Entrepreneurship

Lessons in Self Made Success was an article based on how colleges are currently and how they should be teaching entrepreneurial skills. In the article it gave some facts on how entrepreneurialship is becoming more important and vital to society than it ever has been. “As the prospects for a stable single career with one company gradual disappear, young people are recognizing that their futures will depend on their ability to be creative, innovative, flexible, and entrepreneurial.” (Rosenfeld & Pages, Pg. 2). They’re a few good examples of successful entrepreneurs that have helped create this trend towards self made success.
I couldn’t think of a better way to define entrepreneur than one of the greatest business men of all time, Richard Branson. He is known for his daring tactics on life and business. His name brand, Virgin, is found throughout the world. His estimated net worth is valued at $5 billion. I see Richard Branson as a valued role model in my life and hope to be at such a level of achievement in my live as well. In the journal article Being Branson, the writer gave a break down of what makes him tick. They were able to give six key attributes that show his success and if followed could possible, make you just as successful. He calls himself a risk taker, a life long learner, a thrill seeker, self efficient and confident. He is also swift acting, willing to experiment, and an experience adventure. If Branson doesn’t know how to do something he surrounds himself with those who do, and learns from them. Entrepreneurs have to start some where, but with lots of hard work, and characteristics like Richard Branson we are all capable of reaching such accomplishments.
As Richard Branson has progressed and fallen, so has our economy. Within the last 20 years there has been a huge boom for new business start ups and entrepreneur’s. Many factors have helped us along in this process. For example, new technology such as cell phone pda’s that can do anything. We have become vastly dependent on these technological advances and rely of the new technology yet to come. Another example would be the way we interact within our environment. A cleaner, happier and less stressful workplace has proven to succeed. Overall economic growth has helped us advance within our lives and our economy. It is not just outer factors that contribute to an entrepreneur but many internal qualities.
As shown to be the best you need to have certain characteristics and qualities. In the article Becoming an Entrepreneur: How to Start a Business, they have given some qualities similar to those of Richard Branson. One characteristic would be a desire to achieve. If you don’t have a passion for something then you will never achieve what you want. Another simple and straightforward quality would be just plain hard work. In the life we live, hard work is the basis for everything. Nothing is ever just handed to you on a silver platter. Finally, you need to be nurturing and be willing to take responsibility for your actions. According to the article, Becoming an Entrepreneur and Being Branson article, these characteristics are key to success. “After generating new business ideas, prospective entrepreneurs must then carefully judge each possible venture based on its compatibility with life goals. Once personal goal requirements are satisfied, the next step is an evaluation of business viability.”( Hormozi, pg 3). With all the quality’s and tools that entrepreneurs have, there are a few things that need to be considered in order to not fail.
Entrepreneurship is a high risk endeavor that could lead to big success or big failure. To avoid the latter there are certain aspects one should look out for. In the article, The Stich House: A Case of Entrepreneurial Failure, there are quite a few mistakes that cause entrepreneurs to fail. For example, one should never create a self written contract without proper guidance. If the contract is not written right you are personally liable and all personal assets are at risk not just your venture. Another example is, not doing a sole proprietorship without understanding the consequences first. If it fails then the creator has to take the entire financial burden upon them self.
In conclusion, all four articles were very helpful to understanding how entrepreneurship can be risky but yet highly rewarding. Richard Branson being the pinnacle of all entrepreneurs explains that we all have what it takes to be the best. There are characteristics that an entrepreneur should have, but then again there are certain traits that will cause one to fail as explained in the Stich House: A Case of Entrepreneurial Failure article.


Bibliography:
Wilson, Sara. "Being Branson". Entrepreneur November 2008: 58-62.
Amir M Hormozi. "Becoming an Entrepreneur: How to Start a Small Business. " International Journal of Management 21.3 (2004): 278-285. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest. University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI. 16 Nov. 2008 http://www.proquest.com/

Stuart Rosenfeld, Erik Pages. "LESSONS IN SELF-MADE SUCCESS. " Community College Journal 78.3 (2007): 12-16,21-22. Research Library. ProQuest. University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI. 16 Nov. 2008

Karl F Kampschroeder, Nancy Ludwig, Mary Ann Murray, Prasad Padmanabhan. "THE STITCH HOUSE: A CASE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL FAILURE. " Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies : INSTRUCTORS' EDITION 1 April 2008 31-35. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest. University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI. 16 Nov. 2008

1000 word essay Module 2 ( Destruction of the Social Infrastructure)

