Lessons

The lesson/assignment that I found the most helpful was the Resume assignment. It showed me how to properly format and structure my resume depending on my personal work experience and skills. It was nice being shown what type of information to include and how to go about including enough information if the experience was lacking. The cover letter was helpful too in that I have never written one before when submitting a resume to an employer. I can now see its usefulness and how it could benefit me in the future when applying for potential jobs and careers. It shows an employer that you are informed on the basics of the company and that you are genuinely interested and motivated to earn an interview there. The cover letter was helpful for me because it just gave me another way to make myself standout in an interview process.

I also liked the letter of recommendation assignment. It showed me how to give recommendations to another business person without being too pushy and without being too passive. It showed that you need to get to the point quickly and make sure your points are relevant and truthful.

My favorite blog topic was the one with the question “If you were writing a recommendation report for an audience that doesn’t know you, would you use the direct approach, focusing on the recommendation, or the indirect approach, focusing on logic”. I liked this topic because it caused me to read more into this speaking subject. It is very useful to know the difference between the direct approach and the indirect approach when speaking to an audience. Typically I would imagine myself using just the direct approach; however it made more sense to me when the book described the difference between direct and indirect as a focus on the recommendation versus a focus on logic, respectively. If I don’t know the audience, which typically I haven’t when speaking publically, it would benefit me greatly to focus more on logic rather than the recommendation itself.

Overall, I enjoyed learning more about how to properly communicate in the business world. I learned that there is a happy medium between  including too much information and not including enough information.

Feedback

Having a boss who isn’t open to ideas from his or her employees make giving feedback almost impossible. However, in order to be fully content with your job, you need to feel free to give your feedback without fear of repercussion. I would start a conversation with my boss over my concerns on this issue by first describing the atmosphere of the workplace. I would explain that if he or she could be a little more open to ideas and criticism then fellow employees would feel more comfortable and maybe even work harder. People are more likely to produce better work if they’re not worried about an uncomfortable environment. Next, I would explain to my boss why employees offer criticism. I would tell my boss that the criticism isn’t directed at him or her, but that it shows that employees are interested and want to help improve the company. It’s not a personal thing, but a company thing, and as employees, feedback and criticism shows interest. From there, I would explain to him or her how agreeing with everything he or she says just because we fear the consequences of expressing other ideas, will only hinder the company. My boss would need to understand that as employees, we are only trying to give input that we believe will benefit the company and that with the ideas of all the employees and bosses, the company has the potential to truly thrive. Agreeing with everything someone says will never let a company to improve.

Solicited Proposals

If a company receives a solicited proposal from another company, then that means that they asked for the proposal. Unsolicited proposals are those that are not requested. Is it ethical for a company to use recommendations from the proposal without hiring the submitting company? I believe it is unethical. In essence, it is stealing another company’s ideas and taking credit for it. Although I believe this to be very unethical, it is also a very common thing in the business world today. A way to avoid this would be to create a contract that is agreed to before submitting the proposal. The contract should state that the submitting company’s proposal recommendations are to not be used by the receiving company without some type of compensation whether it be hiring or just a payout. This contract would prevent the receiving company from stealing ideas without compensating the submitting company.

In the eyes of the receiving company, stealing recommendations from a company submitting a proposal that you asked for, will give you a bad reputation. If other companies are aware of your unethical tendencies, then they will most likely avoid doing business with you in order to stay away from unethical business practices.

In my opinion, if a company submits a proposal with recommendations that you agree with, then the ethical thing to do would be to hire that company to carry out those specific recommendations. They will be the one with the most knowledge of the proposal, so they are the best company to hire. If they are offering it at a price that is too high, then you should just negotiate to an agreeable price.

Recommendation to Unfamiliar Audiences

If I were writing a recommendation report for an audience that doesn’t know me, I would use the indirect approach. I would focus more on logic than on the recommendation itself. If I were part of an audience who was unfamiliar with the speaker, then I would most likely be more influenced by their appeals to logic rather than their emphasis on the recommendation itself. As a speaker speaking to an unfamiliar audience, I would remain as neutral as possible. I would avoid personal opinions and would try to base my points on facts. This would hopefully keep the audience tuned in and unhostile. I wouldn’t want to offend anyone in the audience by being so biased toward my recommendation that they fail to understand the problem and solution that I am speaking of. Logic will gain an unfamiliar audience’s attention more efficiently than opinionated statements.

