Stocks, and More

One message missing amid all the news about gas prices and the War (Terror? Iraq? Afghanistan?) is the fact that the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is near an all-time high. While this average doesn't tell the whole story about stocks, I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion of this in the news.

Now for the second time around. This blog covering the Fort Wayne business scene(http://fwbusinessblog.blogspot.com/) is progressing nicely. Seven detailed posts with lots of interesting local information, and links. Good work!

Only three posts here, but the one related to customer service at ARBY's is priceless! http://ravusblog.blogspot.com/. Customer service is a great subject to blog about, and you should find lots of interesting links here.

Five pretty good entries on this general business news blog: http://bradsteenport.blogspot.com/. He has a nice strategy: list a link every day, and comment, summarize, or evaluate it. Nice work--just needs more content!

We begin week seven next week!!!!!!

All blogs have received one review!

As of this post, all student blogs have seen at least one review from me. After today, I will start a second round of reviews, beginning with those whose reviews are oldest.

Here is a great example of a fine blog: http://wysslerwisdom.blogspot.com/.
Seven well-researched, detailed posts so-far, all on the subject of business ethics. I love the way this blogger is connecting to local and national stories that are in the news, and is addressing issues such as race, competition, the market system, and the way all these things intersect with ethics. It also makes great use of graphics and links. Really nice work!

This blog on the subject of Finance has some very preliminary entries, and nothing in the last two weeks: http://businessblogfinance.blogspot.com/.
Not so good.

However, it's better than the next link, which isn't working at all: http://careersinaccounting.blogspot.com/
--either the blogger hasn't made a post, or else I still don't have a link. Not satisfactory!

A blog with a great topic--bilingualism and the use of Spanish in our economy:
http://spanishinthebusinessworld.blogspot.com/.
Unfortunately, there's very little here other than a few questions.

Tuesday's Reviews

This blog on the auto industry has some really cool pictures:
http://cars-and-more.blogspot.com/
Five well-researched posts so-far, though I’d like to see some links, or sources.

A really nice blog that examines the place of Hip-Hop culture in the entertainment business: http://itsgoindown75.blogspot.com/
Edgy, lots of links, a point of view, and great pictures. Five nice, detailed entries so far.

A very fine blog here which is systematically examining a number of possible business career paths available after graduation: http://sunflwersd.blogspot.com/
Only three posts, but the last two have been long and detailed—almost double posts!

This blog on business ethics needs more posts: http://wwwethicbusi.blogspot.com/.

Posting Routines

I finally think I've entered a pretty good routine on for this blog--its become part of my morning routine in the office. I'd love to figure a way to post on weekends, but considering my past performance, Monday through Friday will do nicely! And speaking of performance, this is week 6 of our class--you should have around nine solid entries by the end of the week.

Speaking of weekends--I watched Fox News Sunday yesterday, which is unusual because its not a show I ever pay attention to. However, the interview banter between former President Clinton and Chris Wallace was fascinating to watch. The former President was had his finger right in Wallace's face! There has been a lot of coverage of the interview, but if you can find a copy of the entire clip on the internet, let me know. It's worth watching again, no matter what your position on the war on terror.

Here is a great blog on the gambling industry: http://two4themoney.blogspot.com/. Seven solid posts so far, with lots of links. I used to live about 15 miles from the largest casino in North America (Foxwoods in Connecticut), and the stories of what some people will do to get the gambling rush are incredible. I guess I should stay away from my friendly convenience store/lotto agent!

Another blog with no content--http://franz.seraphsix.net/.

A good start here: http://ihavetodothisforschool.blogspot.com/. These are very interesting entries on the Mountain Biking business, and the graphics are great. Obviously needs more entries, and could use some links, but it is a nice start.

Finally, a good concept--a blog about saving money on travel: http://a-getaway.blogspot.com/. A good beginning, but nothing the last two weeks.

Sports, Ethics, Markets, the Modern, and the Post-Modern

I'm back reviewing blogs. Another blog which intends to study sports marketing: http://marketingeffects.blogspot.com/. Unfortunately, nothing here other than a statement of purpose.

There is so much that can be talked about. Yesterday, Ozzie Guillen, the manager of the Chicago White Sox baseball team, stated that he will voted for a mediocre player for the Golden Glove award for third base because he wants his player, Joe Crede, to win, and as a voter he isn't allowed to vote for his own player. While it is easy to pile on Ozzie, a guy who has a history of saying the politically incorrect, the practice he speaks about, casting votes in polls based on questionable reasons, is rampant. Evidence:The recent controversy regarding the vote in the College Football Coaches Poll by The Ohio State University's coach, Jim Tressel, who said he voted for a rival team, but actually didn't. Sport has become business, and like in business, the prevailing ethic seems to be one of expediency.

Its not just business. Unfortunately, an ethics of expediency seems to drive much of our actions in today's world. It runs throughout our culture, and a great deal of research has been done tracing the history of the spread of that ethic. I'm going to return to that subject as a research topic in this blog, just as my students blog on their own business subjects.

