To Future ENG 304 Students

BEWARE- Angie is A LOT different than other professors! lol In a good way! She encourages you calling her Angie, IMing her, or even texting if needed. She is also very understanding, helpful, and emails you back ins literally 2 minutes.

As far as the work goes it's not hard, but you do need to put time into it. This class isn't hard to get an A in and the assignments are very useful for business majors. The assignments are all things that you will need to know how to do in the future.

All in all it's a great class. I really liked taking it online because it allowed me to do the work on my own terms, but Angie is a great professor and everyone I know who has her in class enjoys being there! ENJOY!!

“The Nigerian Barge”

I'm sure everyone has heard of Enron and their ethical issues that they faced. Well, that is what I decided to research for my ethical lapse assignment because I had heard about it before, but never knew really what went on. In a nut shell what happened was Enron mis-accounted for Barges that they had really loaned to Merrill Lynch. Enron wrote them off as a sale on their financial statements. Accounting is one of my least favorite subjects so its hard for me to explain how that effects the company in few words. From what I know Enron is violating the GAAP rules of accounting (of which there are what seems to be a million of). This is why their whole scandal was unethical. It's amazing how one change in the financial statements can ruin a whole company’s reputation.

Ethical lapses

Well it seems like there are a lot of ethical issues to consider in a variety of positions. In my accounting class we have to do two ethical cases during the semester. After doing those you really see how just making one minor adjustment to an income statement or balance sheet can count as fraud and totally hurt the company. Another example is the article we read on lying on your resume. It seems like unethical behavior is a fairly common thing in our society these days.

The article Ethical lapses distract U.S. workers, says that 73% of people have encountered ethical lapses while on the job. Although such a big percentage have seen these ethical issues in their work place, 14% say they have not reported the issue because they are unsure how management would react to it. 11% say their company has a lack of report such issues on procedures.

I guess I am not surprised at the fact that so many people have encountered ethical issues. This is because some people may not even realize what a minor adjustment they make to something could be considered as in their work place. And then there are those that do such things for there personal gain.

Paper vs. Web

Well first let’s state why the two are alike. They are alike because they allow someone to express their thoughts or a way to document something and get it out in writing. Next, they are different because of the way they can be presented. When you write something down on paper if you choose to ripe it up after or to throw it out then it is gone, no traces left behind. That is not the case when you write something on the Web. There is always a way to retrieve things that have been on the Web. When something is written on the Web it is available to anyone, therefore the likelihood of someone stealing your work is very high. Even if you think something is private there are numerous amounts of people who know how to hack into someone’s computer or files to find anything they want out. The sense of security on the Web can almost never be guaranteed. The most important thing to consider when transferring something from paper to the Web is to make sure it is something that you don't care who reads and don't care if it is always available.

Internships

This topic can be stressful one to those who have no idea what they are doing this summer and are still looking for an internship. As far as I'm concerned, I just decided to take the Target internship that I was offered. Although Target is such a big name and this is a great opportunity (and for the record I am extremely excited for it) I can't help, but to wonder what type of internship I would be offered if I went to a school up north. This is because if you have ever visited our career center, or the career fair for that matter, they can only help you with jobs in the area or from the Atlanta to Charlotte radius. That is great, if you are looking to stay in that radius upon graduating from Clemson, as for me that is not what I am looking for at all. I love Clemson and the area, but when I think of after college I want to be in a big city like New York or Boston. The only problem is our career center can't help you with that, which just baffles because the size of our school and the "Number 4" rating that our career center received. As far as the career fair is concerned, it was great because it did connect me with the Target internship offer, but there was not one company that I found there that was looking for interns in other areas besides the south. If our school is supposed to be the "Top 20" soon and our career center is "so helpful" then I'm wondering where all of these opportunities are that we should have, or the connections that a school of our size should offer.

Lying on your resume article

As much as I was shocked at the consequences of lying on your resume I started to understand why it is such a bad offense. This is because it is a reflection of your character; nobody wants an employee that is willing to lie to get what they want. In Mary's position she lied in order to get a job that she desired, which reflects her character even if she was a model employee shown in her progress while on the job. Also in the article it states that lying on a resume can include anything from extending dates of a job, embellishing job responsibilities, and exaggerating job titles. This is done in order to make ones self look better on their resume. The article concludes with saying that you do not need to lie in order to get a job because there are ethical ways to address issues on your resume.

Reflect on business group

So far I am very happy with the type of business we have choosen to work on. It was hard picking a business at first that we thought would target everyone who enters SL, but I think we have found it with the theme park. This way we can target every age group and the different personalities that these people have. We are meeting tonight to do our marketing analysis and from there I think we will have a better idea of exactly where we are going with this project.

Mock Interview Reflection

To my knowledge I believe that my mock interview went really well. I was
able to answer all of the questions that I was presented with in an
effective manner. I do believe that the internship with Victoria Secrets
PINK would be a great one to have, but to bad this was just a mock
interview. I answered all of the questions quickly, but I did have a
little trouble with my computer because of SL. SL tends to slow my
computer down a lot and therefore when trying to answer the questions
quickly I would type my response and then try to send it, but my computer
wouldn't send it right away. I guess those are the sorts of problems you
face when using SL to replace an in-person interview. Overall it went well
=)

