Advice

Mrs. Rogers' class was a great experience. Angie is very nice, flexible, and wants everyone to learn the material so they can be successful. In order to do well in this class, you simply need to go to class regularly and do all of the assignments and blogs. It is important to know what is due, so you should bookmark and check the teaching site with the to-do list often. This is a very enjoyable class if you keep up with it.

Ethics Research

After reading the document that referred to Holocaust victims as "merchandise" and other terms to cover up the truth, we had to find our own example of an ethical lapse where language such as this was used. We found documents from a prostitution ring about Eliot Spitzer, the former Governor of New York. They referred to him as "Client 9" and there were other cases of language being used to cover up an ethical lapse. The website is currently down so I cannot write in detail about it, but I am interested to look more into these documents for more examples of this type of language.

Ethical Lapses

I am not surprised to know that ethical lapses are a major cause of distractions at work. There are always new cases of a company acting unethically, and it is unfair to the other workers who are just trying to do their jobs. My accounting class talks about ethics often, and my teacher said that ethics is doing the right thing when no one is watching. I agree with this definition and if everyone acted ethically the world would be a better place, however this will never happen.

I hope that when I get a job I will not be in a distracting environment where there are ethical lapses. The worker is always placed in the sticky situation of whether or not to be a whistleblower and bring unethical behavior to the attention of others. The numbers suggest that at some point I will encounter this, and I am not looking forward to making that tough decision.

Writing on the Web vs. Writing on Paper

There are a few minor differences between writing on the Web and writing on paper. First of all, there are specific and strict rules for writing a paper document. When writing on the Web, it is up to you how you want to format your writing (alignment, size, color, font). You have a lot more freedom on the Web than you do on paper. However, you do have to take into consideration the readability and attractiveness of your writing. When visiting a website, the reader wants to get the information quickly and easily, as well as have it presented nicely. You do not have to worry about this as much when writing on paper because there are standards (MLA, APA) that almost everyone knows and follows.

work work work work work work....

I am sitting here with my group (Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood) while everyone works on their part of the proposal. I think our proposal is really good and I am impressed with the work that everyone has done. After we finish this, we will work on our portfolio's that are due tomorrow. I will then go to the library to print out the homework about formal writing and begin studying for my Derivatives test which is on Tuesday. This test will probably be one of the hardest tests I've ever taken and I am not prepared for it at all. I will also try to start studying for the 2 tests that I have on Thursday. This is not going to be a fun week but I will be very happy once it's over.

Honest Abe

This article addresses a topic that I have been wondering a lot about recently. I know that many people lie on their resumes, however I did not realize that 50% of all people lie. This makes me feel that I must lie on mine in order to get a job because it is a very competitive world out there. I can't help but to compare this to baseball and the steroids problem it had. If a few people decide to take steroids to cheat and gain an advantage, everyone else must also cheat in order to keep up. I wish that no one would lie on their resumes but of course this will never happen. This will then leave me with the decision to be honest or join the group that is lying in order to be the top candidate that is selected for a job. As of now I am honest with my credentials on my resume and hopefully I will remain honest throughout my career, but who knows what the future will hold.

Presentations

I really enjoyed hearing many of the presentations, especially the one given on ovarian follicles by Andrew Owens. He had told me what his topic was and I was excited to see him give a speech on a topic that is obviously far too advanced to give to a business writing class. I was very surprised at how well he gave his speech. He knew it was over everyones head and made it humorous because of this. The pictures and diagrams made people laugh and I think it was one of the best presentations.

My Mock Interview

My mock interview went well. I was very tired and running late but I threw on my suit and got a ride from my one of my buds. He's a totally rad bro fa sho. I walked around Tillman for a few minutes trying to find the stairs that go town to the ground level. I found them and then I had to wait around for about 10 minutes but it was ok because I was talking to Andrew who had just had his interview. I had my interview and it was a good experience. The hardest question was probably thinking of personality traits that I like/would change about myself. Angie said that she would let me know if she found any internship opportunities and I appreciated her offer.

Balls

I just watched the movie Balls of Fury, thinking that it would be a stupid but funny movie. The main point that I would like to get across is do not see this movie. Don't even waste your money renting it as I did. I have no idea why Christopher Walken agreed to be in the movie. I just have the feeling right now that I have wasted an hour and a half of my life that I could have been doing something more productive such as counting the blades of grass in front of my apartment.

But at least it was something to do because I need to waste as much time as I can. I will not sleep through the night if I go to bed any time soon. This is because I slept for much of the day because I was in Athens last night for my fraternity's formal and did not get much sleep. Formal was so much fun because all of my friends were there and everyone had a great time. So today has been a lazy Sunday and I have enjoyed it. Tomorrow is back to the grind of school and studying for a test I have on Thursday.

Cover Letters

The first article I read was "The Reality of Cover Letters" and I could not agree more with what it says. I sent my resume/cover letter to countless companies with no response. This article addresses the reality that this does absolutely nothing other than "generate rejection letters" and that college recruiting programs are the way that entry-level candidates are hired. I found this out the hard way.
The sample cover letter is not a very good one in my opinion. It does not follow the advice of the other articles to talk about the company you are applying to.
Because I have already written so many cover letters, this article was helpful because it stressed following up after sending them instead of waiting for a reply.

