organization-management-blog

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GRAND FINALE

My main take away from the fundamentals of controlling is that there are many ways to control, and that different situations require different methods of control. There are so many different subsections of control that need to be taken into account when thinking of the definition of control within an organization. It’s not always worth it to get caught up in the numbers. Values of yourself and of others may hold more meaning than the spreadsheet on your desk. In regards to my control of my organization, I think that there is more control within myself than I think that I have. This section has also taught me that the “well worn path” (Dr. Kaiser) isn't always the right option to follow. 

As for this project as a whole, I never thought I would take away a deeper meaning of myself as an individual and the various aspects that form me. Throughout the semester I have also been able to take notes on things I can change and do better with my life. The course content and this assignment brought upon those corrections, and I think they will be for the better. I now have a better understanding of myself because I was forced to stop and take a deeper look. I feel as though I know myself better and what makes me tick than I did before completing this assignment. 

I just want to thank you, Dr. Kaiser, for assigning this assignment and allowing for myself to explore the Fundamentals of Management within my own life and allow me to grow as a person and a manager of my own organization. I appreciate being able to complete this assignment in the form a blog, or in my mind, really long tweets. I feel as though I was best able to express myself through this medium and it was a fun way to do it. 

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important concepts

When I think of how I want to explain my method of control within myself I am torn. In the textbook, the 21st century way of control is decentralized. Which I think fits me because I want all of me to be included for a decision or in any action that I perform, that includes my head, my heart and my gut feeling. I want these parts to all have a say in my life. Yet, I also find the hierarchical to also fit because as I mentioned previously, I sometimes feel as if there are other influences outside of myself that control my life. Using the hierarchical method, I would want myself to be in the highest position, while the outside factors are below me. After all, this is my life and I should have the most important opinion in how I want to control it. It is with both of these explanations I think believe I would use both. Both methods are necessary when it comes to control an organization as unique as a person/a life. 

Another way to define continuous improvement to me is simply just growth. Are you better than you were yesterday? Are you going to be better tomorrow? Every single day is unique and there is always something we can learn in everyday. This is why I believe that continuous improvement is vital to my organization and simply put, my life. As humans if we touch something hot and get burned, we learn not to touch that hot thing again. This is improvement. And if we pay close enough attention, there is something to be learned from in every day that we can use to be more successful throughout life. If that means not burning ourselves on the curling iron, learning to have a meaningful conversation, or simply learning more about yourself. It is all going to add up to the successful life you’ve had when you reminisce. I will ensure continuous improvement by “living each day like it is your last,” just like Steve Jobs said in his speech at Stanford’s college graduation. I will ask myself “What can I do to make my life better today?” With that, at the end of the day, I will ask myself “What did I learn or get better at today?”

Moving on to the topic of financial controls. Unfortunately, most things in life that are needed to live, cost money. It is with that, that one must be mindful of the financial situation that you are in and act accordingly. The fear of not having the funds to support myself has been engraved in the back of my mind from the time I was very young. Money was always a heated topic in my house, and to me it became a motivator to build up as much as I could to make sure that I never had to have an argument or worry about it in the future. So to say that financial control is critical to my organization is almost an understatement. I am to the point in my life that I pay for a good majority of my things. When it comes time to have a real, adult-life career and job I will most certainly want to use a budget. I don’t plan on having my own business like the example in the textbook, however, I never want to not pay attention to my bank account and realize someday that I have gone too far in the hole. I want to be able to live within my means and once in a while be able to treat myself and even the ones around me. As an organization myself, I have to be able to have enough left in the bank that if it was needed, it would pay for all of my expenses whenever my time comes. I wish that money could be thoughtless, but unfortunately, it requires more brain power and attention. 

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What counts?

I feel as though control has two different sides: the commanding & controlling vs. carefree & flexible. Often times many get hung up on the specific rules and that they must be followed to the “T.” I think the illusion of control, is that when the control is tight knit, it may have the opposite effect of what the leader is trying to accomplish. It is with evaluations of values and goals that constitute the severity of control and when and where control is implemented. 

