In our business class this week, we're learning about writing positive and neutral letters, even when they may contain negative information. One of our assignments is to respond to an empty threat or why even making such threats is ineffective in business (when filing a claim, for example). One reason I can think of is that it puts the client (business) on the defensive, thereby ending any relationship between the customer and the business. When I worked for CVS, we had to deal with customers threatening to report us to CVS Headquarters because we weren't able to honor a demand of theirs at some point.

We also have to write a letter of refusal to someone applying for credit, doing so in a way that would gain and keep that potential customer. But it's not the regular letter for refusal of credit for someone whose credit is not up to standard; it is for an individual who doesn't have many liabilities and few assets. This individual is the one who hasn't really had a chance to build up a credit history (his parents paid for his college education, so there's no way to really track a repayment history).

Another really exciting assignment for me this week is to create my own PowerPoint slides. Prof. Boniglio is really preparing us for the real world in this way. As business people we may, at some point in our career, be asked to put together a PowerPoint demonstration for the company and the client we're trying to lure in.

One of my assignments this week in sociology is to introduce myself and talk a little bit about myself and anything else we wanted to divulge. Our next assignment as a group--we're split up into three groups--is to come up with a catchy name for our discussion groups. So far, we have the Sensational Seven Sirens, Divine Sirens, The Septet Extraordinaire (my personal fave), among others to choose from. My classmates are very creative, it seems. I didn't have much luck in thinking of a good name (The Onliners doesn't have much oomph), but I'll at least have a hand in helping to choose the name.

So during my introduction, I mentioned that I work for Berkeley College part-time doing online blogs (like this one ;) ), and it piqued the interest of two of my classmates. They wanted to know what a blogger is, exactly, and how it all worked in blogging for Berkeley College. So I gave them a little bit of information and told them to contact Carol in Admissions. So who knows? We may have two new recruits who can sing Berkeley's praises. The more, the merrier, I say. And they seem to be really enthusiastic about all of their classes and sharing their experiences, so I don't think they would have any problems with blogging for Berkeley.

It seems as if my courses this week are following a particular theme. In Business 265, we have to learn how to properly format a business letter. This goes back to not being needlessly wordy or including points that have no real (or imagined) relevance or place in the information presented. In our "Business Communication" book, we learned that if a letter has to be more than a page long, the conclusion should be able to be reached in a final paragraph on the second page; otherwise, the letter would have to be revised for content.

As for CIS 125, our discussion board this week has to deal with effective presentations and what will be remembered long after the presentation is over. So I suggested that people respond to cold, hard facts and that any visual information should only be included if necessary. This is also what was mentioned in my sociology book about effective presentations. If there is too much fluff and not enough stuff for the audience to learn from, the presenter has failed to do what he or she intended: to capture a certain audience to market a certain product or service.

And I was thinking that this could also apply to resumes that are sent out to employers; be specific in including duties and any honors or promotions that you think might help you to secure the position. So for all of you business majors out there, this is important information to consider for the future.

I am all registered for the Spring Quarter at Berkeley College, so I'm just gonna wait to hear from the professors regarding what textbooks I need so I can order them ahead of time. I did much better this quarter with the textbooks (with the exception of "Voices of Wisdom"; I'm just gonna have to see if they have that at my local library and then I can copy the chapters and pages that I need until I get the book), as far as ordering them and keeping up with the assignments.

The Business course is by far the most challenging, but it is very interesting. We had to learn how to construct a business letter to a customer who was dissatisfied with a product and demanded his money back, using simple but effective words and phrases to satisfy the customer and hopefully keep him as a future customer. I believe it is very important to maintain a positive relationship between customers and corporations in order to not only promote goodwill, but to keep a company in business and the workers employed. In this way, everyone benefits (as does the economy).

I got an A on my last PowerPoint project. I grant you, I'll be computer proficient yet. Before you know it, I'll be creating homepages and scanning pictures without blinking an eye. But seriously, it makes me feel good and useful. Besides, picking out ClipArt is fun; I do it at my job when I have to make up flyers for dance workshops, and I actually saw a few of the pictures that I used in past workshops. I said it before and it bears repeating: I did myself the biggest favor by re-enrolling in school.

I've been reading about effective communication in business, and I realize that I'm guilty of some of the communication blunders that are made everyday in places of business. One of the mistakes I make is unnecessary wordiness, which is to draw out a sentence or paragraph with unnecessary words, which makes the message ineffective. Am I embarrassed because of this? No, because you learn from your mistakes and you draw on your strengths and strengthen your weak areas.

Also, in sociology, we're discussing cults and their influences. I shared some of my own views about cults and got insight into other people's views, such as how they viewed certain organizations (I didn't know that Alcoholics Anonymous could be potentially viewed as a cult). I also learned that cliques in school could be viewed as cults, such as the "popular kids" vs. the "nerdy kids", and anyone daring to step outside of those unwritten guidelines or rules could be viewed in an unfavorable light (the 'cool' kid who sees something 'cool' in that 'geeky' kid).

CIS 125 is also very interesting; we learned ways to ungroup ClipArt, make adjustments, and then regroup the ClipArt. My only problem is that some of the ClipArt was unavailable, but Professor Bonofiglio suggested using similar clips if we could not find the exact ClipArt. So let's just say that while my dance Powerpoint lab project didn't have any of the same ClipArt, I did manage to find some similar clips (and might I add, I preferred my chosen ClipArt to the ClipArt in the project). But as a lover of dance, I have to say that either slide presentation would've drawn me in. I take tap, jazz, and belly dancing (and we actually had a flamenco workshop where I work), and so it would appeal to me.

