. With me especially, he always brought to my attention if I was stressed out over small things...and lay out the whole picture for me to see and help me realize it's nothing to stress over.
Chapter 16 I haven't really had to deal with budgeting, but this semester I am constantly reminded of the tight budget athletics is on. I think Program budgeting is the approach used. There are definitely goals set that are to be reached, analyzing current programs, developing a plan, analyzing and selecting alternative programs, and evaluating programs. With athletics and working in academics, I have seen quite a stress on our tutoring program. There is a lot of money lost with tutoring, when athletes don't show up to appointments. At first when looking at this I didn't quite understand how much money is actually lost because of this, but now I know thousands of dollars can be lost in the year due to this.
Chapter 16 I budget how much money each of my RAs uses on their programs. Some have maxed out while others have barely tapped into the money allocated for the semester (some are pretty creative!) For larger scale programs like our annual programs we ask our housing student organizations if they can also contribute as our annuals usually attract hundreds of students. I hope that we are able to really look at our budget as a department and break down how we actually spend money. I'm pretty sure the majority of money is spent on food so hopefully we can think of creative ways to change that.
Chapter 18 I've had a range of supervisors. The individuals who were model supervisors were genuine about letting me know that I was valued, not just the work that I did. In my experience the supervisors who were concerned about my growth and development are the people I think about when interacting with students. I do agree with Caitlin as Housing does struggle in this area. I personally feel that the department sometimes participates in forced recognition which isn't very healthy. Showing a coworker or staff member that they matter should not be a forced process!
Chapter 16: What a timely chapter to read! We just wrapped up the first drafts of the budgets for our office for submittal to SG. My director had each of us involved to help her as we are asking for more money to evolve current programming and create new programs. What I did not realize was the detail involved in the budget proposal process. I am used to having a set amount given, then breaking down the budget to make it work for the total amount. This process is literally figuring out the budget for each line item to get the total to propose. This process, in addition to the chapter, truly opened my eyes to the budget process that exists and will definitely help me in the future when I will be in a position that has to create or possibly approve budgets.
Chapter 18: I have had the pleasure to work for some truly amazing supervisors, and unfortunately some not so amazing ones either. I think the daily interactions actually going a long way: general thank you's for tasks completed, congratulations on the small achievements, etc. But definitely the biggest praise I have ever received is when my supervisor confides in me and trusts me enough to work with me on another level. I think this is a sign of trust that he/she sees something in you that is worthy of their time and development to help you get to the next level. A good review and pay raise is always nice as well!
My current supervisor really cares about her GA’s. She really values our opinion on certain situations and often comes to me for my opinion on certain issues with students. She always keeps me in the loop and makes sure that I am aware of what is going on with students. She provides us with the resources necessary and is extremely helpful when I am unaware of how to approach a certain situation. I feel very comfortable talking to her about anything and I feel confident that she will give me the feedback that I need and deserve. She is also very supportive and is aware of our responsibilities outside of work and is understanding of that.
For Ch. 16, my answer is quite similar to Andrea’s. We pretty much work on the same budget and have almost identical programs. We are responsible for budgeting seminars, social events, service events, transportation, etc. We are also responsible for hiring tutors and making sure that we record their hours for our annual report.
Chapter 16: While financial planning has not really come up in my daily routine in my assistantship, this is definitely something I have experience with. While working in my last position and planning Throwdown’s booth for the UFC Expo in Vegas, I had an abundance of financial responsibilities. I had to decide what vendors to choose from within the budget I had for the event, what products and services to pay for and what to purchase to have at the event, as well as basic things like general electric for the booth. As CJ said it is always important to keep your receipts. This is important for the following reasons: reconciling, auditing, and also to explain your monthly ledger to the accountant. These things can relate to our field because we will always have to explain costs and expenses to an absurd amount of people before reimbursement comes for purchasing a product for a department. For example, I was probably asked 25 times why the CSA department needed flashdrives, and Dr. Miller probably just recently received Mrs. Miller’s money back for the shoe fund.
Chp16. I have been advising a student board in the CLCE this semester that is attempting to function with no budget. It has been extremely difficult to recruit student leaders to be part of the organization without funds to throw a interest party or t-shirts to give based on participation. Somehow the board is managing to make it happen. I commend their efforts and I am pleased to say that I have successfully lobbied for them to have some funds in the spring semester. It was a tough challenge knowing that the money that they receive will have to come from another area of the budget and selling short another organization would not be the consequence we were looking for. Another budget issue that has arisen lately is the ability to spend the allocated funds for federal work study. We have been awarded enough money for about 80 tutors but since I was naive entering my assistantship I thought that using 60 would be able to cover the allocation. I believe it is always good practice to learn from your mistakes and so I will address that next year. The problem my department is facing now, is that we have been running this program for 4 years with little continuation among staff so Dr. Meningall is asking, "Why wasn't this realized in the past?"
Chp18. In the CLCE they definitely have figured out encouragement through reward. Just a couple months ago I was assisting our director, Jennifer, with a course she was teaching, Images of Leadership. The second class we had she wasn't able to attend due to having candidates come in for our open positions. I had to lead the class in a discussion and do my best to cover in her absence. As a reward for that class she took me out to dinner before every remaining class session. I was completely floored by the amount of time and effort she put into thanking me for my hard work. It really has motivated me to stay loyal and consistent in all my work. Her leadership had inspired me and influences the approach I take with my students.
