BUS100 Class/Concentration Summary Paper

· Had you chosen a concentration at least in your mind before you took this class? What was it and why? I had decided upon a a concentration before this class. I had decided on Accounting because I wanted to work in auditing or tax accounting when I graduate. I currently have a job in which I do some accounting in and I really enjoy it.

· Have you changed your mind about your possible concentration? What made you change your mind? Why have you changed your mind? I would only consider Finance or Real Estate as a change for me because it still involves the numbers side of business. The only reason I would consider switching is if I could not get into the classes I needed for Accounting in a reasonable amount of time.

· Are you less worried now than you were at the beginning of the semester about choosing a concentration? Why or why not? What other information do you need to make you more comfortable about choosing a concentration? I am more certain that this is where I would like to be in my choice of concentration. The only other information would be whether or not I am able to register for my upper division classes in the upcoming semester, and if not, which of the three concentrations would offer me the best availability.

· Were the speakers from each department/concentration helpful in providing information about the possible concentrations? Why? I thought all the speakers were very knowledgeable and did their best to explain what you would be doing in the concentration, how you would proceed through the concentration in the upcoming years and where you might be with that concentration after you graduate.

· Explain your attitudes and opinion of having chosen business as a major. Honestly, I find it a bit frustrating in the fact that I am a transfer and I cannot register for the classes I need until the change of major date. This will most likely cause me to take a semester off due to lack of availability of upper division class space. I hope that once I am an official major, this outsider feel will dissipate.

· Would you feel comfortable meeting with a Career Advisor either for the Career Center or in the COB? Why or why not? Yes, though I am more comfortable with the COB advisors because they always let you just stop in for a quick question. This has a very open door feel and it can be a major time saver.

· What information that you received in the class was the most useful? I think the resume section of the class is the most helpful. Even though I already had a resume written and had already had it reviewed by CSU's career center, I still found it helpful to have a discussion about it to fine tune my resume a bit more.

Business Publication Assignment #2

"Should you Roth?"

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_44/b4153069930004.htm

I love reading articles about retirement planning as that is what I hope to be doing someday. This article is especially helpful for me as I happen to be debating the usefulness of the Roth to my mom, as she approaches retirement. I was unaware of the lift in restrictions in 2010, this is something I would like to read more about and will pay attention to in the future. I like all the different possibilities and options that they present for people and their situations and how to go about solving them. I think that is something that lures me in, as you can have endless situations and have multiple strategies to come out on top if you really discuss the numbers, as they displayed in the article.

"Watchdog Fights Service Stations Buy"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/watchdog-fights-buy-up-of-service-stations/story-e6frg8zx-1225806330658

This article opened my eyes a bit about business policy in other countries. I was unaware that Australia did not already have similar laws to that of the US for anti-competitor pricing. This is a real life example of why that law is in place and how detrimental situations can be without it. I hope for their sake, they put in place a law before that deal is settled. Having prices controlled by the companies, rather than by supply and demand can and will most likely create economic havoc that can fall out later once undone.

"Credit Card Rates Soar Just Before Shopping Season"

http://www.denverpost.com/money/ci_13837338

Being interested in personal finance, and planning for others, credit card debt is a topic that will be brought up everywhere. What amazes me is how sneaky banks have been and it really opens your eyes to really watch every penny closely to make sure it goes where it is suppose to. This isn't news to me, but I am very curious as to how the new law will effect this. The article states that many people are being affected it is usually the people the banks need most. It is unfortunate because that won't really help the banks out much if the people who are usually late close their accounts. I agree with the article when it states that a lack of trust is driving the cycle of banks and consumers acting out. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution, accept for closing your account or paying off your balance in full each month, which may not be easy for most at all.

Business Publication Assignment #1

"Transcript: Tackling Climate Change"

http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/05/tim-wirth-thought-leaders-climate-change.html

This article discussed issues that would arise and need solutions to, in anticipation of a climate change. What I found most interesting among these issues was a shortage of food around the world. The US would have to produce 50% more food in the future to make up for the losses that would occur due to a rise in temperature, causing spoiled crops. Bioengineering is suggested for future use in producing food with nutrients as the food we will soon produce will be declining in nutrients due to the increase in temperature as well. I love to hear that some companies, like GE and Caterpillar, are not only a supporter of change, but leading the way by example.

