book/movie review

 Description

please see the following attachment me for details on success in college and in life but please also answer the 3 questions separate from reading the fish story 

This first assignment is a required orientation assignment for the course.

Some optional extra credit assignments are on the next page.

15 points:

Step 1: Watch videos 1 and 2. (7 minutes)

Step 2: Read, A Fish Story in Canvas.

Step 3: Think about how these three inspirational messages relate to your success in college and in life and in this course.

Step 4: Focus on the statement: I get to go to class… I get to do homework…. (not I have to) and relate it to the A Fish Story assignment and this class. Focus on the Admiral’s messages about the importance of doing tasks despite of the fact that they seem mundane. And if you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never do the big things right.

Step 5: Relate all three of these to this class and what you will do to succeed.

Exceed one paragraph = 5 points

Exceed a half page = 10 points

Exceed a full page = 15 points.

1)

LEARNING OPTIMISM FROM ADVERSITY—JOHN JACOBS (APB Speakers, 10/27/2016, 5:15)

In his video segment about learning optimism from adversity, John Jacobs—co-founder and CCO (Chief Creative Optimist) of Life is Good—spreads the power of optimism through inspiring art, a passionate community, and groundbreaking nonprofit work. John and his brother Bert launched their business with $78 in their pockets, selling T-shirts in the streets of Boston. Today, Life is Good is a $100 million positive lifestyle brand sold by over 2,000 retailers across the United States and Canada.

2)

THIS ADMIRAL’S INSPIRING SPEECH WILL CONVINCE YOU TO MAKE YOUR BED EVERY MORNING (Business Insider, 2/25/2016, 1:36)

In a commencement address at the University of Texas at Austin, Admiral William McRaven shares why it’s critical to make your bed every morning.

Admiral McRaven’s interview in this chapter highlights principles like leadership and integrity that are essential for every effective organization. This video could be used to teach that even high-level decision makers still need to do the little things right—like make their beds each morning. It’s the little things that get people (and companies) off to a great start. And if you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never do the big things right.

Continued next page.

Other things you can do to earn extra credit points:

Step 6: 5 points: Apply the same guidelines for grading as mentioned above.

Write about any of the other videos below that you want to watch. Use material from the text to support your answer. Make sure you list the name of your video(s) and use citations and references so I can grade accordingly.

Step 7: 5 points:

Send me the link to your most inspirational video with some comments about why it is inspirational and if I choose to use it for personal or class use you will earn 5 points.

OPEN THE BOOKS APP – INTRODUCTION (OpenTheBooks.com, 10/7/2015, 3:51)

OpenTheBooks.com shows how its app allows users to track government spending in any ZIP code across America or in a current GPS location. Nearly all federal spending since 2000, 48/50 states’ checkbooks, and 34,000 local units of government salaries populate its database—over 2.3 billion government expenditures. The app won the 2013 Best App Award by the prestigious Web Marketing Association. *** This is a great tool for everybody, but especially interesting for finance, accounting, and economics majors.

INFOSYS TO HIRE 10,000 WORKERS AMID VISA CRACKDOWN (Bloomberg Technology, 5/2/2017, 4:25)

Techonomy CEO David Kirkpatrick and Bloomberg’s Cory Johnson discuss Infosys Ltd.’s plans to hire 10,000 Americans in the next two years amid the United States’ visa crackdown. They speak with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang on “Bloomberg Technology.”

India’s software industry is front and center, y et, as the video segment demonstrates, government—which sets the rules of the game—is also a factor present in the U.S. demand conditions. And government seems to be the key reason behind Infosys’s decision to hire 10,000 workers in Indiana—Vice President Mike Pence’s home state, coincidently—rather than hire workers in India.

THE RISE AND FALL OF TOYS R US (CNBC, 3/16/2018, 5:23)

CNBC reports that Toys R Us is closing its doors for good. The toy emporium that Charles P. Lazarus envisioned has been reduced to dusty floors and empty shelves.

Learning from mistakes ….

(watch the video below at the same time – counts as one summary)

WHOLE FOODS’ CO-CEO EXPLAINS THE COMPANY’S FRESH APPROACH TO GROWTH (Bloomberg, 2/12/2016, 5:56)

Walter Robb, co-chief executive officer at Whole Foods, explains how the company is benefiting from a change in strategy with 365 stores, efforts to restructure costs and transform the company, and adjustments to the organic food market. He speaks on Bloomberg GO.

Whole Foods is one example of a firm enacting ambidextrous organizational designs. Whole Foods is known as a mature grocery store chain. Yet as the video explains, Whole Foods is trying to become more relevant to Millennials. Robb relates that Whole Foods is reducing margins in conjunction with reducing costs internally and expanding its presence on digital platforms. And with the introduction of Whole Foods 365—a grocery store with a smaller footprint—the company is adapting to a new market it otherwise could not reach.

(watch the video above at the same time – counts as one summary)

IMPACT OF AMAZON BUYING WHOLE FOODS (CBS This Morning, 6/17/2017, 3:42)

As an update on the Whole Foods video segment above, Amazon is purchasing the more than 400 locations of Whole Foods. CBS News contributor and Wired editor-in-chief Nicholas Thompson joins CBS This Morning: Saturday to discuss the e-commerce giant’s strategy and the acquisition’s impact on the industry.

