Siegfried Jensens Plan of Action

Prepared For:
Prof. Jamie Johnston
COMM-1010-405-Su14

Prepared By:
Peter Barrus
Cameron Cox
Lauren Devall
Gabrielle Rothman


July 22, 2014






"
Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary . Page 3

II. Project Description Page 3

III. Methods Page 4

(i) Step One: Problem Page 4
(ii) Step Two: Analyze the Problem..Page 4
(iii) Step Three: Create Criteria..Page 6
(iv) Step Four: Brainstorming SolutionsPage 6
(v) Step Five: Analyze Solutions Page 6
(vi) Step Six: Implement Solution ..Page 7

IV. Conclusion.Page 9


V. Appendix ..Page 10

VI. Works Cited Page 13





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Executive Summary
This report contains a synopsis of how a group of individuals came together to complete a
problem solving task. The project was in order to help Siegfried find a solution to be independent
while attending school to further education. He would like to have enough of an income to
support himself and be independent from his parents. Our problem was solved using a reflective
thinking process (Adler & Elmhorst, p. 236-237) to collaborate effectively and find a workable
solution.
The group used their knowledge and skills from the class of communications to apply the
reflective thinking technique procedure. We conducted research of the entire problem as a whole.
We then gathered the criteria in which would impact the problem positively and negatively. We
were able to gather solutions and carefully analyze the data as a group to assess and carry out the
end solution.
Our educated proposal was that Siegfried should find a flexible part-time job that will allow him
of at least one day off, is compatible with his work schedule and can also gain him more job
experience he can use later in his career goals. The solution offers Siegfried to not only advance
his career path but also gain independence and a feeling of self fulfilment to better his future as a
whole.
Project Description
Siegfried Jensen is a full time college student at SLCC and currently works part time at a grocery
store as a bagger. He just received his CNA certification and is eager to start a job in his field as
soon as possible. He needs a second job in order to support himself, start saving for school, and
eventually move into his own apartment. He would like to find a job that meets all of his criteria
and moves him towards his larger personal goals of working in the medical field.
We are a group of four students in COMM 1010. Our task is to use the skills we have studied in
this class including reflective thinking and the PAC BOY method of problem solving to find a
realistic solution to the problem facing Siegfried (Alder & Elmhorst, p. 236). This is an
important problem to address because many college students face this scenario every year. With
the rising cost of schooling it is increasingly important for students to maintain a job while going
to school. While it may be necessary to have a job during this time, students must be careful to
not let this job overwhelm their schoolwork.
In our problem solving we attempted to consider as many solutions as possible so as to find the
best possible outcome for Siegfried and the other shareholders. We originally believed that the
best solution would be for Siegfried to find a job as a CNA. However, because we used an
objective problem solving method, we learned that another solution will more effectively fulfill
the criteria that we set forth.
$
Methods:
Our group began by choosing a case study from a list, that we could solve using the reflective
thinking process (Adler & Elmhorst, p. 236-237). We used this process to solve the Siegfried
problem. This process is a functional sequence in which can help in problem solving as a group.
It allows the group to get into the meat and detail of the problem even if it is a broad problem. By
taking steps as a group in a broken down format is becomes effective in creating the best end
solution using the entire groups ideas and knowledge. The next part will describe what steps we
took using the PACBOY steps (COMM 1010 Canvas site, 2014).

Step One: The Problem.
For our group we tried to keep the problem open ended, to allow us to come up with even more
solutions. We settled on the open ended question of What would be the best part time job for
Siegfried that will allow him to attend college and support his financial needs and further his
profession? The question gave us the chance to really analyze the chosen problem using
multiple perspectives from each person in our group.
Step Two: Analyze the Problem
This step is broken down into five sub-categories to better aide in the analytical process. The first
part consisted of us describing the characteristics of the problem. The next step we talked about
the stakeholders which were people who could be affected by Siegfrieds solution. We broke the
problem down even further and talked about what his employment history as well as any policies
or requirements Siegfried would need to pursue a job as a Certified Nursing Assistant. Listed
below is how we analyzed the problem.
1. Characteristics of the problem
a) Positives:
He has lots of times to focus on school
He isnt spending money on gas.
Has lots of time for leisure activities
b) Negatives:
No income, to support independence
Lots of employer look at what you did in college besides just school. Job
experience can help you towards a career
Lack of independence because he is living at home
c) Symptoms that impact possible solutions:
He might not know how to look for a job
The job market might not allow him to have the job that he wants
He might have time with his current schedule to job hunt

