Shepherd's Business Administration Program

Shepherd offers a Business Administration program with concentrations in General Business, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, Marketing, Human Resource Management, Management, Financial Planning, and Hospitality Management. Shepherd also offers a Master of Business Adminstration program. 

I am currently in the Business Admin. program at Shepherd and chose marketing as my concentration. I am required to complete general studies requirements, just like students in other programs at Shepherd. I will have to complete the Business Core Requirements, which include Accounting, Economics, Marketing, and Business Ethics. I have completed most of them, so I am pursuing courses in the Marketing concentration, like Retailing, Promotional Strategy, and Strategic Marketing.

Shepherd is trying to prepare students for the job market upon graduation. I have heard from alumni that the job market is competitive and it is best to get an internship prior to graduation. The program will prepare students who want to continue their education by going to graduate school, whether it be at Shepherd or another institution.

I feel most of the faculty members are concerned with their students progress. They realize that some students work for good grades and other students are just trying to get by. I have not met a professor in the program that I dislike. The program also gave students an opportunity to travel to Russia this spring to get some international experience.

Business Administration appealed to me because my dad owns his own business. This program will give me a jump start if I decide to open my own business in the future. A degree in business administration opens up a lot doors in the job market. I going by what I have been told by others. Some say there are opportunities after graduating, some say they had no luck at finding a "decent job". I chose marketing as a concentration, because I have taken an interest in advertising. Having this degree and a minor in Mass Communications will hopefully open up doors to jobs that require both fields of study.

Communication Interests: Radio and Television Broadcasting

The broadcasting industry consists of radio and television stations that create content or acquire the rights to broadcast certain programs. Programs include from news programs, movies, talk shows, and advertisements. News programs are typically produced in their own studios, but most other entertainment is produced separately from the broadcasting industry. Most of their revenue is made by selling time slots for advertising.

The stations signals are transmitted from their studios to local stations or cable distributors. Anyone with a radio of television can receive these signals in the area they are being transmitted.

People who work in this field work crazy hours. Employees usually specialize in certain fields, such as program production, news related, and technical, sales, and management occupations.

Prospects look good for this field of work, especially in larger cities.

VALS Survey

The VALS survey determinded that my primary type is an Experiencer and my secondary type was an Innovator.

Self-expression is what motivates an Experiencer. They get excited about new possibilites, but easily lose excitement. An Experiencer thrives on excitement and variety. They are known to channel their energy into activities such as exercising, outdoors activities, sports and social activities. They are known to spend a lot of money on fashion, entertainment, and socializing. Buying trendy things is and looking cool is a top priority of an Experiencer.

Innovators are known to be sophisitcated, successful and having high self-esteem. They are open to new ideas and inventions. The things they buy tend to be upscale products and services. Their image expresses their tastes and personality, rather than money and power. Leaders of business and government are known to be Innovators, but are always looking for a challenge. The things the own and do for fun show that they have an appreciation for the finer things in life.

I feel that the survery was somewhat accurate.

Cultural Event: Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest is an event held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The event lasts 17 days. It starts in late September and ends the first weekend in October. It is very popular in Germany and is the world's largest fair. About five million people attend the festival each year. It is a huge part of Bavarian culture. Other cities throughout the world hold events similar to Oktoberfest.

There is a wide variety of traditional Bavarian food at the festival. Beer drinking and overall well being is celebrated during the festival. Alcohol is served in various tents throughout the festival, typically beer and sometimes wine. There are 14 main tents at the festival and are setup temporarily just for the festival.

The tents are unique in their own way. The Hippodrum tent is considered one of the most hip tents at the festival. Sometimes celebrities are spotted there. In the evening the Oktoberfest band the Münchner Zwietracht plays all the Oktoberfest classics in this tent. The Hacker-Festzelt is one of the largest tents there. A rock band plays there at 5:30 each evening of the festival.  The Käfers Wiesen Schänke is the smallest tent at the festival. It is popular among celebrities and is known for its excellent food. It is the only tent that closes 12:30 a.m. as opposed to the other tables that close at 11 pm. It can be very hard to get inside.