Here is another very fine blog, addressing a number of subjects, but in the most recent entry, looking at sports memorabilia: http://trump3034.blogspot.com/. A great blog--with a decent number of entries, and nice use of photographs. I'd like the blogger to link to other websites on some of these stories.

Sports seems to be the them today, and the last blog I'm reviewing is also sports related--its about the bowling business: http://dcdallas12.blogspot.com/. This blogger has made a very good start, but like many of the student blogs, this one needs more posts, and links to other voices on the subject.

Keep Blogging!!!!

Hewlett Packard and Budweiser

A good beginning on a blog about business ethics(http://wwwethicbusi.blogspot.com/) which describes some of the questionable methods Anheuser-Busch may be taking to protect the Budweiser brand.

On the issue of ethics, this HP story just keeps getting bigger--it seems that even the company's "ethics officer" was involved in hiding the practice! (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14929735/)

A fine blog which is examining this business aspects of the hospitality industry--lots of entries--very interesting(http://oberonfan.blogspot.com/). One suggestion--instead of pasting an entire article into your blog, use the link button to link to the article. There may be copyright issues if you past an entire article.

Sports marketing is an interesting subject, (http://marketingeffects.blogspot.com/) but this blog needs entries!!!!

Three More Reviews!

A good beginning here: http://accountingandfinance.blogspot.com/
but not enough posts. I like how the blogger is using Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)
as an initial source for getting basic information. The Wiki website is not perfect, and I wouldn’t expect you to rely upon it. But it is generally as accurate as most printed encyclopedias, and has much more content. Once you have gathered background with Wikipedia, I would suggest you move to sources with more expertise to confirm what you learned, or to expand upon it. If you are wondering what to write about, this is a good process to follow!

A pretty good beginning here to a blog that discusses investing:
http://investing-jbower01.blogspot.com/.
It nicely defines a number of terms important to the subject. The entries could be a bit more in-depth. I would like to see links to more information about these terms, which would also add credibility—in other words, it helps me know the author is reading and referencing material written by knowledgeable experts.

This marketing blog has a really cool entry on textbooks: http://marketingfreespeechforum.blog.com/.
It also has a cool design. But no entries since August 25? That’s almost a month ago!!!!

Coffee and Cigarettes!

While reading this blog :http://w331business.blogspot.com/, I coldn't help thinking about the wonderful movie by Jim Jarmusch: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379217/. The scenes with Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Jack and Meg White, and Steve Wright are to die for!

At any rate, this is a wonderful blog. Detailed, full of informtaion about Starbucks, with lots of photos, and lots of links. Wonderful work!!!!!

Another very good blog which is examining changes in corporate communication practices:http://jamenscorporatecommunicationresearch.blogspot.com/.
Lots of discussion about scholarly articles. Could use a few more posts!

But there are still blogs out there with nice templates, but no content!!!:
http://manderz23.blogspot.com/.

There are signs of life in our blogosphere!

News and Reviews!

Finally: a blog that is current, is on track in terms of the quantity of writing, and is using the blog genre as a way to keep abreast of what’s happening in a field—in this case, marketing:

http://marketingmajor-heather.blogspot.com/

The blogger is doing a great job using graphics and links. I don’t agree with all of the conclusions this writer makes, but that is one of the things that makes this a great blog!
Minor point—some of the blogger’s points would be easier to understand if the blogger used the spell-check feature.

I’m writing today’s entry using MS Word. I’ll then past the entry into blogger. For those of you who don’t know, sometimes blogger will shut down on you, or kick you out in the middle of an entry. If you hate losing work this way, you can protect yourself by saving your draft frequently, or by composing in Word and then pasting your entry into the blog software.

This blog has a nice link to an article on the economics of what it calls “the new car trap:”

http://www.xanga.com/brenbc02

It does has a fairly recent post (9/11/2006), but still too few posts.

The third blog I’m reading today has a good piece of thinking about management and communication:

http://knerkm02.blogspot.com/

Its amazing how after ENRON and Worldcom, managers fail to understand the link between honest communications with employees. The recent HP mess (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14882549/)

is probably going to lead to indictments.

This blog could use more posts. Two weeks is way too long between posts!

25% Done!

Nervous at the thought we are now through 1/4 of this class? I am! Particularly when I see the state of some of these blogs!

Another good start, with nothing the last two weeks:

http://zacharyjsblog.blogspot.com/

This next blog has only three posts (I would expect 6-8 by now), but they are great posts. The blogger is really using the blog as a research tool to investigate Careers in Accounting! A really fine beginning--just needs more content:

http://accountingcareers.blogspot.com/

This next blogger has four entries, and they demonstrate nicely the blogger's struggles at finding a research project. It is clearly being used as a personal research tool:

http://christianjames78.blogspot.com/

While I wouldn't worry too much about grammar and mechanics issues in these research blogs, there is no reason they shouldn't be spell checked. You'll notice an arrow with "ABC" above it in the menu when you are typing your blog entries. If you click on that, a spell check will be performed.

