A Journey... Quest... Thing... to see The Hobbit!

It almost didn't happen. The one thing I'd been looking forward to for at least two years – going to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey with my brother, John, over Christmas weekend – almost didn't happen. Because of the flu! :-(

My brother is nine years older than me. And some of my precious memories as a girl are of him reading to me - especially Tolkien's The Hobbit. Teenage boys shouldn't be interested in spending time with their younger sisters! But my brother has always marched to his own beat and he wasn't afraid that spending time with his kid sister would make him uncool. Winning!

So of course when I heard Peter Jackson was making a prequel to his masterpiece Lord of the Rings trilogy, I wanted to see the movie with him more than anyone else! He lives three hours away from me, so the trip would have to wait until Christmas weekend when we would be together. But three days before I'm to leave for home, tragedy strikes. My brother has the flu. Of course I was worried about his health first! But I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed at the thought of having to skip out on our showing because he felt bad. But amidst the celebration of the miracle of Christ, our family got out own Christmas miracle. John was feeling a little better. Well enough to go to the movies! Whew! That was a close one! So we went and we even got to take my two oldest nephews.

What a beautiful film. Peter Jackson should just make all of the movies! Well, he could share with a handful of others (I'm looking at you Spielberg, Howard and Nolan!)... I mean, this movie was gorgeous and had my nephews and I ready to pack and head off to New Zealand!

What a treat to head back to the Shire! And I hadn't been reading too much about the film, so I was happily surprised to see Elijah Wood reprise his role as Frodo! But I was concerned... This movie is all about ugly old trolls! What am I going to do without visual treats like Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean and even (a little) Viggo Mortenson? But then came a little dwarf named Kili. Hello Aidan Turner!

Aidan Turner as Kili

Now we've got some eye candy! And the Dwarf King, Thorin Oakenshield was pretty worthy of all of his screen time too!

Richard Armitage plays Thorin Oakenshield

Both of these men have had success on the BBC. Turner plays a vampire in the British show, Being Human. And Armitage was Guy of Gisborne on the BBC's Robin Hood. But once again, Jackson has opted to go for actors that fit the roles well, instead of casting big name stars to bring in the crowds. I admire him for this. 

The movie was two and half hours long, but I didn't feel the time drag. I was caught up in the beauty! Trolls! Goblins! Stone Giants! This movie is just gorgeous!

Stone giants wage war in The Hobbit.

Rivendell is beautiful as always.

Some critics have argued that the movie is trying to hard to be Lord of the Rings and it fails. I disagree. I think Jackson created a living breathing Middle Earth in his first three films and The Hobbit feels true to that style. I thought that Ian McKellan as Gandalf brought just the right amount of authority and, when required, humor. Andy Serkis entertains as Gollum and each dwarf embodies their character to perfection. And Martin Freeman as Bilbo...

I say "good job" to you sir! He is timid when he needs to be scared, he is brave when bravery is called for, and you believe every minute of it.

As for Peter Jackson, I think he's hit it out of the park again. I can't wait until next Christmas when, barring any illnesses or other calamities, my brother and I head off once again to see The Hobbit. This time, The Desolation of Smaug! Can we say dragons, people? I can't wait!

MHRM 6120 • Blog Data Management and Ethics

Ethics and data management are the topics of conversation this week in grad school. We’re asked to think about what we would do if someone with whom we worked asked us to manipulate data for the “benefit of the organization” and whether our response would differ if a superior asked us to do it.

Working in Marketing, the opportunity to present manipulated data is always available. We print annual reports for our health system as well as our cancer treatment center. It’s tempting to tweak the data to paint the organization in a better light, isn’t it? Fortunately, my manager doesn’t believe in doing anything unethical like this. We present the data – both good and bad – as it is.

Sure, we might try and powder the pig, Accentuate the positive and not draw attention to the negative. But at the end of the day, the information, she’s still a pig, and it’s a pig the public will see.

It’s so hard to say no when it’s a manager asking you, though. I had a co-worker call me a few years ago. She was upset because it was time to do the employee survey and her manager had taken her survey forms from her so that the staff could not write anything bad about the department. Talk about skewing the data! This manager would rather have no data for their department than have something bad out there.

The employee was too intimidated to do anything about it and I wanted to help her, so I called human resources and explained the problem. The next day the department had a visit from the Human Resources Director. She came over for a “friendly visit” to remind everyone that the employee survey had begun and she expected 100% participation! Now the manager had no choice but to pass the forms out.

