Course Reflection

Wow, I can not believe this semester is already over, it went by way too fast because now I have to graduate. I do not think I am quite ready to leave Clemson yet, but it is time for me to start the next chapter of my life. Business writing has been a very useful class for any undergraduate. Their is a lot of information that one can learn and use for the rest of their life. It is important to be able to know how to write memos, coverletters, thankyou letters etc. and business writing covers all of these topics. It is important to stay on top of your assignments to do well in the class, nothing is very hard or difficult to do, but it is important not to let the assignments pile up on top of each other. You can get as much or as little information as you want out of the class, and I highly recommend that you try to get as much as possible out of the all the assignments in the class because they will help you in the future.

Good Luck!!

Ethics Research

I am working with Lindsey for our ethics research project. Lindsey and I were going to do something regarding the government or something until we watched the movie Erin Brokovich this weekend. After watching that movie, we knew exactly what we wanted to do for our ethics presentation. The entire movie was an amazing example of an ethical lapse in history. Pacific Gas and Electric discovered they had hexavalent chromium in their holding pounds outside several plants in California. The hexavalant chromium was leaking into the ground water and PGE found out, but instead of informing the public and taking corrective measures, they hid the problem and swept it under the covers. Thousands of people that lived near the plants got sick (cancer, tumors, heart disease, miscarriages etc) and it wasn't until Erin Brokovich, an employee of a law firm began to research the problem, that the ethical lapse was uncovered.

Ethics in the Work Place

Ethics in the work place has and continues to be an important issue. No matter how big or small a company may be, employees are always faced with an ethical situation at some time or another. I think the article had a number of good facts and information for all business owners and employees. It is important for employers to read articles like this one in order to understand the types of problems workers face everyday. Ethical decisions are always difficult for people to make, so whatever an employer can do to help curb activities that may result in difficult ethical dilemas etc.

Virtual Writing

Go figure, virtual writing, something I am doing right this very instant. I have never really given it much thought until I read chapter 15, but a lot of the points the book makes are very true. When writing on the web, your audience could be anyone, the weird old lady next door, the ex-football player that leaves across town, or Osama Bin Laden hiding in his cave in hell. Anything that you write and publish on the web is free game for anyone with access to the internet. Of course, published writing on paper could be viewed by anyone, but it is a lot more difficult to reach the potential audience by paper than the audience that can view it on the web.
When writing on the web or on paper, you usually have a point you are trying to get across and it requires some thought and work. But when writing on the web, the main difference I can find is the potential audience. When trying to get an important point across, it is very easy to communicate on the web and highlight the message. You can add pictures, send it via email etc, your audience is endless. The important thing one should remember when transferring something that is hand written onto the web is not all handwritten pieces will transfer onto a website exactly the same (parameters etc) and your audience is much bigger. Handwritten material has a much more limited audience than material published on the web.
A great example of the potential audience web published material can reach is sites like facebook and myspace. My dad has someone check all potential employees on facebook and myspace before he will allow them to be hired. He turns down countless applicants based on information he finds on their web profiles.

I survived the Savannah Blackout 08'

So, I went to Savannah for spring break this year with a bunch of friends, I needed to unwind before going home after a rough few weeks. I needed some time to think and ponder my life away from the pressures of home and Savannah was the perfect place to do it. During the day, we would spend our time on Tybee Island lounging by the pool or on the beach and at night we would hang out and celebrate St. Patrick's Day on River Street in downtown Savannah. On Saturday night around 11:30pm, we had already been enjoying ourselves for a number of hours when my brother called to warn me that we had a tornado near our house in Charleston and that the weather was heading our way. At that point, I wasn't too concerned about much. Then the wind started to pick up and the next thing I knew, all the power in the entire city went out. It was mass chaos. Everyone was screaming and yelling, people started looting and breaking into cars, cops were running all around us and in the middle of all the mayhem, someone swiped my friend Kaity's wallet, with her car key in it to our ride back to the hotel. So after about an hour of trying to find our way through the chaos, we finally found the car in the parking garage we left it in. We called triple A and they told us it was too dangerous for them to come into the city and we would have to wait until the morning to get the spare key. So we figured we would wait in the parking garage because we were somewhat sheltered from the mayhem until our other friends could get back from the condo and get us. After about 45 mins, the parking garage kicked us out and told us we could not stay there. So we started to head for a safe location while people were breaking into cars and stuff when our friends called and said the city was blockaded and we would have to walk to meet them at the blockade, which was only about a mile away, but the city was pitch black and it started to rain. Finally we decided to go for it when a guy came running at us and told us to run bc everyone walking up ahead was getting robbed, so we turned the other way and ran. Then we found a large group of people and followed closely to them and finally made it to our friends at the blockade and safely back to our condo. It was the most sketchy situation of my life and I lived in NY for eight years.

Resume: Should I Lie?

After reading the article on lying on your resume, it really got me thinking. How often do people actually lie on thier resumes? Is thier a common thing? Are nurses and doctors and teachers lying on thier resumes and not getting caught? That is scary. I would never have even of thought about lying on my resume, and I cannot fathom the fact that someone would lie about something so important.
I also felt that the article was a bit biased by trying to make us feel sorry for Mary. Yes she was a wonderful worker and all, but someone who would lie about something as big as a masters degree deserves to be fired. Thier is a simple way for that not to happen to you, dont lie on your resume and dont lie to potential employers.

Presentations

After viewing all of the class presentations, their are a number that really stood out to me. My favorite was Lindsey's presentation on poultry showmanship. Of course I am biased due to my love of poultry and involvment in poultry showmanship, but I thought her presentation was very informative and unique compared to a number of other presentations I saw. I think the class really enjoyed seeing the chicken and actually learning that their was such a thing as poultry showmanship. Majority of people I know and meet do not believe me when I tell them I taught a class on poultry showmanship at Clemson for two semesters, they just find it so hard to believe that one could and would want to show a chicken.
The second presentation that I really enjoyed was Etta's presentation on slang terms. I thought his presentation was very unique and humorous. I have his handout on my refrigerator and my friends and I are using those terms everyday now. My favorite is nooo zeke, I love it!
The third presentation I really enjoyed was Seth's presentation on how to make a creme puff. They were really good and I thought it was great that he made some for the class to try. It was a great way to get the class involved in the presentation, very interactive and creative.
I thought everybody did a great job on thier presentations! They were all original and allowed us to get to know our classmates better.