Next Year's Students

I have thoroughly enjoyed having class with Ms. Rogers. The Second Life class setting is much different than your normal class. Meeting once a week for an hour leaves a lot of time for you to do other work or work for this class. Unlike a normal class, it is up to you to remind yourself to do your work every week. In my case, I had class on Monday nights and everything was due the following Sunday. If you don't write your assignments down, you can easily forget about them until the last minute. I learned a lot about business writing and it has really prepared me for my jump into the real world. I hope that you all enjoy this class as much as I did. Thanks Ms. Rogers. I had a great semester in your class. 

Ethics

Through my research about the Challenger disaster, I learned that the littlest thing can cause the biggest destruction. It took one little O-ring and the cold weather to destroy millions and millions of dollars worth of a NASA space craft and of course the seven lives of the crew members aboard. Every day people witness breaches in ethical judgment and say nothing. This is how small, almost insignificant things like an O-ring turn into a disaster. It really bothers me that this is happening more and more frequently. The easiest way to prevent this is to hire employees with good character. It starts with recruiting. Another way to help prevent this is a drop box of some kind. It would allow employees to anonymously inform management of any wrongdoings. I just hope that we can all learn from others mistakes and not let a problem in the future "snowball" into a huge issue. 

Response

It is very disturbing to hear that unethical practices are occurring  frequently in the work force. I feel as though there are several ways to prevent this from happening. The first one starts with human resources and selecting good employees. Another good alternative is setting up an anonymous dropbox for employees to write down  concerns or any questionable activities  going on in the workplace. Employees must bring up any questionable activities to someone higher up that can deal with the situation properly. If publicizing the action is necessary then it needs to be brought up to all employees in order to make sure that it does not happen again. Ethical disruptions can be very costly to any company. Managers need to make sure they catch any problems before they cause a major disaster like what happened to Enron or Worldcom. In order to make more money, some people will do anything. You can only hope that you have honest and responsible employees who will not partake in unethical practices or if see them occurring they will report them. 

Paper vs. Web

When comparing the two types of writing, it is important to discuss the similarities and differences between the two. The amount of writing on paper I have done in recent years has decreased greatly due to the use of computers. In my day to day activities, rarely do I ever find my-self writing anything of importance or great length on paper. School work, job related work, applications, and many other types of writing are more common on the web now than on paper. This one of the major differences between the two types of mediums. Fifteen years ago, almost all work, school, and personal writing was done on paper. Now, almost everyone in school or working has access to a computer. When comparing the use of the web vs. paper, the two areas have many similarities and differences as well. One way in which they are the same is that the information does not change. You can read the same newspaper article on a website as you can in the actual paper itself. However, the use of the web has made everything much more accessible from anywhere in the world. It also has made researching for past writings much easier with the use of search engines and other various tools. When transferring from one medium to the other, in this case paper to web, there are several things that are different. One is that with web writing you must keep your wording concise and to the point. Most people just skim through web articles and postings to get the most important information. However, when it comes to reading the paper most people have more time and read the articles thoroughly. 

Of course with any writing, the use of grammatically correct language, writing to a specific audience, and so on are very important in both mediums. 

Clemson Choke Artists

It seems at though here at Clemson University, we don't know how to win crucial games. In football this year, the whole University was pumped up to play Boston College at home for a chance to play in the Acc Championship. Of course we lose to Boston College and resort to the Chick Fila- Bowl where we lose. I am not saying that it was a good accomplishment but it was not fun being let down again. Then just a week ago, the Clemson Basketball team loses to Villanova in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament. The team works hard all year long, beats Duke in the Acc tournament and plays in the Championship game. Then after all this hard work, they lose to Villanova in the first round of the NCAA tournament and are eliminated. Now I have focussed my attention to the baseball team that has not disappointed me yet. They did lose to USC twice but that will be avenged later in the season. I hope that next year we can use our amazing recruiting class in football to propel us to the next level. I love Clemson and I love Clemson athletics but we kind of have a reputation of losing the big, crucial games every year and I would love for that streak to end. 

Why Lie?

After reading this article, I became disgusted. Over %50 percent of applicants have lied in one form or another. Granted that most of the lies are small and sometimes insignificant, this number was alarming to me. I feel like lying on your resume and getting caught could be devastating to the rest of your career or lack there of. You might be able to get away with it but then it could really hurt you down the road once you have been promoted several times and are regarded very highly within the company. I know that my resume is consistent and truthful and it was not that hard. I obviously could have embellished it in certain areas, but why do so? It could only hurt me in the long run. I hope that people seriously consider the downfall of lying before the next time they turn in a resume. It could damage any hope of a career or the one they currently have. 

Our Company

My team has decided to enter into the delivery business. We are not delivering pizzas or late night munchies, but rather full blown grocery lists. We have decided to try and open an online grocery delivery company. Second Life users could enter our store on Second Life, browse the store for groceries needed, and fill out an order form as they checkout. One day later, the food arrives on their doorstep ready to be consumed. One aspect of this operation we have not fully completed is the payment process. Should shoppers be required to pay before the food is delivered, or should they have the payment ready upon delivery? Also, should the use of linden dollars be used or make the payments come from real money transactions? These are two of the questions we have left before we really put our company idea into motion. I hope that this company will thrive in the future. With the amount of users on Second Life, and the numbers growing everyday, I do not see any reason why this company would not succeed. 

