Nick Vaughan 3/27/2

The Great American Fantasy

Our wonderful American Dream. To live in the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood. To have cars in every garage and chicken on every table. To have a perfect family with 2.5 children. That’s what everyone wants right? Wrong.

In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is distorted into something completely different. It’s no longer about our happiness, it’s about their happiness. Who cares about everyone having cars in their garage and chicken on their table when you could have the most luxurious and expensive car in the city and have feasts every night that could feed an army all to yourself every night? In this novel, the American Dream turns from overall happiness to self- happiness. This can mainly be seen in the character Gatsby.

Gatsby was a man who was in love with Daisy. His love was lost when he went away to fight in the war, but he soon found her again and realized she has been wed to another wealthy man. This stimulates Gatsby to try and swoon Daisy back to him by buying expensive cars, a mansion and other little trinkets and having parties at his mansion, across from Daisy’s, every night. He could care less about anything else besides what would get him closer to Daisy and helping out the poor and unfortunate would certainly not help him achieve that goal.

All this money that Gatsby had could have gone to a better cause other than trying to make his own American Dream come true. The money-hording bigots of the world make the ideal American Dream just a fantasy which can never come true. These people that have the power are too obsessed with their own wants and needs for trivial things to either keep themselves happy or impress others in their own little world.

Nick Vaughan 5/27/2

Confusion and Quick Decisions

Just a normal day. Sitting in my room minding my own business. Suddenly the door opens. I’m told to pack one suitcase cause we’re leaving. To where? I wasn’t told. What’s going on? Why do we have to leave? Who knows. As soon as I’m done packing, I feel ready, but what I don’t is that this one suitcase could be the only possessions I’ll ever see again.

To fill one suitcase to me sounds like it would be easy. CD player and CD’s are a must for me. Those will definitely come. How long could I live without hearing Ozzy? My key chain is another item I have to have. I can’t live without it. I have to have my Snoopy watch to get me through the day. Just have to. As for other things, I’d probably pack some extra food, just incase I get hungry. Maybe a blanket too, there’s no feeling like that of your own blanket. Clothes are not really something I’d bother with. Personally, I’d only bring one other shirt and a pair of pants besides the ones I’m wearing. I can bear it if it gets cold. It’s not like I’d be sleeping outside or anything. Other things would be money, batteries, paper, pens, and a deck of cards to keep me occupied. Maybe a knife too. You never know. I can just put these things in my pocket. All of these are the things that mean the most to me. These are the things that I need to survive. Or so I thought.

This is no vacation. This trip is a nightmare. A mass genocide of all our kind? No way this is happening. It is. This is a life or death situation now literally. All my items must be taken away. I can only have one item. What do I bring? Why can’t I have my whole suitcase? This is unfair! No one cares. But. . . . .what can I throw away? I packed everything that I absolutely must have! Only one thing? This is unbearable!

CD’s and CD player. A must have. . . . .not anymore. Ozzy will have to wait till I go back home. If I go back home. Maybe I’ll keep my key chain. Can’t live without it. Well, apparently I can if I can only have one thing. Bye bye Snoopy. Extra food sounds like a good idea, but one little snack doesn’t. Food is always good. . . . .looks like I’m going to have to steal some now. The security of your own blanket is good. That is, if you take it with you everywhere so no one steals it. An extra shirt would have been nice right now. It’s getting really cold. I’ll never misjudge an extra layer of clothing again as long as I live. Which doesn’t look too long. Money? No use. Batteries? No need. Paper and pens? They would provide no help. Deck of cards to play with? Maybe, if someone else is alive to play.

My knife! The last item I packed and it was packed just because. Am I happy for this. This is a keeper in this situation. This is “the” must have here. This can help me survive, get my food, and eliminate threats of others. It will help me kill when necessary and save me from being killed. Could I actually stab someone threatening me? No time to find out. I have to go now. This is the one item I will take. I better hide this very well. Maybe in my shoes? They won’t take those. Or would they? In my pocket? No, they would check there. I’ll have to just put it in my mouth and hope they won’t ask me to say anything. If I lose this one item, I might very well lose my life.

Nick Vaughan 2/28/2

The Greatest Concert Ever

It was the biggest Anti-War festival of all time. Over quadruple of the expected attendance arrived. Security was almost non-existent due to the massive amount of people. It was a free for all party. Three days of peace, love, and harmony. The best of the best in music preformed including The Who, The Band, Country Joe MacDonald, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix. A concert like no other. This was Woodstock. My father, Dan Vaughan was one of the many that went to this concert. He was 19 at the time.

My best friend, Dan Gerrior, came up with the idea, also I had a big fight with my father. He said ‘You better not go and expect to come back.’ and I said ‘I’m going’. So going to Woodstock was a way to get away from the house for a few days. My mother didn’t mind, she knew that I would do the right thing and stay out of trouble. Only my father was against it. (Vaughan, Daniel. Interview. May 28th 2002)

Getting to the concert was a huge hassle to most people. The concert was never expected to grow to the size it did. The entire 4 lane highway leading to it was jammed. There was an expected attendance of 60,000 people. There was over 400,000 people that got in. People would park in the highway 10 miles from the concert and walk to the gate.

My friend just bought a 1960 Chevy for $65. So we were driving around 100 miles an hour to get there until we ran into all the traffic which was stopped dead on the highway. There were 2 girls that we picked up that said they knew a shortcut though Pennsylvania, so we took that and got within 2 miles of the gate. (Vaughan, Daniel. Interview. May 28th 2002)

Woodstock was not the most well-put together festival. It was very poorly put together. The conditions were very bad and not many people were prepared at all for what was in store for them. Although these conditions were very rough, no one died from hunger or dehydration. There were only 3 deaths at Woodstock. One each from a heroin overdose, a ruptured appendix, and being run over by a tractor.

Well, when we got there on Friday at 8pm, it was pouring rain, mud everywhere, and there was no food. So, we weren’t too impressed. While walking towards the gate, we past by a grocery store, we went in to see if there was any food left to buy and there was nothing. Every little piece of food was gone, the shelves were completely empty. The only thing left was Brillo pads. We were not at all prepared for this. All we had was a sleeping bag and a couple extra clothes. No rain gear or food. We were not prepared at all. (Vaughan, Daniel. Interview. May 28th 2002)

Woodstock as only put together to hold safely, 60,000 people. Security couldn’t do anything to stop the waves of people that would come in, hundreds of people just tore down the gate and it was so overwhelming that the security guards just let them go. Over 400,000 people came and 250,000 never made it to the site. Some people were so far away that they couldn’t even hear the music.

I was about ¼ of a mile away from the stage. I couldn’t tell what bands were playing, all I could hear was the bass. But it was still fun and I was still having a good time. (Vaughan, Daniel. Interview. May 28th 2002)

Although most of security was useless, there were still some problems that occurred at Woodstock. There were 100 arrests made on narcotics charges at Woodstock. This is a very small percentage of people arrested when it is estimated that almost 90% of the festival attendees were smoking marijuana.

Basically all you noticed were people smoking pot. There wasn’t much else that I noticed there. Pot was the only big thing going on. Besides the torrents of rain, the 3 feet deep mud, and having no food whatsoever, it was fine. Pretty peaceful. (Vaughan, Daniel. Interview. May 28th 2002)

It was reported that an estimated 320,000 people left Woodstock before Jimi Hendrix played, who was the last act at Woodstock. Most people were too tired of the rain and mud and were too hungry to stay even with 1,300 pounds of canned food, sandwiches, and fruit flown in to Woodstock by emergency helicopters and an estimated 50,000 sandwiches made by the Women's Group of the Jewish Community Center of Monticello.

Me and my friend left on Saturday afternoon. We were just hungry and didn’t find it as interesting anymore. We were lucky where we parked. There was no one closing us in. Some people had to wait for hours because their cars were boxed in. (Vaughan, Daniel. Interview. May 28th 2002)

So far, there have been 2 other concerts that have tried to re- create Woodstock. They were made by the same people and had the same name. They were Woodstock ‘94, the 25th year anniversary, and Woodstock ‘99, the 30th year anniversary. These concerts were just as big, just as long, and had the best of the best playing (some bands from the original Woodstock), but it just wasn’t the same because there was no feeling of trying to keep the peace with music because there was no war, and that it was expected to be as big as they were due to the outrageous amount of people that attended the original.

This Woodstock was the first ever and it wasn’t planned to be as big as it was. After that, it was planned to have half a million people at Woodstock and it was expected to sell out. It just doesn’t have the same surprise as it did. (Vaughan, Daniel. Interview. May 28th 2002)

No matter what happens with the future, the first Woodstock will be the greatest of all because of what it was, when it was, and how it was. Simply groovy man.

Cybersex gone bad

Wellhung: Hello, Sweetheart. What do you look like?

Sweetheart: I am wearing a red silk blouse, a miniskirt and high heels. I work out every day, I'm toned and perfect. My measurements are 36C-24-36. What do you look like?

Wellhung: I'm 5'9" and about 140 pounds. I wear glasses and I have on a pair of blue sweat pants I just bought from Walmart. I'm also wearing a T-shirt with a few spots of barbecue sauce on it from dinner...it smells funny.

Sweetheart: I want you. Would you like to make love?

Wellhung: OK.

Sweetheart: We're in my bedroom. There's soft music playing on the stereo and candles on my dresser and night table. I'm looking up into your eyes, smiling. My hand works its way down to your crotch and begins to fondle your huge, swelling bulge.

Wellhung: I'm gulping, I'm beginning to sweat.

Sweetheart: I'm pulling up your shirt and kissing your chest.

Wellhung: Now I'm unbuttoning your blouse. My hands are trembling.

Sweetheart: I'm moaning softly.

Wellhung: I'm taking hold of your blouse and sliding it off slowly.

Sweetheart: I'm throwing my head back in pleasure. The cool silk slides off my warm skin. I'm rubbing your bulge faster, pulling and rubbing.

Wellhung: My hand suddenly jerks spastically and accidentally rips a hole in your blouse. I'm sorry.

Sweetheart: That's OK, it wasn't really too expensive.

Wellhung: I'll pay for it.