Chapter 16 - Thankfully, I have not had to budget anything in my assistantship so far! That being said, I think I have a pretty extensive experience in budgeting within student affairs. A couple of years ago I was the chairman of the Activity and Service Recommendation Committee (ASRC). This is the committee that puts together the annual budget for all Activity and Service fees. Let me tell you what an huge process that was! Generally, there is extensive support from professionals who handle budgeting in helping to prepare this budget (after all, it's over $10 million). Unfortunately, when I took the position, the university was in the process of moving to SASSC and the director of the budget office for SG was new and unfamiliar with how the process worked. I essentially had to invent the budgeting procedures, forms, and process as I went along. I was nervous to say the least. Being chairman of the committee, I had to hear presentations from each department within student affairs (that wanted some A&S money) and then wrangle a bunch of students together to cobble together one large cohesive budget for presentation to the President. To compound the situation even farther, I made the decision to end the practice of allocating money beyond projected revenue (essentially deficit spending) which required me to cut the budget several million dollars from the previous year. Thankfully, I was able to do it all while staying sane and not damaging relationships with student affairs professionals who were going to be seeing their budgets cut (some significantly). At the end of the process, I remember being incredibly nervous when I presented the budget to Dr. Genshaft (which she signed readily). Overall, it was a great experience and I learned the inner workings of budgeting withing student affairs and created a streamlined budgeting process for ASRC that is still in use today.
Chapter 18 - My supervisor is awesome about letting me know I matter. He's particularly good at noticing when I do good work and will verbally praise me when I do something good. It may be a silly example, but I really appreciated it when he posted something on facebook about how I did a good presentation and tagged me in the post. It made my day and really let me know that I was appreciated and was making a difference. I think one of the other things he's really good at is recognizing burnout or stress. It always seems that when I'm at my wits end or am frazzled after a long day, he has some fun or different item that I can work on. I absolutely love my job and I don't think that would be the case if I didn't have such awesome supervisors!
The greatest way my supervisors lets me know that I am valued is through are one on ones and through praise and support. He builds me up and lets me know that I am doing great things and then shows me the changes I have made. These are all the bucket filling things he does but they aren't the greatest. What truly makes me feel valued and worthwhile is when I receive constructive criticism because I know he is doing it to better me and allow me to grow to my fullest potential, while it may be hard to swallow at times it is what's best for me to grow/
One of my job requirements is to advise the Greek Programming Board (GPB) this is a board conprised of members from the four different councils that plan and execute the large greek events such as the burger and bands welcome event, greek day of service, and greek week. GPB recently planned greek day of service on 0 budget. The board doesn't really have a laid out budget of this much goes to this event and this event gets so much money there is really such an account and it is up to the board to spend it as they wish. I expressed to the board how much was left in the bank account and typically how much money is needed to plan Greek Week, which happens late in the spring but is the boards last big event. So basically the board had 0$ for this event of Greek Day of Service. The board and I worked diligently on cosponsors and donations and partnerships in order to make this event happen on 0$. The event ended up going off with GPB spending approx. $150, but considering the whole event cost about $500 it was some great work done by the board. There were times when the board came to me with grand extravagant ideas and I honestly just had to have them think about the budget and think about how much the idea would cost and have them come to the realization that we couldn't afford it, because if I would have just said "no, we can't afford it" they wouldn't truly understand and would just think I was being a mean advisor.
In the past some of my supervisors have done the rewarding type process of having employee of the month, and incentives and such. As I got older being able to participate or even lead program,etc. those things became rewarding, and if they were done well I and my co-workers would be able to continue and to initiate other programs. If we didn't do well, the great thing at that time was that there was a learning experience if the program was not done well.
Fortunately, I was able to work on the OPS Student Employee budget this year in my assistant-ship. Some of the things I thought about when doing the budget were increase in responsibility of student staff and increase of pay rate for student employees who have added responsibilities in the job descriptions. Me being very new to budgeting I learned that there has to be a proposed increase (to the boss of course) and it has to be approved. Also I Learned that there is a priority in budgeting as well which is much needed.
Hope everyone is looking forward to thanksgiving break! Even though this isn't due until after the break, I wanted to get it out of the way so I don't forget about it later.
ReplyDeleteCh. 18 is about managing human resources. The chapter states that one of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of student affairs administration is the leadership and management of staff. There are several ways that supervisors can get the best out of their employees (pg. 409). Explain one or two ways that your current or any previous supervisor(s) has let you know that what you do matters and you are a valuable contribution to the organization.
Almost done with the blogs! :)
Yay! I really like this blog topic. After working my true life devil wears prada job, I feel like Dr. Henry is always making me feel like I am a valuable asset to her team. In my previous position I worked long grueling hours, and was always micromanaged. Remember the scene when Meryl Streep tried to get her assistant to have a plane fly her back to NYC during a hurricane? Some employers are that crazy and unappreciative. Sometimes I feel like I do the littlest thing for Dr. Henry and she gets so happy like it was absolutely amazing. When it comes to the millennial gap between us, she understands how to work together. When I teach her how to do things on her Outlook she shows great appreciation, but also knows how to give constructive feedback. She understands the idea of assigning a task and letting you work on it without being micromanaging and allowing me to come to her when I have questions. I think she has the perfect balance of being supportive and knowledgeable in the workplace.
ReplyDeleteChapter 18
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog topic!
