Blog #13--Blog to my to my group members

This blog post will be a preview of my progress report, of sorts. I am going to highlight some key points in what I have done in my research report and what I have planned for what to do next.

Firstly, our project is a research for a company that wants to “go green” and become more environment friendly. Each of us is doing a certain area of research and then we will put it all together in a cohesive report. My area or research is energy saving. Originally, we started with just converting regular light bulbs to florescent ones, but we decided to expand it to energy saving so that we have more to say.

So far, I have done some research on prices of florescent light bulbs at Target, and regular Soft White light bulbs at Meijer. I also compared the energy used for each light bulb to the energy equivalent output, or basically how much light the bulb gives off.

I plan on doing some more research by looking at other companies and what they do to conserve energy. I am also thinking about interviewing a representative from a company, but that is just a possibility at this point.

Blog #12 -- Final Portfolio Revision Plans

I have some plans for the final revisions on my final portfolio. For starters, my blog analyses could use some reworking. The first two are good. I like my fourth one as well. The third and fifth ones have the most problems. For example, there seems to be a pattern in my blog analyses that I need to fix. I need to change the formula I have been using. I always start with an introduction, but it is always of individual blogs instead of reviewing the blog as a whole. Then I go into each blog post in the body of the analysis. I analyze each post by doing the normal routine of looking at the language, imagery, text, etc. I should analyze the blog as a whole, so I will probably go back and redo the third and fifth blog analyses to be more about the whole blogs rather than individual posts.

I will also probably do some tweaking on my other reports, like the feasibility report and the trip report.

Blog #11 -- Open Blog: Trip Reports

We are doing another open blog this week. I never know what to write about in these. I feel that writing about my life is probably too informal for a class. Although the things in my life give me topics to write about, I do not think I should do that for every open blog. So I thought I would talk about the trip reports that we did this week. My report was a continuation from my feasibility report. I’m using the Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control again, but for a different reason. This time I am writing like I am going to an off-site adoption event for the first time and my supervisor wants me to write a report about it to see how I take to it. In my feasibility report, I wrote about an issue with not having enough space for the amount of bunnies that come to the shelter. I am glad that our professor nudged me in that direction because I can use my experience and knowledge of the way things go in the shelter for the reports.

Blog #9 - Blog Analysis Revision

For our 9th blog, we were told to revise a section of our blog analyses. My revision will be from my fourth blog analysis. I was really excited about this one, and so proud, but I realise that it was like my other blog analyses in its format.

This is the conclusion that I had written:
Overall, these three blog posts by Disney Parks give a good, well-rounded idea of what the Park is about and what they do. The ideas that they portray can inspire other Parks to do the same.

My revision is as follows:
Overall, these three blog posts by Disney Parks give a good, well-rounded idea of what the Park is about and what they do. "See The Jeweled..." is a good representation of Disney's attempt to be more culturally aware, "New Sips…" gives adults an idea if they want to get away from their kids for a while, and "Wildlife Wednesdays: Sea Turtles..." appeals to nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts. The ideas that they portray can inspire other parks to do the same.

Blog #8 -- Halloween

Well, it’s an open blog day, again. What do you suppose I should write about this time? Not much has happened in my life right now. Halloween is coming, which is awesome. I love the holiday, mostly because I like fall and I love all of the scary things that happen during the month. Last year, they had a showing at the Embassy Theater of “Nosveratu,” a vampire movie from the early 20s. Afterwards, if you paid an extra dollar, you were able to go on a haunted tour though the Embassy Theater’s underground. I loved watching the movie. Some scenes were actually kind of creepy, if you were tuned into the movie like I was. Other times it was ridiculous and funny at some of the expressions and dramatic poses done by the actors. The tour was a nice way to end the movie. It was not scary, like it tried to be, but you were able to go to places that normally only the staff could go. Also, the guides had little history lessons of the theater as you went to different areas, which were interesting and entertaining to hear. Plus, it was great to walk around after that long movie.

Blog #7 -- Brainstrorm of Contemporary Problems in Business

The blog that I will write today is a brainstorm of contemporary problems in business. To be honest, I am drawing a blank as to what those might be. Though I think I can come up with some hypothetical situations that could be contemporary.

The first situation is a company that constantly says one thing to someone, but means another. For example, a manager tells an employee that their services are beyond the manager’s expectations. The employee takes this as a compliment, but the manager meant that the employee was doing such a horrible job that they exceeded the manager’s expectation.

That brings up another point. Not just in business, but in general, a contemporary problem that I think is the biggest problem is miscommunication. Communication is the key for a successful business. Lack of it can cause problems between workers and departments. For example, a memo is put out that a meeting time has been changed to an earlier time, but for some reason, some people did not get it and therefore arrived too late for the meeting.

