So I just discovered something else about Berkeley College blackboard that's pretty cool: the e-mail function. I guess you say, "Well, how's that so cool?" Well, I'll explain. Even though the older messages can be deleted, they're never FULLY deleted. So if you have some information in one of the e-mails from a previous class that you can use to help you in a future class, you can actually click on that older e-mail, and the information is still there from that last quarter.

Case in point: my old study aids from my business math class are still in those e-mails that Professor Luing and I exchanged during the semester, and I really feel that this will help me tremendously in Math 211 (college algebra). The basic formulas are pretty much the same, and so if I just remember that and study really hard and concentrate on that particular section, I should have no problem. Math hasn't always been my strongest area, but I'm working to resolve that right now.

I'm still looking through Career Services, as well, and I saw a listing for a position in Admissions (or Student Accounts, I'm not sure). It would've been perfect, except for the hours. But it's okay; I'm not discouraged. It just means something awaits that's just for me. Also, I got an e-mail from the Accounting Club. I'm going to e-mail them for more information, because this would be good practice for me, as I plan to enter the Business/Finance/Accounting field. And it would finally be a club that I could join and list on my resume. But, as the e-mail mentioned, I wouldn't just be a member in name only; I'd be an active participant.

So we're reading and submitting summaries about race and sex bias in the workplace in our sociology class. It'll be pretty interesting to read what the other ladies have to say about this topic, but as for me, I definitely have seen myself in some of the situations that were mentioned in the articles. I won't get into specific details, but if I had known then what I know now about what steps to take to fight discrimination, I would definitely have fought harder for what I felt I deserved in terms of pay and promotion. Thankfully, once I graduate from Berkeley, I will be armed with that knowledge, and hopefully I will be able to impart these pearls of wisdom to my 'girls' (my nieces).

And in philosophy, it's become pretty obvious that Professor Bronson expects us to argue and to refute each other's arguments. This is a tricky area for me, because I'm not the argumentative type. If I see a discussion reach what I feel is an impasse, I usually just walk away. Not in philosophy, you can't!!! You really have to prove and stand by what it is you are saying. It's a challenge for me because I'm a naturally shy person, and again, I don't like to argue. So it's gonna require me coming out of my shell more. But hey, this IS college, and you have to change a little to adjust to the environment around you without totally losing who you are.

I'm really enjoying the discussions in my business course. We are learning about effective ways to persuade customers to listen to what is being said with regard to sales or claims. One important thing we are learning is how to NOT send a persuasive letter.

First and foremost, you should always present the positives of any letter. Secondly, you should always present the you-viewpoint (customer, co-worker, prospective student, etc.). Third, you should convince the receiver to take the necessary action so that the desired results will come to pass (in a positive, encouraging way). Finally, you should close with a friendly closing that will almost guarantee that the reader/receiver will take the necessary action to ensure the success of the letter.

What you should NOT do in a persuasive letter is mention what the receiver should do for you; it completely leaves the you-viewpoint out and is a turnoff. In a sales letter, a request for an employee to take on additional work, or a collections letter, the writer should make every effort to take into consideration the feelings and circumstances the receiver may have at hand (for instance, a collections letter might consider that a long-standing, usually prompt-paying customer may be having some type of financial difficulties and try to work with that individual to not only resolve the debt, but to keep that one as a customer). When I have to make these types of calls where I work, I am firm but friendly; customers respond more readily to someone who is friendly and firm than a demanding customer service representative.

So it seems that everyone in my business course has had experiences dealing with angry, abrasive customers, and many of us have offered opinions and ways to deal with it all in business. The first rule is to never return angry word for angry word. It's not only counterproductive and unprofessional, it's bad for business, and it could drive other customers away; the thought would be, "Well, gee, what if I came in with a complaint? Could the same thing happen to me?" And thus they would consider taking their business elsewhere. We also learned how to be the bearers of bad news should we have to deny a customer's request for credit or adjustment/refund of their claim, but in a positive way that will keep that customer a customer for life. We just can't say, "I'm sorry, but that's company policy; we can't do anything about that." I work with someone who does that, and it's like, "Do you realize you're scaring off potential business with that type of attitude?" So to anyone going into any type of field dealing with customers (and no matter what, you will have to deal with customers), learn how to deal with them professionally, pleasantly, and efficiently.

Speaking of business, our sociology group The Dynamic Sirens has come up with some ideas for our business, The Unique Boutique, as far as location, venture capitalist involvement, and discounts from local businesses/vendors. I must say, we did really well in not only choosing capable leaders, but also adding significant input. As the old saying goes, "There's no "I" in "we" and no "me" in "team". It is definitely a group effort. I'm so anxious to see how it all comes together. Same with my PowerPoint project, which is to be submitted by next Saturday.

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.