Sunday, March 28, 2010
Core 3 Reflection
Finding sources for Core 3 was not as challenging as it seemed to be. Once I dove into my research, I found it easier to stumble upon sources that helped me tremendously. However, I did struggle with the thesis statement. I found it difficult to come up with a solution since the problem is not easily solved. The annotations were much easier than I expected them to be. Once I got the gist of it, they went by smoothly. Since all of my sources are useful to me in different ways, it was easy to describe their helpfulness to my essay. The resource hub was difficult at first since I did not understand the difference between ‘Definition of the Controversy’ and ‘Illustration of the Problem’. Thankfully, there were several examples on the blog site to help with my own resource hub. Overall, Core 3 was not as challenging as I expected it to be.
Resource Hub
Thesis Statement:
Some major theme parks do not allow employees to promote individualism therefore, the human resources department needs to fix their appearance guidelines in order to hire people with many different looks and styles.
Definition of the Controversy:
Everyday numerous people apply for jobs in the theme park industry. Many of these people are turned down simply because of their looks. Most major theme parks, such as Disney, Universal, and Six Flags, do not hire employees who have visible tattoos, multiple piercings, brightly dyed hair, or even too much facial hair. This poses a problem for those who are taking part in openly expressing themselves via style. The theme parks have a long list of looks and styles a potential employee cannot sport. By not hiring employees like those described, the theme parks are both limiting the number of future employees and also giving off the impression that the companies do not support self-expression. In order to fix this, the companies’ human resource department needs to revise their policies by allowing employees to show their personalities subtly during work hours. If employees were given just a little bit of leeway concerning appearances, the parks could have more, possibly better, workers.
Illustration of the Problem:
How would you like to be fired from your job because of your hair style, yet you were never told the restrictions? That is exactly what happened to several African American employees at Six Flags America in Largo, Maryland. Their managers approached them one day and told them that their hairstyles were inappropriate. The employees suggested that the employee handbook is biased against African Americans and that the managers said they wanted an ‘all-American’ look. The general manager, Terry Prather, claimed that yes the guidelines were not strictly enforced but Six Flags tell their employees that the company has been in business for a long time and they want standards. Mr. Prather claims the problem was that the park had a management switch so the rules did not transfer over to the new employees, such as the ones in this case. Mr. Prather also stated that he has not spoke to his management team yet about the guidelines and how they should be enforced, but he plans to. Without proper instructions, the employees cannot possibly know the ‘standards’. With these standards in place, the park employees are not allowed self-expression.
Sources:
Background Information:
http://afterthemouse.com/node/2521
https://www.wdwcollegeprogram.com/sap/its/mimes/zh_wdwcp/disneylook/disneylook.html
http://www.ushjobs.com/image.php
Support/Evidence:
Griffin, Emma. Email Interview. 27 Feb. 2010.
Koenig, David. Mouse Tales. Irvine: Bonaventure , 1994. Print.
Koenig, David. Realityland. Irvine: Bonaventure, 2007. Print.
http://www.icmrindia.org/CaseStudies/catalogue/Human%20Resource%20and%20Organization%20Behavior/Personal%20Appearances-The%20Changing%20HR%20Norms.htm
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1291&dat=20030713&id=kvMPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JY4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4134,6004254
Opposing Viewpoints:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5503209
Some major theme parks do not allow employees to promote individualism therefore, the human resources department needs to fix their appearance guidelines in order to hire people with many different looks and styles.
Definition of the Controversy:
Everyday numerous people apply for jobs in the theme park industry. Many of these people are turned down simply because of their looks. Most major theme parks, such as Disney, Universal, and Six Flags, do not hire employees who have visible tattoos, multiple piercings, brightly dyed hair, or even too much facial hair. This poses a problem for those who are taking part in openly expressing themselves via style. The theme parks have a long list of looks and styles a potential employee cannot sport. By not hiring employees like those described, the theme parks are both limiting the number of future employees and also giving off the impression that the companies do not support self-expression. In order to fix this, the companies’ human resource department needs to revise their policies by allowing employees to show their personalities subtly during work hours. If employees were given just a little bit of leeway concerning appearances, the parks could have more, possibly better, workers.