There is a tent set up for those who take part in the crossbow competition, which has been a part of Oktoberfest since 1895. Some tents appeal to those from certain countries, such as America, Austrailia and New Zealand. One tent has a yodeler.  Many of the locals consider the Augustiner-Festhalle the best tent at the event because it sells the local beer Augustiner. The beer is tapped from kegs made of wood, instead of steel vats that other tents use. Other tents are known for the food that they serve, such as fish and ox.

Schottenhamel is reckoned to be the most important tent at the Oktoberfest, mainly because it is where it starts. It is tradition that alcohol cannot be served until the mayor of Munich taps the first keg on the first Saturday of the event at noon. Then all the other tents can start serving alcohol. This is popular among the younger audience.

There is no charge to enter the festival or the tents.

This year was the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest and about 6.4 million people attended. This year’s event included more historical aspects of Bavarian culture.

Games

Philosopher Ludwig Wittenstein argued that no games are alike but sometimes resemble each other. He compared games including chess, tic-tac-toe, tennis and ring around the rosy. Tic-tac-toe requires mental strategy but not as much as chess. Tennis and ring around the rosy are physically demanding, but tennis is much more complex than a children’s game. He made a point of how Game A is connected to Game B. Game B is connected to Game C, but Game A is not connected to Game C. He shows how someone games may or may not have some of the same random features.

               Johan Huizinga says that games construct a “magic circle”. By playing a game you are setting yourself apart from the outside world. The rules of the game are not ones that you follow when not playing the game. Games are situations were specific rules apply, but this also applies to other situations such as work, class and formal occasions. Certain rules apply to these situations that may not apply in others. He discussed how games have real world consequences. Games take up time that could be spent on other activities, work or sleeping. Games can affect our emotions. Winning can excite us; losing can make us sad or angry. Games can change our behavior and motivate us to do things we would not have done otherwise.

               Individuals who play a lot of video games tend to be anti-social. Not all video games are made for single player. Online gaming has made gamers more interactive with each other. These online games have enabled two people to challenge A.I. instead of challenging each other. Games come with microphones so players can communicate with each other. Video games have improved over time. They have gone from Pacman to the Grand Theft Auto series. The more complex they become, the more time is spent on them. Gaming has become a way of life for some. Video games do influence behavior.

Learning Styles

Learning styles are different approches to the ways someone obtains knowledge. They include, visual, verbal, hands-on or experiential, or a combination of all of these. According to the first online test, I am a aural learner. I learn best from listening to lectures, discussing topics with others, explaining topics to others, using a tape recorder an and remembering funny jokes and examples. The results also told me that aural learners tend to be bad at taking notes. It suggested to say thoughts and ideas aloud in your mind and ask other aural learners to hear your ideas. The other online quiz said I am a global learner. This means obtain information best in sequential steps. Global learners gather pieces of information and suddenly the pieces will come together and they "get it". Just because you suddenly understand something does not mean you are a global learner. Global learners need to understand the main concept of a subject before they can master details. The results from the data have reinforced my own opinions on the ways I learn best. Some of these skills I use frequejtly when i am studying or taking part in a lecture.

Careers in advertising

At some point in my life, I would like to persue a career in the advertising field. Commercials and ads have always caught my eye, ever since I was a child. I was always interested in how firms would come up with ideas grab the attention of average person. Advertising is everywhere, including television, radio, billboards and magazines. I would love to work with a group of people and analyze information to learn how to attract consumers. I believe I have the right skills for this field of work. I have an interest in marketing and have great people skills. My creativity could be used to its full potential in a marketing career. To better my chances of finding a job in the future, I plan on taking an internship before graduating college. I will have to start from the bottom and work my way up, just like any other career. I may even attend graduate school to make my prospects look even better. Hopefully, a minor in mass communications will also be beneficial.

establishing myself

HI there,

My name is Holly. This is only the second blog I have ever written. So, here it goes again. I am 21 years old, a student at Shepherd Univeristy and a great person. At this point, I feel I am trying to find my place in life, but I suppose everyone at this age is in the same boat as me. I have two years left at Shepherd. After that, I would love to see some new places, make some new friends, and find a career that I love. I could see myself working in the field of advertising. Maybe I could even start my own business. It has been an interesting road to where I've gotten. There's been good times and the bad. But, I suppose everything happens for a reason. I try to look at things optimistically, because things can ALWAYS get worse. I don't know what the future has in store for me, so I guess I will have to just wait and see.