I think in order to make sure my controls are pertinent and not just illusions I have to be true to myself and recognize if what I am doing is actually part of my overarching goal or just something I think will get me there. Not that things can’t be thought out detail by detail, but I think that understanding that things happen and that there are multiple ways to achieve the same result is important. That way, I don’t end up stressing about things I can’t control and doing things that are going to get me farther away from my goals. 

As for the quote on page 645 of Daft and Marcic, “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts,” I think this is a thought provoking saying. It is easy to get caught up in the things that are quantified and able to put a number next to them. But the actual value of that thing may not hold a candle to something that can measured. Like in Study Notes 13, the man spent more time getting to know his customers. What were their needs, wants, values, therefore building a relationship that isn’t necessarily measurable. However, the manager was upset that the employee didn’t make the required number of phone calls in a day. Numbers that are put on paper, don’t always line up with the actual value in life. The quote shows that not everything is measurable in ways we would like them to measurable. And the things we measure don’t always have a high value. 

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Final Round

According to Study Notes 13, control is the process of ensuring that activities conform to expectations. Control is about monitoring the other functions of management, planning, organizing and leading. Although it isn’t always about completely dominating over employees, and picking apart every detail. In the 21st century, control among managers can be less strict than previous decades. More companies and organizations are turning to a decentralized style of control. “Managers rely on shared goals and values to control employee behavior,” (Daft and Marcic). The focus is turned toward the employees and making sure their values are met and that they have the necessary tools to work towards the companies goals. 

When I think about the extent that I am in control of myself, my first instinct is to  say 100%. Although, I don’t think that is the case. Yes, I am in control of my own actions and physically moving my body. But I think that there are outside sources that have a small portion of control. When I was younger, I think that I had less control of myself. As I’ve gotten older I have gained more self control. My parents and school have a lot of impact on what I do. I make the final decision on whether to do something, yet they have the beginning control on what I did or experienced as a kid. Then with school, the professors have the control to assign assignments and the content in which we will learn. 

I think that I tend to lose control when I let others control more of me. If I can remember my goals and that I am the one that is control of myself, I am able to regain that control and confidence. I think that in order to enhance my own control I have to take risks to test the waters. In doing so, I can experience the things I can control and what I can’t. 

For myself, I have certain goals that I want to accomplish in the near future as well as my lifetime. When it comes to measuring my performance I think it comes down to the expectations and standards that I hold myself too. Some of these would include doing well in school, taking care of myself, and being the best person I can be. Now the difference between my measurements and those of another person can vary because the way they measure these same goals can be different. For example, I know that my mom has certain expectations and goals she wants me to achieve but the view point of those goals differ from how I see them. The topic of school is always a touchy subject. I am very happy with how well I’ve done so far in college, but my mom thinks that I should be getting all A’s and if I'm not then I’m not trying hard enough. While I also think it is important to try my best and receive A’s, I don’t get so caught up on it if I don’t. My B’s that I have received have been high B’s and at the time of taking the class and balancing life, I was putting in my best effort and that was enough for me. As an outsider looking in, my mom might have a different opinion but in the end I know that she just wants the best for me. I think that a lot of times conflict can arise because of different measurements of the same performance. It is important to find a common ground and overall stay true to yourself, because after all it is your life. As long as you are happy, that is all that matters.

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overall

This section of the fundamentals of leading has been very beneficial in multiple aspects. I have learned the importance of self-awareness, good communication, team work, and most importantly, the key factors to leading. I think that it is a combination of all these factors that make for a great leader. I also think there is a value in continuing to grow as a person and a leader. There is always room for improvement and I believe I have improved with this module. I will take this module and think about it critically when it comes to my real life experiences ahead of me in the work force and my every day life. “A person is a person, not matter how small,” Dr. Seuss. I think this quote can also apply to being a leader. Regardless of if you are leading a big company or small, you are always the leader in your own life, and that is something to value. 

