Extra Credit Blog

A way that I can continue my learning for my career is to ready the Wall Street Journal and also watch the stock market.  As a business major it is critical to stay up to date on recent news.  Everyday news could make or break the company I'm working for.  By reading the Wall Street Journal I can keep tabs on our competitors and see if there are any businesses that we need to be more aware of.  The WSJ can also provide insightful business tips and stories that relate to other industries.  The reason I mention this is because is Bus 101 we have learned that stakeholders are affected by business decisions and many times, our stakeholders will overlap with those of another company.  When I go to work at a Fortune 500 company they will more than likely be publicly traded.  The company will sell stocks in order to gain capital so that it can pursue different ventures.  By keeping an eye on the stocks I will be able to monitor how well the capital is doing.  When the stocks start to drop I will know that I need to work harder in order to help the company regain the lost stock value.  Normally it would be up to the executive officers of the business to improve the standings, however I will be working as an accountant and as such I may have the ability to help improve our stock value.

https://order.wsj.com/sub/f3
http://www.nyse.com/

Bad and Good Sentence

Bad Sentence:  I work at Community Development Professionals.
This sentence should be more developed.  It sounds to short and brief.


Good Sentence:  If I were not performing my job, payroll would go slower and IT would require a professional so that the other employees would be able to perform their tasks in a timely fashion. 
This sentence shows good use of rhetoric and is a good way to convince someone in regards to my point of view.

Inquiry 4 BRAINSTORM!!!

1.  Religion at Miami - Songs, tshirts, skit
2.  Underage Drinking - Documentary, skit, news cast
3.  Smoking at Miami - Shirts, Posters, skit

I would like to do my topic on religion.  I think it would be very interesting to investigate the religions that are present in the student body.  I believe that through the modes listed above my group would be able to really set a certain tone for each group so that we are able to understand some basics of that religion.

Securities and Exchange Commission

Gabe Kimble

Strickland

MWF 8:00

Securities and Exchange Commission

The Federal Securities and Exchange Commission, commonly known as the SEC, is a regulatory agency of the United States government.  It was created in 1934 under the Securities and Exchange Act passed by congress (What We Do).  This paper will analyze how the Securities and Exchange Commission came into existence, cases of which the SEC has gotten involved with, and the impact that the Commission has on college students more specifically business students from Miami. 

Following the stock market crash of 1929, which led into the great depression, the government realized that something had to be done to regain the public’s confidence in the markets (What We Do).  To do this, congress passed the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, together these created the SEC (What We Do).  The SEC was formed to bring trust back into the markets; they created regulations that provided the public with more reliable information (What We Do).  The SEC requires all publicly traded businesses to file statements containing financial and other pertinent data to the commission (GPO Access). 

Back in May of 2004 The Onion published an article regarding a recent regulation from the SEC (Ritholtz).  According to the article the new regulation, SEC rule 206(b)-7, requires CEO’s to humble themselves before accepting large bonuses.  Mary Schapiro, an SEC chair, is quoted saying, Never again will they be able to receive massive bonuses unless, at a minimum, they flash a gee-I-don’t-think-I-should expression and say something like ‘Well, all right, but only if you insist’ first.” (Ritholtz).  This article would have us assume that when the CEO humbles himself that the company may re-think its decision and instead not give it to him or her.  This would be a type of check and balance type of thing so that CEO’s are not paid large sums of money, when the rest of the public is suffering from poor economic conditions.             

A well known business scandal is Enron.  The Enron scandal produced the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires full disclosure of financials for publicly traded companies (Sloan).  Enron was a major corporation with hundreds of employees.  When the company went under it took all of the jobs that it had provided as well as all of the 401(K)s that it gave to its employees (Sloan).  According to Fiduciary Counselors Inc, 16,500 people were affected by Enron.  Roger Boyce, owner of 26,000 shares of stock, saw a tremendous financial loss.  His stocks use to total approximately 2 million dollars, now his 26,000 shares of stock total less than $10,000.  This is an example of how severely the SEC can affect communities and individuals.  It destroyed thousands of jobs and futures for the Texas community (Sloan).  Though the corrupt business was stopped and its top executives punished the employees were left to dig themselves out of financial ruins.

