I am applying for an internal position and am required to submit the hiring managers a writing sample. Competition is high and I really need to be on my game for this one. I have narrowed my selection down to three (3) entries from my business blog and included a hyperlink to my website should formatting change.

I would sincerely appreciate everyone's feedback.

[SPOILER="Writing Samples"]
[SPOILER="Privilege of Opportunity"]
Long gone are the glory days of American business when companies strove to groom stars from within. Strong training and mentoring programs that companies used to mold employees into confident extensions of their brand, have been replaced by bare bones frameworks of top-heavy management and unhappy supporting casts. Many of my colleagues in American business dangle one foot out the door, and carelessly disregard momentum within their company for a few dollars more every pay period. Their underlying reasons for departure are uninspiring managers, unrewarding workflow and unclear growth opportunities. But instead of lamenting over the injustices of American business, I seek out managers willing to teach me the formalities and informalities of my industry. Beginning with my first co-operative education experience at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals through my current position with Commerce Bank, these managers have provided me with the requisite confidence to succeed in American business. Throughout the years I have learned how to interact with internal and external customers, and build the products that they want to see.

My experience at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals stands out because I was only nineteen years old, and had an experience that I could only dream of when I was stocking shelves of appliances at Best Buy. The job was a management information systems support position within Wyeth Pharmaceuticals’ Logistics and Supply Chain department, and was passed along to me by my friend Jacquie who had accepted a second offer. My primary task was to support an external consultant who was building the framework of a data warehouse that would ultimately build efficiencies between Wyeth Pharmaceuticals’ refining, manufacturing, and distribution channels. The task was mostly data entry with a tinge of analytical work, but it opened up opportunities for side projects to enhance my hands on education.

On one particular day, my team leader invited me into his office to discuss my interest in creating a set of project management forms that would improve workflow within the Logistics and Supply Chain department. Difficulties arose between the several teams that comprised the Logistics and Supply Chain department, and how they were reporting workflow to the department’s manager. My task was to interview the department manager and the team leaders, and create a standard set of project management forms that would be used by the entire department.

I began the project by compiling a list of open-ended questions to gain clearer understanding of the department manager’s requirements for the project management forms. As he was the intended audience, it was important that I accurately capture the information that he wanted to see. I revised my questions to reflect the department manager’s requirements and began talking to the team leaders, seeking cues to design the project management forms for ease of use among their respective teams. But during my interviews I noticed apprehensiveness about the project from several team leaders, and was unsure with how to continue. I met with my team leader who explained that while I had accurately portrayed the concerns of the department manager, my revised questions failed to capture the concerns of the team leaders and their direct reports. He explained further that the success of this project lies in the hands of the direct reports who would be using the project management forms, and their adoption would be critical. Refocused on the users, I revised my questions and was able to receive constructive feedback from the team leaders. Through their commentary, I was able to create a draft of the project management forms. The project culminated with me presenting the project management forms to the department manager and team leaders in a board room setting, and answering any questions that they had.My co-operative education experience with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals ended shortly after my final draft had been implemented.

The confidence that my team leader placed on me to complete this project has stuck with me through two additional co-operative education experiences, a number of student leadership roles, and my post collegiate career.
[/SPOILER]
Privilege of Opportunity


[SPOILER="Customer Service in the Information Age"]
In his post, Why I say I’m a Blogger, Dave Winer follows up his Comcast diatribe from a few days earlier, with a subdued explanation of how he expects blogs to change how corporations interact with their customers. In the former post Winer states:

Most companies have left the sheltered view that business needs to be done on their terms, and will adapt certain policies and procedures to ease customers’ concerns. Companies whose framework depends on customer feedback to alter their future strategies will certainly take into account what is being discussed on the blogs, but they will also scour other online sources known for their customer feedback including but not limited to feedback forms at their official website, discussion threads within the webforum community, and product reviews at online retailing giant Amazon.com. Additionally, these companies will continue to take advantage of offline sources of feedback such as letters, phone calls, and faxes. Regardless of the medium that the feedback is generated, customers should understand that the process can be reversed when Companies feel that the limits of their product(s) and/or service(s) are intentionally being challenged.

