Market Analysis

Drafting the market analysis part of our business plan was slightly complicated for our group. We didn’t understand exactly the objectives of the task and we also did not know the exact format, even after having visited the links. We were also unsure if we were supposed to be writing from the perspective of second life or real life. We overcame these obstacles, however, and were able to draft a complete market analysis for our water sports business.

When we visited similar businesses in second life, we could explore the business but it was difficult to obtain concrete information about the business and geographic location. After having visited several more locations however, we decided to choose a location that was higher in traffic, or people, we figured out, because that means more people as customers. Because of this, we chose Key West, where we will form a partnership with a resort.

Each group member worked hard in completing the market analysis, as we determined our target market, the strengths and weaknesses we will likely face, our competitors, etc. Our target market is vacationing families and individuals of the middle to upper classes who are looking to gain memorable experiences. I think our market analysis was very thorough and explained our strategy to gain business well. Our idea to partner with a resort was created so that it will make it easier for us to attract customers initially, since we will immediately acquire the guests of the resort as customers. This means, however, that we could become dependent, at least initially, on the success of the resort to gain business, which could be seen as a weakness.

This market analysis was a good exercise for our group to complete because it demonstrated the work and research that is necessary for drafting a business plan. It also enabled us to work as a group and understand more thoroughly what each other’s ideas were.

Professional Dress

For the free write this week, I have chosen to talk about the diminishing sense of professionalism related to attire in the business world. More specifically, what is considered acceptable to wear to work is becoming increasingly relaxed and more lenient. Although I think I would sometimes enjoy the comfort of being able to wear jeans and casual shirts to work, I ultimately view this as very unprofessional and I think that it could ultimately take away from the quality of work produced.
My opinion that one should always dress appropriately could be due to my upbringing. I went to a private school since pre-kindergarten, and through high school I had a dress code. It varied as I got older, but I was never allowed to wear jeans, sandals, sneakers, t-shirts, too short or too tight apparel, or anything with writing or explicit content on it. Also, whenever we traveled as a family, my parents forced me and my siblings to dress in khakis and polos, or something else besides jeans and a t-shirt. We certainly were never the kids who were allowed to wear jeans to church. Because of this, when I see people dressed too casually in more formal situations, such as church or at work, I view it as unprofessional and disrespectful to colleagues and those around you. They had to make an effort to look nice, and so should you.
The modern dress for work is becoming increasingly lax. One time I visited my dad’s office and there was a woman wearing crocks. Professionals dressed in t-shirts are not uncommon to see. Moreover, my mom has her own business as an attorney, but when she does work for companies such as AOL or MCI, and she visits their offices for meetings wearing black dress pants, flats, and a blazer, she is told she can be more casual. I believe professionals need to dress for the job they are doing and for the job that they want. Also, if someone goes to work looking sloppy, I believe that carelessness will become transferable in their work. When you “dress to impress” you are definitely taken more seriously.

Cover Letters

This article on cover letters was definitely very beneficial to me. I have worked so much with drafting resumes since high school, but I have not had nearly as much experience with creating cover letters. I definitely understand now the benefits of making a cover letter more personal and researching a bit into the company that you are sending it out to beforehand. I have been applying for internships recently, so I already have a cover letter drafted, but I am definitely going to make some changes to it. I think the one I have drafted is too generic for all job applications. I did, however, realize that you can’t wait for a company to call you to set up an interview. You need to take the initiative and call them. In my cover letter I say something like, “I will be calling your office in a few weeks to inquire about possible internship or job opportunities”. The one part of the article that I am not sure that I agree with is the PS part, or more specifically, writing it free-hand. There is something about PS that seems kind of unprofessional to me, and I can’t imagine writing it in hand-writing. I don’t think I will ever use this technique on a cover letter. It was also interesting to learn that many cover letters are not even read. I thought they were the first thing to be looked at but it does make sense that employers wouldn’t even read it unless they liked the resume. After having read this article, I realize that there is a lot more importance placed on a well-written cover letter than I had thought.

Second Life Interviews

I do not like the idea of hosting career fairs and job interviews in second life. Although I realize that they indicate that it is not a replacement for a real-life interview, I still deem it absurd for various reasons. First of all, how does the interviewer know that the person they are interviewing in second life is the right person? It could be someone else who the interviewee hired because he or she is not as good at responding to questions. Also, the article mentions that an interview in Second Life is good because there is a backspace, so you can retract thoughts and plan out your response more. I view this as an unfair advantage and I believe you learn most about people when you hear what comes out of their mouths.

Technology comes with glitches, computers freeze, things just happen when using technology. One example used in the article is when an interviewee handed the interviewer a beer instead of a resume. This type of technical mistake could happen to anyone when using a program such as Second Life, but I certainly do not believe it would happen in real life. Just the other day when we had class in Second Life my computer froze and I could not type or see what anyone was saying. What if this happened in an interview? It could be detrimental to the outcome of whether or not one was offered a job.

I see how people would also view Second Life interviews as a more creative way to interview, but I believe it is also a lazier way. The interviewees could be sitting in bed with their pajamas on eating out of a box of cereal. I don’t believe this should be the way in which interviews are held. It requires far less effort, and therefore I believe it makes it more difficult for the interviewer to determine how much the given person actually wants the job. I believe this idea of conducting a virtual interview reflects our society’s present tendencies to take technology too far. There needs to be a point when we stop using technology for everything because it is impersonalizing life and reducing the quality of work and ethics.