According to Business Communications Essentials, there are two types of indirect approaches to logically build the conclusion or recommendation. The first is the “2+2=4 approach” which persuades readers by demonstrating that everything ultimately adds up to the conclusion. The second approach is the “yardstick approach” which uses a number of criteria to decide which option to select (263). The main goal of an indirect approach is to give the audience a valid reason as to why they should agree with the recommendation. It relies on factual evidence and logical reasoning rather than opinions. Staying away from stating opinions helps the speaker remain unbiased and will gain the audience’s attention much quicker than the direct approach.

Qualifications Summary

Having extensive professional experience in your desired career is not a requirement for including a qualifications summary in your resume. According to Business Communications Essentials, the goal of including a qualifications summary is to “let a reader know within a few seconds what you can deliver” (366). The book also suggests using a qualifications summary if you do not have extensive career experience. If work experience is lacking, then using skills acquired through education is an alternative way to create a qualifications summary.

During college, every student has that awkward point when he or she is ready to apply for real jobs but he or she has no experience to prove that it would benefit the employer to hire him or her. There is no way to avoid this lack of experience phase because we are not just born with work experience; everyone has to start somewhere. In lieu of incorporating skills achieved through past work experience, I have included skills that I acquired through education, sports, and extracurricular activities. Even though I wasn’t able to incorporate skills form work experience, it is more beneficial to include some skills than to include none at all. Qualification summaries not only give insight to employers on your capabilities, but they also show a sign of confidence in yourself. Confidence is necessary when it comes to corporate jobs. If you cannot explain to a company how you could be of benefit, then why should they choose you? Know your strengths and put them in your qualifications summary regardless of whether or not you have work experience in your desired career.

Resumes and a Career Path

In my opinion, having a clear career path in mind makes creating your resume an easier task than when you’re unsure of a career path. It helps you determine which jobs to apply for and what skills or interests to include on your resume. With that being said, not having a clear career path is not something that negatively affects your resume. It does, however, affect the way you create your resume.

When writing a resume, it is critical to understand who your audience is and to adapt your information to their needs/wants. You need to be sure to list skills relevant to the jobs they are hiring for, however you do not want to limit yourself to one specific job by blatantly stating it. According to Business Communications Essentials, “Some experts advise against including a career objective because it can categorize you so narrowly that you miss out on interesting opportunities…” (365). The book also states that it is important to remember that although you want to appeal to the employer’s needs, the most important thing is that your resume helps you to fulfill your own desires.

If I were in a situation where I had no particular career path in mind, my uncertainty would affect the format of my resume and the information I include. I would choose to write my resume in the chronological approach but would list my education first. With lack of personal experience, this would be the best layout for me. I would also include a variation of skills that I hold instead of only mentioning a specific area in which I excel. I would avoid being too detailed, but would make sure I’m not so broad to the point that it seems fake.

Presentations and Audiences

When giving a presentation, as the speaker, you need to analyze your audience. Giving an in-depth presentation on the company’s new marketing programs to marketing specialists is different than giving that same presentation to the company’s top executives. Marketing specialists know the technicalities behind marketing and want to hear the step by step implementation. They know the terminology and the processes so having a detailed speech will help them understand best.

 When presenting to company executives, you need to modify your presentation by analyzing the new audience you will be speaking to. According to Business Communications Essentials, you should “analyze why audience members are attending” and “analyze whether everybody has the same background and level of understanding”. Top executives are interested in how they can improve the company overall, so you should emphasize the main ways the new marketing program will improve the company as a whole. They don’t want the detailed and technical information because they are not as familiar with that area as the marketing specialists are. Business Communications Essentials also says that you should “analyze what the audience expects from you” and to “anticipate possible objections or questions”. Top executives typically are not going to spend their time listening to a presentation unless they believe it will be beneficial for them to hear and will result in possible knowledge that will improve the company. In order to fulfill their expectations, be sure to focus on how this new program will benefit the company. Also, you need to be sure that you are prepared for questions. Top executives will always be asking questions because they are constantly trying to find new ways to improve the company. Preparation comes from knowing your topic and knowing the audience and their level of knowledge of the subject being presented.

Public Speaking

When speaking publicly, it is very easy to get nervous and forget what you were wanting to say. There are many different ways to give a speech, but the best method usually involves writing notes and basing the speech off of them.