  According to the Houston Chronicle, compensation for those affected was 265 million dollars in settlements (Hayes).  However, due to a data error some were not given their deserved portion of the settlement while the others were overpaid.  Due to this, the court has taken over the rest of the funds until there is a resolution (Hayes). Employees are a major stakeholder in the business world.  If they lose their jobs it affects their entire family, and for that reason, if the closing of a company leaves thousands of people unemployed and without their retirement plans, the number of people affected could very easily be doubled or tripled.  With thousands suffering financial problems there is less money to be paid into the city and state taxes.  Public schools and services are paid for through taxes and if the citizens are unable to put as much money into the system as before, then children will not be able to receive a top education. 

Another case is SEC versus Sight Resource Corporation.  In this case the SEC sued; Duane Kimble, my father and at the time CFO of the company, along with former CEO Carene Klunker (Commission).  My father faced prosecution under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.  He had unknowingly signed off on fake financial statements, which should have been caught by the people who were below him.  However, as he was the Chief Financial Officer, he should have technically been aware of everything that was going on within his department.  That includes catching errors made by people performing entry level work.  The company later went bankrupt and had layoff its employees.  Speaking from personal experience, the SEC acted as a bully.

The New York Times put out an article earlier this year in which it discussed the SEC as being a corrupt agency.  The SEC was asked to investigate Allied Capital and their financial statements (Henning).  When the SEC commenced their investigation and went into a meeting, of which only one person was representing the SEC, to discuss possible charges against the company they met their opposition, who was none other than a former SEC employee.  Allied Capital used this person as a tool.  They claimed that someone who had previously worked for the SEC was “not going to be doing anything illegal.”  The story alleges that because Allied Capital had a former SEC employee working for them, they were given a slap on the wrist. The company was charged with a cease-and-desist order that consisted of no penalty towards the company.  The cease and desist order is the least severe of any penalty the commission can give out (Henning).

Through these cases I have deducted that unless you are an investor or a customer of the investigated business the SEC is nothing but a tyrant to you.  The SEC has helped protect consumers and investors from criminals who misuse their funds and lie to them.  They investigate fraudulent activity and enact regulations to ensure transparency and fair business practices. However, the employees are commonly ignored or if not they are treated poorly.  Drawing conclusions from the article regarding Allied Capital, I have also come to assume that if you have a former SEC employee working for your company then you are in the clear.  The article has shown me what kind of corruption can go on in business/government.  The Allied capital case was clearly a conflict of interest case.  Conflicts of interests are something that a good business is supposed to steer away from and what the SEC is partly there to enforce.

The role of the farmer business school is to prepare students for their future business careers. Part of preparing students requires equipping them with the knowledge of federal regulations and laws.  The business world is very complex and regulated place and as such, can be dangerous if one does not understand certain procedures.  In order for the business students to be well off, it is imperative for them to become familiar with the Securities and Exchange Commission and how they came into existence.  Big businesses will expect students to know what conflicts of interests are and the laws and regulations that they must work under so that the business stays in good standing. 

Businesses do not have the time to put their employees through a period in which they teach ethics and all laws that govern how to successfully do their job.  That would take too much time and money which would affect the bottom line of the company.  The universities are responsible for teaching students how to operate within a business, that’s why it has become so essential for people to obtain a degree.  Businesses look for the best students at the best universities because they want quality employees who know their way around the procedures, because those are the employees that will work hard for the company and be able to introduce new ideas.

