Example research essay topic: 5career Management At Merrill Lynch Investment Part 1 - 1,542 words

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/ 5 Career Management at Merrill Lynch Investment Bank 1) Do I know what is expected from me at work? Working as a financial analyst at Merrill Lynch investment bank I know well what is expected from me at work for the following reasons. First of all at a large financial institution that a Merrill Lynch represents, most of the duties and responsibilities are highly documented with a single small nuisance being assigned the personnel employed. As a financial analyst I know that I am supposed to present a high quality research on the companies assigned to me by the higher management. Should I have any questions regarding what is expected from me at work I can either contact my manager for further explanation or view the Analyst Responsibilities manual 45 a (ARM- 45 a) as provided by the Merrill Lynch investment bank. 2) Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right? As it is well-known fact that the responsibilities of the financial analyst are mostly related to the research as well as to the contact with the needed companies.

Therefore the needed equipment for my job is computer with the connection to the internet, as well as the applicable software necessary for the financial analysis and research. Merrill Lynch investment bank provides its analysts with the top notch computers at the work place, as well as with the laptop computers for the independent research that can be undertaken in cars or in the airplanes. We deploy the necessary software as well as the mobile phones and pages that allow people like me to be contacted at virtually any time at any place. The phone lines that are connected to each of our work tables allow us to contact the companies we conduct research on directly while the mobile phones also provide us with the portable communication on our way to / from work or from the companies we are interested in. I should also note that for more productive work, we also need the proper office equipment, like printers / scanners that allow us to reproduce the researches of ours and allow for constructive input from the sales department or higher management. Thus, I can conclude that I do possess the necessary equipment to conduct a good research that represents my work. 3) At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?

Indeed, at work I can do the best of what I can everyday for the fact that Merrill Lynch indeed encourages personal development in its individuals and supports any initiative for the improvement of work and general satisfaction. I personally like to conduct independent research at the energy industry for the fact that this industry is of especial interest to the world nowadays with all the modern fuss that is going on about Iraq. I can work at work or whenever I feel like because I am equipped with the Merrill Lynch laptop, while during the regular work hours can enjoy the company of the analyst-fellows with the help of the proper qualified staff. 4) In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work? As a matter of fact I did receive the recognition for recommending to invest in the Russian oil sector. With the war in Iraq seeming to be eminent, Russia strives to do its best to excel in taking up the 7 % of the Iraqi market share. My recommendations were taken rather seriously with a lot of clients getting involved in the given project.

Besides receiving handsome profit that resulted from the sale of the stock of Gazprom, Yukos and TNK I also received recognition from the manager as well as more Merrill lynch stock options. 5) Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? Indeed, my supervisor never cares about me or anybody besides himself. It would also be a mistake to say that at any company people do care about each other. Nevertheless, Mr. Kinney does a great job motivating me, sometimes giving me extra hours or days off or would treat me lunch. He also asks about my family and if I have any aspirations in life.

Still, I am confident that rather than calling it caring I would call it professionalism. Mr. Kinney cares about the work I do and the profit I make because his paycheck also depends on that. Also he cares about me upholding the innovative spirit of the company and is interested in me remaining that way. In other words, if I was not employed by his firm yet was his friend, he would treat me like his friend without any obligations. In my case he cares about me doing a good job, about my remaining motivated and cheerful, yet once I quit the job, hed hardly become my friend. 6) Is there someone at work who encourages my development?

I can say that my whole work indeed encourages my development because Merrill Lynch does support innovative spirit and life long education in all its employees. My manager encourages my development. My work-friends also motivate me to be better than them and to excel in my department: this also serves as a good motivation for me at Merrill Lynch. On a more personal level, I experience hot feelings towards Mary Brown, a hot secretary employed by our office. She motivates me on a more personal level such as at dinner time she often expresses my desire to see me assume the executive position at Merrill Lynch and I strongly work on my ways to excel in the company. 7) At work, do my opinions seem to count? The job of a financial analyst is about opinions, meaning that other people pay for the opinions of mine regarding the companies in our research focus.

I believe that although there is and I encourage constructive input or criticism to my work, my opinion indeed counts. 8) Does the mission / purpose of my company make me feel my job is important? The mission statement of the Merrill Lynch is the following: Identify and develop business continuity plans and projects that have an industry-wide, rather than firm-specific, focus Provide liaison between the securities industry and government legislators, regulators, and service providers, as well as to related industries such as telecommunications and power utilities provide a forum for securities firms, industry organizations, and service providers to share specific plans and business continuity 9) Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? I personally believe that my co-workers are committed to high quality work because of the clear formal procedures. Each employee is motivated to work for the company well based on the remuneration deployed at Merrill Lynch.

We are motivated on a commission basis as well as are given the stock options at Merrill Lynch. 10) Do I have a best friend at work? As a matter of fact my best friend, John Suggest is also employed by Merrill Lynch. We met at the corporate training last fall and ever since talked to each other. The fact that he is also a financial analyst with higher experience as well as had his cubicle located next to mine contributed to our friendship. 11) In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress? My manager Robert Kinney has weekly meetings on which he encourages me to strive for me and shows me the ways of obtaining a promotion. He highly supported my endeavors of taking the CFA examination this May and had contributed to the corporation paying for my exam as well as for the required books.

I also talk with my partners with respect to the quality research I am providing, thus can say that I can talk about my progress with my higher management as well as with my friends at work. 12) This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow? Having worked for Merrill Lynch for only one year I still can say that the company provides a lot of growth opportunities. The company had financed my Certified Financial Analyst exam that I am going to take in May of 2003. Also, I had attended various corporate meetings with the Merrill Lynch members from other states and had the opportunity to share my experience and get more knowledge.

Analyze the organization and reflect on what you can do to manage your career more effectively there. Analysis part should be based on some organizational behavior or leadership development related resources or theories. Managing People and my personal career at Merrill Lynch. The effective management of people in an organization requires an understanding of motivation, job design, reward systems, and group influence. I personally believe that the most theories applied to motivation and career development indeed present some thoughtful approaches to personal management. I personally believe that Behavior Modification is first and one of the most important methods of influencing ones attitude towards work and career.

Operant conditioning at Merrill Lynch is the learning that takes place when the learner recognizes the connection between a behavior and its consequences. Positive reinforcement vs. punishment: rewarding desired behavior...

Research essay sample on 5career Management At Merrill Lynch Investment Part 1