Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Class Wrap-up Paper

Before I took this class, I wasn't positive about what concentration I wanted to be in, but I was interested in real estate and management. Those interested me mainly because I am very independent and a good leader. I felt like both concentrations would allow me to progress individually because of both of those qualities respectively.

I changed my mind about concentrations in that I don't think management is really for me. What made me really consider real estate as my concentration was the real estate speaker Dr. Laposa. I thought his educational background and career path, which included a lot of travel, were very intriguing and similar to what I want to do, which is things that interest me and expose me to other people and cultures. I decided management wasn't for me mainly because even though I'm a good leader, I realized that I am too fiercely independent to control a group of people whose work reflects upon mine, regardless of how hard successful I am as an individual.

I'm much less worried about choosing a concentration because I know which ones fit my personality and interests now. Before taking this class I didn't really know enough about each concentration to really decide which one was for me. The only thing I need to do in order to choose a single concentration is check out the coursework which they entail.

I thought that the speakers were definitely helpful because they gave good information about their fields and didn't just talk about themselves and their specific careers.

Though I'm not officially a business major because I haven't met the requirements to change yet, I know that business is definitely a field I am interested in and could excel in. When I first got to BUS 100 I wasn't entirely sure about that.

I would most definitely be comfortable with meeting with a career advisor because I'm sure that any information they could or would give me would be helpful to me, whether it had to do with school, internships, or careers. I would definitely benefit from such information, especially help with resumes and internships.

The most useful information I received in BUS 100 was the importance of work experience, internships, and networking. I never realized how extremely important it is in the business world to gain job experience early on, not only to get acquainted with the business world, but to gain the necessary skills and connections for a successful future career.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Business Publication Assignment #2

BBC- “Google to limit free news access”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8389896.stm

The media war between internet and newspaper has intrigued me for awhile, mainly because I would rather read the newspaper than an article on the internet any day. This article described how the websites of newspapers that usually charge for access to their online articles are accessible to users free of charge via Google, which has agreed to use a program that pulls up subscription sites after five clicks. I thought this was very interesting because I completely agree with Rupert Murdoch of Newscorp, who believes sites such as Google profits from its online journalism links. I think newspapers shouldn't have to struggle any more than they already do thanks to the internet and that it's appropriate for users to have to purchase access to their content.

BusinessWeek- "Study: Computers Don't Save Hospitals Money"
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2009/tc20091130_048605.htm?chan=rss_topStories_ssi_5

I found this article very interesting because I've thought a lot about the opportunity costs of hospitals and businesses converting to solely computerized record keeping. While my thoughts about such changes were more apocalyptic, such as, "What happens when a major computer crash occurs and medical records are lost forever?," this article did present me with facts that show the returns on such changes are not as beneficial as people have touted them to be. The research done by the Harvard Medical School team showed that only a few out of 4,000 researched hospitals showed profits from computerization, because mainly the software is written for administrators instead of the clinicians. While I did lose my paper medical records in Katrina, which can't be replaced, I still am hesitant as to whether or not we should solely depend on computers to store such important information. The findings of the study further confused me on what to do about health care reform also, because they almost completely contradicted the claims of profitability of computerization that its supports have presented.


The Australian- “Luxury cars, boats, and houses back on the agenda as super rich loosen their purse strings”
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/luxury-cars-boats-and-houses-back-on-the-agenda-as-super-rich-loosen-the-purse-strings/story-e6frg90o-1225806417924

I thought that this article perfectly described everything I despise about the wealthy. Its description of the various purchases that millionaires and beyond have made in this recession almost disgusts me. While it did say that the super rich have lost the most, as Marc Cohen stated, "if you've got a few hundred million, and have lost a sizable chunk, then you have still got a few hundred million." I thought it interesting yet odd that the article would almost praise the recovering luxury markets while the regular population is still suffering through the recession. Maybe it's just my disdain for frivolous buys but this article irked me!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Business Publication Assignment #1

Forbes- “Bad Economy, Better Movies”
http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/06/hollywood-film-funding-business-entertainment-movies.html

I thought this article was very interesting because it addressed something I've thought a lot about in the past few years, “Where on Earth do these terrible movies get multi-million dollar funding?” The article describes how Wall Street and several different sectors of the business world poured money into the bulging movie business in order to compete to lend. However, since the economy has been doing poorly, lending has curbed and money is loaned to the projects that actually can and hopefully will produce quality films. While I obviously don't think a suffering economy is a good thing, I certainly do think that it's great that the films that are being produced are much less likely to be the rubbish of the past because the companies producing them actually have to fight for funding. So at least one part of the recession we can appreciate is better movies!


