End of Semester Summary
I enjoyed the Business 1050 course I took during the Spring 2014 semester. I learned a great deal about ancient trade practices and current business
methods. The more I learned, the more I realized that the general premise of business as we know it today, has not changed all that much from how
business was being conducted 2000 years ago. From monetary systems to trade routes to the buying and selling of goods, a lot of similarities seem to
remain throughout the ages. I was also intrigued by Edward Gibbon's theory that the fall of the Roman Empire was caused by the introduction of
Christianity. Gibbon surmised that before that, business had been driven by greed and profit but with the increasing popularity of the Christian belief
system teaching a different set of values including not stealing, cheating or coveting, a less financially motivated society began to emerge. There were
several readings which interested me greatly including the chapter which discussed the rise of the tulip market in Amsterdam and how that all came
about. I was surprised to learn that it had been a fabricated market which truly sprung from the demands of the wealthy. This chapter very effectively
illustrated how trivial the human species can be and how easily manipulated we can be due to our often misguided efforts to be "like the Jones's".
Our in-class discussions were very interesting and often even lively as we discussed each chapter of the book. Jason Beal facilitated the topics very
effectively and did a great job of keeping us on track which sometimes proved to be quite a feat in and of itself. He helped us dredge out the fine points
of each reading assignment, often helping us to discover hidden nuggets that we had missed. Many of us enjoyed Mike LeFever's crass, in-your-face
approach to his job as a steel worker. It was refreshing to hear a guy say exactly what he was thinking and still see that he was good at heart. In the
end, it became more clear that he was just an average man who was looking out for himself because he relized that he couldn't do anything about
anyone else. We spoke of ethics and social responsibility and how these concepts fit into business as well as how they do not fit. In the end, most
everything is driven by profit. We already knew that but after participating in this course, I believe I can speak for the whole class when I say that we
came out of it with a much better understanding of how the machine of business is fueled and what really makes it continue to churn.