Since the SEC is a large regulatory agency it has the ability to impact places as busy as New York, New York to rural communities such as Oxford, Ohio.  Entrepreneurs who go off and start their own corporations will need to know what laws to abide by and how to fully disclose their information so that they are not investigated by the SEC.  I have learned that if you get on the wrong side of the SEC you will stand no chance.  Though the SEC has helped stop corrupt business I have formed the opinion that they are a tyrannical type of agency and that even the commission has committed fraudulent business practices.

Works Cited

2009. GPO Access. 23 October 2010 <http://frwebgate1.access.gpo.gov/cgi-              bin/TEXTgate.cgi?WAISdocID=MpKI05/0/1/0&WAISaction=retrieve>.

Enron Savings Plan Begins Distribution from Newby Settlement. 23 February 2010. 31 October 2010 <www.seopressreleases.com/enron-savings...settlement/6745 >.

Hayes, Kristen. Data error stalls Enron payouts to employees. 3 July 2007. 31 October 2010 <http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/special/enron/4939659.html>.

Henning, Peter. How Not to Run an S.E.C. Investigation. 24 March 2010. 31 October 2010 <http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/how-not-to-run-an-s-e-c-investigation/>.

Kimble, Duane. Former CFO of Sight Resource Gabriel Kimble. 20 October 2010.

"Litigations Realease NO. 19623/March 27,2006." 23 October 2010 <http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr19623.htm>.

Ritholtz, Barry. "New SEC Regulations for CEO's." The Onion 24 May 2010: 1.

SEC News Digest ISS. No. 1:05CV642. 6 October 2005.

Sloan, Alan. "Laying Enron To Rest." News Week 5 June 2006: 6.

"What We Do." 20 October 2010. Securities and Exchange Commission. 23 October 2010 <http://www.sec.gov/about/whatwedo.shtml>.

"God Grew Tired of Us"

Something in this film that has stuck with me is the amount of orphans that were made due to the war.  All of those boys were alone without family.  All they had was each other.  I found it interesting and relieving that they had formed their own families to help take care of each other.  The Lost Boys showed perseverance in defeating such a hardship.  The loss of their families and being displaced would alone cause a tremendous amount of stress.  When they add their makeshift families to the equation, this could have only added to the stress that they already had.  When faced with a family model, one worries about feeding the family members and their physical and mental well being.  For such young boys to take on this great task it forced them to bypass their childhood and move straight into manhood.

                As human beings we possess a great ethical responsibility.  With us being as fortunate as we are to be in the U.S we are given even more responsibility.  However, the country gives us a split between individualism and responsibility.  With the U.S being a capitalist society, people tend to do what is best for themselves and their families.  What happens to others is none of their concern, and if forced to help out with something many complain.  On the flip-side, America can also be very giving.  We as a country have always tried to help the “little guy.”  We believe that we have a moral duty to help others when we are able.  We have even gone so far as to make it a crime in some states to not render aid to someone when you are able to.  When evaluating corporate America with the middle-class, the two sides are clearly evident.  People do what is required to get ahead of the competition.  Most times this requires one to step on others in order to reach the goal.  America is a melting pot and as such we have different views on all topics, however when asked to help those who are in need most people are inclined to say yes.  I believe that people are born with an inherent sense of goodness in them.  If they show it or not is a different story.  People feel like they are required to help someone in need, because if we were in that type of situation, we too would want the help.  The U.S is big on adopting children from developing countries, and as such is or should be the main target of adoption agencies in times of war and displacement.

                This film is most definitely a persuasive paper.  Though it is more closely related to a documentary, the images that are portrayed in the film fill the viewer with a sense of moral obligation to help the Lost Boys.  It would be incredibly difficult if not impossible to cover this topic without trying to convince people to help.  From the images of the little ones to those of the camps the video touches the human heart.  If fills our minds with theories of how a group of people could possibly do such a thing.  