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communication is key

I’m not sure how many times I could stress that communication is one of the main building blocks for an organization, a friendship, basically anything in my opinion. It is with communication that new ideas and opinions are expressed which in turn carries through to accomplishing goals and overall agreement. I think that one of the things that keeps me from communicating well is getting within my own head. At times I think that what I have to say isn’t important or I think that I don’t have the right words to express how I am feeling so I say nothing instead. Communication is also halted if the environment is closed off and the person in which you are communicating is intimidating and closed off. Personally, I think it is just a matter of practice and self talk that implements positive thoughts about communicating how I feel. When I communicate well the problem always seems to find a quicker solution or I feel better about how I feel. So it doesn’t quite make sense that I don’t want to voice my thoughts. Although practice makes perfect, I could definitely use more practice. 

Within my specific organization as myself it can be difficult to utilize teams, so in that extent it doesn’t really apply, but I value teams greatly when being apart of them, I think it is important to be able to work in a team, and to work effectively. I have realized more than once, that I cannot always accomplish everything I want on my own. It is then that I have to take advantage of the team that I have built into my organization, my family and friends. I think that is important to remember the value of team members when it comes to being apart of a team and leading one. It is also important to understand the different dynamics of the team and build off of those. It is only then that the team can be maximized to its full potential, in my opinion at least. 

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Rewards ---> motivation

When it comes to be rewarded for a job well done, I think that I like to have a mix of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. I feel that if I only relied on intrinsic rewards that wouldn’t be enough for me. Of course, it is always appreciated to hear someone praising you after completing a job but I am also a firm believer of action speak louder than words. Someone could tell you thank you a million times and I will accept those thank you, but there comes to a point where that doesn’t fill your bucket completely. A little more action is required, and that is where the extrinsic rewards come in. When I think about how I reward myself after completing a task, I tend to think positive thoughts about myself which reflects the intrinsic rewards, yet there are other times where I treat myself to some kind of reward more than just words. I think that the advantages are that a combination of the two allow for maximum appreciation. Relying on one or the other is only going to do so much. I also think that only using intrinsic rewards get old and end up losing their value if they are overused. Regardless of which type of reward, it is important to implement rewards to show are doing well for yourself and to keep you motivated to keep moving forward. 

When it comes to Maslow’s Hierarchy and Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory, I think that they both have similar concepts and that it just has to do with what my needs are to figure out what is the most important thing to concentrate on. Of course it is important to feel safe and have the necessary things to live, but I am at a point in my life where those things aren't a big concern to my because I already have those needs secured. It is time to move on to other aspects of my life. In fact I think that the Two Factor Theory is more appropriate because it illustrates a little more about the other needs within a person’s life. I feel as though Maslow’s Hierarchy deals with the more general needs of a person. I am looking for more achievement and personal growth within myself. It is with those goals that I now alter my management style for my life to fit those needs. 

Empowerment is a huge factor in increasing motivation. If someone doesn’t believe they can accomplish something, they aren’t going to be motivated to do that task. I think that empowerment and motivation go hand in hand, and that you cannot have one without the other if you want to be effective. In terms of empowering myself, I think that I have to be able to give myself the power and the tools to allow myself to achieve my goals. It is kind of confusing to think about myself as the organization and the manager of my organization in this case because I feel as though this relates more to the manager aspect but yet I am still only one person. But if I can empower myself, I believe I can accomplish anything. Like Dr. Kaiser said in Study Notes 10, companies that have high turnover rates, tend to have deficient empowerment trends within the company. I cannot afford to have any turnover rate within my organization because I am all that I have. 

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stress/leadership

I’m the type of person that tends to work well under stress. I feel that it drives me to do my best and it wills me to preform. Most of the time stress is good stress for me but when it does get to be too much some times. One way I manage stress so that it is a minimal stress that always me to be productive, is I plan everything out. Not necessarily down to the last minute but I like to know what I have to do and make a list and just start knocking things off the list. 

I think that as a leader I am very open to other people’s opinion in what they think is the best way to combat a problem. I know that I am not always the one with the answers and that it takes a team, so might as well include them in on the conversation. I believe that it also takes good communication skills to lead a team because it is important that everyone is on the same page. I tend to have good people skills and work well with others. 