When writing notes for a speech you should use notecards or index cards. These cards should be numbered sequentially so that you know which cards to look at first. According to Business Communications Essentials, the main goal of having notes for a speech is to provide you with a que or a reminder of your next point in the speech. It is easy to forget certain points when people are staring at you in anticipation of your speech. If you have just a quick sentence or a few words of the next topic you plan to talk about, then it’s much easier to branch out in more detail. Notecards can also be a type of security if you’re nervous for a speech. Knowing that they are there to help you can give you more confidence that the speech will go according to your plan. Notes should not however, be your entire speech written down. Speeches should not be read but should be spoken. If you don’t know your topic enough to be able to talk about it freely, then it’s probably not the right topic for you to speak about.

My experience in public speaking is pretty minimal outside of my public speaking class I took as a sophomore in college. I remember being nervous and anxious each time I had to give a speech. Things that helped me were being interested in my topic, knowing my topic to the best of my knowledge, and adding a little humor in my speech to loosen things up a bit. As much as I disliked my public speaking class, it truly did help me feel more confident when speaking in front of other people.

Emotional Appeal

When writing persuasive messages, the writer must have a strategy to get his or her point across in a clear and efficient way. One strategy is to use emotional appeal. Emotional appeal is when a writer uses certain words to call on the sympathies and feelings of the readers. According to Business Communications Essentials, words such as freedom, success, prestige, compassion, free, and comfort are emotion inspired.

 

In order for a persuasive argument to be effective, I think there must be both emotional appeal and logic. The writer should not have too much of either. Emotional appeal, in my opinion becomes unethical when the writer attacks the character of the opponent rather than the opposing point of view. You cannot tell a person that he or she is bad just because you differ in ideas. Business Communications Essentials also states that a writer should not make hasty generalizations. A writer should have clear evidence of any point he or she is trying to prove, or all credibility is lost.

When using emotional appeal in order to prove a point, the writer must be aware of the boundaries that should not be crossed. In my opinion, the main priority should be to remain professional while expressing ideas in an emotional manner. Avoid attacking the opponent and making assumptions. Emotional appeal is ethical when used correctly and when it is balanced out with logic. It becomes unethical when all logic is forgone and the attacking of character begins. Using emotional appeal as a strategy for persuasive messages can be a great tool if used properly.

Deemphasizing Bad News

In today’s business world, there is always going to positive news and bad news no matter how successful or unsuccessful a company is. It is important to convey this information appropriately and concisely. If bad news is not conveyed properly, then the purpose of the news may not be fully received by the company.

When conveying bad news to your company, it is important to deemphasize it to a point. You do not want to dwell on it and leave people with negative feelings, but you also do not want to deemphasize it so much that the negative message is hidden in the middle of a sentence. According to Business Communications Essentials, you should state the negative news clearly and from that transition smoothly into positive news. The main goal is to balance the message so that it isn’t conveyed as a negative message or as a positive message, it should be neutral.

I do not think that deemphasizing bad news is the same as distorting graphs and charts. Graphs and charts are visual objects and you can only make inferences from those pictures. If it is distorted, then there is no way that a person would be able to tell whether or not the information portrayed is accurate. In a message, deemphasizing is trying to hide the bad news, but the news is still conveyed and people are able to grasp that.

In business, it is important to be concise in any type of message you are trying to convey. With negative news, it is especially important that the recipients understand the bad news but that they don’t feel the need to dwell on it. Deemphasizing is important, but in business it cannot be abused.

Recommendation Letters

Recommendation letters can be an extremely essential tool for earning a job. Properly written ones are great to have and can open up so many opportunities for a person seeking a job. With that being said, writing the recommendation letters has many implications. The writer must be sure that it is accurate, clear, and provides all the information an employer would wish to see. If the letter is too general, then it proves nothing about the person it's about and does not distinguish them from other applicants.

If I was asked by a former employee from years ago to write a recommendation letter, and I could not remember any details of the employee’s time with me except that they were an admirable employee, I would have to consider a few options. The first thing I would do would be to ask my fellow workers about what they remember from that specific employee. I wouldn’t reject the request because I would want to do my best to help a quality former employee of mine. If this option did not work out, I would then be honest with the employee and tell them that I know they were of high quality but that I just could not remember specifics that I feel future employers would want to know. I would make sure they know that I could potentially write them a letter, but it would have to be just of what I remembered, so it would be pretty broad and not detailed. I would suggest that they find someone else to write the letter so that they will properly and accurately represented.   