Sweetheart: Don't worry about it. I'm wearing a lacy black bra. My soft breasts are rising and falling, as I breathe harder and harder.

Wellhung: I'm fumbling with the clasp on your bra. I think it's stuck. Do you have any scissors?

Sweetheart: I take your hand and kiss it softly. I'm reaching back undoing the clasp. The bra slides off my body. The air caresses my breasts. My nipples are erect for you.

Wellhung: How did you do that? I'm picking up the bra and inspecting the clasp.

Sweetheart: I'm arching my back. Oh baby. I just want to feel your tongue all over me.

Wellhung: I'm dropping the bra. Now I'm licking your, you know, breasts. They're neat!

Sweetheart: I'm running my fingers through your hair. Now I'm nibbling your ear.

Wellhung: I suddenly sneeze. Your breasts are covered with spit and phlegm.

Sweetheart: What?

Wellhung: I'm so sorry. Really.

Sweetheart: I'm wiping your phlegm off my breasts with the remains of my blouse.

Wellhung: I'm taking the sopping wet blouse from you. I drop it with a soggy plop.

Sweetheart: OK. I'm pulling your sweat pants down and rubbing your hard tool.

Wellhung: I'm screaming like a woman. Your hands are cold! Yeeee!

Sweetheart: I'm pulling up my miniskirt. Take off my panties.

Wellhung: I'm pulling off your panties. My tongue is going all over, in and out nibbling on you...umm... wait a minute.

Sweetheart: What's the matter?

Wellhung: I've got a pubic hair caught in my throat. I'm choking.

Sweetheart: Are you OK?

Wellhung: I'm having a coughing fit. I'm turning all red.

Sweetheart: Can I help?

Wellhung: I'm running to the kitchen, choking wildly. I'm fumbling through the cabinets, looking for a cup. Where do you keep your cups?

Sweetheart: In the cabinet to the right of the sink.

Wellhung: I'm drinking a cup of water. There, that's better.<>

Sweetheart: Come back to me, lover.

Wellhung: I'm washing the cup now.

Sweetheart: I'm on the bed arching for you.

Wellhung: I'm drying the cup. Now I'm putting it back in the cabinet. And now I'm walking back to the bedroom. Wait, it's dark, I'm lost. Where's the bedroom?

Sweetheart: Last door on the left at the end of the hall.

Wellhung: I found it.

Sweetheart: I'm tuggin' off your pants. I'm moaning. I want you so badly.

Wellhung: Me too.

Sweetheart: Your pants are off. I kiss you passionately-- our naked bodies pressing each other.

Wellhung: Your face is pushing my glasses into my face. It hurts.

Sweetheart: Why don't you take off your glasses?

Wellhung: OK, but I can't see very well without them. I place the glasses on the night table.

Sweetheart: I'm bending over the bed. Give it to me, baby!

Wellhung: I have to pee. I'm fumbling my way blindly across the room and toward the bathroom.

Sweetheart: Hurry back, lover.

Wellhung: I find the bathroom and it's dark. I'm feeling around for the toilet. I lift the lid.

Sweetheart: I'm waiting eagerly for your return.

Wellhung: I'm done going. I'm feeling around for the flush handle, but I can't find it. Uh-oh!

Sweetheart: What's the matter now?

Wellhung: I've realized that I've peed into your laundry hamper. Sorry again. I'm walking back to the bedroom now, blindly feeling my way.

Sweetheart: Mmm, yes. Come on.

Wellhung: OK, now I'm going to put my...you know ...thing...in your...you know...woman's thing.

Sweetheart: Yes! Do it, baby! Do it!

Wellhung: I'm touching your smooth butt. It feels so nice. I kiss your neck. Umm, I'm having a little trouble here.

Sweetheart: I'm moving my ass back and forth, moaning. I can't stand it another second! Slide in! Screw me now!

Wellhung: I'm flaccid.

Sweetheart: What?

Wellhung: I'm limp. I can't sustain an erection.

Sweetheart: I'm standing up and turning around; an incredulous look on my face

Wellhung: I'm shrugging with a sad look on my face, my weiner's all floppy. I'm going to get my glasses and see what's wrong.

Sweetheart: No, never mind. I'm getting dressed. I'm putting on my underwear. Now I'm putting on my wet nasty blouse.

Wellhung: No wait! Now I'm squinting, trying to find the night table. I'm feeling along the dresser, knocking over cans of hair spray, picture frames and your candles.

Sweetheart: I'm buttoning my blouse. Now I'm putting on my shoes.

Wellhung: I've found my glasses. I'm putting them on. My God! One of your candles fell on the curtain. The curtain is on fire! I'm pointing at it, a shocked look on my face.

Sweetheart: Go to hell. I'm logging off, you loser!

Wellhung: Now the carpet is on fire! Oh noooo!

Sweetheart: logged off

Nick Vaughan

Period 1

9/30/2

Welcome to Stop and Shop

One of the biggest impacts on my life is my first and current job. The bottom level of Stop and Shop employees. It’s changed my life in ways I’m still figuring out. To think that at first I despised even thinking of applying there. I could smack myself right now for saying that. Nothing has made me happier. The people I’ve met, the work I’ve done, can’t imagine being without it.

When I first started at Stop and Shop, I was just the ordinary bagger. I did my time, I went home, called it a day. Then there was one day where I was sent out on carriages, then sent to take out the trash, and do a store sweep. It felt really good to change from bagging. From then on I was hooked. All that I would do was the “grunt work”. I pushed myself to the limits whenever I could. I did double what kids twice the size of me were doing. I always questioned whether I could get that carriage even though I was pushing 15 already. Questioned if I could do any job faster than I have previously done. Questioned if there was anything more I could do to make the Front End the best maintained part of the store. With every question I asked myself, I answered, “Yes.”

I can say proudly that I am the hardest worker in Front End. There is not another bagger or cashier that knows more or works harder than me. The managers always ask me now to do the grunt jobs (clean up, sweeping, trash, carriages, mopping, etc.) because they know I do them right the first time through. saying all this makes me sound full of myself, but it is indeed the truth as well. I’m a highly respected worker and looked up to by other for my willingness to work and keep working when other quit. It is my “Question Sleep”, “Zoom Zoom!”, and my Quest for Adventure that keeps me doing the best that I can do. One of my current goals now is to implant this attitude into the new baggers that want to work to the extreme since I won’t be the “Grunt” anymore. I have been promoted to being a stocker which is far less strenuous. I might not stay with my current job. I might ask to be put back to being the Grunt to keep the Front End from going under. It is my place to be. The very top of the bottom in the greatest grocery store in the world. The Super Stop and Shop in Norwell.

Nick Vaughan
College Essay
12/20/2
What a stroke of Genius!

Describe a character in fiction, an historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.

Mario of the Super Mario Brothers has influenced me since I was born. Is it just by chance we were born 2 days apart? I think not. Mario made his legendary journey on the NES, Nintendo Entertainment System, on August 28th, 1985. It didn't take long for me to pick up the controller and get into the most addicting gaming system of its time. Mario has been my hero since I could first pick up a NES controller. This is a character that has been with me through all of my childhood without fail. He is still with me even to this day.

Mario does have some positive qualities to look up to. He is very fit for a man of his age. He can jump higher than anyone else in the world. Plus, every appearance he makes, he looks younger and younger. He gets all his exercise from going through multiple obstacles to save Princess Peach every so often. This and fighting Bowser, a gigantic snapping turtle with a red Mohawk, keeps Mario in shape.

Not only is Mario physically fit, but also mentally fit. He knows how the criminal mind, such as Bowser’s, works and always knows where to find the princess. He has developed this sense over the years he has been Princess Peach’s bodyguard/rescuer. The first time she was kidnapped, Mario really had no idea of where to look. He went through seven different castles looking for the princess and finally found her in the 8th one. Nowadays, he knows exactly where the princess is, but he can’t get to her without solving puzzles, eating mushrooms, and a lot of walking. The reason why Mario can’t get to the princess quickly is Bowser has become mentally fit also after his trial and error of different puzzles and henchman to stop Mario.

All of the positive things that Mario does have inspired me to always do the right thing. To always fight the evils that may come across me in a hostile manner (some Goomba, Bowser’s evil henchman, have helped Mario in the past). Of course there are some limitations to what I can do to be an overall better person. I for one would like to leave it to Mario when it comes to jumping on the heads of giant snapping turtles to rescue princesses. Thank you Mario for helping me through my younger years to see right from wrong.

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Nick Vaughan

Stop & Shop Hosts its First “Report to Associates” Meetings

Stop & Shop Supermarkets is coming out with a new way to reach out to it’s employees. This year was the first Annual Report to Associates meeting. It is a way for the top of the business pyramid to talk to and, more importantly, listen to the bottom. It is just a way to keep the lines of communication open between all levels of employment. The Report to Associates meeting is basically the President and CEO of Stop & Shop, Marc Smith, and the EVP of Operations, Bill Holmes, talking to 20,000 associates through a video message. They touched on topics such as competing with the #1 retailer, Wal-mart, increasing sales, customer service, and exchanging ideas at Stop & Shop. Both Marc Smith and Bill Holmes stressed that the five ways to keep the customers coming back to shop are clean stores, excellent produce, helpful associates, fast checkout, and keeping sale items in stock. At the end of the meeting, there was a question and answer session where the associates could ask questions about things that were covered in the video message. Employees were also encouraged to ask questions bringing up topics of their interests. The answers to the questions submitted are found on the company’s Intranet bulletin board page.

Nick Vaughan

Accounting 101

9/26/3

Accounting Terms

Accounting is one of the important parts of a business that will help keep it afloat. It is in short, a recording or narrative of events. In the case of business, the events would be pretty much anything to do with money. This means where it comes from and goes to, when it comes in and goes out, and how much is left over or how much the company is in the hole. Without anyone to write out the Financial Statements, no company would know how much money they have made, how much they have to spend on expenses, or even where it is. Accounting is important to anyone who is even slightly involved within a business. It affects investors, creditors, consumers, and employees. Everyone should know the terms that deal with accounting, there are a lot of them. I found three that are in the Stop & Shop business periodical ExpressLine. They are profits, costs, and real estates or in other words assets. Let me explain what these mean.