When it comes to being an actual leader though I would say I am a situational leader. If I could chose I would rather sit in the background, but when it comes down to it, I can step up to it. If I know that the people around me are willing to get a job done but need a leader, I am okay with being that leader. As a situational leader, I would probably adapt the selling style. I feel as though even though I was stepping up to be the leader I would want to make sure everyone understood the task at hand. The con of having this leadership is that it depends on the willingness and ability of the followers (Daft and Marcic). One of the pros to still style of leadership is that if the followers do have the motivation to complete the task, you as a leader don’t have to do a whole lot besides making sure they understand what needs to be done. This can be beneficial if there are other things that you have to attend to as a leader. 

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personality, what????

To build off my last post, I think that being self-aware has to include what type of personality you have and truly understanding what that means. Overall I am most definitely an introvert. Only in certain situations will you see me being in an extroverted state. However, even though I prefer to be an introvert, I can still step it up and lead in front of crowds of people if I have to. I tend to be very open to experiences and very conscientious. I also tend to rate high on agreeableness and emotional stability. In order to maintain my personality type I think it is important to surround yourself with others that are going to benefit your personality. If you are an introvert, of course it is okay to have friends that are extrovert, but make sure you are in a situation that you are comfortable with. Otherwise, you are just going to be pretending and in reality having a miserable time. That being said, going outside of your comfort zone is also okay once in a while, but just being true to yourself is going to give you the best experience. To me, I think that coming to terms with who you are and doing things that benefit you. At the end of the day you are only left with yourself and you are the only one that can make you happy. 

Before this module, I had no idea what emotional intelligence even was. After reading the article by Dr. Travis Bradberry, I had a best grasp about the subject. I think there are some aspects that I am very good at. Getting enough sleep, appreciating what I have, giving and expecting nothing in return, etc, these are all things I would say I can handle. Yet there are other aspect I know I have room for improvement. I would say that one of the biggest challenges for me is stopping negative self-talk. I have just had this tendency for so long that it really difficult to change how I think about myself so quickly. It takes time, but it is something that I have been working on more recently. I think that in order to combat this challenge, I should start implementing more positive thoughts when I am thinking negatively. Kind of like for every 1 negative, I have to think of 3 positive things. Eventually, the negative thoughts will begin to subside with only positive thoughts remaining. 

In regards to my locus of control, I have a very high internal locus of control. I firmly believe that my success if fully in my control. I know that there can a little bit of luck with life, but I believe that it is a cause of hard work. I have what I have because of my hard work. I haven’t been one of the fortunate people that have been blessed with a lot of things, I have had work my butt off to get where I am today. 

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taking a look in the mirror

Every once in a while I think it is important to take a look in the mirror and think about what you see. Understanding who is looking back at you is so important. Without knowing who you are, how do you understand why you are the way you are or how you react to certain situations. Being able to understand what makes you tick, is going to help you throughout life when making big decisions or how you interact within a work environment. I think that also having a good self-awareness is going to impact how you interact best with people, which is so important when it comes to being motivated to get work done. If your self-awareness is lacking, on page 426, Daft and Marcic provide two ways to improve self-awareness. Taking a self-assessment is a good way to find out which tendencies you have and from there you can utilize feedback to help others around you interact with you. Allowing other people to know how you prefer to be motivated and what you value in appraisal is an important tool to building a healthy relationship. 

Personally, knowing who I am plays a big role when it comes to reacting to situations and making decisions. I tend to be a very realistic person. Because of this, I tend to think very hard about all possible outcomes and sometimes this leads to overthinking. However, I believe that I am just trying to find the best option, not just pick the first one that comes to mind. I also tend to think of the repercussions that could come from a decision. Similarly, when it comes to handling my emotions within a certain situation I know how much I can handle and what tends to push my buttons. I have had enough experiences where I haven’t been quite as level headed that I have grown into a person that takes things with a grain of salt. I do my best to process the information first before I make a response. I think that my self-awareness has allowed me to get through conversations where after I don’t regret what I said or wish I would have said something different. 

