Friday, December 9, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Job Shadow
Next week I will be job shadowing a florist at Four Seasons Floral. I am hoping to observe what goes on behind the scenes in putting together floral arrangements and delivering the arrangements. I think being a florist would be a great job to have while going to college because there is no requirement for a professional degree. My job shadow contact has been out of the shop for a couple of days but will be calling me back soon.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Questions
1. What is your opinion of the topic of the video? Explain why.
I am not sure if insider trading is necessarily a bad thing. If your job allows you to be privy to such information then I don't think there is anything wrong with acting upon that knowledge. However, I think it becomes a bad thing when greed overshadows government official's jobs and they begin making decisions that affect the whole country in order to satisfy their personal financial desires.
2. What can you do about your opinion? How can you make your opinion count?
Probably the best thing I can do is research the isuue some more and then if I discover I am totally against the whole thing than I could write letters to our state congressmen and senators. If it were possible another effective thing to do would be to bring this issue to the media's attention.
3. What is insider trading? What was the information that caused Martha Stewart to go to prison?
Insider trading is the practice of using information that comes from a source “inside” the business but is not available to the general public to trade on the stock market. Martha Stewart recived some insider information from her stock broker about a previous investment. She reacted by selling that stock and avoiding huge losses. Because she profited from that information she went to jail.
4. What is Black Friday and when did it get its name? What is cyber Monday?
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving where many stores have very drastic deals to draw in large numbers of shoppers. The term "black" means that retailers are making a profit. Cyber Monday is the equivilant of Black Friday except it takes place over the internet.
I am not sure if insider trading is necessarily a bad thing. If your job allows you to be privy to such information then I don't think there is anything wrong with acting upon that knowledge. However, I think it becomes a bad thing when greed overshadows government official's jobs and they begin making decisions that affect the whole country in order to satisfy their personal financial desires.
2. What can you do about your opinion? How can you make your opinion count?
Probably the best thing I can do is research the isuue some more and then if I discover I am totally against the whole thing than I could write letters to our state congressmen and senators. If it were possible another effective thing to do would be to bring this issue to the media's attention.
3. What is insider trading? What was the information that caused Martha Stewart to go to prison?
Insider trading is the practice of using information that comes from a source “inside” the business but is not available to the general public to trade on the stock market. Martha Stewart recived some insider information from her stock broker about a previous investment. She reacted by selling that stock and avoiding huge losses. Because she profited from that information she went to jail.
4. What is Black Friday and when did it get its name? What is cyber Monday?
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving where many stores have very drastic deals to draw in large numbers of shoppers. The term "black" means that retailers are making a profit. Cyber Monday is the equivilant of Black Friday except it takes place over the internet.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Candy Stocks
Yesterday was a really great opportunity to experience a simulation of the trading floor at the stock market. When I first walked in the room I was overwhelmed by all of the noise and also really surprised to see so much candy on the floors and tables. At first I was confused about what I was supposed to grab off of the floor. I knew that the Laffy Taffy was money, so I got those, but I didn't realize that the chocolate bars were potential stocks until it was almost too late so in turn my team had a lot more money than we had stocks, silver, and gold.
Once the prices of the chocolate stocks were established, we were somewhat hesitant to trade at first. However, we eventually took the opportunity and began to trade some of our money (laffy taffy) for stocks (chocolate), gold, and silver. From the beginning our strategy was to diversify. Although we started out with a majority of cash, we soon traded about half of it for some gold and silver but mostly stocks. When Mr. Goodbar's stock prices went down because the CEO was embezzeling, we took advantage of that opportunity and bought a lot of that stock. When we got the hint that gold was going to plummet, we tried to sell half of our gold stock for a lot of stocks while the prices were still high. Overall, I thought the experience was very fun. It was hot and dim, but it was a good lesson in staying calm in a chaotic situation.
Once the prices of the chocolate stocks were established, we were somewhat hesitant to trade at first. However, we eventually took the opportunity and began to trade some of our money (laffy taffy) for stocks (chocolate), gold, and silver. From the beginning our strategy was to diversify. Although we started out with a majority of cash, we soon traded about half of it for some gold and silver but mostly stocks. When Mr. Goodbar's stock prices went down because the CEO was embezzeling, we took advantage of that opportunity and bought a lot of that stock. When we got the hint that gold was going to plummet, we tried to sell half of our gold stock for a lot of stocks while the prices were still high. Overall, I thought the experience was very fun. It was hot and dim, but it was a good lesson in staying calm in a chaotic situation.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Game Standards
3.2 Students formulate solutions to economic problems
In the game, My Country, each player is alloted a certian amount of money to build a country from scratch. However, players must be wise with the way they spend their money. In order to successfully build a productive country, the player must make decisions about what type of buildings to build, if upgrading is an important thing to do, whether or not to hire more employees, and whether or not to start contracts among various other issues. The decisions of the player they could potentially make the player more money or cause them to go broke. To be able to advance to the next level, the player has to invest wisely and decide which type of bulding will make the most money.
3.1 Students explain how different economic systems are organized for production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.