When Winer’s original complaint about Comcast was circulating throughout twitter, I asked him if bandwidth could possibly be a scarce resource and his response alluded to him not necessarily knowing the answer. But Winer is not alone. Over the past six (6) months I have discussed the subject of bandwidth limitations with a number of my undergraduate colleagues from Drexel University, a Philadelphia University that favors science, technology, and innovation. My colleagues; whose concentrations varied from computer science to information systems, could explain in great detail the technicalities of how the internet works but were unable to provide me with a concrete answer on whether or not bandwidth is a scarce resource. According to Green Living Online’s article Greening the Internet, bandwidth is a scarce resource due to the sheer energy usage required to keep it running. The article states:

Winer’s topic is just one conversation in this tangled web of how customers and companies are interacting with each other. On what feels to be a separate planet from the blogs and twitter, are the automotive webforums which is where I was introduced to the concept of blogging nearly ten (10) years ago. One of the hot topics from when I owned a car that is still discussed today, is automotive dealerships and insurance companies going to drag strips to catch pictures of their customers’ cars being used for non-street purposes. In a recent post at automotive webforum Myspecv.com, Moderator Kevin (RedDragonV09) puts out a WARNING To Warranty and Insurance Policy Holders Going to the Track!

Personally, I feel that drag strips provide a regulated environment for drivers to test their vehicles off of public roads, but understand that it is the right of the automotive dealerships to cancel warranty coverage on vehicles that have been used outside of the scope of normal use. Tying back to Dave Winer’s issue with Comcast, it can be debated that he was using Comcast outside of its intended use. As he states in this post, Winer uses more bandwidth than the average internet user:

which is further backed up by this photo:



In one corner, you have a customer knowingly using a great amount of bandwidth and in the other corner a company that is sensitive about how customers use its bandwidth due to the regulatory and environmental risks they face from such usage. I will digress the question of who is “right” in this case to the myriad of conversations floating around on twitter. But to those individuals that are looking for more open and honest communication with companies, caveat emptor.
[/SPOILER]
Customer Service in the Information Age

[SPOILER="My bootstrap business experiment"]
One week ago I had lunch with my marketing and technology infrastructure advisor, and he asked me to describe the name “bootstrap | economist” in my own words. While in my mind I knew exactly why I chose the name bootstrap | economist, I found it challenging to accurately portray my thoughts in words and syllables. I rediscovered a post I made in March discussing my reasons for starting bootstrap | economist, but found that it lacked explanation of how I chose the name:

I chose bootstrap for the philosophy utilized by many web technology startups, where aspiring chief executive officers rely on wit and intuition to build viable businesses instead of substantial investments by venture capitalists. This philosophy is particularly important to me because my wastrel spending in college has limited my access to credit. Without the safety of a credit card behind me to fund temporary shortfalls in my personal working capital, I have had to carefully juggle my cash to ensure that it lasts throughout each pay period. I chose economist; a term typically reserved for those who specialize in the science of economics, in memorandum of my grandfather. He himself was an economist, humbly serving the United States government in his earlier years, and sharing his knowledge to students in South Florida and Kingston, Jamaica until his unexpected death in December 2003.

When combined, bootstrap | economist is a business mentality challenging entrepreneurs to understand the internal and external drivers of their industry and develop fiscally responsible business processes. While reflecting on my earlier post, I neglected to mention that bootstrap | economist foregoes intensive audio and visual multimedia in favor of a low-bandwidth design. This provides my writers and I with a global printing press, easily accessed by developing internet communities who do not benefit from the high bandwidth internet services many of us take for granted. And at less than fifteen dollars per month to operate, modest advertising income of twenty dollars per month provides bootstrap | economist with an operating profit of 25%.
[/SPOILER]
My bootstrap business experiment[/SPOILER]

 

me, I, me, I

very self centered writing I see there.

 

Hmmm, perhaps I will choose a writing sample from work.

 

Well I just glanced at them and I saw the recurring useage of those words which isn't a good thing if you are planning to write in any proffessional position.

I do it too which is why I won't write for money.