The Economist- “Less Welcome: Are populist politicians turning on foreign capital?”
http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14807099

I immediately chose this article because not only did I fall in love with Hungary when I visited, but my favorite class in high school was Russian History, in which we studied the rebuilding of the business and political sectors of former Soviet republics in depth. What I found most interesting about the article was the too familiar distaste for foreign capitalism on the rise in Hungary today. While I agree that Hungary's business sector shouldn't be run by only foreign companies, the possibility of one such company being able to create nine hundred jobs is too important to let nationalist politics get in the way of. This article intrigued me because I didn't realize that such disdain for foreign capitalism was so rampant still in Central Europe.


The Denver Post- “Denver to lost 200 Frontier jobs to Milwaukee”
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_13759037

This article interested me because of the fact that a merger between companies and one free hangar available in Milwaukee could change so many people's lives and significantly alter the public's views of political leaders' determination to keep and create jobs in Denver and Colorado as a whole. I enjoyed how the author first went over the package that Denver leaders put together and their reaction to the Milwaukee decision, and then addressed the opposition, which claimed the politicians didn't care enough to keep those jobs in Colorado. While their opinions obviously should be noted, one can't disagree with what Tom Clark said, “No matter how good a bargain is, free is free.” I think it's interesting and slightly ridiculous that a city has to propose so many incentives, monetary or not, in order to keep two hundred jobs.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Concentration Paper

Part I

1. Sallie Holmes
2. New Orleans, LA
3. Corbett Hall
4. Calculus, General Chemistry I, General Chemistry I Lab, 20th Century Fiction, Intro to Business
5. I don't have a job yet this semester, but I'm looking for one.
6. I chose to come to CSU because after going on ski trips with my family when I was younger, I have wanted to go to college in Colorado. Going out of state was a priority for me, and although my scholarship doesn't make CSU much more affordable, I knew it was the right place for me from the first time I visited. I also chose CSU because it has much more to offer in my eyes than any of the other schools in the state.
7. I chose to switch to a business major from undeclared health sciences because I realized that I was in on the wrong career path for my strengths, leadership and logic, which I know are necessary in the business world. I think now that I'm going into business I will have a much greater opportunity to succeed in something I'm good at and can excel in.
8. Traveling (anywhere and everywhere), camping, swimming, cooking, biking, hiking, exploring new places
9. No
10. No
11. I am very interested in studying abroad. This June, I spent two weeks traveling through The Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Hungary by myself, and the next two weeks going to school in Bremen, Germany with an exchange program. That experience has shown me not only how much I love to travel, but also how much I want to learn about education in other countries. I think the study abroad program would do wonders for me and my career because I'm really interested in a career in business that has an international component with a lot of travel, whatever that is.
12. What resources does the career center at CSU provide? What does each concentration of business entail?

Part II

1. I think that my strongest qualities are leadership and taking initiative. I enjoy being the leader of the pack and get things done faster and more efficiently when I'm not just tagging along in the background. I love working with and helping people, and I'm very good at negotiating with and selling ideas to them. The more pressure I'm under, the better my work is. I also am good at making quick decisions. However, if I have too much time to think about anything, I tend to second guess myself. I also am weak in the realms of patience and timeliness. I have zero patience and hate to be kept waiting, which could easily be reflected in my work. Therefore, I need to choose a concentration that will keep me active and busy. I am also always late, so I will likely need a more flexible career where the typical nine to five doesn't apply. I do my best work when I am active and on the go, with little time to stop and distract myself. I am also more prone to be involved in and do my best work in a small group. I am great at brainstorming and and discussion when less people are involved, because it makes me much more comfortable with critical feedback. Some other weaknesses of mine include my complete and utter hatred for numbers and math. I am terrible at math and always have been. While I can problem solve and use logic well in other areas, my math skills are severely lacking. Whatever concentration I go into, the less math included the more successful I think that I will be.

2. Accounting- I do not want to go into accounting because I am terrible at math and hate using numbers. Although accounting isn't solely a concentration of numbers, I feel that I would not be successful because analyzing and managing the finances of a company or group is not something I would enjoy, and therefore wouldn't be very good at it. Accounting wouldn't be stimulating enough for my personality as a person and a worker.