Profit is the money leftover after the costs are taken out of the revenues, where revenue is the total amount of money made through sales. This is money that the company has on hand for any purpose it sees fit. Whether they decide to keep it, give it to stockholders, give it to their employees, or use it to buy supplies, it’s their money to do whatever they want with it.

“2002 was another successful year for Stop & Shop. In fact, it was the most profitable year in our history” (Chief Financial Officer, Rick Picariello, ExpressLine March 2003.)

The more profit you get, the more money you have in order to expand your company, pay your employees more, or simply keep it to yourself.

Costs are expenses simply put. They are what you need for your business to survive. In order to get these things you need, you use money. So, a cost is a loss of money on the company’s part in order to get something they need to hopefully make back the money they lost and gain some more. It only makes sense that to have a successful business, you should have low costs and high profits. In ExpressLine is a quote from Barry Berman, the EVP of Procuremnet and Marketing) where he states “Reducing costs is a company responsibility. How great is promotion if it causes the stores to spend additional labor hours?” Reducing costs is a never ending struggle in all companies, large and small. The more costs are reduced, the more money is brought in for profit.

Assets are a useful and/or valuable quality, person, or thing. In the case of a company, an asset is something that is liquid, meaning something that is valuable to the company and can be easily turned into cash. These are such things as cash, stock, inventories, and property rights. Assets help out the business in numerous ways. It could be the building in which you operate your company or the supplies that you use to run the company. Pretty much assets assist the company in functioning.

“Wal-Mart will try to dominate with their supercenter, our existing competitors will respond and get sharper, the marketplace will heat up and, at the end of the day, some will not survive.” (EVP of Human Resources, Maureen McGurl. ExpressLine, March 2003)

Some assets are more valuable than others in the way of attracting customers. Wal-Mart has their supercenter while Stop& Shop is coming out with their “Freetown.” Both of these assets are helping out their companies to keep them alive in the competition between themselves.

An accountant is a very valuable tool to have for your business. Hopefully he or she would know these terms before they try and audit records. There are many more terms that an accountant should know. Some are self-explanatory, some are hard to define. These three I have chosen are three that are basic for everyone.

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Nick Vaughan

Business Management

3:00-5:40 Professor Dwyer

Sexual Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace

There are all sorts of crimes committed in the workplace. Some are petty, like stealing a candy bar, and some are more serious. One of the more serious and most uncomfortable offenses that takes place is sexual harassment. This is the unwanted and offensive sexual advances or remarks made to an individual. It is a very serious crime to commit in the workplace and if followed-up on, you could be labeled as a sex offender for the rest of your life.

Sexual Discrimination is another serious crime in the workplace which is unfair treatment of a certain person or group on the basis of their gender. No one should have to tolerate this kind of prejudice, but it occurs in almost every business worldwide. Some cases are on smaller scales than others, but they are crimes of sexual discrimination nonetheless.

Walmart got it’s start back in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. Ever since then, it has been growing into a monstrous corporation. It is the largest retailer in the world with 1,995 Wal-Mart stores, 239 Supercenters, 433 Sam’s Clubs and 276 International stores with sales at $93.6 billion and 675,000 associates back in 1995. In 2002, Walmart had it’s biggest single day sales in history with $1.43 billion on the day after thanksgiving. Today, Walmart’s total profit is larger than the second, third, and fourth largest retailer’s total profit combined.

In immensely large corporations like Walmart, it is impossible to avoid such crimes as sexual harassment and discrimination. This however, did not stop people from acting out on the wrong doings. The National Organization for Women (NOW) have declared Walmart a “Merchant of Shame” in 2002 after receiving numerous complaints regarding workplace environment and employment practices at Walmart stores, distribution centers, and regional and corporate offices. Further research has showed that not only is Walmart the largest retailer in the world, but also the most sued corporation in the United States. This includes sex discrimination in pay, promotion, and compensation and discrimination on sexual orientation.

NOW started a public pressure campaign in hope that Walmart straightens out it’s problems. “We’re shining a spotlight on Walmart’s workplace abuses. The men and women of Walmart deserve a workplace that respects their rights.” (President of NOW, Kim Grady, Sept. 28th, 2002) In addition to the September 28th 2002 National Day of Protest, NOW activists are publicizing Walmart’s record by writing opinion pieces and letters to the editors of local newspapers. For a top corporation on the Fortune 500 list, it seems Walmart is not handling the situation as well as it can.

"We ask every woman who has shopped at Wal-Mart, and every man who cares about fairness, to consider where they want their money to go, and what kind of business they want to support. This country's top employers need to get the picture that women-friendly workplaces aren't just good business, they're good for business. I hope Wal-Mart will look at this as an opportunity to do the right thing." (NOW President, Kim Grady, Sept. 28th 2002)

This year, while Walmart shareholders gather to count their profits, NOW will be launching it’s next phase to bring economic justice to all its workers. Women are the ones who hold over 70% of the low-paying jobs in Walmart stores and they are paid $1.16 per hour less than men. Another shocking fact is that more than 3 out of 5 Walmart workers cannot afford the company’s health insurance.

"Wal-Mart workers need a voice. If the corporate big-wigs won't listen, then we will walk right into the stores and talk to the customers," said Gandy. "NOW calls on Wal-Mart to set an example of good business practices. We want their famous smiley faces to represent happy customers and employees." (NOW President, Kim Grady, June 5th 2003)

A company that has also dealt with sexual harassment and discrimination crimes is another retailer called Stop and Shop. However, it is dealt with in a different manner than Wal-Mart mainly because Stop & Shop is a corporation under the rules, laws, and regulations of the Union. There are strict laws to keep everyone happy within the Union in order to maintain a better working environment. If an issue of sexual harassment or sexual discrimination comes about, it is dealt with immediately. It usually ends up with the persecutor being suspended without pay for a given length of time or even fired depending on the issue.

http://www.now.org/issues/wfw/index.html

www.walmart.com

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Kids love McDonald’s. The place that all kids and some adults love. It is the place to be. But how come? McDonald’s is a corporation that is depending on the fact that kids will nag their parents to bring them to an establishment and buy some good tasting food (whatever it may contain). They are also hoping that the next generation of kids will do the same and so on and so forth. With a repeating cycle like that, McDonald’s has stayed and will stay in business for a long time. What they are doing is brainwashing the young children of America to want to go to McDonald’s by means of entertainment and keeping themselves happy, as well as keeping the parents from ripping their hair out. The main factors in which McDonald’s attracts kids is by offering them tasty and addicting food, allowing them to have fun, and by offering loveable characters for them to look up to in commercials.

The food is what started it all. The greasy burgers, the deep fat fried fries, and those oh so tasty milkshakes. That is what got the original crowds to show up. What about the kids? What made them show up? The soda of course. It is a proven fact that kids absolutely love soda. More specifically, Coca-Cola is the brand name soda preferred by most of the soda drinking population. It’s no wonder that McDonald’s is a Coca-Cola establishment. “In 1978, the typical teenage boy in the United States drank about seven ounces of soda every day; today he drinks nearly three times that amount” (p.54) Kids are drinking more and more soda as time goes on. One reason is because it tastes good, another reason is for the caffeine. This drug is an addicting substance which will make the consumer come back for more. Where will they go to get more? Right where they got the last soda. One super-sized Coke please…and a side of fries too.

Kids will nag their parents to death so they can go eat and play at McDonald’s and since they’re there, why not order a cheeseburger? “Playlands bring in children, children bring in parents, parents bring in money” (p.47) The Playlands at over 8,000 McDonald’s establishments was not the original idea that Ray Kroc had. He wanted something along the lines of a Disney Land park called Western World, but it was rejected by other McDonald executives and the plan was scrapped. The happy meals and toys inside them also made eating fun. “When it gets down to brass tacks, the key to attracting kids is toys, toys, toys.” (p.47) The key to milking the Happy Meal idea of all it’s worth it to come out with multiple cheap toys all designed in a set. The most successful toy that McDonald’s has ever marketed was the Furby which sold over 100 million Happy Meals Sometimes they will buy the meal just for the toy and throw away the food!

Ronald McDonald is the second most widely known icon among young children in the United States. Second only to Santa Claus. He is a loveable character that is a friend to all. Actually, all he is doing is trying to sell you his food. Ronald was introduced to the world in 1965 and has been the icon ever since. All kids and young adults like him. “It had the great advantage of seeming new. And there was something trippy about Ronald, his clothes, and his friends [Grimace, Hamburgler]” (p.41) Ronald was used in countless commercials aimed directly at kids so they would want to go to McDonald’s immediately. “A child who loves our TV commercials and brings her grandparents to a McDonald’s gives us two more customers” (p.41) The McDonald’s Corporation certainly knows what they are doing when it comes to marketing their product. They aren’t going to fade out anytime soon.

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Appearances can be deceiving. Such an age old cliché and it is still used today. McDonald’s Fast Food Restaurant has the appearance of a nice happy place to eat and bring the kids to play. Everyone is happy at Mickey Dee’s…right? Wrong. Behind the pretty mask is a lying, cheating, and disgusting face of a demon. McDonald’s looks to be so good of a place, yet it hides so much. The things that it does hide are the things that no one really stops to think about. They are little factors that really make a huge difference in how the chain is run. Among these things is the make up of the workforce it has, the good tasting food it has and what is really in them, and how easily accessible it is to get McDonald’s food. Look behind the mask, look behind the curtain, look behind the veils of deception and you will see how happy a place McDonald’s really is.

The Revolutionary War involved the present United States to amass a huge army to do a job which it had no experience in performing which was fighting. Nevertheless, the United States proved victorious over Britain. How does this tie in with McDonald’s? Because McDonald’s has a massive workforce with next to no experience in the field of business. This proves another old cliché, “it’s quality, not quantity,” wrong. “The fast food industry seeks out part-time, unskilled workers who are willing to accept low pay” (68). They have found that teenagers are the ones that fit this description the best, along with housewives, foreigners, and other people that want a second job for extra money. It has been found that 1 out of 8 people in America have been employed by McDonalds and two thirds of the current employees are under the age of twenty.