Misplaced Faith

Gabe Kimble

Inquiry 2 Assignment

Professor Strickland

8:00 MWF

Misplaced Faith

National anthems give a sense of pride, a sense of a distinguished reputation, and the sense of glory.  When one sings their respective anthem they are singing of a land in which they love.  Such a song should not be song light heartedly.   We sing anthems to show a sense of loyalty and to show where we have placed our hearts, our trust, and our resources.  America is a country of great pride and of a prominent future.  However, recent changes in American politics and the state of the economy have produced a bewildering misplace of trust in leadership.

Glenn Beck has produced what could be considered today’s national anthem of America.  To the tune of the Soviet National Anthem, Glenn beck has produced a new anthem in which the lyrics have been reworked to show an allegiance to a famed over pompous leader, President Barack Obama.  The music video opens up with the scenery of a boxing arena.  In the middle of the platform is John McCain and Barack Obama squaring it off for the presidency.  Surrounding colors include red, gold, and black.  These color of course depicting that of the Kremlin in soviet Russia.  These colors represent socialism in which the government provides for all and controls all.  The government protects the general well being of the people, but it does so through initiatives that are controlling giving people no freedom. 

When analyzing the ethos of this music, one notices that Beck is comparing Obama’s presidency to that of where he has become controlling; from the scene of congress, portrayed as the spectators of the match off between McCain and Obama, to the referencing of the Messiah.    It is made clear from start to end that Obama has clearly taken over the world.  Beck compares Obama’s reign to that of socialism not because he views him as controlling, but to instill a sense of fear in the hearts of the viewers.  The point of such an extreme symbol is to simulate the loss of choice by citizens and a growth of governmental control.

The song also incorporates the use of the word Messiah.  The use of this specific word instills a sense of all powerful and all knowing just as Jesus Christ.  By making the comparison to Christ the speaker is trying to show that Obama believe he is doing no wrong and that the change he has brought during his presidency is the change that America has been waiting on.  Obama is being portrayed as the savior of America and worthy of worship.  Beck uses this allusion to show that Americans as a majority have put an absurd amount of faith in their president. 

Obama’s disciples, democrats, believe that under this administration America will become stronger and will in fact come out of the economic crisis it has faced the past few years.  The song also says to “bow down and praise The one.” Through this part of the lyrics Beck is showing the misplaced faith that the people have put in their president.  He is showing us that we have to start being more realistic.  Obama is not Christ and can not perform miracles.  He is only human and as such can only do so much for the country.  In reality this video is mocking the American people not the president. 

It is mocking the people for putting Obama on the pedestal that he is on.  Beck is trying to convince Americans to take back the freedoms they have and to stand up for themselves.  The video is saying that if the people did spoke out and used their political power that Obama’s reforms could be stopped.  The future of America would not be socialism, but continued democracy.  This land was meant to be ruled by the people.  If the people do not wield their political sword the country will no longer be a democracy.  The government will control the country and the jobs. 

About three quarters of the way through the song mentions making a country that is pleasing to your wife.  With the focus being the First Family, one can deduce that Obama is not really the president but his wife.  The video insinuates that Obama is making the changes he is just so that he pleases his wife.  He is not doing what is in the best interests of the country, he is doing what is in the best interests of his family. 

The song also references to  Lindsey Lohan who is depicted as a drunk trying to steal the attention of the camera man.  The words briefly describe that Obama has become more famous than the drunk superstar who is in court everyday fighting charges for drunk driving.  Instead of news headlines reading “Lohan” they read “Obama.”  Obama through his selfish interests has gotten the attention of the media, foreign governments, and people all across the world.  Obama wants to be known for all the things he has done making sure the American public is well aware of who he is and who their president is.  He is more interested in the fame than the actual role of being president. 

The lines stating to give Obama money and guns is focusing on two issues.  The first issue being that the government has asked for money left and right as well as bailed out company after company.  The government has misappropriated tax money and though the stimulus plans have done little good they continue to ask for more and expect to get it.  The second issue that these lines speak to is about forfeiting our right to bear arms.  Democrats have always pushed for gun reform and now, being the head of the Democratic party, Obama is seen as the man who will take away guns and abolish the second amendment. 