Management- I am interested in management because I am very interested in taking a leadership role in my career. Honestly, I also like being the boss so a management position could be fitting for me. While management and human resources intrigues me because I like being very involved, I feel like the multi-tasking required to be successful in such a position might be overwhelming, since I work best under pressure on specific assignments.

Marketing- I am slightly considering marketing as my concentration because I finally accepted the fact that it isn't all about advertising. I have always been able to sell stuff to people and marketing may be where I find my place. My interest in demographics and the idea of a product's journey from the producer to the consumer could possibly keep my easily-bored self involved and entertained throughout my career. However, I don't think that I would enjoy a marketing job enough for long-term success.

Computer Information Systems- I am not looking into Computer Information Systems as my concentration because I am not only not good with numbers, but I am not very attuned to the computer world either. The idea of my entire career being based on how a business operates through computers and their software and data systems does not intrigue me in the least. My disdain for our economy's dependence on computers also doesn't help in my lack of interest in this concentration.

Finance- I am slightly considering a career in finance because of my interest in the management of money. I have always been a good saver and enjoyed learning about the stock market. However, I'm not too sure I want my entire career to revolve around money and the economy. Investment banking and stock trading used to fascinate me, but with the recent economic hardships, the responsibility involved in financial careers doesn't sound too attractive to me.

Real Estate- I am very interested in a career in real estate, because the housing market has always fascinated me, regardless of its struggles in this economy. When my parents were shopping for a new house while I was in sixth grade, I did a lot of my own research and was in awe of how complex the housing market was. The idea of buying a house being almost always a sound investment due to their typical increase in value interests me. I think that a career in real estate could not only keep me active, but would allow me to use my interpersonal and sales skills to my best ability, whether it be as an agent or a developer.

I think that the most important information I need in choosing a concentration is details about what careers and what kind of work exactly is involved in each. While I know in general what each entails, more specific descriptions of each and what they involve would most definitely help me in deciding which is right for me.

3. ENFP- mediators, counselors, teachers, consultants, and reporters, any position that outreaches to others, columnists, journalists, publicists, copy writers, advertising account executives, character actors, cartoonists, art educators

Blue and Red-Actor, Animator, Anthropologist, Antiques Dealer, Archaeologist, Artist, Career Counselor, Child Care Worker, Clergy, College Administrator, Comedian, Cosmetologist, Curator, Dentist, Disc Jockey, Editor, Fashion Designer, Film Director, Film Editor, Graphic Designer, Guidance Counselor, Human Resources Manager, Interior Designer, Inventor, Journalist, Librarian, Management Consultant, Market Researcher, Media Specialist, Musician, Nurse, Nutritionist, Occupational Therapist, Paralegal, Pharmacist, Philosopher, Photographer, Physical Therapist, Physician, Political Scientist, Product Designer, Professor, Psychologist, Public Health Administrator, Book Publishing Professional, Researcher, School Administrator, Secretary, Social Worker, Sociologist, Speech Therapist, Teacher, Travel Agent, City Planner, Writer, Chiropractor, Public Relations, Substance Abuse Counselor, Trial Lawyer, Hospice Nurse, Landscape Architect, Optometrist, Website Designer, Digital Artist, Mediator, Small Business Owner, Theologian, Web Art Director, Web Editor, Consultant, Florist, Media Planner, Set Designer

I learned a lot from the Jung Typology Test. As an ENFP (Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving) personality, I am an idealist champion. While I wasn't very surprised by this result, I was very surprised by how accurate its description of my personality was. Every other career test I have taken has shown me similar results job-wise, but this was the first in which the explanation made me truly understand my suggested job results. It was correct in that I am good at leadership and negotiation, but it was even more correct in that it described my emotional need to help people in an uncanny way. I agree with its description of myself much more than the Princeton Career Quiz because I think that the questions it asked were more specific and the results were a lot less applicable to the majority.
While I kind of disagree with my "red" interests named in the Princeton Career Quiz, I do agree with the description of my "blue" style. The huge list of jobs suggested by this quiz seemed a little overwhelming and included many of those suggested by the Jung Typology Test. However, I think that both results strengthened my opinion that I would work best in a management or real estate concentration, where working with people as a mediator or counselor in an outreach position would allow me to do my best work.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

My WHY Factor

My WHY Factors
I am in college to gain the skills that I need for my future career and in my life as a whole. I get up every morning to do what's required of me because I want my parents to be proud of me and my hard work. My motivation for being in college is being able to earn the qualifications that will allow me to enter the workplace with a head start, in other words, so that I can have options as to what career path I want to take after graduating that I otherwise wouldn't have without a college degree.