We are fortunate to have an amazing director and office manager in student government. There are quite a few ways that they let us know that we are doing a good job. The first (and maybe an indirect way of showing it) is by giving an opportunity to work on different committees in student affairs that a director would normally be a part of. A more direct way of knowing that we matter is through their communication with us and other department heads. They are often tell us how much they appreciate us and whenever they attend other meetings for grad supervisors they continually bring up how much we mean to them as well.
My coordinator doesnt go out of his way to show us how much he appreciates us, we do get the occasional email saying we have done a good job and thank you but I expect that from the line of work we are in, we do our jobs right and thats how it is supposed to be. What he does do that I really appreciate is he lets us think and supports our ideas. He takes time out of this schedule to sit down and help plan out an idea we have and help put it in motion. Since I am new to this I am not sure of the ways to go about everything but he is always willing to guide but he doens't do it for us, he lets us think for ourselves. We all work hard and enjoy our work and I think that letting us explore new ideas and ways of going about things is more beneficial than a thank you email for doing things the way we have done them for years. I think not having a large age or really much of a gap at all is helpful because it wasn't long ago he was in our shoes and I think he does a really good job of realizing that and he helps us but doesn't micromanage which is awesome.
ReplyDeleteLabs, I can definitely relate to your previous experience with poor management. My current supervisor is also much more upbeat and appreciative than the administrators at the high school where I taught. At the beginning of the semester, my supervisor was extremely helpful in answering any questions I had and checked in often to make sure everything was okay. As she became confident that I had the skills necessary to do a good job, I have gained more autonomy. She periodically lets me know when I have done a good job, and when I am struggling with something I feel comfortable discussing that with her and getting feedback on changes I can make. Her supportive management style makes me a better employee.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone has had some sort of experience with a bad supervisor, which makes working under a good one so enjoyable and appreciative. My current supervisors are demanding but they know the demands of the job are tough but my work has always been valued and appreciated. I agree with Lisa in the way that our supervisors are similar, is they take time to meet and discuss our ideas. I have the freedom and responsibility to plan and supervise major programs and that shows confidence from my supervisors. It comes up during staff meetings how appreciative our office is of each other, and it is a great environment to work it and be part of.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite things about Gary as a supervisor is that he always says thank you. Even when everything went wrong with elections he took the time to tell me I really was doing a good job and he appreciated the work I was doing. He’s also really good about telling me where I can improve and asking me what I need from him so that I can do better next time. I think he’s really trying to teach and make Justin and I better (future) professionals and I really appreciate that. He also started asking for our opinions right away when we started, it was nice to feel included in some of the decisions we make from the beginning. I’ve noticed he does the same thing for our students, he’ll tell them when they ran a really good meeting or did a nice job presenting, anything like that. It seems like something goes wrong on a pretty regular basis in SG, so I think all of our students appreciate hearing when they’ve done something right.
ReplyDeleteHey everyone! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and ate a lot of food because I'll be honest, I did and now I will be at the rec everyday not working, but trying to loose the 10 pounds I gained. But besides that it's time for blogs.
ReplyDeleteChapter 16 is about strategic planning and finance. This chapter breaks down the steps for strategic planning and on pg. 367 gives different budgeting approaches. All of this is helpful in our assistantships because it helps us think of the future and what we need to plan to do next which includes future purchases. With the different budget approaches it also helps us prioritize and see what is important and what can wait.
For discussion, and I know it may not apply to everyone's assistantship so if it does not try to find a previous time you did this, name a specific time you had to budget for something in your department, office, or event you were in charge of and the factors you thought off when budgeting.
Chapter 16
ReplyDeleteNow I shall transition to answering my own question. In my assistantship I was in charge of purchasing bikes for our new program, which is sweeping campus by storm, Borrow Our Bikes. Now when I was purchasing these bikes I had to take into account a lot of factors and variables. I had to think of the current budget we had, how long we planned on using the same bikes, if I had to buy different types of bikes, do different bikes need different bike parts. I had to think of all these things and make sure that if my supervisor or whoever asked me a question about the purchases I had a reason for every purchase. Something that everyone also should know it always, always, always keep your receipts.
Chapter 18
In my former employment at CAB something my supervisor did that made me feel like I was contributing to the team was say "thank you" after every successful meeting I ran. We even joked about it because she literally said it every time I felt a meeting ran well or I spoke well, and sometimes I even knew it was coming. But, a simple thank you goes a long way and I really did appreciate it. Also, it is quite surprising to see how many people don't say thank you for good work done even though it takes 3 seconds so I must say that something that small works wonders for people. I see Alyssa knows what I'm talking about.
Chapter 16
ReplyDeleteI am still full from thanksgiving and will probably still be eating turkey and all the fixins’ this week.
