Back... With a Vengeance

I hate school.  I have always hated school.  I remember being 4 years old in Pre-Kindergarden and all I had to do was play, nap, and color and hating it.  I can only assume that that is because i don't like being told what to do but the point is I HATE SCHOOL.  After graduating college I went to Navigator training (which I hated and is school) then I went to the specific training for my aircraft (which is school although i liked my company and it involved killing people so i didn't hate it as much but still…school) and after all that is it enough for the Air Force that i spend half the year deployed? No…it's not. Why? Well because not everyone deploys seven times in less than 4 years so those don't count towards being promoted.  What does? What they like to call PME (Professional Military Education… school where you should drink the Kool-Aid and be a company man) and getting my masters. That's right….MORE SCHOOL! 

With all of that said you all do seem to enjoy my pain and I haven't written in a while so i figured since I am taking two classes over the next month I should make it interesting and share the joy.  In these classes I have to post multiple discussions every week…. Enjoy.

The class i am less fond of is "Organization and Control" the other is "Leadership and Ethics" 

TOPIC:

Welcome to class. I’d like to use the discussion board to augment your studies by providing an area to discuss the course material and relate it to your current working environment. But to begin, let’s start by introducing ourselves. Please take a few minutes and answer the following questions… 

Where are you from?
Do you live there now?
Where is the farthest you’ve ever traveled?
Do you have hobbies?
What do you like to read?
What is your undergrad degree in?
How close are you to graduation?
What do you do for a living?
What is your professional goal (just summarize it for us)?
What are your course expectations? So let’s get going!!! Dr R

MY RESPONSE:

Where are you from?
Mobile AL
Do you live there now?
Currently Iraq...usually Ft.Walton Beach FL
Where is the farthest you’ve ever traveled?
Afghanistan 
Do you have hobbies?
not really
What do you like to read?
i don't like to talk about what a huge dork i am
What is your undergrad degree in?
Political Science 
How close are you to graduation?
I've completed five classes
What do you do for a living?
Navigator USAF
What is your professional goal (just summarize it for us)?
continue to be paid equal to or more than i am currently making
What are your course expectations?
to complete the course with a passing grade so that I can check a box required by the air force so that i can continue my professional goal of getting paid equal to or more than i am currently making.

NO RESPONSE…I WILL TRY HARDER.

 

TOPIC: (Keep in mind this was in addition at the last minute to her assignments)

OK - Consider this scenario.  Two semesters ago, a student took a leadership/management class and completed a paper on business functions.  The student takes another management class current semester and it has a requirement for a paper too.  The student changes the old paper's title and turns it into the second management class for a grade. (don't worry about the topic - focus on the action)

Is this academically sound?  Ethical?  Legal or illegal?

Please respond by Sunday.  Go back and read your peers' responses. 

TYPICAL STUDENT RESPONSE: (they were all equally disgusting)

"In response to your question on the student using the same paper for two classes. I think the action is legal, but that is where it ends. It is certainly not academically sound at all. This is college, an education that has to be paid for and therefore a student who doesn't take the specified learning opportunity to gain knowledge and seek a deeper understanding is truly robbing themselves. I am the same as everyone else in class when it comes to being over-scheduled, but I look at the learning opportunites as just that, opportunities. I don't feel that using a paper twice does anything to further an education. I also do not think it is ethical because the current class has a new assignment and the instructor intends the student to do the assignment with the specific material from that course in mind. That would be impossible if the paper was written with another class in mind."

MY RESPONSE:

Since everyone seems to be agreeing on this topic except for one person I'll just sum up my response to most of the posts with ugh… Which brings me to my opinion of reusing a paper.  I don't see anything wrong with it.  If I wrote it and it meets all the criteria for the current assignment then I would not only not think twice about turning it in I'd be ecstatic that I didn't have to write another paper.  I saw someone write that "this is college" and we're bettering ourselves…lets be real.  Why are you bettering yourself? Seriously? Operations Management from Arkansas is going let you sleep better at night or has opened your eyes and you went from having no experience as a manager to an expert. Negative. It's going to give you a piece of paper that says you have a masters that you can then write down on a resume in the hopes of looking better than the other guy so you get the job so that you can make what you need to keep your standard of living or improve it…for the same reason my fellow Air Force Captains are doing this so we can make Major b/c some pencil pusher sits on our boards and decides that deployments don't matter.. So if I can use the hours I spent on a paper about xy and z enjoying the small amount of free time I have either with family or friends instead of writing yet another paper I will.  But i'm positive that most of my class mates are going to say it's so wrong and they wouldn't do it because that's what they think our instructor wants to hear.

ONE PERSON WROTE ONE LINE SAYING HE WAS JUST CHECKING A BOX ALSO.

Catherine R's Response:

Respectfully, Jacqueline, I do take exception to your last statement and your premise.  Speaking for myself, I'm long past telling anyone what they want to hear just to garner their favor.  While I certainly agree with the practicality of your view (easier, saves time, and even that a degree is in many ways just a means to an end), achievement absent ethics is hollow.  And ethics would be lacking because most schools consider "duplicate submission" as academic dishonesty.  It's highly likely that you'd get away with it assuming your paper was an original work to begin with, but not getting caught makes it no less an offense.  Yes, a degree unethically gotten will look just like one achieved through original thought and hard work but it's value to the holder is truly diminished.  I'm not saying I've never taken a shortcut, especially when I was a goofy and immature undergrad many years back, but when I've given my best there is a distinct difference in my opinion of myself and the value of a grade well-earned.