"China Production and Retail Rise"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8353909.stm

What caught my attention with this article is how closely related China's industry is to that of the US's before the economic crisis. China's economy is doing better that expected and learning from the US's mistakes by not allowing borrowed money to be everywhere. China's banks have made lending more difficult rather than loosening standards like the US did, which helped lead us to being in over our heads and stocks falling along with the value of the dollar. Yet, China also understands the need for independence, the need to have their products be bought domestically and not rely on the US to support their economy. This strategy, in my opinion, will prove to be most helpful to them in the future.

"There Are Still Too Many Houses"

http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/10/news/economy/too.many.houses.fortune/index.htm

I am aware of the declining housing market, and this article confirms my awareness of the supply being far greater than the demand for houses. What I don't understand is why I still see homes and complexes being built around my hometown of Colorado Springs, CO. This article suggests that it is not just bad mortgages and foreclosures on many homes that are lowering the prices nationally, but rather just too many homes saturating the market. Yet, I still see builders building, which drives these older home values even further under, cause why buy old when you can buy new at the same price.

1. Elizabeth Messner
2. Colorado Springs, Colorado
3. I live in an apartment near campus.
4. I am taking Management 305, Marketing 305, Calculus, History, and a Japanese class.
5. I work an average of 30 to 35 hours per week. I currently hold 2 part time jobs, one is at Foothills Gateway and the other at Landmark Event Staff. At Foothills Gateway, I work as the Supported Living Services Coordinator's Assistant. At Landmark, I work one the field at all the home CSU football games. I also do my own services as a petsitter for people around the area, babysitting and housecleaning as needed.

6. I chose CSU because I had attended this school in the past and I loved Fort Collins. I chose CSU the first time because I was really wanting to study Veternary Medicine, and CSU was the best school for this option.
7. After living abroad and working as a teacher, I decided teaching music or any subject for that matter, was not something I wanted to do. I love working with kids, but that was something I needed to keep as a hobby such as volunteering. I chose Business to be my major mainly cause I had had previous jobs in the accounting industry and really enjoyed them. My family is full of accountants, so I am very familiar with the type of work.

8. I love watching HGTV! I also love playing all my instruments: guitar, flute and bass. I play a lot of games as well either on my computer or consoles and enjoy watching a lot of movies.
9. I do not know anyone in the class.
10. I know some of the professors, such as Prof. Lawerence, who taught my accounting class. I also know Prof. Mister, who also taught an accounting class. I know Prof. Deines and Prof. Weiss are my current professors for management and marketing.
11. I would love to study abroad, though my concerns with the process are that since I only have a few specific classes left till I graduate, I will just be wasting my time on classes I will not need. I am also very concerned with the cost, as I do not qualify for most need based financial aid.
12. I do not have any questions.

I am very good with numbers and algebraic functions. I am organized and work well with very little supervision. I can meet deadlines and accomplish tasks with little help. I prefer working alone, rather than having others watch me work or helping, as I tend to do tasks in a non traditional way. I am not as good in team situations because I tend to have a whole picture way of thinking, so if team members aren't on that page with me, I find their work wasteful. I am organized in a manner that helps me function and work best, which is not always best for others, nor easy to follow. I will always find a faster and more functional way of accomplishing tasks. I fear having my work be the last line of defense, for instance, if my work was the final say of what should be done or not done with a business and no other person in my field had reviewed it, that would bother me. I prefer project based work, because I find I am more attentive to detail in everything I do when my work isn't routine.

I am not considering Marketing as my concentration because I see marketing being a narrow choice in the field of business. Narrow to me is something I can not apply to multiple fields. With Marketing, I see jobs in advertising and statistics. I love statistics, but not having to create my own statistical research for my job. I see marketing being similar to sales. I have never enjoyed sales. I do not see marketing as a skill I can use in my everyday life either, which is something I want.