You can also go back and edit a blog after it has been published. Just click the edit key beside the index of posts, then edit it. You must republish it for the changes to appear on your website.

Have a good weekend!

The Three-A-Day

I'm doing my "three-a-day" check of your blogs. As I mentioned in my last entry, too many blogs have not moved beyond the initial set-up stage. Here is a nice template with no meaningful content yet:
http://personalfinance-clh.blogspot.com/

A good beginning, and a nice idea--to investigate the culinary arts industry, needs development:

http://jobsinrestaurants.blogspot.com/

The Global Economics Blog started like a bang with three entries, but no new entries now for two weeks:

http://daniels-global-economics-blog.blogspot.com/

To make blogging for you, you need to make it a regular, almost daily practice! So let's all (I include myself!) get busy!

Annotating and Blogging

I have suggested that blogs can become a way in which you engage with and respond to reading you do, particularly reading which is related to your research. There is an older tradition called annotating which does the same thing--here is a great web page I read on the subject today: http://insidehighered.com/views/2006/09/13/mclemee

I'm continuing to review and give feedback for about three blogs a day.

Here is a blog that has been set up--but there is nothing there yet!--http://rachelw331.blogspot.com/

We are nearly at the end of week 4---six to eight good posts on your subject is a goal you should be trying to meet!!!!

Here is a great blog on global communication--definitely keeping up with the schedule, though I would like to see a little more depth of commentary. http://wendysresearch.blogspot.com/ See me, and I will show you how to past web links into your blog so people can click on them, and go directly to the site.

A great title for a blog here, a nice template, but no content!!! Get to it!:http://jtstockmarket.blogspot.com/.

A fine beginning on a blog devoted to the law. http://ajplf.blogspot.com/

Some Musings

We are beginning week four. By now you should have somewhere between four and six blog entries.

Here is a student blog in which the student is beginning to look at the subject of film piracy (http://www.problogs.com/buckeye). While I think the blog could use some more reflection, It is a good beginning.

A good beginning on a blog about GM, but no posts in the last 10 days (http://simplygm.blogspot.com/). GM just announced a new warranty program to stimulate sales, and Ford has followed suit. Some thoughts?

The Kepcher interview on MSNBC was sinteresting. She denied that Trump had fired her, and noted that this (decision to leave the Trump organization) had been in the works for a while.

Kepcher and Some More Blogs

The student blogs are starting to develop! Heather's Marketing Blog(http://marketingmajor-heather.blogspot.com/) is a good place to see how links and pictures can help spice up your blog. And Calea (http://caleaz.blogspot.com/) has a nice take on the Oprah effect on book publishing.

For those of you interested in the Carolyn Kepcher story I talked about last week, she will appear on Scarborough tonight (Thursday) on MSNBC to discuss how she was fired by the Donald. I believe the show starts at 10:00 pm EDT.

Musings

More on what I might call "unemployment communication." Radio Shack recently laid off 100 employees. They informed the employees by e-mail! (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14586786/)
Was this smart business? Why or why not?

A good look at a blog which is following what's going on in the Fort Wayne business world--here is a good model to follow: http://fwbusinessblog.blogspot.com/.

And here is a good model for a general business blog--great posts!:http://bradsteenport.blogspot.com/

Please check your links, and if they aren't working, see me!!!!

Hiring/Firing/Resigning-Lessons from Guy with the Weird Hair

While we are in the unit in this writing class which addresses employment communication, I'd like to take a minute to talk about a subject rarely discussed: how to handle the communication involved when an employee leaves.

Looking at Ober's massive textbook, Contemporary Business Communication, 5th Edition, I find it interesting that he devotes almost 60 pages to the subject of employment communication, but doesn't say a word about how to effectively communicate when ending an employment relationship.

I raise this issue because today Donald Trump's company announced that he had fired his longtime assistant, Carolyn Kepcher (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14603303/) . The link reports that the New York Post "attributed Kepcher's firing to excessive self-promotion as a star at the expense of her performance at her day job, an account echoed for The Associated Press by a person close to the situation."

I don't know about you, but those rumors are bad for both Trump and Kepcher. Bad for Kepcher, because it questions her commitment to an organization, and bad for Trump becauses he has lost an employee who many people admired for her ability to break through the glass ceiling, and for her dynamic communication skills which she demonstrated on The Apprentice. The fact that Trump has replaced her on the show with his children reeks of nepotism, and only makes the matter worse. I wonder what this will cost the show in terms of ratings.

What steps could Trump and Kepcher taken to prevent this bad publicity?

On another topic, I've begun reviewing student blogs. Almost all of the student blogs from section 1 are up and running. However, about half the links for students in Section 2 don't work. If your link doesn't work, tell me how to fix it!!!

Ravus Blog (http://ravusblog.blogspot.com/) is a good example of a student who is unsure what topic he wants to explore, yet is using the blog to try to answer that question.