Destruction of the Social Infrastructure
Everyday people question the lives that they live. What am I doing today? Where am I going? But do people account for the bases of their actions, fundamentals and what cause them? Daily we are subjected to thousands of sensory images. Consciously and subconsciously we are affected by them. Cell phones have become a wide spread phenomena, but did we ever think that something as simple as a cell phone or basic technology would have such an affect on the fundamental structure of our social lives. Hans Geser describes this in his article, “Undermining Mobile Technology from a Sociological Perspective”.
The break of social bonds is becoming more prevalent within my generations and generations to come. Hans Geser in his article “is the cell phone undermining the social order?: Understanding Mobile Technology from a Sociological Perspective” gives his thoughts, and break down of the social infrastructure and how were losing fundamentals, by a social stand point. Cell phones, do we need them? Sure they’re a way of easy communication, and a way to be safe in case of an emergency, but what is really going on with our cell phone addicted society? First of all we are losing the base for social interaction and communication with our peers. For example, when people text they use a form of short hand. A different type of language, but when they start to do in their daily writing like bill paying, resumes, or grocery lists the informal lingo becomes part of our everyday life, and we lose the base for formal writing. But the inconsistencies don’t end with informal language.
Have you ever been in a movie theater and had your cell phone go off or hear someone elses? What about when you’re in class or a place of study. We all have been there before, when a phone rings and people disscuse their personal problems. I personally find it rude and disrespectful. It’s another aspect that people show a lack of respect with cell phones. You can’t even go into a dentist office or even in a restaurant without hearing someone’s phone go off. In a social setting we may talk to our friends informally or maybe use slang, but what about when we talk to an employer, teacher, or even a parent. With cell phones we’ve lost our manners, through texting and informal communication.
People no longer need to be confined to one place, they can be on the move and still be connected to the world. Today all of us have busy schedules and need to be in so many places at once and cell phones provide us this luxury. They have GPS, movies and song downloads. They have touch screens and data bases that help keep our everyday lives in order. Before cell phones people were still able to do the same tasks we do today. Why is it that we have become so dependent on such an “antievolutionary device” as Hans Geser states in his paper “Understanding Mobile Technology from a Sociological Perspective?” In his analysis, he explains to us that people seem to be sheltering themselves from meeting new people. Cell phones give us only connection to those close to us. “cell phone numbers are usually only communicated to a narrow circle of self selected friends and acquaintances.” (Ling 2000). This shows a link to closure rather than excepting new people.
Another aspect of this is the medical field. Many speculations of cell phones are said to be causing cancer and some birth defects. “Scientists agree that high frequency (Ionising) radiation, such as that found in X-rays, can break chemical bonds in the body and damage DNA, Potentially causing cancer and birth defects.” (Carpenter, pg.11) So not only is our ability to function outside of formal social standards, but now we have to consider the destruction of our own health and possibly others. Of course, it’s still in question whether or not these ideas are correct and we should consider every aspect of the cell phone and the effects it would have on our everyday life.
Is it just cell phones we’re worried about or is it much more than that? People are even considering that the cell phones are becoming such a huge wave, that people will no longer need a computer. As I have discussed above, cell phones do just about everything. They have music, TV, games, internet and many more features. In the Wall Street Journal, they printed an article titled, “Time to leave the Laptop Behind”. In this technology age we have come so far, and now cell phones or “smart phones” are taking the mobile market by storm. “The Result: many travelers are now using smart phones the way they used laptops.” (Wingfield, pg.1) In a business setting, this shows tremendous efficiency and organization, but is it starting to affect the way people communicate in a business profession. As of right now laptops and computers don’t seem to be a thing of the past, but “A survey in January, 2008 reports 1,402 technology users said they rely exclusively on smart phones while on the road “. I think Hans would agree that this is another attempt of propaganda that is destroying the building blocks of our social structure.
Cell phones have given us many break throughs in technology, and have made everyday life a bit more convenient. But as I have shown, as well as Hans Geser, cell phones seem to be more of a inconvience. They have proven to be a distraction for people in classrooms, doctor’s offices, and movie theaters. They are starting to show signs of cancer causing agents. Its even come down to a lack of communication within social settings among peers. We have lost the ability to speak to one another without using slang, texting, or the improper usage of the English language. Will technology ever have a limit? How far will we go to disregard the bases for the fundamentals of living and comprehending daily life?


Bibliography

1) Carpenter, David O. "The whole Truth about Cell Phone dangers". Bottom Line Health November 2008: 11-11.

2) Wingfield, Nick. "Time to Leave the Laptop Behind". Wall Street Journal October 27, 2008: 1-1.