Management for me is not an option mainly because it is too broad. Every industry has management. With this degree, I would feel like I had no honed skills to help me land a job I would really enjoy. This concentration, to me, is something for post graduate study to aid my education because it is so broad. I have come to this conclusion from my experience with management classes, most seem psychology based, rather than fact based. I prefer a concentration a bit more concrete. Having more information about the career specifics would be helpful to encourage me to look into management further.

Real Estate is something I never considered. I am not sure why either. Though real estate is something I am interested in, it might be too narrow of a choice to apply to many industries. I know very little about the major itself and what it offers, yet again I would assume one would be limited to working in the real estate industry. What I don't want is to discover a company I would really want to work for and find that this company is not in my industry, therefore will not have any jobs in my field.

Computer Informations Systems is not something I considered because I love computers as a hobby. If I had to work with computers every day as a career, I would ruin a lot of my hobbies. I do not enjoy programming, nor understanding how systems work. I do enjoy building computers, and the hardware part of them, but not the software. Though, CIS is neither overly broad nor narrow, it is an industry which I think would become very routine for me.

Finance I something I do want to to add to my curriculum and most likely end up working in. My family have all either worked in Finance or Accounting fields, therefore I find I am more drawn to these fields myself. I absolutely love working with budgets. I find myself budgeting my money on a weekly basis and looking forward to find new ways to save even more. I also really enjoy learning more about investments and planning retirement. I have helped friends save more for themselves and would love the opportunity to plan retirements or everyday life for people. Though I have not had direct experience, I believe I would also like apply my love for budgets to the business side, for instance working with project budgets.

Accounting is the concentration I have determined to study for many reason. Accounting deals with many aspects of finance that I loved about finance, such as budgets. I am really interested in retirement planning and that would include a lot of tax information. I feel I will get the best background for these things in the field of Accounting. The tasks and jobs that are offered in Finance, will almost always allow an Accounting degree as well. So I see Accounting as very versatile. Where finance is not as interchangeable.

I am INFJ, using the Jung Typology Test. The Keirsey career possibilities suggest that I would be best fit for a counselor. Other career possibilities suggested using the INFJ code with other sites would be: clergy, teacher, musician, medical doctor, marketeer, other medical fields, child care worker, and photographer, just to name some.

My colors from the Princeton Review career test were yellow and blue, suggesting I should look into careers such as: banking, tax law, accounting, systems analysis, finance, engineering, and government work.

I have taken the Jung Typology Test once previous to this and I have had very similar results, suggesting to me that I really do fit that type. I agree with it once I read through the descriptions for that type. I agree with the career fields that it suggest for me to try, yet I have tried those as a career and find that I prefer to keep that side of my personality to volunteer oriented work. With the Princeton Review career test, the career suggestions really fit how I see myself and the careers I am really interested in. It also describe the reasons for my interest with accuracy. I have learned from these tests how my everyday traits can be applied to a specific type of job and how it will affect my liking of that job. By going with the grain of your personality it can make your work much easier and natural for you.

"My Why Factor"

Why am I in college?
-I am back in school because I have traveled abroad and worked in many fields and now I want to pick a field, and make a career out of it.
Why do I get up and go to class every morning?
-In many years of class experience I have realized that I succeed best when I attend class, regardless of the at home hours I put in.

Why do I do my assignments?
-I do my assignments mainly cause I want to succeed in the class, but also cause it usually turns out the be the best tool for me to retain the material. If the class is in my field or a language class, I really try to understand the assignment rather than just complete it for points.

Why do I study for tests?
-Usually, if I have done my assignments for comprehension rather than just to complete them, I don't have to study for my tests, as I can just apply the knowledge I have gained from attending class and work. Though, the main reason for taking tests is to check for comprehension, so that is why I would study if I needed to.

What is my motivation for being in college?
-I had started school back in 2002, as a music major. I had some disagreements with a professor about my grades and it really just set me back, so I quit. Now that I have spent some time away and given a lot of thought to what kinds of jobs I would really want, I am able to select a degree that will help me achieve that. Getting to that point of working in a field that I want, because I have a degree to do so, is my motivation.