Free Write

This past week I had to attend what Clemson calls a Lifestyles class which is supposed to teach you about underage drinking. I had to attend this class because I received a MIP from the Clemson Police my first night at Clemson last semester in August when I was at the bar 356. The class is also supposed to last 2 hours, but to no surprise it didn't. Thats because we are college students and you cannot spend 2hours telling us something we haven't already heard about underage age drinking. Obviously I know that since I was not 21 at the time I was not supposed to be in the bar so I suffered for 'breaking the law'...blah blah blah. But these officers think that as soon as you turn 21 you're all of a sudden mature enough to drink. In 10days I will be 21 and I promise that my mind frame about drinking will not change on that 10th day. I think the Clemson Police should place their time on other things like how about making sure people get home safe from the bars. I know Clemson is a small town and they don't have anything to do, but it's college kids will underage drink- get over it! =)

Cover Letter

http://www.collegegrad.com/jobsearch/Best-College-Cover-Letters/The-Reality-of-Cover-Letters/

Great website! It is very informative on writing a cover letter and I agree with everything that they are saying. A lot of people over look the value of a cover letter because they don't realize the benefits of them. With the competitive job market that we face today you need all the help you can get to sell yourself to an employer, which is exactly what the cover letter does. Your resume lets them see what you have been doing and what experiences you have, but the cover letter helps you tell an employer exactly why they need you in their company. One thing mentioned in the article that I did not know what that cover letters are read after a resume, but after thinking about it reading the resume first makes sense.
This is defiantly a website that I plan on using while I am writing my cover letters in the near future!

Virtual Recruiting

Technology has changed a lot of how we communicate in today’s world, but online job interviews? That's insane. I guess if you think about it though a lot of companies do phone interviews before they actually interview in person. This is just the next step in how our communication in the business world is changing.

A good point made in the article is that you can use the back space button while doing your interview this way; this is something you cannot do in real life. Being able to reword an answer and use the back-space makes the online interview seem more relaxed. For the most part the employers are looking for the same thing they would look for in an in-person interview. Although, this way allows you to be a bit more creative than you could be in person.

For the most part it still takes the same preparations for an online interview as it would for an in-person interview. This way just allows room for more creativity and relaxation. To me this is a more personal way of doing a phone interview because it could be used for the first round selections.

Persuasive Documents

After reading "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr., I was in awe about the way he captures his audience into really believing in his argument. He is writing from his jail cell in the Birmingham jail and is addressing the clergymen who believe that racism is just. Throughout his letter he makes everyone aware that racism affects everyone and it is something that is very unjust in our society.
Next, I found a looked up jobs in the marketing field and found one through Yahoo that is actually in my home town in Syracuse, New York. Reading the article they have about their company and how working for them your helps you gain a lot of experience made living at home sound so much better than I always thought! They have great benefits and it isn't a job where you sit at a desk all day, which is a big deal to me. I never wanted to move back home, but after reading about the companies they work with the help them with their marketing department was pretty neat. I've known this company for a very long time and never knew exactly what they did.
Both of these articles used great wording to persuade their target audiences. Although it didn’t take much to persuade me on Martin Luther King’s stance on racism he did a great job grabbing is audience’s attention. The marketing job persuaded me that being home might not be a bad thing, and that takes a lot!!

my life in ten years

Gosh, ten years seems like a long ways away (I'll be 31!!!!). So much can happen or even not happen in that time. But if I could have my life the way I wanted it then I would graduate from Clemson in 2009. I would move to NYC or Boston because those are my two favorite cities. I also want to live there because I want to experience as many things as a can while I'm still young (I believe that is something really important to do- it's good to step outside of your comfort zone and experience something else). I am from the north, which is why I came to school down here. I wanted a change and I defiantly got it so now I'm ready for another one. The exciting and never stopping life style of a city girl intrigues me.

As for my job, I want one in the marketing department at some big name company like Food Network or Cosmo magazine. I want a job that will keep me on my toes and keep me interested; the idea of sitting behind a desk all day doesn't thrill me in the least bit. I realize that these jobs aren't easy to get, but like Professor Rogers said, Dream Big.

As for my personal life I feel that establishing myself before I settle down is one of my biggest goals. Now, who knows if that will happen because I'm a sucker and would never stop something good if it came along. But, I still want to make sure that I establish myself through my career and make my own money because I don't want to rely on someone else. Through that process though I hope to meet someone amazing that treats me well and that I will marry. I want to travel a lot and see as much as I can before I start a family, so I want someone who I can do that with. Ideally I would like to be married around 26 and from that point establish ourselves and enjoy our time together before having a family.

If I were 31 right now sitting here writing about what the last ten years have been like then I hope to say I have accomplished all that I wanted to. I would like to already have or be on my way to moving outside of the city and starting a family with my husband.

I was told before never to plan your life because it never happens the way you want it to, which I'm sure is the true. But, it’s nice to dream, and if I had my life the way I wanted it then it would be exactly like what I wrote above.

Web 2.0

This video "Web 2.0" symbolizes how technology is always advancing. The title to me represents room for growth for the Web; 2.0 will be an increasing number as the Web advances. The Web affects everyone because it is at the center of our world today. We have advanced from taking a week to get letters in the mail to checking your inbox online fives times a day, because you are able to send something to someone in just seconds. This affects people who are entering the workforce greatly. Not only can they look for jobs anywhere in the world by using the Web, but they also need to know how to use it. Almost every job now a days using the Web in some form and being able to use it effectively is very important. This affects people in the work force in the same way. Also these people need to make sure they have the ability to learn new technologies when they come out because if they don't know how to change with the technology someone else will and they might be out of a job. When it says we need to rethink everything, I think they are trying to say that the Web has made our society a lot more impersonal. Although the Web has changed how we communicate in our society, we still need to keep our communication skills up to par because there will (hopefully) never be a time that you don't interact with other people.

Hi Class, I'm Katie O'Rourke. I'm a Junior marketing major from New York.