Mock Interview

I was really pleased at the way my mock interview went. It was much different than I had expected and was actually more relaxed than a face to face interview. One problem I did worry about was the response time to answer the questions asked. It takes everyone much longer to type their response than in person. However, this is also an advantage to Second Life. Sometimes the first answer that comes to mind may not be the best or worded the way you want it to sound. Second Life allows to read what you say before you say it. I found this tool to come in handy throughout my interview. I know there were several times where my first response to the question may not have been the best one and I was able to rephrase it better. Second Life interviews have the advantages and disadvantages, but I do see the usefulness of this tool and I see it being used more frequently in the future. 

The Weather

I am sick and tired of waking up and wondering what type of weather to expect here in Clemson. I may look outside and one could assume that it was 70 degrees and sunny but until further inspection you find it to be 40 degrees. It's not only the deception, it's also the consistent fluctuations. For instance, this past Friday it was 44 degree with mist and rain all day long. And then yesterday (Saturday) it was 68 degrees and sunny all day. I love Clemson and everything it has to offer, but I would rather have it 68 and sunny everyday or even 44 and misty than to have it change on a daily basis. This may just me ranting at the moon do to the fact that today's high is 55 and rain is in the forecast. It seems as though we have daily cold fronts. Where as at home in Orlando the weather is consistent everyday and if  a cold front moves in, it lasts for several days. Who knows what to expect tomorrow, maybe snow again and then 82 degrees the next day.  

Cover Letters

Firstly, I do not agree with all of the information given. I feel as though the cover letter is not cast away immediately as said. It seems as though the resume reader would at least glance over it to give themselves and idea of the resume that are about to read. However, I do agree with the point about cover letters being specific and personal. You should not send out 100 of the same cover letters to different companies and wait for responses. It some cases a cover letter may need to be different based on what type of company is receiving the letter. 

I also like this site because it describes in somewhat good detail, exactly what to include in your cover letter and in what order. This will come very useful in the near future when I need to write my cover letters. 

The Second Life Advantage

It seems to me that the use of Second Life in the world of recruiting for businesses is a great idea. It is one more, different way for businesses to get to know their possible future employees. In my opinion this would be a great advantage for anyone applying for jobs. Many people, including myself get nervous before giving a speech or before an important moment in life. If that is the case, then using Second Life is a great alternative. Employers would be able to talk to possible candidates in a manner that would allow them to be in a comfortable surrounding. I believe that this could be a big hit for some companies as another form of interview. It greatly reduces that amount of time, money, and traveling it takes to fly people in from all over the country to be interviewed. However, I do not feel that this takes the place of face to face interviews. The use of Second Life could help to narrow down the field to whom deserves a face to face interview. I am learning more and more about this thing called Second Life. I feel we have just begun to scratch the surface of what this program can be used for. Classes, Interviews, Advertising, and social networking are just a few of the things already being done through Second Life. 

Persuasive Writing

In "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is very persuasive in his writings. He is defending he actions and doing so very well. He is upset about the recent and on-going racial divide in Birmingham, Alabama. People were criticizing his reasoning and actions for causing turmoil in Birmingham, when he himself is not from the town itself. He responds with the reasoning that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."  His way of persuasive speech is defending his actions and trying to convince people he was right. When looking at the websites for Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, I found that there are several similarities and and differences between their styles of writings. One similarity is that they both try to convince you to choose them as your financial advisors. However, they have nothing to defend themselves for. They just try to convince you why you should work for them, they never mention their competition. They do not want you to look elsewhere so you could get an idea of the competition. Dr. MLK Jr. wanted you to know what the animosity was for and why he has stood up for what he believed in. In both cases, each writer was trying to persuade the reader to choose their side and negate the other side's opinion or stance. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech was very moving and persuasive. I can understand why and how he was a leader who was capable of leading millions in a fight for a better society.  

10 Years

I hope to have graduated college and received my MBA in 10 years. I just hope I have a good job that I enjoy. Thats one of the more important things in my life. I feel if your good at what you do and you enjoy doing it, then everything else will fall into place. I hope to be married and having kids. Obviously I want to be able to support my family and have certain luxuries. However, I just hope that I am living life to the fullest. I don't want to miss out on anything I don't have too. I also hope that I don't have any regrets. 

Video Response

I feel as though the title is very appropriate. We use technology everyday, but at the same time technology changes the way we live everyday so to some extent, it uses us. It has drastically changed the way we live over the years. For instance, this class is being taught in a virtual world and never uses a classroom. We will be able to conduct class entirely apart from each other but yet, still stay connected. Web 2.0 will play a huge factor in the life of someone entering the workforce. In order to keep up with society, people are going to need skills in the use of programs considered part of Web 2.0. The ability to communicate and socialize over the internet in virtual worlds or through the use of web cams and uploaded videos will become more of a necessity in the future. For someone currently in the workforce, they need to make sure that they are keeping up with the rest of the workforce around them. If someone cannot keep up with technology they will be passed up. When thinking about the phrase "rethink everything," I feel it is without a doubt a truth. Just like I said before, our class is being taught through the use of Web 2.0. It will only continue to become more of an issue. Web 2.0 may help increase interest in things like work and school work. Students may tend to favor settings other than classrooms to learn. For instance when a class of 200 students were asked by Professor Wesch, the creator of the video, "who actually likes school" only half the class raised their hands. When asked "how many of you do no like learning?" No hands were raised.  

Hi Class

Hello, 

My name is Ben Cohen and I am a junior finance student here at Clemson.