Right now we are planning the budget for next year in Student Government and Alyssa and I have some input on it, but I will let her discuss that if she wishes while I talk about budgeting as a regional director (RD) for TKE. The chapter services side of the office is given a large budget and it is separated into different categories for different departments within. I was given a set amount of money for the year and could not go over. This was to cover all of my travel expenses including, airfare, car rentals, mileage, food, hotels, conferences, etc. I was responsible for visiting 63 chapters and colonies in the west (Missouri to California), the largest geographical region (everything is spread out and takes a long time to get to). I would typically plan out 3 months in advance all of my hotels, flights, car needs, and a set budget for food for each day. My first year, I was a little more frugal in my budgeting. I was visiting 4 chapters within New Mexico and Arizona and instead of renting a car; I relied on alumni and members of the chapters to transport me from place to place (the chapters were about 5 hours apart). Sometimes this meant arranging someone from one group to drive me half way and someone from another group to pick me up and drive me the rest of the way. This puts a lot of trust in people you have never met before. Enough of that rant, a tip for budgeting aside from keeping receipts, which is a must (good job CJ), is to expect the unexpected. There always needs to be extra money in the budget allotted for expenses that you may not need at the time but may in the future. For me working at TKE that could have been a meal you pick up for an alumni or a flat tire on the road.
Ch. 16: In my assistantship, like in many others, I am working with a minimal budget that I must be aware of when planning events for the Holcombe Scholars. In addition to budgeting for the seminars and social events we hold, I am also responsible for hiring tutors for the students on an as needed basis. I am the one that collects and submits their time sheets so I must keep track of all of their hours throughout the year in order to complete a budget report at the end of the spring semester. Like CJ mentioned, it is super important that I keep copies of receipts and any other records that deal with the funds so that if there is ever any question, I can refer back to a hard copy of something. With higher education funding being cut more and more each year, budgeting will certainly be a crucial issue for all of us as we enter our first jobs in the field.
ReplyDeleteCh. 16:
ReplyDeleteAh, budgeting. It is definitely both an art and a science. I guess for me as the Honors GA, it is a tricky challenge to help instruct the students to stick to a budget. I make few purchases, but have to oversee everything that the students consider buying. Some students struggle with the “oversight” factor and wind up making purchases anyways and expecting reimbursement. Often, it’s not too big of an issue. It really only becomes a problem when they’ve purchased either a very large item or a duplicate of something the Honors College already possesses. Budgeting someone else’s budget has been complicated, but I’ve learned to preemptively account for things that the students might try to purchase by keeping inventory of the items we already own and specifically communicating with the person in charge of the budget for a particular event.
Ch. 18:
I agree with Clara, when you’ve had an awful supervisor, it makes working for a good one that much more wonderful. My supervisor periodically meets with me to review how work is coming along, but also just to see how I am doing and to offer a chance to address any concerns I have. I feel fortunate, that while things can be hectic or confusing at times, that my supervisor keeps the lines of communication open. He does a great job of pointing out where I excel and how I’ve contributed to better the way things run. It is rewarding to work for someone who appreciates the effort and commitment you bring to the organization.
CH 16: I haven't worked very much with budgets in ONS. Occasionally, we will order breakfast or lunch for a presentation for the students who attend, but I am not privy to our working budget and how it impacts the frequency, etc. of these orders.
ReplyDeleteCH 18: My supervisor makes me feel appreciated by telling us when she is very pleased with something. She also has taken the office out to lunch before, or has ordered breakfast for staff meetings.
Chapter 16:
ReplyDeleteCurrently, since I am the advisor for Juniper Poplar Hall Council, I work with a student on our budget, planning spending for programs. Since the budget is for the whole year, I have to think ahead and keep the budget on track, not spending too much at any one time. Something I am working on is teaching the students about budgets as well. When one of them ordered $150 worth of pizza I almost had a heart attack, but decided to use it as a learning experience for myself as well as for him. Now he knows to consult myself and the rest of the group before ordering 20 pizzas and I know what clear expectations for these students look like.
Chapter 18:
Unfortunately this is an area in which Housing and Residential Education struggles, though certain supervisors and RLCs do make an effort to make the grads feel that they are valuable and matter (because we definitely do!). The RLC with whom I taught one of the RA class sections was really excellent at this, giving me equal input in lesson planning, grading, etc. He always asked my opinion, listened to it and we worked to incorporate the good ideas and develop the less good ones. Being asked my opinion and actually taking it into consideration is something that makes me feel valued, and I'm sure this holds true for a number of others as well. My direct supervisor is very good about saying thank you when I do something for her and when a job is well done she notices that as well.
Chapter 16:
ReplyDeleteIn my assistantship, we do a lot of marketing and recruitment visits to other universities not only in Florida but other states. I am responsible for creating the budget for my team in regards to these trips. In creating these budgets, I have to take into account not only the office budget, but university rules and regulations., such as contracts and partnerships with certain agencies and the allotted amount of money per day for employees for food. I also have to keep in mind other variables such as the mileage traveled on those trips, the cost of gas in the area of the trip, and the amount of days the trip would last. Keeping all of this in mind, I must also make sure I don’t go over the budget cap in which my director of our office has set for these trips.
Chapter 18:
My supervisor always lets me know that I am a valuable contribution to the team. She does this on a daily basis every time I leave for the day or weekend by verbally telling me or by sending me an email. She has makes me feel valued by always asking for my opinion on a certain project she is doing or student file that she may be reviewing. With my supervisor letting me know that I am a valuable contributor to the team is really encouraging and helpful and keeps me motivated.
Chapter 16:
ReplyDeleteThe funding for the College of Education is provided directly from the Florida State Government in Tallahassee. Therefore, is it important to have detailed documentation regarding all elements of the department. Academic records, as well as budget records are carefully archived. In the pre education advising office we have a very small work space and very small staff, however the services provided to students is large and never ending. We all work together to accomplish our objectives, including resource management. One example is simple but effective; file folders are recycled until they are unable to serve a purpose.