How about them French Fries? Yum! Aren’t they so good? The truth is, there’s a lot more than potato in those fries. In fact, even the potato part is sprayed with deadly pesticides. Doesn’t that strawberry shake taste so good? It’s funny how it doesn’t even contain strawberries. Do you even know what dipropyl ketone does to you? When you get down to it, it is scary to see what is actually in what you are eating. This is the greatest blindfold that McDonald’s and other fast food chains hold over the public’s eye. “Vegetarians have no way of knowing whether a flavor additive contains beef, pork, poultry, or shellfish” (128) This also upsets some religious cultures in which they cannot eat pork or beef do to the sacristy of the animal. Currently there are petitions circulating to get fast food restaurants to post their ingredients in their food.

McDonald’s has it all. Thousands of stores around the nation, a breakfast menu, open late at night. It is just so convenient. Perhaps too convenient? It is nearly impossible to not pass a McDonalds when you got out driving somewhere. The food (whatever it’s made of) is cheap and filling. Why not stop in? “In 1960, the typical American ate 4lbs. of french fries. Today, the typical American eats more than 30lbs. with 90% coming from fast food restaurants” (115) This shows that we are eating more french fries than ever at more McDonald’s restaurants. People that eat McDonald’s food for dinner is quickly outnumbering the people that eat a home cooked meal. This convenience is also backfiring on the chain with crime. McDonald’s is also the most held up store in the United States. Why? Because it is so damn convenient to get to in the morning when there’s only a manager and a cashier in the store.

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http://www.telusplanet.net/public/pdcoutts/leadership/LdrVsMngt.htm

http://www.asne.org/kiosk/editor/97.sept/zeeck1.htm

http://m1.mny.co.za/LDSimp.nsf/0/422567D900452EE14225682E0023D10B?OpenDocument

http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/89q2/noah.364.html

http://www-class.unl.edu/alec802/class1/sld001.htm

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. When Noah heard the weather forecast he ordered the building of the ark. --- that was Leadership Then he looked around and said, "Make sure the elephants don't see what the rabbits are up to." --- that was Management

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“Not eating meat is a decision. Eating meat is an instinct.”

Very true words spoken by comedian Dennis Leary. Meat is one of the most important parts of a human diet. If people aren’t supposed to eat meat, why do we have canine teeth? Seems like eating meat is the only answer to that. It has worked as a source of food for thousands of years. No reason to stop now. Or maybe there is? In the last hundred years, meat has become filthier and filthier. New foodborne pathogens are developing at an alarming rate. Eliminating all the foodborne pathogens such as E. coli 0157:H7 is currently too large of a problem to eradicate. There will always be something in the meat that the public doesn’t want. The question now is: Is there anyway to make the meat cleaner?”

One reason why the outbreak of foodborne pathogens is so great is because of numerous large meat processing plants. To the meat packers, it is quantity, not quality. “A modern processing plant can produce 800,000 pounds of hamburger a day.”(204) Because of the volume of the meat processed, it is an impossible task to inspect it all with quality control. “I had to check the sterilizer temperature, I had to check the Cryovac temperature, I had to look at packaging, I had to note the vats…I was overwhelmed with work, it was just impossible to keep up with it all.”(216) With that lack of inspectors and QC’s, it is impossible to protect against break out of pathogens such as E. coli 0157:H7 and with “one animal infected contaminating 32,000 pounds of ground beef”(204) the human race is in a lot of danger.

Not even the children are safe from these foodborne pathogens. The USDA picked the meat suppliers with the lowest prices for their School Lunch Programs. “The cheapest ground beef was not only most likely to be contaminated by pathogens, but also the most likely to contain pieces of spinal cord, bone, and gristle…”(218) The USDA does not care very much They still do business with the Bauer Meat Company, ConAgra, and Supreme Beef Processors, which have all failed numerous safety and health regulations. In one case in 1993, a child named Alex was killed by E. coli 0157:H7 paying the ultimate price for what inspectors failed to find. “Drilling holes in his skull to relieve pressure, inserting tubes in his chest to keep him breathing…towards the end, Alex suffered hallucinations and dementia…portions of his brain had been liquefied.”(200) Makes you think twice about picking up a Big Mac.

Why is it that E. coli 0157:H7 is so hard to get rid of? As it turns out, E. coli 0157:H7 is a hearty virus that is easy to get and easy to give. “E coli 0157:H7 is resistant to acid, salt, and chlorine. It can live in fresh water or seawater. It can live on kitchen countertops for days and in moist environments for weeks.”(201) Not only can it survive in intense heat, it can withstand freezing temperature as well. It is like a Super Man Virus. It is very easy to distribute the pathogen as well. “To be infected by Salmonella, you have to consume a fairly large dose - at least a million organisms. An infection with E. coli 0157:H7 can be caused by as few as five organisms.” (201) It also doesn’t even have to be consumed. People with poor hygiene that are carriers can infect others by touching them. Kind of makes living a scary thing.

E. coli 0157:H7 and other foodborne pathogens are no laughing matter. These are harsh realities that remind people that life is sacred yet also fragile. However, as long as the human race is dependent on meat and the demand is as high as it currently is, there is no way to eliminate these dangers. To meet the current needs of the public, the processing plants can’t slow down. The only solution is to hire more inspectors. If we don’t there will always be death, there will always be sad stories, and there will always be a McDonalds to say it wasn’t them.

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Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar 9:25-10:40

1/26/4

Journal #1

In all honesty, my experience of getting into college and living my first semester of BSC was completely different from Jonathan’s. First off, I wasn’t interested in even applying to college until mid-December of my senior year in high school. I had a good job at Stop & Shop, Norwell and I was happy in my little place I’ve carved into the world. My parents felt the same. “If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to,” they said. It was the pharmacist at Stop & Shop, Brenda, that really encouraged me to go to college and make something of myself.

Assuming that Jonathan is heading for Academic Probation, our ways of getting there are different also. Jonathan was more interested in partying than his school work. I, however, was more interested in working and making money. The main reason for this difference is because I commute instead of living on campus. I love my job and couldn’t bear to part from it for four months. The time I got on the job was more important to me than the time I spent with my nose in a textbook. Like I stated before, I wasn’t even that interested in being in college.

The “downward slide” began for me right at the start. I started my classes and tried to keep a 35 hour work week. High school was a piece of cake. I slept through my classes and still managed a C or better in every class. Why should college be any different? I wasn’t expecting it was different, but it was; a hell of a lot different. I no long have teachers teaching me. I have professors telling me to teach myself. Working so much and struggling to stay awake in my classes with only three to four hours of sleep, I knew things wouldn’t be pretty in the end.

In late October, I knew things were looking dim. It came down to the decision I feared. One of them has to go: College or the job. This is the decision that tore me apart. I had a breakdown in front of my mum and we worked out a medium. From that point on, I would be working just weekends and concentrating on school work during the week. At this point, I was failing Writing 101, Accounting 1, and Calculus 1. If I hadn’t taken this drastic action when I did, I wouldn’t be on Academic Probation. I’d be in Stop & Shop working 40 hours a week. Still, I don’t know which is the better deal.

I’m certain the whole situation could have been avoided if I just cut my hours at work. My love for the job and my love for the money, however, made that a very hard decision. Not cutting my hours was my single worst mistake I made. Now since I know the outcome of working so much. I’ll know not to do so in the future.

I feel that I cannot relate to Jonathan and his reason for being on Academic Probation because it seems from the reading that he is a completely different person. If my mind was in his shoes, I think things would have turned out differently. First of all, I wasn’t all too thrilled about going to college. Yes, it’s a new and fun experience, but I really couldn’t care less about the whole college hype. I don’t plan on joining any sports, clubs, or fraternities. I am fine with taking my classes and then going home.

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Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar 9:25-10:40

2/2/4

Journal #2

I cannot lie. This story made me laugh. I do not believe in God and I think the idea of religion is hilarious and dumb. Some things made me raise an eyebrow though. I cannot believe how a girl can win a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania, a difficult college to even get accepted to, and never read about the theory of evolution. What did she do? Pull the scholarship out of a Cracker Jack box?

Continuing on as if the story takes place somewhat in reality, guilt is the wrong word to describe what Shari is feeling. What is happening is that she is starting to accept the scientific facts of life. She doesn’t know what to believe because her religious fanatic community has beaten into her brain that God is a superior being, has created everything, and there isn’t any other way around it. What Shari is experiencing is confusion. Though it seems with every beer she has, she believes more of what the professors say and less of what her church has taught her. She just doesn’t know what she should believe. A faith based on a storybook, or cold hard facts.

“Are there really people on earth who will never accept God as a divine entity?” YES. I am one of them. Organized religion is a stupid idea and shouldn’t have any part of our lives in today’s technological society. It was made up story to help people feel protected and comfortable when answering the unknown question: “Why are we here?” Though I don’t think the answer: “Because God put us here.” solves much. Religion should not be continued to be taught in my opinion. According to history, God is the leading cause of death in this world. Has been for thousands of years. Hindus, Jews, Muslims and Christians have all been taking turns killing each other because God told them it was a good idea. Personally, I believe in scientific facts. When I see God, maybe I’ll take him into consideration.

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Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar 9:25-10:40

2/2/4

Journal #3

This story is about a girl, Becky, who doesn’t seem ready for college life. Going so far away from home also isn’t the smartest choice for someone who likes where they grew up and the people there. Some mistakes you just have to deal with. Going to a new place is tough and you are bound to run into some bad times.

The academic advisor is not at fault whatsoever when telling Becky she needs an appointment. Although it may be frustrating for her, Dr. Freedman has a system that works that she must abide by. If you can survive a week without food, you can survive a week without fitting into a group of people. The “Roommate from Hell,” Marilyn, is just pure bad luck. However, if Becky just sat down alone with her and explained a few things, I’m sure Marilyn would take her antics elsewhere. The blind date was just a case of prejudice. Just because a guy has a lot of tattoos and piercing, doesn’t mean he is an unruly individual. Chances are, Becky didn’t even give her date, George, a chance and wanted nothing to do with him. If she is going to survive on the Urban East Coast, she can’t keep thinking it’s the Rural West Coast she is used to. The president of the Drama Team getting the lead role is just natural. A new freshman isn’t going to steal the show out from under the president’s nose. Becky needs to learn the caste system of college.