I WILL REMEMBER TO CHECK CATHY'S POSTS EVERY WEEK…ANYONE WHO TAKES THIS SERIOUSLY DESERVES MY BEST EFFORTS TO PRESS TO TEST.

TOPIC: 

 Identify and describe a great leader. What makes him or her stand out from the crowd? 2. Have you ever seen or worked for an ineffective leader? Describe the causes and the consequences of the ineffectiveness.

MY RESPONSE:

I'm sorry to inform you that I cannot share this post with you as my answer was comparing someone who I felt was a good leader and someone who I felt was a bad leader…I wrote from personal experience and seeing as a little (ok not really little…a really big) birdie told me tonight that my PRIVATE facebook page has made my name well known all the way up to AFSOC HQ I feel that it is in my best interest not to share my answer…. Hurt feelings reports are a bitch when they get filled with a three start general…FML

TOPIC:

Identify some risky decisions you have made. Why did you take the risks? How did they work out? Looking back, what did you learn?

MY RESPONSE:

Honestly I don't know of any risky decisions i've made.  Maybe I just didn't consider them big risks.  I decided to join the military which I guess some people would consider a risk that I might be deployed and/or injured but i saw that more part of the job than something i should just try to avoid or that i even considered as a reason not to join.  So far it seems to be working out pretty well for me.  I guess getting married was a risk but at the time i didnt think it was...that one didn't turn out as well and i'll probably take a few more factors into account next time. 

Tammy L: Marriage is huge risk! I am actually shocked that people don't think it is such a risky decision. When I look at how horribly marriages can end, even when there aren't kids, I can't believe people don't take more into account when choosing a marriage partner. This is someone you intend to spend more of your life with than your children, parents or anyone else. This person will share your money, your goals, your highs and your lows. I have been married for almost 9 years and every day I am so thankful that my risky decision to get married is still paying off. Marriage in my opinion is one of the most risky decisions two people can make, but its also a decision that can have the most valuabe pay offs! It would be interesting to see what an external environmental analysis would look like if we had to fill out that document for out potential life partners!

Adam L: I agree with you Tammy. Marriage is very risky. My wife and I were married at the ripe old age of 19 and 20. Statisticlly speaking we should probably be divorced right now but when your young you don't listen to anyone. Luckily here we are 11 years later and still going strong. I just wish people gave greater consideration to the whole idea of marriage. Unfortunately hollywood has glamorized marriage as something you can easily get out of and not have to try to stay commited to the other person. Now granted if there are ligitimate reasons (like abuse) for the divorce than by all means get out any way you can but i know of a few people who divorced over an argument that could have been easily solved by having more open communication in the marriage. 

 

REALLY ASSHOLES?

 

MY RESPONSE TO THEM:

This is in response to both of the people that responded , I didn't think marriage was a risk at the time b/c after 5 years i thought i knew the person i was marrying and then after being married 3 years he (………censored…………,) told me to change things about my overall personallity, that i made too much money, and my job was more masculine than his and he couldn't handle it, he didn't care if i died and he was leaving...so if i had realized that he didn't care about me as much as i thought he did then no i would not have married him but given the facts i had at the time of the decision i did not think it was a risk.

ODDLY ENOUGH TAMMY AND ADAM DID NOT RESPOND…SAD DAY. ALSO WE WERE SPLIT UP INTO GROUPS FOR OUR TOPICS SO CATHERINE R. ISN'T IN MY GROUP…FINE I WILL FOCUS MY HATE ON TAMMY AND ADAM….

TOPIC:

Share with your peers: Ethical or Unethical. Why or why not? Calling in sick when you really are not. Trying to flirt your way out of a speeding ticket. Making a hard copy of a DVD before returning in to the store. Taking home office supplies

MY RESPONSE:

Something tells me I will get some very holy replies to my thoughts on this judging from previous posts. 

 I've only been in the military so I can't relate to sick days b/c when we get sick if you HAVE to be at work you go in unless you're put on quarters and seeing as no one wants you there usually someone says "you're disgusting. go home…" so you usually end up at home…but from what i understand you have so many sick days and i personally think that those are your days so if you want to risk wasting one of them when you're not really sick then go for it…

 I can't flirt my way out of a paper bag but i do keep my military ID on top of my driver's license in the hope that the officer might let me go in some patriotic gesture.  Also my Dad is a police officer and I would mention his name to get out of tickets… so i can't say that i'm that much better than some one more capable of flirting or who at least doesn't find it whore-ish.  I'll add that i've only been pulled over twice in 13yrs. 