Chapter 18:
As a GA in Pre education advising, I do not interact with my supervisor very often. We share an open dialog in which we can communicate when needed. He is very understanding and uncomplicated; he makes our office a relaxed environment. I am grateful for the second year GA, Rose, who teaches me so much about our office, the CSA program, and great perspective about the balance between service to students and professional development.
Chapter 16:
ReplyDeleteIn financial aid I do nothing with budgets, but as an RA I did have an allocated amount of money for the year to spend on programs for my hall. The largest event our staff organized was our annual event, which was open for any student to attend. With a limited budget we worked on getting as many donations as possible and were successful in getting food and prizes donated. We used the funds we had for decorations and the annual give-away, a coffee mug.
Chapter 18:
My current supervisor has let me know that what I do matters by telling me thank you and taking notice of the quality of work I am completing. I appreciate that we have an open line of communication. The entire office of financial aid also shows their appreciation for all its student workers through an annual luncheon. There is plenty of home cooked food and an atmosphere of excitement and appreciation that day.
Ch 16: I have never really worked with a budget. I have worked in many a department that has no budget, and trying to make the most out of nothing is the most important.
ReplyDeleteCh 18:
My previous supervisor at Disney was an AMAZING supervisor and I miss her so much! She would often send quick thank you emails or call you into her office just to say I was doing a good job and have a quick chat! She would remember the littlest think and really did care.
My supervisor now is great at saying thank you, she always says thank you even for the littlest thing. What really got me was this one time when I was collecting material for the career fair, and Dr. Howard, our director, stopped me to tell me what a great job I have been doing and that it does not go unnoticed. I might have been a simple thing, but that short conversation made my whole week!
Ch.16: Budgeting is hard work. In my assistanship, I've been privy to information regarding the renewal of our grant (which was just renewed a few months ago yay!)which can be complicated. Deciding how to allocate funds is tricky business. The reality often is, there just isn't enough to go around. Luckily we don't have that problem at SSS; like Julia noted really being smart about spending and trying to make the most out of what you've got is paramount. As head of a non-profit, we're constantly looking for monies and re-planning our budgets.
ReplyDeleteCh.18: Luckily I've been blessed with really good supervisors. The whole micromanaging thing can be annoying at least, disrespectful at most. As a manager, it's important to let your employees know you appreciate them and that you respect them and what they bring to the table enough to let them do their jobs without you looking over their shoulder constantly. At SSS, I have nothing but freedom to serve our students in the way I think is best for that student. My supervisor is great!
CH 16. Budgeting is extremely difficult to do both personally and in the workplace. That is probably the most common complaint you hear in our program, from our guest speakers citing certain struggles and in higher education all together. A specific example I can give is when I was given the task of trying to secure advertising for a local college admissions fair. After some research I realized how expensive adversiting on billboards or radio would be so to save $ myself and other admissions reps took to the streets with printed posters and put them up ourselves in local schools and recreational facilities.
ReplyDeleteCh. 18 The biggest lesson I have learned from my professional experiences is that many times it is important to let employees "be themselves", but also within reason. Embracing the uniqueness of others and using the popular sports analogy of " playing to the strengths of the team" is super important. I have felt most valued when additional responsibilites are given to me and I am trusted to carry out tasks. I have had other experiences where a certain supervisor literally tried to mold me down to even specific nuances of the job such as how I sit during meetings. This was a highly stressful time for me and caused a lot of self doubt. Luckily I am with a supervisor now who understands the concept of leadership and truly believes in me and has helped my professional growth.
In my previous career, I had the chance to work worth a lot of different supervisors. The two most important tools that worked for me were communication and rewards. By letting me know what was expected in advance, it allowed me to work with a clear purpose. Good communication also involved giving me insightful feedback on positive and negative performance. I always found it easier to work knowing that we were on the same page and it made it much easier to make decisions in difficult moments because I knew the priorities on which we had agreed.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of rewards is much deeper in that it is not necessary to be monetary. Some of the most effective rewards were recognition from my peers. Awards given at conferences or impromptu meetings where specific decisions were commended were the most important and prized. We operated an entire school on a token economy point system that determined everything from class placement and reward trips to graduation and college scholarships. Rewards are not the same thing to every person. One of the challenges as a supervisor is to find the reward that motivates each person and work from that perspective.
Budget considerations can be so broad, it is hard to find just one tactic to consider. The most important factor is to establish priorities for your budget. You need to figure out what is going to be the most important within your budget constraints. The hardest decisions I had to make in preparing budgets were deciding on staffing patterns. There were years that I had to make layoffs and cut hours. One year I had to cut an entire department of fifteen people due to en expiring contract. It was supposed to be renewed, but the state made last minute budget changes and the funding was cut. The school could not afford to carry the program without the additional funding, so a difficult decision was made due to budget constraints.
ReplyDeleteChapter 16: I have a little bit of experience working with Budgets in undergrad and at my last job. In my last job, we did incremental budgeting and had to see if the increments would be accurate for the next year. If the building was at 75% occupancy, what would utilities look like if our expected occupancy would be at 97% occupancy. What changes to the costs, like increased costs from vendors, etc. We used accrual accounting and after each months period, we had to match the actual money spent and received vs. our budget for the month. With accrual accounting, it was more complicated but helped with keeping track of commitments. Although I was not the person in charge of the budget, I was asked yearly to help figure out predictions for the next year and track the differences after each month's period.