But how dare she put my friend in such an awkward position? I wondered how I would’ve reacted in the same situation. I like to think I would’ve stood up to my manager and passed out the forms, but I can’t really say. I do know I believe that misrepresenting data doesn’t really help the organization, or anyone for that matter, at all. 

Lies, they always catch up with you and dealing with an ethics scandal is a lot harder than any other controversy. It’s like I said last week, trust is one of the hardest things to win back once you’ve lost it. That’s why it’s always better to be honest in the first place.

MHRM 6120

Building Trust

 …if developed and leveraged, the one thing has potential to create unparalleled success and prosperity in every dimension of life. 

Yet, it is the least understood, most neglected, and most underestimated possibility of our time. That one thing is trust. —Stephen Covey

In class this week, we're talking about trust. How HR can create trust, challenges to building trust and how to maintain stakeholder trust. 

Trust is a tricky thing... It can be so difficult to build, so easy to destroy and next to impossible to regain once lost. 

I think it is very important for staff members to trust their HR department. And equally important that HR earn that trust by always being honest with staff.

I feel that developing a relationship with staff is important. At the hospital where I work, nurse recruiters almost act as docents to new nurses. They tour them around the medical center, make introductions, I've even see them counsel new nurses months after they are hired. I think this kind of relationship is important in building trust among employees. 

Listening is another skill HR can use to build and maintain trust. Conduct employee surveys, not just to measure, but improve. After one of our employee surveys, departments met with management to discuss results and improvements that could be made to improve morale. Our representative looked us in the eye, told us all of our ideas were good and good be accomplished and then followed through with none of them. This is not a successful means to maintain trust with your employees. Do you think the next year we offered any ideas to improve things in our office? Why would we bother when we didn't believe anything would change?

Proper communication, I believe, is the key to both earning and maintaining stakeholder trust. People by nature resist change, but if HR properly communicate the reason behind the change, staff may be more likely to accept the change. As the relationship between staff members and HR continues, staff will learn to trust HR. But HR must also continue to earn it by communicating effectively and honestly at all times.



References:
Covey, S. R. (2006). The SPEED of trust: The one thing that changes everything (p. 1). New York, NY: Free Press.

Joy to the World! Joy to ME!

Or How the Junior League (and a few other things) Saved My Life

So, for the last two years, I've been a complete Scrooge over the holidays. I haven't put up a tree, I haven't really wanted to celebrate at all. 

Those that know me well – and have known me a while – can tell you that the last few years have been so difficult for me. I lost my dad and a close friend to cancer, fell hard for someone and lost him, then immediately lost a dear friend in a horrendous one-two punch. I've been sullen and depressed and I didn't even want to be around myself, let alone anyone else. I'd be lying if I said there weren't days I considered ending it all....

What a difference a year can make! 

In January, I took things into my own hands and decided I would make some friends. So, I joined the local chapter of the Junior League. I was worried it might be a group of stuffy, snobby well-to-do ladies (you know, like the girls in The Help), but I couldn't have been more wrong! The group is very diverse, with all ethnicities, income levels and ages. They are very active in the community, giving to agencies to improve child mental health, and I'm so proud to be a part of it. I've had the opportunity to make some new friendships for which I am so very grateful!

I've also gone back to school. The reasons for going back were numerous, but mostly it was to keep my brain stimulated and to keep me interested in something besides just sitting around watching TV (don't worry, TV fans, I'm still a couch potato, just not as bad as before!). It's sometimes stressful, but I am so glad to have the opportunity to continue my education and to keep learning and growing. 

Now I've gone from sitting home alone feeling sorry for myself to running around wishing I had time to sit down! It seems like there's always something going on.

BUT I'M HAPPY! :-)

I didn't even realize the change was occurring until this past month. And now with Christmas approaching? Forget about it! I can't stop smiling. I can't stop humming Christmas carols! I can't stop buying decorations! Last night, I ran into Hobby Lobby to get some magnets for a craft project, and I left with a mini-tree for my desk, yet another stocking and a little sprig of holly to place in the bud vase of my car! 

I'm in a completely different frame of mind this December than months before and I wish to thank everyone who helped me get here, but there just isn't enough time or web space! But I'm especially grateful to my mom, my brother, my sister-in-law and their beautiful family, the girls in the Junior League and my dear friend Rachael, who always manages to make me feel sane even when I feel everything around me is insane!

This holiday season, take time to appreciate those that are there for you when times are tough. For all those who have loved me, know you are appreciated and loved in return. Merry Christmas, everyone!