3) Ling, Rich (2000), Direct and Mediated interaction in the Maintenance of Social Relationships”, In: Sloane, Andy and Van Rijn, Felix (Eds), Home information and telematics: Information Technology and Society, Boston: Kluwer, 61-86

Questions Module 2

Questions:

1) How does Hans Geser show us the break down of social infrastructure with modern technology? More specifically cell phones.

2) Hans Geser states, “Under such new circumstances centralizing institutional control
of system boundaries is more different to maintain, because it is no longer achieved as a simple correlate of physical walls or spatial distances, but has to be actively upheld by constant controlling procedures.” What does he mean by this? What policies have been implemented to control this?

3) When discussing the different aspects of the cell phone he refers to them as “antievolutionary devices” and “umbilical cords” for parents. Give three of his reasons for believing this and explain.

4) Do you agree that widespread cell phone use will cause the general population to stop developing complex social interactions?

5) Would you agree that Geser’s assertion that the cell phone could become a “negative status symbol” what evidence could you provide the support your opinion.

Part A module 2

If I was to conduct an experiment about cell phone usage and how it underminds our our social structure. I would start by taking a group of people, male and female, as well as ages ranging from 18-30. I would survey them and then conduct the rest of the experiment with field work.
Who would be involved? I would conduct the experiment on people ages from 18 to 30. 24 of them would be males and the other 24 would be female. Then I would break it down even further. 12 males would have a cell phone, and 12 males would not have a cell phone. Then I would do the same for females. 12 would have cell phones and 12 would not.
What would I be experimenting? My purpose of this experiment would be to survey people of age groups of 18-30 years of age and then after surveying them I would have one person who had a cell phone sit with someone they didn’t know that didn’t have a cell phone and see if they could hold a 10 minute conversation. This would be after I have had those who had cell phones talk on a cell phone or text for one hour. Then I would record the social reactions and see if the conversation flows well or is choppy due to the lack of social communications.
When would I be experimenting? I would probably survey everyone at peak hours for cell phones so people get the most out of their phones. The experiment would be for one week. One hour of talking or texting to 10 minutes to normal social interaction.
Where would I be experimenting? The institution at which this experiment would take place would be a highly populated college. I have chosen a place like this because it fits the highest count of people for my experiment.

Why would I do this experiment? I would be conducting this experiment in hopes to show the deficiency in people’s ability to communicate with one another. I agree with Hans Geser and his enlightening statements about how our society is using cell phones as “antievolutionary devices” and that were “undermining” the growth of social exposure and development.

Misunderstood, (activity 2) poem

Misunderstood

When I wake up I stare at the light flickering above like fireflies in the night sky.
I don’t know why; As everything around is cold and dry.
I can’t wait to leave this place.
I can’t even see my hand in front of my face.

My feet touch the ground but the door is unfound.
As you talk to me I scream with expletives.
Again they come with the painful sedatives.
Again scared and lonely I can’t wait to leave this place.

***It’s all because of you for I am here.***

They don’t see you standing there but I know you don’t care.
You stand there screaming at me but they won’t set me free.
I wish you would stop so things would be normal.
Scared and lonely I can’t wait to leave this place.



Purpose of This Poem:

The whole purpose of the poem is an in-depth look at someone who is struggling with life but conveys it as a long troubled thought within the brain. The poem is constructed as someone speaking to someone else, but it’s not namely one person but all people. This person is locked in their head and can’t seem to escape. I chose to change specific words to scratchy and elegant text to show and convey significant meaning. The whole poem was written in a font that seems to show emotional release. The poem shows someone who is writing a letter to get out their tormented thoughts and emotions. The part I like the most is the sentence that sticks out in the middle of the poem. “It’s because of you for I am here”. It puts the whole poem into perspective and was written that way because the font that I used at the beginning of each letter of every sentence looked different, so I expressed the sentence in a more bold way.

The Best of Both Worlds (Avtivity 3)