Beck’s message is that instead of putting our faith in a person, we should be putting it in our country.  One man can not rule the nation of millions and know the best possible way to do so.  If we put all our faith into him then we could be missing major developments that could benefit us.  Obama is not America, we are America.  If we do not act fast America will no longer be under a democratic government but instead a socialist. 

Mr. Beck is known all over the country for his fox news show.  He reaches thousands of people on a daily basis.  Through the creation of his “Obama National Anthem” he has been able to bring an issue that he believes is important, to the attention of the American people.  The video is most appealing as it can show many sides of an issue without actually speaking about them.  The video provides imagery and lyrics.  The lyrics are written into the video as subtitles.  However, these lyrics are no ordinary lyrics as they transform from English to Arabic.  This of course, is mocking the President of his ethnicity. 

When the president was first elected many citizens were debating whether or not Obama was even a U.S born citizen.  Beck is able to really hone in on his belief that the people of America have given Obama too much faith, by portraying him as an Arabic, socialist, self-centered man.  After one has watched this music video it causes them to wonder about how the country is really being ran.  It makes the viewer develop questions about the ability of Obama to lead.  Through all of the rhetorical aspects the video really portrays the president as an incompetent leader who is changing how the government operates. 

Beck, Glenn, September 25, 2010, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l46t_nrySg4

Beer website Analysis

The Miller Light website is fairly simple with a blue background and a center section.  This section is mostly focused on football, but I believe this to be a seasonal thing.  Attracting the attention of sports fans, of whom will go out and by the product before watching a football game.  The graphics are intense as they show the beer being poured, attracting the viewer to the quality of the product.  The site also offers chances to win at various things.  I mean who doesn't like the chance to win something, all though let's face it, the odds aren't in your favor.  The website and the brand name would lead one to believe that they are highly reputable and are in a leadership like position.  This site provides a lot of Pathos and Ethos.

Crazy Schedule

Crazy Schedule


I work at Community Development Professionals. I have worked there for two years and over the summer was a full time employee. I have many rolls there including general office upkeep, IT, and accounting. Being involved in all of these things makes me an essential member of the CDP organization. With school beginning I knew I had to maximize my time up at school and minimize the time that I worked, otherwise I would become overly stressed and maybe even fall behind in my studies. I had to communicate with my supervisor what my class schedule was and the times I would need to dedicate to school, as well as show her that I was still able to do my job.

This past summer I have taken on more roles at Community Development Professionals, mainly accounting and IT. Being a company of seventeen people payroll now takes a longer time to do. I was in charge of entering in the information into our payroll database and doing the necessary copying. This job generally takes about four hours to do. In conjunction with payroll my second biggest role at CDP is information technology. In most cases I am the one that installs software, set security procedures, set up email accounts, and linking computers together. These two things are very critical parts of the company. If I were not performing my job, payroll would go slower and IT would require a professional so that the other employees would be able to perform their tasks.

When convincing my supervisor I knew that I would have to formulate a logical explanation as to working shorter hours and yet still being able to perform my duties. I would have to prove, in good sense, that they need not higher another employee to carry out my duties. Thankfully she was the mother of a college student.

Having this information I knew that it would be possible to appeal to the idea that her daughter is also a student and so she understands how much time studying can take and that college is to help prepare you for the future. If it is neglected then one is not as readily prepared as one should be for their later years of life. During my senior year of high school I would often talk to her about my struggles in math and she sympathized with me, and so I figured I could yet again go back to the topic of math. When discussing my work hours I brought in my schedule and showed her that I would be taking calculus five days a week and made it clear that I would need a lot of time to focus on this class. I hoped that in providing this information she would be sympathetic this year as she was last year. Several times she had reminded me that if I needed time off in high school to study for tests that I should call off. It didn’t matter that I would lose the money that I would have made for that day. School was top priority so that I would be competitive in the job market.