ReplyDeleteIn undergrad, my experience with the budget focused on if the money spent served the correct population effectively. If we held an event for the class of 2007 and only 250 people attended (a small portion of the class) is that the best use of spending our allocated funds? That is a tough balance to find when a large portion of our school was not involved and wouldn't come out to events no matter how great they really were.
Chapter 18: Thank you's are a recurring theme from everyone who has posted so far. It is always reassuring to hear a thank you for the littlest things and it validates all your hardwork. I think Kevin is dead on with his idea of rewards. Rewards come in all shapes and sizes. A lot of time it is those little thank you's or emails but people are motivated by differnt things. As a supervisor, you need to fins what motivates your staff. Sometimes it is a special prize for reaching common goals like a pizza party, for others it is getting a little paid time off (i.e. for a good job well done, you can leave an hour early friday), monetary compensation, or public praise like an award or recognition for a job well done. Each person is motivated differently so finding that motivation is essential. I have a feeling a lot of student affairs people are motivated by the little thank you's because of the type of work we do!
My boss is a prime example of what it means to be a good administrator. She does her job, treats her employees well, and encourages everyone to do his or her best. Also, she conducts herself in a way that is befitting to leadership, friendly but capable of her duties as a boss.
ReplyDeleteWhen I do a good job, I am acknowledged for my endeavors. This helps boost the morale of the workplace and constitutes an overall sense of well-being for the office. By treating her employees with respect, as well as complimenting them on a job well done, productivity is up and employees are happy; the employers are happy as well.
Another example of when I know I matter in the work place is the constructive criticism I receive. It's not detrimental to my overall sense of self-worth, and allows me to better improve my work-related abilities.
Ch. 16 While I did not necessarily have to specifically budget for one particular item, I did have to take into account the management of resources in the workplace, and help disburse financial aid funds for students.
ReplyDeleteIt is necessary from time to time to take into account the expected amount of students for the following semester, so one can allocate the right amount of funds. This process is usually administered in the form of a meeting, and is a team effort.
I understand what CJ means when he describes the sense of self satisfaction one gets when told he or she does a good job. At my former workplace, Ruby Tuesday, it didn't really matter what one did...I could have sold the most of whatever and still not be congratulated all that often. While everyone doesn't have to have their hand held or given constant praise, it is nice to know every once in a while that you matter and contribute to group success.
ReplyDeleteAs many of us have experienced, I have witnessed the many challenges that staff supervision can create. In both of my jobs prior to enrolling at USF, I worked under a new supervisor - someone who had JUST been hired to supervise my position and was still learning the ropes. Unfortunately, both of those individuals were under a lot of pressure in their new roles and were in a job that required a results-oriented mindset, so it was all about being successful rather than managing people. The biggest difference for me now, is that I work with someone who leaves me notes, emails, and talks to me about the work we do together and how great it feels for us to be able to accomplish things in this short time that weren't possible years ago. It's rewarding and pushes me to work even harder because I know what I am doing is getting noticed.
ReplyDeleteIn my assistantship, I have been charged with advising/overseeing a student consulting group and we just last week set the budget for the upcoming year. The most important thing with the budget we set was to leave room for growth. This is the first year of the program and we have some big ideas, but we know we likely left off a lot of things. We didn't want to suffocate the group and make it feel restricted, so we did our best to be realistic about funding but also to make sure we give the group members the freedom to enhance the program for future years. Another important consideration is the number of people that the program will impact. We have 12 students in the group, but we also have a student coordinator, myself, and my supervisor - all of who could make decisions regarding the budget, if necessary. Additionally, we consult other student organizations so this is where we see the most potential for positive impact. The more students, staff, and faculty we impact, the more gracious we can be with the budget because the program is reaching out and hopefully representing our brand well.
Ch 16
ReplyDeleteI haven’t worked with the BBC budget too much, but I think it definitely falls under “incremental budgeting.” We know we have four company tours, and etiquette dinner, open house, etc. throughout the year, and we can use last year’s budget to determine the cost. I was able to see this budget, and found out that it is supporting a lot more than just activities for the students. This helped me understand why we need to be frugal with spending, as there is not much left to fall back on. We also learned that the students needed to understand this as well. When 50 students RSVPed for a tour and a lot less actually showed up, we could have arranged for cheaper transportation. Emphasizing this to the students helped with turnout for the next tour.
Ch 18
My position was a bit challenging at first, as both my supervisor and I were new to USF and the BBC. It seemed like a constant game of catch up, and we struggled to communicate because we were in opposite offices most of the week. Meeting once a week to catch up on everything definitely helped, and being on the same page is less stressful for both of us. My supervisor is very supportive, and I feel comfortable asking her for feedback.
Ch 16:
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started my assistantship with New Student Connections, I was responsible for putting together Welcome Kits for Fall Week of Welcome. The kit included a number of promotional publications and décor for offices around the university to post. I only had a certain amount to use to buy the items. I had to do a number of price-comparing sessions with vendors and printing companies to get the most out of the budget. For instance, one company was selling streamers for $1.00 a roll while another company had a promotion, selling 4 streamers for $2.00. Also, I had to create budget proposals via spreadsheets to explain how much each product costs, also showing comparisons of how much something would cost at one company over another as well as how much product I would receive. Of course, I had to consider the quality of the products that I was purchasing, too. It all worked out in the end as I got the most out of my budget limit. Many offices were representing WOW with the décor provided to them.