Illustration of the Problem:
How would you like to be fired from your job because of your hair style, yet you were never told the restrictions? That is exactly what happened to several African American employees at Six Flags America in Largo, Maryland. Their managers approached them one day and told them that their hairstyles were inappropriate. The employees suggested that the employee handbook is biased against African Americans and that the managers said they wanted an ‘all-American’ look. The general manager, Terry Prather, claimed that yes the guidelines were not strictly enforced but Six Flags tell their employees that the company has been in business for a long time and they want standards. Mr. Prather claims the problem was that the park had a management switch so the rules did not transfer over to the new employees, such as the ones in this case. Mr. Prather also stated that he has not spoke to his management team yet about the guidelines and how they should be enforced, but he plans to. Without proper instructions, the employees cannot possibly know the ‘standards’. With these standards in place, the park employees are not allowed self-expression.
Sources:
Background Information:
http://afterthemouse.com/node/2521
https://www.wdwcollegeprogram.com/sap/its/mimes/zh_wdwcp/disneylook/disneylook.html
http://www.ushjobs.com/image.php
Support/Evidence:
Griffin, Emma. Email Interview. 27 Feb. 2010.
Koenig, David. Mouse Tales. Irvine: Bonaventure , 1994. Print.
Koenig, David. Realityland. Irvine: Bonaventure, 2007. Print.
http://www.icmrindia.org/CaseStudies/catalogue/Human%20Resource%20and%20Organization%20Behavior/Personal%20Appearances-The%20Changing%20HR%20Norms.htm
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1291&dat=20030713&id=kvMPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JY4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4134,6004254
Opposing Viewpoints:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5503209
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Prompt 7
Part 1:
Theme park corporations should allow all people to have an equal chance of obtaining a job so the parks can be more diverse and not exclude anyone with strong self-expression.
Individuals promoting self-expression are being banned from working in various theme parks. To stop this, the parks must be accepting of every applicant.
The theme park human resources department needs to fix their appearance guidelines in order to hire people with many different looks and styles.
Part 2:
The author of the article, Surveillance under the USA PATRIOT Act, made his point very clear to his audience. Firstly, the author states that, “Congress reversed course because it was bullied into it by the Bush administration…” By saying this, the author implies that he is not a fan of the Bush administration or of the new policies. I believe the thesis statement is the first sentence, “Just six weeks after the September 11 attacks, a panicked Congress passed the “USA Patriot Act,” an overnight revision of the nation’s surveillance laws that vastly expanded the government’s authority to spy on its own citizens, while simultaneously reducing checks and balances on those powers like judicial oversight, public accountability, and the ability to challenge government searches in court.” I believe this to be the thesis statement since we were taught that the statement begins with a problem and ends with the solution. Here, the problem is the September 11th attacks while the solution is the revised surveillance policies. I think the author should have expanded the problem a little bit more. It was a long sentence that we could have gotten lost in. Also, I don’t feel that his opinion is shown that strongly throughout.
The author defined the controversy in his ‘Why Congress Passed the Patriot Act’ section. The section explains the background of the surveillance policies as well as why they are revising them. Defining the controversy includes the history of the controversy and background necessary to understand the issue. The key terms in this article are the different policies and amendments; the author explains these throughout the article. The author explains the history and background in a very academic voice, yet it is underlying that he does not favor the new policies.
Part 3:
My Core II paper had some mistakes that could have been corrected, yet still I am confused about some. On my first page, I stated my research question “Is it justifiable for the parks to be preventing self-expression in its employees?” You commented on it, “Yes. It is justifiable but is it legal?” I don’t believe it is justifiable. I think that that is a personal opinion and the whole subject of my paper. Other than that, I understand why I was marked off for my mistakes. I think in total, I did fairly well on my paper dealing with the specificity. I need to improve on my citations. Overall, I am happy with my grade and I can take some things with me to make my Core III even better.
