Everyday that I have my phone on me,(which is everyday), I am exposed to some sort of media.  Access to media has also become easier than ever.  Everyday I will either receive a sportcenter update, or see an advertisement on Facebook but its almost inevitable that you see some form of media throughout your day.  The bad problem about this is that not all media is telling the truth.  Magazines and companies such as TMZ are always looking for information to exploit, and are sometimes willing to change information in order to get more publicity.  This is also the reason why its common to hear now a days that people do not read the newspaper anymore since a lot of information is falsified.  Its also important to pay attention what your political party is when watching the news.  Some news channels have been accused for favoring certain political parties such as FOX being accused for being biased in favor of the Republican party.  Although people are against misleading information, from a different perspective this type of information could be what helps the economy.  If the media instills thoughts into minds which makes "the people" frantic, they will continue to take precautions from the information they hear.  For example, the flu shot is publicized to keep people safe from common viruses during cold seasons.  At the same time, there are people who do not listen to the media and think flu shots are almost pointless.  Its up to you to pick what you believe in today's media

Marketing Techniqies

This week I have been informed on many marking strategies.  Businesses rely on useful marketing techniques so that they are able to make the consumers happy.  Businesses like these include my job (Costco) which relies on making the consumer happy no matter what so that they come back.  Before I started working at Costco, I thought making a trip there more than once a week would cause a heart attack.  After working there for about a year now, I've wondered why there are people who come as often as four or five times a week.  A clever marketing strategy I found out my work uses is to constantly move items around throughout the store.  Whenever Costco members would ask me why we would move certain items to, I would have no answer for them making me feel ignorant.  Finally I found out that constantly moving items around throughout the store will cause someone to walk in circles for hours trying to find what they want.  While they are spending hours looking for the one item they want, they walk past newer items that were strategically placed there to make someone pass it and perhaps take it home with them.  The more people walk around the store, the more they get to look at all the new seasonal items rather than seeing the same items in the same spot.  Therefore, people see new things and if they like it, they take it home with them.

Hyperboles

A topic from this weeks reading that interested me the most is the use of hyperboles.   Hyperboles are a figure of speech, which exaggerates emotions and adds emphasis. I found this interesting since everyday I hear different types of hyperboles whether I am at work or at school.  An example of a hyperbole is when someone says “my eyes are going to burn out of my skull”, when really the person could have just seen something disturbing that they may have not wanted to see.  A time when I use hyperboles the most is when I am at work.  I often say, “I love working here at Costco so much I think I’m going to come in and work on my day off”, when really I absolutely hate that place and I will be no where near my work on my day off.  I use hyperboles at work to add emphasis on how much I don’t want to be there, and a lot of people feel the same way so they joke the same way.

Rhetorical Devices

Since my job at Costco demands that I interact with hundreds of people in a day, I deal with quite a bit of “slow” people.  One of my favorite rhetorical devices that I use at my job is sarcasm.  The other day at my work, I saw a member debating about which item she wanted to get but the only difference was the brand.  She continues to think and walk at the same time, as I’m following to go back to the front of the store.  A few seconds later she decides which one she wants and puts the other item on the nearest shelf to her where it did not belong.  As she continues to away I pick up the item and catch up to the lady to tell her she forgot this item.  I’m pretty sure she knew that I had seen her pick up both items, so she takes the item from me pretending she left it there on purpose.  Another rhetorical device I use at my job is euphemism.  A lot of the time I become very frustrated with Costco members, therefore to me swearing makes some of the pain go away.  I obviously can’t swear at work so instead I say other words that rhyme with swear words I like to use.

Career Choice

One of my strengths I believe is being a team leader.  Since I have played football for a good portion of my life, It has been nature for me to take the leadership role in times of stress to turn things around.  In stressful scenario’s, I have the capability to take a step back, identifying a problem, and then using a team effort to fix it.  Unlike other people, stress may influence one’s reasoning, which may effect crucial decisions that must be made at the time.  While playing football, I exercise in making decisions based off impulse that have to work or else you lose.  Since I have been making decision under these circumstances for so long, I have learned how to not only make the right decision but also to think differently.  For example during a football game, the offense may make an audible right before they are about to snap the ball, therefore as the defensive captain it is my duty to have learned the week prior what they may do, then either send someone to blitz or somehow blow up the play so that it does not go accordingly.  I feel that in a business environment, I have the leadership quality in me to make decision off impulse, which the outcome must be positive.

Decision Making

A lot of my reasoning is based off of projecting the outcome of a situation.  When I make decisions or perform everyday activities, I try to make decision that will benefit me.  For example when I go to work 4 times a week and as much as I hate to do it, I know that if I become used to working a lot when I am younger it will be easier for me when I am older to work even more diligently than I do now.  Another example of my decision-making techniques is going to school right now.  A lot of people at my work do not go to school since they are able to make a comfortable living off the salary they make.  I have thought many times about how much money I will be making if I work full time at a good paying job, but the amount of money I want to make when I am older is no where near the amount an average person can make without a college degree.  I also know that in deux-time, I will find the right job.  

Dr. Novello

Dr. Antonia Novello was the 1^st woman and 1^st Hispanic surgeon General of the United States appointed by President George H.W. Bush.  While in office Dr. Novello’s main focus was to prevent children and young teens from smoking, drinking, drug abuse, and AIDS.  Once sworn into office, one of the first topics she wanted to bring to issue was teens and smoking, and how “five million of today’s children will die of smoking related illnesses in their later years”.  A lot of the smoking propaganda used to aim towards younger adults and Dr. Novello wants to inform kids at a young age about cigarettes.  One of the results Dr. Novello noticed was that in correlation to the more propaganda about cigarettes towards teens, the more teen smokers there are.  I think is a good idea to inform young kids about cigarettes since a lot of smokers start since they are uneducated about the side effects and merely focus on how it makes them look.