Saturday, March 29, 2008

Politics

In past years, I have been one of those people that are very apathetic toward politics. Even though the system is responsible for running our country, I cannot stand the scandals, cheating and corruption that has infused our government. It wasn’t until this year that I became involved and even eager to talk about politics.

After the past 8 years of having Bush as our President, and the mess we have gotten ourselves into, I think it has motivated a lot of young adults to get active in politics. I know I personally researched all the candidates, and even went to see a few of them speak. I was thrilled to get the chance to vote and pick a president for the next four years. However, the state of Ohio, once again, screwed up their primary absentee ballots and for the second time, I didn’t get to vote (still bitter if you can’t tell). This same thing happened four years ago in the general election when Ohio sent out 30,000 absentee ballots too late. I am still upset about it because voting is a huge privilege, and to not be able to have your say in the election is disheartening. Let’s just hope Ohio has their stuff together by the general election.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Lying on Your Resume

I thought this article was actually slightly depressing. Knowing that so many people will cheat just to get ahead, especially in the business world, just goes to show how dishonest our society has become. Mary’s story is a perfect example of the detrimental effects that can happen if you lie on your resume. I understand why a person could be compelled to lie: better benefits, more money, more opportunities, etc. However, I don’t understand how a person can live with themselves knowing that they lied to the company they are working for. I guess maybe some people’s consciouses don’t get to them like mine would. Or maybe they do, and they just choose to ignore it. Either way, it does hurt the 50 percent that are being honest, and leaves them at an unfair disadvantage.

I also completely agree with Levitt’s theory that "the higher up in the organization a person rises, the more likely it is that he or she will cheat." Examples of this can be seen all over the media every day, especially within the past five years. The incident at ENRON is a perfect example of this. In my personal opinion, money and greed are driving factors behind a lot of these lies. It definitely was the case in the ENRON scandal.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

5-Minute Presentations

I really enjoyed the 5-minute presentations we did in class last week. I thought it was a nice change from the classroom routine and a chance to learn a little more about each others personalities and interests. If I had to pick one that I enjoyed the most, it would probably be Casey’s presentation on Africa. I have wanted to travel to Africa for awhile now, and Casey’s pictures just made me want to go there even more. Even though Africa is an extremely poor country, it is rich in many other ways, and Casey did a great job of showing this. She spoke highly of the people, culture, traditions and way of life that can be found in the country.

While Casey’s was one of my favorites, I also really enjoyed Lindsey’s presentation on Hershey, Pennsylvania. I visited there with my family when I was very little and even though I don’t remember much of the trip; it still holds a special place in my heart because it was with my family. Lindsey did a great job of promoting the park for a more mature crowd (even though it is also meant it entertain the very young). I thought the chocolate tasting lesson was a really cool idea and I had no idea that it could be so similar to wine tasting.

I thought overall the presentations were a great success and I think we all had a good time doing them.