So we read about Socrates in our Philosophy class under the topic "Plato's Apology", and it was very interesting to note that even though Socrates was able to refute the reasonings of some of his critics, he still wasn't able to escape his death sentence. His general point was that not everyone was as smart as he or she deemed him or herself, and that the truly wise person understood that. But to admit to that would be to relinquish a sort of mind control over the people. This is what people seek to do today--control what people think and how they think. The media, our nation's leaders--all in some way seek the approval and the confidence of the people at all costs, even to the detriment of the country.

In sociology this week, we're learning about groups and cults (this should be pretty interesting to read about and comment on, for everyone has their own ideas about which groups would fall under this definition). We're also learning about Maslow's hierarchy of needs (which was also discussed in psychology), as well as forming, storming, norming, reforming, and adjourning. I also got a 100 on my first GHA last week for sociology, which is a little surprising considering how last minute I was with the reading (although I don't intend to continue in that vein), but welcome nonetheless. I wonder if Berkeley has an honor roll. But it's just satisfying to me to be able to explain the information in a way that shows I understand the material.

Business 265 is not quite what I expected, in a good way. I thought it would be almost like Business 110 (which was Business Math), but it's more about reading and comprehending business topics and terms. I'm just waiting for the book for that class, but so far, I've managed to keep up with the assignments and discussion boards.

The Philosophy professor is truly an example of patient, understanding teachers here at Berkeley College. There was a slight mix-up with the text, and he has graciously availed us of the chapters that we need in the External Links section of Blackboard, in order to keep up with the class assignments. This is wonderful, for I have still not been able to get ahold of the book, and I do not want to fall far behind in this class.

As for sociology and business, things couldn't be better. In sociology, we are learning about individualism vs. collectivism, and questioning whether or not the U.S. is excessively me-oriented (I say yes; big cars, expensive clothes, and power jobs just scream "look at me!!!"). While there's nothing wrong with having success in your life, there needs to be balance. There are those people who shamelessly promote self (even within family units, sad to say).

In business, we are learning about the advances in technology and how they affect businesses today. With the advent of e-mail, fax machines, cellular phones, the Internet, paying a bill or communicating with someone is as simple as a few clicks of the mouse or leaving a message in their voicemail (as opposed to the former method of writing down a message and run the risk of it being lost). I'd certainly say that these things make life easier for me not only at work, but also at home.

The more and more I search the Berkeley Blackboard, the more and more I come across useful information and services to help me out. At first, I was clicking the library tab just to find out what the hours were during the week; now I see that Distance Learning students (like myself) can actually have the books delivered to our doorsteps and then return them. This will come in handy for some of the books that I need, such as the business book that I need for Business 265, as well as the Philosophy book that I need (Voices of Wisdom).

Also, I want to continue looking into scholarships for future quarters at Berkeley College, as well as continue to browse the Career Services section. And now that I know that I can pay online through Student Services for my quarters at Berkeley College, this is what I'll be doing. And also, now that I'm getting the hang of being back in school, I know what to do for the following year at Berkeley College. I truly think that this is the best decision I've ever made, which is to go back to school. And something about Berkeley College just felt right, and the timing also felt right.

I look forward to the announcements on Blackboard for other educational opportunities, such as walking tours in places like Philadelphia (where students went last quarter) and other fun events that Berkeley College will host. And let's not forget the polls, where students are invited to voice their opinions and make themselves heard.

So I just posted my first assignments for SOC105. I really feel like I'm going to enjoy this class. The professor really seems to want our input--so much so that her first assignment for us was to create a personal homepage. I don't know how well I did in conveying my personal interests, but I do hope that my classmates get a sense of me as a person, and vice versa. I have taken a sociology class before, but never have I been asked to create a personal page. It really shows how Berkeley College is keeping up with technology, because nowadays, everything is done over the Internet and on the computer.

Also, with my Business 265 class, we introduced ourselves and we were asked to comment on how we felt that job or educational status played a part in our we viewed ourselves and each other. I saw a lot of surprising revelations from some of my fellow classmates as to what they encountered at work and at school. Some have encountered supervisors and CEOs (as well as professors) who felt it their bound-in duty to humiliate those who either did not have the education or job titles that people tend to respect. I, too, encountered a manager like that where I used to work. His word was law, and if you didn't like it, "Oh, well, find another job!!!" So we'll be looking for ways to communicate effectively with our co-workers and other staff members, maintaining a positive and productive workplace.

So I just found out that my brother has the programs that I need on his word processor at home (pretty sneaky). What I'm going to do (instead of having to travel to Berkeley College every other Friday or Saturday) is to purchase the Microsoft Office 2007 software and download it to his computer, save it to a disk, and then transfer my assignments from the disk to the Assignment Manager. I mean, don't get me wrong; I love Berkeley College and like travelling to the downtown Newark campus, but as the weather gets colder and public transportation gets more fickle, it'll be nice to be able to send the assignments right there from home while I save up a few bucks to get my own. And I can get the practice that I so desperately need in order to get a good job or at least move up within the organization that I work for.

Also, I'm going to see what can be done about possibly taking a class or two on the Newark campus, in addition to online courses. I really need to brush up on my bilingual skills so that I can have a competitive edge in the marketplace. I feel somewhat limited by my inability to speak another language fluently; while I know a few words and phrases, I know that in order to reach my customers, I have to really know their language. And that's what I intend to do.