"Letter from a Birmingham Jail"

“Letter from a Birmingham Jail” was a letter written in 1963 by Martin Luther King, Jr. I actually read this article in my AP English class junior year, as we studied multiple pieces of literature from the American civil rights movement. In the letter, King responds to a statement by eight white Alabama clergymen, who indicated their belief that the fight against racial segregation should be fought in the court, not on the street. King responded by demonstrating his view that without aggressive, direct protest and action, change will never occur.
After re-reading this letter, I went to the Mars, Inc. website, and chose a piece from the careers section which was a persuasive piece of work indicating why people should want to work for Mars. I chose Mars because it is a company based out of Northern Virginia, my hometown, which I would love to do an internship and eventually work for upon graduation. They engage in some very fascinating marketing techniques and business strategies that I would love to be a part of.
Each author of the pieces of writing indicated uses very different techniques to persuade their audiences. King is speaking to the general public, government officials, and anyone concerned with the issue of segregation or attempting to make change. Mars is speaking to prospective employees and people interested in what it is like to work for Mars. King’s tone is more serious and urgent, while Mars uses a more sympathetic, light tone to gain individuals interest and to make them feel like the company cares about them. In King’s letter, he meets the clergymen’s concerns and then successfully negates them with examples of attempts taken to lead a non-violent protest which were unsuccessful. This is an important aspect of persuasive writing, seeing and then counteracting the opponent’s argument. He also uses pathos to persuade his audience. The persuasive work from Mars, Inc., tries to emphasize the company’s care for its customers and employees. It indicates that Mars has remained a private business in order to maintain a unique, accepting working and business environment. It emphasizes the diversity of employees which contributes to the innovations made. Basically, Mars tries to persuade its audience to consider a career at Mars with its individuality and care for people, not just the corporate world. These two pieces of literature are vastly dissimilar, but both can be considered persuasive writing.

My Life in 10 Years

The question, what do you want your life to be like in ten years, is very difficult for me, and I think for many twenty year old college students to answer. My interests are still changing, and I am still finding out who exactly I am as a person. I will base my ideal life in ten years off of what I know about myself right now.
In ten years, I will be thirty, which to me is kind of the turning point from being a young adult to a more settled-down individual. I want to live my twenties having fun, meeting new people, and being as care-free and frivolous as possible, to be honest. I hope to keep in contact with both my friends from adolescence and from college, and even see some on a semi-regular basis. By thirty, however, I would like to be settling down, hopefully married, and possibly have one child. This is not to say that I am rushing and putting a timer on getting married, this is just something I hope will happen.
I would like to be starting my family in Washington, DC. I was born in DC, but grew up in a suburb. Nevertheless, I know the city very well and love it for all that it is: historical, social, fantastic restaurants, great shopping, interesting people, endless things to do, etc. It also has many great job opportunities for marketing majors. My desire to live somewhere so close to home (I grew up 45 minutes outside of DC) does not derive from any sort of familiarity or ignorance of the rest of the world. I am very well-traveled, having visited most major cities within and also many outside the U.S. I love traveling and experiencing new cultures, but I know that DC or close outside of DC is the place I would like to call home.
Currently, one of my interests is nutrition and health, and I have always been interested in sports. Combining this with my background in marketing, my dream job would be to work for a fitness company, sports apparel brand, or professional sports team, such as the Washington Redskins. I would like to be part of a marketing or advertising team that is finding new, creative ways to market the company’s products and services. My ultimate career aspiration is to be CEO of a company such as these, but I just hope that by thirty I am moving in that direction and upward in the company. Another interest I have is fashion, so I think I would also enjoy doing the same thing for a clothing brand, but instead finding ways to market their new designs. While maintaining my job, I hope to be working towards receiving a masters in marketing, advertising, or nutrition and health. I also hope that between an occupation, school, and a new marriage, I will still have time for friends, having more children, and creating a home. Easier said than done, I know.
I have a strong relationship with my family right now, and I just hope that we do not lose that closeness as my siblings and I start our own families and careers. I hope that my siblings live close to me, and that my parents remain in Warrenton so that it is easy for them to come visit me, and vice versa. Since I was an infant I have traveled all over the world with my family and that is what sparked my interest in travel. I hope that, not only will my husband and I have the financial security to travel to foreign places, but also that we can go on these vacations with my family.
I realize one’s plans change as he or she changes, and that they don’t always pan out as one might have thought, but I hope that I do, and I feel that I am a very ambitious person that is relentless in striving for her goals. Ultimately, in ten years, I just want to have a happy, successful, healthy, exciting life, shared with the people I love.

Web 2.0

This video, Web 2.0 was very futuristic and not at all what I had expected. I at least expected some speaking or individual involvement, but instead it was messages revealed through various forms of text across a computer screen. I think the creator of this video made it as a way to symbolize the present and future of our culture, lifestyle, and professional lives. The world today is so technology and web focused, and it will only become more so in the future. When certain softwares are created and updated with newer versions, they increase in a number, like the 2.0 in the title, "Web 2.0". The creator is trying to send the message through the title by using a small number such as 2.0, that the web, although it dominates our lives, is still very new and it will only become more technically advanced. This video indicates how important the web is to
individuals entering the workplace. Being able to navigate the web easily and understand how to use technology and its capabilities is becoming a valuable and necessary tool as a prospective employer. A person trying to enter the workplace with no computer skills will find it very difficult to find a job. Current workers at prospective companies need to realize the importance of being technically-able, and if they are not, they need to become so by either exploring the internet and computers or taking a class. If current employees do not do so, I believe they are at risk of losing their jobs, due to the ongoing advancements of the web. Lastly, although I do not believe it was the creator of "Web 2.0"'s intention, this video also represents the impersonal effect the web and technology is having on society. This video had no interaction between people, nor did it have and speaking involved. The web has also reduced the use of the telephone, letters, and even person to person interaction because of the convenience of text messaging, email, AIM, etc. I think in the near future people entering the workplace could expect to see this impersonalization, as more and more people will begin to communicate in these ways in their professional fields, and they might not even have to enter an office or ever meet their employers in person.