Interviewing

This blog topic is especially helpful to me because I have an interview scheduled with Suntrust on Tuesday and possibly a phone interview with Bank of America on Wednesday (I was accepted to interview but they dropped me because they let too many people sign up). I am a little nervous for these interviews and I was actually looking at websites for tips before I looked at this weeks blog entry topic. Two of the articles that I believe will be especially helpful to me and that I will write about are, "Phone Interviews: Tips to Get Called Back" and "Six Common Job-Interview Questions."

The first article about Phone Interviews was very helpful. It stated the obvious about not being in a room with distractions, but I like the idea of dressing professionally for the interview even though they can't see you. I definitely think wearing a suit will help me sound more confident and professional on the phone. I also like the idea of smiling and standing up. I feel that this will also come across through the phone as increased confidence. I am skeptical about closing my eyes while listening during the interview however. I do agree that practice makes perfect and I should practice with a friend before the interview.

The second article about the common interview questions was decent. I liked the tip to include"how you have improved, and specifics on what you have done to improve yourself in those areas" when asked about your weaknesses. The tips for the other questions all basically say to provide specific examples in your past to explain the answer. I totally agree but I wish more detailed and insightful information was given.

MLK letter compare and contrast

MLK's letter from Birmingham Jail is an excellent example of using ethos, logos, and pathos to get a point across. In the article "Best and Worst Places to Buy a House" found at http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/104278/Best-and-Worst-Places-to-Buy-a-House, the author talks about how in some areas the housing prices are going down but the demand is still high, and it is a good decision to buy a home. The author uses a lot of logos in order to get their point across such as providing the crime rate and other specific statistics. Pathos is used to get the reader to understand the severity of the situation and how it affects them specifically. Ethos is established when the author states, "Whether you're an investor like me or you're looking to purchase that next move up." This tries to get the reader to understand where the author is coming from and to listen to their point of view. I think this article should be viewed by an educated individual but should not be taken as the absolute truth because much of it is highly opinionated.

Ten Years Away

I would prefer not to think about where I am going to be in 10 years because where I would like to be is probably not realistically where I will end up. However, I am working hard to get an internship and my life may in fact, and hopefully will, end up how I dream it to be. So in order to get myself in the mood to write this, I just illegally downloaded and am watching The Fabulous Life of Billion Dollar Wall Street Ballers which was made by VH1. I figure there could be 2 possible scenarios for my life at this point:

A) 10 years from now I will be 30 years old. I see myself living in a suburb of New York City, such as Greenwich, Connecticuit. I will be be recently retired from a stressful Wall Street job and hopefully will still have my hair. I will likely own a yacht and many vacation houses in tropical areas. I will probably run a small hedge fund out of my house to keep myself busy and continue to support my lifestyle. I would love to be neighbors with many of my friends and family members. I would spend a lot of time at their houses and have them over often because I really enjoy the company of friends and family. That is probably the thing that I would want the most and would make me the happiest, however unrealistic it seems. I will have worked nonstop for the previous 10 years and would be ready to settle down at this point and therefore will probably have a girlfriend/fiance living with me. Everyone, including the 2 dogs I own would enjoy the water slides that go from the house into the pool. The dogs would also be trained to wakeboard. I would have recently purchased a sports franchise and be in the process of learning how to take on as many active roles as I could. I would also fly my private jet down to attend Clemson sporting events as often as I could. I would have many unnecessary and expensive material possessions such as cars and a zamboni for my ice rink and appear in an episode of MTV Cribs or The Fabulous Life of Billion Dollar Wall Street Ballers IV.

B) If I do not immediately become rich, I will be living in a city in the Northeast working a job related to investments. I will work hard and actively invest money in my spare time. In another 10 years i would be living as I would have in scenario A, with the addition of a wife and kids.

Web 2.0

I am sitting at my friend Alex's computer at James Madison University writing this blog. Being here and still being able to do my blog reinforces how the Web is such a great and powerful tool to connect people.

The title of the video, "Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us" is very interesting. It may mean that Web 2.0 is "us" because it is a more personalized web that the users create. It also means that it is "using us" or "us using us" because in order for Web 2.0 to work, everyone must contribute and it relies on the users themselves in order to be in existence.

For people now entering the workforce, Web 2.0 is going to be a tool that is used more and more. Many companies now have their own networking pages to connect employees and run the business more effectively and efficiently. Those already in the workplace need to be able to adapt to the changes that are occurring with new technology.

When the video says that we need to "rethink everything", it means that with the changes that are occurring with the Web, specifically Web 2.0, we need to be able to open our minds and use this technology to its full potential. In order to gain all the advantages, we must rethink what we previously had been doing and look toward the future.

Welcome

Hi everyone, my name is Michael Nathan and I am a junior here at Clemson. I am a finance major who will be minoring in accounting or possibly double-majoring. I really enjoy finance, specifically investments.

I am from Columbia, Maryland which is a suburb near Baltimore. I really like the atmosphere and the nice weather down here. I enjoy attending Clemson basketball and football games and I am also a big hockey fan.

I am currently trying to get back into the swing of things after a great Winter break. I am looking forward to meeting you all and becoming an expert blogger.