%
2. Stakeholders
a) Siegfried The problem impacts him because of all of the positive and negative
characteristics listed. He has a goal to reach independence
b) Parents His parents are impacted because they may not want to have him living at
home anymore, and are helping him with his educational support and moral support.
Their goal is to help Siegfried succeed in obtaining a career.
c) Teachers/Classmates If he gets a job his teachers and classmates could be impacted
due to Siegfried not being able to focus on education and needing to focus on work.
Their goal is to have Siegfried be as successful in his classes as much as possible to
help him to achieve good grades.
d) New Employer They would be impacted with a new employee needing training and
his schedule which is not very flexible. It could benefit the employer to have a driven
motivated student. The goal is to run a successful business while thinking about the
personal life of Siegfried.

3. History
He worked at a local grocery store while he was in high school. His job was a bagger. It only
paid $7.25 an hour. He only worked 15 hours a week and he didnt make enough money to
support his college expenses. It hindered his schooling because his time management wasnt very
good. It also helped him; he got job experience with working in customer service where he had
to deal with costumer needs and job ethic such as showing up on time and doing his job
correctly. He got good job experience that will carry on to later jobs but he needs to be careful
while working and going to school and improve his time management so he doesnt miss
anything at school. He also has a friend in who tried to go to school fulltime and working a part-
time job. He noticed that is friend has difficulties managing his time and showed signs of
exhaustion from working himself too hard.
4. Policies/politics
Professional requirements may include a Certified Nursing Assistant License; at least 6 months
to a year of CNA work experience and some jobs require extra certifications such as
Phlebotomy, EMT, CPR or Telemetry. Regulations can consist of immunizations, medical
background checks along with basic background checks. A political consideration would be if a
CNA with previous work experience was unable to work at a Medicare or Medicaid approved
facility. Ethical expectations would consist of understanding patient rights as well as the ethical
expectations of the company or facility a CNA would be working at.
5. Available Resources
For personal References and resources, Siegfried could talk to his CNA Instructor to inquire
about job openings. He could even visit Intermountain Employee services or Intermountain
health care webpage for information on job requirements and prerequisites required for
employment. Time and money spent depends on how strict Siegfrieds expenses are and if he is
looking for a specific pay rate. It also depends on how far he is willing to travel for his job.
Intermountain Health Care does rounds of employment interviews to pick through possible
&
candidates from a large pool of people and can take up to a month for hire. Interviews can start
as phone interviews that develop into group or panel interviews until there are only 2 or 3
candidates to choose from. If finding a job is of huge importance to Siegfried than being
aggressive and staying on top of applications and references is huge to be successful in finding a
job. The medical job market is incredibly competitive and can require patience.
*Resources used can be found under the work cited
Step Three: Criteria
We wanted to be realistic with our goals that we developed for solving the problem, and to make
sure we understand how to reach a better solution by using the chosen criteria. We first
developed a goal to reach which was to come up with a solution that allowed Siegfried to
complete his schooling, while supporting himself with an income and gaining independence
from his parents. We selected 7 criterion which can be seen in Appendix i.
Step Four: Brainstorming
The next step was to brainstorm possible solutions. According to our text, brainstorming
encourages free thinking and minimizes conformity (Alder & Elmhorst, p. 234). Many of the
solutions that we proposed were clearly not realistic or preferable for Siegfrieds situation.
However, this free thinking flow of ideas allowed us to be open to the idea that our original idea
for a solution may not actually be the best one.
The following is our proposed list of solutions.

1. Finding a non-related part time job until he can find a job that meets his financial needs.
2. Finding a CNA job to further his career goals
3. Work more hours at his current job to meet financial needs
4. Taking out student loans to help cover expenses
5. Keep current job and cut back on school hours
6. Takes out a personal loan from parents
7. Cut back on school hours until he can afford to go to school full time
8. Enroll in the schools work exchange program
9. Find alternative ways of making money such as donating plasma
10. Stop going to school entirely and focus on finding a CNA job with no furthering
education
Step Five: Analyze
Now that we had a long list of solutions, it was necessary to narrow this list down to the most
realistic solutions. While it may be tempting to cut back or stop going to school, this would not
'
help Siegfried reach his ultimate career goals and would eventually lead to more problems than it
would solve. Eventually, we settled on the first six solutions listed. These solutions were:

1. Finding a non-related part time job until he can find a job that meets his financial needs.
2. Finding a CNA job to further his career goals
3. Work more hours at his current job to meet financial needs
4. Taking out student loans to help cover expenses
5. Keep current job and cut back on school hours
6. Takes out a personal loan from parents

In order to find the best solution out of these six, it was necessary to employ an objective
decision making guide. We created a chart (Appendix ii) that graded all of the possible solutions
against our created criteria. We would discuss how each solution fulfilled a given the criterion
and then give it a score from 0 to 5 based on how well it met the criteria. At the end, each
solutions score was added up and listed at the bottom of the chart. We were open to the idea of
combining solutions or using a solution we had not originally favored. This helped us to be
objective in our scoring of solutions and lead to a solution that our group was satisfied with.
Solution 1 received the highest score on our chart. We agreed that this will be the best solution
for Siegfried because, while it would be great to have a job that requires his CNA skills, those
jobs are difficult to get and very rarely are obtained in our four week time frame. We agreed that
while Siegfried continues to work and go to school, he can also look for CNA jobs on the side.
This will allow him to choose a CNA job that works best with his schedule and needs rather than
rushing into a job that might not be the best for him. Ultimately, he will still probably get a job
working as a CNA but, as this project taught us, it is important to look at the big picture and
consider all criteria before settling on the best solution.

Step Six: Implementing Solution
After choosing the solution, we set up a plan for implementing it. The steps for the plan included
creating a resume (Appendix iii), doing a thorough job search and submitting the resume,
creating a professional introduction when following up on submission, and prepping for a job
interview. By breaking the solution down into steps, it helps the daunting task of applying for
jobs seem more realistic and digestible.
The next step was to do a thorough job search. To do this we accessed Craigslist and the SLCC
job listings guide. We found five jobs that we felt would work with Siegfrieds schedule and be
flexible enough to still give him time to do school and keep his first job. The following are actual
(
job listings from the sites for jobs available in Salt Lake City that Siegfried would be qualified to
apply for.
Call Center Agent with SSI
Survey Sampling International (SSI) has opened a temporary call center in Salt Lake
City!
Come be a part of something bigger and join the SSI team as a Telephone Interviewer.
Telephone Interviewers take the pulse of consumers everywhere by delivering prepared
survey scripts and accurately recording respondent answers.
Front Desk Agent at Holiday Inn
You will love your job as a Front Desk Agent at The Holiday Inn & Suites. Every day,
our agents welcome new guests and provide thoughtful suggestions -- things to do and
see in the local area -- to make our guests' day! Holiday Inn hotels look for people who
are friendly, thoughtful, and resourceful and who care enough to go the extra mile to give
our guests a great experience. Does this sound like you?
Parking Valet
Utah's largest valet parking company is still growing and needs valets for summer private
parties and the new locations coming online. There are 15 full and part time shifts
available for individuals who have great customer service skills, able to drive manual
transmission, clean driving /criminal record, and are 19 years or older. Valets must also
be able to perform physical responsibilities such as running and standing for long periods
of time. Current openings are available at Luxury Hotels, Restaurants, Hospitals, and
Private Events. This job is great for those who love working with people, and exceeding
their expectations. Our scheduling is very flexible so it makes it easy for students or
someone looking for a second income.
Tutor Non Certified, Learning Center Programs
Under general supervision of the Learning Center Director and site Coordinator, the
Learning Center Tutor will primarily be responsible for providing quality tutoring in the
area of their expertise. Other major functions include the accumulation and reporting of
accurate information about students, the classes being tutored, and the time spent
tutoring. The Tutor may also be asked to assist students with computers and class-related
technology including MyMathLab and ePortfolio.
Bookstore Clerk
Stock textbooks, replace shelf tags and assist with any additional Bookstore merchandise
on the sales floor; assist with arrangement and stocking of pallet zone areas of the
)
textbooks as they are received and sold; process textbooks during buyback including
placement of used sticker, shrink-wrapping, price checking, re-shelving; counting all
bookstore merchandise for inventory; answer questions and assist customers in obtaining
required materials for their classes; other duties as assigned.
Siegfried also created a short phone introduction so that he could create a professional
first impression when calling to inquire about jobs.
Hello, my name is Siegfried Jensen. I am calling in regards to a resume I submitted three days
ago. Is there someone I may talk to in recruitment or human resources? If not, I just had a few
questions regarding the application process. Could you help me, (name)?
If there is no answer and Siegfried had to leave a message, he decided the best way to do so
would be short and to the point, yet making sure he included necessary information.
Hello, my name is Siegfried Jensen. Today is Thursday, July 17, 2014 at approximately 2:30
pm. I am calling to follow up on a resume I submitted to (company name) three days ago. I have
a few questions and would be very grateful if I could talk with someone in your Human
Resources department. My telephone number is 801-555-2323. Thank you for your time, Have a
great day.
Finally, it was important for Siegfried to properly prep for his job interviews. How Siegfried
prepared for his interview was; first learn something about the company he is applying for, it is
always good to know about the position you are applying for and what the company deals with.
Second he looked up some common interview questions that included, What are your
strengths?, What can you offer us that someone else can not? and Describe yourself.. If any
of those questions where asked he would be fully prepared. Lastly he made sure he knew where
the interview was, picked his outfit out for the interview, so that he looked professional. He also
set an alarm on his phone to make sure he left on time to the interview so that he would arrive at
least 10 minutes early.
Conclusion
Our objective was to find Siegfried a job that would work well with this skill set and that would
be flexible enough so he could attend school. While also earing enough money so that he could
meet his finical needs. Our first thought that Siegfried should look for a part time CNA job. It
fitted his skill set and is parallel with the type of career he was choosing. We quickly found out
that the CNA was not the best choice and didnt fit the criteria very well. We had some other
ideas in mind that Siegfried could do for work such as; increase his hours at his current job, and
look for another non career related job. We tested the possible solution against our criteria and
found out the best solution for Siegfried was to find a non-related part time job until he can find
a job that meets his financial needs.
*+
Appendix