Theme park corporations should allow all people to have an equal chance of obtaining a job so the parks can be more diverse and not exclude anyone with strong self-expression.
Individuals promoting self-expression are being banned from working in various theme parks. To stop this, the parks must be accepting of every applicant.
The theme park human resources department needs to fix their appearance guidelines in order to hire people with many different looks and styles.
Part 2:
The author of the article, Surveillance under the USA PATRIOT Act, made his point very clear to his audience. Firstly, the author states that, “Congress reversed course because it was bullied into it by the Bush administration…” By saying this, the author implies that he is not a fan of the Bush administration or of the new policies. I believe the thesis statement is the first sentence, “Just six weeks after the September 11 attacks, a panicked Congress passed the “USA Patriot Act,” an overnight revision of the nation’s surveillance laws that vastly expanded the government’s authority to spy on its own citizens, while simultaneously reducing checks and balances on those powers like judicial oversight, public accountability, and the ability to challenge government searches in court.” I believe this to be the thesis statement since we were taught that the statement begins with a problem and ends with the solution. Here, the problem is the September 11th attacks while the solution is the revised surveillance policies. I think the author should have expanded the problem a little bit more. It was a long sentence that we could have gotten lost in. Also, I don’t feel that his opinion is shown that strongly throughout.
The author defined the controversy in his ‘Why Congress Passed the Patriot Act’ section. The section explains the background of the surveillance policies as well as why they are revising them. Defining the controversy includes the history of the controversy and background necessary to understand the issue. The key terms in this article are the different policies and amendments; the author explains these throughout the article. The author explains the history and background in a very academic voice, yet it is underlying that he does not favor the new policies.
Part 3:
My Core II paper had some mistakes that could have been corrected, yet still I am confused about some. On my first page, I stated my research question “Is it justifiable for the parks to be preventing self-expression in its employees?” You commented on it, “Yes. It is justifiable but is it legal?” I don’t believe it is justifiable. I think that that is a personal opinion and the whole subject of my paper. Other than that, I understand why I was marked off for my mistakes. I think in total, I did fairly well on my paper dealing with the specificity. I need to improve on my citations. Overall, I am happy with my grade and I can take some things with me to make my Core III even better.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Prompt 6: Research Process
Usually my research process consists of me searching whatever the topic is online. I might not use reliable sources, but I am only using it for a light background of the topic. Once I have an idea of what I’ll be writing about, I start to look for reliable, scholarly sources. This might be a trip to the library or searching newspapers for articles pertaining to the topic. I have done this all of my high school and start of college career. It has worked for me for all of these years so I’d have to say it is successful. For the Core 2 paper, I did the same routine but went more in depth concerning my primary source. For this, I had to weigh my options of who to interview, when to interview them, what I would ask, etc. For Core 3, I know some of my sources are going to be the same as in Core 2. My last sources helped me tremendously and I don’t think I could have written my paper as successfully as I did without the aid of those sources. In addition to finding new, more in depth sources, I will also keep the older material.
I might break down my research question into categories such as:
-Background/ History of appearance guidelines
-Opposing viewpoints
-Supporting viewpoints
-Examples of law suits, etc.
-Evidence
My Core 2 would fall under the supporting viewpoints category. There were many sources that supported my idea that the image codes were unjustifiable. Some of those sources were in fact, articles from scholarly journals. An example of that would be the source that contained the statistics of how many employees quit after knowing the appearance guidelines at Disney.
I might break down my research question into categories such as:
-Background/ History of appearance guidelines
-Opposing viewpoints
-Supporting viewpoints
-Examples of law suits, etc.
-Evidence
My Core 2 would fall under the supporting viewpoints category. There were many sources that supported my idea that the image codes were unjustifiable. Some of those sources were in fact, articles from scholarly journals. An example of that would be the source that contained the statistics of how many employees quit after knowing the appearance guidelines at Disney.
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