  I haven't rented a DVD in years but while deployed people purchase pirated movies and tv shows for next to nothing and then they're shared…i've never purchased any b/c honestly the bizarre creeps me out and i usually just buy seasons of shows from amazon and while not on the up and up i don't care if people don't go pay more for a dvd just b/c i do…

Everyone takes home office supplies.  If the Air Force can waste millions on the Academy, PME, forced degrees, the bands, ugly uniforms they're just going to change in a year, etc I really don't think everyone stealing a pen once every few months is going to break them.  There's levels of office supplies…not really a blanket answer.

 

NONE OF MY CLASSMATES HAVE RESPONDED…I LOOK FORWARD TO TALKING TO TAMMY AND ADAM

TOPIC:

1. Discuss this code and how television, radio, internet have "evolved" in the past 60 years.  By suspension of this code in 1983, have we as a society benefited from the suspension, or been freed by the removal of censorship in public broadcasting.
2. How have our personal and business cultures been shaped by this "evolution" in broadcasting as it relates to marketing and business practices.
3. Research your own company's Code of Ethics or, if you are not currently employed, select a company and research and post it's Code of Ethics.  Below is a Values List from a former company that I was Regional Operations Manager for that we considered our code of everyday business practices:

Josh S's post: I for one and like I have read of others statements, think we have gone down hill since the removal of this code.  It blows my mind some of the things you see and hear coming from your radio, Television, and in the movies we see.  I remember when fowl language wasn't allowed in music and television, and now its in almost every song and on every TV show.  The thought is "we can just bleep it out". It really irritates me, that my standards have lowered and I am actually alright with some of the things that go on.  Really I have become so desensitized that most things that used to bother me, I don't even pay attention to.  One thing that really stood out to me in the Television Code of 1952 is in the section discussing responsibility towards children.  "Television is responsible for insuring that programs of all sorts which occur during the times of day when children's may normally be expected to have the opportunity of viewing television shall exercise care in the following regards: (c) In reflecting respect for parents, for honorable behavior, and for the constituted authorities of the American Community."  This made me think of all the shows and movies in which the role of parents, teachers, law enforcement, etc., is belittled by teens and youth.  This image is not what needs to be displayed to children and teenagers. 

Our business and personal cultures have been bombarded by sex.  Marketing adds like Axe and godaddy.com play on men's sexual appetite in order to drive sales.  As stated above, the role of parents has been diminished by television shows.  The standards are very lenient. Everyone is attempting to push the limit on how far they can go. 

I am employed, but our company does not have a stated code of ethics, but a vendor of ours is Home Depot and theirs is:  

BLAH BLAH BLAH

 

MY RESPONSE TO JOSH S.

The reason our society is in a decline isn't b/c of television…it's the fact that parents don't parent anymore.  Television is a babysitter.  This country is on the fast track to the movie "Idiocracy" because no one takes responsibility for themselves much less their children.  If you don't want your kid to watch something then don't let them. "But i'm not home all the time." Take the coaxial cable with you and oddly enough your kids probably won't hitch hike to wal mart to get another one.  Also locking them outside and making them break a sweat might not be a bad idea either.

John P's post:Television has changed dramatically in the past sixty years. Every item prohibited by the code of practices is depicted on television on a regular basis. A&E's “Intervention” shows actual drug use, Fox's “24” has violence, and cruelty in every episode and CBS's “The Big Bang Theory” openly mocks religion and spirituality. These changes are for the better however. Censorship is an outdated idea that allows a few to dictate what's good and bad for everyone else. There are no people on the planet who are qualified to decide what is right for everyone else. If you review the code you may notice criticizing religion is prohibited but there is no mention of racism of sexism. Laws or policies restricting the flow of information are weak and counterproductive. They don't work. You may also ask your self what purpose the code is serving. Keeping ideas and information from someone does not protect them any more than telling them them thieves are imaginary will protect thier wallet from a pickpocket. It is generally wrong to force you ideas of what is decent and proper on to other people.

2.   How have our personal and business cultures been shaped by this "evolution" in broadcasting as it relates to marketing and business practices.

The Air Force markets heavily to young people because we need to recruit high school seniors, graduates, and college students. I feel the commercials would be largely the same under the guidelines of the code. The Air Force uses movies like “Iron Man” and “Transformers” to display our inventory of cool machines and depict a life of adventure.

3. Research your own company's Code of Ethics or, if you are not currently employed, select a company and research and post it's Code of Ethics.

The Air Force, like all the other services, has a set of core values which are to guide our decisions and conduct. Excellence, Integrity, and Service Before Self are the values which guide Airmen. Integrity is closest to ethics as it challenges us to do what's right even when no one is looking.

MY RESPONSE TO JOHN P:

I love "The Big Bang Theory" actually i'm watching it on DVD as I do my homework since the tv in my room doesn't work.  I think it's up to parents to control what their children see and remembering back to what i knew at certain ages and what my friends now THINK their kids don't know at those same ages amuses me, but i do think people like the wiki-leaks guy should be strung up…

I will try to keep you all updated of any interesting posts and see how far i can take this.  Also it's about 5 hours before i'm supposed to wake up for work…I hope y'all appreciate what I do for my readers! Ok lets be real….i don't sleep and that big birdie made sure i wasn't sleeping tonight…again my pain is yours to enjoy.  BLARG!