September 2010 – ZILIANG(William) ZENG

By the 21st of September, the last day to drop any course without a W standing, a bunch of my friends had either dropped or considered dropping Comm101:Business Fundamentals. And from hearing opinions here and there, the general reason was due to an unclear sense of what was to be learned. However, here are my thoughts.

I think the point of the course is exposure, rather than mastery of every aspect in business. Speaking for myself, as a fresh high school graduate, I need a source that provides me with exposure and insight to the business world, especially when I am completing a business degree. So in this regard, I don’t think it makes sense to withdraw from such a business course, particularly one that is designed and tailored specifically towards Sauderites. Look at it this way, transfer-hopefuls from other faculties can take Econ and Math this year, but they don’t have the opportunity to take specific commerce courses available in first year such as Comm101, so why take something that’s handed to you for granted?

In addition, every upper-year student I’ve talked to said they found the course really beneficial. And the fact that the course got promoted to a regular course this year from being a trial course last year shows that it was a successful and well-received course with enough support. Sure, the assignments, blogging, and tweeting can be tediously hard at times, but which course isn’t? Furthermore, I personally feel this is a more practical and relevant way to learn about the functionality of the business world than writing exams. Besides, in which other courses can you say “I get to use twitter for this course because its required.”

I feel the exposure and the learning outcomes we get from this course are worth the teeth-clenching required to pull through the undesired assignments and homework.

lastly, I would like to conclude this entry with a quote for consideration:
“The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.”
– Aristotle

As we’ve seen in Comm101, ethics matter. While this can be demonstrated through some obvious factors such as safety, I think there is a more subtle factor that can be discussed—–honesty.

The importance of honesty is often neglected in the realm of business, where the basis of its functionality is, quite simply, to attract as many people to buy as much as your stuff as possible.

I think the sense of ‘unethicalness’ ultimately stems from a feeling of lack of choice, a sense of being mislead into a situation in which you did not willfully intend. In the case of Active Periodicals, Inc., monthly magazine subscriptions were charged from participants of so-called free ‘surveys’ that were marketed as having $1000 rewards. I think the essential problem here is not monthly fees that followed, but rather the deception of the result of participation. If the participants knew of the aftermath, they would have simply CHOSEN to not participate. However, this choice did not take place since no such freedom was given.

As a result, the contrast between what was expected and actuality evolved into revolt and anger. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with promoting products to get as much attention as possible; as long as it is “engaged in open and free competition without deception or fraud” (Friedman).