Should we assume that all young people love or hate a particular form of interaction? Vaidhyanathan discusses how young people are calling themselves “tech sauvy”, but do we really need to be? Most households today have a computer and people use them for specific tasks. You have gamers, techies, and bloggers. They use their computers for a particular reason, but they don’t need to understand about the main frame interface or what RSS means. I don’t believe that computer users fit into a one size fits all systems.
A diverse population can’t be squeezed into a one size fits all category. Vaidhyanathan uses statistics, other writers, and their opinions to illustrate how these technological advances are not a way for us to learn. I don’t agree with that. Traditional methods are not the only way to learn. Technology has helped us build a more advanced and convenient way of life. It’s opened up a whole new world of jobs and opportunities. For example, dating use to be a way of one on one getting to know someone. Now the popular way to meet someone is to go on E-harmony and Match.com., then ask each other a million questions before couples meet. We use computer chips in cars now to run hundreds of functions. Computers are now so advanced that you no longer need a key to start the car, sync which makes things hands free. These are all things that technology have provided us. Everything on automobiles is practically all digital, if technology wasn’t constantly improving we would not have advances in our new cars, homes, and even dating. Even the way we look at medicine has changed in a drastic way. The improvements in cancer and heart research are also due to how information can be shared among different doctors. Diseases are caught quicker, and therefore more people are living longer.
If one person or all people knew everything there was to know about technology and its advances then why would we need someone like Bill Gates? Why would he need us? Everyone learns in different ways. It seems to me that marketing niches find this as a weakness, and they feed on it. Companies like Leapfrog and V-Tech are making products that help our kids learn, but are they the best method? Are these kids considered tech sauvy? Will they grow up to be technologically advanced? Vaidhyanathan says that he usually deals with Americans from the ages 18 to 25. He describes that, “our students read when books work for them ( and when I tell them to). And they all ( I mean all) tell me that they prefer technology of the bound books to the PDF or Web pages.” What about all the students he hasn’t been in contact with? Such as those who are younger or older, and those with different backgrounds. This paragraph is quite good!
People learn in a variety of ways we learn. If that’s true then how can you make a statement that “all” students like books over PDF files. Aside from morals and ethics, companies make products that will make them money, but we have the choice and freedom to choose what fits for us. If we don’t want to fall into categories of followers, then we can reuse to purchase their products. I personally have friends who are on their computers constantly, and others who don’t care at all about computers. Are computers convenient for everyone? No, but if it works for you then use it.
Vaidhynanthan seems to be showing us that he’s all for traditional methods of learning. It’s a more personal and more of a one on one way of learning. On the other hand, technology has helped us expand our way of learning as well. He claims that we only use technology as an easy way out, but it’s not necessarily the better way of learning. How can one person choose just one way of learning for students? I chose a mix between both traditional and technological advanced ways of learning. As I have stated above, people learn differently, Vaidhynanthan talks about how his students prefer books instead of computers. It may be true for his sample group, but not for everyone. Computers make things convenient and easier to attain information. With the fast pace way we live, people don’t always have time to go to a library and do research. Computers have given us the instant information at our fingertips.
The best of both worlds is the key to complete learning. Technology and traditional learning are part of a whole complete education. Vaidhyanathan discusses in his paper about how people prefer traditional learning and bound books over PDF files and websites. I chose to show how both ways can make a productive learning environment.

500 word Reflection (Social Portraits)

For my 500 word blog I have chosen the article “Gender Differences in “Social Portraits” Reflected in MySpace Profiles” the article questions whether there is a link between males and females on a self identity level. Females seem to be more susceptible to posting everything about themselves in their interest area on their MySpace rather than males. Males are less likely to post whether they have a significant other. The first article I read by Hans Geser is contradictory to what Erring Goffman believes. He finds MySpace, an adaption the technological world, to be “a rich source of conventionalized communicative symbol” “a social construction of reality”. (Goffman, 239) The purpose of them studying MySpace linkage is another way for us to take a look into the roles of masculinity and femininity. Does MySpace play a part in developing these roles? Their study was less directed towards asking people about themselves, but rather lurking through their MySpace to find the answers.

We can post just about anything we want on a MySpace, pictures, music, blogs, comments, and personal information. In the spring of 2007, a studied analysis was done on MySpace and some of its users. A network was formed by studying a hundred people, and the information they found on their MySpace’s. All those who were chosen had some connection to the researcher. Either the people were on the friends list within the network, or they were a friend of a friend so all the profiles were open and able to be seen by everyone within that network. For the study, the researcher had monitored each profile and searched for specific items. The researcher looked for personal quote, age, gender, relationship status, education, whether the main picture for their profile had their significant other with them.
Within the results, the researcher concluded that MySpace acts only as a mediator. Males were less likely to mention relationship status and other personal facts. Men kept a sense of their individuality, while women took a more interpersonal approach. In society we are already aware of this. For example when women get married they take the males last name. Their identity is more formed around the new relationship but still keeping a sense of individuality while males avoid it all together. Personally I don’t think this study is effective. We as humans are still capable of lying, it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female. If we look at someone’s MySpace, we would only see what that person would want us to see. MySpace is a façade for what may or may not be true. The only way to really know someone is physical communication, which was explained in Hans Gesers article “Is the Cell Phone Undermining the Social Order?: Understanding Mobile Technology from a Sociological perspective”.



References

1) Goffman E. (1979) gender advertisements. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
2) CyberPsychology & Behavior, Volume 11, Number 2, 2008