I cannot relate to Becky at all because I do not live on campus nor do I intend on joining any clubs. One of the reasons I’m in Freshman Seminar is because I don’t like asking for help. Even if Dr. Freedman was available for me. I do think that Becky will turn out just fine the way she is though. She just has to settle in with the new area and people and she’ll eventually find her nook.

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Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar 9:25-10:40

2/2/4

Journal #4

Sonya’s situation sounds like the “Jealous Boyfriend” kind of story. Her husband, Charlie, is jealous because she is spending more time with her friends instead of him. College life takes Sonya farther and farther away from Charlie so he gets increasingly jealous and against the idea of Sonya attending college. Sonya tries to get Charlie to meet the people she works on projects with, but he is clearly not interested in meeting anyone new. Especially if they’re spending more time with his wife than him. The situation seems like Charlie is out to sabotage Sonya’s college life so he can keep her at home more.

Only a few of my friends I know actually care if I succeed in college. My parents are indifferent about it. If I succeed, great. If I don’t, that’s ok too, just try to keep your grades up. I may end up taking the next semester or year off from BSC and they have the “Do what you gotta do” attitude. I like it because it allows a lot of freedom for me and allows me to weigh out the pros and cons of the situation on my own before I ask for their opinion.

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Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar

TR 9:25 - 10:40

2/9/4

Sammy’s Decision in Updike’s “A & P”

John Updike’s short story “A & P” is told in the first person by Sammy, a teenager who works at a local supermarket, one of a large chain popular in the 1940’s, 1950’s, and 1960’s. The action of this very short story can be summarized in just a few sentences. Sammy was seduced by the pretty girls who walked into the store and tried to play “Hero/Tough Guy” to win the girls’ hearts. In the end, he realizes that the girls didn’t care and he had lost his job. Not really what he was hoping for, but when you act on stupid impulses, you often get bad consequences.

Since the point of view is Sammy’s and all we know is told to us by Sammy, questions of trust arise. Can we trust this information and its validity given to us by the narrator? One can never know. Since this isn’t an actual event which was documented in history books, there seems to be no other choice then to trust Sammy’s word on how the story happened.

From his descriptions of the A & P itself and from his descriptions and reactions to his fellow employees and customers, especially the three girls, we gain an understanding of what Sammy values and what he does not. It is plain to see that Sammy values the attention of the three girls more than anything. Including his job. The manager told the girls to leave in a polite way and Sammy tried to gain their attention by standing up to the him. The girls ignored Sammy and left the store while Sammy was taking off his apron and said “I quit.” This conflict of values points up the main issue in the story: Girls Are Evil

Time, of course, is important. If Sammy had had more time to think about his decision, he might have acted differently. Still, sometimes our first impulses are our best. As it is, he must feel very dumb about his first impulse. He has lost his job because a few girls caught his eye. The girls showed a little more skin than usual and Sammy was seduced under their power and would do anything for them. The girls, of course, knew what they were doing. The giggling, the little girl voice, the posture. These are all tools in order to draw the male eyes and mind into their destructive force. In this case. Sammy was completely lulled by their ways and quit his job forcing the manager to ring up the customers at Sammy’s register.

Can we judge the rightness of his decision by its consequences? When Sammy leaves the store, he realizes he’s been played for a fool by the girls and thinks of what an idiot he has been made out to be. He lost his job. His steady flow of income is now gone with possibly no chance of resuming its course. He had made a fool out of his manager in front of several customers which his parents will soon hear about. What did he do this for? It was all for lust. Lust which will be unanswered by the three girls who are long gone now. All in all, if it wasn’t for the girls. Sammy’s life would have been much better off.

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Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar 9:25-10:40

2/23/4

Journal #6

I can’t remember taking this test, an maybe forgetfulness is part of the answers I got from it, but I can state how I work on problems. Procrastination is more of a habit than a personality. Regardless of someone’s personality, they will procrastinate sometime. Laziness is a personality trait in which procrastination usually follows, but just as a habit of lazy people.

Usually I will pick a decision and stick with it till the end. Even if I eventually find flaws that make the other decision a better one, I will stay with my first choice solely because I do not like to keep switching my decision and changing my mind about other things. It is better to stay with one idea or else things can get confused and all hell can break lose. I try to please people with the decisions I make, but I will try and benefit myself first before others. If I decided on something that greatly benefits me and in no way benefits other people, it won’t affect me too much to stick with it. Keeping yourself happy and content is a way of survival in which you keep yourself relaxed.

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Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar 9:25-10:40

2/23/4

Journal #5

The dreaded “D” word! I guess I’m old fashion because I use the word “date” all the time. I not sure why college kids have become uncomfortable with the word. Frankly, I haven’t noticed. I use the word when taking out my female friends to lunch at Friendly’s just the same as when I take out someone special to a fancy restaurant. It makes no difference to me.

Fredrico’s intellect doesn’t sound like he’d be in college. It is funny how he is complaining about the situation like he was in high school when he himself sounds like he’s in junior high. I just don’t see what the big deal is about sex to him. If he is that desperate, there are 1-800 numbers he can call. What he really needs is to get a slap in the face from Victoria and get his priorities straightened out.

The dateless culture seems to me like a complete waste of time. Men and women are made to date and have intercourse. Not necessarily on the 4th date, but somewhere down the line depending on the two people. It is human nature that we want to mate. Males and females are made so different from each other that they can never stand being with each other for any length of time, but they are also sprinkled with the urge to try which makes things interesting.

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Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar 9:25-10:40

2/23/4

Journal #7

By leaving a note on Hugh’s car stating “Faggot,” the other workers are guilty of sexual harassment, but it is doubtful the manager will do anything about it. He is homophobic about Paul and Hugh sitting with Paul. If Hugh ignores this action, chances are these “pranks” will only increase and become more drastic. Something along these lines has got to be stopped as soon as it starts to stop it from getting out of hand. The only solution to the problem that Hugh could follow up on is to talk to Human Resources about his manager’s behavior towards him and Paul.

When Barney Frank says that homophobes are losing the cultural war, he means that today’s society is becoming more and more comfortable with homosexuality. I believe this is true. At this time, Massachusetts is in the middle of a decision to let gay couples marry. Though gay marriages seem doubtful to occur, just having to decision in question means that the United States is much more comfortable with homosexuality than it has ever been before. However, this does not mean that soon enough everyone will be comfortable with it. There will always be people that are homophobic regardless of anything.

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Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar 9:25-10:40

2/23/4

Journal #8

One of the dumbest things I can think of is smoking cigarettes. There is no benefit whatsoever towards it. In fact, there are infinite bad side effects towards it. That is why I don’t smoke. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate people that smoke either. A lot of my friends do and it doesn’t bother me at all. Only if someone tries to force me to smoke, I’ll get angry. Not many people I know want to see me get angry, so I guess I can consider myself lucky for that.

In all honesty, I can’t see what the big deal is. I wasn’t swayed by the DARE program to hate all drugs. I didn’t drop my jaw when the Truth Campaign reported dumb facts on television. I was actually pretty agitated with the Truth Campaign. The only people that die of smoking are older and at the end of their lives anyways. It’s not like some 20 year old who’s been smoking for a few years is suddenly going to develop a massive case of lung cancer overnight. If anything, I would start smoking after seeing continuous ads saying, “Smoke is going to kill you! Watch out!” just to piss off the people involved.

My decision to not smoke was really one of the easiest ones I made. One of my friends came up to me one day and said, “I need to go outside to smoke, you want one?” I said no. We hung out outside while he smoked and talked about girls. I mean, does it really take a lot of will power to say no? It never has for me. I can’t believe the idiots that give in to peer pressure on it. If one of your friends says they won’t hang out with you unless you smoke, they deserve to be punched in the face. Why the hell would someone want to be friends with them anyways?

I’d say the biggest reason why I don’t smoke is because of the price of cigarettes. Not the “deadly toxins.” Not the thousands of body bags spread out over Central Park by the Truth Campaign. Six bucks for a pack of cigarettes? Screw that. Maybe if they were free, I’d try a cigarette or two and hopefully not get addicted. There’s no way I’m getting into a pricey hobby of smoking when it’s at an all time high price.

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Palisades Park ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

40 acres of land

3 roller coasters

17 other rides (Merry-Go-Round, Ferris Wheel, Spinners, Water Slides, Funhouse, Go-Karts, etc.)

4 food and beverage stands (hot dogs, burgers, fries, soda, water, ice cream, candy)

2 souvenir shops (stuffed animals, t-shirts, key chains, etc.)_________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

230 employees

50 ride operators

20 mechanics/safety technicians

25 food service

10 cashiers

10 health services

15 entertainers

15 security guards

5 IT

10 R & D

15 HR Developement

5 accounting

15 Management

5 Top executives

30 courtesy clerks_________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

Partnership (5 partners)

A fairly new Amusement Park run by 5 partners. The rides and shops take up 1/3 of the land and the rest is just scenic walkways and wildlife. Rapid expansion of new rides and food, beverage, and souvenir stands is seen in the near future if Palisades Park stays popular.

Five college kids were paired together in their Human Resources Management class in which they made up an Amusement Park. The five partners did such a good job on the project, the professor suggested that they try out their plan in the real world. Once they graduated, they became partners in the company, took out bank loans and soon started construction on the 40 acres of land they bought.___________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

SWOT

Strength - Better communication between managers with a small company. Closer relationship between manager and subordinate.

Weakness - Not as well known as other giant parks such as Disney or Six Flags.

Opportunities - Further expansion with gaining popularity with new rides and attractions.

Threats - Disney, Six Flags, Busch Gardens taking business.________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

Vision Statement:

Always making the customers happy and laughing whenever possible is the #1 goal. Always have a part of the park to just walk around in the wilderness to give customers the sense of freedom from the stresses of everyday life.

Mission Statement:

We are not in the Amusement Park business. We are in the business of putting the biggest smiles on and heartiest laugh into our customers. Our service is not entertainment. It is our duty to fulfill dreams and create memories that last a lifetime.