In the game, My Country, there are different buisnesses such as taxi companies, buisness centers, and shoe factories. In order to collect goods and services from such companies, they must be built and invested in. For example, if you would like to begin a taxi service you have to have enough items to hire employees, then they distribute their services to various citizens and every eight or so minutes, the investor gets to collect their profits. There are also energy services, which in this case are windmills, that provide the country with power. Although I cannot collect money from the windmills, they allow the other buisness ventures to run, which in turn allows me to make a profit.
3.4 Students demonstrate an understanding of economic principles that influence individual financial planning.
In My Country, I have to budget my normal money and also my country dollars in order to make a profit. I cannot go in debt in the game, so I have to wait until I can collect the profits on my buisnesses and apartments before I can expand my country.
3.. Students evaluate the impact of technology and how it has shaped history and influenced the modern world.
Technology has allowed my country to make advances at a much faster rate than in the days where technology was not as prevalent as it is today. Windmills allow my city to have clean, efficient energy, engines and gas allow my cars to drive, and my buildings are able to be built much faster and more accurately because of technological advances in machines.Without technology, I would still use just nails and a hammer to build wooden buildings for my people and everything would take a lot longer.
4.2 Students analyze current events to better understand the world in which they live.
In My Country, right now it is Halloween. Halloween presents a prime opportunity for holiday themed sales and events. The increased money making opportunities that Halloween presents shows me that Holidays are very important to the people and buisness ventures in My Country.
4.4 Students explain how past events impact the present and the future.
A couple of days ago, I bought six windmills. That allowed me to buy build some buisnesses and buildings because I had enough energy production. That past purchase also allowed me to make more money through the buisnesses I was able to start and also buy more property and buisnesses in the future.
5.1 Students interpret charts, maps, and graphs to answer questions dealing with people, places, events, or environments.
My Country is viewed as a map that allows me to look at all of my buildings in relationship to one another, see events that are taking place such as building sites and also at the environments around my buildings. Also when I am looking to upgrade a building,it looks like a chart that allows me to see how my profits will increase and what other updates are avaliable. It also allows me to see the effects on the environment and how many people I will need to hire.
5.3 Students demonstrate an ability to organize and process information about people, places, and environments.
In My Country, I have to organize my buildings vs my buisnesses because buildings, such as housing, just bring you straight profit when you build them, however buisnesses require you to start a contract. I also have to be organized when I build buisnesses because I must also take into account that the workers at my buisnesses need somewhere to live. This means I also have to build them housing.
In the game, My Country, each player is alloted a certian amount of money to build a country from scratch. However, players must be wise with the way they spend their money. In order to successfully build a productive country, the player must make decisions about what type of buildings to build, if upgrading is an important thing to do, whether or not to hire more employees, and whether or not to start contracts among various other issues. The decisions of the player they could potentially make the player more money or cause them to go broke. To be able to advance to the next level, the player has to invest wisely and decide which type of bulding will make the most money.
3.1 Students explain how different economic systems are organized for production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.
In the game, My Country, there are different buisnesses such as taxi companies, buisness centers, and shoe factories. In order to collect goods and services from such companies, they must be built and invested in. For example, if you would like to begin a taxi service you have to have enough items to hire employees, then they distribute their services to various citizens and every eight or so minutes, the investor gets to collect their profits. There are also energy services, which in this case are windmills, that provide the country with power. Although I cannot collect money from the windmills, they allow the other buisness ventures to run, which in turn allows me to make a profit.
3.4 Students demonstrate an understanding of economic principles that influence individual financial planning.
In My Country, I have to budget my normal money and also my country dollars in order to make a profit. I cannot go in debt in the game, so I have to wait until I can collect the profits on my buisnesses and apartments before I can expand my country.
3.. Students evaluate the impact of technology and how it has shaped history and influenced the modern world.
Technology has allowed my country to make advances at a much faster rate than in the days where technology was not as prevalent as it is today. Windmills allow my city to have clean, efficient energy, engines and gas allow my cars to drive, and my buildings are able to be built much faster and more accurately because of technological advances in machines.Without technology, I would still use just nails and a hammer to build wooden buildings for my people and everything would take a lot longer.
4.2 Students analyze current events to better understand the world in which they live.
In My Country, right now it is Halloween. Halloween presents a prime opportunity for holiday themed sales and events. The increased money making opportunities that Halloween presents shows me that Holidays are very important to the people and buisness ventures in My Country.
4.4 Students explain how past events impact the present and the future.
A couple of days ago, I bought six windmills. That allowed me to buy build some buisnesses and buildings because I had enough energy production. That past purchase also allowed me to make more money through the buisnesses I was able to start and also buy more property and buisnesses in the future.
5.1 Students interpret charts, maps, and graphs to answer questions dealing with people, places, events, or environments.
My Country is viewed as a map that allows me to look at all of my buildings in relationship to one another, see events that are taking place such as building sites and also at the environments around my buildings. Also when I am looking to upgrade a building,it looks like a chart that allows me to see how my profits will increase and what other updates are avaliable. It also allows me to see the effects on the environment and how many people I will need to hire.
5.3 Students demonstrate an ability to organize and process information about people, places, and environments.
In My Country, I have to organize my buildings vs my buisnesses because buildings, such as housing, just bring you straight profit when you build them, however buisnesses require you to start a contract. I also have to be organized when I build buisnesses because I must also take into account that the workers at my buisnesses need somewhere to live. This means I also have to build them housing.
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