Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1. Who do you plan to interview? Why?

For my first interview, I will be interviewing Brice Cocjin, my father and the Warehouse Operations Manager at Unical Aviation, Inc. My father's management career began at the Costco Wholesale in Azusa, where he was a manager for 12 years. Now at Unical, it's safe to say that he has a pretty good idea of what management is, what it requires, and the many types of personalities one comes to face in a leadership position. An Operations Manager not only has to deal with customers, procurement, and quality assurance, but also the heartbeat of the warehouse: receiving, inventory control, shipping, and general warehouse logistics.

2. You have to ask 5 questions. What additional questions (aside from the required) do you plan to ask?

• What do you believe is one important factor in being an effective manager?
• As a distribution warehouse, why is having a functioning team fundamental for productivity?
• What are difficult scenarios you had to deal with as a manager?
• How does technology (chiefly software such as the Quantum system or the IBM system) help to run the warehouse?
• What do you look for in employees when conducting reviews?
• How important is "attention to detail" for cataloging parts?
• Every manager has a method or way of organizing their "team"; what qualities do you have that sets you apart from the average joe?
• Every once in a while you get that one employee (group member) that shows lack of precision in their work; how do you properly deal with such an individual?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Semester 1 ESLR Goals

1.  List your topic here: Warehouse Distribution Management
2.  What do you plan to do this year to show growth in each of the ESLRs?  Be specific and use an example.  Examples can come from senior project, model assembly, core, and/or participation in senior class ASB or other organizations on campus (clubs etc).

• iPoly Citizen
• The ideal "iPoly Citizen" is someone who demonstrates and takes responsibility upon themselves, involved with both the community and their peers, and adheres to interdependence. Personally, all of these have been implemented from the very beginning of my experience at iPoly, a well as outside of it. What I've learned from then and now will leave with me. The challenging aspects of the senior project are both daunting and a bit exciting, feelings that have been with me at this school. Even so, I know the end result will be the pay off from four years of torment learning. I will make an impact this year, as it is my final at iPoly, and take an active role in class activities / committees. This isn't merely because participating is an integral part of the grade ― it is also a display that the journey here should end well for not only myself, but everyone else as well. 
• Effective Learner
• Being an effective learner means to assess ourselves, information, problems, and toss in a little of our creative selves into the mix. I have always enjoyed the freedom (albeit 'structured' freedom) that this school has allowed me to express myself, whether it be through a simple Keynote or making a poster without Photoshop. Where there is a problem, there is an outlet for solution. Where there is knowledge, there is inspiration. What I learn and fail to learn is on me and this year, there is no room to fail. I will make it a goal to study efficiently at home and take time to check the details. It's important for me to ask for help when I need it and set the bar for myself ― do I really want to be that person who doesn't ask why or how? As a personal obligation, setting this 'bar' means being a good example for my peers and improving myself. 
• Effective User of Technology
• My 2008 MacBook has been a close companion as well as adversary (as far as school goes anyway). Outside of my computer, I like learning how things work and function. Implementing technology injects a certain life that pen and paper fail to do. When you create something yourself, there should be a sense of fulfillment when you sit back and see what you've done. One of the best feelings is when you're given a topic to work with and an idea just hits you ― you want to put it into play right away. I'm one of those people who looks at something and ideas start firing away. When I'm successfully able to show it to others on display, it's that sense of fulfillment. There is still much to learn in effectively using technology, as there is everyday. I want to diverge from solely using just Keynote presentations or simply printing a picture on paper. There is much more to that and even greater room for creativity.
• Effective Communicator
• Group projects alone has opened up a door I didn't see myself entering at another high school; yes, they exist elsewhere but not to the extent of which iPoly presses. Cooperating with others, reaching compromises (even if we don't want to), and dealing with undesirable group members are things of "the real world". Taking on the role of a leader (rather reluctantly in the past) has become something I'm no longer afraid of doing. In addition to being a leader, communication between individuals is a must. There must be a foundation before reaching an agreement, a common goal before getting to the end. I feel that the senior project will truly push me beyond what I'm used to. I will need to make phone calls, I will need to conduct interviews, and I will need to present confidently in front of a classroom full of strangers by the end of the year. So yes, I would say this is a definite area of growth for me and wouldn't disagree that it is a preliminary test before entering that "real world". This year, I would like to enhance my communication skills and effectively get my ideas across.

Summer Mentorship Component

1. Mentorship Log

2. I spent my summer mentorship at Unical Aviation Inc., where I shadowed my father, Brice Cocjin, who is the Operations Manager of Distribution. The number to reach him is (626) 224 - 4711. 

3. While I gathered all the information that I did, on warehouse management and the different areas it applied to, a few questions I had included:

• What is the most effective way to lead a successful team in the workplace?
• How can management techniques be applied in real life?
• Should every aspect of the gathered research be apart of the project?
• What information should I be looking for during research?
• With my choice of topic, what can I do for the independent component portion of the project?

4. The most important thing I got out of this experience was that it requires patience to learn a lot of information you might otherwise ignore (because realistically speaking, anyone could care less about what quality assurance and procurement is). Learning about the different types of operations at Unical (shipping, receiving, inventory control, and general warehousing), is actually pretty interesting because distribution management is just as important as marketing and sales. In a sense, it is the heartbeat of the company.

5. Doing my hours at Unical Aviation did not help me choose a topic per say, rather it solidified my initial idea on doing my project on some type of management. My topic had been related to management and I had initially been leaning on Pain Management, however plans hadn’t followed through. Luckily, there was a plan B. Now all it takes is making sense of it all.