Authenticity and Business

I think it is very possible for a business person to speak of their company in a positive way and to represent them properly while still remaining authentic. When I am at work and I have to email business people outside of my organization, I need to maintain my professional manner or I will not be taken seriously. With that being said, I think it is also important to be friendly and have a little personality so that the people you're communicating with know you're just another human being. If you can relate to the person you're communicating with and feel comfortable talking with him or her, then it will most likely be easier to maintain contact and work together. Sometimes in the business world we forget that we don't have to always have a poker face or act cold to others. As long as we can portray a friendly personality without sacrificing the reputation of the business, then we should continue to do so. When I email customers or fellow workers, I make sure that I use exclamation points where necessary. Exclamation points, in my opinion offer a little bit of a break from the corporate tone we're all so used to communicating in. They let us know that the person we're talking to has a little bit of a personality and isn't afraid to show it.I also try to appear understanding and open for conversation by relating to whoever I am communicating with.

Personal Blogging

I think blogging is a great way to write down your thoughts, opinions, and ideas. I think it's a great place to be creative and express all that you need to express. I agree that in some cases following the rules of grammar and spelling can hinder your creative abilities. I think it is okay to write words that you want to emphasize, wrong or in a silly way (e.g. GR8, girlz, boyz, etc.). As long as the reader knows you are trying to be sarcastic or funny then I think bad grammar or spelling adds to your personality as a blogger. If you are able to show your intelligence through your writing, then being funny about the way you spell things or use certain words shouldn't affect your credibility.


Sometimes when we write, we do so in a boring and monotone manner. For me, I appreciate when writer's aren't as serious and know how to make a joke. It's difficult to evoke that through writing alone, so spelling can sometimes help us understand a writer's purpose or personality. It gives the reader a break from the difficult to understand writing and allows the blogger to have fun with what he or she is writing. Instead of worrying about perfect grammar/spelling and mechanics, a writer should be able to intelligently portray certain ideas while adding a little humor in there.


Although I think certain PURPOSEFUL mistakes are humorous, I would not enjoy reading a post someone wrote where they couldn't figure out which there/their/they're to use. I also would be dubious of a writer's intelligence if they spelled "definitely" like "defiantly". All things considered, I appreciate writers poking a little fun at the strict world of grammar and spelling, but I want those things to be done in a purposeful manner and not on accident.

Social Media

I have a love/hate relationship with social media websites. I enjoy being able to keep in touch with friends and family but I don't like how we tend to let it consume our time.  I have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest account. I enjoy them all for different reasons. With each account, I make sure that the settings are private so that only people I know can view my pictures, posts, and information. Even though my accounts are private, there is always room for improvement. I could delete old pictures of myself holding the ever so popular peace sign or pictures of me sticking my tongue out (apparently that used to be cool). I could advertise myself more as a professional by updating my information including where I work and what I'm interested in. Other than that, all that I have on my accounts are pictures of my nieces, softball pictures, and pictures of food.

Material that could raise red flags for future employers are inappropriate pictures, inappropriate language, and bad spelling/grammar. Employers don't want to see revealing pictures or cursing on our accounts because they want to see us portray ourselves as professionals and if we can't do that online then we probably won't be able to do it in a corporate setting. Social media websites can be a great way to stay in touch with people you love and to connect with other business professionals, but if we aren't careful, one picture, post, or comment could destroy our reputation as young professionals.

Hello!

My name is McKinsey Millspaugh but I go by Mac for short. I am a senior at Wichita State University and I am majoring in Accounting. Previously I have attended Butler Community College and Creighton University where I have played softball. Softball has been a huge part of my life and this will be the first year I am not playing. It is bittersweet in that I will miss playing but I am also excited to be able to focus my attention on my education. Currently I work at Cargill Inc. as an Accounting Assistant in the Freight Payables area. I hope to get my Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, get my CPA, go to culinary/pastry school, and own my own bakery someday. I love cupcakes, donuts, pastries, and anything else that's sweet!

My family is the most important thing to me. My twin sister, Alex, also attends WSU and we are best friends and do almost everything together. I have three older sisters (including my twin), two nieces, and my puppy, Durango.  I enjoy spending time with them whenever I can. I enjoy working out (running, lifting, swimming, etc.), cooking/baking, shopping, and hanging out with my friends. I love to watch TV, mostly HGTV, The Food Network, and Boy Meets World. I also love to play Hay Day.

 I chose to take English 210 because it is required for a business degree and I feel that it will provide me with good insight on how to communicate with other people in a corporate setting. I chose to take this course online because I work 24 hours a week and have limited time that I can actually spend in the classroom. I enjoy taking online classes because I enjoy using computers!

I am excited to learn more about this subject and getting to know my fellow classmates!