Criteria Develop at least seven strong criteria that a good solution will meet. (logic)
Our solution will
1. Be achievable within our four week time frame.
2. Allow a flexible schedule in order to work and go to school
3. Will earn him at least $850 a month to achieve financial goals.
4. Will be compatible with his current skill set (CNA, CPR CERTIFIED, CLEAN
BACKGROUND)
5. A job that will move him towards his current career goals
6. Have a short commute.
7. Will give him at least 15 hours a week to work on school work.
Appendix i

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Appendix ii
**
Appendix iii
Siegfried Jensen
210 East 400 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
801-5656-656
siegfriedjensen@gmail.com

Objective
To further my career in the medical field and gain job experience to become a
reliable and valuable employee.

Skills
Calm - level headed
Quick problem solver
Patient care
Medical Terminology

Experience
Trader Joes
634 E 400 S,
Salt Lake City, UT 84102

Courtesy Clerk- May 2012 2014
Provide Customer service duties to customers, Help stocking shelves and locating
items for customers.


Education
Salt Lake Community College
4600 Redwood Rd,
Salt Lake City, UT 84123

Certified Nursing Assistant-June 2013
Immunizations completed
CPR License, BLS and First Aid certified
Performed basic duties such as vision, urine dipstick and hearing tests.
Provide Patients and families with emotional support.
Adhere to safety policies and guidelines at all times.
Set up and operated special medical equipment.

*"
Appendix iv






Individual Participation Points
Lauren: 1.5 + 1.5 + 1.5 + 1.5--- 10
-Attended all meetings
-Completed all assigned tasks

Gabrielle: 1 + 1.5 + 1.5 + 1.5--- 9.5
-Missed one meeting
-Completed all assigned tasks

Cameron: 1 + 1 + 1.5 + 1.5---- 9
-Missed one meeting
-Did not complete one assigned task

Peter: 1.5 + 1 + 1.5 + 1.5 ---- 9.5
-Attended all meetings
-Did not complete one assigned task
*#
Work Cited
Adler, R. B., & Elmhorst, J. M. (2013). Communicating at work: strategies for success in
business and the professions (11th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Customer Service Jobs. (2014, July). . Retrieved July 15, 2014, from
http://saltlakecity.craigslist.org/csr/

Employment Opportunities. (2014, July). Welcome to jobs.slcc.edu. Retrieved July 15, 2014,
from
https://jobs.slcc.edu/postings/search?query=&query_v0_posted_at_date=&579=5&581=7&com
mit=Search
Intermountain Healthcare (Copyright 2014). Job Requirements. Retrieved July 15, 2014, from
http://intermountainhealthcare.org/about/careers/prerequisites/Pages/home.asp
University of Utah Healthcare (Copyright 2014). Careers: Nursing Resources. Retrieved July 15,
2014, from
http://healthcare.utah.edu/careers/nursing_resources/http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes311014.h
tm