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Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar

9:25 - 10:50 TR

3/30/4

What Do You Mean ‘Where‘s My Final Draft?’:

The Life of an ENTP in Quick Writing

It’s 2am. Everyone is asleep except for me. Maybe I should think about starting that Freshman Seminar paper now. Nah, I’ll put it off. I’ll just talk my way out of it so I can have more time. I’m way too busy procrastinating right now to even think about writing some paper on god-knows-what.

Looking back at the mini-personality test that I took to get my job at Stop and Shop, I realize I wouldn’t have it if I answered it honestly. Yes, I love to beat the system. Hell no, the customer is never right. Hello, my name is Nick. I’m an ENTP. No wonder I like work and I’m competitive at it. I love to show everyone that I can do anything they can do, but better. Does it seem weird for the scrawniest kid there to be pushing the most carriage in at one time? That’s my job. Who cares about the customers. I’m trying to beat everyone else in…everything!

As an ENTP, I’m very charismatic and a good conversationalist. When you’re talking with me, it’s my way or the highway. I get my point across and prove it. If you argue with me, then you’re wrong. No one is going to outsmart me. I always stay one step ahead of the game.

In high school, when I read instructions for a paper and it said “include your rough draft.” To me that just means print the paper twice and write “rough draft” on one of them. Never in my life have I written something and then redo it to add in little changes. If I add material to a paper later on, then it’s not really me writing the paper anymore. It’s me and me from the past. I didn’t have these ideas when I first wrote this paper. I can’t just add it in now. It could throw off the entire tone of the paper and ruin it! The first draft is the final draft and that’s how it goes.

I have been played for a fool before, and let me tell you, it is the most embarrassing thing in the world. Maybe I think that just because I’m an ENTP, but I think it really is horrible. It feels horrible mostly because that’s what I’m supposed to do. I manipulate people, they don’t manipulate me!

I think the only bad thing about us ENTP’s is that we don’t care about consequences. We do things our way and that’s that. If we try to accomplish something a few times and fail doing it our way, then we avoid that situation. It’s not like it’s important if we can’t do it. If I can’t do something my way, then what’s the point of even trying? Now off I go to try and prove another point.

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Nick Vaughan English Comp. 102 2:00 - 2:50 MWF 3/31/4 Obesity is not Mickey Dee’s fault I. Obesity A. History of Obesity i. Timeline B. Facts about Obesity C. Causes of Obesity i. Genetic Factors ii. Environmental Factors iii. Psychological Factors II. McDonald’s A. History of McDonald’s B. The food i. The Meat ii. The Fries iii. The Shakes III. America’s Own Fault A. Lazy i. Health Clubs ii. Exercise B. Anorexia C. Diets D. Easier to Sue IV. Own Opinion

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Obesity Nicholas P. Vaughan English Comp 102 Dr. Thomas Curley

Obesity is not a new thing. It has been around for as long as people have been. Only recently, it has become labeled as a “disease.” What really started the urge to be thin was the French designer Paul Poriet. In 1908, he introduced a new body-revealing style for women which emphasized being thin is beautiful. This started a whole new fashion sense for America. Pointing out that body fat is unfashionable led to fitness programs on television and new eating habits to keep from becoming obese called diets. (NAAFA)

Through the decades, not only have some people become healthier due to facts about obesity, but also here are some people that have taken the matter too far. In the 1960’s, a British fashion model represented the “rail thin” ideal look. Her name was Twiggy. This very skinny look also helped her create a clothing line. For a long while, there was nothing wrong with being skinny. It just meant you were better than everyone else. (Askmen.com)

The direct opposite of obesity came to national attention in February, 1983. Karen Carpenter, a pop singing idol, died of Anorexia Nervosa at the age of thirty two. This is when the United States suddenly woke up from the trend “Thin is Beautiful” and thought that being thin could also be deadly. It didn’t have too much of an affect on most women though. In February, 1994, an Esquire magazine poll of 1000 women between the ages of 18 and 25 shows that 54 percent would rather be run over by a truck than be extremely fat. Two-thirds said they would rather be mean or stupid than fat. (NAAFA)

Obesity is a serious health hazard. Approximately 280,000 deaths a year are related to obesity in the United States. Some of the effects of obesity are gall stones, liver diseases, Osteoarthritis, pulmonary problems, and reproductive problems. Not only does obesity affect people physically, but mentally as well. “Emotional suffering may be one of the most painful parts of obesity. American society emphasizes physical appearance and often equates attractiveness with slimness, especially for women. Such messages make overweight people feel unattractive.” (NIDDK)

Obese individuals often face prejudice in situations such as school, the job market, or social situations. This is because the obese individual is thought of as gluttonous and lazy. Feelings of rejection, shame, or depression are common for the obese individual because the United States is a country that strives for perfection.

The three ways obesity can occur are genetically, environmentally, and psychologically. A lot of cases of obesity have shown that many people who are obese share weights closer to their parents. “In one study, adults who were adopted as children were found to have weights closer to their biological parents than to their adoptive parents. In this case, the person's genetic makeup had more influence on the development of obesity than the environment in the adoptive family home.” (NIDDK)

The environmental issues also affect greatly the individual. What a person chooses to eat and when they choose to exercise greatly determine their physical health. Techniques have been discovered to reduce the fat intake and exercise regularly. “In 1956, the Jack LaLanne show aired making ‘fitness’ a household word.” (NAAFA)

Psychological factors play a very important role as well as the largest factor in obesity. Often when someone is experiencing a negative emotion, such as anger, sadness, or boredom, they will eat to compensate for that emotion. This is often referred to as binge eating. “During a binge eating episode, people eat large amounts of food and feel that they cannot control how much they are eating. Those with the most severe binge eating problems are also likely to have symptoms of depression and low self-esteem.” (NIDDK)

McDonalds is one of the most recognized restaurants in the world. It all started back in 1954 with a man called Ray Kroc. He visited the newly developed McDonalds restaurant and talked to the McDonalds brothers about opening more locations. In 1955, Kroc opened up his own McDonalds in Des Plaines and it became an instant success. In 1963, Ronald McDonald became the mascot for McDonalds who is currently second only to Santa Claus in terms of recognition. In 1968, the Big Mac was born. In 1973, the Egg McMuffin was first cooked. Even a special item for children, the Happy Meal (1979) was invented and sprang McDonalds even further into the realm of success. (McDonalds.com)

The food that McDonalds provides is served fast and tastes good. Although for some time, the restaurant has received quite a few lawsuits against it regarding what is actually in the food. The way the meat is handled for the burgers is unsanitary. “At the IBP slaughterhouse in Lexington, Nebraska, the hourly spillage rate at the gut table has run as high as 20 percent, with stomach contents splattering one out of five carcasses” (Schlosser, 203) How’s that for a stomach ache?

The fires that McDonalds has are not much better. Vegetarians and religious groups are angry with McDonalds because they have been eating meat…in the fries. “The McDonalds Corporation will not reveal the exact origin of the natural flavor added to its French fries. In response to the inquiries from Vegetarian Journal, however, McDonalds did acknowledge that it’s fries derive some of their characteristic flavor from ‘animal products’” (Schlosser, 128)

The Shakes are not even that much better at any restaurant. For starters, the strawberry milkshake isn’t made from strawberries. On page 125 of Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation it tells of the ingredients of a Burger King strawberry milkshake. Some ingredients include ethyl nitrate, butyric acid, heliotropin, and phenethyl alcohol. It makes you wonder what chemicals you have actually consumed without knowing it over the years.

The reason for explaining obesity and the history of McDonalds is to prove the point that McDonalds is not the cause of obesity. As stated before, psychological factors are the largest reason for obesity in this country. People by the millions complain about their weight, yet still visit fast food restaurants every day to eat. McDonalds has never stated that their food is healthy to eat, nor have they stated what is exactly in their food.

My point is that people (especially Americans) are too lazy to do something about their weight, because there are other ways to become happy. “A lawsuit alleging food from McDonald's restaurants is responsible for making people obese got thrown out by a federal judge Wednesday.” (CNN Money) This shows how desperate society can become. To sue a fast food restaurant because of the fact the individual is overweight is ridiculous. There are no clinical studies that show a renewed start of diet and exercise cannot reduce your weight after eating at McDonalds. So what is the reason for suing? Absolutely none. There is no excuse why an individual cannot go to a health club and exercise. These peoples are just simply too lazy and would rather sue to get rich quick.

Another point to be taken into effect is Anorexia. If McDonalds is responsible for being too fat, why are some people that eat there still skinny like Twiggy and Kate Moss? Only in America would there be people who will sue a food establishment because they are fat. This case is as ridiculous as the case Dunkin Donuts experienced with a women spilling hot coffee on herself.

In closing, the reason for obesity is not because of McDonalds. People just need to practice will power when choosing something to eat. Americans have become so simple minded that they no longer know what to eat to be healthy. They have to be directed by a doctor because they have no idea whether to eat healthy bread or rat poison. When McDonalds has to take away the “Super Size” addition because we, as a society "can't handle it", that’s a tip as to how far gone our nation is.

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http://money.cnn.com/2003/01/22/news/companies/mcdonalds/

http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/about/mcd_history_pg1.html

http://www.askmen.com/women/models_150/178c_twiggy_lawson.html

http://www.naafa.org/press_room/history_obesity.html

http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/nutrit/pubs/unders.htm#Healthrisks

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, 2001, houghton mifflin, new york

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http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/practical_guide.shtml#footnotes

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Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar 9:25-10:40

5/1/4

Journal #9

In this story, Melanie is failing due to the teaching styles of Professor North. There is no involvement of the intelligence or personality between Melanie or Todd. Melanie just learns better through doing research and Todd learns best through fun exercises.

I really haven’t had any teachers or professors that had a teaching style I couldn’t follow. A few of my high school teachers made up games to learn vocabulary words and that didn’t work out too well for me. I found out by taking the learning assessment test that I learn best without games. Other than that, I learn the same amount whatever the teaching method.

I can’t see why anyone would sympathize with Todd. He’s acing the course and he’s barely trying. I don’t think I could come across someone on campus that feels bad for the top students in class. This person has a 4.0 GPA, how horrible it must be for him! Of course my sympathies would lie with Melanie. She can’t grasp the teaching style of the professor and is failing the course because of it.