Ch. 18
Keri is great with expressing her gratitude toward the work I do in the office. I have a corkboard that is starting to get covered with random notes and memos people post, expressing their appreciation of the work I do. She has written a certain amount of them It could be something as complex as helping a student or something as simple as encouraging another staff member. She is great with recognizing the great things that I do. On the other hand, Keri also spots the areas that I need to improve in my work performance. Such feedback speaks volumes to me because I’ve always been taught that people correct you or suggest ways to improve because they care and want you to succeed. I’ve had some missteps in my position, and she has helped me rebound and see the error in the situation. I’m glad that I have an amazing supervisor
I feel like my previous supervisor was great. He did not micromanage us, and kind of let his staff form their own experiences and opinions. He took the time to understand each of the G.A's and our strengths and weaknesses. I think the practice of synergistic leadership was vital. We were all active in defining the goals of the department. As employees we were highly motivated and always encouraged to try our hardest. One other important aspect our supervisor was very aware of was the recognition of burnout and stress. With me especially, he always brought to my attention if I was stressed out over small things...and lay out the whole picture for me to see and help me realize it's nothing to stress over.
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I haven't really had to deal with budgeting, but this semester I am constantly reminded of the tight budget athletics is on. I think Program budgeting is the approach used. There are definitely goals set that are to be reached, analyzing current programs, developing a plan, analyzing and selecting alternative programs, and evaluating programs. With athletics and working in academics, I have seen quite a stress on our tutoring program. There is a lot of money lost with tutoring, when athletes don't show up to appointments. At first when looking at this I didn't quite understand how much money is actually lost because of this, but now I know thousands of dollars can be lost in the year due to this.
Chapter 16
ReplyDeleteI budget how much money each of my RAs uses on their programs. Some have maxed out while others have barely tapped into the money allocated for the semester (some are pretty creative!) For larger scale programs like our annual programs we ask our housing student organizations if they can also contribute as our annuals usually attract hundreds of students. I hope that we are able to really look at our budget as a department and break down how we actually spend money. I'm pretty sure the majority of money is spent on food so hopefully we can think of creative ways to change that.
Chapter 18
I've had a range of supervisors. The individuals who were model supervisors were genuine about letting me know that I was valued, not just the work that I did. In my experience the supervisors who were concerned about my growth and development are the people I think about when interacting with students. I do agree with Caitlin as Housing does struggle in this area. I personally feel that the department sometimes participates in forced recognition which isn't very healthy. Showing a coworker or staff member that they matter should not be a forced process!
Chapter 16: What a timely chapter to read! We just wrapped up the first drafts of the budgets for our office for submittal to SG. My director had each of us involved to help her as we are asking for more money to evolve current programming and create new programs. What I did not realize was the detail involved in the budget proposal process. I am used to having a set amount given, then breaking down the budget to make it work for the total amount. This process is literally figuring out the budget for each line item to get the total to propose. This process, in addition to the chapter, truly opened my eyes to the budget process that exists and will definitely help me in the future when I will be in a position that has to create or possibly approve budgets.
ReplyDeleteChapter 18: I have had the pleasure to work for some truly amazing supervisors, and unfortunately some not so amazing ones either. I think the daily interactions actually going a long way: general thank you's for tasks completed, congratulations on the small achievements, etc. But definitely the biggest praise I have ever received is when my supervisor confides in me and trusts me enough to work with me on another level. I think this is a sign of trust that he/she sees something in you that is worthy of their time and development to help you get to the next level. A good review and pay raise is always nice as well!
My current supervisor really cares about her GA’s. She really values our opinion on certain situations and often comes to me for my opinion on certain issues with students. She always keeps me in the loop and makes sure that I am aware of what is going on with students. She provides us with the resources necessary and is extremely helpful when I am unaware of how to approach a certain situation. I feel very comfortable talking to her about anything and I feel confident that she will give me the feedback that I need and deserve. She is also very supportive and is aware of our responsibilities outside of work and is understanding of that.
ReplyDeleteFor Ch. 16, my answer is quite similar to Andrea’s. We pretty much work on the same budget and have almost identical programs. We are responsible for budgeting seminars, social events, service events, transportation, etc. We are also responsible for hiring tutors and making sure that we record their hours for our annual report.
Chapter 16: While financial planning has not really come up in my daily routine in my assistantship, this is definitely something I have experience with. While working in my last position and planning Throwdown’s booth for the UFC Expo in Vegas, I had an abundance of financial responsibilities. I had to decide what vendors to choose from within the budget I had for the event, what products and services to pay for and what to purchase to have at the event, as well as basic things like general electric for the booth.
ReplyDeleteAs CJ said it is always important to keep your receipts. This is important for the following reasons: reconciling, auditing, and also to explain your monthly ledger to the accountant. These things can relate to our field because we will always have to explain costs and expenses to an absurd amount of people before reimbursement comes for purchasing a product for a department. For example, I was probably asked 25 times why the CSA department needed flashdrives, and Dr. Miller probably just recently received Mrs. Miller’s money back for the shoe fund.
I also love these topics!