When it comes to trusting someone, I think it just starts with baby steps but also just a leap of faith. I feel that trust is easily awarded unless there is an instance that proves to be other wise. Trust is simple in my opinion. It is all about being honest and being truthful to your word. I believe that respect also plays into the aspect of trust. Most often if you respect a person you are also going to trust them and vice versa. It is just a mutual thing that occurs unless trust is undermined, which then leads to having to be a little wary when interacting with that person. In my mind, I’m going to give you my full trust right away, and it is your duty to maintain that trust. I hope people also hold me to that standard as well. 

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Take-aways

From this module I think it is important to note that the employees or people around you play an important role in the company as a whole. I also think that change is going to effect me one way or another, this can impact my resources, as well as the overall decisions that come with layout of the organization. Probably one of the key features of this lesson is that in the end you want to be effective, because that is the only way you are going to reach your goals in a timely manner, or at all. Things like diversity and being flexible with change are going to be big factors. 

Overall, I feel as though I keep adding more ways to learn about myself. It has allowed me to take a moment to figure out why I am the way I am and understand my thought process a little bit better. I also think that I have begun to make better decisions for myself because I know what my goals are, and I’m making sure my decisions reflect those goals. 

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effectiveness

An effective workforce is important because without it, you’ll be hiding backward instead of forward. I think this also plays into managing diversity. If you have employees that are going to challenge each other to advance the thinking of the company you are going to be effective. You want to choose people that are going to be able to work together, but don’t group think. In terms of managing diversity, I think you have to be open to change and difference, and take a risk for the betterment of the company. Personally, it links back to the people I surround myself with. Are they going to challenge me to be better, and work by my side as I reach for my goals? In addition, I think that I have to have the mindset that I have to go outside of my comfort-zone at times to attempt at the different opportunities out there. As a manager of my own organization, being effective while being diverse is going to be about taking risks and trusting in myself and the people around me. I think it’s as simple as that in this situation. 

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performance building

Human capital is a vital resource for an organization. The employees are what keep the company running. A key factor in building human capital is “finding the best people, enhancing their skills and knowledge with training programs and opportunities for personal and professional development and providing compensation and benefits that support the sharing of knowledge and appropriately reward people for their contributions to the organization.” (Daft and Marcic) In regarding to considering myself as a manager and an organization as a whole, I am the company. I do believe that the human capital involves the people I surround myself with. If I don't choose people at are going to support me and my goals, or benefit my life in any way, I am decreasing the possibility of reaching my goals. I have to capitalize on the my own skills and those around me to keep moving forward with my life. If I can succeed in this, the overall performance of my will surely grow. 

The concept of social contract in the situation of myself being the company is a difficult one. I think that it is important to understand you should always be looking out for yourself. Sometimes you are going to make choices that don’t benefit everyone in your life but it benefits you and thats ok. Like it says in the textbook, many companies have strayed away from the “were a family” montage and switched to “we are a team” simply because people don’t spend their whole lives at the same job anymore. For the present time being spent in a company, the team has to function enough to get the job done and its as simple as that. I think that this helps for when people leave and new employees arrive. I am a little reluctant with this change of social contract because my dad has always told me that friends are temporary and family is forever. And while this holds a lot of value for me, sometimes it is your family members that hold you back from your dreams and aspirations. I think that this change in the social contract is definitely need in this turbulent world, however applying it to my specific life will be a little more difficult when it comes to potentially leaving family behind to do what is best for me. 

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me, creative?

I think that all people are creative in some shape or form. However, the degree of creativity varies from person to person. Personally, I would say I would be on the lower end of the creativity spectrum. I am very self-efficient when it comes to doing a task. I am a quick learner, so I only need to be shown something once or twice before I can complete the task on my own. Yet, in a way that seems to be how I would rather complete a lot of my tasks. I would rather be shown or told what to do than to come up with it on my own. In certain situations, if I need to be creative I can certainly do so, but creativity isn’t one of my top personality traits. Some of the minimal examples of my creativity would in fact be this YouConnect project. I chose to do a blog because I felt it was going to be the easiest setting for me to complete the assignment. When I say easiest, I mean that I don’t have to worry about the format, or making sure I have a certain number of pages. I am able to dictate how long each individual post is and the content it contains. I am able to show off my understanding of the material in a way that my generation has grown up using, the internet. Of course, this idea was sparked by my professor as he gave us a list of ideas to work with.. I would go as far to say that my creativity is situational. Unless truly depended on to come up with a new idea, I would rather leave that area to someone else. In my own defense, I would say that I actually have a lot of different ideas I just choose not to voice them in the fear of being shutdown or rejected. I tend to be more creative on my own than in the presence of others. Not the best way to show my creativity, but this way I only have to impress myself, and most of the time, that’s enough for me. 