I had a personality clash with my last semester English professor. She treated the class like we were in 5th grade and in the papers we couldn’t add anything of ours into it. It had to be strictly factual. Our opinion was not needed for anything as far as she was concerned. I was appalled by her teaching and almost failed the course because we argued over my essays. Also, she couldn’t spell ‘principle.’ For a college English professor, I think that should be a requirement.

Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar 9:25-10:40

5/1/4

Journal #10

I don’t understand why this story is in the Adversity section either. Just because Harrison wanted to go surfing over studying and going to class, doesn’t mean that he’s experiencing adversity. Temptation is all about will power. If you give into someone saying “everybody’s doing it,” chances are you’re an idiot with no will power. This story shouldn’t even be in the section next to Adversity. If your significant other dies in a horrible car crash, you can paid leave from work. If you get addicted to cocaine, you get a different leave. A leave where the door hits you in the ass on the way out.

In this story, you can replace every surfing reference with a drug reference and it would make perfect sense. It’s true that a drug addiction (or in the case of this story, a surfing addiction) is as much as a road block as poverty or illness, but they are treated very differently. First of all, an addiction that you have is your own fault, it’s not just luck of the draw that the heroin fairy found you. You’re not going to get arrested at your workplace because you’re sick either. If he cares that much about surfing, he’s wasting his time being in college.

The addiction I dealt with was that I liked to work too much. That’s pretty much why I’m taking a few years off after this semester. Getting a business degree in college would take me five or six years. That’s five or six years of being poor and dependant on other people for my living. Not to mention a gigantic loan to pay off after I get out of college. I know the degree is good for me, but where’s the prize now? What do I have to show for myself after spending a year in college? Absolutely nothing, all I can get out of it is say that I went to Bridgewater State College for a year. Nobody will care.

I need the instant gratification of working. I work and then I get paid. Money is the ultimate gratification for me. I don’t care if in six years I could be making a lot more. I need the money now. Chances are I’d have more money saved up after six years than a college student will be making in a years time after he or she graduates. That’s fine with me, as long as I don’t have to sit around in a classroom listening to some guy go on and on about something I don’t want to listen to.

Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar 9:25-10:40

5/1/4

Journal #11

This subject is just plain stupid. End of story.

Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar 9:25-10:40

5/1/4

Journal #12

I cannot relate to Calista in any way. I don’t think I’ve ever been stressed taking a test. I guess I’m lucky that things so important with the outcome of my life don’t affect me. My problem is that I don’t study, but I somehow do well on tests anyways. I can’t really elaborate on any of this because I have nothing to go on. I say if she’s a nervous wreck and think she’s going to hang herself and black out because of a test score, she should definitely drop the class. No one wants to deal with that much stress over a class dealing with what’s already happened. As for recommendations as to how to reduce stress, I can only think of two things that would be helpful during a test. Go with your first instinct when answering questions and bring a stress ball to the test. No rules against that.

Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar 9:25-10:40

5/1/4

Journal #13

Homesickness is a hard thing to overcome. Especially if you are very close to your family. Peer Pressure just takes a little self-confidence. The problem I have with this story is that it looks like Michael is trying to impress his suitemates instead of just get along with them. According to the story, it seems like Michael knows how much alcohol he can take. When he goes out to the bar with the other guys, it says “Michael drinks way more than he is accustom to.” Obviously he’s either a moron or he just likes to throw up. Why the hell would you want to drink more than you’re used to? If you know your limit, you do not go over it. Even if you don’t know your limit, you stay with what you know. Idiot.

The part about Michael not being sure if he’s wearing the right clothes and whatnot is ridiculous. What ever happened to ‘dare to be different’? If you’re not comfortable with where you’re from, college life is not for you. A group can protect you in high school, but in college, you’re supposed to be grown-up enough to be your own man. This is a good time for Michael to learn self-reliance. In this way I can’t relate to Michael at all because he’s a little pansy.

Not to make this entire entry negative, I do think he made the right decision to stay at home that night. By standing his ground he probably showed his suitemates that he’s his own man and will stick by his decisions. If he went with his suitemates, they would get the idea that they can drag him along and make him do anything they want him to do because he is terrified of being “not cool.”

Nick Vaughan

Freshman Seminar 9:25-10:40

5/1/4

Journal #14

Though he studies everyday, I have a feeling Leo is about as sharp as a marble. The harsh reality of the world is that it’s more who you know than what you know. I can understand why someone wouldn’t want to join a club. Think that it’s no fun, want to do something else like relax. His reason is just ridiculous. He won’t join a club because he wants to study more? Can someone say anti-social? It’s just plain dumb for him to be avoiding people when his future profession is going to be talking to people to convince the judge to get them out of trouble. He is completely unjustified in his resenting joining a club. Especially if research on the club is required for class. He’ll probably flip out if he ever comes across a group project. I think it is justified that he needs a punch in the face. Get your head together, Leo!

I think not joining a club is more of a symptom than a cause for failing, unless you’re required and you don’t do so. I find most clubs pointless for me to join because I just can’t see myself in them. Not joining a club is fine, it doesn’t matter. Shunning society away while you sit in your dorm and study…that could be a problem. All you need is just a few people you can get together with and talk to in college. Preferably students, but if you’re that much of an anti-socialist, a professor can do.

If I had this requirement, it’d be a tough one to comply with. Me and clubs don’t have too good of a history. I’ve been on the Robotics Team and the Wrestling Team. I barely showed up to meetings at either one of them. I joined the Robotics Team because my shop teacher asked me to. I joined Wrestling because the coach wanted a 103 and that was me. Really the only thing that got accomplished in my being on a team is that my coach and shop teacher got pissed off. I don’t mesh well with clubs and teams because I feel I’ve got more important things to do, like working and making money. I get all the experience I need from my job because I work with people constantly. I boss around roughly up to 10 people at the same time and while doing so I manage to keep the managers and the customers happy.

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Nicholas P. Vaughan

Freshman Seminar

9:25 - 10:40 5/5/4

My Career of Choice

Call me crazy, but I don’t want to be filthy rich. I really have no interest in getting out of college and sitting on a goldmine rich where I will just have to sit on my ass all day. That’s not my style. I want to work for a living. To work my way up through a company like Stop & Shop is my dream career. To look Marc Smith, the CEO of Stop & Shop, in the eye and say, “I’m going to take your job,” is what I want out of life. I have started from the very bottom of the pit and I intend to leave my mark by the time I go.

The five choices about my career that I chose are to earn an above average salary, to make my own decisions on the job, to have changes in the economy not threaten my job, to have my employer pay for health care, and to enjoy the company of my co-workers. I think that about 99% of the working class wants an above average salary. People work for money and they want more. It’s just that simple. To have more money is to have more motivation to work. Being able to make my own decisions on the job is very important to me also because I like to be independent. No one wants a boss breathing down their neck and watching every move you make. People need their own space. To make your own decisions gives you freedom over your job. The job needs to be done and it will be done according to the rules I set. Having a job that is threatened by the economy is very dangerous because if something goes wrong, you could lose that job. Being part of a supermarket, the economy doesn’t matter as much because people will always need food. People will always come to the store to get more food no matter what shape the economy is in. Having my employer pay for health insurance is a big deal. If I had to pay for my health insurance on my own, the costs would be at least $2,000 a month. I don’t have that kind of money if I’m paying rent for an apartment and other bills. Having an employer pay for insurance is a huge burden taken off of your shoulders. The most important part of my dream career, however, is the people I work with. As long as I’m happy to see the people at work, I will go there. I would rather work for minimum wage with people I like, than work for $20 an hour with people I hate.

The ideal median job I can see myself in would be a grocery manager in Stop & Shop. I interviewed Bob Richards, a grocery manager in Norwell, Stop & Shop since 1993, and found out a lot about how a manager’s career is. To be a grocery manager is a pretty laid back job, but there is work to be done. You need to send and receive pallets of stock, balance the stock so you don’t run out of it, but also not have overstock, keep the grocery clerks busy, and keep track of the items that are on sale and make sure they are on the shelves.

“It can be a tiresome job at times, but if you have a good crew to work with, you should be fine. I’ve been working here for 11 years now and it never really gets boring. There is always something that needs to be done.” (Bob Richards, 5/1/4)

Though he would not say what he personally was making for a salary, Bob Richards told me the average manager makes between $35k to $40k a year to start with. Not a bad start if you ask me. I have heard of some managers making up to $50k a year which is a comfortable wage to include many luxuries in life such as big screen televisions, a nice car, and a sizable house.

Since Bob Richards is the grocery manager, he only answers to one person, the store manager. This give him a lot of freedom to set up his own department and organize it to his liking.

“Pretty much, I do what I want, when I want to do it. Mike [store manager] can tell me what he wants out of it, but I do it my way to give him what he wants.” (Bob Richards, 5/1/4)

For Bob, he likes to separate the stock onto different “U-Boats” that are marked for a specific aisle. Household items go on one while canned vegetables go on another. This way his clerks don’t get confused and it is very organized so the stock can be put on the shelves with the utmost ease.

The benefits for a full-time employee at Stop & Shop is better than most other jobs. After three months (three years for part-time) you can get full coverage of health, life, dental insurance, a 401k plan, two weeks paid vacation, 24 hour sick pay, and many other benefits that make life more comfortable. Also, Stop & Shop offers a pension when you retire if the employee works for five years and accumulates 5,000 hours. The pension starts at $100 a month, but the longer the employee is with the company, the larger the pension becomes.

“Quitting Stop & Shop is not a very bright idea. At least stay with the company for five years and 5,000 hours. If you quick after that the pension stays with you. It starts out at $100 a month which isn’t much, but when you’re retired, that can at least pay the cable bill or something.” (Bob Richards, 5/1/4)

In the Stop & Shop company, the most valued aspect of the job is the people you meet. Some of the co-workers can become life-long friends. It is more like a family household than a workplace. Whenever there is a new manager that comes to the store, automatically I hear about how they worked with someone I know and have known them for ten years or so.

With the positive people I work with, such as Bob Richards, and the very gracious rewards for staying with the same company, I am hoping to make my dream career my dream life. Being a member of the Stop and Shop community is the goal I have set out for myself and I plan to keep it that way.

