Final Blog

Future Business Writing Students:

I'd like to explain a little to y'all about how to be successful in Ms. Rogers' class. It is important to attend class on a regular basis. There is a lot of material covered that is very beneficial for future use. Also you are expected to work in a group setting so this is a good opportunity to learn your strengths and weaknesses. You will be working with people who think differently than you and its a good experience to see how other people evaluate situations differently and then you learn to come together and make a final product. This is a pretty technology based class. You learn about blogging and have to be somewhat computer savvy to create a website to post one of your portfolios. Its not too difficult to do, but it is important to go to class because it all explain there and if you are having problems they will be answered. I recommend absorbing the things you learned because they will definitely benefit you in the future.

Will C

Reflection

Working on the client project as a group has been a good experience so far. It really shows the different qualities and abilities that people have. It is always nice getting a different perspective and having people who think of things in a different way. I think that the best part of the project would have to be the cooperation that has happened with the group. I think the biggest challenge is probably meeting outside of class because everyone has a different schedule and sometimes its difficult to get everyone together at the same time. In the future I would like to make sure that there can be cooperation and effective group work skills. I am really pleased that so far I have not had any really issues with reliability of my group and we always get our tasks done in a timely manner.

Dual Coding Theory

The image presented uses the dual coding theory as a part of its advertising campaign. First it presents an image of a locker room and what appears to be the exit to a football field. I gathered it was a football field since its a Nike football ad. This is similar to the exits you see in popular football films and they usually have something written above the exit. In this case, 'practice like champions' is written above it. This gives a sense that its a practice locker room and that Nike is the gear used by many professional football teams. I feel like the 'we believe' is not a part of the picture, but a text box added to the picture. This would imply that Nike believes that using their product makes one 'practice like champions' and in a real game Nike's products will make them champion athletes. The visual gives football players something to relate to when practicing, while the verbal portion which I would consider to be the words inspire the consumer that Nike's product is the product of champions.

Miscommunication

This past summer I worked construction in Greenville. It was a lot of hard work, but overall a good experience. I had several times at this job where miscommunication was an issue. The main reason for this miscommunication was because I was working with many Hispanics, few of which spoke English. Back in high school I took several Spanish classes, so understood some Spanish. However, several times one of the guys would try to tell me to do something and I was unable to follow what they were saying. One of the main things that was miscommunicated was when one of the workers was trying to tell me how to tie rebar to make a footing for a building, and I did not do it correctly. We had to then untie and retie it to make it meet regulation. I suppose miscommunication could have been prevented if I had taken the time to further inquire if I was doing it right, or maybe if I knew just a little more Spanish. Overall, I learned to inquire further if I did not fully understand something. I have since done so, and really have not had an issue with miscommunication since then.

Mock Interview

I did my mock interview this past Wednesday. I think I was a little nervous once I was in the chair. I noticed I was talking a little faster than I usually do and was a little short with my answers. I had one question about my greatest accomplishment to date, but I feel like I handled the question rather well. I did not feel as prepared as I wanted to. If I were do do this again, I would give examples to go with the questions that were asked so that I could be in more control of the interview and the interviewer would know a little more about me. Overall, I learned a few tips about formatting my resume a little better, and a few tips about how to better address questions. I think it was a pretty valuable experience that will help benefit me in the future.

Favorite Presentations

I really liked Adrienn's presentation on how to properly open and pour wine. I thought that it showed some useful skills that I will probably use later in life. I learned a fair amount of how to properly open bottles of wine. I also liked how she included a guide to which wines to drink with different foods.

I liked Mark's presentation of the Chevy Volt. I thought that it was a good presentation and showed a sensible alternative to the current fuel crisis and it was affordable. I thought he listed the facts and specs of the car rather well.

I also thought Chelsey's presentation on South Africa was pretty interesting. I have never been to South Africa, but would like to go one day. I'm glad she included facts about the World Cup in 2010. I would love to go over there and see some of the matches.

Financial Crisis?

As a financial management major here at Clemson University I'm concerned about our economy and the current financial crisis that is happening with AIG and Lehman Brothers. My main concern now is whether or not I should continue to study finance or try to switch majors before it is too late. I have heard several stories about finance majors not being able to get jobs upon graduation and it is becoming a growing concern to me. I would like to know that I have some sort of ability to get a job upon graduating. I also feel like the state of the economy will be greatly influenced by who is elected into office. I really hope that I am able to get a job, and that the economy turns for the better so that I will be able to know that given I qualify I will be able to get a job.