This video segment explains that Amazon is not only buying over 400 stores, but also Whole Foods’ distribution centers located in affluent areas. Amazon has been struggling to compete with Walmart in the grocery industry, and with this purchase, it appears that the grocery chain will go even further to appeal to the Millennial demographic and reduce prices as well. This segment shows that in the grocery industry having a brick-and-mortar presence seems to be a necessity, even for digital goliaths like Amazon.

AFISH STORY

One September morning, on their first day of college, two dozen first year students made their way into

the biology laboratory. They sat down six at a lab table and glanced about for the professor. Because

this was their first college class, most of the students were a bit nervous. A few introduced themselves.

Others kept checking their watches. At exactly nine o’clock, the professor, wearing a crisply pressed

white lab coat, entered the room. “Good morning,” he said. He set a white plate in the middle of each

table. On each plate lay a small fish. Please observe the fish,” the professor said. “Then write down your

observations.” He turned and left the room. The students looked at each other, puzzled. This was

strange! Oh, well. They took out scrap paper and wrote notes such as, “I see a small fish.” One student

added, “It’s on a white plate.” Satisfied, they set their pens down and waited. And waited. For the

entire class period, they waited. A couple of students whispered that it was a trick. They said the

professor was probably testing them to see if they’d do something wrong. Time crawled by. Still they

waited, trying to do nothing that would get them in trouble. Finally, one student mumbled that she was

going to be late for her next class. She picked up her books and stood. She paused. Others rose as well

and began filing out of the room. Some looked cautiously over their shoulders as they left. When the

students entered the biology lab for their second class, they found the same white plates with the same

small fish already waiting on their laboratory tables. At exactly nine o’clock, the professor entered the

room. “Good morning. Please take out your observations of the fish,” he said. Students dug into their

notebooks or book bags. Many could not find their notes. Those few who could held them up for the

professor to see as he walked from table to table. After visiting each student, the professor said, “Please

observe the fish. Write down all of your observations.” Then he left, closing the door behind him. The

students looked at one another, more puzzled. They peered at the fish. Those few who had found their

notes glanced from the fish to their notes and back again. Was the professor crazy? What else were they

supposed to notice? It was only a stupid fish. About then, one student spied a book on the professor’s

desk. It was a book for identifying fish, and she snatched it up. Using the book, she quickly discovered

what kind of fish was lying on her plate. She read eagerly, recording in her notes all the facts she found

about her fish. Others saw her and asked to use the book, too. She passed the book to other tables, and

her classmates soon found descriptions of their fish. After about fifteen minutes the students sat back,

very pleased with themselves. Chatter died down. They waited. But the professor didn’t return. As the

period ended, all the students carefully put their notes away.

The same fish on the same white plate greeted each student in the third class. The professor entered

at nine o’clock. “Good morning,” he said. “Please hold up your observations.” All of the students held up

their notes immediately. They looked at each other, smiling, as the professor walked from table to table,

looking at their work. Once again, he walked toward the door. “Please. . . observe the fish. Write down

all of your observations,” he said. And then he left. The students couldn’t believe it. They grumbled and

complained. This guy is nuts. When is he going to teach us something? What are we paying tuition for,

anyway? Students at one table, however, began observing their fish more closely. Other tables followed

their example. The first thing all of the students noticed was the biting odor of aging fish. A few students

recorded details about the fish’s color that they had failed to observe in the previous two classes. They

wondered if the colors had been there originally or if the colors had appeared as the fish aged. Each

group measured its fish. They poked it and described its texture. One student looked in its mouth and

found that he could see light through its gills. Another student found a small balance beam, and each

group weighed its fish. They passed around someone’s pocket knife. With it, they sliced open the fish

and examined its insides. In the stomach of one fish they found a smaller fish. They wrote quickly, and

their notes soon overflowed onto three and four sheets of paper. Finally someone shouted, “Hey, class

was over ten minutes ago.” They carefully placed their notes in three- ring binders. They said good-bye

to their fish, wondering if their finny friends would be there on Monday. They were, and a vile smell

filled the laboratory. The professor strode into the room at exactly nine o’clock. The students

immediately thrust their notes in the air. “Good morning,” the professor said cheerfully, making his way

from student to student. He took longer than ever to examine their notes. The students shifted

anxiously in their chairs as the professor edged ever closer to the door. How could they endure the smell

for another class period? At the door, the professor turned to the students. “All right,” he said. “Perhaps

now we can begin.”

1) If you had been in this biology lab class, what lessons about college and life

would you have learned from the experience?

2) What do you think the professor in the Fish Story wanted his students to

learn from their experience?

3) What do you think I (your instructor) want you to learn from the story?

“This Critical Thinking class is designed to make you use and rely on your own

thinking skills –not mine, and if you truly want to become critical thinkers you

must learn to use all of the resources available to you!” I have found that the

students enjoy this activity and find it a refreshing and practical way to learn

about the class.

— Inspired by Samuel J. Scudder, “Take This Fish and Look at It” (1874) Source: On Course, Third Edition,

by Skip Downing, 2002