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Nicholas P. Vaughan

Freshman Seminar

9:25 - 10:40 5/5/4

Journal #15

Here is exactly why I did not want to live on campus. If I ever got a roommate like Bill, I’d be pissed off and be arguing every day and night with him. People like Bill are the reason why I chose to commute. However, it is kind of a double-edged sword. If I lived on campus, I could have been stuck with a loud obnoxious roommate, but since I commute, I have to wake up earlier to drive for 35 minutes to class every day and I’m not a morning person by any means.

The least offensive thing my roommate could do would be untidiness, I really don’t care if someone is untidy, because I am too. Poor personal hygiene is next on the list which isn’t too bad of a problem since candles could get rid of the smell. Staying up late and playing loud music would be about the half way mark. They are half way because it really depends if I’m staying up late also or if the music is good. If there’s some good old rock and roll playing and I need to stay up to finish a term paper, it would be no problem for me. If I needed some sleep and he was playing rap, it’s time to die. Smoking cigarettes doesn’t really bother me either. I have been around cigarettes all my life, so it doesn’t phase me at all if someone smokes around me. Sex, drugs, and parties are a big deal though. These I would consider the most offensive things that could happen. If you feel adventurous about your sex life, then take it somewhere else. I don’t want to be involved in your audience. Doing drugs and having parties in the dorm are just plain dumb and I don’t want that in my dorm. Both people will get in trouble if anything illegal goes on inside the dorm which is something I don’t like. If I get in trouble for drugs in my dorm, then I think I should’ve been on them. The same goes for parties. If I get in trouble for it, then it should’ve been me that started the party. I don’t want to go through hell just because my roommate sucks.

The only criteria I know of is that you can request to room with someone you know. I like that idea because it’s more real-based. You wouldn’t go out and get an apartment with someone you have never met before, why should college be different? Those are what the parties at other peoples’ dorms are for. Meeting other people.

Nicholas P. Vaughan

Freshman Seminar

9:25 - 10:40 5/5/4

Journal #16

Ok, first off, what is with all the cases in this book dealing with religion? Is religion such a big part of college life that I need to discuss it in more than half of my cases? It seems like every other case is some kid who is shocked that someone doesn’t believe in the religion that they were taught. Like they had no idea that someone else could have an opinion. “Gee golly! I thought everyone was Catholic!” I just don’t understand these things.

I think Bridgewater is very different than these other colleges with these radical professors. In the few classes that I’ve taken, it seems like no professor would touch on the subject of religion with a ten foot pole. Yet, these professors are throwing around bibles, calling the kids’ religion crap, and so on. Where the hell are these mystery colleges anyways? I want to take these courses and bash the bible!

I think Professor Elliot is completely justified in making this comments about religion. If these kids believe in their religion so much, they should learn how to defend it and prove their professor’s accusations wrong. They can’t fail the course if they put up a better argument than the professor. They’ll get an A. I don’t think these students really know anything about the bible though. As stated, Joy never read the entire bible. She (along with many other students) probably doesn’t even know what CCD stands for. For the most part, Catholic religion students are just taught that God is good and the teachers leave it at that. Whenever the students encounter the slightest bump in the road about religion, they can’t handle it because religion provides no proof. Stories made up of imagination can’t cut it in today’s technologically intelligent society. I don’t believe in God or the need for organized religion, so I don’t need to know anything about the Bible and whatnot.

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Palisades Park is a fairly new amusement park that is run by 5 partners. It has a total of 250 employees spread out over 40 acres of land. Palisades Park has contracts with Coca-Cola, Hershey, and Olive Garden. The goals strived for are customer satisfaction, safety, and profit. How they bring in customers with these goals is with the reasonable costs, high quality products with good service, and by developing job safety technology. Some strategies to get the customer are coupons for entrance fees, sales bonuses, and customer satisfaction bonuses.

Some products that we serve are t-shirts, action figures, towels, and hats. For food, they have a wide variety including pizza, turkey legs, and fruit smoothies. Our main audience includes families and teenagers buying the most tickets geared towards fun and enjoyment.

The Human Resources Strategic Goals are a way of reviewing the costs of other competing parks in ticket prices, food, and souvenirs. For Human Resources to meet to Strategic Objective, they have training programs when employees are first hired and have the cashiers learn how to be courteous to the customers and how to manage a register. By the end of 2004, the Research and Development Team will receive 10% more funding.

All employees are paid by a fixed hourly rate. The amount per hour depends on the ease of the job, the responsibility of the job, and the employers ability to pay the employees. Palisades Park is a firm believer in equal opportunity employment. We are dedicated to hiring, promoting, compensating, and training all employees in a fir and nonbiased way. Much emphasis is put on the training programs we provide. We want our employees to know how to deal with any situation they encounter and react to it as quickly as possible.

For the performance standards, our annual goal is to increase the attendance of the park by at least 10%. Also, the Research and Development Team must develop at least one new ride every year. Our responsibility to achieve great customer satisfaction, ensure our rides operate safely and smoothly, and the park must look clean. A performance appraisal is done by self appraisal in which the employees evaluates themselves and then have an interview with the manager of the department. This allows the individual employee to become more involved in the reviewing process so they themselves can see where their strengths and weakness lie.

We hold our orientation programs in high respect because it not only gives information about the job, but information about the history of the park. We want our new staff to feel welcomed to their new family at Palisades Park. To get applicants, we use a the broad method of an application that can be give out at the main entrance. For the Research and Development Team, however, the recruiting process is more intensive.

Palisades Park follows a strict Code of Business Conduct. The purpose is to make everyone feel welcome and safe in the park, customers and other employees. Anyone creating a hostile work environment will not be tolerated and will be suspended from the park until a meeting can be arranged with the department manager. We have zero tolerance towards discrimination or harassment and the appropriate action will be taken into effect, whether it is suspension or termination, when the code of conduct is broken. For questions and concerns, employees can call or e-mail Alice Steeler (A.Steller@Palisades.com)

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Table of Contents

Land, Rides, Attractions

Employee Makeup

Brief History………………………………......................................................................1

SWOT

Vision and Mission Statement………………………………............................................2

Goals

Objectives

Strategies………………………………...........................................................................3

Services and Products………………………………........................................................4

Palisades Park Business Environment…………………………….....................................7

Human Resources Strategic Goals………………………………......................................8

Human Resources Strategies and Plans………………………………..............................9

Job Analysis System……………………………….........................................................10

Performance Appraisal……………………………….....................................................11

Orientation Training……………………………….........................................................12

Recruiting Methods………………………………..........................................................13

Compensation Plan………………………………..........................................................14

Ghant Chart……………………………….....................................................................15

Code of Business Conduct………………………………...............................................16

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Nicholas P. Vaughan

Human Resources Management

Final Exam by Guy Lochiatto

5/10/4

1. The six competitive challenges facing human resource management departments are going global, embracing technology, managing change, developing human capital, responding to the market, and containing costs. Globalization is a trend towards opening up foreign markets to international trade and investment. Companies have to embrace new technology because more “touch jobs” are becoming automated and this increases the need for more “knowledge workers.” In highly competitive environments, businesses can’t stand still for long and must change in order to survive. Two ways to change are reactive and proactive change. Developing human capital is necessary because a company’s workforce has to be better than their competitors in order to stay afloat in the business world. Responding to the market and meeting customer expectations is essential because without a market to sell to, there is no income. Containing costs is very important because with lower costs, you increase net sales.

4. The three key elements of an effective Human Resources Plan are forecasting demand for employees, forecasting supply of employees, and balancing supply and demand considerations. Forecasting the demand for employees means needing to know how much and what kind of man power you need for a certain job. This can depend on the size of a job or even just the time of the year depending on what the job is. Forecasting the supply of employees tells how many employees a company already has and if the company should hire more for the future. Balancing supply and demand considerations is crucial for any company. You don’t want 5 employees for a job that one person can handle or vice versa. To achieve a perfect balance, a company needs to have the right amount of people for every job.

5. Five types of employee tests are drug tests, supervisor interviews, background investigations, employment testing, and application filing. The drug test is to see if the new employee uses any drug that the company might frown upon in which they would not hire the person. Supervisor interviews are where the supervisor of the department can ask questions of the employee in which they will have to answer on the spot. Background investigations are used when the employee is thought of as lying about his past record. Employment testing is used to judge the personality of the new employee which can be used to judge how he or she will act in certain situations. The application is used in almost every company as basic information regarding the employee.

6. The P.R.O.P.E.R. method of on-the-job training is to Prepare, Reassure, Orient, Perform, Evaluate, and Review. First a trainer needs to know what the employee needs to be taught. Second is to get the employee at ease and comfortable with the given work. Next, show the employee how to the correct way to perform the job is done. Then the employee performs the job. Next, the trainer checks the employee’s performance. Lastly, the trainer reviews what the employee has done right and wrong.

8. The four basic considerations for establishing performance standards are strategic relevance, criterion deficiency, criterion contamination, and reliability. Strategic relevance is the performance standards linked to organizational goals and competencies. Criterion deficiency is the aspects of actual performance that are not measured. Criterion contamination is the elements that affect the appraisal measures that are not part of the actual performance. Reliability is measures that are consistent across rater and over time.

11. Some techniques for dealing with stress on the job are to build rewarding relationships with co-workers, talk openly with managers and supervisors about job or personal concerns, don’t greatly exceed your skills and abilities, and take short breaks from your work area as a change of pace. When you building rewarding relationships with co-workers, they will respect you more and are more apt to listen to what you have to say and even take orders from you. Talking openly about your concerns gets your questions answered so you won’t have to worry about unknown consequences. When you exceed your own skill and ability levels, you can fail at the task at hand which can cause stress. Taking short breaks while doing work will bring you back to reality so you can think about something else for awhile instead of the job.

12. Privacy rights can be regarded as a matter of personal freedom from unwarranted government or business intrusion into personal affairs. Managers balance the employer and employee rights in the workplace by defending their intrusion into employee privacy by noting their legitimate interest in their personal affairs. Mainly affairs, such as drug use, criminal activity, or co-worker dating, that may directly affect employee productivity, workplace safety, and morale.