Blog #6 -- Open Blog

For my open blog this time around, I am not quite sure what to write. I have been drawing a lot of blanks lately, which have not been good for my studies. I have so much work to do over the Fall Break that it probably won’t feel like a break. But I think if I try to do everything I need to do today and a little into the next couple of days, I will hopefully have a couple of days of actual break.

I just got the results back for my test in biology. I did better, much better than the last test, but still nowhere near where I want or need to be. I changed my study habits for this test than the last one, so that probably had something to do with the better grade, but I need to step it up a bit more. I think I am going to try another strategy. I hope this one gets me that “A.”

Blog #5 - Respose to Reading: Ethics in Writing

For this blog post, we are meant to respond to our reading since the last post. I decided that I would respond to the ethical writing that we went over, since we spent quite a bit of time devoted to it. When I first thought of ethical writing, I believed that it meant to be unbiased and without opinion, or trying to avoid offending a person. It is all of that, but actually refers to much more.

Being ethical in writing means more to be honest and upfront about a situation than using certain words to distract from the main issue. Also, it is important to not hide important information that a reader might want to have. Ethicality is all about image. If I use biased language and logic errors in my writing, readers are not going to take me seriously. My reputation would forever have a mark on it like a smudge on my glasses.

Blog #4--Open Blog: Interview

Yesterday, I had a job interview for a jewlery store that was opening in the mall. I never had an employer actially call me back for an interview before. Every time I went looking for a job, I always filled out applications and the interviews that I happened to get were informal and happened right after I filled the application. What was even more weird, was that I found the job via JobZone, and not 5 minutes after did I get a call for an interview. Either my interviwer happened to log on at that time, or she was very interested in me.
I am pretty sure that it was the former, because when I got there, she was interviewing someone else, and when that person was done, she gave the interviewee some paperwork, probably an application. When I was done with my interview, I got a "Thank you for coming, we'll let you know" sort of deal.
Though, during the interview, it seemed like we got along pretty well as friends. We talked about my volunteering at the animal shelter and what that's like. We also had previous work expierience in common in that we both worked for a brief while as a telemarketer. So even if I don't get the job, I think she still liked me as a person.

Blog #3: Playing with my introduction to the MSA

For blog number three, we are supposed to play with our introduction on our mission statement analysis. So here is the original introduction:

General Electric and Regal Beloit are two companies that both deal in engineering and finding out ways to solve the world’s energy problems. General Electric’s focus is more toward finance, media, and global infrastructure. Regal Beloit’s focus is on electronic and mechanical motion control. Both companies’ mission statements were hard to find, but Regal Beloit’s was more to the point than General Electric’s.

I am not quite sure how to play with this. I want to give it some “umpf,” something to make it interesting. Perhaps if I gave it a movie theme:

In a world where two companies share a common goal, only one can be the victor! General Electric and Regal Beloit are two companies that both deal in engineering and finding out ways to solve the world’s energy problems. Can it be that gripping? What could these companies want to do in the future? General Electric’s focus is more toward finance, media, and global infrastructure. Regal Beloit’s focus is on electronic and mechanical motion control. There is some friction! Both companies’ mission statements were hard to find, but Regal Beloit’s was more to the point than General Electric’s. It looks like Regal Beloit has done it, but wait, there’s more! Read on to hear the gripping story of two companies and their mission.

Haha, perhaps I cannot. Either way I think I can come up with something.

Open Blog, Blog #2

For my first open blog, I thought I would talk about my school year so far. We are a few weeks in and I am already counting down the days until Thanksgiving. I was not sure what to expect, considering the classes I signed up for, but I was hoping there would be some joy out of each of them.

            I found that joy in most of my classes. In this class, for example, I love the idea of blogging and the writing assignments are interesting. I have never blogged before because I stopped keeping a journal long ago. To me, blogging was like a journal. It was a place to write down my thoughts and feelings about the day or things that interest me. In a way, it still is those things, but a blog can be much more.

            The only class I haven’t found much joy in is my biology class. Even the lab, which has always been my favorite part, makes me feel like I am just going through the motions. Perhaps it is because it is the beginning of the year and the “fun stuff” has not happened yet, but right now I always want to hit my head against the black tables.

Blog #1--Response to Reading

            Clarity in business writing is important so that those you are trying to reach with your words understand what you mean. I know I struggle with clarity all the time, even in informal writing. My mind always jumps to random things. I could start writing about puppies, and end up talking about the political situation in Nepal. I am happy to know that I am not a lost cause, and that there are ways for me to combat it.

            Dr. Amidon’s power point had some good tips to combat that problem. For example, using short sentences and shorter words would make a point clearer than a long-winded paragraph. Sentences do not have to be short, but clear. It is also a good idea to organize your work in a concise and clear way. It’s like going back to elementary school. Teachers always told you to emphasize and describe the situation, but business writing does not need all of that fluff.