ReplyDeleteChp16. I have been advising a student board in the CLCE this semester that is attempting to function with no budget. It has been extremely difficult to recruit student leaders to be part of the organization without funds to throw a interest party or t-shirts to give based on participation. Somehow the board is managing to make it happen. I commend their efforts and I am pleased to say that I have successfully lobbied for them to have some funds in the spring semester. It was a tough challenge knowing that the money that they receive will have to come from another area of the budget and selling short another organization would not be the consequence we were looking for.
Another budget issue that has arisen lately is the ability to spend the allocated funds for federal work study. We have been awarded enough money for about 80 tutors but since I was naive entering my assistantship I thought that using 60 would be able to cover the allocation. I believe it is always good practice to learn from your mistakes and so I will address that next year. The problem my department is facing now, is that we have been running this program for 4 years with little continuation among staff so Dr. Meningall is asking, "Why wasn't this realized in the past?"
Chp18. In the CLCE they definitely have figured out encouragement through reward. Just a couple months ago I was assisting our director, Jennifer, with a course she was teaching, Images of Leadership. The second class we had she wasn't able to attend due to having candidates come in for our open positions. I had to lead the class in a discussion and do my best to cover in her absence. As a reward for that class she took me out to dinner before every remaining class session. I was completely floored by the amount of time and effort she put into thanking me for my hard work. It really has motivated me to stay loyal and consistent in all my work. Her leadership had inspired me and influences the approach I take with my students.
Chapter 16 - Thankfully, I have not had to budget anything in my assistantship so far! That being said, I think I have a pretty extensive experience in budgeting within student affairs. A couple of years ago I was the chairman of the Activity and Service Recommendation Committee (ASRC). This is the committee that puts together the annual budget for all Activity and Service fees. Let me tell you what an huge process that was! Generally, there is extensive support from professionals who handle budgeting in helping to prepare this budget (after all, it's over $10 million). Unfortunately, when I took the position, the university was in the process of moving to SASSC and the director of the budget office for SG was new and unfamiliar with how the process worked. I essentially had to invent the budgeting procedures, forms, and process as I went along. I was nervous to say the least. Being chairman of the committee, I had to hear presentations from each department within student affairs (that wanted some A&S money) and then wrangle a bunch of students together to cobble together one large cohesive budget for presentation to the President. To compound the situation even farther, I made the decision to end the practice of allocating money beyond projected revenue (essentially deficit spending) which required me to cut the budget several million dollars from the previous year. Thankfully, I was able to do it all while staying sane and not damaging relationships with student affairs professionals who were going to be seeing their budgets cut (some significantly). At the end of the process, I remember being incredibly nervous when I presented the budget to Dr. Genshaft (which she signed readily). Overall, it was a great experience and I learned the inner workings of budgeting withing student affairs and created a streamlined budgeting process for ASRC that is still in use today.
ReplyDeleteChapter 18 - My supervisor is awesome about letting me know I matter. He's particularly good at noticing when I do good work and will verbally praise me when I do something good. It may be a silly example, but I really appreciated it when he posted something on facebook about how I did a good presentation and tagged me in the post. It made my day and really let me know that I was appreciated and was making a difference. I think one of the other things he's really good at is recognizing burnout or stress. It always seems that when I'm at my wits end or am frazzled after a long day, he has some fun or different item that I can work on. I absolutely love my job and I don't think that would be the case if I didn't have such awesome supervisors!
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ReplyDeleteThe greatest way my supervisors lets me know that I am valued is through are one on ones and through praise and support. He builds me up and lets me know that I am doing great things and then shows me the changes I have made. These are all the bucket filling things he does but they aren't the greatest. What truly makes me feel valued and worthwhile is when I receive constructive criticism because I know he is doing it to better me and allow me to grow to my fullest potential, while it may be hard to swallow at times it is what's best for me to grow/
ReplyDeleteOne of my job requirements is to advise the Greek Programming Board (GPB) this is a board conprised of members from the four different councils that plan and execute the large greek events such as the burger and bands welcome event, greek day of service, and greek week. GPB recently planned greek day of service on 0 budget. The board doesn't really have a laid out budget of this much goes to this event and this event gets so much money there is really such an account and it is up to the board to spend it as they wish. I expressed to the board how much was left in the bank account and typically how much money is needed to plan Greek Week, which happens late in the spring but is the boards last big event. So basically the board had 0$ for this event of Greek Day of Service. The board and I worked diligently on cosponsors and donations and partnerships in order to make this event happen on 0$. The event ended up going off with GPB spending approx. $150, but considering the whole event cost about $500 it was some great work done by the board. There were times when the board came to me with grand extravagant ideas and I honestly just had to have them think about the budget and think about how much the idea would cost and have them come to the realization that we couldn't afford it, because if I would have just said "no, we can't afford it" they wouldn't truly understand and would just think I was being a mean advisor.
ReplyDeleteIn the past some of my supervisors have done the rewarding type process of having employee of the month, and incentives and such. As I got older being able to participate or even lead program,etc. those things became rewarding, and if they were done well I and my co-workers would be able to continue and to initiate other programs. If we didn't do well, the great thing at that time was that there was a learning experience if the program was not done well.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, I was able to work on the OPS Student Employee budget this year in my assistant-ship. Some of the things I thought about when doing the budget were increase in responsibility of student staff and increase of pay rate for student employees who have added responsibilities in the job descriptions. Me being very new to budgeting I learned that there has to be a proposed increase (to the boss of course) and it has to be approved. Also I Learned that there is a priority in budgeting as well which is much needed.