Personal Renaissance 1

Personal Renaissance

By: Jacob Baggaley

Business 1050

4/14/2019
Personal Renaissance 2

Personal Renaissance

Introduction

Information becomes knowledge when we choose to apply the information in such a way

that it influences society. Information is beautiful, yet knowledge is the application of that same

information. Hence, when I talk about a personal renaissance, I am essentially going to be talking

about how I apply the information that I have learned so that it becomes knowledge. Only then

will the learning and effort that I have put into this information become knowledge- something

that I can hold onto and use throughout my life.

With this idea in mind, my goal is to answer the question: How have I applied the course

material in my own working situation or personal life? To answer this, I would like to break my

response into 3 categories from 4 different readings that have influenced my working situation

and personal life. First, I would talk about Critical thinking and its influence in my problem

solving abilities and as a guide throughout my life. Second, I would talk about the principles of

management that I have found directly correlate between the readings and my job at Mountain

America Credit Union. Third, I would speak about business ethics and the influence that good

core ethics and values can have in the business environment.

Critical Thinking

Edward Engh once said about critical thinking, “The twenty-first century is an age when

people fearing truth try to shout it down. And yet, at no time ever has the hunger for truth been

so great! This conflict between those who seek and those who fear truth may be resolved during

the life of the present generation. Truth does not bow to this or that, it simply is what it is.

Critical thinking is beautiful and recognizes one ethic: speak truth. Threats from authority mean
Personal Renaissance 3

nothing to critical thinkers, for truth is the ultimate authority. Sensitivity must not impede the

pursuit of knowledge, and political correctness must not stand in the way of education.

Critical thinking ‘has an autonomous right to express its views fearlessly and objectively,

without interference from church and state. It must avoid clouds of fears and hopes, desires and

aversions. It must discern objects clearly and shun intellectual mist. It must dispel myth and

dissipate absurd fables. …’”

The great point that Edward Engh makes is that truth is an absolute and is always correct.

It doesn’t change from person to person or belief to belief. This is why critical thinking is so

influential in solving problems; when we analyze a problem clearly, we can find causes and

effects of the issue and then find a solution to the problem.

In my personal life I have found that I can best solve problems this way. I look at a

problem and analyze its source and discover what I can do to overcome such obstacles. Along

with the same ideas I have found that when I break down how to solve problems to a step by step

instruction, I can accomplish a lot more and be efficient in solving my problems. All of these

come from applying the principle of critical thinking.

Principles of Management

With my job at Mountain America Credit Union, management is a key part in the success

of our team. Our management can’t see themselves above the tellers or loan officers, because the

performance of the team reflects on how the management is rated. If the team is performing

below its required goals, it’s a reflection that the management isn’t performing as well either.

In our reading “General and Industrial Management”, Henri Fayol talks about a number

of ways management is key to the success of a company and how management can change a

team. A number of the principles mentioned are very important, but a couple that stand out are
Personal Renaissance 4

initiative and unity of direction. Initiative is extremely important in the workplace because as

manager, you have to see your teams performance and help make stepping stones for your

employees to perform better. Also, having unity of direction is extremely important because if

your employees are going different directions and focusing on different areas, you’ll ultimately

fail. As you focus your team and have initiative and step by step guidance in the same direction,

your team will be able to accomplish a lot.

At my work we have a weekly meeting to discuss where we are at with our goals, as well

as what we need to do to improve so we can hit our goals. This is a great way that we practice

unity of direction, as well as initiative. My manager often creates a step by step plan that we can

focus on which will help us to hit our goals as a branch and ultimately towards the direction of

the credit union. Ultimately this style of management has led our branch to be ranked highly

among all of the branches in the Credit Union, among the best in efficiency and effectiveness.

Business Ethics

I firmly believe that good ethics plays a significant role in the success of a business. A

business that cares for its employees, the community around it and its consumers will be highly

effective and can see success. It’s when a business values money over its people that it seems to

take a dive away from its success. Specifically I want to focus on a company valuing its

employees.

In the reading “Cooperation in Industry”, John Rockefeller Jr. makes a powerful

statement that, “The soundest industrial policy is that which has constantly in mind the welfare

of the employees as well as the making of profits…” This statement is absolutely brilliant

because when a company values and cares about the welfare of its employees, it will give them

fair wages as well as benefits that fit the employees needs. By giving this to employees, you will
Personal Renaissance 5

see an increase in the happiness of your employees and their quality of work will go up.

Naturally if you are happy while working and you feel that you are being equally compensated

for your work, the quality of your work will go up.

This principle is evident at my workplace. Employees are compensated with excellent

time off, care from management, paid incentive for excellent work, as well as ability to train and

move up in the company. All of these forces are what have built Mountain America into one of

the fastest growing credit unions in the United States. The credit union also has excellent ethics

in which it treats not only its employees well, but the community and its members well too. This

is the recipe which builds success.

Conclusion

Multiple spots from our reading this semester have played an influence in my life and I

can see easily where they apply. There are many more things from our reading which I feel I

could honestly write so much more about, but these three things I have spoken about have been

some of the most influential during my personal renaissance. My goal is to continue to apply

what I learn so that information can become knowledge, knowledge can become ability, and

ability can lead to a successful career and life.