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change is good, right?

When I am presented with new ideas I believe that I seriously consider them before making a decision on how to react to the new idea. I think it is only through new ideas and behaviors that we are able to grow as people and potentially as an organization as a whole. At the very least, I think it’s appropriate to try out the new idea. If anything, it doesn’t work and you go back to what you were doing before. According to Daft and Marcic, there are multiple reasons why people resist change. Personally, I think uncertainty is one of the biggest ones. The unknown can be one of the most scariest things in life, which is why many people like to stick with what they know because they know how to control the different effects that come about. 

Personally, I welcome change. Most likely the reason for a change is that something wasn’t going right in the first place, therefore, a change was needed. The hard part about change is accepting it, and having it become the new habit.  It takes a great deal of time for something to become a habit, and with that you have to put effort in. In order to overcome the resistance to change, there are three different areas to touch base on.  Creating a sense of urgency, applying force-field analysis and the use of implementation tactics are all valuable ways that going to help the transition into a change. Depending on the change that is needed, I can switch my old habits fairly quickly. On the other hand, enforcing the change of a diet is another task. It is difficult to tell yourself you can’t have certain types of foods at all or in as much quantity because it is unhealthy for you. I have been working for a month trying to eat better and exercise more as a way to improve my overall health. The problem is that I have spent my whole life having certain foods. It is difficult for me to train myself to choose better choices or not eat when I am bored. I’m not saying I am the healthiest person ever, but I would say that I have made a significant change in my lifestyle. Sometimes change comes in stages. I feel that change is the easiest to resist when you are forced into what seems like an life altering change. If smaller changes lead into the bigger change, I believe that change becomes easier to accept because you aren’t thinking of it in one giant step, but rather in baby steps. 

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rEsOuRcEs

In order to say how I will deploy my resources, I think it’s important to list some of the resources I have. While I believe that almost anything could be used as a resource in one way or another, there are some that stick out more than others. One of the big ones would be TIME. There are only twenty-four hours in a day, and it is up to you what you do with those twenty-four hours. If you plan out your goals, time is going to be the back bone for the use of the other resources. I also believe that my education is a huge resource. My education is going to allow me an extra boost over someone who has less education than I. Also being a student at Minnesota allows for a lot of connections to be made. I can then use these connections later on when I am looking for a career or even to help with a current class I am enrolled in. 

A couple of things that can alter the deployment of my resources is the unexpected. Life happens, and things get in the way of our goals. Some times it halts them all together or at the very least puts a detour in our plans. Money can be a huge factor in this. While money can be used as a resource at times, it could one of the biggest factors in halting plans and goals. 

One of the way to guard against or cope with these detours is be flexible with my goals. I can also do my best to plan ahead for these uncertainties. Having a plan for when things don’t go exactly as planned, is at least a better start than nothing at all. 

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definition

I would define myself as caring, neat, intelligent, resourceful, shy and for the most part responsible. I say these qualities with a humble heart. I use these words to define myself because at one point or another, someone has used these words to describe me. However, I also think that these qualities are very situational. I am a young adult, I’m still learning about myself and life. I’m not going to be perfect now, or probably ever. I will say that as I’ve aged I have gained more qualities or refined the existing ones. I honestly, have a hard time describing myself because I’ve only used the words that other people have described me with before. Not everyone is going to think the same thing about me as someone else has. Although I know that I have certain qualities, it is the extent of those qualities that I falter on. My personalities can vary from day to day and I think the definition of myself is going to continue to change. And I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.