I had one more thing going for me during this discussion. I had myself. Though that may seem unimportant it was one of the biggest weapons I had in my arsenal. During my two years at the company I have always been early to work and have even stayed late on multiple occasions. When we moved from our rented location to our permanent location I stepped up to the plate. The new building required a lot of painting and construction work before we could move in. I volunteered my spring break to go paint the offices and help with construction so that the moving process would not be delayed. I put in 12 sometimes even 13 hour days at work, half of which was volunteer time so I was not paid for it. Finally move in day came, but it just so happened that this was the same day as prom. Though it was not required of me I went to help move office furniture for four hours and then went home to get ready for prom. My supervisor saw that I was very dedicated to the company through this move.

I was able to take this to the bargaining table. Through my examples of dedication, work ethic, knowledge, and by appealing to her emotions, I was able to prove that I was a valuable member to the company. If someone new were to be hired then they may not have the same work ethic as me or even the knowledge of the company and how certain procedures worked. They would have to be trained from the ground up which would take time and effort. When I explained this to my supervisor and then told her of the hours that I was available to work she agreed. I was able to keep my job working 9 hours a week and then spend the rest of my time on school. We both left the meeting feeling like we had both received something in return. Her, a dedicated and knowledgeable worker, and me with the freedom I needed to go to school and learn.

Answers to "Shitty First Drafts"

1.  She means that all writers struggle with writing their papers.  It is never an easy task, sure it's easier for some than others but no one's first draft is ever perfect. 

2.  She is crossing her fingers that the process works for her again.  Though  she says that it always does she is always uneasy about it and hopes for the best.  I think that she is speaking for all writers, because throughout her essay she continually makes references about other writers.  That and the title says draftS not drafT.

3.  The first draft is more about the process.  It's a time where you can get all your thoughts down on paper, almost like brainstorming.  I disagreed up until I read this essay.  I now believe that the first draft is about getting ideas down.  It doesn have to be some five paragrah paper that is flawless.

Rhetoric Paper

My topic is about when I had to discuss my school year work schedule and convince my boss that I needed to leave at certain times and only work on certain days.

I work at Community Development Professionals.  I have worked there for two years and over the summer was a full time employee.  I have many rolls there including general office upkeep, IT, and accounting.  Being involved in all of these things makes me an essential member of the CDP organization.  With school beginning I knew I had to maximize my time up at school and minimize the time that I worked, otherwise I would become overly stressed and maybe even fall behind in my studies.  I had to communicate with my supervisor both orally and written about my class schedule and the time I would need to dedicate to school, as well as show her that I was still able to do my job.  Was I successful?  Guess that you'll just have to wait to see the final product.

August 27, 2010 - Rhetoric Examples

1.  I once used rhetoric when I was convincing my boss to let me leave work early so that I could be to school on time.  I appealed to her emotions as she has three kids, one of which is in college as well.  I used the facts of the bus schedule to tell her that I would have to leave at such and such time so that I could make the bus in order to arrive in oxford on time.

2.  I have also used rhetoric when I needed money.  When emailing my grandmother back and forth I would at times casually mention how I did not have the money for something that I wanted.  I would focus on her emotions as well mine.  I presented it in a casual manner so that it was not as if I was directly asking for cash. 

3.  When emailing the office about paper shredding I had to use Pethos to tell them that they needed to monitor what they were throwing into the "to be shredded" bins.  I told them how we only had one paper shredder and that for an office of 17 people it was important that only confidential files were to be shredded.  The "to be shredded" bins were not to be used as trash cans. 

08/25/10 Class Questions

A) Good writing is when the writing flows smoothly and has a begginning, middle, and an end.  Good reading attracts the reader to the content regardless of the topic. 

B) You become a good writer through practice and reading.  The reading exposes you to other styles while as the practicing helps you to develop your style.