A one-day school week: probably gives ample insight about my level of productivity. However, contrary to what the facts allude to, I had quite the time working on my goals and aspirations in the field of business.
After the three-day long weekend, I packed my bags ready to make the arduous journey all the way to Downtown Dallas, a whopping 30 minute bus ride. What was I doing so far away from home? The Annual DECA State Development Conference was happening! After advancing to the state level during the regional competition in January, I had the honor to compete in my event, Human Resources Management. Although competing and showcasing my knowledge was fun, the time right before competing was actually the most enjoyable for me because I got to talk to other competitors and learn more about them. After all, there is nothing like fellow Texans bonding over competition anxiety. To make the trip even more great, I advanced to the International Level, and I look forward to sipping a refreshing coke with my literally name on it at the International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, Georgia whilst networking and, of course, competing. In terms of ISM, I recently gave my original work presentation, and overall, I am proud of how it came out to be. I have noted points of improvement in terms of using filler words, and I can’t wait to continuing working on my presenting skills. After all, better now that I improve than never.
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This week, my mentor told me that she got a promotion and she would be moving to London next week. I couldn't be happier for my mentor, but to say the least, I was shocked. Ms. Borda and I has started to get along so well and I had learned so much. I didn’t want to start the entire process of searching for a mentor when I should be focusing on my final product.
To be honest, I felt quite discouraged. After having a good 3-4 months with my mentor, I would have to start all over again. But I figured it was part of life: starting over and trying again. To my luck, Ms. Borda gave me the contact information for Ms. Amelia Riba, the new Chief Brand Officer who would be taking over for Ms. Borda. Now, I’m back to get started on my final product! In terms of my final product, I am researching how to solve a pervasive problem in the marketing field. Usually, large companies gain information about the market by sending out surveys to customers. However, often time, customers respond to questions with what they think is the generally correct answer. For example, Ms. Borda told me of how on many surveys, Pizza Hut customers would respond by saying that they would love to see more salad options. However, after adding more salads to the menu, the sales for such healthier options remained stagnant. As a result, it becomes apparent that the way in which customers respond to surveys significantly influences a business, so it is important to make sure that survey data is actually accurate. As a result, I hope to develop new types of survey questions that penetrate into the subconsciousness of participants, and therefore report more accurate results to businesses. I look forward to seeing where this project takes me! Parking my car early morning on Monday at the Pizza Hut Corporate office, I did not expect to be there for a wholly twelve hours. But the opportunities I got to network and learn about international marketing were unlike any other. My mentor and I attended the International Brand Conference, the one time when all the Latin American and Caribbean regional marketing directors meet to to discuss their success and learn more about branding.
My day started with an informative speech about distinct and relevant brands given by a band consulting company. Although most of the information was easy to understand, the information truly transformed my perspective on creating a distinct brand. After the present seamlessly tied together different parts of brand management into a chain cycle, everything seemed to click. My mind was now buzzing with ideas for my final product. The next segment of the day comprised of doing more interactive activities. To begin, we did a a case study on Ikea, and this allowed me to get the opportunity to interact with the different marketing directors from across the Western Hemisphere. Talking to people from different countries gave me a more broader perspective of how culture and community shapes the perspective on brands. To the end the day, I went out to dinner with all the Pizza Hut Latin American and Caribbean Region employees. A perfect way to end the night, I got to experience my first corporate dinner. It was almost as if I was adulting! |